The Art of Good Stewardship

So it turns out that I’m not the best blogger. I have plenty to talk about these days, but I would much rather spend my few extra minutes each day doing something productive in the kitchen rather than writing about what I’ve been doing in the kitchen. Recently, I’ve been busy freezing asparagus and rhubarb, baking bread, turning soft, overripe fruit into jam, and making my very own apple pectin to use in jams and jellies later in the harvest season. But I’m taking a forced break from all of that thanks to an overworked back after pulling too many weeds.

What I’ve been training my focus on for the last month or so is finding ways to utilize the leftovers, both prepared dishes and extra raw ingredients. A lot of food goes through our kitchen at home and especially at each of the three churches. It would be easy to let food spoil, and I am tempted on a daily basis to simply throw out the food that is taking up precious space in my refrigerator and that I do not know what to do with (Just eating it is the simple solution that I cannot seem to accomplish). But the part of me that is just like my mother thinks, “I can use that…somehow…someday…” I have that part of me to thank for my drive to learn about good stewardship of food and food preservation. Also, thanks to some incredible inspiration from my favorite food bloggers, Kate at the Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking, Marisa at Food in Jars, Dana and Joel at Well Preserved, and several others, I now know how to use unfamiliar ingredients in delicious dishes, creatively preserve the bountiful harvest that many of our church members share with us, and utilize every part of the fruit and vegetable (apple cores and strawberry hulls included).

First of all, I have to say I am extremely grateful for the freezer. I can easily put away raw fruits and vegetables to cook later, but I can also throw the extra brown rice or enchilada filling into a ziploc bag to quickly heat up for another meal on down the road. When in doubt, throw it in the freezer! This saves Jeffrey and me from eating the same leftovers day after day and from allowing food to spoil in our refrigerator before we can eat it all.

But what about all of the broccoli stalks, carrot peels, onion skins, and strawberry hulls that are an inevitable result of the food preparation process? Are they assumed an unavoidable loss in the kitchen? Is their only hope for an honorable (and useful) spot in the compost pile? The answer, my friends, is no.

Here are some of the ways I try to utilize all parts of my raw ingredients:

1. Vegetable stock can be made from your kitchen leftovers with little effort. I collect and freeze all of my raw vegetable scraps (onion skins, celery trimmings, carrot trimmings and peels, etc.) in a gallon ziplock bag until it is full. Then I make homemade vegetable stock! (I use the linked recipe for a guideline. I use different ingredients and different amounts of those ingredients each time, but it always turns out delicious!)
2. Apple cores and peels can be turned into pectin for jam- and jelly-making or apple cider vinegar. These can also be collected and frozen until ready to use.
3. ANY fruit scraps (even bruised and overripe fruit) can be fermented into fruity vinegar in about a month! I recently finished a strawberry vinegar and a pineapple vinegar, and they took little effort and basically no cash.
4. Citrus peels can be used in more ways than I can imagine. See LocalKitchen’s post to read all about it.
5. My new favorite way to use up quickly ripening fruit is making a small batch (usually a pint or less) of jam. Food in Jars (see above) is an excellent resource for small-batch recipes, and Kate has written an incredibly helpful post on reducing canning recipes so that they are still safe.
6. Broccoli stalks can be grated to make a delicious and nutritious variety of slaws or can be cooked down and blended into a flavorful and (again) nutritious base for a variety of broccoli soups. You can find the recipe for the base and a couple of soups at the bottom of this post.
7. Composting is always a viable option for your kitchen scraps. But before you throw your scraps into the compost pile, think about (or Google) the possibilities that item has for another application in the kitchen. You might be surprised how far your food will go.

Now what does this have to do with Jesus or the Christian community? Honestly, not much. But in my own community context, I am attempting to educate folks on the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables and eating fewer processed foods. Many will claim that buying fresh produce is more expensive than buying pre-prepared and frozen meals, which is sometimes true. However, if I can teach folks how to cook delicious meals with fresh vegetables and fruits and then how to put the scraps that many would throw away to good use (see the list above), then folks will find abundance where many see only a one time use for a raw ingredient.

In this mindset of abundance, I am reminded of the miracles that Jesus performed in which there were thousands of hungry people and only a few fish and loaves of bread to feed them all (Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 15:32-39, Mark 6:31-44,  Mark 8:1-9, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:5-15). But in the end, all the people were fed and satisfied, and there were baskets of food leftover! God provided. When I finish preparing a meal at one of the churches, I am oftentimes left with scraps that can be transformed into something useful and delicious for our next meal. God still provides. I know that as I continue to learn and grow as a servant of Christ and a kitchen ministry coordinator I will learn more efficient, creative, and faithful methods of stewardship, preparation, and preservation. God will provide.

