40 Books for My 40s--Book 2: Bread and Wine
It's no secret, I love food. I always have. I love preparing food, I love serving food to others, I love thinking through what someone else may enjoy eating around my table, I love to read cookbooks and memoirs that focus on food, and while I love healthy food I've also never been one to deprive myself of some random craving and ice cream is always, always in my freezer. When Shauna Niequist announced years ago that she was working on a book all about food, faith, community, and fellowship around a table, a book which was going to include recipes, I went a little nuts. Her first two books had a huge impact on my life so I could not wait for this one. I even applied to be a part of her launch team and helped promote Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes when it came out. So when it came time to pick 40 books to read (or re-read) in my 40’s, I knew this favorite title had to be on my list. I’d read it more than once over the years but it was one of the first I re-read this fall when I started my reading challenge.
This book made me hungry in the very best way—hungry for actual food, because the recipes Shauna included--and the descriptions of amazing food--made my mouth water from beginning to end, but also hungry for more time with community, more time around my dinner table with people I love. I flew through this book in 2 days (yes it was THAT good!) and when I finished I immediately said "I have to cook something." It was midnight so I decided tackling her enchilada recipe could at least wait until morning, but I swear I dreamed about enchiladas that night. They were so easy to make and so delicious, and I have made them so many times for so many different people over the years. Her mango chicken curry, Gaia cookies, no-knead bread, and watermelon-feta salad have been part of my regular rotations over the years.
This book made me hungry in so many other ways though, because it's not just a book about food. It's a book about what happens when we take time to admit that we need to care for ourselves, to feed our bodies. In a culture that loves to celebrate diets, cleanses, and depriving ourselves, it’s a book that invites us to admit our hunger, to acknowledge our cravings and to be mindful of seasons of feasting and fasting in our lives. It is a book about what happens when we feed others, when we feed more than just their bodies around our tables but when we intentionally feed their souls. It's a book about hospitality, about opening up our front doors and by doing so opening up our lives to our neighbors, our friends, our family members. It's scary to do so, and she spends a lot of time helping us think about how much of a tendency we have to hide with our doors locked so no one sees the mess inside. Bread and Wine made me hungry to continue sharing meals in community with others. She made me hungry to travel more and taste the goodness of the variety of cultures that fill this earth. She made me hungry to continue remembering and reflecting on the meals that have shaped our lives. So much life happens around a table and Shauna's gift of words and imagery captures these moments so well.
One of my favorite lines from the book has bounced around in my head since I read it all those years ago. Shauna is quoting her friend Shane when he tells her "the genius of communion, of bread and wine, is that bread is the food of the poor and wine the drink of the privileged, and that every time we see those two together, we are reminded of what we share instead of what divides us." We all need the nourishment of food. We all need to fill our bellies and feed our bodies. But we also all need community. We need arms around us to catch us when we fall, to hold us up and pray for us when all we can choke out are the ragged, broken prayers of grief. We all need to come find rest at the table our Lord invited us to on that night he was betrayed. This is a book about all of those things. So go on, pour yourself a glass of wine, settle in with something delicious, and savor the words Shauna shares. You'll be hungry when you're done reading, hungry for more of the abundance this life has to offer.
