Cross-posted at Rebecca's Reading Rants and Raves Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking: A Cookbook by Toni Tipton-Martin My rating: 5 of 5 stars To categorize this solely as a cookbook would not even come close to capturing this work of art. It is an exquisitely-written history that intertwines a wealth of research, nostalgia (in the best way), and a "larger vision of African American culinary history" (311) that both embraces and expands beyond soul food and the standard narrative. Toni Tipton-Martin says: And I have tried to end dependency on the labels "Southern" and "soul," and on the assumptions that limit my ancestors' contributions to mindlessly working the fields where the food was grown, stirring the pot where the food was cooked, and passively serving food in the homes of the master class. (13) There is no clichéd history here. Instead, Tipton-Martin crafts a story of urban enclaves in Los Angeles, Lo
On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing in the oven low, Round a kitchen island there below, The kitchen of Shallot. (With apologies to Tennyson)