My own journey to use every little ingredient for what it’s worth has been a slow one. I started with vegetable broth and gradually added those projects that you saw listed above. And I still don’t have it all down. I know there is more that I can do and less that I have to toss. I hope this post serves as a challenge for you–not for you to magically turn into a waste-free machine but to find little ways to turn less into more, scarcity into abundance. God will provide, my friends, and it is our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s gifts.

Broccoli Soup Base

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¾ to 1 pound broccoli stems–trimmed, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 carrots, chopped

In a large pot set over medium heat, add the olive oil, broccoli stems, and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the broccoli is tender and the onion is soft, about 10 minutes (reduce the heat if the vegetables begin to brown).

To the pot, add the vegetable broth and water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Allow the base to cool. Puree and add additions for soup or store for later.

Creamy Cannellini-Broccoli Soup

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 dried bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 1 recipe of Broccoli Soup Base

 Heat soup base. Add bay leaf, black pepper, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes longer. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup. Sprinkle with fresh dill before serving.

 Yield: 6 servings

Vegan, Gluten-free

Broccoli Stalk Soup

• 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• A handful of pearl barley or red lentils
• ½ tablespoon fennel seeds (optional)
• Salt
• Black peppercorns
• Soured cream or creme fraiche
• A few tarragon leaves
• 2 recipes of Broccoli Soup Base

 Put the potatoes, and  pearl barley or lentils in a large pan and cover with water.

Bring to the boil and reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and barley. Add to broccoli soup base. Heat until warm.

Take off the heat and allow to cool a little before pouring into a blender and pureeing until smooth. Taste and season.

Pour into warm bowls and add little sour cream or crème fraiche, swirl into the soup and add a few sprigs of herb such as tarragon.

 Yield: 12 servings

Vegetarian, Gluten-free

Love Feast: A Guest Post

This past Sunday, my husband’s sermon focused on the importance, mission, growth, challenges, and blessings of our kitchen ministry. Instead of attempting to summarize his thought-provoking message, I asked his permission to post his sermon here preceded by a brief introduction. So without further ado, here are a few thoughts from Jeffrey:

I gave a sermon on Sunday, as I do on most Sundays. On this particular Sunday I was especially happy to tell the good news, because we are doing this ministry right. Most of the time, churches regularly fail to live into Jesus’ commands in Matthew 25. As our churches continue to live out Christ’s command to treat others well to show our love for him, I will be able to give a lot more sermons like this. I was sorta laying into them during Lent because, well, that’s what Lent is for. I’m really glad to have things that I genuinely rejoice in within the church. I think a lot of pastors have to fake it. I don’t. God’s work is being done by saints and sinners in our three churches. It is a blessing to watch, to be a part of, and to speak about. I hope you enjoy this message as much as I enjoyed writing and delivering it. The only thing I would change about the message is that I wish I had given more credit to the different people who have made it possible. Sara Beth is a force, but we would not be in the same place without the willing and joyful participation of many in our churches. Thanks be to all who have given themselves to make this possible thus far. But more than anything, thanks be to God, who enables us to grow in holiness together.

Feed My Lambs

Jesus was very interested in food. Have you ever realized this? The guy was always talking about it. His teachings often used food as a spiritual metaphor. Like, when he was talking about how important it is for Christians to produce good things in their lives, he talked about “bearing fruit.” When he spoke about how bad and good people are mixed together, he spoke of “wheat and chaff.” When Jesus talked about the celebration that God will host for humanity at the end of time, he spoke of a great “banquet.” Not only was he always talking about food, but he was also making a big show of how he chose to eat all the time. Like, he chose to eat with sinners, tax collectors and the like, instead of the righteous.

That was a big deal. It’s also a big deal that a number of his miracles had to do with food. Like when he fed thousands of people with just a few fish and loaves of bread.

Or like when he turned water into wine! 20th century Methodists don’t like that one because of the connotations with alcohol, but it’s there!

Jesus cared about food so much that on his last night with the disciples, he instituted what people today call the “Lord’s Supper,” in which he instituted the New Covenant. Knowing that he was about to be crucified for the sins of the world, he invited us to partake of his redemptive sacrifice through the consumption of his body in the form of bread, and of his blood in the form of wine.

