POP-UP RESTAURANT #5 IN PICTURES

Monday 26th September. My day started at 8 am. After cancelling my third or fourth morning alarm (because one alarm is never enough when you're a deep sleeper), I got up to embrace the long day ahead.

A short bus ride to this month's venue of choice: Maida Hill Place. Located right next to a large fruit & veg store AND an outdoor market, I was able to pick up a couple of last minute ingredients (a.k.a. enough plantain, bell peppers and vine tomatoes to feed a famished army) before launching into food prep. 

An hour or so later, I was joined by my mum and sister - ah the relief! I'm learning to treasure all the extra quality time I get to spend with my family as a direct result of these events. We managed to squeeze in a week's worth of chatter into those few hours, all the while cooking up a storm.

Mel arrived a few minutes after my mum and sister left. I'd frantically sent her a text around 13.30 pm to pick up some kale on her way over because I'd been careless enough to assume the store and market next door would stock it. Mel's kale expedition was successful...yeah, she pretty much saved the entire dinner :p Simon arrived a while after. What did I do to deserve friends as supportive as these two?? :) I had my team for the evening. Along with the helpful manager at the venue. 

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

The pop-up began officially at 18.30 pm, with guests trickling in one after the other until it was almost a full house. We got into service mode, starting with canapés, working our way all the way through to dessert. I'll allow the rest of the pictures to complete this narrative...

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: @vegannigerian

Photo credit: Richard Duebel

 A big thank you to all my guests, family & friends for making the evening so wonderful <3

Breakfast Blueberry and Brown Rice Muffins | Easy Vegan Recipe

Following on from my last video on how to make brown rice milk, this week I'm sharing an inventive way to use up the leftover pulp after straining the rice milk. It doesn't add much in terms of flavour, but it does give a fibre boost to the muffins. With the bananas and blueberries thrown in, you're left with a succulent, classic muffin with a tiny bit of a twist. Perfect for breakfast, as a snack or after dinner treat.

And if you haven't made any rice milk, this recipe isn't completely inaccessible. Simply blend 1 cup of cooked brown rice with 1 cup of rice milk)

To make it gluten-free, simply substitute with a gluten-free flour blend and add an extra 1/4 cup of vegan milk or an extra mashed banana for added moisture. 

Like the video? Cool. Subscribe :)

Ingredients
(makes 12)
- 3 cups self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup sugar (use brown if possible)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups leftover brown rice pulp
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- 3/4 cup sunflower oil
- 2 cups rice milk

- handful fresh blueberries 

VEGAN LACE PANCAKES

Inspired by last night's episode of The Great British Bake Off, I decided I would try my hand at making vegan lace pancakes. I never knew such a thing even existed but I was captivated by what I saw: dainty, edible heart shapes made entirely from pancake batter. It spoke to me, I tell ya.

As you can see from my pictures (above and below), I haven't aimed for perfection with my lace designs (hey, I'm not getting judged by Paul and Mary!) so don't let that stop you from giving this a try. Keep the design simple enough, but add a couple of swirls and touches here and there to make it pass for fancy. No matter what your lace pancakes end up looking like, my pancake recipe tastes totally bomb so it will be worth the effort when you finally get to tuck into them.

A word of warning before you delve into this recipe: only make these if you've got a lot of time to spare and nowhere to get to. These delicate pancakes are time-consuming as...
To be completely honest with you, after making about ten or so of these, I just made regular pancakes with the rest of the batter (again, not getting judged here!)

Top tip: this is no time to be overly ambitious. Make your heart pancakes small-medium sized as this makes them easier to flip over. And keep an eye out on the heat. Too hot and the pancake will burn too quickly...
Oh, and your first attempt WILL most likely be a disaster...mine was an eyesore. Don't be put off - it gets much better :)

If you like this recipe, make it, share it, and all that good stuff.

Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a smooth batter.
If mixing by hand, make sure you whisk/mix well enough so you don't have any lumps of banana in the batter.

Pour the mixture into a piping bag (cut a small hole at the tip) or a squeezy bottle. Over low-medium heat, pipe your heart lace design in a non-stick frying pan. (If using a regular frying pan, lightly grease the surface with a little sunflower oil before frying). Wait for it to brown before gently turning it over with a spatula.

Repeat the process with the rest of the batter until you have a gorgeous stack of warm, delicious lace pancakes.

 

Brown Rice Milk || Vegan, Dairy-Free Milk Alternative [VIDEO]

It's a wonderfully hot September day, and I got to spend most of it leisurely making and filming a couple of recipe videos for my channel. Bliss. I can honestly say that I am beginning to enjoy the process of filming and editing a lot more.

