Food & Faith in Our United Methodist Churches
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 →
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 →
One of the campers was asked what she liked best about this week. She raised both arms and said, “The food!” There are so many things for the children to like at Lookout. They’re busy all day with caving, kayaking, crafts, swimming, Bible study, rock climbing, and I even saw a guitar class yesterday. It’s... Continue Reading →
It’s minutes before mealtime, and the kitchen is on hyper drive. The coleslaw comes out of the cooler. The chili comes off the stove. Another layer of steaming hot dogs go out on the serving table. All hands are on deck, and the food and utensils are flying. The same thing happens when we have... Continue Reading →
I've been up since 5:30 a.m. Breakfast preparation at Camp Lookout begins at 6 a.m. Dinner preparation begins at 4 p.m. Four hours later, I walked out of the Lookout kitchen and started working on my computer. My feet hurt in a way that almost alarms me. My back hurts. My brain is scattered. I'm... Continue Reading →
This morning, I helped make a bread pudding using leftover rolls. I cleaned up a breakfast buffet table where 87 campers in the 5th and 6th grades spilled chocolate gravy and dribbled their eggs. Yesterday, I diced tomatoes and cut a sheet cake into 100 slices. I helped stack bottles of tomato ketchup and huge... Continue Reading →
The Call to Cook 