Cooking from Scratch: A Careful Selection of Useful Recipes
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Inspired in part by Malinda Russell’s A Domestic Cook Book (1866), the earliest known cookbook published by a Black American woman, chef Toya Boudy combines family recipes, practical kitchen knowledge, and traditional household remedies in a collection centered on self-sufficiency and everyday cooking. Rather than focusing on elaborate techniques, the book emphasizes the value of building meals, and confidence, from basic ingredients.
The recipes reflect the many culinary traditions that have shaped Boudy’s cooking, from New Orleans and the American South to Caribbean and African influences. Mini crawfish pies, Jamaican curry, African spinach stew, Salisbury steak, and other family favorites appear alongside pantry staples and more than twenty home remedies, including herbal syrups, nourishing soups, and restorative broths.
Both a cookbook and a kitchen companion, Cooking from Scratch explores food as a source of resilience, cultural memory, and community while encouraging readers to develop the skills and habits that make everyday home cooking both practical and rewarding.
Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.
Published on June 16, 2026
