No comments about Shukriyyah's Southern Soulful Veggie Recipes Presents Country Eating Without the Fat.

2 comments about Leah Chase: Listen, I Say Like This.

1. Written largely in the words of Leah Chase, herself, this book makes the reader feel he or she really KNOWS Leah Chase, and what a lady to know! She is a piece of our national history and a national treasure. Her willingness to express her opinions on just about everything evokes laughter as well as tears. Her life is awe-inspiring,sometimes humorous and sometimes sad. Leah Chase is one of those rare human beings who can walk with kings or sit on the floor with poor folks and be just as comfortable with either.



2. The glowing review above, titled "Everybody Loves Her; What's Not to Love?" seems to have been ghostwritten by her publisher. It is written in the same style as the book--which is equally over-the-top in it's fauning style and sachrine praise.
   
   Leah's FOOD is supberb! However, her storytelling is nauseatingly nacisistic and quickly grows wearisome. If you really feel compelled to read this book order it from the library. I wish I spent the money on one of her cookbooks instead!
   Bon Appetite

4 comments about Soul & Spice.

1. This book is a wonderful collection of African recipes as they have evolved from the days of slavery. Not only does the author share these beautiful recipes, she also gives a brief history and background as to how they came to be. She includes recipes for the spices and sauces used in each type of cuisine, as well as different suggestions as to how you can make each recipe your own. This book gave me a wonder feeling of heritage and home. I felt like these gifts were being handed down to me from my ancestors, and that I now had a duty to hand them down to my children. This book is truly a must read!



2. The Jambalya recipie aquired from a 70 year old woman from the deep south, is by itself, more than worth the price of this book. I'm ordering a replacement for the one I loaned out and never got back. This book has real food that can be made with things real people can find (or may already have in their kitchen) at the corner grocery store. The history behind the various dishes brings the food alive, lending a connection to times past and far off cultures impossible to experience in person. As a book, it's great--as a cookbook, it's a masterpiece.



3. Exploring the traditions - old and new - of African cooking in the Americas, this book is organized by regional cuisines: Caribbean, Bahia Brazilian, Soul Food, Louisiana Creole, Barbecue and Recent African Immigrants. Each chapter begins with a brief, food-oriented history, and recipe introductions include origins and suggest variations.

   Cusick's book is a work of love, research and thoroughness. At least half the recipes have familiar names and she often includes more than one version (Jambalayas, chicken and dumplings, corn breads, and barbecue sauce for every taste). There's pecan pie and fried green tomatoes and dirty rice and fried pies.

   There's also Haitian Gumbo and tapioca fritters and curried goat, and, from recent immigrants, bean pudding, lamb or chicken peanut stew and steamed banana pudding.

   A vivid portrayal of an unpretentious and innovative cuisine.




4. Soul and Spice is a well presented compilation of recipes from the African, African American (Southern Region) and Caribbean cultures. The author successfully presents the broad spectrum of culinary arts of people of African descent with added nuggets of historical information for context.
   
   This cookbook is user friendly with recipes suitable for cooks of all levels. An excellent book to add to your collection!

No comments about African American Food Culture (Food Cultures in America).

3 comments about The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook: How to Cut the Fat but Keep the Flavor.

1. The book begins with an insightful glimpse into the world of traditional "soul food": its origins and components. Wilbert Jones does a wonderful job of making simple adaptations to create healthy, extremely flavorful, and virtually fat-free recipes of my time-worn favorites. I was introduced to Jones' work in the form of the Black-Eyed Pea Veggie Burger...a flavorful alternative to fast-food albeit not as fast a meal as I initially estimated. Since that introduction, I have prepared his Skillet Corn Bread, Collard Greens, and Red Bean and Rice. Absolutely, positively delicious!!! Even my picky eaters had no problems with "Mom's experiments!!" My only criticism of this cookbook is that it is too short!! I look forward to more of Jones' work in the future!



