Cooking and Love by Christina Miller

Cooking and Love

My husband of thirty years did not propose marriage until he learned that I could cook.

Later, after the wedding, I learned that Jesus enjoyed His food, and He loves a dinner party. On His last evening on earth, He shared a meal with His friends.In the book of Acts, the early church met in each other’s homes for supper every night.And at the end of the age, when God has made all things new, we’ll eat choice meat and drink aged wine at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Isaiah 25:6; Revelation 19:9). (I do not drink, but when Jesus serves me a glass of wine on that Day, I will drink it!)

Jesus knew that there’s just something about sitting around the table with friends and family, enjoying a delicious meal.

Likewise, in my books, my characters eat together. And savor their food.

My latest historical romance, Return to Sweetwater Cove in Barbour’s Erie Canal Brides Collection, features Rev. Josiah Wells’s favorite food: chicken and dumplings. Mrs. Bennett, mother of his late friend from childhood, and Betsy (the heroine) serve it to him at the Bennetts’ inn. The savory dish brings back to him the warm memories of evenings he’d spent in this godly home. Josiah also remembers sparse meals in his harsh childhood home—the reason he spent so much time with the Bennetts in those days.

As in real life, fictional characters can receive comfort from food. They can begin to bond with their love interest over a meal. Maybe best of all, they can taste the sweetness of a strawberry, the coolness of mint, or the sunny freshness of lemonade on the lips of their beloved during their first kiss. Flavors can certainly enhance romance!

Betsy Wells’s Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

(For cooking chicken)

1 whole chicken

1 diced onion, optional

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning OR thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

(For making dumplings)

2 cups water

½ cup butter

4 cups white flour, plus extra for rolling out dumplings

1 tablespoon salt

Directions:

Boil the chicken, onion, and seasoning for at least an hour and a half. If you like your meat and onion “falling apart,” boil up to three hours. (This is Betsy’s preference.) Remove meat to a platter and cover with an old towel to keep the meat moist while it cools. Strain and reserve the broth.

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and butter. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. When water/butter has boiled, pour it into the flour and stir very quickly to make dough. When dough has cooled enough for handling, dust a wooden board with flour and use a floured rolling pin to roll ¼ of the dough thin. Cut dumplings with a sharp knife. (Betsy would have used a pizza cutter if she’d had one back in 1825.) Repeat with remaining dough.

Bone the chicken and add to the broth. Season the broth with salt and pepper. If you want a soupier dish to serve in a bowl, use all the broth. If you want to put the chicken and dumplings on your plate, or place them atop mashed potatoes, just use about ¾ of the broth. Bring it to a boil. Drop dumplings one by one into the broth as you get them rolled out. (If Betsy had had a freezer, she would have made her dumplings ahead of time and laid them in layers on cookie sheets, with waxed paper between each layer, and frozen them before using. She would not have thawed them before dropping. Betsy also knows from experience that waxed paper is flammable, so she now makes sure she keeps the paper away from the flame.)

When all the dumplings are in the broth, use a flat-ended spatula or turner to lift the dumplings from the bottom, but never stir them. Stirring will make them clump together. Simmer until the dumplings are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. If serving on the plate or atop mashed potatoes, use a slotted spoon.

(This is the author’s family recipe. She once made it and served it to a handsome young preacher who came calling. The preacher proposed marriage almost before his bowl was empty. Thirty years later, the author still serves chicken and dumplings to the handsome preacher.)

Blurb for Return to Sweetwater Cove

Reverend Josiah Wells travels to his hometown to pastor the church and make restitution for his youthful sins. Betsy Bennett wants to honor her late husband’s memory and make sure Sweetwater Cove never discovers the secret she shares with Josiah. Can they leave behind the past and find love beside still waters?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1683228677/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Christina Miller has always lived in the past. Her passion for history began with her grandmother’s stories of 1920s rural southern Indiana. When Christina began to write fiction, she believed God was calling her to write what she knew: history.

Bethany College of Missions graduate, pastor’s wife, and worship leader, she lives on the family farm with her husband of thirty years and Sugar, their talking dog.

Return to Sweetwater Cove in The Erie Canal Brides Collection (Barbour) March 2019

An Inconvenient Marriage (Love Inspired Historical) February 2018

Counterfeit Courtship (Love Inspired Historical) July 2016

Co-author in ECPA best-seller The Convenient Bride Collection (Barbour) July 2015

amazon.com/author/christinamiller