The Just Kitchen: Invitations to Sustainability, Cooking, Connection, and Celebration

“Our kitchens... [are] sacred places,” assert The Food and Faith Podcast cohosts Weston and Woofenden (This Is God’s Table) in their spirited exploration of cooking “from the lens of faith and justice.” Far from “another room where menial tasks are performed,” the kitchen can be a site for reflecting and questioning “why we cook, for whom, and what values we uphold in the process.” To create a “just kitchen,” and one not strictly regarded as a woman’s domain, readers can start by shopping locally, composting, and ensuring that everyone “has a role... and a way to contribute.” Elsewhere, the authors establish links between food and faith, citing the biblical story in which Jesus fed a vast crowd with only two fish and five loaves of bread, suggesting that “perhaps the real miracle is people learning to be creative and generous with what they have in their possession.” Along with recipes, the authors offer poignant meditations on seemingly unremarkable elements of the cooking process; even accommodating a guest’s dietary restrictions can be “a way... [to] see and honor one another’s bodies and choices, and celebrate the fact that each of us comes to the table with our own unique hungers.” Foodies of faith will find plenty to sink their teeth into. (Oct.)