AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just in time for the holidays, refugees and asylum seekers from around the world are sharing their favorite recipes in a new cookbook by Refugee Services of Texas.
“Plated Stories: Legacies from Home to Table” features 50 recipes alongside harrowing stories of resettlement and survival journeys.
“One of the things that binds all human beings is their love for food,” Chris Kelley, a spokesperson for Refugee Services of Texas, said.
Marwa Al Ibrahim, an Iraqi refugee who has been separated from her parents, contributed her mother’s favorite turnip soup recipe to the book.
“It has such a special place in my heart and my stomach,” Al Ibrahim said. “I remember my mom and how was she there for us and prepared it for us with so much love and kindness.”
Kelley hopes the recipe book can serve as an opportunity to educate people about refugees and introduce them to other cultures.
The cookbook is available by donations starting at $50. All of the proceeds will go to funding school, job, and housing opportunities for asylum seekers, refugees and human trafficking survivors.
The Refugee Services of Texas is a non-profit social-service agency has helped resettle thousands of refugees since 1978.
If you would like to order a cookbook, you can visit this link.