3 Star Review: Soul Food Love by Alice Randall & Caroline Randall Williams

Title: Soul Food Love
Author: Alice Randall, Caroline Randall Williams
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Genre: Cooking
Release Date: February 3rd 2015
Source: Blogging For Books
Purchase: Amazon

A mother-daughter duo reclaims and redefines soul food by mining the traditions of four generations of black women and creating 80 healthy recipes to help everyone live longer and stronger.

In May 2012, bestselling author Alice Randall penned an op-ed in the New York Times titled “Black Women and Fat,” chronicling her quest to be “the last fat black woman” in her family. She turned to her daughter, Caroline Randall Williams, for help. Together they overhauled the way they cook and eat, translating recipes and traditions handed down by generations of black women into easy, affordable, and healthful—yet still indulgent—dishes, such as Peanut Chicken Stew, Red Bean and Brown Rice Creole Salad, Fiery Green Beans, and Sinless Sweet Potato Pie. Soul Food Love relates the authors’ fascinating family history (which mirrors that of much of black America in the twentieth century), explores the often fraught relationship African-American women have had with food, and forges a powerful new way forward that honors their cultural and culinary heritage. This is what the strong black kitchen looks like in the twenty-first century.

Where do I start with this one. You know when you go to a store and decide that you just need to get out of what is normal for you and so you go with something totally different? Well, that is what I did with this one. I have tried soul food from different vendors at fairs and some restaurants and thought "I would love to try to make this at home". When I received this book in the mail for review, I was all revved up and ready to get to cooking. I didn't realize that half this book was a family history reading followed by some recipes that I wouldn't even try. 

One recipe said that there was "cucumber chips" with a salsa. I was all like "oooh that sounds good, I wonder if they will put them with some oil and bake them". It was only sliced cucumber which they called "chips". Another recipe was for ice cubes with fruit froze inside. That is a very common recipe seen all over the internet to make drinks "pretty". Out of all the recipes, I think I might try to make one and that is for some homemade peanut butter.

These recipes were definitely out of the 'norm' for me and unfortunately I will not be trying any of them. However, if you like to try different things, I highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: *I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Alice Randall (born Detroit, Michigan) is an American author and songwriter. Randall grew up in Washington, D.C.. She attended Harvard University, where she earned an honors degree in English and American literature, before moving to Nashville in 1983 to become a country songwriter. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee and is married to attorney David Ewing.

Randall is the first African American woman to write a number one country hit. Over 20 of her songs have been recorded, including several top ten and top forty records; her songs have been performed by Trisha Yearwood and Mark O'Connor.