Jesus cared about food so much that when he listed off the main things people need to do to show their salvation in him, among a list of only four other things, he said that when we feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty, we do so to him.

He cared about food so much that after he was resurrected from the dead, he still seemed to be hungry. When he first appeared in the Gospel of Luke, he appeared as a stranger to some men walking on a road to Emmaus. He spoke with them for hours, until they finally sat down to have dinner. It was only when he broke the bread that he became known to them, and then he disappeared.

And later, when the disciples heard about this, he appeared to them and asked for something to eat. They gave him some fish, and he ate it! I love that. The guy comes back from the dead and seems drawn to food.

In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, the disciples have heard of Jesus’ resurrection, and they have seen him, but while he is absent they decide to go fishing. Yet they had no luck. Jesus appears to them as a stranger on the shore and encourages them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. They humor the seeming stranger and catch a larger load than was possible, without even damaging their net. At that point Jesus becomes real to them: when he blesses them with a bounty of food. And when they come to the shore, he has prepared a meal for them.

Do you see a theme here? Followers of Christ see the resurrected Savior best in the midst of food. Not just the spiritual food that Jesus spoke of so often in the Gospel of John, but literal, material food. Food matters. And that is why, after he feeds them in today’s reading, he asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” When Peter says yes each time, Jesus says, “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep.” Reading this today, the meaning becomes clear: If we truly love Jesus, we will feed others.

Now, it would be a mistake to look at these words as having to do only with physical nourishment, but it would also be a mistake to assume that the words are only spiritual. We Christians worship a God who became human and resurrected in the flesh. Believing that we will experience his same resurrection, we know that our bodies are tied to our spirits in such a way that nourishment in the form of food gives nourishment to our spirits as well. When we feed one anothers’ bodies, we also nourish others’ souls. To feed others is to love Jesus and to do his work in the world. It seems too simple to be true, but I don’t think Jesus could have been much more clear in the way he lived his life, the words he said, and the way he chose to resurrect. The physical matters. Food matters.

That is why our Kitchen Ministry is such a big deal for me. Before I got married, it was just a dream in my head. It was clear to me from reading parts of the New Testament that early Christians ate whenever they got together. They ate full meals. They ate until they were full. Food was one of the main priorities of early Christians, such that when they were just a small religious sect, one of the few things that the Roman governors knew about them was that they ate when they got together. And yet the best most churches are able to manage is to have monthly Communion, irregular potlucks, and a special fundraiser meal or two every year. Christians today very rarely prioritize food the way that Jesus and his early followers did. And yes, that means less work for us, but I have suspected that something has been lost, as well.

And you know, I think I was right to think this. Because after Sara Beth moved out here to be with us, she decided that she shared my dream for food being a larger part of the HDCM ministry. She started cooking three meals a week, one for each of the churches. As we were already doing weekly bible studies at each church, we decided to eat beforehand. In all three places it started very small, with just a few showing up.

At each church it has looked a little different. Richfield started rather small and then started to get much larger, such that we had to move to a larger room.

Church people quickly took the task of cooking away from Sara Beth and took turns preparing the food for everyone, refusing compensation.

Yet lately fewer people are showing up, and some folks have seemed rather tired. That is a unique challenge.

Shoshone started off with a good group, and many showed up just to support the pastor’s wife.

The group got smaller for a while, until it turned out that Sherry, one of our people, enjoys baking bread and was willing to use the time before the meal to train Sara Beth. And suddenly two or three others are showing up to help out and learn about food as well, and there is a little community in the kitchen. And the joy of that community is spilling into the meal.

Gooding is the funnest example. For months, despite the size of our worshiping community, there were only six to eight people attending. Then after a little advertising, and after a few people started staying after meetings, we finally have begun to see a group more fitting for the size of our community. Let’s take a look at some of these photos. Recently we have been seeing groups of around 30 people!

And you will notice that many of these faces are unfamiliar. They are folks from the community who are not comfortable in a worship setting, but who will come to eat with us.

  

Some present are doing just fine, but some who show up live in very vulnerable and uncertain situations. Our weekly meals are a place where all who come together get the chance to pray, to dine, and to spend some time with others who genuinely care about them. People who are on the margins of society outside of this place become central in the mission of this church. For the first time since I have been here, children are running the halls and annoying the old folks with joyful noises.

