• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

Chasing God's glory down life's unexpected trails

  • About Dorina
  • Speaking
    • Events
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Running
  • Culture + Travel
  • Blog
    • Freebies

Book review: Taste and See

For more than 8 years, my husband and I hosted a Cooking Club at our home for 10 couples. We gathered monthly to try out recipes across various themes. Whether it was rolling fresh Italian pastas, hovering over salmon on the grill on a blazing summer day, or reading a detailed recipe for some French delight we couldn’t pronounce, it was always an adventure.

We discovered exotic spice blends like berbere and curry. We learned the nuances of working with phyllo dough and puff pastry. We also tried out a whole myriad of cooking gadgets.

There was something magical about inviting people into my kitchen to prepare food and gather at the table to eat our creations and do the dishes together. Through the years, we swapped stories, celebrated births, mourned deaths, dished about parenting, dug through political topics, and grappled with our faith together.

In those years, I discovered that food was my love language. I love to gather my people in the kitchen and at my table. My favorite way to love on others is to bring them a meal when they are on bedrest or to arrange a meal list after a new baby is born.

I know I’m not alone. I’ve met other people along my life journey who share this love – not just for eating, but for connecting deeply over food.

In her new book, Taste and See: Discovering God Among Butchers, Bakers, and Fresh Food Makers, Margaret Feinberg points out that God was the original foodie. He handcrafted humanity to need food and designed a plethora of delectable options for us to choose from.

Taste and See is a culinary adventure, a food memoir, and a spiritual journey. The premise of the book is that food plays a significant role in helping us taste and see God’s goodness in our lives. This book is an invitation to the global table (with recipes included!)

Needless to say, I was quick to RSVP yes to this invitation.

Margaret presents food as not merely functional for survival, but also as a source of deep pleasure and a vehicle for building community. She unpacks how food is both sacred and symbolic, playing a prominent role in the most spiritually-significant moments throughout the Bible.

“When we gather to eat, God wants to nourish more than our bodies: he wants to nourish our souls with transcendent joy and supernatural community and divine presence,” writes Margaret. “When we feed our physical appetites in community, we open our hearts for God to feed something deeper as well.”

Taste and See is divided into 8 parts, focusing on 6 types of foods that are abundant in the Scriptures. Through Margaret’s descriptive prose, we learn about fish, figs, bread, sea salt, olives and lamb chops. I love how this book offers us a new lens to view the Bible.

Margaret takes readers from a fishing expedition on the Sea of Galilee to a fig orchard in Madera, California (which, by the way, is practically in my own backyard). She invites us to mix dough for matzo bread with a professor at Yale university and to harvest olives with a family in Croatia.

One of my favorite tidbits Margaret reveals is that the fig tree will continue to produce fruit for eighty to a hundred years after it is planted.

“That’s Christ’s vision for us,” she writes “that we will continue to yield the fruit of Christlikeness and find our satisfaction in him long after gray hairs sprout and crow’s feet nestle near our eyes.”

This is just one example of how this book takes us from the savory to the sacred.

The book concludes with an invitation to a Passover feast enjoyed at a table in the Holy Land. Margaret helps us taste each intentionally-prepared bite of the seder, the ceremonial dinner that commemorates the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

These words speak life to my foodie heart: “God is waiting around every table, in every pantry, in every backyard garden. You just need some fresh ingredients, some time, and a friend or two.”

 

*I regularly recommend and give away books to my Glorygram subscribers. Join my tribe here! 

**I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com. There is no additional cost to readers.

 

Share
Tweet
Share
Pin10
10 Shares

March 12, 2019 Categories: Book ReviewsTagged: abundance, cooking, food stories, friendship, world travel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Meet Dorina

Aloha, friend! If you love stories, you are in the right place. I write about grief, glory, running, food, and more. I hope these words inspire you to chase after God’s glory in your life today!

Find me on Social Media

Categories

  • Book Reviews
  • Culture
  • Featured
  • General
  • Guest Blogger
  • Navigating Grief
  • Podcast
  • Recipes
  • Running

Recent Posts

  • Our Top 10 AAPI Chapter Books July 26, 2022
  • On butterfly wings: No Shame in Going Gently July 15, 2022
  • 5 myths and 1 important truth about grief July 6, 2022
  • When God meets us in ocean waves June 7, 2022
  • 10 picture books by AAPI authors you should add to your bookshelf May 28, 2022

Popular Posts

  • Celebrating a Heaveniversary: 10 ways to honor a loved one’s death
  • 10 meaningful sympathy gift ideas for widows and families
  • My refuge: Resting under the shadow of His wings
  • 10 creative ways to honor a loved one’s memory (and clean out the garage)

Tags

abundance behold brave christian blog christianity christmas community compassion cooking courage creativity culture death dorina lazo gilmore family life fear finishing well flourishing food stories friendship gifts Grief haiti hope identity Incourage essays inspirational kids laughter Main dish margin marriage parenting passion relationships rest self-care serve sharing faith social justice struggle transitions wonder world travel writing

Before Footer

👀 Seeing this book baby on Amazon for pre-sale today made my day! I can’t wait to for you to hold her in your hands next Spring when she enters ...

