nadia

So can an African become a Vegan? Is Jemila just going through a phase? How can NOT eating MEAT possibly be good for any woman's health... considering we desperately need our daily in take of IRON and not to mention Vitamin B12 B6 and B everything else. I could go on and on but I will let all you doubtful Africans do that for me. Can an African become a Vegan? I dunno but here's Jemila's story.....

Part 2 of How I became a Vegan by Jemila Pratt

Hello Folks,

For the next few weeks as we head into April, I will be discussing 'Palm Oil' to coincide with the 10th Anniversary of the end of the war in SL, along with Sierra Leone Independence. Think of the next month as The Palm Oil Month and we would love to get feedback on your views and the future.

The Charity Dinner I attended on Saturday was a blast. A lot of money was raised for a worthy cause and I got to eat some African cuisine while enjoying myself, not bad at all for a Saturday night out.

I did not get a chance to talk to management as everyone was rushing around serving customers, taking orders and trying to maintain calm. So you guys will get to hear from the owners of Nivla Restaurant, Camberwell Road at a later date.

As we start to settle ourselves into 2012, I cannot help but look back at how much has been achieved with westafricacooks. I have met a lot of inspiring people and hope to meet a lot more...alongside becoming a 'paid' African Food taster and critique. There are many who would like this job, but I am the one who gets to keep it!

During the next couple of months our readers can look forward to more restaurant reviews and interviews, a variety of recipe's, healthy tips to keep away Heart Disease and Diabetes and free copies of 'The Palm Oil Stain' to give away.

Congratulation Nadia on the launch of your book The Palm Oil Stain. The video of the launch party can be seen here.

The Palm Oil Stain Nadia Maddy is a story about atrocities in West Africa. The voice newspaper's Jacqueline Asafu-Adjaye who has worked in publishing and has many year knowledge about writing, books and African life interviewed Nadia about this story on Sierra Leone.

We wish you well and many book sales.

Well, this year saw the launch of West Africa Cooks and me losing sleep over writing articles on African food and drink. It's been a good year all round and we've had wonderful comments and feedbacks about the site and its improvements. In the new year, we hope to expand our sights and will allow more interaction with our readers and hopefully lots of cooking tips on West Africa Cooks You tube channel.

Coconut cake can be bought on the street anywhere in West Africa but I've not managed to come across it anywhere in the western world. I suspect the Arab or Asian corner shops may stock it somewhere obscure......either that or I'm blind.

No doubt you've started to think about doing your Christmas shopping. I'm halfway through mine, I decided to start in September this year and I'm glad I did. The older you get, the more children there are to buy presents for and it's a bloody nightmare. Some of them I honestly cant even remember how old they are. Gone are the days when I could just buy a couple of presents for family and friends. Christmas should be called Cripplemas, it will cripple you by the time its done. So the best advice I can give anyone is - start shopping early.

The West have always been under the illusion they are the only ones that house a multicultural diaspora. West Africa has had its own version of invaders and traders for centuries. Of all those who have come and gone, its safe to say the Lebanese are the largest non-African ethnic minority in West Africa. And how did this happen? Research indicates that sometime in the 19th Century, certain Lebanese groups were on their way to Brazil and landed on the West coast by mistake believing it to be South America. These travelers were mainly Manorite Christians.