Share: The Cookbook that Celebrates Our Common Humanity

by Meryl Streep (Foreword by), Women for Women International (Compiler)

Overview

Nothing brings people together better than the sharing of food.

The recipes in this uplifting book include healthy, everyday recipes, nutritious recipes for family meals, recipes for sharing, and recipes for celebrating. Contributed by women living in the war-torn countries in which Women for Women International operate, these recipes are also accompanied by dishes shared by internationally known chefs, humanitarians, and philanthropists.

Dishes range from authentic Afghani bichak pastries and Congolese sticky doughnuts to spicy cashew and tomato soup, Indonesian beef rendang, and orange-scented almond cake. Interspersed throughout are the inspiring stories from the women whose lives have been changed through the intervention of Women for Women International.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781906868871
Publisher:	Octopus Books
Publication date:	05/16/2013
Series:	Women for Women International
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	764,868
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Women for Women International was founded by Zainab Salbi in 1993. Dedicated to working with survivors of conflict, the charity's core belief is that stronger women build stronger nations and that, with adequate access to information and resources, socially excluded women can lead change toward stable societies.

Alison Oakervee is the food editor of Waitrose, a magazine for one of the UK's leading supermarkets.

Editorial Reviews

The prose and photographs of Share: The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity have catapulted the book onto numerous "best of" lists, sending the volume into a third printing in less than a year. The recipes—from Alice Waters, Desmond Tutu and scores of other luminaries—are irresistible. And the cause will break your heart.

San Jose Mercury News, 4/08/2014 - Susan Hathaway

Women for Women International's Share: The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity, offers everything I love in a cookbook, and more. While it is definitely beautiful, don't think of it as a table or kitchen decoration. This is a cookbook that is meant to be used. Along with the gorgeous photos of yummy dishes and hard-working women, there are about 100 easy recipes that focus on fresh ingredients intended to nourish the heart and soul rather than show off the latest trends. There also are thoughtful stories by or about the women who have benefited from the Women for Women program. As for the food, the title says it all. These are dishes to be shared. Alice Waters' lentil salad with shrimp takes almost no time and only has a handful of ingredients, but it is delicious. Even my picky kids went back for more. I've happily made the Burmese fish curry and Congolese corn fritters. All simple and tasty dishes that I plan to make again. In addition to the pleasure of trying out a new recipe together, the photographs and stories about the countries were educational for my whole family. This glossy, gorgeous book illustrates how food unites everyone, how people build relationships through creating and sharing food together. Share also shows how food can form the base of employment and economic stability in the developing world. All profits from the book sales go to financing and training women in the business of food production and agricultural sustainability.

Ashland (OR) Daily Tidings, 1/10/2014 - Angela Decker

Women for Women International was founded 20 years ago to help women in eight war-torn countries rebuild their lives. The group has produced a stunning cookbook as a fund-raiser that features first-person accounts and exotic recipes from some of the women. Other recipes were contributed by chefs and others involved in humanitarian efforts like Meryl Streep, Christiane Amanpour, Desmond Tutu, Jamie Oliver and René Redzepi. Some are quite complex and well spiced, while others, like Emma Thompson’s tempting sausage and cabbage casserole, are 'ridiculously easy,' as she puts it. Share: The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity, by Women for Women International.

The New York Times, 12/11/13 - Florence Fabricant

Expand someone's recipe collection, and help change lives across the globe with Women for Women International's Share cookbook. The compilation features photographs and recipes from renowned international chefs and the kitchens of women living in war-torn countries. One hundred percent of the proceeds go right back into those countries, providing women with business training and job skills so they can get back on their feet.

The Today Show, 12/6/13 - Bobbie Thomas

Lush with photographs, this is indeed 'a book of joy,' as Meryl Streep writes in the foreword—a wonderful collection for families to explore and cook from together.

The Seattle Times, 11/18/13 - Rebekah Denn

For Lauri Pastrone, a Silicon Valley resident who has been a volunteer with WfWI for 15 years, since she started sponsoring women, the idea that resonated with her was a cookbook. But not just any cookbook. A cookbook that tells the story of the women helped by Women for Women. 'That's really the whole philosophy of this book,' says Lauri. 'If many of us can help one person it does make a difference.' A cookbook that shares their culture, traditions, and most of all, favorite recipes. Share is rich with pictures that tell the story of the women—their lives, their families, their day to day existence. You meet 16 women, all of whom have been through the WfWI program.

