Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook [Paperback]

Joetta Handrich Schlabach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0836192648 | ISBN-13: 978-0836192643

From the Foreword:

Extending the Table is an invitation...to enjoy the gifts of people from Argentina and Bangladesh to Yugoslavia and Zambia. The stories and recipes help us enter into the lives and situations of these people and to be changed by them in significant ways. Food is a medium of communication, but it is more; in a mysterious way, it is part of the message, as Jesus so vividly portrayed in the breaking of bread and distribution of the cup.

Extending the Table follows in the tradition of Doris Janzen Longacre's More-with-Less Cookbook, especially her Living More with Less, which I, as her husband, competed after her death. Both books challenged us to learn from the world community, to celebrate with joy, and to care for the earth. Extending the Table presents recipes and stories of people around the world. Many of them live with few material resources, yet they share gifts which point us toward a different and freer way of life.

Extending the Table is much more than a cookbook. It will most often be found on the kitchen shelf, but it could just as well fit comfortably on the bedside stand or coffee table for inspirational reading. Let it also find its way onto the pastor's shelf for its excellent sermon illustrations and stories.

For all of us, it provides repeated opportunities to take part in the lives of people around the world and to delight in the wealth they have to offer. As we are able to treat other peoples and traditions with respect and tenderness, we too are changed.

—Paul Longacre, December 1990

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Extending the Table calls itself "a world community cookbook," but it is far more than that. Yes, there are recipes here from all over the globe: Sesame Spinach Salad from Korea, Hunter's Stew from Poland, and Watermelon Jan from Botswana. There are myriad rice dishes, lots of recipes featuring beans and lentils, and an array of delicious beverages--from Philippine Punch to a Ginger Cooler from the Ivory Coast. But what makes this cookbook so special is its social conscience: following the lead of Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More-with-Less Cookbook, Extending the Table invites readers to reduce their own levels of consumption and share resources with others around the world. Even more, it encourages us to learn from the global community. In addition to the recipes, there are stories about both individuals and whole cultures, explanations of the importance of certain types of food in different lands, and the rituals that surround particular meals. Extending the Table is the work of the Mennonite Central Committee, and many of the contributors are missionaries whose faith in the values of humility, community, and respect for others imbues the pages of this thought-provoking book. Extending the Table is truly food for the body and soul! --This text refers to the Spiral-bound edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Cooks who don't object to dishes garnished with Christian moralizing (primarily on the virtues of sharing and the "sacred nature of food"141 ) will find an abundance of appetizing ideas for everyday cookery in this collection commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee. Home economistp. 6 Schlabach's first cookbook brings together recipes from more than 80 different countries, from familiar Polish bigos or Chinese hot-and-sour soup to the more exotic--chicken with garlic and lime juice from Guadeloupe, and a recipe from Chad for meatballs that contain ground sesame and melon seeds as well as other seasonings. Some recipes have been adapted, mostly to reduce fat content or shorten preparation time. For example, Ugandan groundnut sauce can be prepared from scratch using raw peanuts, but a quick and very flavorful version can be whipped up by substituting chunky peanut butter. Some recipes, like Belizean potato salad and sayur manis (a sweet and spicy Indonesian dish made with butternut squash), include microwave instructions.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Spiral-bound edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Herald Press (June 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836192648
• ISBN-13: 978-0836192643
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #408,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Latin American

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Cookbook December 9, 2004

By K. Mark

Format:Spiral-bound

The recipes from all over the world, mainly third-world nations, are delicious, easy-to-prepare, healthy, and can be made from inexpensive ingredients after an initial investment in spices. My husband and I were unemployed students and this cookbook gave us an endless variety of ideas for how to prepare lentils, at 50 cents a meal! I buy fresh garlic and ginger and keep both in my freezer. No need to peel the ginger if you've washed it before freezing it, and it breaks apart easily when it has been frozen. Though seasonings can be expensive, they can make the most basic ingredients--dried beans, lentils, grains--savory and satisfying! If you don't have the ingredients the recipe calls for, improvise! These recipes are extrememly versatile.

There is a index for the recipes origin, so you can decide to have a complete dinner featuring a particular nation or region. Many meals can be prepared with one or two pots on your stove, as many kitchens in the world contain only a wood-fired stove.

If you buy this book, spend some time just reading it-- it is filled with stories and observations from MCC volunteers who lived in community with the poor of the world and experienced generosity and hospitality of their neighbors. Some stories will bring you to tears. You will never think of food in the same way again.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! March 23, 2005

By LP

Format:Spiral-bound|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I cook almost exclusively from this cookbook and its companion, More with Less. But I love this one! A few of the recipes are too spicey for me, but by and large it's taught me whole new ways to "do" food that I never would have thought of.

It's important to us to live lightly on the earth and not overconsume, so we are delighted to have this resource to help us eat "low" on the food chain while also saving money and eating some of the tastiest dishes we've ever made! I really like that it's a cookbook not just about eating, but about everything from farming and environmentalism to poverty and hunger to fellowship and sharing to energy use in cooking. It really helps us make conscious choices about our cooking - after all, food is a moral choice.

But most of all, the recipes are all delicious, hearty, nutritious, inexpensive, and easy to make, even for a cooking klutz like me!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best "real world" international cookbook I've found April 10, 2006

By peachyqueen27

Format:Spiral-bound

I have been searching for a cookbook since I moved to an area with limited international restaurants. Specifically, I was searching for a cookbook with Ethiopian recipes which I particularly love. This book is it! Everything that I have made has tasted authentic--Ethiopian and Indian. I have even tried some recipes of which I am not familiar (Dominican Republic and South African), all were delicious. I plan on giving this as a gift to my friends in the future.