Potbrood

Potbrood  is bread first made by the Boer settlers of what is now South Africa. Potbrood was traditionally baked in a cast iron pot (also known as a Dutch oven) in a pit made in the ground and lined with hot coals.  Today potbrood is often made at a braai by packing charcoal or wood coals around a cooking pot.

Frikkadel

Frikkadel is a traditional Afrikaner dish comprising usually baked, but sometimes deep-fried, meatballs prepared with onion, bread, eggs, vinegar and spices.

How to build my muscle

Over 200 Quick And Easy Muscle Building Recipes

It' s not a secret, we all know nutrition is directly responsible for the majority of results, whether your goal is to build muscle or lose body fat. Ironically, only very small number of people involved in body building and fitness are capable of following a specific nutrition.

Every serious fitness enthusiast knows that nutrition is the most important part of building an impressive, ripped, muscular physique.

Let's face it, even if you are on the best training program possible and take all the best supplements, your muscles won’t grow by themselves and the fat is not going to fall off magically. Food will make your muscles grow and burn that stubborn belly fat. Without nutritious food in the right quantities, even the most intense workout or cardio session is worthless. That’s as simple as that.

And, even though we all know this, preparing and eating meals is almost always the most overlooked and neglected area of our lives. We always go for the easy option by spending tons of money in pre-made meals, take-out food and meal replacement drinks.

However, some people still manage to be faithful to a bodybuilding or fitness specific meal plan, but they quickly face another problem:
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Secret of Coconut Oil

Coconut  is so abundant in its healing properties it's referred to as "the tree of life." And before World War II, people living in island countries, like the Philippines, consumed a diet that consisted mainly of rice, root crops, vegetables and an abundance of the ultra-healing superfood, the coconut.

The coconut is a "functional food" rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber - the essential nutritional building blocks for perfect health.

Coconut oil in particular has been shown to protect you from viruses, bacteria, infection, cancer, thyroid, brain and heart problems... plus beautifies your skin - and even burns fat!

Coconut oil - a saturated fat - is chock-full of health-promoting properties - and is in no way responsible for high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and the bad effects you've been led to believe.

Finally, modern medicine and science are starting to realize this fundamental truth... and it's been a long time coming. But sadly not before heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a whole host of other catastrophic diseases have reached epidemic proportions!

            It's no secret breast feeding is about the best thing a mother can do to boost her child's immune system. What makes mother's milk so healthy is that it contains high amounts of lauric acid.
Outside of mother's milk there are only three dietary sources of lauric acid - and coconut oil is the most concentrated of the three!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll find out about. Click here to find out more

The unique quality that helps coconut oil readily fight viruses, bacteria and even yeast!

The special reason The Health and Science Institute proves coconut oil can promote colon health!

A complete list of parasites, infections, and viruses that coconut oil has been shown to be effective against!

The recommended dosage of coconut oil to consume, based on weight, for health purposes!

Researchers have discovered that in cultures where unrefined coconut oil is a part of the everyday diet, there is less obesity and less lifestyle-related disease.


Unfortunately, very little coconut oil is consumed in the U.S. and metabolic syndromealong with its symptoms of obesity, diabetes and heart disease—is reaching epidemic proportions!

In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll discover:
click here

The secret ingredient in coconut oil that burns fat quickly to fuel the body!

Why coconut oil makes you feel fuller longer and reduces food cravings!
The islanders who ate a diet of 50% fat but were slim and trim—and healthy!

The so-called “heart friendly oils” you should avoid that increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

How consuming one ounce of coconut oil a day helped a group of women decrease BMI (body mass index) and waist circumference!

Coconut Oil Boosts Your Thyroid!

 In Americans over 13 million suffer from low thyroid function with little understanding of the cause. It’s really no wonder because most processed foods contain iodine blockers—and iodine is essential for optimum thyroid function! If you’re cooking with vegetable oil—it’s time to stop for your thyroid’s sake!

Plus, without a healthy thyroid, weight loss is nearly impossible—especially for women.

Find out if your thyroid is malfunctioning and how coconut oil can get it up to speed in The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood. Discover: 

Coconut Oil Protects and Beautifies Your Skin!

People living in the tropics have beautiful, wrinkle-free skin because coconut oil is not only part of their diet—but also their beauty regimen!

Coconut oil is a naturally moisturizing cleanser—and an effective sunscreen, blocking out 20 percent of harmful rays… thanks to the medium-chain fatty acids that protect and heal the skin at the same time.

