The Bread of Life: A Cookbook for Body and Soul

Book by Episcopal Church Women, Beth Maynard, Phyllis Tickle

"The Bread of Life"--by Episcopal Church Women, no less--sounds like it might be one of those ubiquitous parish recipe collections your grandmother used to buy, offering 19 ways to fry a chicken. But "The Bread of Life" is not your run-of-the-mill ladies' auxiliary cookbook. This book doesn't just help readers cook; it helps them recognize that cooking, performed intentionally, can be a spiritual exercise.

The brainchild of Christian publishing maven Ellen Rolfes, "The Bread of Life" combines recipes for old favorites--gazpacho (the recipe contributed by St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Lake Worth, Fla.), beef Wellington (St. Basil's Episcopal Church in Tahlequah, Okla.), and the Ultimate No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake (from St. John's Episcopal Church in Huntington, N.Y.)--with meditations on food and faith, written by the Reverend Beth Maynard. Apposite Scripture verses decorate the margins of the pages: David distributing bread, meat and raisins to the people of Israel (II Samuel 6:17-19), Jesus breaking bread with sinners (Matthew 9:9-13), the virtuous woman rising before dawn to cook for her family (Proverbs 31:15-16), the Ecclesiast on the joy of feasting (Ecclesiastes 10:19). (Beliefnet, July 2000) -- From Beliefnet

whet your appetite... wake up the senses to the wonder, diversity, and sustenance available... find the sacred in everyday life... -- Mary Ann Brussat, co-author of Spiritual Literacy, and Spiritual RX