11/12/13 - Mary Orlin

The first thing you need know is that, as a cookbook, Share is great. The food looks (and is) delicious, the ingredients are commonly available, and the instructions are well within the skill set of your average home cook. This is not a small thing, considering the wide variety of foods and recipes the book shares. The recipes were gathered not only from home cooks in the far-flung the regions where Women for Women International does its work, but also from kitchens of celebrities and philanthropists (Sir Paul McCartney, Nell Newman, Christiane Amanpour among them), and world class chefs (Alice Waters, Yotam Ottolenghi, Jesse Ziff Cool, and others). But this is not party food — this is the food we sit down to enjoy with our friends and our families — informal, straightforward in its preparation, and made from ingredients that come easily to hand. And that’s the point. Just as we are nourished and strengthened by food, so do we nourish and encourage one another in spirit when we sit down to share it. This is precisely the work of Women for Women International (WfWI), a humanitarian organization that works with women in countries where war and conflict have devastated their lives and communities. WfWI programs enable these women to move from being victims, to being survivors, and ultimately active citizens. And that’s just the beginning: for every women helped in a WfWI program, five more benefit. 100% of the profits from Share go to support the work of Women for Women International. Share the wonderful food in this book with your family; buy extra copies of the book as gifts. Step up to the plate: it’s a good meal and a good deed all rolled into one.

Examiner.com, 8/8/13 - Karen Yencich

Today's recipe is one of the 'celebration' in a remarkable new cookbook, Share. Subtitled 'The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity,' it's a collection of recipes from all over the world, and 100 percent of the profits of the publisher—Kyle Books—goes to Women for Women International, which since 1993 has been helping women in war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Sudan. The more than 100 global recipes come from an interesting mix of people who work with the charity and other humanitarian causes. As actress Meryl Streep writes in the foreword, the 'underlying message' of the book is, 'For all our apparent diversity—as individuals, societies and nations—our actions, however small, have an exponential influence in the world through our shared humanity.' Other contributors of recipes, stories and inspiration include women the charity has helped, as well as a crowd of famous people such as Ms. Streep, Christiane Amanpour, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Bill McKibben, Yotam Ottolenghi and Alice Waters.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/14/13 - Bill Batz Jr.

This is a cookbook about celebration: celebrating women who have survived war and other conflicts, and celebrating the foods that nourish us and bring us together. With recipes like sweet, cakey Sudanese Baseema and fragrant Burmese tomato fish curry, it's also a cookbook that will lift you right up from your seat and carry you straight into the kitchen.
Stories are as important and sustaining as food, and you'll find plenty of them here. Interspersed between the recipes, women tell their stories of survival and determination, and how they came to take part in the programs offered by Women for Women International. These stories often stand in stark contrast to the beautiful smiling faces and the bright plates of food on the surrounding pages, but this makes each woman's message of moving from victim to independence all the more powerful.
This book is practically a Who's Who of celebrity personalities. Everyone from Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver to Paul McCartney and Nell Newman have contributed recipes. I love the incredible diversity of tastes, ingredients, and personalities this brings to the table!
All of the royalties from this book go toward micro-financing and training women in food production and self-sustenance. Helping a good cause while adding a new trove of global recipes to my collection? That's a two-for-one deal I can definitely get behind.

The Kitchn, 6/12/13 - Emma Christensen

Women for Women International’s beautifully photographed recipe trove spans countries and cultures (from the Democratic Republic of Congo to author Alice Walker’s own kitchen) to pay homage to the meals and memories that shape dinner tables around the world.

Daily Candy

A visually stunning cookbook with heart, I know it won’t be long before it takes on the appearance all well-used cookbooks have … a few splatters here, a smudge there. I can’t wait to get started. With a foreword by Meryl Streep, contributors include Paul McCartney, Trudie Styler, Annie Lennox and Richard Branson. All profits from sales of this book will go towards Women for Women International … so if you are looking for a cookbook, this is the one you must have!

Write Note Reviews, 5/14/13 - Monique Mulligan

'This book includes recipes from world-class chefs and influential humanitarians, as well as lesser-known heroes and the women whose lives have been improved by the charity, and draws on the freshest of ingredients to produce simple yet delicious food. The chapters reflect the importance of caring for our personal well-being, nurturing our loved ones, supporting our community, developing fair and sustainable trade and last, but not least, uniting in celebration.'

From The Foreword - Meryl Streep

Benefiting the Women for Women International organization, this breathtaking charity cookbook calls attention to humanitarian efforts in war and conflict-ravaged countries. One hundred recipes, contributed by celebrities (e.g., Kate Spade, Alice Walker, René Redzepi) and women from countries in which the organization operates, appear alongside scenic photographs and sobering accounts of hardship. Khatte bharwan karele (stuffed bitter gourds), Burmese tomato fish curry, and other recipes are colorful and appetizing, but a few contain errors. VERDICT This harmonious blend of food and philanthropy is recommended for home cooks who would like to explore global flavors.

Library Journal