Series
Theology of Food
Toward a Theology of Dessert
Toward a Theology of Dessert I grew up in a home with very little baking. To smell the aroma of warm brownies or chocolate chip cookies coming from the kitchen was a rare and special occurrence. Every Christmas, however, my mom would spend days in the kitchen making her signature pastry—pumpkin bread. Her ingredients were simple: ground cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt, water, baking powder, oil, eggs, canned pumpkin, flour, and sugar. (Recipehere.) And she would make enough loaves of it for all of our neighbors, teachers, coaches, and friends. When I was in grade school, I was sometimes embarrassed...
Do You Know Where Your Food Comes From?
In 1943, when he was only 15 years old, my grandfather lied about his age so that he could serve in World War II. Although he told the Navy that his top three choices for service were underwater demolition, special operations, and artillery, they sent him to cooks and bakers school in Shreveport, Louisiana. By April 1944, he was serving as a baker on a minesweeper in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines. In 1945, when the war ended, he returned to Illinois, got married, and became a cabinetmaker. Since my grandparents were poor, they decided to run their own...
Watching What We Eat
In 1995, I had surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed. Having fasted for 12 hours, I went into surgery on an empty stomach. When I got out, I did what most people do after having their wisdom teeth pulled—I ate ice cream. When I got home, though, I went into the kitchen to get water and collapsed on the floor. My mom was concerned, but she thought that I was probably just dehydrated. So I rested. Six years later, after I ate a chocolate bar on an empty stomach and fainted again, my mom suggested that I get tested...
Building a Better Donut: On Creating and Innovating
My niece Isabelle began showing signs of creativity and innovation at an early age. In other words, she liked to color and build. One Christmas, when she was almost 4, her dad—my brother Zach—and I decided that it would be fun to build a gingerbread house with her. So we went to the grocery store and bought a kit that included all the supplies—icing mix, pre-baked house pieces, assorted candles, gumdrops, a decorating bag and tip, and a cardboard base. We just had to assemble it. We sat down at my parents’ kitchen table and started reading the instructions. Within...
From Farms to Garbage Cans
I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, which is home to Naval Air Station Pensacola and the Blue Angels. When my grandparents visited from South Florida, my grandpa would take two of my older cousins, Jeff and Greg, to the National Museum of Aviation. I was too young, though, so I wasn’t invited. After the museum, grandpa would treat them to lunch at McDonald’s. Jeff and Greg would order huge meals—double cheeseburgers, several orders of fries, apple pies, milkshakes, and more. But their eyes were always bigger than their stomachs. They would end up throwing half their food away. One visit, grandpa had had enough....
