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 →
Love lemon? This whippersnap is for you
In our last post, we shared a new feature on our denominational website, Our United Methodist Table, and a vintage recipe for Potato Puffs. Here's another vintage recipe -- from 1978 and Macedonia United Methodist Church in North Carolina -- for Lemon Whippersnaps. https://youtu.be/8ND2gUaJLVk Let us know if you try it! You may reach me... Continue Reading →
Ode to church cookbooks
Oh, how I love those sacred recipes from covered-dish dinners and bake sales of lore, where many are gathered with plastic comb binders and the culinary saints whose names are preserved on the pages will be blessed from tabletops for generations to come. Just kidding, sort of. I have loved cookbooks since my 20s, when... Continue Reading →
How the little girl in the photo became a cake decorator
You could say Alex Shelton has a bun in the oven, but for the moment, she’s taking a break from baking cakes. That’s because this talented cake decorator is expecting her second child, Sophia Grace, on June 18. She’s staying off her feet until the baby comes, yet the requests for sugary fantasies have not... Continue Reading →
Chocolate gravy: Camp memories are made of this
The first time I ever heard of chocolate gravy, I was well into my 50s. "That’s a thing?” I asked. “It’s a Southern thing?” How could I have missed it? Yet miss it I did. I was visiting Camp Lookout when introduced to the notion of ladling warm chocolate sauce over split biscuits for breakfast.... Continue Reading →
Oatmeal Cake for such a time as this
“To ease the pandemic stress, we started baking.” That’s what Chris Sneed posted on his Facebook page with this photo of an appealing slice of cake. Of course, I had to call Chris to find out more. “Today we made my Great-Granny Mattson's Oatmeal Cake,” Chris said. “Many people say I am just like my... Continue Reading →
Humble but yummy: Cooking with what you’ve got
Yesterday I had an eye-rolling moment as I listened to an NPR interview. The subject was Sam Sifton, founding editor of NYT Cooking – of which I am a fan and paid subscriber. Sam talked about how he enjoys going to his pantry and conjuring creative meals with available foods that don’t require another risky... Continue Reading →
‘Magic bars’ for hospital workers on the front lines
When the churches were closed due to coronavirus, a couple of youth members at Rye Cove United Methodist Church didn’t want to stop reaching out to the community. Allison Vincent, age 12, and Lindsey Vincent, age 11, are part of a youth group that “absolutely loves to cook,” says their mother. Cooking has been a... Continue Reading →
A fruitcake story in place of the fruitcake I never made
I missed out on doing something nice for my husband this Christmas. I didn't make him a fruitcake. He's one of the few people I know who loves fruitcake of all kinds. He loves the store-bought version, but when I read about a traditional West Indian "Black Cake" in one of my favorite books --... Continue Reading →
¿Por qué cocina Isaac 12 tartas de queso?
(We have translated our story about Isaac and his cheesecakes for our Spanish-speaking friends!) Isaac López cocinó 47 tartas de queso este fin de semana. Debe cocinar 65 tartas de queso más. Isaac, de 12 años, está tratando de ganar suficiente dinero para hacer su primer viaje de misión. La idea para recaudar fondos llegó... Continue Reading →