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Month: August 2014

Restoring dignity to African cuisine – cooking in Swaziland

Posted on August 5, 2014 by africanbite

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We must change this. All white people must work to change this. What Derek Chauvin and Amy Cooper did were just extreme expressions of the white privilege that all white people enjoy and often abuse across the world. We. Must. Stop. This. . #amplifymelanatedvoices #blacklivesmatter #whiteprivilige

Baking is not my forte, but for my daughter Frida’s fourth birthday party last weekend I did somehow manage to produce a Vaiana cake - with a little help from Lego! 😂 The best thing about the party though was the fabulous face painting by @babypanda_faceart - the kids loved it! Lucky me to get to hang out with such creative parents in the neighborhood! 🦄🥳🎈 . It’s amazing how quickly kids grow! Just before turning 4 we had one of those challenging periods when Frida seemed frustrated with everything and I was frustrated at not understanding what was wrong. Then suddenly - almost over night - she mastered so many new things: she can swing by herself, ride a bicycle and write her name! It’s like she went from toddler to little girl in one go and she’s loving it! I’m so proud and it is lovely to enjoy all this with her, but also a little heartbroken at how quickly times fly. #facepaint #ansiktsmålning #barnkalas #tårta #Birthdaycake #vaiana #parenting #growth

Happy Easter to all! Celebrating Easter with some metime by the stove. First time making amagwinya - or you could say puff-puff, or beignets, or mandazi - depending on which side of the African continent you reside. Or drop doughnuts, perhaps, if you’re from overseas. I wanted to make only a small batch, so ended up fusing two different recipes I found: one South African and one Nigerian. Worked out really well! Found it’s really hard to make the droplets of dough form the perfect small balls I’ve bought so many times on streets across the continent. Have seen women shape them with their hands at the speed of lightening straight into the boiling oil - I have a long way to go to get there. But very pleased with this first try! ... Although nicknamed fat cakes in South Africa, very little of the oil is actually absorbed into the doughnut when fried! The East African mandazi recipes generally include egg and cardamom as well. ... Makes about 20 1.5 cups cake fluor 35 g/3 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dry yeast 2/3 cup lukewarm milk 1/2 cup lukewarm water Oil for deep frying ... 1. Mix yeast, sugar and salt with the lukewarm liquid. 2. Stir in the cake flour bit by bit 3. Mix to an even dough (it’s quite runny, you can’t work it by hand) 4. Leave to rise for 1-2 hours 5. Heat oil for deep frying. Start with quite high heat, then once you start frying your first batch lower heat to medium. 6. Shape dough into small balls and drop into the oil using two spoons. These won’t be perfect ball shapes. 7. Deep fry until golden brown all around. 8. Check if cooked through and adjust heat accordingly. If they brown quickly but are still uncooked inside you need to lower the heat. ... Enjoy! ... #happyeaster! #magwinya #amagwinya #fatcakes #puffpuff #beignet #mandazi #africanfood #africa #africaeats #streetfood #afrikanskafavoriter

This has in many ways been a decade of hard labour, starting off at rock bottom in 2010 as I crashed out of the journalist job I loved with exhaustion and PTSD. From then on it’s been step by step on a path towards the unknown. Much therapeutic time has been spent cooking. I’m still not quite sure what direction to take. But one thing these past ten years has been the most beautiful in life - the absolute fortune and joy of becoming Frida’s mother. Thanks everyone who’s been part of the journey and best wishes to all for 2020. I’m looking forward to the next decade - bring on the clarity! #2020 #happynewyear #love

It’s been a very long time since I last posted on Instagram and even longer since I blogged. Here’s what happened: first, I became a mum. That was two and a half years ago. As most parents know, life with a toddler allows for little metime or creative pursuits. Especially if you’re a single parent and works full time. 😊 Second, we moved to Sweden six months ago. . Leaving Joburg after 15 years was a tough decision to make and my daughter and I left with sore hearts and deep gratitude. In the end, I wanted to be closer to family and it’s priceless to watch the bond between my daughter and her mormor and morfar grow as they see each other more often. . To my absolute delight, I discovered after moving into our new permanent home in Stockholm two weeks ago that the mini supermarket around the corner stocks fresh plantain and cassava, instant fufu and Maggi seasoning, palm nut oil and even frozen smileys (sheep’s head)! Who would have thought! I almost have easier access to some key African ingredients here than I did in the part of Joburg where I used to live! . I now also have the kitchen of my dreams, with space for all the African cooking utensils I have collected throughout my travels. My daughter has just stopped napping in the afternoons and usually falls asleep at about 7:30 pm, leaving me a few hours in the evening to myself. Maybe this means I can pick up my African cooking pursuit again where I left off?! I sure hope so. 😊 #life #mother #africa #africanfood #creativity #hope #foodtravels #lifejourney #love

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Travelling Africa bite by bite. Swedish by birth, Joburger by choice. africanbite@gmail.com

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