PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO EAT, LOVE AFRICAN FOOD.

  Exploring the Richness of African Cuisine January 1, 2026 | 2026  ANANSESEM — The Great Jollof Summit     What Is Jollof Rice? Jollof rice is more than a beloved West African dish—it is a shared cultural inheritance shaped by history, movement, and memory. At its core, Jollof is rice cooked in a richly seasoned tomato-based sauce, infused with aromatics, spices, and fire. Yet what makes Jollof remarkable is not a single recipe, but the many truths it holds across borders. Most culinary historians trace Jollof’s origins to the  Senegambian region , where the Wolof people prepared  thieboudienne , a rice dish cooked with fish, vegetables, and a deeply flavored sauce. As rice cultivation expanded and cooking methods evolved, this foundational dish traveled inland and along the coast, carried by trade routes, migration, and intermarriage. Over time, the name transformed, techniques shifted, and Jollof took on new expressions—each shaped by local ingredie...

  Happy New Year December 31, 2025 | 2025    December 31 is not merely the end of a date on the calendar. In our tradition, it is a threshold—a quiet pause where the old year loosens its grip and the new one waits to be welcomed properly. It is a night when fire is lit with intention, pots are placed on the stove with care, and food becomes more than nourishment; it becomes prayer. Across many West African homes, beans are prepared on this night—not casually, not carelessly, but deliberately. Beans are slow. Beans demand patience. Beans remind us that endurance, humility, and shared effort are the true currencies of a prosperous year. Tonight, as we gather to close one year and open another, we return to story—not as entertainment alone, but as instruction. For stories, like food, have memory. They carry warnings. They carry wisdom. And when shared at the right moment, they bless those who listen. This is one such story. Anansi and the New Year Beans Inspired by Anansi fo...