2. I have to confess that I have not read the book, but I did order the book today, along with my sister Dorothy & our cousin Teretha. Skeet, I had no idea that you had written so many books. When you came to Clarksdale years ago to research your first book, I had no idea that it would lead to several more. Wilbert Jones or "Skeet" as I know him, lived in Clarksdale, MS for quite some time and later moved up North (as we say in the South)to Chicago (I think). Anyway, Mr. Jones was my neighbor and I would love to hear from him. If there is a way that you can get this to him, I would appreciate it. By the way, this is Ms. Nancy's daughter. I can't wait to get the book.



3. This is a wonderful recipe book! My husband especially appreciates it, because I am a horrible cook. The recipes are very tasty. I learned how to make a great cole slaw, black eyed peas & chicken! Yum! I recommend this book to everyone!

   This chef makes magic with the soul food spice mix.

2 comments about Vibration Cooking or The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl.

1. This is an unusual narrative cookbook, an unapologetic, in-your-face story of a young black woman from the south who travels to Paris on the eve of the 1960s. I enjoyed the book because I grew up in the same era, but on the opposite coast, with very different experiences,although both the author and I grew up very poor. Still, white poor isn't exactly the same as black poor, and so it was a peek into a different existence, of a brighter more energetic person than I. Some of the recipes are rather vague, and it is assumed the reader already knows how to cook. Some are very clear and easy to follow. Reading this book almost 30 years after it was written, the slang of the 1960s seems dated and a little tedious.



2. FAscinating book, both from a cultural perspective and a culinary one. I've listened to the author when she was on Public Radio, which, along with my love of cooking and quest for all things southern, is what drew me to this book. Sit back, relax and catch the vibrations of what the food is telling you to do.

3 comments about If I Can Cook/You Know God Can (Bluestreak Series).

1. I am not an African-American but through Shange's words I can feel the grief, the sorrow, and the triumphs of the African-American experience. By talking about food, which everybody needs and relates to, she paints a far more vivid picture of the African people in the Diaspora than a scholarly historian might. Many of her recipes call for ingredients I've hardly heard of, but her evocative descriptions of the food almost make me able to taste it.



2. Autobiographical and historical and cultural all rolled up in one. With the holidays coming up, these great stories and recipes of great african and african-american dishes--dishes from people and lands of color--would go perfectly with each serving of yams, blackeyed peas and rice and collards. Foods of defiance, comfort, strength. Presented by the superb Ntozake Shange. (For my two cents, all the schoolkids ought to be taught how really influential Ntozake was in black entertainment, period, not just literature. But that sounds like a discussion for another review.)



3. I typed it and now I can't find it and don't want to repeat whatI have just typed. I have no photo.

No comments about Month of Meals: Soul Food.

No comments about The Blue Grass Cook Book.

5 comments about Down-Home Wholesome: 300 Low-Fat Recipes from a New Soul Kitchen.

1. This is an excellent culinary memoir; the recipes are updated, defatted, and most importantly, delicious! 300 recipes in all--regional, family favorites--a new twist on early American soul.



2. I cook often, for big dinners and small ones, and I'm always on the lookout for new tastes and flavors. That's exactly why I loved this book so much! I mean, Soul Food that was light, elegant and tasted like fine French cooking--and was easy to prepare besides? I've devoured Down Home Wholesome, cooking at least half of the recipes within it--scrumptious! Plus, I really loved the warm way the author has with talking about her family, her reminiscences of her experiences with these foods, and her filling in the blanks on how the slave diet contributed to the length and breadth of the American palate. TRY THIS BOOK - YOU WON'T REGRET IT



3. I love cookbooks that speak to the reader as this one did. It was a virtual tour of the author's kitchen



4. I borrowed this book from the library and after finding at least 20 recipes I wanted to copy (and I was only through a third of it!) I bought this book. Ms. Carter has developed wonderful, homey recipes. You can practically smell her cooking as you read along! Her stories are delightful as well. I recommend this book as a true tribute to Soul Food at its best! Without losing any of the taste, she has succeeded in creating low fat meals that anyone would love! Bravo!



5. I have this book in my personal cooking library and have given it as a gift multiple times to others who enjoy southern cooking but want to keep the flavors while practicing healthy eating. The herbs and spices are not overwhelming, and the breakdown of nutrients helps to plan a varied and tasty menu for even a covered-dish dinner for our LARGE family of seven children and eighteen grandchildren.