People living in the tropics have beautiful, wrinkle-free skin because coconut oil is not only part of their diet—but also their beauty regimen!

Coconut Oil Can Save Your Brain! click here

Alzheimer’s is on the rise—but you can do something now to protect your brain from the devastating effects of this savage disease!

How? By helping your body produce ketones—an alternative energy source for your brain! When MCTs—medium chain triglicerides—are metabolized by the body, ketones are created.

Coconut Oil Fights Cancer!

Cancer cells feed and grow in our body until the illness can eventually take over and ruin our health. And that’s only if it doesn’t kill us.

Don’t be terrified by cancer anymore! Because researchers have discovered it’s possible to actually “starve” cancer cells—and this pro-active defense leaves the body more able to fight the disease than being assaulted with chemotherapy!

Coconut Oil is the Ultimate Detox!

Detoxing is quite popular these days—but beware! Many detox methods found on the internet are not grounded in science but are instead “fad” diets meant to make someone else a lot of money!

Coconut oil has amazing detox abilities and bolsters your energy during a detox program!

Coconut Oil is Amazing for Heart Health!

Heart disease is a scary disease often treated with even scarier drugs—like statins! Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) deplete the body of vital heart-nourishing nutrients and can do more harm than good!

Coconut oil is full of heart-healing benefits and can help prevent the need for such drugs—and even help keep you from getting sick in the first place!

Coconut Oil Makes Yeast Yield to Its Health-Promoting Powers!

Everyone has a small amount of yeast living in their mouth and intestines. It serves an important role when it comes to digestion and nutrient absorption, but when it overpopulates—watch out!

It actually breaks down the walls of the intestines and seeps into the bloodstream, where it releases toxins. This leakage can cause a number of health conditions!

In fact, more people have illnesses related to yeast, or Candida, than realize… maybe you’re one of them. click here to get more information 

Loss weight or Burn your FAT

You’re going to discover how to loss your weight or Burn your  FAT. Click here to find out more 

                                      Whole Wheat

The 3 reasons you should NEVER eat wheat -- Yes, even "whole 
wheat"

1- Wheat causes blood sugar disruption, Glycation of your cells, increases AGING, weight gain & boosts Diabetes risk.
2- Gluten and other gut-damaging compounds.
3- Antinutrients and mineral blockers in wheat.

                               Vegetable Oil
The 3 reasons you should NEVER use Vegetable Oils

Although vegetable oil has a healthy sounding name, it's NOT made from vegetables...As you might already know, vegetable oil actually comes from any combination of corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and/or cottonseed oil, ALL of which are absolutely terrible for your health. 


In fact, they are downright deadly, and I'm not exaggerating.  Here's why...
1- Vegetable oils usually contain deadly trans fats, even if non-hydrogenated.
2- Vegetable oils contain oxidized "mutated fats" that are worse than trans fat & CAUSE heart attacks.
3- Vegetable oils cause massive imbalances with your Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats ratio.

The TRUTH about sugar... You can't just "burn off" sugar...

                                            Sugar
You've heard a million times from health experts, bloggers, and on the news that sugar is terrible for you, but most people don't truly understand WHY it's so bad...
Here are just a few of the reasons that sugar is killing you...
1- Just like we talked about above with wheat, sugar also causes extreme fluctuations in your blood sugar, and excess blood sugar causes Glycation inside your body, which accelerates the rate of aging of your organs, skin, arteries, and joints.
2- Sugar also raises your triglycerides to dangerous levels, which can lead you to heart disease.
3- If that weren't bad enough, eating sugar too frequently also causes type 2 diabetes in the long run because you wear out your pancreas and insulin sensitivity.
4- And if you need even MORE reasons why sugar will kill you, sugar also slows down your white blood cells, making infection more likely, and even allowing CANCER cells a better chance to form in your body.


Click here to find out more 

Syzygium

Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. Its highest levels of diversity occur from Malaysia to northeastern Australia, where many species are very poorly known and many more have not been described taxonomically. Fifty-two species are found in Australia and are generally known as lillipillies, brush cherries or satinash.

Most species are evergreen trees and shrubs. Several species are grown as ornamental plants for their attractive glossy foliage, and a few produce edible fruit that are eaten fresh or used in jams and jellies. The most economically important species, however, is the clove Syzygium aromaticum, of which the unopened flower buds are an important spice. Some of the edible species of Syzygium are planted throughout the tropics worldwide, and several have become invasive species in some island ecosystems. Several species of Syzygium bear fruit that are edible for humans, many of which are named "roseapple".

