Customer Reviews

Soul & Spice

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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!

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.

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.

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!