Gifts of the table
Recently, my husband and I sat with friends at a table in an Ethiopian restaurant. As we dipped pieces of injera (sourdough flatbread) into the tasty sauces, we reported on our lives: a new business, a new grandchild, past school experiences, current professional realities. Consider what happens when people gather around the table: We…
An empty bowl
“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with…
Peppernuts and anarsa
I recently learned to eat anarsa—a sweet, rice-based treat—while travelling in India visiting with Mennonite women, and learning about their religious lives and food practices. It was late February, but I was told that Christians in India normally prepare anarsa at Christmastime as a seasonal and festive treat. I couldn’t help but reflect on the…
Mennonites connect over pancakes
It was more than 20 years ago when two Mennonites from Germany travelled to Ethiopia to explore the possibility of doing mission work with the Mennonite church there. After two weeks of searching for Mennonites in Addis Ababa, they finally located the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) office and received directions to a Meserete Kristos Church…
Mennonite pancakes
Pancakes played a role in the story told in “Mennonites connect over pancakes.” Here is a tasty recipe. In various Mennonite recipe books, this traditional “Russian Mennonite” fare is identified as German pancakes, Russian pancakes or Pflinzen. In Canada, they are sometimes referred to as crepes, to distinguish them from the more common raised pancakes,…
Foodgrains Bank brews climate storm on Twitter
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank walks a fine line on climate and walks it well. A recent and rare slip demonstrated the tensions it, like the rest of us, must navigate. The Hill Times, an Ottawa newspaper aimed at political insiders, wanted articles on global food issues. The Foodgrains Bank helped arrange for such articles by…
Full Cupboard provides emergency help in Wellesley
Four years ago, while part of a missional leadership group, Kara Carter, pastor of Wellesley Mennonite Church, received news from the local school parents advisory group that there were children who were coming to school hungry. She shared the need with the local ministerial, which explored the issues of food security with regional government officials,…
Butternut bisque recipe
Last fall when Erin Froese and her household received the gift of many large squash they had trouble using it all up. They made a couple large pots of Butternut bisque and invited their neighbours to join them for a winter soup night. See the story by Erin Froese at canadianmennonite.org/stories/squash-main-course-fellowship Recipe is from Simply…
Illustrator and bakery collaborate
Where Do Sticky Buns Come From? is a picture book illustrated by local artist and designer Jonathan Dyck and written by Jon McPhail, owner of Jonnies Sticky Buns bakery. The book was released on Dec. 16, 2017, to a packed audience in Winnipeg. It tells the story of a father and daughter who creatively imagine…
Bringing people and food together
On a sunny Saturday in early September, 13 cyclists set out to explore the Local Food Trail near Osler, Sask. Gord Enns, who is executive director of the Saskatoon Food Council and who lives on a farm in the Osler area, organized the tour in conjunction with the town of Osler and the rural municipality…
