The smell of garlic mixing with basil wafted to my nose. Laughter filled the room as kids rolled out billowy pizza dough into creative shapes and ran to the "market table" to retrieve ingredients. In the corner, some oil and Italian sausage were sizzling in an electric skillet. "What will help thicken our sauce?" one called out. "How much [...] Keep Reading
culture
Book Review: At Home in the World
My first real venture out of the United States was a study abroad program in Central America during my senior year of college. Our home base was San Jose, Costa Rica, but we also spent time sojourning through Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. I still remember that moment. I was sitting around a rugged wooden table with a diverse group [...] Keep Reading
Journey of the heart: Haiti is calling me home
It’s been more than two years since I’ve tasted Haitian fried chicken with plantains cooked over a charcoal burner. It’s been more than two years since I’ve hugged the necks of the children in the orphanage who are now careening into their teen years. It’s been more than two years since we have seen those goats on spindly legs grazing in the [...] Keep Reading
Building community in the kitchen: The secret is in the sauce (and three recipes!)
Cooking has always been a place of creativity, community and comfort for me. I grew up in the kitchen stirring sauces with my mama, kneading dough with my Italian Nana, and rolling lumpia egg rolls with my Filipino grandma. As an adult, I have gathered many friends and family members in my kitchen to cook together. When I was a young married [...] Keep Reading
Navigating Grief: When you have to say goodbye to the place your heart feels home
By Melissa Ens “Good grief, Charlie Brown.” I’ve sighed a lot these last few years and wondered what kind of grief, exactly, is the good kind? True, there is godly sorrow that leads to repentance, (2 Cor. 7:10) but what I’ve needed is sorrow that would lead to healing. In December 2011, my husband, our 3 children and I moved to Peru, where we [...] Keep Reading
Haitian Rice & Beans: Savoring Time Around the Table
This weekend our agenda was to have no agenda. After a harried and hurried month of February – full of Valentine’s Day festivities, Monday holidays, birthday parties, meetings and more – we needed a break. On Saturday, we slept in, made a late brunch of pumpkin pancakes and chicken sausage. We wore our jammies until noon. I can’t remember the last [...] Keep Reading