At times Syzygium was confused taxonomically with the genus Eugenia (ca. 1000 species), but the latter genus has its highest specific diversity in the neotropics. Many species formerly classed as Eugenia are now included in the genus Syzygium, although the former name may persist in horticulture.

Tamarind

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree in the family Fabaceae indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus Tamarindus is a monotypic taxon, having only a single species.

The tamarind tree produces edible, pod-like fruit which is used extensively in cuisines around the world. Other uses include traditional medicine and metal polish. The wood can be used in carpentry. Because of the tamarind's many uses, cultivation has spread around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.

Origin[edit]
Tamarindus indica is probably indigenous to tropical Africa, but has been cultivated for so long on the Indian subcontinent that it is sometimes also reported to be indigenous there. It grows wild in Africa in locales as diverse as Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria and Tanzania. In Arabia, it is found growing wild in Oman, especially Dhofar, where it grows on the sea-facing slopes of mountains. It reached South Asia likely through human transportation and cultivation several thousand years prior to the Common Era. It is widely distributed throughout the tropical belt, from Africa to South Asia, Northern Australia, and throughout Oceania, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and China.

In the 16th century, it was heavily introduced to Mexico, and to a lesser degree to South America, by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, to the degree that it became a staple ingredient in the region's cuisine.

Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind. The consumption of tamarind is widespread due to its central role in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and America, particularly in Mexico.

USAGE

Culinary uses[edit]
The fruit pulp is edible. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is considered by many to be too sour, but is often used as a component of savory dishes, as a pickling agent or as a means of making certain poisonous yams in Ghana safe for human consumption.

The ripened fruit is considered the more palatable, as it becomes sweeter and less sour (acidic) as it matures. It is used in desserts, as a jam, blended into juices, or sweetened drinks, sorbets, ice creams and other snacks. In Western cuisine, it is found in Worcestershire sauce. In most parts of India, tamarind extract is used to flavor foods ranging from meals to snacks. Across the Middle East, from the Levant to Iran, tamarind is used in savory dishes, notable meat-based stews, and often combined with dried fruits to achieve a sweet-sour tang.

Today, India is the largest producer of tamarind. The consumption of tamarind is widespread due to its central role in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and America, particularly in Mexico.

 traditional food plant in Africa, tamarind has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

In Madagascar, its fruits and leaves are a well-known favorite of the ring-tailed lemurs, providing as much as 50% of their food resources during the year if available.

Traditional medicinal uses
Throughout Southeast Asia, fruit of the tamarind is used as a poultice applied to foreheads of fever sufferers. A 2002 diet control study where subjects were fed tamarind paste, concluded that: "tamarind intake is likely to help in delaying progression of skeletal fluorosis by enhancing urinary excretion of fluoride". Based on a 2012 human study, supplementation of tender tamarind leaves improved disturbances to carbohydrate, lipid and antioxidant metabolism caused by chronic fluoride intake. However, additional research is needed to confirm these results.

Carpentry uses
Tamarind wood is a bold red color. Due to its density and durability, tamarind heartwood can be used in making furniture and wood flooring.

Metal polish
In homes and temples, especially in Buddhist Asian countries, the fruit pulp is used to polish brass shrine statues and lamps, and copper, brass, and bronze utensils. The copper alone or in brass reacts with moist carbon dioxide to gain a green coat of copper carbonate. Tamarind contains tartaric acid, a weak acid that can remove the coat of copper carbonate. Hence, tarnished copper utensils are cleaned with tamarind or lime, another acidic fruit.

Horticultural uses
Tamarind on a place of the foundation of city Santa Clara, Cuba
Throughout Asia and the tropical world, tamarind trees are used as ornamental, garden and cash crop plantings. Commonly used as a bonsai species in many Asian countries, it is also grown as an indoor bonsai in temperate parts of the world.

Ficus sycomorus

Ficus sycomorus (Bambara: Sutoro), called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times.

