Currently viewing the category: "Americas"

2011 – UN International Year for People of African Descent

By On September 26, 2011 · 2 Comments

I am late with this, at least here on the site. I’ve been talking up the 2011 International Year for People of African Descent since late 2010 with friends, on Twitter and on Facebook but haven’t done anything special to commemorate it with Roots Cuisine, for various reasons. Most of them logistical and [...]

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Juneteenth

By On June 19, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Today people around the country (and the world) will celebrate Juneteenth, which is a celebration of the end of slavery…an emancipation day of sorts. I may even fry some chicken or bake a cake, or something, or maybe I will just have a glass of wine.

Here in the United States [...]

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Yams

On Yams (Part I)

By On May 5, 2011 · 1 Comment

Yam, igname, ñame, inhame… all rooted in various West African words: nyam, iyan that not only refer to the tuber itself, but can also mean food, or even to eat reflecting the importance of the vegetable to cultures throughout the region . In Jamaican the word for eat is nyam. No coincidences here. I have [...]

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A Closer Look: The Lowcountry & Gullah/Geechee Culture -Part I

By On August 2, 2010 · 2 Comments

Part I in a series on the Lowcountry and Gullah/Geechee Culture and Food.

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Diaspora’s Kitchen – Part I

By On January 6, 2010 · 3 Comments

Indespensible ingredients in the diasporal pantry.

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Big Mama's House?

By On March 4, 2009 · 2 Comments

So, I was doing a search for websites on African American food, using that search term specifically, and essentially came up with nothing.  Most of  the entries ended up being redirected to sites about soul food, which while encompassed under the umbrella of African American food is really, it seems, more of a [...]

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Feijoada Completa

By On January 26, 2009 · Leave a Comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUVUSPb8Cc]

(Embedding has been disabled for this video.  Want to see it?  Click here.)

I love this video.  It’s a day spent preparing and eating feijoada completa in the company of family and friends set to Chico Buarque’s song of the same title.

Feijoada completa is the Brazilian national dish and [...]

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Food for Thought

By On January 26, 2009 · 3 Comments

 

I have been reading Edna Lewis’ classic The Taste of Country Cooking and realizing how perceptions of African American food are painfully limited.  The scope of what this food can be is so limited, this bothers me, because it has also limited the scope of what African Americans seem to think of as [...]

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Help Build The African Diaspora Culinary Collection

Help Build The African Diaspora Culinary Collection

It's simple we're building a library collection and we need your help. From the beginning the Roots Cuisine Mission has been to promote the foodways and related culture of the African Diaspora. We want to be a clearinghouse for information where people can come to learn about these vibrant cuisines and cultures. Help us...