A simple invitation to dinner is always a turning point in my friendships. It is when I reveal the complex knot of food neuroses I have collected over the years, which means it is the point where I either alienate a friend or find a kindred spirit. And so, I’ve written a short essay about [...]
Category Archives: Food
Coconut Cupcake Crazy!
Last weekend saw the last Bank Holiday Weekend of the year till Christmastime. Allow that to sink in, won’t you? That’s it, basically. Unless you have some allocated holiday time still unused, all you traditionally employed people are looking at about 14 weeks of non-stop work, save the occasional cheeky duvet day most of us [...]
Also posted in Home, Humour, London
Tagged Awesome!, Eating, Food, Friends, Things That Make You Go Mmm
7 Responses
Why I Love… Ice Cream
I’ve mentioned previously that I’m not a classic sweet-tooth. I enjoy the presence of sugars – natural and not-so-natural – in certain foods. A little sugar in a tomato sauce, for example, or maybe in some Nigerian black beans. But I am not an ardent chocolate biscuit fan. I take my tea with no more [...]
Also posted in Love, Why I Love...
Tagged Childhood, Ice Cream, Joy, Things That Make You Go Mmm
5 Responses
Eating My Feelings
On Monday night, filled with angst from the 9-5, I came home in a huff, and fell into the welcoming arms of food. If I could not resolve that which plagued me in the workplace, I would seek refuge in the cracking of eggs, in the mashing of banana, the sieving of flour and the fiery heat [...]
The Month of Lovely Things
When I got published in the Guardian at the beginning of this month, I unofficially christened this May as The Month of Lovely Things. As such, I hope to document all the lovely things that I am engaged in this month, as well leaving out the truly crappy things. Let’s begin with last weekend, when [...]
Also posted in Beauty, Travel
Tagged Black Park, Food, Friends, Joy, Langley, Nature, The Great Outdoors
2 Responses
Unlocking The Sugar Code
It seems fitting that in the week David Cameron swept into 10 Downing Street, I discovered my sweet tooth. It’s been dormant since birth – I never had the common childhood fondness for sugar, never crunched sugar cubes (*shudder*) like my cousin T. Somehow, the looming spectre of the first Tory Prime Minister of my voting [...]
Also posted in London, Love, Movies
Tagged Eating, Friends, Joy, London, Things That Make You Go Mmm
6 Responses
Clueless & Cupcakes
The recent demise of Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy left many people shocked and sympathetic. It also had them reaching for their Clueless DVDs, by far the pinnacle (for me, at least) of Ms Murphy’s all too brief cinematic career. This weekend, we paid homage to the shining light that was Brittany, by watching Clueless as [...]
Also posted in Culture, London, Movies
Tagged Baked Goods, Brittany Murphy, Clueless, Eating, Friends, Movies, Party
7 Responses
Tiny Venues & Interesting Loos
It’s very easy to bash the great city of London. To be fair, there’s quite a lot to bash if you’re that way inclined – it can be dirty, smelly, expensive and sometimes, it’s so far up its own trendy backside, you can actually taste pavement. Occasionally though, you go out, you have a great night, [...]
Also posted in London, Love, Pictures, Review, Style
Tagged Awesome!, Best Of British, Comedy, Customer Service, Eating, Food, Friends, Images, Joy, London, People Watching, Things That Make You Go Mmm
3 Responses
Jollofing It Up
A couple of days ago, I woke up with a dream lingering in my head and the distinct aroma of spices in my nostrils. Later that day, I went to see my Ma and Pa, and to be held in the cushiony bosom of family for a while. I was richly rewarded.
Ladies Wot Lunch
This weekend, I attended a very genteel gathering of ladies in north London. It was the second annual Newington Green Ladies Tea Party. It sounds very much like a grassroots level political party, doesn’t it? Maybe one day… it sure rocked, though. The tea parties are the brain- and lovechild of a lovely Kiwi Londoner [...]
Also posted in London
Tagged 'Lady Things', Baked Goods, Eating, Knitting, London, Tea & Sympathy, WI
2 Responses
Lashings And Lashings Of Ginger Beer!
Last week, I went to Marks and Spencer to grab a sandwich for lunch. As I made my way to the till, clutching my brie, cranberry and grape sarnie, I spotted something that made my heart sing. On the shelf above the sandwiches, sat a green can of fizzy pop. Not just any old can [...]
Also posted in Books, Education, Literature, Nigeria
Tagged Africa, Boarding School, Enid Blyton, Friends, Literary Food, Malory Towers, Midnight Feast, Novel, Writing
8 Responses
Wedding Season
My sis A attended a Nigerian wedding in Edinburgh, Scotland a couple of weeks back, and she reported back to me just how excellent it had been. It ran like clockwork, she said. No drama, everything was just chilled and calm. The overall feeling upon hearing this was one of relief and no small dose [...]
YorubaGirl + Obalende Suya = UNALLOYED JOY
I haven’t been to Nigeria since 1998, so from time to time, I get nostalgic and seek to suround myself with Nigerian things. For example, my YouTube viewing history is mostly full of items like old Nigerian TV commercials (Super Visco Static, anyone?) and the opening credits to the shows of my youth – Ripples, Checkmate, [...]
Simple Pleasures #57 – Dinner with A Friend
Today, I did something I haven’t done in a long, long time. I had a leisurely home-cooked dinner with a friend, and it was just splendid. There was a time in the late 90s, and early 00s, when it was fashionable to hold dinner parties – think acid jazz, Dido or Jamiroquai on the stereo, [...]
