A Good Heart and a Light Hand, Ruth L. Gaskins' Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes

Simon & Schuster, 1968. B/W photographic hardcover (the author) bound with metal spiral , 5.5" x 8.75"; xiii, 110 pp., index. Spot illustrations by Porge Buck. An early soul food cookbook that offers more than 175 recipes from the heritage of Black America"s soul food tradition. Very old recipes are starred. Author's introduction discusses African-American culinary and hospitality traditions. This title, originally published in 1968, Annandale, Virginia by Turnpike Press, was quickly reprinted the same year by the large publishing house of Simon and Schuster, recognizing the burgeoning interest in soul food at the time. The editions vary only in their covers (the author's mother - Mrs. Johnnie Mae Knapper, and Mama Rice (Mrs Revish Rice) - grace the rear cover of the Turnpike Press edition), but not in content. Craig Claiborne, former Food Editor of the New York Times, called it "Far and away the best cookbook to deal with soul food."