The term sycamore spelled with an A has been used for a variety of plants and is widely used in England to refer to the Great Maple, Acer pseudoplatanus. For clarity, the Ficus sycomorus species of fig is usually exclusively referred to as "sycomore", with an O rather than an A as the second vowel

Sweet detar

Detarium senegalense is a leguminous tree from the Caesalpiniaceae family that produces globular fruits commonly referred to as ditax, ditakh, and detar. This multi-purpose plant that, along with producing nutritious fruits, is also used for a number of medicinal purposes[3] and for its quality timber.. senegalense has great potential for promoting food security, contributing to sustainable land care and rural development. As its Linnaean name indicates, it is native to Senegal and the surrounding countries of West Africa.

Consumption and Uses
Different parts of the D. senegalense tree are utilized for a variety of purposes. This species is mainly used for its medicinal properties. The bark of the tree is most widely used in medicine for remedies including: the removal of the placenta after birth and treatment of anaemia; wounds, skin problems, bronchitis, pneumonia, stomach ache and digestive disorders; tuberculosis, and in cases of heavy blood loss. Root decoctions are used to treat marasmus, debility, intestinal complaints, and convulsions. Leaf and shoot mixtures have been used in the treatment of dysentery, conjunctivitis, arthritis, fractures, and boils. Seeds have been effective in controlling blood-glucose levels in diabetic individuals, for the treatment of mosquito bites and as an antidote against arrow poison and snake bite. The “ofo” flour made from the seeds is often used as a soup thickener. Aside from being eaten directly, the pulp of the fruit can be made into sherbets, juices, marmalades, or dried like dates. The timber from the trees is referred to as “African mahogany” that is characterized by its dark reddish-brown shade. Though the wood is heavy, it is easy to work with due to its resistance to moisture, weathering, and pests such as termites and borers. It is primarily utilized in the construction of houses, fences, and boats, but also works efficiently as firewood as it lights well. D. senegalense trees are frequently employed in reforestation programs in areas of degraded land as they have the ability to grow on infertile soils.

Though there is limited information on the nutrient composition of the D. senegalense fruit, it appears to be a very healthful product. Per 100 g, sweet detar fruit contains 116 kcal energy, 1.9 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 29.6 g carbohydrates, 2.3 g fibre, 27 mg calcium, 48 mg phosphate, 0.14 mg thiamin and 0.05 mg riboflavin, 2.8 mg iron, 0.6 mg niacin, and, most notably, about 1200 mg vitamin C. In comparison to recommended daily vitamin and mineral requirements for an adult (in Canada), the fruit contains moderate amounts of thiamin and iron, an exceptional amount of vitamin C, and lesser quantities of the other vitamins and minerals measured. The fruit seeds are composed of approximately 12% protein, and are rich in rare amino acids lysine and tryptophan, and thus the “ofo” flour made from the seeds has an excellent amino acid composition. Leaves from the trees have demonstrated antiviral activity against a number of human and animal viruses and the bark has shown antibacterial activity against many pathogenic bacteria, justifying the medicinal properties of the plan.

Practical Information
Fruits such as sweet detar can contribute to successful interventions to improve local livelihoods as they are rich in nutrients, require minimal preparation, and have flavours that appeal to many tastes. Storing sweet detar at temperatures around 4 degrees Celsius will preserve its quality by limiting the loss of vitamin C. As the fruit goes bad, the coating will change to a brown-yellow colour. A sieve is useful for separating debris and the seed from the pulp of the fruit and a mortar and pestle work well for pureeing the pulp. Though some D. senegalense trees produce toxic fruits, these are often identifiable by the presence of fruits remaining under the trees. If left behind, the trees are likely toxic as animals are normally very quick to take the fruits. Propagation time can be decreased by grafting. For the D. senegalense tree, the apical graft is the most effective when employed at the end of the dry season. It is also important to work toward increasing the local dependency and appreciation of wild fruits when creating interventions as there are some traditional negative stigmas and beliefs concerning the consumption of wild fruits. Conflicts around ownership may arise if trees remain undomesticated. A potential solution is the adoption of salvation forestry, where local people produce local products in a manner that guarantees them a share in the yields.

spanish tamarind

Vangueria madagascariensis, commonly known by the names Spanish-tamarind, tamarind-of-the-Indies, or voa vanga, is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family native to the African continent having edible fruit. It is the type species of the genus Vangueria and was described in 1791 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin

Freekeh

Freekeh (sometimes spelled frikeh) or farik (Arabic: فريكة‎ / ALA-LC: farīkah) (pronounced free-kah) is a cereal food made from green wheat that goes through a roasting process. It is an ancient Arabian dish that is especially popular in Levantine, Arabian Peninsula, Jordanian, and Egyptian cuisine, as well as in North African and other neighboring cuisines.

