African Food and Art

Thank you to our latest donor, Tony. Thank you, Tony. We were able to purchase three new stainless steel pots to continue our cooking and teaching heritage.

About The Northern Most Region of the African Continent

The Maghreb region Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia share the Atlas Mountain range which extends more than 1,200 miles or 2,000 kilometers, from the Moroccan port of Agadir in the southwest, through Algeria to the Tunisian capital of Tunis in the northeast.

Learn All About The Northern-Most Region of the African Continent And The Atlas Mountains


The highest point of the Atlas Mountain is Jbel Toubkal south of Marrakech, Morocco reaching 13,665 feet or 4,165 meters and is the highest peak in the High Atlas as well as in North Africa. The Atlas ranges dominate the landscapes of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, differentiating them from the other North African countries, where desert geography dominates the Northern African landscapes.
North Africa is a loosely established term for a group of African countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and situated in the northern-most region of the African continent above the Sahara desert.

Learn About The Maghreb region Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.


Morocco

The English name Morocco derives from the Spanish and Portuguese names Marruecos and Marrocos, which stem from Marrakesh the Latin name for the former capital of ancient Morocco; the Arabic name Al Maghrib translates as The West. Marrakesh was the former capital of ancient Morocco while Rabat is the current capital city of Morocco and its second largest city. Casablanca in Arabic Al-Dār al-Bayḍā is Morocco's largest city; Casablanca houses 3.5 million people; Rabat 1.9 million; Fes 1.2 million; Marrakech 1.1 million; Tangier 982,000. Morocco is the only African nation to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines.

Algeria

The largest country in Africa, Algeria is located in Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia. The vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast. The capital is Algiers, which has a population of 2.7 million the next largest urban area is Oran 858,000 people. Algeria name derives from the capital city of Algiers whose conventional long form name is the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the conventional short form is Algeria, the local long form is Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah and the local short form is Al Jaza'ir.

Tunisia

In Tunisia, the overwhelming majority of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the south remains largely sparsely populated. Tunisia, in 1960 began Africa’s first national family planning program reducing its total fertility rate from about seven children per woman in 1960 to two in 2017. Tunisia flag is red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; red represents the blood shed by martyrs in the struggle against oppression, white stands for peace; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam.
 

Did you know?
North Africa is a loosely established term for a group of African countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and situated in the Northern most region of the African continent above the Sahara desert. The term North Africa has no single accepted definition however; the term sub-Saharan African country has drawn sharp criticism since no one demarcated northern Africa and sub-Saharan African.


Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia Learn All About The Northern Most Region of the African Continent
Facts about Africa and North African people.

Week’s Best African Culture Posts

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

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How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
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Ethiopian Midwest American Hotdish

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Our Ethiopian hot dish combines Ethiopian cooking with classic Minnesota Midwest casserole meal. The hot dish’s origins are a product of settlers traditions in Midwest America dating back to the early 20th century. A hot-dish or casserole is a one-pan meal that traditionally includes a combination of starch like potatoes, pasta, or rice, ground meat, vegetables, and a creamy canned soup base, all topped with crunchy goodness like breadcrumbs or tater tots. The concept of hot dish became popular in the Upper Midwest, particularly in states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, in the 1930s and 1940s. This period was marked by economic challenges, including the Great Depression. The need for economical and filling meals led to the creation of dishes that could be stretched to feed many people using simple, affordable ingredients . Hot dishes became synonymous with potlucks, church suppers, and social gatherings. These events were central to rural and small-town communities, where
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Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

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African Country by Size List. Africa Which are the top twenty largest, smallest, and territorial country in Africa by land area? 1. The continent of Africa is the world’s second largest based on land area and population just after Asia. 2. Top five largest countries of Africa are Algeria, Congo Democratic Republic of the, Sudan, Libya and Chad. 3. Top five smallest African countries and territories are Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Saint Helena and Mayotte. African Country from largest to smallest Area sq mile Area sq km Algeria 919,595 2,381,740 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 905,568 2,345,410 Sudan 718,723 1,861,484 Libya 679,362 1,759,540 Chad 495,755 1,284,000 Niger 489,191 1,267,000 Angola 481,354 1,246,700 Mali 478,767 1,240,000 South Africa 471,011 1,219,912 Ethiopia 435,186 1,127,127 Mauritania 397,95
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Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off

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Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off. Idzila are Ndebele wives traditionally wear rings around the neck as a status symbol and wear rings around the arms, legs, and neck. Wearing Neck Rings. For centuries, married South African Ndebele tribes’ women saw wearing heavy rings around their neck as an honored status symbol. Neck rings are any form of stiff necklaces worn around the neck of an individual. The neck rings are usually made of copper or brass. During initiation, girls wear an array of colorfully beaded hoops called izigolwan around their legs, arms, waist, and neck. After marriage, the Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs, and neck, symbolizing her bond and faithfulness to her husband, once her home was built. Idzila rings were believed to have strong ritual powers. Husbands used to provide their wives with rings; the richer the husband, the more rings the wife would wear. These outward symbols can be removed only in ca
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