   

It is a messy blessing!

The most exciting thing I am learning is that working together to serve others in a great blessing. For a while Sara Beth shouldered the load all by herself, working for hours to provide the meal. I was no use to her because I was leading meetings or catching up on work from earlier in the day. Finally she started to get tired, so I urged her to call around to see if people would be willing to help out. To our joy, many were willing.

After just a couple of weeks, we came to realize that this was never supposed to be an individual task. With a team, you have people getting to know one another in the kitchen, sharing their histories and giving the wisdom of different walks with Christ. With a team, there is joy in serving in a way that we know fits with Christ’s mission, and there is interest in learning new things and exchanging ideas. The kitchen has become one of the best places in these churches for people who love Christ to express that love in a group. And it is adding energy. It is a miracle and a blessing!

  

When this ministry got started, many believed it would peter out. Many approached Sara Beth to warn her of the fact that she would run out of energy. As I have spoken about it from the pulpit, I have seen many shake their heads, anticipating the demise of this community meal like so many before. Yet after six months of this ministry, I see no signs of it stopping. While there are challenges ahead, things are much stronger now than when we started.

Our knowledge of food preparation and nutrition is growing. As we have tried to find food for gluten intolerant, diabetic, or vegetarian persons, we have learned about many different kinds of foods. Our concern for the health of the food and the persons who eat it has led us to learn about the harm caused by processed food and the simple ways that we can purchase and use healthier, greener, and more local foods. And this knowledge is spilling out into the community through those who work in our kitchen and prepare the meals. I truly believe this ministry will add to the health of people not just when they enter this place, but when they take what they have learned out into the world.

Moreover, while many would think that preparing these meals would break the bank, they would be wrong. Every week Sara Beth purchases all of the ingredients needed for the meals and totals them up. Then at each meal we receive donations. If we ever fall short, we eat that cost, but it isn’t much, and we count it as part of our tithe. But more often, there is a profit. And that profit goes straight into the plates of each church. Thus far, Richfield UMC has made $168 from the meals. Shoshone UMC has made $174 from the meals, and Gooding has made $316.

So in short, our food ministry is creating Christian community, it is adding to personal health empowerment, and it is financially strengthening our churches. And while we are further along in this ministry than when we begun, we are still just at the beginning stages of what this ministry can do. As the meals continue to grow, these effects will be multiplied. Even more blessings will be poured out upon all who are a part of it. More lonely widows and widowers will find a community of joy to participate in. More stressed families will find a setting to relax and commiserate with peers. More lonely single people will find people with whom to connect on a spiritual level. More people who don’t even know they need nourishment will receive the spiritual nourishment of Christ through the physical nourishment they receive with us.

Recently I have been reading this scholar named Michael Svigel. Through early Christian documents he has helped to reveal that in most Christian communities, two weekly meals were held. The first was the Lord’s Supper. The second was the Love Feast. Not many of us have heard of the Love Feast. It seems to have been a meal for the entire community, in which those better-off Christians provided the food for the more impoverished in the community. It was a chance to level the playing field over a meal, where the proud would be brought low and the meek would be lifted up. Friends, I didn’t even realize it, but we are hosting a weekly love feast! We are doing something that Christians from the roots of our apostolic heritage in Christ have been doing! The DNA of Christ is growing stronger in these HDCM communities.

While the weekly love feasts will continue to evolve and grow, I also hope to help our appreciation of the Lord’s Supper grow. I think the next step is to start having weekly Communion. Now before you get too worked up, I know that Communion makes worship in Gooding go too long. We just have too much stuff going on. That is why I want to have it after worship. Every week after worship in Gooding UMC, individuals who desire to partake in the holy sacrament will be invited to make their way over to the chapel. Individuals from the two other HDCM communities will always be welcome, as will other Christians in the area who weren’t a part of worship.

My prayer is that, through feeding and being fed, these three communities will come to know Christ more intimately and more faithfully than they ever have before.

I pray that individuals will be transformed through food and the spiritual nourishment it gives.

I pray that, as Christ daily asks us to love him, we will regularly choose to feed his lambs. And in so doing, may we be fed. Amen.

H is for Humility

Each of the three weekly meals has been slowly growing since we began in September 2012. Until recently, each has grown at a similar rate. For a while, we were feeding 6-8 folks each night. Then it jumped to 10-15. Two of the churches have stagnated (for now) at this point, but the third church has climbed to 25-30 folks a week!

