Barbara Smith - Food That Says Welcome: Simple Recipes to Spark the Spirit of Hospitality

F OOD T HAT S AYS W ELCOME
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Peterson. Peterson.

Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. eISBN: 978-0-307-49982-0 Copyright 2006 by Barbara Smith All rights reserved. eISBN: 978-0-307-49982-0 Copyright 2006 by Barbara Smith All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York. W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Barbara.
Food that says welcome : simple recipes to spark the spirit of hospitality / Barbara Smith.1st ed.
p. cm.
1. I. I.

Title.
TX715.S651325 2006
641.5dc22
2005026603 v3.1_r2 I dedicate this book to all the women
who have been and are mentors in my life.
And my prayer for the reader is that you will be challenged
to create a lifestyle that says welcome
as you share life with others.

I love it when Bill and I are seated in a restaurant next to a big, round table filled with a whole familychildren, teenagers, parents, grandparentseating together and engaged in eager conversation. I love it because I know parents cant make that easy, comfortable atmosphere of family interaction happen on the spur of the moment just to impress others in public. On the contrary, that comfortable kind of interchange comes from a habit of safe and joyful relationship cultivated over years of playing, working, and especially eating together as a family. Psychologists tell us that eating together breaks down barriers. Physiologically, eating actually raises the body temperature, giving a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Sitting around a table (and arent round and oval tables the best?) puts us in a face-to-face position where we can not only hear the various contributions to the conversation but can also read the body language and facial expressions. No telling how many secrets have been told, knotty problems solved, and happy revelations shared around the kitchen table! In every culture it seems the nurturing thing to do is to offer food or drink. A British mom is sure to say, Here. What you need is a nice spot of tea, when she suspects her child, her friend, or her husband has had a rough day in the big, bad world. For most of us Americans, warm cookies and milk will always bring back wonderful memories of coming in from school on a cold day. And is there anything as heartwarming as returning home after church to the aroma of a Sunday dinner of pot roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots simmering in the oven or smelling hot cider and popcorn on a winters night? Im sure some Italians will argue that they can top those aromas with the smell of their familys spicy marinara sauce and crusty bread fresh from the oven.

The whole point is that its impossible to separate memories, love, warmth, family, friends, and great hospitality from food. In Food That Says Welcome, Barbara Smith shares her familys secrets for not only the creation of great meals but also the something more that makes eating together such a life-forming experience. Its not surprising that we have so many glimpses in the Bible of Jesus eating with His disciples. He had only three years to teach them, bind them together, and fortify them for what lay ahead. No wonder He often did it as He was broiling fish on a lakeside campfire, breaking bread in someones house, or dividing up a picnic lunch so everyone would have plenty to share (with twelve basketfuls left over!). He wrapped His very mission in food.

If, as Barbara suggests, our mission as moms, hostesses, and hospitality givers is not only to feed the body but to nurture the soul, this is not just a cookbook. It is a way to wrap those at our table in wisdom, warmth, joy, and comfort at a time when our world so needs to come in from the cold and break bread together. Gloria Gaither

My mother has been blessed with the gift of hospitality. I have watched her through the years prepare fabulous meals for our family and for hundreds of people, and she does so with such little effort. Her prepare ahead of time recipes allow her to enjoy spending time with her family and guests, and that is indeed an art. My girls, Mary Claire, Caroline, and Sarah Kate, are learning what hospitality meansand most of the lessons have come from their Mimi.

Kimberly Smith Bennett To welcome means to accept with pleasure the presence of another. To offer hospitality means to give a generous or cordial reception to guests, offering a pleasant or sustaining environment; it means sharing our lives in such a way that there is always room for one more. That is the concept of this cookbookthe enjoyment of sharing food and life with others. And I believe welcoming others with hospitality begins at home with friends and family. It has been said that for every person you meet, you add a chapter to your life. My husband and I have been richly blessed with many wonderful chapters throughout our married years.

I love people, and I am so thankful for our family and dear friends. The most important relationship to me, though, is my personal relationship with my heavenly Father. Out of my relationship with Him, God continues to place very special people in my life dailymy church family, my Sunday school class, my swim group, my prayer group, my Bible study group, the Room in the Inn ministry, my neighbors, and so many others. In years past, many of our most precious memories with these loved ones have unfolded around the dinner table. The tradition of sharing good meals together continues today. We now have the privilege of remembering with long-term friends the special times of laughter, prayers, and support as we raised our families together.

We also have the joy of building memories with friends old and new through the pleasure of dinnertime conversation. Before I even began writing this cookbook, God opened the doors for me to share my beliefs about faith, family, and hospitality through speaking. When I talk with people at these engagements, I am reminded again and again that we all need a special place where we belong. As Gods plan unfolds for me, I realize that many of us are enabled to create this special place in our home through a lifestyle that says, Welcome. I always want to remember who we represent; we never know when we might be entertaining angels! I am inspired by the mission statement of our church in Franklin, Tennessee: To help transform ordinary people into passionate followers of Christ. Our pastor, Rick, continually challenges us to make a difference in the lives of others.