Lately, I have been obsessed with playing Great British Bake Off in the background. There is just something comforting about hearing the voices of the judges and the contestants talking about food. As you can imagine, I am obsessed with food. The other day, I was lucky to pay attention when the episode on quick bread started playing. Before I knew it, I was designing this cheddar and spring onion bread in my head.
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Cheddar and Spring Onion Bread
Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Banana Bread
I still have memories of myself running late for school and making a swift stop at a local Whole Foods Market. Just to the left of the door as I walk in, there is a baked goods displayed case. In that case, there are all kinds of yummy breakfast pastries. I have done this routine so many times, I know exactly where to look for my chocolate chip banana bread muffin. It is usually on the first two shelves, somewhere in the center. On my way to the cashier, I’ll grab a chocolate protein shake or a bottled green juice depending on what my eyes reach first. The total for my mad dash breakfast is usually just a little over five dollars. Now, I am making chocolate chip buttermilk banana bread to recapture some of that moment.
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Making Butter
I made butter recently. One of the things that I have been enjoying this COVID era is hosting my pod members/friends to dinner in my apartment. Before the COVID era, whenever I was going to spend time with friends, it was usually done outside the house. A quick stop at the ice-cream place in the summer. Or a jaunt at the local thrift shop, Savers, to browse was generally my go-to friend hang out. With a raging pandemic, going out hasn’t felt as safe as staying in. So when I invited my friend B to dinner, we both knew that meant a trip to my apartment. The menu was pretty simple because I knew I was going to spend the day studying. I wanted to make sure that it was a stress-free day for me and her.
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Avocado Lime Cilantro Sauce
My sister posted a picture of her food the other day on the family Whatsapp group. She does this every so often just to make me jealous. According to her, it is payback for all the food pictures I post on Instagram. I think this is a fair trade-off. So anyway, she posts her plate of plantain, brisket, and a small green salad. I was really jealous. The plantain looked like Boli, a type of roasted or grilled plantain we eat in Nigeria. Boli is made on a charcoal grill. It is what many would call street food. The grilling process creates lovely charring and gives it a smoky flavor.
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Honey Garlic Cilantro Chicken
Seven years ago when I moved to the Boston area, I attended a program called the Startup Institute to try to break into the tech scene in Boston. I remember talking to a classmate on the last day of that program about my dreams. I envisioned one day having my own space where I could host friends and cook and have a lovely conversation. Recently, I had the pleasure of cooking this Honey Garlic Cilantro Chicken while hosting a friend at my new apartment.
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Leek and Corn Risotto
One of my favorite features of my apartment is my kitchen. Let me tell you…the kitchen is the thing that pushed me over the hill. Originally when I saw the listing for the apartment, I was on the fence about it. But I got a showing and I was desperate so I came reluctantly. Boy! When they say God will not let you miss what is yours…it is my kitchen. It is beautiful. It is spacious. When I made the leek and corn risotto for my friend F. the other day, I had a moment of gratitude. I looked at her sitting on the other side of the granite countertop, and I said a quick prayer of thanks to God.
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Slow Roasted Tomato
Yes, I know that Labor Day has gone by and the world seems to be abandoning summer for fall. But, now is the perfect time to make this slow-roasted tomato. At the end of summer, tomatoes reach their peak sweetness. The vines become heavy, the store shelves become full of vibrant tomatoes and the prices go down. So, now is the best time to buy a bunch of tomatoes and slow-roast them for the fall at least.
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Mama Sunday’s Jollof Rice
I arrived at my godson’s mother’s hospital bedside carrying a bucket of steaming hot jollof rice, a few hours after he was born. Along with the fragrant rice, I made fried chicken and dodo (aka fried sweet plantain). In my Iro and Buba, made out of ankara fabric, I was there to welcome this child into his heritage as a Nigerian boy. He might have been born in America but as his godmother, I intend to keep him connected to his roots. One of the best things about being a Nigerian person is our connection to our foods. Jollof rice, with its long traveling roots, is certainly part of the Nigerian heritage.
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House Hunting in Boston: Part 2.
House-hunting in Boston during a pandemic is not how I imagined I would be spending summer 2020. Just like moving into an apartment by myself was not a goal for 2020. Alas, here I am. Your girl is moving into a studio apartment in August. Let me tell you about the miracle of the past week.
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Frozen Mango Coconut Yogurt
I did not expect that frozen mango coconut yogurt would be the thing that would start me on a joyful path during quarantine. In fact, I did not expect that in July, I would be talking about making ice-cream. Like so many people, 2020 has been nothing like I planned for it to be. I have made peace with that fact. My home has now become a big part of my life. It is no longer the place that I am constantly passing through.
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