The wheat is harvested while the grains are yellow and the seeds still are soft; it then is piled and sun-dried. The piles are carefully set on fire so only the straw and chaff burn, not the seeds. In these controlled conditions, the high moisture content of the seeds prevents them from burning. Next, the roasted wheat is subjected to threshing and sun-drying to make the flavor, texture, and color uniform. This threshing or rubbing process of the grains gives this food its name, farīk or “rubbed”. Finally, the seeds are cracked into smaller pieces so they resemble a green bulgur.

Fit-Fit

Fit-fit or fir-fir (Ge'ez: ፍርፍር firfir; ፍትፍት fitfit) is an Eritrean and Ethiopian food typically served for breakfast. It is generally made with shredded flat bread, spiced clarified butter (called niter kibbeh in Amharic or tesmi in Tigrinya), and the hot spice berbere. There are two major varieties of fit-fit depending on the type of flat bread being used: the sour-dough injera (or taita) and the unleavened kitcha(kita in Amharic).

Melon

 Melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit.

The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of muskmelons.
Although the melon is a fruit (specifically, a berry), some varieties may be considered vegetables rather than fruits. The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepon), meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple" + πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon".

Palm Oil

Palm oil (also known as dendê oil, from Portuguese) is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms, primarily the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis, and to a lesser extent from the American oil palm Elaeis oleifera and the maripa palm Attalea maripa.

Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit, or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). The differences are in color (raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red), and in saturated fat content: Palm mesocarp oil is 41% saturated, while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated respectively.

Along with coconut oil, palm oil is one of the few highly saturated vegetable fats and is semi-solid at room temperature. Like most plant-based products, palm oil contains very little cholesterol.

Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. Its use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is widespread because of its lower cost and the high oxidative stability (saturation) of the refined product when used for frying.

Natal Plum

Carissa macrocarpa (Natal Plum), is a shrub native to South Africa, where it is commonly called the Large Num-Num. In Zulu, as well as in the Bantu tribes of Uganda, it is called Amathungulu or umThungulu oBomvu. In Afrikaans the fruit is called Noem-Noem.

C. macrocarpa deals well with salt-laden winds, making it a good choice for coastal areas. It is commonly found in the coastal bush of the Eastern Cape and Natal. It produces shiny, deep green leaves and snowy white flowers whose perfumed scent intensifies at night. Like other Carissa species, C. macrocarpa is a spiny, evergreen shrub containing latex. They bloom for months at a time. The ornamental plump, round, crimson fruit appears in summer and fall (autumn) at the same time as the blooms. In moderate, coastal areas the fruits appear through the year. The fruit can be eaten out of hand or made into pies, jams, jellies, and sauces. Some claim that other than the fruit, the plant is poisonous. However this claim is a myth, possibly based on similarities to other plants with milky sap. The California Poison Control System rates the plant as mildly toxic. It appears in the South African National tree list as number 640.3.

A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Miracle fruit

"Miracle fruit" redirects here. It is not to be confused with two other plants sometimes referred to as miracle fruit which also affect perception of taste, Gymnema sylvestre and Thaumatococcus daniellii.Synsepalum dulcificum is a plant known for its berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin. Common names for this species and its berry include miracle fruit, miracle berry, miraculous berry, sweet berry, and in West Africa, where the species originates, agbayun, taami, asaa, and ledidi.

The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet tang. It contains a glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin.[8][9] When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet. At neutral pH, miraculin binds and blocks the receptors, but at low pH (resulting from ingestion of sour foods) miraculin binds proteins and becomes able to activate the sweet receptors, resulting in the perception of sweet taste.This effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva (up to about 30 minutes).

The names miracle fruit and miracle berry are shared by Gymnema sylvestre and Thaumatococcus daniellii, which are two other species of plant used to alter the perceived sweetness of foods.

FIG ROLL

The fig roll or fig bar is a sweet roll filled with fig paste that dates back to ancient Egypt, where it is still eaten today.

The modern fig roll and its mass popularity can be traced to the development of industrial production by American Charles Roser in 1892, now marketed by Nabisco as the Fig Newton.

Marula

Sclerocarya birrea, commonly known as the marula, (Ancient Greek σκληρός, sklērós, "hard", and κάρυον, káryon, "nut", in reference to the stone inside the fleshy fruit) is a medium-sized dioecious tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa, the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa, and Madagascar.