Cooking food for 30 people is the closest I have come to “feeding a crowd”, and it has encouraged (read: required) me to reach out to others for help preparing the meal. So far incorporating more people into the kitchen team has been a blessing in three ways. For one, I don’t have to cook a meal for 30 on my own. Secondly, I have some company throughout the 2 to 3 hour preparation time. And last, I am learning new cooking and baking techniques from other lovers of good food like myself. For the last two weeks, so many people have shown up to help that we ran out of things to do about an hour before the meal. That is a nice problem to have! What I also find encouraging is that as others walk in the door to eat, they first stop by the kitchen to ask if they can do anything to help. When I was first preparing these meals, my pridefulness would often turn them away. But now I accept their generosity and willingness to serve knowing that together we are building something sacred.

If you’ve been following my blog recently, you know that I believe this kitchen ministry is more than simply a meal or a social gathering. The meal, which is prepared by myself and fellow servants and that is eaten by a community of rich and poor, healthy and sick, clean and dirty, is a holy thing. When we gather around the table, hold hands with one another, and pray through song, I know that God is with us. When our conversations revolve around the church community, the events in the life of the church, and the ways in which God is working in our lives, I know that our witnesses are not only building up one another but also Christ’s church. When I observe a gentleman take one of the last pieces of bread, look at the line of people behind him, and put the bread back for someone else to enjoy, I know that I am in the midst of people who are different from those in the world around us. Each week I see humility, sacrifice, generosity, kindness, and, most importantly, love in many of those attending the weekly meals. And my hope is that those who don’t show those signs of Christ now will eventually be influenced by the witness of others in our community.

Each week I find myself surprised and excited by the ways the Holy Spirit is moving in our communities. And Christ is often revealed to me in the actions and speech of my brothers and sisters when I least expect it. I am humbled by the way this kitchen ministry has become a witness to the communities at large and an expression of God’s love to those who join us from week to week. All I did was show up and cook the food. Thanks be to God!

Unexpected Transformation

Jeffrey and I strive to guide and influence the kitchen ministry primarily by the Gospels and other New Testament books. Why? Well, these accounts of Jesus and the collection of letters to churches give us a glimpse of the Early Church—what was important to them, what ministries they prioritized, how they cared for one another, etc. So in the spirit of loyalty to the Bible and especially the New Testament, I would like to begin this post with a short passage from one of the four Gospels.  Here is Matthew 25:31-40:

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink’…Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?’…And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Jesus has called us to literally feed those who are hungry and to literally give drink to those who are thirsty. Jesus is clear that these fruits of faithfulness are not figurative, and he says that even if you do it to that one person at the bottom of the totem pole then you have done it to Jesus himself. Those who have fed a hungry person and given drink to a thirsty person will inherit the kingdom. Whoa. (In this same passage, Jesus assigns equal value to visiting the sick and those in prison, clothing the naked, and welcoming the stranger. I don’t leave these out to discount them but to put emphasis on the two pertaining to physical sustenance—the focus of the kitchen ministry.)

When Jeffrey and I began this ministry, our vision was to create a weekly fellowship meal for each church on a day other than Sunday morning. Shortly after we began preparing and serving meals at the churches, Jeffrey and I realized that this weekly meal was more than fun fellowship time. Sure, we are sharing food with one another. We are also getting to know one another on a more personal level. And we are sharing our joys and our sorrows with one another. This meal makes us look and feel and act like a family. We actually have become a family!

Forming a family-like atmosphere is only one of the blessings we have seen from the kitchen ministry thus far. The other noticeable benefit from a weekly “family” meal has blessed the widows and those without family nearby. We have heard several of the widows talk about how sad and unexciting it is to cook for one and that coming to this weekly meal is a joy both for the food and the time with brothers and sisters in Christ. There are also several in our communities with little money to feed themselves healthfully, but they can depend on a healthy, free, uplifting meal at the church once a week. The idea for this weekly meal did not begin as another soup kitchen (we already have one of those in town) but simply as a shared meal among a spiritual family. However, we have seen the meals bless those without food, those with no financial stability, and those without family. And all of these people come from within our church communities. These folks needed a free meal, quality time with a spiritual family, and a share in God’s love. And somehow, by the grace of God, the kitchen ministry has begun to transform into just that. Our prayer is that it continues to grow and expand, to sustain, to fulfill, and to encourage all who eat with us and all who serve in the ministry.

