CRAVING FOR TOM BROWN

So I woke up this morning with a craving for Tom Brown as you might have obviously guessed. (Ahem, you can lower your eyebrows now. ) Tom Brown (though for the love of God I don't know who came up with that name) is a local porridge made out of roasted corn ground into flour. It is then mixed into a light paste. Water is brought to boil and the paste is added. This is stirred for a few minutes to prevent lumps whilst the porridge is brought to a simmer.

I clearly remember my mother's handwritten menu in which Saturday mornings alternated between Tom Brown and Rice Water. However, it wasn't until recently that I truly started to appreciate this porridge. Eaten warm, it leaves a taste very similar to the milky goodness of 'Ayigbe toffee'(a local condiment quite like caramel) with a touch of corn. It is healthy and nutritious as most of the packaged flour now contain soy beans, wheat and other leguminous products. Also, compared to before when one 's choices were limited to sugar to taste and evaporated milk (Do you remember Ideal and Carnation?I think they were the only two brands in the market or the only two that mattered,anyway.) if you were lucky; now people have gotten inventive. It is eaten with honey, yogurt and nuts.

Personally, I recommend adding lots of milk and enough sugar, dish it out real nice, watch the milk swirl over the brown porridge beautifully, take a deep breath and enjoy.

#foodninja

#tom brown moments