Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Recipe by Olayemi Adelekan.
Another one of those oh so popular, on the top ten list, Oprahs favourite and Richard & Judys book club books, which means that I’ve probably stayed away from this book for so long because of all of the hype that it had.
Even though its beautifully written, and I’m a big fan of her writing style, I wasn’t a fan of the book itself, a little bit to self-indulgent for my liking, which is why I’m giving the book a 3 egg rating.
Elizabeth Gilbert
About the Author
Born in 1969 in Connecticut, her parents bought a Christmas Tree farm when she was four years old.
Not owning a T.V or record player, books were the things that Elizabeth and her older sister turned to encouraging them to write books and plays.
Going to New York University, Elizabeth chose to stay away from the expected literature and writing classes instead choosing to study political science by day while she worked on her short stories by night.
When college was over, Elizabeth went traveling.
For several years she worked her way around the country, in bars, diners and ranches, turning all of her experiences into fiction which formed the experiences of her first book, a short story collection called Pilgrims which became a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award.
Publishing her first novel, ‘Stern Men’, in 2000 set off the cast of Maine.
Going on to write many more, including Foodie Book Club choice for this month.
Eat Prey Love, 2006, chronicled her own journey while she tried to figure out her life after her divorce.
An international best seller, selling over 12 million copies and made into a film with Julia Roberts, it became so popular that Time Magazine named Elizabeth as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.
Find more about Elizabeth Here: Instagram, Twitter,
The Book
In a nutshell - About Elizabeth’s Journey around the world, visiting Italy, India and Bali, where she travelled with the hope to find out who she has become and who she wants to be after her messy divorce.
Italy where she ate her way back to health and learnt a language she already loved, India where Elizabeth studied under a Guru and Bali where she spent a month relaxing
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
3 Egg Rating
3 Egg Rating from me
The Food
Lets talk chef for this month.
This month the fabulous Olayemi Adelekan has gifted us a recipe.
Olayemi Adelekan - MasterChef semi finalist
I first saw Olayemi on MasterChef and couldn’t resist reaching out to her to ask if she would gift us a recipe, and being the amazingly generous person that she is, she said yes!
Here’s a bit of information about Olayemi taken from this website , who gifted us this Nigerian Puff-Puff recipe.
Olayemi is a UK based Personal Chef and home cook, focusing on fusion cooking and healthy eating using food as medicine.
“I’m an intuitive chef who learned by watching and doing, cooking for my family and friends. I am dedicated to celebrating the fusion of Nigerian and other African countries’ ingredients with all the other influences around me to make food that is ‘Yummy by Design’.”
“I have been passionately cooking yummy food for over forty years and being in the kitchen creating delicious meals for people to enjoy remains my joyful place.”
“Taking part in the MasterChef UK 2022 competition and making it into the top 6 whilst showcasing my food was an incredible experience. I can proudly call myself a MasterChef semi-finalist and the show helped me to discover my passion for fusion cooking.”
“One of my goals is to elevate Nigerian food and showcase the amazing ingredients of the African continent. I want to share my modernised take on Nigerian and other foods with you.”
Thank you to Olayemi Adelekan
Nigerian Puff-Puff
“One of my favourite things to make and eat is the Nigerian puff-puff.
No occasion is complete without puff-puff being served.
It is our version of starter, snack, dessert and every thing in between.
It is one of those things you reach out for whilst waiting for the next course of your meal as you can never get enough of it due to its addictive nature.
It easily makes a glutton of anyone experiencing it for the first time.
It is best eaten when slightly warm and not too sweet.
What I love the most about it is the simplicity behind the deliciousness of puff-puff.
It only has a few basic ingredients which produces an end product that delivers more than the ingredients promise.
My version has cinnamon and nutmeg, others add black pepper and chillies. Adding a touch of vanilla also works with a pinch of salt to cut through the sweetness.
Puff-puff reminds me of the beignet but it is much easier to make and ready within one and a half hours especially on a warm day.
All you need is 45 minutes to an hour to allow it to rise before frying it. Prepare to consume more than you normally would and prepare to forget your diet for the joys of puff-puff.”
Puff-Puff Varieties
“ Puff-Puff recipe has largely stayed the same for as long as I have known.
When I decided I wanted to reimagine Puff-Puff, I thought of crunch and flavour so I began to experiment.
My first attempt was to make crunchy puff-puff and I did this by coating the puff-puff in panko crumbs before frying. It had the most amazing flavour and the crunchiness made it addictive.
For my next experiment, I fried my Puff-Puff and paired them with different toppings including Louisa’s Ginger honey and Cacao nibs, Louisa’s Bosco honey and freeze-dried strawberries, and Louisa’s lime honey and toasted grated coconut.
I also made a version of Puff-Puff that was flavoured with Rosewater and finished with Louisa’s Citrus honey and roasted pistachio topping.
Here is my tried and tested recipe for Puff-Puff.” Olayemi Adelekan
A fabulous picture of Olayemi
Cinnamon and Nutmeg Puff-Puff
I usually flavour my Puff-Puff with nutmeg and cinnamon but I love to introduce some of my Nigerian spices so I use a combination of calabash nutmeg and freshly grated regular nutmeg.
I also use two varieties of Cinnamon – regular cinnamon and the Cassia Bark cinnamon. I love the complexity that these varieties of spices brings to the Puff-Puff.”
Puff Puff
Ingredients
400g of plain flour
120g of caster sugar
½ tsp of salt
4 tsp of instant yeast
¼ tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
1 whole calabash nutmeg (toasted and ground)
½ tsp of cinnamon
1 – 1.5 Litre of light oil
330ml Luke warm Water
Method
Place the flour and other dried ingredients into a bowl; add the yeast
Add the sugar to the warm water and mix until fully dissolved
Pour the sugar syrup into the dried ingredients and mix well with a wooden spatula
Cover bowl with a cling film and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size with bubbles; this will take a minimum of 45 minutes
Pour oil into a shallow pan and make sure it is at least three inches deep to allow for the dough to fry evenly
Bring oil to a temperature of circa 160C; test the oil with a small dough. It should immediately rise to the top if the oil is hot enough, if it is too hot, the puff-puff will turn golden before the dough is cooked through so keep an eye on the first one and reduce the heat if it burns too quickly
Place golf ball size of the dough into the oil keeping it as round as possible (dough is soft so wet the tip of your fingers when working with it)
The puff-puff should turn by themselves; if not, use a fork to turn them over
Fry until golden and remove and place on paper towel
Serve immediately – option to finish in a sugar glaze, dip in melted chocolate, or a dusting of cinnamon sugar (if doing this, I sometimes use less sugar in my dough)
When it comes to presenting and finishing off puff- puff, it’s down to your imaginations and taste buds. I see puff-puff as a vessel similar to donuts so anything that’s possible in a donut is feasible.
One of my favourites is puff-puff that is filled with strawberry mousse, topped with roasted strawberries, compressed cucumber and a pinch of black pepper and salt to finish. I am still working on my Pina Colada inspired puff-puff.
They look delicious
