Kwanzaa Culinarians

Recipes and Food Stories from the African Diaspora

Sweet Potato and Mango Spice Cake

By Chrystal Baker of The Duo Dishes and Any and Everywhere. Chef Pierre Thiam’s new cookbook, Senegal, a detailed look into the culture and food of his homeland. The full title, … Continue reading

December 30, 2015 · 1 Comment

Kale-Aid AKA Kale Lemonade

By John Burton Jr of The Food Cravelogist When most people think about the holidays, aside from gathering with loved, food is usually what comes to mind next. Although, having the right delectable … Continue reading

December 23, 2014

Nia: Ready for the Call of Duty

By Ramin Ganeshram I’ve spent a lot of my adulthood trying to live a life of purpose by trying to keep close to my roots and honor the collective ancestry … Continue reading

December 14, 2014 · 1 Comment

Nia: A Reflection on the Purpose Driven Life

As we prepare to enter 2013, Kwanzaa principles ask us to reflect on the past, honoring our ancestors and thanking them for their wisdom, strength, and courage. 2012 — the … Continue reading

December 30, 2012 · 2 Comments

Celebrating Nia: Past, Present, Future

Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Nia. Purpose. I have, for a … Continue reading

December 15, 2012 · 2 Comments

In Closing: Make Kwanzaa a Family Affair

The celebration of Kwanzaa has been an important tradition in my family for several years. In this article, I will discuss its historical development in my own family and why … Continue reading

January 1, 2012 · 1 Comment

Afro-Peruvians: Proud of their Roots

African people were brought to Peru as slaves by the Spanish conquistadors, and little did anyone know how strongly they were going to influence our country through the years. One … Continue reading

December 30, 2011 · 1 Comment

Kwanzaa Thoughts from Oldways

. Kwanzaa Culinarians thanks Oldways Program Manager Sarah Dwyer for this contribution. Join our Tweetchat with Oldways and The Duo Dishes on Tuesday, December 20th at 1:00 pm pst/4:00 pm … Continue reading

December 12, 2011 · 2 Comments

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Learn more about Kwanzaa

The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first-fruits." Kwanzaa's extra "a" evolved as a result of a particular history of the Organization Us. It was clone as an expression of African values in order to inspire the creativity of our children. In the early days of Us, there were seven children who each wanted to represent a letter of Kwanzaa. Since kwanza (first) has only six letters, we added an extra "a" to make it seven, thus creating "Kwanzaa." To learn more about Kwanzaa, visit the Official Kwanzaa Website.