Kwanzaa Culinarians

Recipes and Food Stories from the African Diaspora

The author, Steven Allwood, with his daughter celebrating Kwanzaa

Imani: Senegalese-Inspired Chicken Peanut Stew

“The black eye pea was introduced into the West Indies from Central Africa in the early 1700s and journeyed from there into the Carolinas. The pea with the small black … Continue reading →

December 31, 2011 · 4 Comments
Red Beans and Chicken with Wild Rice

Red Beans and Chicken with Wild Rice

There’s a bean and rice version in every African Diaspora cuisine. Pigeon peas are commonly in Dominican, Haitian and Puerto Rican recipes. Black beans are found in Latin America dishes. … Continue reading →

December 13, 2011

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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.