Sugar plum

Uapaca kirkiana or sugar plum or mahobohobo is a species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family. This is one of the most popular wild fruits in the zone where eastern Africa meets southern Africa. It is rarely cultivated but fruiting trees are left when land is being cleared. Still a traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Feijoada

Feijoada (European Portuguese: [fɐjʒuˈaðɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [fejʒuˈadɐ]) is a stew of beans with beef and pork,which is a typical Portuguese dish. Feijoada is also typically cooked in former Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Macau, Angola, Mozambique and Goa (India). However, the recipe can differ slightly from one country to another.


Brazilian feijoada made with black beans
The name comes from feijão, Portuguese for "beans".

The basic ingredients of feijoada are beans with fresh pork[3] or beef. In northwest Portugal (chiefly Minho and Douro Litoral), it is usually made with white beans; in the northeast (Trás-os-Montes), it is generally prepared with kidney beans (Feijoada à Transmontana), and includes other vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. The stew is best prepared over low heat in a thick clay pot.

It is usually served with rice and assorted sausages, such as chouriço, morcela (blood sausage), farinheira, and others, which may or may not be cooked in the stew.

Dovyalis caffra

Dovyalis caffra (Warb.), Aberia caffra (Harv. & Sond) the Umkokola, Kei apple, Kai apple, or Kau apple,[1] is a small to medium-sized tree, native to southern Africa. Its distribution extends from the Kei River in the south, from which the common name derives, northwards along the eastern side of the continent to Tanzania. The ripe fruits are tasty, reminiscent of a small apple.

It is a usually found in dry types of woodland when it grows to 6 m tall. In moister types of open woodland it reaches its greatest size of about 8–9 metres. It is a rather straggly tree, with sharp, 3–6 cm long stem spines in the leaf axils. Buds at the base of the spine produce clusters of alternately arranged simple ovate leaves 3–6 cm long.

The flowers are inconspicuous, solitary or clustered, with no petals. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, though some female plants are parthenogenetic.

The fruit is an edible bright yellow or orange globose berry 2.5–4 cm diameter, with the skin and flesh of a uniform colour and containing several small seeds. Production is often copious, weighing down the branches during the summer. They are juicy, tasty and very acidic.

Cultivation and Uses
A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Kei-apples are often eaten fresh, or sprinkled with sugar to complement their natural acidity. Aside from being eaten fresh, the fruit can be made into jam, used in desserts, or pickled (their natural acidity means vinegar is not needed).

Although it is native to Africa, it has also been introduced to the Mediterranean, California, Florida and other regions with subtropical and warm temperate climates. In these places it is most often grown as an ornamental plant, being popular as an impenetrable hedge. It is salt and drought-tolerant, so useful for coastal landscaping in dry regions.

Although a subtropical species, the Kei apple is able to survive temperatures as low as −6 °C. Gardeners who want fruit require a female plant; a fertile female plant and fertile male plant is ideal. Kei apples are propagated by seed. Plants will bear about four years later.

Ẹchịcha

Ẹchịcha (also, Achịcha) is a dish native to the Igbo part of Nigeria consisting mainly of dried cassava, mgbụmgbụ, and palm oil. It is traditionally eaten in the dry season when fresh vegetables are hard to come by.
Ẹchịcha is made by steaming the dried cocoyam and mgbụmgbụ until they are soft, then mixing the two thoroughly with a sauce made of palm oil, ụgba, onions, fresh pepper, and salt.

Duqqa

                             

Duqqa (Egyptian Arabic: دقة  pronounced [ˈdæʔʔæ]) is an Egyptian condiment consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts (usually hazelnut), and spices. It is typically used as a dip with bread or fresh vegetables for an hors d'œuvre. Pre-made versions of duqqa can be bought in the spice markets of Cairo, with the simplest version being crushed mint, salt and pepper which are sold in paper cones. The packaged variety is found in markets that is composed of parched wheat flour mixed with cumin and caraway.

The word is derived from the Arabic for "to pound" since the mixture of spices and nuts are pounded together after being dry roasted to a texture that is neither powdered nor paste-like. The actual composition of the spice mix can vary from family to family, vendor to vendor though there are common ingredients, such as sesame, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Reference to a 19th-century text lists marjoram, mint, zaatar and chickpeas as further ingredients that can be used in the mixture. A report from 1978[citation needed] indicates that even further ingredients can be used, such as nigella, millet flour and dried cheese. Some commercial variants include pine nuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

Duqqa is now becoming popular in some countries outside Egypt. In the United States it has gained exposure through such TV shows as Top Chef, Chopped and Iron Chef America. In Australia several companies now make it in a variety of flavours. It has become popular in the past ten years, probably due to recent Lebanese and Arabic immigration as well as television cooking shows such as SBS Food. It can be found in supermarkets, specialty stores and many farmers' markets.

