Call for recipes: One more week

Great to see some interesting new recipes coming in for possible inclusion in the new edition! We'll keep the kitchen open for one more week. If you have a recipe to send, please do so by Feb. 16.

Call for recipes: Now through Feb. 8, 2009

Plans are underway to produce a slightly expanded edition of Simply in Season, with approximately 16 new recipes.

Those familiar with the initial production of this cookbook know that it was quite an involved process, with 1,600 recipes submitted to the project that were tested by hundreds of volunteer cooks around the world. We are NOT repeating this major process again. However, for a very limited time (now until Feb. 8) SIS friends are warmly invited to submit recipes fitting some specific criteria for possible inclusion in the expanded edition.

The hope is to add recipes for types of dishes or those using ingredients that are currently least present in SIS. For example, the Winter chapter has fewer main dishes than the rest of the chapters, so we’d especially like to add a few great recipes to that section.

Here are recipes we are seeking:

Great ways to use certain foods (especially main dishes):
cauliflower
celeriac
corn
green tomatoes
Jerusalem artichokes
kohlrabi
leeks
lima beans
peas
rutabagas
turnips

We’d also like to get good, reliable recipes for plum jam and kiwi jam (a low-sugar or honey version would be especially wonderful; and what's an easy way to deal with the plum stones?). Also, does anyone have a really good lettuce soup or celery soup recipe?

Selected recipes will reflect the qualities SIS is known for: using whole ingredients with an emphasis on seasonal fruits/vegetables, mostly simple/easy/practical for everyday use, nutritional, and delicious!

Please do not send a recipe verbatim from another cookbook or source. Recipes that are adapted (at least three changes) are fine.

Send your recipe by Feb. 8 to expansion editors Cathleen Hockman-Wert and Julie Kauffman at sisrecipes@yahoo.com. Please put the recipe title in the subject line and include your name, city/state/province, and e-mail address with your recipe. We welcome your comments about the recipe: how it was developed, how you use it, why you like it.

Your brief stories and reflections about food and faith, in the spirit of those currently in SIS, are also welcome for possible use in the expanded version.

Thanks for your interest in Simply in Season! We look forward to hearing from you!

Back again

So what's a two-year hiatus in the scope of things? My blogging life was cut short by a combination of a new job and computer frustrations, but I'm back and hoping to check in again more regularly.

New ideas are being kicked around regarding the Simply in Season cookbook -- stay tuned for more details.

In the meanwhile, please join me for conversation on my Facebook group. Just search on "Simply in Season."

SIS Leader's Guide

Looking for an exciting way to introduce others to everything that's good about local food -- and helping fellow Christians make a connection between their faith and food choices?

Simply in Season can be the center of a small group study, thanks to the new leader's guide by Rachel Miller Moreland. Designed for use by adult or youth Sunday school classes or small groups (and a great choice for intergenerational groups), this terrific new curriculum uses the cookbook as its textbook, offering plans for six core sessions and seven optional ones.

Each core session includes discussion questions, activities, a Bible verse and suggestions for readings from the cookbook, ideas for incorporating snacks and local resources, and a handout.

Download your free copy.

Or order the book version from Herald Press or Mennonite Central Committee.

Simply in Season Children's Cookbook

I'm thrilled to announce that the new Simply in Season Children's Cookbook is finally available. It's gorgeous, it's fun, the recipes are 100 percent kid-tested and approved, and it's a wonderful way to introduce children to healthy eating.

Without a question, one of the best ways to encourage children to eat good food is to get them involved in gardening and cooking; it's amazing how much more appealing those vegetables can be to kids when they grew or harvested them themselves. Simply in Season Children's Cookbook is like the grown-up version in that it starts with descriptions of the fruits and vegetables of each season, but also offers tips on how to grow them at home.

Don't take my word for it -- take a look and see for yourself. And please let the rest of us know what you (and your children) think!