If you’ve viewing this story in email, please click on TheCall2Cook.com for best presentation and to see all the photos. It’s been years since I did a chocolate Easter egg story. So when I heard the Mt. Olivet United Methodist Women were prepping for a season of peanut butter-mixing and chocolate-dipping, I had to find... Continue Reading →
Vegetable casserole with the colors of spring
Martee Buchanan served this casserole to us during a recent visit to the Wesley Foundation at Radford University. I loved the colors in the dish along with the mixture of vegetables and of course, the taste! I like traditional green bean casserole – with the French fried onions and canned soup – but I like... Continue Reading →
Good news. We won.
We got some good news last week. The United Methodist Association of Communicators gave this blog a "Best in Class" award for internet communications. The Call to Cook edged out other blogs, social media content, and website nominees submitted by agencies, annual conferences, and local churches throughout the United Methodist denomination. It is a high... Continue Reading →
In the kitchen with Martee: Cooking for the homeless
This spacious, well-lit, well-equipped kitchen has been the source of many, many meals over the last four decades – most often prepared for students participating in the United Methodist ministry located one block from Radford University. But on a recent chilly March afternoon, this kitchen is where a meal is being prepared for 11 homeless... Continue Reading →
That time we were so green about cooking mustard greens
About a year ago, we ended up with a last-minute mess of donated collard greens we wanted to serve at our takeout lunch ministry. We knew just who to call for guidance. JaNaé Swanson-Brown says she learned to cook her Southern-soul collards by first watching her mother and grandmother in Millen, Georgia, and then perfecting... Continue Reading →
After the shrimp creole, they were Valentines for life
“It’s not gourmet. It’s just simple.” That what Ann Low Reego said about the shrimp creole recipe she shared with us, along with a love story to make us smile. This dish really is easy to make, and the results are simply lovely – lovely enough to serve on Valentine’s Day for 47 years in... Continue Reading →
The community dinner of my dreams (video)
Remember community dinners before COVID-19? Those days will return, and I'll bet they'll be even more successful and appreciated. I saw this wonderful video from United Methodist Communications more than a year ago. A pastor in Toledo, Ohio, opened up his house to offer "LifeLine Toledo," a big dinner ministry reaching people well beyond the... Continue Reading →
Surprised by the broccoli salad
A month ago, we went on a quest for a great broccoli salad to serve at our free community drive-thru lunch. Several tasty suggestions were shared, but we chose this recipe from the collection of a 102-year-old woman who lived in Kenbridge, Virginia. We didn’t expect all of our 90 guests to like it, but... Continue Reading →
First taste of fall: Sweet Potato-Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’m on a small team of people who run a food ministry in north Knoxville, Tennessee. Our friend Marci Villanueva created these cookies because we need to use up sweet potatoes stored in our freezers, but also because we wanted to provide dessert a little special for last Saturday's free takeout lunch. The sweet potatoes... Continue Reading →
Today, Shades of Grace served its 10,000th meal since March 13
August 27, 2020 As the people lined up for their breakfast this morning in an alley, Shades of Grace United Methodist Church quietly celebrated 10,000 meals served since the pandemic became a reality in Kingsport, Tennessee. “We’ve never missed a single day of serving,” said the Rev. Will Shewey, even though COVID-19 forced Shades of... Continue Reading →