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\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a need for more written context when it comes to different West African cuisines,\u201d Amoako says from her home in Toronto. \u201cPeople cross borders, but a lot of our culture and our history can be presented through food. And as we have many oral cultures, unfortunately, we don\u2019t have extensive information on written-down food and history, especially for Ghana itself. So, it\u2019s the first of its kind and hopefully the first of many in the future by various authors because there are a lot of stories that need to be told.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
People unfamiliar with West African cooking are often aware of a select few recipes, such as fufu or jollof rice, Amoako adds. In Eat with Afia, she shows the many choices and highlights that Ghanaian home cooking can be uncomplicated.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt can be as simple as grinding beans and steaming them into something, or just plain rice, or baked bread. There are so many options for every person to be able to cook from, and that is all with intentionality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
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Toronto-based food writer and epidemiologist Afia Amoako\u2019s cookbook debut, Eat with Afia, is a collection of plant-based Ghanaian recipes.<\/span> Photo by Penguin Canada<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
Amoako started a food blog in 2015, when she began following a plant-based diet. By 2020, her posts about Ghanaian cooking, history and culture had amassed a following. Recognizing this growing interest ultimately led her to write Eat with Afia.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
While Ghana doesn\u2019t have a historical culture of veganism or vegetarianism, the cuisine is inherently plant-centric, says Amoako. Vegan cooking forced her to strip down her native food culture to its plant foundations. \u201cAnd that really helps you to connect to climate, geography and history because that can also be tracked through the domestication, the processing of plant ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
Reflecting on 10-plus years of sharing plant-based Ghanaian food for the book \u201chas humbled me in so many ways,\u201d adds Amoako. Travelling throughout Ghana \u2014 especially to the north \u2014 opened her eyes to the possibilities and made her more inquisitive about cooking.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy am I adding salt at this time? Why do I have to cook this at a high temperature? Now I understand why my mom would tell me to make sure to cook this for a certain amount of time,\u201d says Amoako.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\nArticle content<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has also brought into perspective that there\u2019s no one right way to do certain things, just because of how diverse Ghana is. It\u2019s the next village, and it\u2019s a completely different ethnic group, different culture, language, and there\u2019s beauty in that diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n
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