How my grandmother’s cupboard taught me to cook smarter, not harder — and how you can too. There are two kinds of kitchens: the experimental, recipe-card kind, where everything looks neat and measured, and the lived-in, memory-laced kitchens where hacks and instincts run the show. I grew up in the second kind. My grandmother didn’t measure so much as “feel,” and when things went sideways, she had a dozen ways to rescue a dish. Over the years, I've collated a long list of those little shortcuts: 37 practical kitchen tips that have saved dinners, preserved staples, and kept families fed. I’ve grouped them here the way my grandmother used to: preservation, prep, rescue, frying & oil, beans & grains, and...
I still remember the first time I cooked with my aunt in Lagos. She told me to blanch the spinach. I froze. Blanch? Was that a spice? A pan? A dance move? She chuckled at my confusion, then showed me how to dip the leaves quickly in boiling water before plunging them into cold water. “That’s blanching,” she said, with the patience of a saint. That day taught me something important: recipes speak their own language. If you don’t understand the terms, the dish might slip right through your fingers. So, let’s break down some essential cooking terms you should know — the kind that pop up often, especially when you’re experimenting in your kitchen with African flavors and beyond....
Let me tell you a quick story. A few months ago, I visited an old friend. We were laughing, catching up, and doing what Nigerians do best—eating. She served me a plate of steaming jollof rice (my weakness), fried chicken, and a colorful side of coleslaw. It was delicious, no lie. But halfway through, I noticed something strange. My tongue felt funny. My stomach started to rumble. And by the next day, I was sipping herbal tea, swearing off “outside food” forever.Turns out, the flavor-packed seasoning she used was a cocktail of unpronounceables—chemical-laced, sodium-heavy, fake spice imposters. Here’s the hard truth: some of the foods we’re eating, even the ones we love, are slowly doing damage. What’s Hiding in Your...
At Flourish Spices and African Food, we love food. We love cooking it, eating it, seasoning it, and of course…talking about it. But did you know some of your favorite dishes come with stories so funny, you’ll never see them the same way again? Let’s dig into some weird and laugh-out-loud facts about the foods we all know and love. Plus a few ways to spice them up, Flourish-style. 1. Potatoes Were Once Feared (Yes, Feared) Back in 16th-century Europe, people thought potatoes were evil. Some believed they caused diseases, others thought they were food for witches. Imagine turning your nose up at fried yam or crispy potato porridge today because someone claimed it was “unholy.” 2. Chicken Was Once So...
There I was, proudly stirring my pot of ogbono soup, humming along to Asa’s “Bibanke,” when I decided to taste my masterpiece. And then bam! Salt. Too. Much. Salt. My heart sank. I had been looking forward to that soup all day. But instead of panicking, I remembered something my mum used to say: “A good cook isn’t one who never makes mistakes, but one who knows how to fix them.” So, apron still on and hope still alive, I got to work. If you’ve ever over-salted your pot of stew, egusi, ogbono, or even jollof, you’re not alone. Here are a few tried-and-true ways to rescue your favorite African and Nigerian dishes when the salt is threatening to take...
