African slaves had a major influence on Southern cooking. Cooking methods such as stewing may stem from African cooking traditions. Stewing involves making food that require long simmering periods of vegetables and sometimes meat. There is no better way to understand a culture than though its food. Food bonds families, friends and communities as well as giving everyday nourishment. African cooking is an oral tradition and traditional recipes were handed down by word of mouth rather than writing a recipe. The recipe below has been adapted for the modern kitchen so everyone can enjoy a taste of Africa.
Fish Pie
Ghana
Serves 5-6
Two unbaked 9 inch pie crust
3 large Tilapia fillets
2 large diced tomatoes
2 medium white potatoes thinly sliced
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup of whole milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup chopped onions
3 tablespoons Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In saucepan saute spinach, onions and garlic in olive oil. Stir in flour, salt, pepper. Blend in milk stirring constantly until thickened. Add remaining ingredients. Evenly fill pie crusts with fish mixture. Add top crust and seal, cut slits in pastry top. Bake 40-45 minutes. Allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.
An eco-friendly kitchen begins with eating organically grown produce. The food you carry in to your home is just as important as the appliances you prepare your meals with, so whenever possible grow your own food. Organic vegetables are not hard to grow. Hearty plants such as okra, sweet potatoes and pole beans grow rapidly. Lettuce is also simple to plant and goes from seed to plate within a few short weeks. Consider the amount of household waste produced by store bought produce vs. homegrown. Store bought produce uses containers and packaging to store produce while homegrown produce uses none. Composting is also a great way to reduce carbon footprints. Growing your own food saves fuel and adds in recycling efforts. Composting uses organic material that can be used as a soil amendment to grow more produce that is organic. The cycle continues.
Liberia’s’ date of independence is in 1847. It is one of the few countries in Africa, and the only country in West Africa, without roots in the European Scramble for Africa. The population of Liberia is roughly 3.49 million (2008) people with a gross domestic product (GDP) per person of $185 a year. Its capital is Monrovia. The inauguration of the first black female head of state of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Africa in 2006 ushered in a period of hope and high expectations for Liberia’s recovery and development after decades of destabilization. She is often referred to as the “Iron Lady”.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado and studied economics and public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1969 to 1971, earning a Master of Public Administration degree. In November 2007, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S. government’s highest civilian award. Agriculture, including forestry, is critical to the economic development of Liberia and is the source of livelihood for 70 percent of the population.
Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting. The free and former US slaves who immigrated to Liberia brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. The University of Liberia is the country’s largest college and is located in Monrovia. Opened in 1862, it is one of Africa’s oldest institutes of higher learning.
Conventional West African fufu is made by boiling starchy foods as cassava, yam, plantain or rice then pounding them into a gummy mass. fufu is a staple food to Western and Central Africa what mashed potatoes are to traditional European-American cooking. For many Africans, stew and fufu is a classic meal similar to soup and crackers in the US. Cocoyam fufu flour is specialty flour specifically formulated to produce instant fufu. Fufu can be prepared using different basic food materials. It can be made using cassava, African yams, potatoes, corn meal, plantains, Rice, and Millet. It reminds me of an unfilled dumpling, almost tasteless but tasty and accompanies any stew. To eat fufu, tear off a walnut-sized portion of the fufu scoop up stew using your hands and bits of doughy fufu. In West Africa, diners often eat fufu and the stew’s sauce first, saving the meat for the end of the meal since it’s the most expensive part. It is traditional to eat using only your right hand, no utensils. If you were to eat with your left hand, it would be both insulting and rude to those around you because usually the left hand is reserved for “bodily functions” and the hand is never used for eating.
Confused about couscous also known as kuskus? The dish is a primary staple throughout North Africa. It’s both a name for wheat-grain semolina, appearing in many supermarkets today as simply couscous, and for a spicy chicken-vegetable stew served with cooked semolina that’s popular throughout North Africa. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed and fluffed to separate the couscous granules. In many places, a more-processed, quick-cook couscous is available and is particularly valued for its short preparation time. Couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew. It can also be eaten alone, flavoured or plain, warm or cold, as a dessert or a side dish.
Curried Couscous
Ingredients
2 teaspoons butter
16 ounce can reduced-sodium fat-free vegetable broth
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
10 ounce package couscous
Directions
Bring the butter, broth, and water to boil in a medium saucepan.
Gradually stir in curry powder, allspice and couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork serve warm as a side dish for lamb, chicken or for a vegetarian option serve with grilled vegetables.
