Snert for the Soul

Why I wrote a cookbook

The world is falling apart, but I won’t let the collapse of democracy or a financial meltdown keep me from sharing some exciting news.

Some months ago, on a quest to “try being creative,” I joined Dave Gray’s School of the Possible. The fall semester included very little instruction and only one assignment: to design and complete a creative project with nothing but our own ingenuity and the encouragement of our classmates.

I racked my brain to come up with a project that would be challenging enough to help me find out whether I can “be creative,” but also simple enough to complete in six weeks. Somehow, it occurred to me to write a cookbook. Somehow, it occurred to me that the cookbook should resemble those old, crowd-sourced congregational cookbooks that those of us who grew up in church-going households will remember. And somehow, it occurred to me that the recipes should not be about food, but rather about experiences: rituals, practices, and joyful activities people can do together—without dogma.

And so, today I announce to you the birth of this new baby: Treasured Recipes of the Wilted Tulip Fellowship: From Doctrine to Delight: Rituals and Practices for Joy, Meaning, and Connection.

It’s thin and simple, but it is creative—and I had fun writing it. It includes a couple dozen tasty recipes, including Human Canvas Casserole, Calling in Healthy, Smorgasbord of Delight, and Sunday Fuel-Up Fricassee. The book offers a creative twist on those traditional church cookbooks. Instead of meals, the suggested experiences are sure to serve up portions of joy and community and perhaps an antidote to lingering overdoses of doctrine and dogma. Soul food for anyone whose TULIP is wilted.

You can order a copy, if you like. There’s a coil-bound version from Lulu and a simple paperback from Amazon.

Subscribe and stay tuned for the next creative project, coming soon to city near you.

BTW, snert is the Dutch name for a hearty pea soup. I can still see Opa stirring a pot of it.

Pea soup photo by Jesson Mata on Unsplash