This week, I'm sharing this super easy and versatile brown rice milk recipe. Feel free to use regular white rice too. Or if you're feeling brave, you can try other varieties of rice - black, red, wild, ofada... That is, as long as you're okay with your 'milk' sporting a slightly unconventional colour.

I do hope you enjoy the video and give the recipe a try at home. Don't forget to subscribe for more videos like this!

You might also like to try my Almond Milk recipe.


Ingredients
(makes approx. 750ml)
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 6 cups distilled water
- 2 pitted dates (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 2-3 minutes.
Place a muslin cloth over a large bowl and pour the milk in the centre. Fold up the sides of the cloth, twist to secure and squeeze gently to extract the milk.
Repeat the straining process for extra smooth milk.
Use in beverages, cereal, and in baking recipes that call for plant-based milk.

Keeps for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

POP-UP RESTAURANT #5

Hey guys,
Here's the latest info on my next pop-up restaurant event. Hope to see you there for what should be an incredibly fun evening of great food, music and company!
Tomi x

________________________

Save the date: Monday 26th September. 6.30pm.

Please note the change of venue: Maida Hill Place, 4 Fernhead Road, London, W9 3ET.

Book your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-vegan-nigerian-pop-up-restaurant-5-tickets-27655664838 

Follow the Facebook event page for regular updates.

Menu: 

Starter - Sweet potato stuffed cabbage rolls with a red peanut sauce (n)
Main - Ewa Agoyin (slow-cooked beans and spicy pepper sauce) with fried plantain and sautéed kale Dessert - Ginger sponge cake with nutmeg custard (s) (g)

(n) contains nuts; (s) contains soya; (g) contains gluten

AFRICA UTOPIA FOOD AND DRINK TAKEOVER [VIDEO]

The dust has settled on what I can only describe as a whirlwind of a weekend. The African Food and Drink Takeover at the Southbank Centre (organised by Pop Up Africa as part of the Africa Utopia festival) was a fun and rewarding event to be a part of. A joy from start to finish really...from meeting people from all walks of life, to catching up with friends who came to support, to the quality time I spent with family who were there for me during the weekend. Even the slight drizzle and wind on Saturday couldn't dampen the excitement that tore through the Southbank Centre Square. There was a steady buzz throughout, punctuated by mad rushes of people swarming between gazebos, sampling the varied delights of African-inspired cuisines. We only realised this halfway through, but the fact that most countries on the continent are traditionally not very big on desserts actually worked in our favour. There was jollof rice for days...stews...curries...plantain...and every other savoury treat you can imagine...but save Sunday, The Vegan Nigerian stall was the only one selling a range of cakes! That, coupled with the whole oxymoronic (this word was thrown our way a couple of times over the weekend) "Vegan AND Nigerian??" thing was enough to capture people's attention.

Yes, I was sleep deprived for the most part (although my body refused to crash until it was all over). Yes, I may have had a moment or two where I wanted to shove a baking tray aside and call it a night. And yes, this event may have required almost super-human levels of hard work in terms of prep (well, in my mind it did anyway..ha!), but I would do it all again...although perhaps I'll hire out an industrial kitchen next time so that I can knock the food out in half the time!!

When all is said and done, all I can say is: sign me up for next year!

All the footage and pictures from the day have been compiled into the video above. Have a watch, like, subscribe, and all that good stuff :)

AFRICA UTOPIA 2016 - FOOD AND DRINK TAKEOVER

This weekend (3rd and 4th September), you can find me at the Southbank Centre in London where I'll be participating in the African Food and Drink Takeover as part of the three-day Africa Utopia festival. The plan is to showcase a variety of snacks and bakes on my stall - some that you may recognise from my blog, others that may be completely new creations.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I've done a good deal of markets and a handful of food festivals in the past. But none compare to the scale of this particular one and it definitely took a lot of fighting through feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty - and multiple conversations with the people around me - to get to the point where I decided to just go for it. I'm not entirely sure what to expect from the weekend, but I have no doubt that I will be learning and gaining a lot from the experience. As with most projects I dive into, I'm approaching this with an attitude of excitement, openness and gratitude. And if it feels as though I'm stepping way out of my comfort zone then that can only be a positive thing, right??

Come along and support this wonderful event which showcases the array of cuisines that Africa has to offer. Vegan delights will be aplenty at my stall, so pop by, say hello, and treat yourself to something sweet or savoury :)

Save the dates: Saturday 3 September (12-9pm); Sunday 4 September (12-6pm).
Where: Southbank Centre Square, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.