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.

Celebrating Easter in Africa the 1994 Public Holidays Act

Celebrating Easter in Africa the 1994 Public Holidays Act

South Africa has an almost 80% Black-African ethnic group and the majority of South Africans practice the Christian faith.


Baptism is a Christian ritual of importance and significance.

Many Christians in South Africa celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.


The Easter weekend in South Africa begins with Good Friday and closes with Family Day, more commonly known as Easter Monday, on Monday, April 6, 2015, this year. 

 On December 7, 1994, Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress worked together to create The Public Holidays Act. In 1994, the South African Government renamed Easter Monday to Family Day to include all religions and the non-religious in the Rainbow Nation of South Africa. 

South Africa's homeland policy was dissolved in 1994 and all the homelands in the country were absorbed into South Africa.


The former Republics of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei were also known as homelands or Bantustans that were supposedly created to allow Black South Africans to govern themselves, but in reality, denied any opportunity to participate in South African politics by losing their South African citizenship.
The Dutch Reformed Church is a Christian denomination

 Post-apartheid in 1994, South Africa has a government including all races and is often referred to as the rainbow nation which is a phrase coined by 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu. 

 South Africa has an almost 80% Black-African ethnic group and the majority of South Africans practice the Christian faith; Protestant 36.6%, Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, non-religious 15.1%.
Did you know?
The Public Holidays Act of 1994 repealed the Public Holidays Act of 1976, of the former Republic of Transkei homeland, Public Holidays Act 1978 and 1979 of the former Republic of Bophuthatswana homeland, Public Holidays Act 1980 of the Republic of Venda homeland and Public Holidays Act 1981 of the former Republic of Ciskei homeland. 

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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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What is coming does not beat a drum

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What is coming does not beat a drum What is coming does not beat a drum African Proverb What is coming does not beat a drum - Malawi Proverb What is coming does not beat a drum means danger doesn't announce itself with trumpets. This African Proverb is meant to warn that dangerous situations are not announced publicly in advance. By engaging in selfish behavior such as corruption, politicians are effectively subjecting themselves and their country to an ill-fated future. In Malawi, the country’s economic performance has historically been constrained by policy inconsistency, poor infrastructure, and rampant corruption. About Malawi the warm heart of Africa Malawi 1.           In the year 1480, Bantu tribes unite several smaller political states to form the Maravi Confederacy that at its height includes large parts of present-day Zambia and Mozambique plus the modern state of Malawi. 2.           In 1891, present day Malawi was sectioned
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