Over this pandemic era, many of us have spent most of our time at home with family or by ourselves. Being at home more, we have spent a lot more time cooking and baking. Food in general has a tremendous effect on us. Cooking can be a joyful experience, lifting our souls up with joy and with thanks to God for his bounty. Cooking can be good for the soul, and cooking with soul can yield wonderful food.

Our congregation at Prairie Presbyterian Church discussed some of our favourite recipes on our Zoom coffee calls after our online church services. We decided to put together a cookbook of our favourite recipes. So here we are!

Cooking and baking are creative outlets we use to connect with ourselves, family, friends, and others. Some of us have recently found lost recipes or tried new ones. We wanted to gather these recipes and share them, to broaden our cooking horizons, and also to give us joy. The recipe could be one our moms or dads made for us as kids, Grandma’s favourite that she always made for us, or a recipe we love to make with our children or grandchildren.

Here, you will discover some tried and true recipes, as well as some new favourites, that members and friends of Prairie have shared. It is our hope that as you prepare these recipes you would feel more connected with others and more connected with God.

The Bible is full of wonderful stories about food and its many meanings. From a definition of physical sustenance to enable us mortals to stay alive and even thrive, to offerings to God to celebrations to rituals that help us remember our Saviour, food and cooking food fill our souls with sustenance, energy, memories, and delight. Cooking can help to heal in times of grief and share joy in communal kitchens; it can help to serve our Lord’s message and to serve those who have less than we have.