MyHeritage DNA Results | ANCESTRY | Nigerian and...?

As a storyteller, I have a deep fascination with history, memory and family sagas. I've been on a recent quest to create my family tree and to see how far back I can go in tracing the steps and stories of my distant relatives. By interviewing older members of my family, I have already uncovered a myriad of exciting facts and anecdotes. Like a bright-eyed young student, my thirst for knowledge is insatiable.

When I first heard about the DNA tests you can take to discover more about your genealogy, my first thought wasn't about the potential dangers of sending off such sensitive data to some random company. As I type this now, I get a little passing chill. Who's to say our world isn't heading down a very Black Mirror path? But the chill quickly dissipates to a shrug of indifference. Que sera sera.
No, the suspicion and skepticism did not immediately spring to mind. Ever the idealist, I couldn't wait to try it out; to dig deeper into the rabbit hole of my current mission.

Before receiving my results, I made a few predictions. I guessed that I'd probably end up being 95% Nigerian, 3% Ghanaian and 2% some mix of other West African identities. Well...give the video a watch to see how far off I was.

Now that I have this new information, my research has become more nuanced and I am able to refine the questions posed.

Time will tell how far back I can trace, but one thing I know for sure is that it is vital for us to tell our own stories; to understand and take pride in where we've come from; to capture our history in concrete and intentional ways that will inspire generations to come.

Regular foodie content will resume next week. Until then, stay happy!

My Go-To Quick & Easy Veggie Stir Fry

Hullo,

I've got a backlog of posts to catch you up on. If you follow me on YouTube then you'd have seen this veggie stir-fry recipe already. I don't want to say that I am losing steam when it comes to posting on the blog, but there are certainly times when I procrastinate and let things slide. Especially now that I'm being super consistent with videos, that extra step of then creating a blog post around it is taking some getting used to. My lazy self mentally checks out once I hit that video upload button and then I tell myself that this bit can come later. Sigh. Still, with spring well and truly underway and the brighter weather sending my energy levels bursting through the roof (I'm convinced that I'm solar-powered), here I am at my kitchen table...writing this.

When it comes to quick vegan meals, it doesn't get more generic than a stir-fry. Everything but the kitchen sink gets jumbled up in a pan, exact measurements fly out of the window and each chosen ingredient is just a bit of what your stomach fancies in that moment. I've been on a kale kick recently and so this recipe (with slight variations here and there) has been a staple of late. I eat it with almost everything - rice, pasta, boiled potatoes... heck, it even tastes like heaven with pounded yam. I take the quick and easy one level up by using Siracha hot sauce to pull all the veg together. I'm in and out of the kitchen in 10 minutes or less, and it is glorious.

Enjoy this week's video, don't forget to subscribe to my channel and I'll catch you sooooon! x

Vegan Nigerian Mukbang

London-based food company, I Go Chop, recently launched a home delivery app (I Go Chop Express) which allows hungry customers to order Nigerian street food straight to their door. To celebrate this launch, they sent me a brilliant box packed with vegan food and goodies, along with a discount code that I can share with you - vegannigerian - to get 15% off your order.

Download the app on iTunes or Google Play.

With all that glorious food suddenly at my disposal, I decided to film a mukbang video for this week's YouTube upload. A mukbang is a style of video where an individual eats a large amount of food in one sitting while speaking to an audience through the camera. A rather weird phenomenon that has taken over the internet in recent years.

This video is quite different from others I've shared previously, and I suppose it was fun trying something new. Aside from watching me eat, you'll get to find out a bit more about me as I answer some Nigerian-tag style questions. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Vegan in Utrecht, Netherlands

Veggieworld festival in Utrecht took place on the 9th and 10th of March this year, and I was invited to lead a cooking workshop by the festival organisers, ProVeg. So off I went with my little cabin bag and the ingredients I'd need to make two of my favourite recipes from my cookbook - choc chip plantain pancakes and sweetcorn/plantain fritters.

The video below captures some of the highlights from my trip. Give it a watch to get a glimpse of the festival, my workshop, and some delicious vegan food finds (particularly useful for anyone thinking of travelling to Utrecht and wondering where to find the best vegan food)!

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more content, and stay tuned for this Sunday's video. It's going to be...different.

Vegan Pancake Party | Video

This stunning video by [IG: @dungubook] captures the highlights from last week's event. Enjoy!

Pounded Yam Pancakes | Vegan and Gluten-Free

My blog has a decent number of pancake recipes, from banana oat pancakes, to hemp pancakes, to malted plantain pancakes, to sweet potato pancakes, to classic French crepes. Things are about to get more interesting with this recipe...

When it comes to sweet breakfasts, pancakes absolutely top the list for me and with pancake day just around the corner (as well as the collaborative pancake party I'm hosting on Tuesday), I've been experimenting with yet another variation that is not only vegan but gluten-free as well. Gluten-free pancakes can be tricky. You have the texture to consider (we only care for light, fluffy pancakes round these parts), and how well the pancakes hold shape, etc.

I had low expectations when I began experimenting with this particular recipe using Olu Olu's pounded yam (iyan) flour. Pounded yam is a classic Nigerian savoury dish eaten with a side of vegetable stew. Check out the recipe here. It's unheard of to use this flour in sweet dishes, but the result was an absolute revelation; a surprise on all levels. I'd even go so far as to say that this is currently my favourite vegan pancake recipe.

Check out the video below to see how it's made, and let me know if this is something you'll be trying for yourself!



Ingredients
(makes 6-8)
- 1/2 cup poundo flour (click here to buy)
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups soya milk
- Sunflower oil

Place the flour, sugar, salt and soya milk in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Leave to stand for 15-20 minutes.

Heat some sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the pancake batter for a couple of minutes on medium heat. Flip and brown on the other side.

Drain on some kitchen paper. Serve with your favourite toppings (berries, syrup, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate sauce, jam, lemon, cinnamon... etc.)

My Vegan Valentine | Pop-Up Restaurant

It felt good to be back doing a pop-up, and what sweeter way to kick things off than a Valentine's Day event. My guests were wonderful, the venue beautiful and thanks to an amazing assistant, the whole thing went without a hitch.

The menu, for any curious cats, was:

- Trio of dips (sweet potato, beetroot, caramelised onions) with spiced cassava flatbread
- The Vegan Nigerian taste bowl (jollof rice, plantain, stewed beans, rainbow coleslaw & sauteed kale
- Chocolate mousse with hibiscus jelly and coconut sugar cookies

If you're ever in need of someone to brighten up your event, special occassion or retreat with some delicious food, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. This year, I'm embracing memorable, inspiring and down-right fun events.

And here are a few pictures from the night:

Vegan Pancake Party! | Event Details

Choc-Chip Plantain Pancakes from my Plantain Cookbook. Click here to grab a copy!

If the number of pancake recipes I have on this website is anything to go by, it's pretty obvious that I can't get enough of the stuff. If I could, I'd have it for breakfast every other day.

And so with pancake day coming up next month, I've teamed up with Olu Olu Foods, AngryBlackKitchen and UNDERLDN to host an all-out pancake party. As well as some classic pancake flavours and toppings, things are going to get super fun and experimental. You've probably noticed in recent posts that I've been using Olu Olu's cassava flour in a number of innovative ways. Well, that's not going to stop anytime soon. Aside from cassava flour, we'll also got plantain flour, yam flour and bean flour to play with.

Come alone or come with a friend, I'd love to see you there! Tuesday 5th March, 6.30pm - 8.30pm at Black Cat Cafe in Hackney. Tickets are only £10 and can be purchased from Eventbrite here. Hurry though, because with barely any promotion, tickets are already selling fast!