A HARTE APPETITE: CELEBRATING KWANZAA WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOOD

Anyone who loves food must love the holiday season. That's because food and celebration go hand in hand. (Indeed, at our house observing any occasion without something to eat would be unthinkable.) So from a purely culinary perspective if nothing else, I am happy to put the fastest growing American holiday on my calendar -- Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa is a rather new holiday, started just 32 years ago by Maulana Karenga, chairman of the Black Studies Department at California State University at Long Beach. Karenga, a 1960s civil rights activist, sought to create a celebration that for Black Americans "reaffirms our rootedness in Africa."

Patterned after various African agricultural festivals, Kwanzaa runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, not coincidentally the same period of time allowed slaves of the American South as a holiday by their masters. Its name comes from the Swahili word for first fruit of the harvest.

Kwanzaa is based upon seven fundamental principles, one for each day of the festival: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose (preserving ancestral legacy), creativity, and faith. It employs a number of symbolic items displayed on the traditional Kwanzaa table, including a straw place mat, the mkeka, the foundation on which all other items are placed to symbolize reverence for tradition; fruits and vegetables, representing the products of unified effort; an ear of corn for each child in the family; a unity cup from which are poured libations drunk to honor people of African descent, both past and future; and a kinara, a candelabrum symbolizing the African continent, the stalk from which African-Americans sprang.

The kinara holds seven candles, each representing one of the seven principles. Their colors, red, black and green, correspond to those in the Pan-African flag. On each night of Kwanzaa, one of the candles is lighted, and the principle which it stands for is discussed. Small homemade gifts are exchanged, and on Dec. 31 there is an African feast called Karamu.

Though some critics, such as Gerald Early of Washington University in St. Louis, argue that Kwanzaa serves to alienate blacks from Christmas and is a response to what some have called the "whiteness" of that holiday, its supporters point out that it is a celebration open to all faiths and that its focus is cultural heritage, not religion. They contend that Kwanzaa is not anti-Christmas or an alternative to Christmas and offer as proof the fact that most African-American families still celebrate Christmas even if they observe Kwanzaa.

And more and more of them are doing both. Some 18 million people around the world celebrate Kwanzaa. Hallmark has introduced a line of Kwanzaa cards, the White House expresses Kwanzaa greetings, the post office has issued a Kwanzaa stamp, and, perhaps the ultimate indicator of the success of the holiday, there are signs that it may be in danger of becoming increasingly commercialized.

Though Kwanzaa is not without controversy (last year Essence Magazine even ran an article asking "Do We Need Kwanzaa?") there is little argument that its culinary component is worth discovering. In fact, African-American cuisine has come into its own over the last few years. For example, New York, arguably the city that sets the nation's culinary standards, now boasts at least a dozen restaurants featuring soul food. (Some contemporary black chefs think the term is demeaning, but others say it's unwise to abandon the phrase even if it may have negative connotations.) These days the Motown Cafe on 57th Street is as much a tourist fixture as the Hard Rock. And the Pink Teacup restaurant in Greenwich Village, one of my favorites, is all but impossible to get into, especially at breakfast, as I found during a recent visit over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Part of the reason that African-inspired cuisine has become more fashionable these days is the fact that blacks are pursuing culinary careers in greater numbers than ever before. (Previously, such careers were eschewed as too reminiscent of servitude.) Even Food and Wine Magazine recently took notice of the developing reputation of African-American chefs around the country whose cuisine includes not merely the traditional Southern style, but Ethiopian, Caribbean, Nigerian, Tanzanian and many other styles as well. And sophisticated and lavishly illustrated cookbooks on the subject of African and African-American cuisine are now widely available. They follow in the footsteps of Abby Fisher whose "What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking," published in 1881, is the oldest African-American cookbook known.

But the real reason African-inspired cuisine has become so popular is that it is so flavorful, whether it is the subsistence food of the plantation slaves, made from ingredients like hog's ears and collard greens that nobody else wanted, or the diverse dishes of the African continent based upon indigenous staples such as okra, black-eyed peas and plantains. Whatever the case, as Rosamund Grant, noted authority on west African cookery, observes in her book, Taste of Africa, "African cooking is all about being creative and having a feel for the food." No wonder, then, that creativity is the theme of Karamu, the African feast held on the sixth night of Kwanzaa, which is also New Year's Eve.

So this holiday season, why not try some of the foods of Kwanzaa? You might even want to celebrate the holiday. You don't have to be of a particular race anymore than you have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day or Mexican to commemorate Cinco de Mayo. Besides, the principles of Kwanzaa are hardly the province of any one culture and, when you get right down to it, Kwanzaa has much in common with Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holidays: they're all about tradition and they all emphasize family togetherness.

And what better place to pay homage to America's increasing cultural diversity than the dinner table? For instance, this year the Christmas meal at our house will feature a main course suitable for Hanukkah paired with an Ethiopian side dish appropriate for Kwanzaa, all topped off by a typical Victorian Christmas dessert. This mingling of customs doesn't seem strange to us. After all, the traditional Christmas itself is actually an amalgamation of many rituals, some not even Christian.

The following recipes are delicious ways to say Kwanzaa yenu iwe na heri (Happy Kwanzaa) or, for that matter, happy holidays in general.

Kahlua Compote with Sweet Potato Biscuits

The Barrett family of Cape Girardeau -- Kimberly, Terry and Terrance -- have been celebrating Kwanzaa for about five years. In that time this sumptuous breakfast dish, a specialty of Terry's, has become a family holiday tradition.

Kahlua Compote

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Kahlua

1 stick butter

2 tablespoons lemon zest

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 package (18-24 oz.) mixed dried fruit

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients except dried fruit and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add dried fruit, return to a boil, then simmer until syrupy, about 10-12 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until serving.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, unpeeled

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Cook sweet potato in water until tender. Cool, peel and mash. (Do not use a food processor.) You should have one cup mashed sweet potato. Cook mashed potato and butter until butter is incorporated and mixture is smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Knead dough until soft. Roll out 3/4 inch thick, but with biscuit cutter, and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Black-eyed peas are indigenous to Africa. They make a wonderful soup in this recipe from Barbara Smith of B. Smith's restaurant in New York City (she's sometimes called the black Martha Stewart, presumably affectionately). The recipe has been lightened up by Heart and Soul magazine so that it contains less than 30 percent of calories from fat.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups dried black-eyed peas (about 10 oz.)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

5 cups reduced fat chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

3/4 cup diced smoked turkey

Directions:

Place peas in large bowl, cover with cold water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse, drain again and set aside. Heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add peas, bell pepper, stock, bay leaf, salt and red pepper flakes. Cover, bring to boil, and simmer over low heat for one hour or until peas are tender. Stir in turkey and cook 15 minutes more. Remove bay leaf before serving. Top with nonfat sour cream and cilantro if desired. Serves 6.

Ethiopian Collard Greens

This dish, also known as Abesha Gomen, makes a festive presentation for the holidays with its red and green colors. The recipe is from Taste of Africa by Rosamund Grant who advises that spinach or green cabbage can be substituted for the collard greens if desired.

Ingredients:

1 pound collard greens

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 small red onions, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 green chilies, seeded and sliced

2/3 cup vegetable stock or water

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash greens, strip leaves from stalks, and steam over boiling water for 5 minutes until slightly wilted. Cool and press out excess water and slice the greens thinly. Heat oil and fry onions until browned. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add chilies and some of the stock and cook for 2 minutes. Add greens, red pepper and remaining stock, season with salt and pepper, mix well, and cook covered over low heat for 15 minutes.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.

~Tom Harte is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University and writes a food column every other week for the Southeast Missourian.