By Donna Cornelius
Food and church go together like peanut butter and jelly–especially in the South. Sunday school classes take food to the sick and bereaved. Congregations gather for bountiful fellowship meals. Women’s groups automatically think “let’s do a cookbook” when the organ fund needs a little bolstering.
At Mountain Brook Baptist Church, one group takes cooking to another level of service. The women who make up Cooks On A Mission know their way around a kitchen – but their ministry doesn’t stop there.
Cooks On A Mission includes about a dozen women. While eight of them are involved week in and week out, others participate when they’re able, including some who are college students.
Cooks On A Mission member Sherrie Futch said the group started about three years ago.
“The first thing we did was Backpack Buddies,” Futch said. “It’s all over the county; we do it at Helena Intermediate School. A counselor identifies children who are at risk for being hungry over the weekend. We provide a bag full of food for these kids.”
Futch said her group got involved with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the UAB Women and Infants’ Center through Cooks On A Mission member Frances Carter, who’s a nurse there.
“Every Thanksgiving, they have a feast for the families of patients,” Futch said. “The March of Dimes provides turkey, nurses and doctors do desserts, and we do side dishes. We prepare for about 175 people.”
The group started preparing for this year’s dinner weeks before the event.
“We’re making chicken and dressing, sweet potato soufflé, cheesy apple casserole, green beans, and mac and cheese,” Futch said.
Those good causes aren’t the only ones on the group’s plate. One day a month, it provides a meal for a support group for Children’s of Alabama pediatric oncology patients. It also helps The WellHouse, an organization that rescues women and girls from human trafficking, Futch said.
“The house is in Leeds, and we feed the ladies there,” she said. “We bought them a freezer and try to keep it stocked.”
Cooks On A Mission periodically provides meals at First Light Shelter, a downtown Birmingham shelter for women and children.
“When they’re transitioning from the shelter to a home, we give them a ‘Welcome Home’ basket with things they’ll need to set up housekeeping,” Futch said.
Aimee Turner is the Cooks On A Mission member who heads up this project.
“We also help the Lovelady Center,” Turner said. “We refurnished a preschool room for them. It was like shopping for Christmas because we got to buy toys. It was so much fun.”
That’s an example of Cooks On A Mission’s outreach beyond food. The group bought much-needed plus-size coats for First Light residents and has partnered with Shades Valley High School to provide winter coats, shoes and food for students.
Last month, the cooks were busy getting ready for an Alabama Baptist Cooperative Program event at their church.
“We get asked to cater Baptist events and other special events at our church,” Futch said. “We work with our church’s kitchen staff on our Thanksgiving feast. Sometimes we help with Lenten lunches.”
Turner said Cooks On A Mission has “kind of evolved” since several women banded together to help fund their church’s family mission trip to California. The trip was going to be an expensive one since it involved so many people, and the women wanted to find a way to help.
“There’s a white house the church owns, and missionaries would furlough there,” Futch said. “We said, why don’t we have a holiday house there and serve lunch and dinner? Sunday school classes would have parties there. We had a gift shop and sold pepper jelly, fudge and pound cakes.
“We taste-tested and came up with menus. We did this for three years for two-week periods.”
Those involved in the holiday project enjoyed it so much that they looked for other opportunities to cook together, Futch said.
“Our church’s mission trips are now funded by a golf tournament, so we direct our efforts to local missions,” she said.
To fund its projects, Cooks On A Mission holds monthly food sales for church members.
“We sell entrees, scones or biscuits, and soups,” Futch said.
The group gathers in the church kitchen most Fridays to cook. It also has tastings to choose recipes for projects.
“We needed a chicken pot pie recipe, for example, so we we made several and invited the church staff to try them,” Futch said.
Turner said that the majority rules when it comes to picking the winning recipe.
“Whatever recipe we bring, we agree that we won’t get our feelings hurt if ours isn’t chosen,” she said.
Everyone brings her own strength to the group’s efforts.
“Kim Hardwick is meticulous, cutting pastry perfectly,” Futch said. “Miss Edna Israel is usually our chief dishwasher. Frances Carter is our chief scone maker.”
Hardwick said the women have forged firm friendships through Cooks On A Mission.
“We learn things from each other,” she said. “It’s affected my cooking, but it’s also affected my spiritual journey.”
Joann Stramaglia said the group helped her find her place as a newcomer to Mountain Brook Baptist.
“I came here a year ago last summer,” she said. “My mother loved cooking; I come from amazing cooks. When I came here, they needed help with Vacation Bible School. The first thing I was asked to do was to help make lemonade, and that’s my favorite juice. I felt like this was what God really wanted me to do.”
Members turn to each other during difficult times, Turner said.
“Everyone goes through bad times, and when we hit them, we know who to call,” she said. “I’ll text the others in our group and say, ‘Please pray for me today.’”
Futch said the church has been extremely supportive of Cooks On A Mission’s work, providing kitchen and freezer space, and church and community members also have helped out.
“River Run Piggly Wiggly is super about giving us the best prices,” Futch said. “We call and tell them what we need, and they immediately put us through to the right department. Western Supermarket has helped us, too. When we made Cuban black beans and pork, they cut up all the pork for us – and that was quite a job.”
