HELLO. I AM BAWO!
A Culinary Adventurer & Food Enthusiast. Recipe Developer. Loves taking pictures and videos of food and everything else.
I AM JUST AN ITSEKIRI + ILAJE GIRL SHARING GIRL SHARING HER LOVE FOR FOOD!
Story behind this food blog
My sister always says: “You should get a blog since you love and enjoy cooking and writing so much (you always write long long episodes anyways)” lol. These are true. I love to cook and I don’t really know how to summarize what I want to say, I will always want to give you the full gist. I love to write, simple!. So, this is my perfect combo. Food and writing. For some reasons, I have always procrastinated getting a (food) blog but at last here we are; So, Welcome to my Happy Place!
Why “With Love, Bawo!”? Well, I wanted something simple. A name that is easy to remember and easy to spell. A name that is Me. That tells my story. I already sign most of my recipes, posts and some other things with “With Love, Bawo!” or “With Love, B!”. So, having a domain name that is my signature was exactly what I needed. Whenever I use or say my signature, With Love, Bawo! or With Love, B! it is like signing a note, a love note through food. Sharing recipes from my heart. Recipes that are dear to me. Hence, the name www.WithLoveBawo.com. If you want to know a little bit more about me and how I started cooking, you will find it here.
“What is my earliest memory of food?” I thought to myself a while ago. The earliest memory I can remember was when I was between the age of 4 to 6 years old, I remember my mum has sent one of our family friend and my “Big” sister from church, Sister Ebi to help her get some groceries from the market (which wasn’t far from our apartment at the time) so that, she (my mum) could cook dinner. After a while, Sister Ebi returned with the items/groceries my mum had asked her to buy and my mum started cooking.
(A Little Back Story: Then, we lived in a one-room “apartment”. No, not one-bedroom but one room and that is it. There is no bedroom or kitchen or bathroom inside our apartment. If you needed to use the bathroom, then we use the general/public one that we share with tens of other tenants that lives in the compound. For kitchen, You make a make-shift kitchen in front of your apartment which usually consist of ply-wood or empty carton put around your stove to prevent wind from messing with the heat. Ours was by the window of our “apartment” so when my mum is cooking outside, I will be inside the “apartment” standing on a stool by the window to see what she is cooking/doing.)
I always loved it when my mum cooks when I was younger because there is always a “treat” for me at the end. When it was time to add the “Maggi” seasoning cube, she always reserves a pinch size for me in the “Maggi” wrap to lick. This used to be a huge treat for me lol, crazy right? Yeah, I know. At 4 to 6 years old, it tasted so “sweet” like candy but not now being that I am all grown up, nah, I can’t lick that. It is way too salty and gross to lick now lol (I wonder how I loved it then. A developing palate perhaps, who knows, right lol).
PICTURE: Mum on one Sunday after Church
So, yeah, to answer my questioning thought, my earliest memory of food was when my mum would reserve some “Maggi” for me in the “Maggi” wrap to lick (PS: Maggi is a seasoning cube / bouillon cube). I always look forward to it. It might not seem like a lot but this is one of my favourite memory of food growing up. And the opportunity to watch my mum cook every time is absolutely golden. Even though then, I didn’t like eating. I was obsessed with bread, still am, actually. I only ate bread for the longest time. To eat other meals, you would have to force and threaten me. I just loved watching my mum cook at that age and then I enjoy watching people eat but will never eat myself lol.
PICTURE: Mum starting the process of making a huge pot of food
Mum with all our Baked Goods 
Mum and Bawo
Speaking of my Mum, My mum has been a huge influence in my food and cooking life. She is so knowledgeable in a lot of food and most definitely doesn’t shy away from a challenge or trying new recipes. Since I have known her, she is always searching and trying new cuisines from other tribes, cultures and countries. She even went to school to study food; cooking; baking; drinks and many more. I admire her a lot. Her hunger for knowledge is so driven. Constantly asking questions and striving to be more with my dad by her side doing all the tasting and food judge lol. She is a virtual learner which means, once she sees you making a recipe or a dish, without taking notes, she can replicate that recipe and it will come out exactly as it should. Exactly like yours. She gets inspiration from random things and always make them come out as they should. She is exceptional. In some ways, I think I am also a virtual learner just like my mum.
You see, I haven’t always loved to cook. Growing up, I used to hide or grumble when it is time to cook especially the early morning cooking on January 1st (as this is the only major holiday we celebrate in our household) or any other gathering. Cooking on New Year’s eve or day is always a big cooking day in our home. My mum would cook varieties of food to share to families, friends, neighbours and guests. There is always so many food we need to cook, which means there are always so much miss en place to preparing for the meals. Well, it isn’t usually silence working culture like duh, it is an African home with cousins, aunties, siblings. There is always stories going around, jokes, laughter, it is always fun (well, once you get over the fact that cooking starts from 3am to 4am till all the meals are done when you just went to bed by 1am).
PICTURE: Mum and Bawo
I have so many “big” (and small) cooking moment with mum and I really wish to have a lot more, Lord’s Willing. I have also become accustomed to making “big” batches of food too (You will notice majority of my recipes/videos on this page, the food will be a lot, enough to feed anywhere from 4 to 10 people). I honestly find it quite difficult to make small batches of meal, weird right? I know especially since most of my life, I have lived alone.
I love experimenting with familiar and traditional recipes, not because they aren’t good enough but because I want to see what else these recipes can do, what is possible. Most of my recipes are made on the go. I trust my food instinct and I don’t let doubt overshadow my confidence when it comes to cooking and food. I also love experimenting with new recipes. It is always blissful.
Food means a lot of things to me but most importantly, Food is Home. Whenever I make new or old or traditional recipes and think about my mum and dad and I think about Home. Food is Family and Togetherness. To have a place, this space, where I can share my recipes is my happy place.
I love experimenting with recipes, not because the classic isn’t good enough but to know what else is possible.
With Love, Bawo!
Thank you for reading.
Do you have questions about my recipes? Want to work together? Feel free to write to me for all inquires here!
