I'm used to it by now…the silent laughter and shakes of the heads as I stop mid-sentence and realize I'm doing it again. Talking about food…or rather about cooking wonderful, flavorful, comfort food. I've missed it this year….not just eating familiar meals and spending time around my mom's table…but the art and pleasure and calmness of cooking in my kitchen. And so I talk about it…and my teammates shake their heads as I go beyond just saying that I miss a good burger or pizza. I go into details about how much I miss making tomato bisque soup. The unrushed time spent chopping the onions and garlic, carrots and celery, sautéing them in sizzling butter until they release their fragrance all over the house. The fresh herbs of parsley and thyme and a bay leaf that you allow to simmer and join the fragrant melody dancing around the kitchen…then at the last second, stirring in that thick sweet cream. And don't even get me started on the perfect grilled cheese sandwiches that you need to fully enjoy this warm, cozy soup. Ahhhh.
But…this month, I didn't just talk about it…I got to step back into a " kitchen" and chop and cook and dip my spoon in the pot and season to taste. And I got to do my favorite thing after cooking…sharing it with sweet friends as we sit, and talk, and laugh together.
After a few days of enjoying meals together, the question was raised by a teammate that seems to be the echo of this year as we still try to learn the practice of abandonment. "Is this really necessary? Do we need to be talking about menus and eating hot meals together? We should be talking more about ministry and what we can do there than what we're having for dinner." My breath caught in my throat as I held back a response. Please don't take this away from me. I love cooking for others, I love cooking with friends, I love sitting down and enjoying a meal together. Could we eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all month…each person make their own and eat it while walking to ministry? Sure. But does that make us more holy or living successfully with abandonment? Doesn't even Jesus share intimate moments with his disciples as they break bread together? Can we learn to live with little and be content and live with more and be thankful? And the thankfulness be just as pleasing to the Lord?
I believe I've learned a new level of contentment this year…in every situation. I was so thankful for the peanut butter sandwiches in Guatemala, the $1.25 chicken fried rice we ate practically every night in Malaysia, and the cheap chapati bread we could pick up on the streets in Kenya and Uganda. The family style dinners in Cambodia that we ate outside were so special, although we didn't always recognize the meat. And in the Philippines, when the air smelled like rotten food and there were fish heads floating in our soup, I praised God for simple white rice that filled my stomach and quenched the uneasiness in my stomach. And this month….this month I was thankful for a little kitchen and a giant gas stove where I could finally cook. I want to not only learn how to give up and abandon, but how to receive and celebrate with thankfulness.
I started reading a book a few days ago called "Bread and Wine" by Shauna Niequist and she talks about cooking the way I do. She says, "What makes me feel alive and connected to God's voice and Spirit in this world is creating opportunities for the people I love to rest and connect and be fed at my table. I believe it's the way I was made and I believe it matters." Hmmm. Yes. This is what I love. More than cooking and eating. But creating that space that happens around a meal to stop and enter into one another's lives a little bit more.
This month was pure bliss as I cooked with friends. Running to the store every afternoon to get fresh veggies since we had no refrigeration. Prepping all the fresh ingredients before running outside as the sun dipped lower so we could catch the beautiful sunset. Breathing in the smells of onions and garlic being sautéed on the stove. Opening the back door to allow in a cool breeze as the stove heats up the room, then stepping out into the silent darkness as the pasta boils away, and standing in awe of the numerous stars streaked across the sky. Ahhh. Africa. Swaziland. This is what I've been waiting to see.
One of my favorite days:
I opened my eyes and looked over at my 4 other female teammates packed tightly side by side. Unusual that none of us had crawled out of bed yet, but it was an extra cold Saturday morning. As I stretched, I whispered, "It's a good day for soup." I heard, "Mmmhmmm" as a response. So as a couple people worked in the garden and after we cleaned the whole house…killing the mouse that was keeping us up at night and sweeping his waste out of our bedrooms…I headed to the store to grab potatoes and onions and garlic and get ready for this…cheese! Yes, there were little packages of Gouda cheese which tasted more like processed velveeta…but I didn't care…it was cheese!
We got back and Allyson and I started chopping the onions and garlic. And slowly others popped in the kitchen, asking how they could help. So Amanda grabbed buckets to fill with water outside, and sat on the floor to scrub the potatoes. Another pulled out a pocket knife to chop the carrots. Someone else cut the cheese into cubes. Natasha mixed the chicken stock on the stove. Moriah popped in with an iPod and speaker and turned on her dance party mix. Of course this called LaShondra into the kitchen and she danced around us as we continued our preparations. Steph slid into the kitchen to grab chunks of cheese when she thought no one was looking and I just looked around with thankfulness at the sweet times like this that I would soon miss so much. Finally, the soup was done and we circled around in prayer and then we scooped it into our mugs and opened packages of crackers. And finally, we sat down together. And oh my! It was amazing! This was the first time I had made potato soup and although I'm usually a recipe follower, I had to adapt to what we had available to us…and I have no idea how to convert lbs and oz to ml and kl and I was a little scared when the unpasteurized milk poured out in huge globs like sour milk does. But this soup was amazing. So future world racers, if you have a rare cold month and you want a cozy, delicious soup…adapt this recipe to what you have available to you. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
HEARTY CHEESY POTATO SOUP
Serves: One World Race Team (6-8 people)
1 package of bacon, coarsely chopped (yes, we splurged!)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock (You can make your own with chicken bouillon and water)
3 pounds potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (We just bought a bag…I don't really know the weight. Don't worry about peeling them…the skins on potatoes in other countries are really thin and it's not worth the work, so just scrub them really good with clean water)
8 oz. Cheddar or Gouda cheese, or any other kind you can find (This is half of what the original recipe calls for…but cheese is expensive, so we lessened the amount and it was still delicious)
1 cup milk (original recipe called for cream…but make it what you want)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon, set aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon drippings. Add butter and melt.
Add onion, carrots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in chicken stock. Add potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook partially covered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Place cheese in a large mixing bowl. Stir in about a quarter of the hot soup, mixing until smooth. Return cheese mixture to saucepan.
Gradually stir in milk, salt and ground pepper. Continue to heat soup until almost boiling. You can stir the crumbled bacon in before serving or leave it out to sprinkle on top if you have vegetarians.
Serve with crackers or bread.
Oh…you want one more recipe? Of course I'll share another with you. So, we didn't have an oven this month, so I was trying to think of a dessert we could make on the stovetop…with things we could find at the small store across the street and things we had on hand. It was Travis' birthday…and he didn't want cake anyways, so we settled for an apple crisp…stovetop style. It's a great WR recipe because you probably have all the ingredients on hand like oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon, and apples. The trick is to make the oat topping separately from the fruit, then you can layer it in the bowls before serving. So this is the general recipe although I doubled the crisp topping cuz it's so delicious and your team will eat it by the handfuls afterward cuz it tastes like homemade granola.
Stovetop Apple Crisp
Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir in the oats and sugar. Cook while stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour the mixture onto a table in a single layer to cool.
Apple Filling:
6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of a lemon or orange
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Sauté the apples and the butter in a pan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. Evenly divide the apples into bowls. Break up the crisp topping and sprinkle on top of the apples. Extra special if you serve it with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6-8 people.
