Kicking It in the kitchen

The COVID-19 virus was the inspiration for Church Ladies Potluck. After watching endless hours of cooking shows, not one show celebrated the ladies who share their prized recipes with their friends after services.

And now our second episode of Church Ladies Potluck is on YouTube. It has really been fun to do. Local videographer Cassidy Mitchell has done a bang-up job.

For future episodes, we’re lining up interested congregations. It’s free to each church.

Now that we have two Christian churches, ideally the next taping will be at a mosque, a synagogue, a Buddhist temple or at a Hindu shrine. I have reached out to many of them, but everyone so far is still hiding from the coronavirus.

Kitchens are not required since often they are too noisy anyway. We can tape outside under a shade tree or in a parishioner’s home. We are flexible. We just need four cooks and the religious leader to offer the grace which can be in their native language.

The only expense is absorbed by the cooks who bring their finished potluck dishes to the taping. Otherwise, I pay all of the expenses connected with each show, even the food cooked on camera.

Furthermore, each cook can take their prepared dish back home for supper, although often it is shared with everyone.

To date, we’ve prepared eight knockout dishes and the recipes are free. They will soon be on our website at http://www.churchladiespotluck.com.

Until that happens. I’ll gladly email any of the show’s recipes. So far, the candy bar cake has been a favorite because it is ideal for young cooks. And, it’s a candy bar cake!

With congregations still locked out of worship houses this is a simple way to find our common ground through the various cuisines. The food has been delicious, the comradery charming and the experience joyful. We not only fill stomachs, we feed souls.

Thank you in advance for visiting our YouTube site (Church Ladies Potluck) and tapping the “like” button after viewing. That will help to circulate the video.

Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal can be reached at [email protected].