MANGO & CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE

Cooking is like my other great love: writing. You conceive of this vague idea and you let the characters reveal themselves to you over time; you trace out the possible narrative in daydreaming sessions throughout your day; you stew over the conflicts and resolutions of your killer plot; you adhere to the distinguished literary tradition that came before you, all the while trying to carve out your own path with innovation and originality. Replace all the literary jargon with some cooking terms and you get the picture...

All this to say that I baked a mango and chocolate marble cake today - the marriage of two headstrong ingredients that had no real business being together and would never have found bliss had my imagination not brought them into the same cake tin. 

The bitter-sweet ending to this tale is that the cake is pure goodness. Two of my favourite ingredients kicking it, loving life, but trying to escape my antagonistic appetite.

Ingredients

- 2 cups wholegrain flour

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp ground ginger

- 1 cup almond milk

- 1/2 cup sunflower oil

- 3 tbsp cocoa powder

- 1/2 cup mango purée (cut a very ripe, medium-sized mango into small pieces and mash or blend to form a purée)

You'll need two mixing bowls for this recipe, but start off with one and put the other aside for now.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, ground ginger). Add the almond milk, and sunflower oil to form a nice, thick cake batter. This is the base mixture.

Here's where the second bowl comes in. Pour about a third of the cake batter into the second bowl and put aside. In the first bowl, add the mango purée and mix well to combine.

In the second bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix well to combine.

Take a regular-sized cake tin and lightly grease it with some oil/vegan butter or line with grease-proof paper. Pour the mango batter in first. Then swirl the chocolate batter into it. Use your finger to create a pattern if you want, don't be afraid to get your hands a bit messy here.

   

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Happy eating :)

GARRI COOKIES | Cassava Biscuits | Gluten-Free

Updated photograph: May 2020

This recipe has lingered in my mind for a long time now. Today was the day to finally transform the abstract image of a garri-based cookie into a concrete final product. In all honesty, it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. It's based loosely on the other popular way to eat garri in Nigeria (soaked in water with sugar and groundnut/peanuts) so bear that in mind before you go wondering why anyone would dream of using garri in a sweet instead of savoury recipe. Three reasons to try these out?

1) Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside

2) Healthy but yummy

3) They're different and you've probably never tried a garri cookie before...live a little :)

Updated photo: May 2020

Ingredients

(makes 6)

- 1/2 cup garri

- 1/4 cup oats

- 2 tbsp brown sugar

- 1-2 tbsp dried raisins

- 1-2 tbsp chopped groundnut (peanuts)

- 1/2 cup hot almond milk

- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- extra hot water

Combine all the dry ingredients and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the almond milk slowly, mixing as you go along until you have a sticky dough. If the mixture seems too dry, go ahead and add a bit of extra hot water, one tablespoon at a time. 

Line a baking sheet with some grease-proof paper. Use a tablespoon to scoop a mound of cookie dough into your palm and carefully flatten/mould the dough into a round cookie shape. 

Bake in a pre-heated oven, 180 degrees Celsius, for 20 minutes until golden brown on one side, then flip the cookies over and bake for a further 10 minutes. Leave to cool and harden on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes after baking. Enjoy!

JOLLOF SURPRISE

This is what happens when you replace the usual red bell pepper with yellow and green pepper in a traditional jollof rice recipe (click here for my previous post). I also threw in a bunch of fresh parsley to jazz things up.

My latest discovery is brown basmati rice, which I used in this recipe - absolutely delicious stuff. You know you're doing something right in the kitchen when the fragrance starts to waft through the entire house. Rivals the euphoric feeling of freshly baked bread.

GROCERY HAUL #4 + BRIGHT FOOD

It's another week of colourful food with most of the usual stuff. I got some extra mangoes this time around because they were incredible the last time and I've been craving them ever since. I fancy creating some sort of mango dessert this week too..hmm. Also picked up a humongous tin of chickpeas on special offer, and some cauliflower for a change.

I didn't go to my usual fruit & veg place because I spent the whole day in town doing other non-food related things. Then, like some kind of special blessing, I saw this other store open as I made my way back home at 7pm. Literally two seconds away from my usual place (which was closed by then) and still brimming with all this inviting produce. The amazing guy at the store even gave me some free celery and parsley, because I'm just that loveable (OR..they had a bunch of stock left over that they needed to get rid of! OR..trying to bribe me so I can ditch the other place and come back to them! Whatever the reason, I was grateful. Nothing beats a bit of random kindness :) ).

