After a few months of getting family members addicted to my Zobo, my friend M came round one Sunday. All excited to serve a Hausa person my version, I poured her a cup. I wanted her thoughts on my combination of zobo calyxes, ginger, cloves, and sweetener (some people add pineapple skins). She tasted and...
This cheesecake combines zobo jelly with lime cream and crushed ginger cookies. It is a rendition of a blackberry and lime cheesecake I made a few years ago which had me smitten. One thing I’ve learnt in the process of making jellies and things with gelatin is the importance of testing. A great lesson taught...
It all began when M, a friend and mixologist said he’d added some Zobo pepper sauce to his G & T. How the fresh, spice notes in the sauce worked really well with gin. It would never have occurred to me. I wouldn’t have thought of it like using ‘jams and marmalades‘ in drinks. Which...
There’s a new drink in town – Orijin and I’m a fan. Orijin…a diminutive of Orijinal, a riff on the word Original. The first time I tried it, there was a steaming bowl of catfish peppersoup set before me at an open-air bush bar type o’ place. We sat on wooden chairs, the moon high...
My children’s reaction when lunch was served made me realise that what most of us know as Mexican cuisine is actually Tex-Mex. “Tex-Mex” (portmanteau of Texan and Mexican) is a term describing a cultural fusion cuisine of American cuisine and Mexican cuisine, deriving from the culinary creations of Tejanos. It has spread from border states...
Simple syrups – fundamental sweetness to cocktails and mocktails. And easy to make. What is a simple syrup? The foundation for everything from lemonade to iced tea, your standard simple syrup is a combination of 1 part sugar to 1 part water. For example – 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water, cooked till the...
I have my ‘voice of reason’, Maryam to thank for being the inspiration behind this fruit cake recipe, two ways – the first without alcohol and then, without alcohol and eggs. For a while, I’d been thinking about doing more with Zobo (Hibiscus drink), malt drinks and ginger beer so when I decided to make...
Failure doesn’t faze me. Its nothing new. Jams that won’t set are ….mere vestiges of the past. I forge on….determined. This Zobo Jelly is an example in point. I went back to the drawing board and ended up with something that was and is worthy of any table.