Mazao Fruit Salad with Cultured Whipped Cream

Mazao Fruit Salad with Cultured Whipped Cream

Happy Kwanzaa! Your table is set up with the a kinara. It’s surrounded by lush mazao, fruit symbolizing the reward of productive and collective labor from the harvest. The bananas, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, kiwi, grapes, papaya and other fruit ripens each day during the week of Kwanzaa. As pretty as the fruit looks, a fresh fruit salad needs to be made.  Read more

Twas the Night Before Kwanzaa

Black-eye Pea and Wild Brown Rice Risotto, Seared Baby Lamb Chops and Saute Swiss Chard

Twas the eve of Kwanzaa, and all through our house, we will rest in peace after unwrapping Christmas gifts with glee. This year, my household of two starts a new tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa. Our Christmas tree is brought mere days from the 25th. I want it to stay fresh into the New Year when we celebrate the last principle, Imani. It’ll be our Kwanzaa Christmas tree.  Read more

Umoja: Orange Palm Sugar Cake

Orange Palm Sugar Cake

Communities come together for various reasons: a devastating event, to raise money and a call for change. My idea for KwanzaaCulinarians.com honestly started when learning about a popular food show host demonstrating a Kwanzaa cake. It’s obnoxiously funny and insulting at the same time. However, it inspired a question: Are there any Kwanzaa recipes? Kwanzaa is about supporting and celebrating the African Diaspora. Everyone of African descent has a recipe representing his or her country, culture, language, religion, community, tribe and family. And, we should celebrate and honor our diverse heritage, in a respectable tradition. Read more