How to cook Duqqa

                                     

Diospyros mespiliformis

                                             

Diospyros mespiliformis, the Jackalberry (also known as African Ebony and by its Afrikaans name jakkalsbessie), is a large deciduous tree found mostly in the savannas of Africa. Jackals are fond of the fruits, hence the common names.

Mature trees have dark gray fissured bark. An adult tree reaches an average of 4 to 6 metres in height, though occasionally trees reach 25 metres. The foliage is dense and dark green with elliptical leaves, which are often eaten by grazing animals such as elephants and buffalo. The tree flowers in the rainy season; the flowers are imperfect, with genders on separate trees, and are cream-colored. The female tree bears fruit in the dry season and these are eaten by many wild animals; they are oval-shaped, yellow and about 20-30mm in diameter. When the fruits ripen they turn purple. The tree, like Marula, is favoured by the Bantu, who will leave them growing in their cultivated lands in order to harvest the fruit.

Fruit
A traditional food plant in Africa, this fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

The fruit is edible for humans; its flavor has been described as lemon-like, with a chalky consistency. They are sometimes preserved, can be dried and ground into a flour, and are often used for brewing beer and brandy.

The Ovambo people call the fruit of the Jackalberry eenyandi and use it to distill Ombike, their traditional liquor

Medicinal
The leaves, bark and roots of the tree contain tannin, which can be used as a styptic to staunch bleeding. The roots are consumed to purge parasites and is thought to be a remedy for leprosy.

Anonidium mannii (Junglesop)

                   

Anonidium mannii (Junglesop) is a fast-growing tropical African tree that grows to 8–30 m high, with a girth of up to 2 m.[1] It has 20–40 cm long leaves and large flowers which produce edible fruits generally around 4–6 kg, but which can be up to around 15 kg. Fruit flavor is rich but variable and is sometimes described as an acquired taste, though the fruits are generally in high demand in Africa, with large fruits commanding high prices. The fruit is a favorite with local people (who refer to it as "bobo" and other primates, especially bonobos.

Fruit
After approximately 10 years, junglesops begin to produce fruit seasonally. Normally around 5 kg, some are up to 15 kg, making the junglesop not only the largest of the Annonaceae but one of the largest fruits in the world, though not as large as the jackfruit or Telfairia pedata. Inside the tough, leathery brown skin patterned with raised diamond-shapes is a soft yellow-orange pulp with a somewhat peachy but unique flavor ranging from sweet to sour depending upon the genetic qualities of the tree concerned and upon its ripeness when harvested. Some fruits do not taste good, but its rich flavor appeals to most palates and it is rich in Vitamin A.

Cultivation
Recommended cultivation distance is 8 meters square, and planting several trees together is recommended to ensure good pollination. Trees reportedly prefer a rich, acidic and moist but well drained soil. As an understory tree, it is shade tolerant, but susceptible to wind damage. Attempts at cultivation have also been hampered by insect attack and fungal diseases.

Where it occurs naturally, the tree is not generally cultivated, possibly due to the availability of the fruit from wild trees, possibly due to the fact that although fast-growing, trees take so long to bear fruit.

Distribution
The natural range of the junglesop is jungles of central Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon. As well as in lowland rainforests, it grows on fringing forest and adjacent savanna especially next to rivers, provided the soil is well drained.

It has also been planted in Hawaii, Malaysia and Australia, but has not yet set fruit.A single tree is known to be growing in the continental US, in the Miami garden of pomologist Bill Whitman, though it too has never fruited.

Ogbono soup

                                     

Ogbono soup (Igbo: bush mango) is a Nigerian dish made with ground ogbono seeds, with considerable local variation. The ground ogbono seeds are used as a thickener, and give the soup a black coloration. Besides seeds, water and palm oil, it typically contains meat, seasonings such as chili pepper, leaf vegetables and other vegetables. Typical leaf vegetables include bitterleaf and celosia. Typical other vegetables include tomatoes and okra. Typical seasonings include chiles, onions, and iru (fermented locust beans). Typical meats include beef, goat, fish, chicken, bush meat, shrimp, or crayfish. It can be eaten with fufu, pounded yam, or with rice. In other countries the soup may be available in packaged prepared form in some markets that specialize in Western African foods.Ogbono soup has a mucilaginous (slimy) texture, similar to okra soup.

