STRAWBERRY AND MINT PASTRIES

These mini pastries are cute, colourful and sweet. Even better, extremely easy to make.

Imagine presenting these as dessert canapés at parties, dinners and other social gatherings - you can make an impression with very little effort. And why not mix things up by using other brightly coloured fruits as the filling - mango, papaya..etc.
There are no limits.

Ingredients

- Ready-roll puff pastry

- Strawberries (finely chopped)

- Maple syrup

- Mint (roughly chopped)

Method

Cut the puff pastry into small squares.

Spoon some chopped strawberries into the centre of each square and pinch the edges inwards to create the crust.

Bake in the oven, gas mark 6, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked.

Take the pastries out and brush the edges with some maple syrup to enhance the golden colour and give extra sweetness.

Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Serve with a generous sprinkling of chopped mint.

Told you it was easy... :)

GARRI-CRUSTED AVOCADO FRIES [VIDEO]

Hello wonderful people. This random recipe was borne out of contemplating what to do with the avocado and garri I had left over from the 2nd pop-up. Crunchy on the outside, soft & smooth on the inside. Sounded good to me; turned out as scrumptious as I imagined. Take your taste-buds on a slightly wacky culinary journey with this super simple recipe. And as summer encroaches, perhaps this would be a worthy addition as a side dish at BBQs, picnics and parties.

2ND VEGAN NIGERIAN POP-UP RESTAURANT

As I type this, I am in ultimate chill-out mode. Hosting a pop-up is a tiring affair - I'm not even going to sugar-coat that. But it is all so worth it when everything comes together as you imagine - from the food, to the atmosphere, to the general feedback. And hey, no one ever said it was going to be easy. I plan to do a lot more of these - glutton for punishment that I am - and so if you're interested in attending a future event, do follow me on social media as you are likely to hear about it there first. 

The turn out was great, the atmosphere was convivial and the grind was real. I had three friends helping out behind the scenes this time, and between the four of us, we managed to cook, set up, serve guests and clear up at the end of the night. I think I will soon reach a point where I need to consider hiring people to help out, but I'm not going to dwell on that for now. One step at a time. 

I was extremely excited about the menu at this particular pop-up as a few elements were quite experimental. Each dish came to life on the day, just as I'd imagined them in my head and in my diagrams. Nothing beats creative expression, and I can't wait to grow and develop in this regard.

Thank you to all my guests; really hope to see you all again! And special shout-out to Felicia who came along and shot some scenes for a documentary she's working on, and also to fellow YouTuber and Nigerian vegan, Paul for being so kind and helping out at the end. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel. 

And now, pictures....

KENT VEGAN FESTIVAL 2016 [VIDEO]

It's been a while since I've taken to my stall, what with moving to London, working, and getting stuck into new projects such as writing a novel and hosting pop-up restaurant events. If I had to describe this year so far in one word, it would be: productive. And that's how I like it to be. When I heard about the Kent Vegan Festival, which took place in Canterbury this year on Saturday May 7th, I knew immediately that I had to be there. I lived in Kent for many years, and was simply excited that such a thing was taking place so close to home.

When deciding what to take to the festival, I opted for something a little different from my usual cakes and cupcakes. I still made brownies...because brownies always go down a treat...but this time, I also had some dried fruits such as dates, mango, and banana. Then, staying true to my brand, I had to have plantain chips as well. I only took a few in order to test the market and sheesh, was I in for a surprise. Not only did they sell out in record time, but I got some seriously amazing reviews on them. So now I know. Next time, I'll be flooding my table with plantain chips. And next time will be sooner rather than later, as I have now signed up to be at the Maidstone Vegan Festival in July, also in Kent, and also very close to home. Aside from being a part of these events, the major plus side is that I get to escape for a couple of days to spend time with my family.

All in all, the Kent Vegan Festival was a wonderful event, full of great stalls and great vegan food. The warm weather and sunshine on the day brought some extra cheer to the event. And I have to tip my hat to the organisers who made it such a stress-free event to be a part of. Well done to everyone involved, and hopefully see you next year!