Back To The Table with My Country Kitchen

Food has long been an important element of everyday life. Even though information and beliefs about how it should be grown, prepared and served varies from culture to culture, household to household, food is often at the heart of most communal gatherings.  Breaking bread together has long been a key ingredient in all major life passages: birth, birthdays, graduations, weddings, holidays, anniversaries, etc.

Author Betty Reed Lynch wants to remind us of the communal qualities of food in her book  Back to the Table with My Country Kitchen.  It was written for anyone who wants a easy way to step back into the kitchen in order to share meals with those you love.

In today’s fast-paced, busy world, that’s not a bad idea. People gather together less frequently. Add to that the fact that events that used to last days now take place within the space of only a few hours and it’s easy to see how food, once a powerful bond among community members (including families) had changed.

Lynch wants people to create meal-related memories that last more than one life time. “When you are old and your children are grown you will not regret the time spent together around the dinner table,” she wrote in the book’s introduction.

Back to the Table with My Country Kitchen was written to help you prepare cost- and time-effective meals that make shared family meals simple.

This 147-page book keeps its promise. The recipes, food wisdom, and interplay between author and editor about various cooking terms and tips, offer ways for you to re-discover the joy of food.  Fun and interesting recipes like maple hot chocolate, strawberry bread, and oven porcupines (you’ll have to read the book to find out what those are!) are perfect family foods.

Food charts – how to use various apple varieties, vegetable steaming charts, etc. – and tips like this: Save butter wrappers in the freezer to use for greasing pans when baking all add up to smart and easy for the modern family.

The book also includes comments by others about taking time to have family meals. According to Andrea Yates, “It's almost a lost art these days and is so important in our lives. I just took it for granted growing up but really realize how special my family and their values and traditions were and how lucky I am to have them. So for everyone reading this...Make time for yourself, your family and friends...have them over for a sit down dinner, you'd be amazed at how it heals the soul (and warms the tummy too).”

Back to the Table with My Country Kitchen is available in paperback and as an e-book at Lulu.com.