Kitchen Meditations with Kendall Vanderslice

What comes to mind when you hear the word rest? Is it a hammock swaying between two trees? Is it a slow afternoon in the kitchen, or laughter around a table with friends? Perhaps rest feels like something elusive, something you want but can’t find time to claim? Or maybe it just seems lazy when there is so much that must be done. In this episode of Kitchen Meditations, we’re going to spend some time reflecting on what these complicated feelings might be. Bake and Pray, Any Day: On Demand

In keeping with the rhythms of Lent, we're taking a break to honor our limitations as humans. We hope you'll take some time this week to do the same. In the meantime, we recommend you catch up on earlier episodes, like the episode on Lenten fasting. We'll see you next week.

Have you ever carried a 50 pound bag of flour? There’s a special trick to it: you have to pick it up from underneath and flip it over your shoulder, otherwise it’s too unwieldy to handle. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like yeast that a woman mixed into three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. Three measures of flour is just a bit more flour than one of those 50 pound bags, which means this woman was leavening a whole lot of dough. In today’s episode of Kitchen Meditations, On Leaven, we’re going to reflect on what it means for the Kingdom of Heaven to be like yeast. Learn more about Aminah’s work: http://robdunnlab.com/people/aminah-al-attas-bradford/ Learn more about the sourdough microbiome: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/June/The-Sourdough-Microbiome https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124

Lent begins…with dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From dust you come and to dust you will return. Lent begins in the desert, with Jesus wandering out to fast for forty days. It may seem odd, given this parched opening, to begin Lent with a reflection on water. But water is where I’d like our Lenten bread journey to begin. In this episode of Kitchen Meditations, we dig into how water can bring life and transformation in unexpected places. In this season of Lent, water prepares us to enter the desert. It strengthens us for what’s to come.

How do you feel about King Cake? That bright cake, smothered in sprinkles with a plastic baby stuffed inside. Maybe you’re more a fan of the Galette de Rois—the puff pastry and frangipane version that hails from France. Shrove Tuesday traditions abound all around the world. In this episode of Kitchen Meditations, we’re going to learn how some of the most popular traditions came to be! King Cake history Plastic Baby in the King Cake history Vasilopita history Maslenitsa history Deep dive into semlor Paczki history

I love Lent. Perhaps you’re someone who grinds your teeth and muscles through the weeks of fasting. Maybe you stay silent because you just don’t feel like fasting is all that important, but everyone around you is…super invested. Or perhaps you believe Lent is an unnecessary season, an attempt to earn favor with God when we already have God’s grace. Although “Lent” is not a season outlined in Scripture, it’s been a way for Christians to mark time since at least the early 4th century. To kick off season two of Kitchen Meditations, we’ll share with you why Lent might be just the season you need this year. Lent history Medieval Lent practices Orthodox Fasting Learn to bake sourdough this Lent with the Baker’s Table Bake with the Bible on your own or with your kids

Have you ever read the Bible as…a dietary manual? For some of you that might sound strange, for others…well, you might know exactly what I’m talking about. Christian dieting books abound that promise spiritual freedom, if only you eat according to strict guidelines laid out in various parts of scripture. In our fourth episode on Diet Culture, we’re going to look at the underlying assumptions behind most Biblical diet books…then consider a different theological approach. Listen the first three episodes in the Diet Culture series Sign up for our newsletter at EdibleTheology.com!

You are what you eat. I imagine you’ve heard this phrase before. Maybe it’s helped you embrace the foods that connect you to family or to home. Or maybe it’s shamed you for enjoying something unhealthy. In our third episode on Diet Culture, we’ll dive into the way food shapes our identities, for better or for worse, and how we can use food to remind us of who we are. Listen the first two episodes in the Diet Culture series The Body of the Conquistador, Rebecca Earle Eating Right in America, Charlotte Biltekoff Some nutritionists to follow: Cultural Dietition, Black Nutritionist, Food Heaven, Culina Health Sign up for our newsletter at EdibleTheology.com!

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “clean eating”? Is it raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and nuts and seeds, milk in a glass bottle and home fermented yogurt? What about…a squishy loaf of Wonderbread? In our second episode on Diet Culture, we’ll explore the history of clean eating, how this framework has shifted, and how we can find more helpful ways of relating to the foods we eat. Listen the first episode in the Diet Culture series Learn more about the history of white bread in White Bread by Aaron Bobrow-Strain Read more of Mary Douglas’ work on this topic in her book Purity and Danger Check out Kendall’s piece on bread and purity in the Bitter Southerner Bake & Pray, Any Day Join the Edible Theology community Sign up for our weekly emails

Happy New Year! Are you bombarded by messages about how to make this year the best one yet? Are you struggling with the siren call of new dietary plans? Instead, let’s consider the rhythms of fasting and feasting built into the church calendar. They just might help us enter the new year in celebration rather than shame. Links and Resources from this episode: Supper of the Lamb Worship at the Table curriculum King Cake Recipe Edible Theology Community