Greens: My favorite food

For last night’s community meal, I found inspiration in Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood Cookbook. Jeffrey’s father gave us this gem shortly after we were married, but it wasn’t until about a month ago that I fell in love with it.  It’s full of savory vegetarian recipes—some traditional and some not-so-traditional. And she always offers a healthy(er) way to prepare each recipe. Honestly, I usually go the less healthy route (more oil, butter, eggs, etc.), but one day I might need to watch our figures. And then I’ll fully appreciate this cookbook. Now, onto the food…

I decided on pasta primavera for this week’s entree. Ideally, this dish should feature the first harvests of a Spring garden, so the local and in-season sensibilities in me are still aching and feeling guilty.  Since it’s winter in Idaho, folks, none of the veggies I used are in season or local. I guess I was suffering from Spring fever. Despite those greens being shipped all the way to Idaho, they were beautiful and delicious. Katzen’s recipe recommended several green things, but I decided to use my favorites instead: green onions, kale, broccoli, and green peas. You can find my recipe for pasta primavera (a la winter) below.

Most of the time, our conversations around dinner are lighthearted in nature. Last night was no different. We talked of goats, recipes, produce, and J’s childhood. When J talks about his family or his growing up years in front of those church ladies, it makes my day. To see their faces light up with interest and surprise as J tells of his upbringing and sometimes mischievous doings with his brothers is always the best thing to happen to me that day. There is one woman in particular who is just plain tickled with the fact that J was once a little boy who drove his parents crazy (like all little boys, I think). Last night, said woman asked J which of his parents cooked most often. While he was thinking, I almost blurted out, “His dad.” But he surprised me by saying, “It was about half and half.” I know this conversation doesn’t seem too interesting now, but in the moment it was full of suspense, surprise, and novelty. I had never asked J that question before, but had just assumed his father was King of the Kitchen since all of J’s childhood kitchen memories (he shared with me) contained his father. It was strange to feel the same sense of awe about my husband as those church ladies did. We were all learning, understanding, and getting to know one another over this food. And that’s what this meal thing is all about.

As this kitchen ministry grows and improves, J and I both hope that the conversations surrounding the meals become deeper, more meaningful expressions of faith. Right now, we are still in the getting-to-know one another stage, which is important. For most of these folks, Sunday morning worship is the only place they collectively spend time together, which is wonderful but does not necessarily build relationships. Eventually, our fellowship meals will transform into a time of spiritual conversation such that we are encouraged, edified, and strengthened by our brothers and sisters around the table. Ultimately, our prayer is that these conversations and meals transform us into better likenesses of Christ.

Contrary to popular belief and/or practice, the purpose of the Church is not to serve as a social club where we glad-hand one another or parade our wealth. The Church is not even contained in a building. The Church is a body of Christ’s followers. And we are not always happy, healthy people. The folks who make up the Church suffer and flourish, mourn and rejoice, fall short and are built up. We, the Church, are (read: ‘should be’) a spiritual, monetary, nutritional support for one another. And as I outlined in my first post, this kitchen ministry that my husband and I have begun should cover all of these bases: healthy and balanced meals, no cost for those attending, spiritual and emotional support among those at the table. This is what the Church should always be.

Pasta Primavera

Recipe by Mollie Katzen, adapted by Sara Beth

• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 small bunch of green onions (7-10 individual onions), chopped
• 1/2 pound leafy greens (kale, collard, or mustard), stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk of broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small bag of frozen peas
• 8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. penne or rotini (or any pasta you like)
• Extra olive oil, to taste
• Parmesan for the top

1. Heat the pasta water with about 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cook the pasta (according to directions on package) while you saute the vegetables.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the broccoli and greens first. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the peas, garlic, green onions, broth, and salt. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Uncover and simmer until the liquid has evaporated.  Add the black pepper towards the end of the cooking.
5. When the pasta is finished, drain it and add it to the large pot with the vegetables. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until everything is well mingled. Add extra olive oil if you like.
6. Serve with parmesan and maybe red pepper flakes if you like a little spice.

Yield: About 12 servings

Fat Tuesday Reflections

First of all…1. My husband enforces a strict rule against breakfast food for supper. 2. I happen to love breakfast foods at all times of the day, but nowadays I only get them in the morning. 3. Tonight we hosted a Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper at the church. 4. Problem solved! (If you have no idea what Fat (or Shrove) Tuesday is, check out this fun and interesting video clip.)