Hardwick said cooking sessions result in more than just good food.
“We almost feel guilty because we have so much fun,” she said.
Group members were reminded that they’re making a difference when Frances Carter, who delivers Backpack Buddies meals, had a chance encounter with a student. Carter often takes her homeschooled children, third-graders Jude and Lorelai, to the school to make the deliveries, Futch said.
“A little boy saw them and said, ‘Are you from the church that brings us food?’” Futch said. “It was a chance encounter – but fantastic to hear.”
Stramaglia said the group always keeps the purpose of its ministry in mind.
“God has been so faithful,” she said. “It’s all for His glory. That’s why we’re here.”
Favorites Dishes from Cooks On A Mission
The women of Cooks On A Mission shared some of their favorite recipes, just in time for the holidays. The recipes are in “Something to Savor,” a cookbook with contributions from COAM members and other Mountain Brook Baptist Church members.
Dellie’s Chicken and Dressing
Sherrie Griffin Futch
From her mother, Idell Griffin
Ingredients:
1 chicken, cut up
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
8 slices white bread
2 cups (1 sleeve) saltine crackers
1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
8 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
3 stalks celery (1¼ cup), chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
Directions:
In a large Dutch oven, add chicken and 3-inch pieces of carrots and celery. Add enough water to cover plus enough to rise about 1 inch above chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until chicken is done. Remove chicken to a plate to cool. Strain broth and discard solids. Set broth aside.
Debone and shred chicken and set aside. While chicken cools, place Jiffy mix into a mixing bowl and add 5 beaten eggs. Stir well and pour into a greased cake pan to bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let mixture cool and then crumble it.
Meanwhile, boil the remaining 3 eggs until hard-boiled, peel, slice and set aside. Toast 8 slices of bread on both sides, drying the bread out. Set aside.
Sauté diced onion and celery in butter over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine crumbled cornbread mixture, crushed crackers and torn-up toast. Pour 10 cups of the reserved chicken broth over the bread mixture and add soup. Use a potato masher to crush and combine all the breads. Continue mashing until texture is smooth, adding more broth as needed. Add chicken, sautéed onion and celery, salt, pepper and sliced boiled eggs. Stir well to combine. Add additional salt and pepper if desired.
Bake in a large casserole dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until done.
Cook’s notes: This recipe makes enough to fill two 9 x 13 casseroles. One can be covered tightly and frozen for later use. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking. This recipe also can be made without chicken or with turkey. Much of this can be done a day or two before – baking the cornbread, cooking and shredding the chicken, etc.
J Alexander’s Wild Rice and Orzo Salad
Karen Brown
Salad ingredients:
4 cups cooked orzo
3 cups cooked wild rice
½ cup chopped parsley
6 tablespoons red onion, diced small
6 tablespoons currants or dried cranberries
1 ear of corn, cooked and kernels cut off cob
1 each small green, red and yellow pepper, diced small
Dressing ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup sweet white balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
6 tablespoons slivered almonds
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Salad: Cook orzo and wild rice according to package directions. Shock in cold water and then refrigerate. Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and toss with the dressing. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Dressing: Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a mixing bowl. Stir until blended. While whisking mixture, slowly pour in olive oil in a steady stream. Whisk well. Refrigerate.
Serves 18-20
Over the Top Mac and Cheese
Aimee LeCroy Turner
From her sister-in-law, Jamie Turner
Ingredients:
1 (1-pound) box of large macaroni noodles
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 block Havarti cheese, grated
1 block Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 cups mozzarella, grated
2 cups half-and-half
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil pasta. Mix all cheeses in a bowl. After mixing, reserve ¼ of the cheese mixture. Set aside.
Drain pasta and put it in a large mixing bowl. Mix with 1 stick of butter. Add a little Lawry’s, salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese mixture, except for the reserved cheese, to the pasta. Mix well. Add half-and-half and beaten eggs to the pasta and cheese. Mix well.
Spray a 9 x 13 dish with nonstick spray. Pour in pasta mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Add remaining cheese to top and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and serve.
Cook’s notes: You can easily prepare half of this recipe or put it into two casseroles. It makes a very full 9 x 13 dish.
Aunt Glenice’s Coconut Cake
Aimee LeCroy Turner
Ingredients:
1 box yellow butter cake mix, prepared
small bag of Angel Flake coconut
16 ounces of sour cream
½ cup sugar
12 ounces of Cool Whip
Directions:
Make cake according to directions on box. (This usually requires one stick of butter, eggs, vegetable oil and water.) Pour cake batter into two greased 8-inch or 9-inch round or square pans. Let cool. Split each layer in half, making four layers of cake.
Mix sugar with sour cream and ½ cup of coconut. Reserve ½ cup of this mixture for later use. Spread part of mixture on first layer of cake. Add second layer and repeat until all four layers are assembled. Spread sour cream mixture on the top and sides of the cake.
Combine any remaining mixture plus the ½ cup of reserved mixture with Cool Whip. Mix well. Cover sides and top of cakes with this mixture. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top and sides of cake.
Keep finished cake refrigerated.
