Bread & Wine
by Shauna Niequist
cooking/inspirational
Living overseas and moving every few
years changes the things that are important in life. How we spend
our time as a family is different overseas than it is when living in
the US. In America we are very busy running here and there, being
involved in lots of activities and taking advantage of the quick and
easy way of life. Entertainment is easy, food is easy and
transportation to take advantage of these things is easy. When you
strip away all the easiness to life you are left with something that
is a bit more pure and wholesome at its core. Don't get me wrong, I
love America and all the convenience that go with it, but when I look
at who our family is today, because we took the easiness away, I am
much happier.
One of the very core things that has
filled our life here and in New Zealand is food. The preparation of
food, eating of food and sharing of food. Suddenly cheap, edible
take-out pizza is no longer available. In New Zealand I was
disappointed to find that my staple Little Ceasar's Saturday night
tradition was gone. We began experimenting with recipes finding the
perfect crust, what sauces we liked best and favorite toppings.
Here in Colombia we have picked-up playing with pizza once again. We
now have kids inviting themselves over for dinner if they know it's a
pizza night. My son has sort of adopted crust making to become his
speciality. We work side by side mixing flour, salt and water,
letting the dough rise then throwing the crusts in the air to make
the perfect base for our toppings. We make enough to feed ourselves,
our friends and throw a few in the freezer for a quick meal when
needed. My son is going off to college in the fall and I wonder who
is going to laugh with me, bump into me and share those precious
moments making crust in the kitchen.
It's spring break so the kids made a
list of activities they wanted to do throughout the week. Go to a
movie, ride horses, visit the orphanage, make donuts, make pretzels,
and just hang-out together as a family. The kitchen has been busy
and the house smells good. My husband came up with an idea to do an
“Iron Chef” competition as a family. We divided into two teams,
came up with two ingredients that needed to be included in the dish
and went to the store together. Pine nuts and bacon flavored three
dishes made by the two teams. We moved around the kitchen with
surprising ease. One dish was an original creation and another was a
modified recipe to fit the ingredients available here in Bogota. We
set the table, lit some candles, prayed and enjoyed the fruits of our
labors. It was one of those sorts of evenings that will linger in
our minds for years to come, the food and the family together in the
kitchen and at the table.
When Shauna Niequist posted an
opportunity to review her new book Bread & Wine on her
blog Hello, I thought “What fun!”. I've read Shauna's two
books, Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet and enjoyed
each. I didn't know what to expect as I was awaiting my copy of
Bread & Wine – a book similar to the two I had read, thoughts
on life and God or would it be a cookbook? What a wonderful
combination it has turned out to be. Through stories Shauna
encourages us to experiment with recipes which is something I am
forced to do whether I want to or not! If an ingredient is not
available, it's not available and I have to figure something else
out. Most of the time it works! I've found that cooking is not as
inflexible a science as I had first thought.
The main message in Bread & Wine is
that food is the opener for relationships. I believe this to be
true. When I find myself reminiscing about home, family and friends,
food is often a part of the memories I dwell on. I was reading the
book with one half of my mind and mulling over the upcoming book club
that I was to be hosting. Suddenly I realized that the lunch was of
upmost importance. Filling in a few holes in the menu with
suggestions in Shauna's book I cooked the day away. A house full of
women and good food provided the perfect atmosphere to sit back,
relax and enjoy one another's company. Those times are important to
me because we all speak English and I need those relationships in a
world filled with Spanish. The food became secondary as we lingered
around the table laughing, talking, sharing, eating and drinking.
I hope you find a copy of this book,
enjoy it and share it over a cup of coffee with a good friend.
Hey K! I just saw your comment you left on my blog. Thank you so much for the encouragement!! I have been praying that God would give us just a little bit of hope that Ayudame is where we are supposed to be adopting from. LOVE LOVE LOVE that you wrote that because it was that little bit of hope that I needed :) Do you have an email address? I would love to email you. Do you go to Ayudame often? My email is babean06@yahoo.com if you would like to email me! Thanks again for the encouragement!
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