A different holiday feast

The Kwanzaa meal helps bridge cultures and eras

By Marty Meitus
Denver Rocky Mountain News Food Editor

If you tell Angela Shelf Medearis that you don't understand Kwanzaa, except as a greeting-card holiday, she isn't insulted. In fact, it's just the opposite.

"What people don't know is that it's in its 32nd year," she says. "It's a grass-roots holiday, a community celebration." The beauty of it, she says, is that despite efforts to the contrary, it has stayed that way: "America is a very commercial society, and when they discovered Kwanzaa, they found a way to make a buck, but to its credit, it has stayed a community holiday."

Medearis, who lives in Austin, Texas, is a children's book author, a consultant for McGraw Hill on literacy and for Gov. George W. Bush's task force on literacy, and author of A Kwanzaa Celebration: Festive Recipes and Homemade Gifts From an African-American Kitchen. It's a clearly written account of the holiday and its meaning, along with a video on entertaining, including how to do a Kwanzaa dinner (for information or to order, call 800-224-9662).

According to her book, Kwanzaa was founded by Maulana Karenga, who added an "a" to the Swahili word kwanza, which means "first fruits," to link the new holiday with its African past. The holiday doesn't take the place of Christmas but begins Dec. 26 and runs for seven days.

"Just like any holiday, people have adapted it to work best for them," Medearis says by phone. "Some celebrate seven days, some attend only the celebration in their community."

Seven principles are connected with the holiday: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

"Since it's seven days and community-based, there are so many ways to celebrate," she says. "I might go to the candle-lighting ceremony of Kwanzaa, but it's however you want to notate it.

"But it's not about the celebrations — it's about the seven principles of it. How do you better yourself? Increase your faith? How do you determine your life's course? It's seven days to think about the basic principles of life."

Joseph B. Westley, the executive chef of the two Bella Ristorantes (in lower downtown and at East Arapahoe Road and Interstate 25), agrees that the seven principles are the key. With him and his wife expecting twins any minute, he says, "It means bettering myself and unifying a family, which is so important in this day and age."

Because Kwanzaa is based on African harvest traditions, certain symbols usually are gathered for the occasion, including a basket of fruits and vegetables for the table and an ear of corn for each child in the household. The latter represents the principle that "we're all responsible for the well-being of each child."

A candleholder called the kinara holds seven candles: a black candle in the middle for unity and three green and three red candles, one lighted each day to represent the remaining principles. A straw mat is placed on the table, representing the foundation of the African culture. There's also a unity cup filled with wine, water or grape juice that's passed around on Dec. 31.

The foods of Kwanzaa also represent black heritage. They usually include sesame seeds, yams, greens, chiles, peanuts and okra in some form, but "culturally we pull from so many different parts of the world and all those are incorporated into our cooking," Medearis says.

"I feature things from Africa, the South, Brazil — Africans had a huge effect on Brazilian cooking — and different parts of the U.S., because where we live we prepare things differently, and everyone has his own family recipes.

"The thing I love about Kwanzaa is that it gives people a chance to expose people to traditions and cultures they may not have experienced before."

It's also a chance to talk further about the black experience. "I can say, 'You know, yams were important to Africa, but we had to use sweet potatoes, because that's what we can get here,"' Medearis says. "It's another opportunity to talk about our heritage."

Although Westley has honed his Italian cooking skills in his three years at Bella Ristorante, he draws on his heritage for the pictured feast. His credentials are impressive: runner-up as the best cook in the U.S. Army, certified executive chef for the American Culinary Federation and a graduate of the Colorado Art Institute Culinary School — but he still relishes his mom's greens and black-eyed peas, his grandmother's sweet potato pie and his grandfather's bread pudding.

Soul food embraces the principles of Kwanzaa, he says: "It's about getting together with family and sharing their lives and communicating how you can help each other."

Or, in words that were made famous by Hillary Rodham Clinton but are an important part of the principles of Kwanzaa, "it takes a village."

If you're interested in finding Kwanzaa items or books on the holiday, the Hue-Man Experience, 911 Park Ave. West, has a potpourri of information.

Recipes

ROASTED SESAME SEED CHICKEN

Serves 4

8      pieces of chicken

1      teaspoon sesame seed

1      teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2      teaspoon kosher salt

2      teaspoons olive oil

l      teaspoon thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all dry seasonings together. Place chicken on sheet pan and lightly brush olive oil over the skin of the chicken. Sprinkle the sesame seed mixture over the chicken and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

CORNMEAL FRIED OKRA

9      pods okra

1      cup yellow cornmeal

      cup flour

1      teaspoon salt

1/2      teaspoon pepper

1      teaspoon dried basil

      cup vegetable oil

Slice okra into -inch slices. Wash okra in cold water, set aside. Mix cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and dried basil together. Toss okra in cornmeal mixture and fry until golden brown, drain and serve.

Garnish with sauteed red onion, if desired.

PEANUT SWEET YAMS

Serves 6 to 8

4      fresh yams (or sweet potatoes)

2      tablespoons brown sugar

1      teaspoon nutmeg

3      ounces orange juice

2      tablespoons honey

2      ounces butter

1/2      cup peanuts

1      cinnamon stick

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice yams -inch thick and set aside. Mix brown sugar, nutmeg, orange juice, honey and butter together over low heat. Place the potatoes in a casserole dish and pour the liquid mixture oven the potatoes. Sprinkle peanuts over the potato and cover with foil. Bake for 40 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered to a golden brown.

BLACK-EYED PEAS AND CHILE PEPPER

4      ounces chopped bacon

1      large green bell pepper, chopped

1      small hot chile pepper

1      large red bell pepper, chopped

      cup of fresh chopped garlic

1      small chopped onion

3      cups fresh black-eyed peas

6      cups of chicken stock or broth

1      teaspoon dried thyme

2      bay leafs

1      teaspoon dry basil

Place bacon in saute pan and cook to crisp. Add peppers, garlic and onion and lightly cook. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, stirring occasionally. Cook for about two hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SOUL GREENS AND HAM SHANKS

2      bunches of mustard greens

3      bunches of collard greens

4      chicken bouillon cubes

2      beef bouillon cubes

2      garlic cloves

1      teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2      medium onion, chopped

2      ham shanks, bone-in

3      bay leaves

1      tablespoon oil

Place greens in cold water with one teaspoon of salt. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Wash greens and remove the stems from them and set aside still in the salt water. Pour oil in pot and heat. Place the ham shanks in the pot and lightly brown (sear them). Add onions and cook until they are light brown. Add -gallon of water, greens and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and cover and cook on low heat for about 4 hours. Season to taste with hot sauce. Recipe works well in a crockpot.

COUNTRY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Yield 2 dozen

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Scant cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 stick butter

2 cups buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients by hand. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk and mix together into a dough. Roll out on lightly floured cloth. Cut with biscuit cutters. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees 10 to 15 minutes.

Editor's note: Amount of baking powder is correct.

December 13, 2000