If I Can Cook/You Know God Can

ANNOTATION

"...as in all her brilliant works, Ntozake Shange stirs and simmers the soul and moves the reader/eater/cook to rethink every morsel of Pan-African history, personal celebration, and global pain which enter our lives when we gather around her magical hearth to laugh, to cry--but most indispensably--to eat." --Edwidge Danticat

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Ntozake Shange offers this eclectic tribute to black cuisine as a true food of life, one that reflects the tenacious spirit and powerful history of a people. With recipes that include everything from Cousin Eddie's Shark with Breadfruit to Collard Greens to Bring You Money, Shange instructs us in the nuances of a cuisine born on the slave ships of the Middle Passage, spiced by the jazz of Duke Ellington, and shared by all members of the African Diaspora. From the flyin' fish controversy (yes, that's right, flyin' fish) between Trinidad and Tobago, to a union of spirits in the once-divided nation of Nicaragua, we enter a world where adaptation and experimentation are a matter of course, where history and pain have forged nations, but food has founded culture.

FROM THE CRITICS

Kathy Martin - Miami Herald

A captivating collection of African-American food memories, meditations and recipes.

Library Journal

With lyrical originality and musical patois, playwright, novelist, and poet Shange intertwines the history and food of the "African Diaspora" into a beautiful little book in the tradition of M.F.K. Fisher. This collection of essays -- conversations might be more accurate -- takes the reader to the tables of African-Americans; the kitchens of Nicaragua, London, Barbados, and Brazil; and the feasts of Africa. Proud tradition plays an important role here, but don't overlook the book's value for the chef. Easy-to-follow recipes for "collards to bring you money," rack of lamb, hominy, feijoada, barbecue, gumbo, okra, and couscous are among the 34 exotic dishes, and most of the ingredientsexcept maybe turtle eggsare readily available. Herein is also contained the coveted secret of determining a watermelon's ripeness! An inexpensive cookbook with a lot of class. -- Wendy Miller, Lexington Public Library, Kentucky

Library Journal

With lyrical originality and musical patois, playwright, novelist, and poet Shange intertwines the history and food of the "African Diaspora" into a beautiful little book in the tradition of M.F.K. Fisher. This collection of essays -- conversations might be more accurate -- takes the reader to the tables of African-Americans; the kitchens of Nicaragua, London, Barbados, and Brazil; and the feasts of Africa. Proud tradition plays an important role here, but don't overlook the book's value for the chef. Easy-to-follow recipes for "collards to bring you money," rack of lamb, hominy, feijoada, barbecue, gumbo, okra, and couscous are among the 34 exotic dishes, and most of the ingredientsexcept maybe turtle eggsare readily available. Herein is also contained the coveted secret of determining a watermelon's ripeness! An inexpensive cookbook with a lot of class. -- Wendy Miller, Lexington Public Library, Kentucky

Kathy Martin

A captivating collection of African-American food memories, meditations and recipes. -- Miami Herald

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

...as in all her brilliant works, Ntozake Shange stirs and simmers the soul and moves the reader/eater/cook to rethink every morsel of Pan-African history, personal celebration, and global pain which enter our lives when we gather around her magical hearth to laugh, to cry—but most indispensably—to eat. (Edwidge Danticat, author of Krik? Krak!)  — Edwidge Danticat