View

Aug 15

Open
👀 Seeing this book baby on Amazon for pre-sale today made my day! I can’t wait to for you to hold her in your hands next Spring when she enters the world! 📚 
📖 When Zayla asks her mom to describe God’s glory, Mama knows it’s time for an adventure! Together, Mama and Zayla discover how sunrises and dancing, daffodils and green peppers, kind words and loving hugs—and more!—are all reminders of God’s glory. ☀️ 
🥳 Huge shout out to @alyssadeasis for creating this gorgeous cover! 
👉🏾Where did you see God’s glory today?
🏷 TAG a friend who might like this multicultural book for kids of all ages! 
Pre-order using this link: https://amzn.to/3dymw2w or DM me and I’ll send it to you!
#kidlit #picturebook #bookcover #bookcoverdesign #glorychasers #weneeddiversebooks #multiculturalbooks @waterbrookmultnomahkids #kidsbooks #christianbook #jesusgirl
155 44

Today I’m walking through Psalm 96 with you. This one kind of just puts a spring in my step. I can hear the music behind the words! 🎶

...

View

Aug 12

Open
Today I’m walking through Psalm 96 with you. This one kind of just puts a spring in my step. I can hear the music behind the words! 🎶 
I’ll be honest. I’ve been feeling wonky and weighted this week. I just turned in my book Tuesday and then had to tackle my mile-long to-do list and get my kids ready to go back to school. 
I woke up feeling down but this praise psalm lifted my head and reminded me who God is. I can lean on him and count on His character when I feel weary.
🌥Friend, how are you on this Friday? How can I pray for you? 
#devotional #prayer #biblestudy #encouragingwords #jesusgirl @incourage #glorychasers #hisword
25 14

I loved this conversation we had on Episode 10, Season 2 of Eat Pray Run with Gena Anderson. Gena is a Jesus-lover, writer, and nurse practitioner who...

View

Aug 12

Open
I loved this conversation we had on Episode 10, Season 2 of Eat Pray Run with Gena Anderson. Gena is a Jesus-lover, writer, and nurse practitioner who loves to share wellness information and inspiration to the world around her. She is the author of The Well Woman: A Journey to Wellness Through Loving Jesus. She proudly holds the title of wife, mom, and the world’s most average CrossFitter. She shares why rest and meekness are strengths!
🎧 Listen anywhere you find your podcasts! 🎧
29 7

✏️ First day of school for my 5th, 8th, and 11th graders! We love how our school kicks off the year with a Convocation, including worship, prayer ...

View

Aug 11

Open
✏️ First day of school for my 5th, 8th, and 11th graders! We love how our school kicks off the year with a Convocation, including worship, prayer and encouragement for students (and parents!)
I will miss my girls - as I always do this time of year - but I’m excited for what God has in store for them this school year! 
👉🏾Are your kids back in school? What grades are they going into this year? 📚
#backtoschool #schoolgirl @fresnochristianschools #fresno #jesusgirl
144 7

📚 This summer I helped co-lead a book club for women leaders with @sybilkolbert & @mari.tuten We read Ruth Haley Barton’s 📖 Strengthening ...

View

Aug 11

Open
📚 This summer I helped co-lead a book club for women leaders with @sybilkolbert & @mari.tuten We read Ruth Haley Barton’s 📖 Strengthening The Soul of Your Leadership. 📚  This was such a powerful book that both challenged and inspired our group. 
Ruth Haley Barton invited us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Each chapter included a spiritual practice for soul nourishment. 
I loved the way she unpacked the story of Moses and his leadership journey. This book came right on time as I’m discerning next steps and next projects. 
👉🏾Do you have a process for discernment? What are you saying yes and no to this fall? 
@ruthhaleybarton #discernment #jesusgirl #leadershipdevelopment #leadership #womenleaders @leadloved #leadon #sabbath #soulcare
53 12
FOLLOW @DorinaGilmore

After Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 • Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young • Privacy Policy

Breathing Through Grief Resources
Name(Required)