JUMP TO… What is it? When should I visit? / What’s the weather? How do I get there? Where can I stay? How much does it cost? What should I bring? What’s there to do? What is Addo Elephant National Park and why should I visit? Addo is one of the 20 national parks in…
Category: Africa
Instant Pot Red Red (Ghanian Black-Eyed Pea Tomato Stew)
I’ve wanted to make a dish from West Africa for awhile now, but I admit I’ve been a little intimidated. I’ve tackled some recipes from East Africa and Southern Africa, but West Africa, not yet. Perhaps the reason is that I’m simply less experienced in eating and cooking food for this part of the world,…
Why You Should Add Uganda to Your Bucket List
When I told most of my family and friends that I was going to Uganda for a summer, most of them responded…Where’s that again? Most Americans can’t place Uganda on a map, but that’s a mistake and it’s time to change that. Based on my time there, the quality of the ginger beer, and the…
Ethiopian Lentil Stew (Misir Wat)
At this time last year, I announced an entire month dedicated to Ethiopian cooking in celebration of Ethiopian New Year. We made homemade berbere spice (a blend essential to Ethiopian cooking), niter kibbeh (Ethiopian-style clarified butter), shiro wat (chickpea stew), and attempted injera, a fermented flatbread (maybe someday I’ll get it right…) And in an…
Reflection and Reconciliation on Gorée Island
What is the island of Gorée and why should I visit? Located a mere 2 kilometers off the coast of mainland Africa’s westernmost city, Dakar, is a small island. Despite only being 0.11 square miles, this Senegalese island allegedly (we’ll come back to that) served as the largest slave-trading center on the African coast. The…
5 Spices You Can Make At Home
Is anyone else feeling super stressed every time you have to go to the grocery store these days? I know I am. Social distancing in these tiny Manhattan shops seems impossible, even with limiting the number of people inside, trying to manage traffic flow, and the new requirement that we wear face coverings in public….
Grilled Eggplant & Halloumi Salad
These days I go back and forth between eating super healthy and eating junk food. Sitting at home all day, stressing about the end of the world, it’s just an emotional eating disaster. But our bodies are at their best when we feed them nourishing, nutritious meals and while there’s no scientific proof that healthy…
How I Visited Victoria Falls by Myself
The first views of the falls. Realizing that the water spray was so heavy in February that a poncho was not optional (unless of course you wanted to look as though you’d walked out of the shower). Having lunch at The Lookout Cafe, overlooking the stunning Bakota Gorge while zipliners whooshed across. A relaxing sunset cruise where I made new friends and even a professional connection. A quiet morning on the Zambian side where there were more baboons than people, where I saw the best rainbows, and where I took some of the most incredible photos ever. It was worth all of the obstacles to get here.
Homemade Nando’s Peri Peri Sauce (South Africa)
Have you ever tried to recreate something by taste only? I recently had this experience after discovering Nando’s peri peri sauce for the first time. I love going to grocery stores in foreign countries to see what products I can find that are different from home. So when I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa,…
Cape Town, South Africa: First Impressions
I’m on the road right now. If you’ve been following my Instagram or Facebook, you’ll see daily updates from Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve been hiding out in the southwestern tip of of Africa for the past week, living and working here. If I’ve learned anything so far, it’s that I can’t hope to begin…
Marissa Makes Food 