Here are a few meals from the previous week. I like to cook enough to have some leftover for lunch the next day. It's a system that works for me and makes life as a vegan pretty darn easy. And I still can't get over how bright each plate of food looks. 

  

NIGERIAN SALAD DRESSING

Spice up any salad with this fiery, fruity salad dressing. An unapologetic taste explosion if I ever did see one... Now there's no excuse to avoid a giant plate of greens.

Ingredients

- Juice of 6 limes

- Juice of 1 large orange

- 2 tbsp grated ginger

- 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

- 1/2 ripe mango (finely chopped)

- 1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (finely chopped)

- 1 tsp dried thyme

- 4 tbsp sunflower oil

- Pinch of salt

NIGERIAN MEAT-LESS PIE

The 'Meat Pie' (cue dramatic music) is probably the king of Nigerian snacks. You know the scenario - you've had a chilled or stressful day out in Lagos, you're heading back home and Mr Bigg's is just at the next roundabout. You stop over to buy a great, big succulent slab of the stuff and wash it down with an ice-cold bottle of coke (or fanta, if you're that way inclined).

I'm proud of my healthy, vegan version of this classic, not only because it looks and tastes great but because it still has the ability to make any kind of day feel that much better.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

- 2 cups whole-wheat flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 4 tbsp sunflower oil

- 1/2 cup cold water

- Pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup almond milk 

- 1 large potato (diced into cubes)

- 1 carrot (finely chopped)

- 1/2 onion (finely chopped)

- 6 broccoli florets (finely chopped)

- 4 tbsp cooked beans or lentils

- 2 tbsp sunflower oil

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 vegetable stock cube

- 1 tsp curry powder

- Salt and pepper to taste

To make the pastry, combine the flour, baking powder, oil and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water a little at a time, kneading constantly until you have a firm but supple dough. If it feels too dry and flaky, add another tablespoon or so of water. If it feels too soft and gooey, throw in a tiny bit more flour. Wrap the dough in clear plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the filling, sautée the finely chopped onions, carrot and broccoli in oil for 5 minutes. Then add the diced potatoes and seasoning ( vegetable stock cube, curry, salt and pepper). Add the water and cooked beans/lentils and simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are soft but still holding their shape (you don't want the mixture to turn mushy).

Take the dough out of the fridge and split it into four equal parts. Roll each part out on a lightly floured surface, forming a flat, round shape.

Spoon enough filling into the centre of each circle and fold over, tucking the edges in to secure the pie. Use a fork to press down on the edges to create the signature meat pie pattern. 

Place the pies on a baking tray covered in grease-proof paper and brush with a little almond milk.

Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 5, for 20-25 minutes.

BREAKFAST #3 - AVOCADO/TOMATO TOAST

I've heard it said that avocado is nature's butter. And too right. I'm currently obsessed with the stuff and have worked my way through a fair few in the past 4 weeks or so. 

This attractive toast ensemble is now one of my favourite things to have for breakfast. It's the sort of thing you bite into and think to yourself: 'This tastes so flipping amazing, it can't be good for you'. Except that it actually is...

Ingredients

- Wholegrain bread (3 small slices or 1 large slice cut in half)

- 1 small avocado (sliced)

- 1 medium tomato (halved and sliced thinly)

- Sunflower seeds

- Pinch of salt

Toast the bread. Layer on the tomato and avocado slices. Sprinkle each with sunflower seeds and a pinch of salt. 

So simple.

GROCERY HAUL #3

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to make it to the fruit and veg place before they closed up at 12pm (who closes at 12 ?! Don't know about you but that's when my Saturday's just getting started). Anyway, with 20 minutes to spare, I made my merry way there and gathered some rainbow loot...

Onions
Red garlic
Carrots (with the leaves still on - Bugs Bunny style)
Cabbage
Broccoli
Mangoes
Vine tomatoes
Yellow peppers (for a change)
Courgettes
Spring onions
Green pepper
Regular potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Endives