Food & Faith in United Methodist Churches
If you’re viewing this story in email, please click on TheCall2Cook.com for best presentation and to see all the photos. My car smelled good, like Mexican spices, for days before I actually stepped up to the stove to prepare this Tennessee Taco Soup. That’s because this hearty, comfort-food soup came from a mix prepared by a church... Continue Reading →
All summer long, I had a wish to get corn on the cob from a local farm to serve at our free drive-through lunch ministry. It finally happened in August when we discovered Huff Farm in Maryville, Tennessee. One of our ministry helpers, Marci, met Eddie Huff at a local farmers market and gave me... Continue Reading →
First United Methodist Church of Pearisburg, Virginia, has been making these fruit-filled handheld pies for some 40 years to raise money for different projects. This year, the church made and sold 710 apple and cherry pies to help fund improvements in their building. Particularly in the American South, people of a certain age loooooove fried... Continue Reading →
Free meals for kids come with lessons on community care Michelle Curiel was not content to just hand out coloring books to children who came to the park for free meals this summer. She wanted kids to learn something about the “sacredness of food” and hunger awareness. So when the kids in her neighborhood came... Continue Reading →
It was easy to find Sherry Steele, her adorable daughter, and this recipe for homemade dog treats on the internet. All I did was search “methodist dog treats,” which led me straight to Plainfield United Methodist Church in Plainfield, Illinois. Why would I do such a thing, you ask? I recently noticed dogs are often... Continue Reading →
Meg Carter has “never decorated cookies before,” and she doesn’t consider herself to be a great cook. Yet, she and a small band of volunteers are today wrapping up the baking and decorating of 2,200 cookies they hope will sell at a Texas peach festival attracting as many as 60,000 people on July 10. “It... Continue Reading →
It started out with a humble, home-y side dish in the Easter menu for our drive-thru meal ministry. The enthusiasm for "strawberry fluff salad" led me to write about it for this blog, which led to more enthusiasm. It was exciting when Religion News Service picked up on our recipe and blog and included us... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, we did an informal survey to identify ingredients for the favorite potato salad for our meal ministry. It’s not what I would choose or expect, but we went with it. The ingredients are simple but seem to blend well so every taste comes singing through the somewhat less-vocal potatoes: dill pickle, onions,... Continue Reading →
The bacon-wrapped chicken is making me hungry. And I’m definitely stealing the recipe for cornbread salad. Today I’m a guest in the kitchen at Concord United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Our mission is to cook a Sunday dinner for the 37 “grannies” who are served and loved by Wesley House Community Center. Tanda Montgomery,... Continue Reading →
The first time I saw cornbread salad at a church dinner, I was reluctant to try it. Now that I’m older and wiser, I’ll say you should definitely try this. I couldn’t find the origin, but cookbook writers have wondered if this recipe is related to the old Southern snack enjoyed by our elders --... Continue Reading →
The Call to Cook 