"Africa" news and stories

'The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa'
By Marcus Samuelsson
Photos by Gediyon Kifle
Wiley -- 2006
Buy it on Amazon

Known for his inventive Swedish creations at Aquavit, Marcus Samuelsson tackles the food of his birth continent in "Soul of a New Cuisine." (Born in Ethiopia in 1970, Samuelsson and his sister were orphaned and adopted by a Swedish couple.)

While this is a cookbook, "Soul of a New Cuisine" acts more like a coffee table centerpiece with lush photos of markets and Samuelsson on his adventures to discover African cuisines.

Samuelsson writes, "from the start [I] had a clear idea that this book would not be a definitive encyclopedia of African cooking. Rather, this cookbook is a reflection of the Africa I've seen, experienced and appreciated."

What we tested and whether its worth buying after the jump.

Los Angeles gourmet chocolatier Compartes has created the perfect combination of style, charity, and deliciousness.

Chocolates for a Cause (5 piece box for $20, 10 piece box for $30) brings you five explosive chocolate flavors decorated with little colored Africas in a box with a Relief Beads bracelet, all to benefit Darfur.

Funds raised from this collaboration [with RELIEF INTERNATIONAL] go directly to funding the only women's center in Darfur!

The five flavors are made with the finest African ingredients - some of them hard to find, like carmelized plantains and grains of paradise.

You can order the packages here (in plenty of time for the holidays!) or click here for more info on the Relief Beads bracelets.

Source

Do you remember Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzee's in Africa? Well, she's still out there, fighting for those primates and their habitat in Tanzania. Now she's partnered with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

They've unveiled the first in a new line of products that will come with Jane's seal of approval, Tanzanian Gombe Reserve Coffee. It's made from beans, as the name implies, from in and around the Gombe reserve in Tanzania, which is where she has done all of her research on chimps.

The new coffee came from an effort to improve the lives of people around the preserve by turning them onto cultivating their land instead of clear cutting it. Jane Goodall hopes that by improving the lives of the people, the lives and habitat of the chimps will also be saved.

The coffee should be sold in major grocery chains. If you see some, consider buying some in order to help save vital habitat in Africa. I love that: coffee with a heart.

[Via AdFreak]

Sub Rosa Saffron Infused Vodka is 45% abv. / 90 proof and has a lovely light straw gold color to it. Not too long ago I reviewed Sub Rosa Tarragon Vodka, created by distiller Mike Sherwood. I thought it was an excellent addition to the flavored vodka contingent with its savory, not sweet tones. Sub Rosa is Latin for for all things secret, private, and confidential. A perfect name for a company making strikingly infused vodkas with hidden depths of complexity.

Well add another one to the list of complex and delightful savory vodkas with Sub Rosa Saffron Vodka. Infused with eight spices including cumin, coriander, ginger, black peppercorn, cayenne, galangal, turmeric, and of course that most regal of spices, saffron.

The aroma takes me back to the exotic and beautiful island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania in East Africa. For many hundreds of years the Persians controlled the spice trade and settled on Zanzibar with its spice plantations, and developing Stone Town into a grand place where they lived and shipped off the spices all over the world.

Called Stone Town because the multi-storied buildings are made of fancifully carved stone. One of the most noted things about the town besides the artful stonework are the doors. These are made of thick and beautiful wood, banded with bronze, and with large projections jutting out to prevent the spice traders elephants from trying to butt down the doors when they wanted to join their owners or cage a snack. Then as you climb up to the covered dining areas on some of the rooftops the city bursts into color as a majority of the roofs are painted in a multitude of bright hues. there are actually books dedicated to photos and stories of the doors and the roofs of Stone Town.

We are at that time of year where we look backwards and forwards and we think about life. A few days ago Nicole asked which the best restaurants you ate at last year were. Well, I want to inquire as to your most memorable meal. I would love to hear your stories about what is memorable for you.

For me there have been quite a few really memorable meals. Some were in fancy restaurants, others at luxurious resorts, a lot were at unknown, tiny, hole in the wall places, some were out in the wilderness when I worked as a wilderness guide, and quite a few were home cooked. For many what is memorable was the menu, with others it was the location, some because of incidents, good and bad, and a few for the company I was with. So you tell me, what was your most memorable dining experience?

As for me, well you'll have to read on to find out.