How to cook Ogbono soup

                                           

Indian jujube

                                         

           
The Indian jujube is native from the Province of Yunnan in southern China to Afghanistan, Malaysia and Queensland, Australia. It is cultivated to some extent throughout its natural range but mostly in India where it is grown commercially and has received much horticultural attention and refinement despite the fact that it frequently escapes and becomes a pest. It was introduced into Guam about 1850 but is not often planted there or in Hawaii except as an ornamental. Specimens are scattered about the drier parts of the West Indies, the Bahamas, Colombia and Venezuela, Guatemala, Belize, and southern Florida. In Barbados, Jamaica and Puerto Rico the tree is naturalized and forms thickets in uncultivated areas. In 1939, 6 trees from Malaysia were introduced into Israel and flourished there. They bore very light crops of fruit heavily infested with fruit flies and were therefore destroyed to protect other fruit trees.

Varieties
In India, there are 90 or more cultivars differing in the habit of the tree, leaf shape, fruit form, size, color, flavor, keeping quality, and fruiting season. Among the important cultivars, eleven are described in the encyclopaedic Wealth of India: 'Banarasi (or Banarsi) Pewandi', 'Dandan', 'Kaithli' ('Patham'), 'Muria Mahrara', 'Narikelee', 'Nazuk', 'Sanauri 1', 'Sanauri 5', 'Thornless' and 'Umran' ('Umri'). The skin of most is smooth and greenish-yellow to yellow.

Couscous

                                                 

Originating from Angola, cocada amarela is a heavy dessert made principally from eggs and coconut and has a distinctive yellow colour due to the large quantity of eggs used. The name, cocada amarela, literally means yellow cocada.

As a former Portuguese colony, cocada amarela is highly influenced by Portuguese pastries, known for the large quantities of egg yellow in traditional recipes.

Couscous (/ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/; Berber: ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, seksu, Arabic: كسكس‎, kuskus or كسكسو kseksou) is a berber traditional North African dish of semolina (granules of durum wheat), which is cooked by steaming. It is traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout the North African cuisines of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Libya and to a lesser extent in the Middle East and Trapani in Sicily.

Couscous was voted as the third-favourite dish of French people in 2011 in a study by TNS Sofres for magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand, and the first in the east of France.

In some regions couscous is made from Farina or coarsely ground barley or pearl millet. In Brazil, the traditional couscous is made from cornmeal.[8]

Preparation 

Brown couscous with vegetables in Tunisia

The semolina is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved. Any pellets that are too small to be finished granules of couscous fall through the sieve and are again rolled and sprinkled with dry semolina and rolled into pellets. This process continues until all the semolina has been formed into tiny granules of couscous. This process is labor-intensive. In the traditional method of preparing couscous, groups of women came together to make large batches over several days,[citation needed] which were then dried in the sun and used for several months. Couscous was traditionally made from the hard part of the durum, the part of the grain that resisted the grinding of the millstone. In modern times, couscous production is largely mechanized, and the product is sold in markets around the world.

In the Sahelian countries of West Africa, such as Mali and Senegal, pearl millet is pounded or milled to the size and consistency necessary for the couscous.

A couscoussier, a traditional steamer for couscous.

Properly cooked couscous is light and fluffy, not gummy or gritty. Traditionally, North Africans use a food steamer (called aTaseksut in Berber, a كِسْكَاس kiskas in Arabic or a couscoussier in French). The base is a tall metal pot shaped rather like an oil jar in which the meat and vegetables are cooked as a stew. On top of the base, a steamer sits where the couscous is cooked, absorbing the flavours from the stew. The lid to the steamer has holes around its edge so steam can escape. It is also possible to use a pot with a steamer insert. If the holes are too big, the steamer can be lined with damp cheesecloth. There is little archaeological evidence of early diets including couscous, possibly because the original couscoussier was probably made from organic materials that could not survive extended exposure to the elements.

Local variations

Couscous with various toppings

In Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Libya, couscous is generally served with vegetables (carrots, potatoes, turnips, etc.) cooked in a spicy or mild broth or stew, and some meat (generally, chicken, lamb or mutton).

How to cook Couscous