Kwanzaa Culinarians

Recipes and Food Stories from the African Diaspora

Cacao Benne Cookies by MyLifeRunsOnFood.com

By Sanura Weathers of MyLifeRunsOnFood.com Make a pot of tea or coffee, light a candle, grab a comfortable seat, and plate a few cacao benne (pronounced benny) cookies. How was … Continue reading

December 2, 2014

Pineapple Upside Down Hummingbird Cake

From an early age, I was deeply immersed in the culture and celebration of Kwanzaa. I used to perform in a children’s dance company called New Life, which was rooted … Continue reading

December 13, 2012 · 9 Comments

The Principled Baker + Orange Scented Cherry White Chocolate Cookies

Baking is a precise art. It’s about measurements, precise temperatures and timing. If any of these are the slightest bit off, your prize winning recipe can become a disaster. No … Continue reading

December 6, 2012

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

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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.