agents of deep eternity

I'm not going to lie....I have not been missing baking our own bread ONE OUNCE. Even the nights I have "cooked" for our family, I have put the frozen bread in the oven, the frozen meatballs into the canned sauce, and opened a bag of salad and bottle of dressing.

That same meal just took me 3 hours to make at home...rolls from start to finish, chop up lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and bleach them all for salad, roll homemade meatballs by hand and bake, simmer 100 tomatoes with garlic and spices, whip up homemade salad dressing.

While I'm not missing from-scratch cooking yet, I DO have a slew of fantastic recipes for yummy dishes we make in Haiti all the time because yes, we have to...but also because cooking with my children is one of the ways we find sacred and transparent time together, eating healthily is one of the ways I love on our family, and one of the ways we love on and serve people is by gathering them around our table and feeding them well, with love in the the conversation AND in the food.

So, if you've been looking for something new to try, these are as tried and true as they come!!

We are cooks in the kitchen--yes--

but we are also agents of a deep eternity,

whose prepared meals might

feed more than the body,

nourishing also the hearts

and hopes of those

sometimes-weary souls who 

are well-served by our labors.

So let us invest in this preparation

a lovingkindness toward those

who will partake.

douglas kaine mckelvey

Meatloaf  ...I do half ground beef and half sausage.

Banana Bread...can't get sour cream, so I skip it!

Pecan Pie...can't get corn syrup, so this is without and so good!

Sweet Dinner Rolls ...this is the recipe I use as the base for ANY recipe that calls for tubes of crescent rolls as one of the ingredients, and as rolls...I make these 3-4 times a week

Mexican Bean Salad...I add mango and whatever else we have...this is so good as a side or poured over grilled chicken, etc...

Cornbread...If you can't get jiffy, man, this is it!

Chili ...I have been making this for Sunday meals for years and it's just EASY and good

Crepes ...Ever since Angie taught us to make these, they are a weekly special, with runny Haitian peanut butter and fresh bananas

Buddah Bowls ...We leave out everything we can't get and use any other vegetables and meat we can find...we all LOVE these!

Egg Drop Soup ...Any time we do anything Chinese, the girls beg for this!

Coconutty Chicken Legs...we have this at least twice a month, with rolls and salad.

Roasted Chicken with Maple Mustard ...this is so easy, and I change up the vegetables, one pan!

Greek Lemon Chicken...Matt's number one!

Crustless Quiche...I always make this the night before (I am NO morning person!) and pop it in the oven an hour before breakfast...substitute away!

Mexican Brownies...I didn't even LIKE brownies before I found this recipe...so good.

Lemon Meringue Pie...my very favorite, but with Haitian limes

Pizza Crust...I promised you Molly!

When I slow down and make them with love and loved little-ones, I so enjoy these recipes...Hope you do, too!