Earlier today I worked on a post explaining the name of my blog and why I chose it. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for a rainy day for that post, folks. Instead of finishing that, I’ve chosen to write my thoughts on the first large-scale meal I’ve hosted…ever.

Each week, I plan and prepare three identical, yet separate, meals for three unique Church communities (Jeffrey and I serve a three-point charge in three different small towns in rural Idaho). When we launched the kitchen ministry in September 2012, an average of 5 to 8 folks were attending each of the meals. Now we’re seeing an average of 8 to 15 people at each meal. Although the program has almost doubled since we began, it is still small enough that I am often able to manage all on my own. But tonight, Fat Tuesday, we hosted around 60 people for pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Even though I feel like Wonder Woman most days, I could not do this alone.

Jeffrey and I volunteered to spear-head this event about a month ago, but I conveniently forgot that and assumed that someone else would do it. I was wrong. Very wrong. Yesterday afternoon, Jeffrey looked over at me and said, “So are you going to plan this thing or what?” Naturally, I went into freak-out, emergency mode (because it was A DAY away). Overcoming my natural inclination to cry, panic, etc., I made a list (prepping and cooking time frame, kitchen stations to be manned, list of people to call, timing of the shifts). And once I started calling folks to help (and they said yes!), I began to plug them into a messy, unorganized, illegible schedule. An hour later, I had all but 5 (of the 21) slots filled!

After planning and managing the pancake supper tonight, I am able to see the things I did well and the things I didn’t do well. My hope is that I can keep these lessons in the back of my mind as I continue to grow the kitchen ministry at each church such that we get better and better at efficiently preparing food and creating a joyful experience in the kitchen.

Things I did well:

1. Plan every. little. thing.
2. Recruit willing and joyful volunteers
3. Serve with a smile
4. Delegate tasks
5. Think through worst case scenarios and how to solve them before the event took place

Things I did not do well:

1. Communicate
2. Regulate and/or dismiss anxiety in the kitchen
3. Set up the work stations with ample space and a good flow
4. Invite the Holy Spirit into our work

I could easily walk away from this focusing on my mistakes and weaknesses, but instead I am choosing to remember that hosting this event was immensely positive. I did it! I did it with lots of help from Jeffrey and my fellow servants in the church. And next time, I will be even better—a better leader, communicator, minister, and servant of Christ.

Documenting a Journey

Since I got married about six months ago, I have jumped head first into ministry alongside Jeffrey.  I began as his musical sidekick, but my role has developed into much more than that.  I am now the chair of our circuit’s kitchen ministry. And if you’ve read my About section already, you know that I am in love with three things: God, my husband, and food. I had no idea that these three loves would challenge me and push me into greater ministry here in rural Idaho.  But here I am–a wife, a minister, a United Methodist, a lover of food and homemaking–attempting to use and meld these passions and gifts to grow and strengthen our communities.

Here’s a basic idea of what Jeffrey and I are doing. The primary purpose of the kitchen ministry is to live out the gospel in community. There are, however, many other benefits than loyalty to scripture:

1) Widows and single persons have the option of eating with others and not being lonely
2) Families don’t have to do big home meal productions amid the various logistical complications of households. Instead they can just come down to the church!
3) People with tight schedules have a quicker option that does not necessarily include food prep or cleaning
4) People who are unfamiliar with healthy eating habits can gain new (read ‘healthier’) habits
5) People with little experience with or knowledge of food preparation can have a place to experiment and learn
6) Intentional purchase and use of local foods can make an impact on the local economy
7) Partnership with the community garden can result in more communal knowledge of organic living
8) Church people can interact with one another outside of worship in ways that are still holy and that facilitate relationship
9) The church building will draw people in, who will then be put to service of Christ through choirs, bible studies, committees, small groups, etc.
10) While many persons today are simply unwilling to enter a church building for the purpose of worship, many will come to get reasonably priced or free food. We will be engaging people who would otherwise not come into these spaces.
11) Food preparation in groups will build camaraderie, mutual respect, and healthy serving relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ who participate.
12) Poor people will have somewhere to eat with loving and respectful people

My hope for this blog thing is that I can offer some real-life reflections on how a communal meal brings the Holy Spirit into our midst and how lives are changed through quality and healthy food preparation. I’ve been doing this kitchen thing for about six months now, but I am still learning.  And our ministry is still in its infancy. I hope to document our journey in faith, in growth, in discovery, and in food such that we are built up and others are as well.

Here we go!