Centenary Favorites: Asian Recipes Edition

The pages of this special “Asian Recipes” series of the Centenary’s Favorites cookbook contain more than a collection of ingredients and instructions on how to make delicious foods. Turning its pages, you will see that this is a rich compilation of history woven together to tell a story of all the love and joy that has been shared through cooking over this last century.

When we think of basic human needs, what draws up joy more than food? Of course, we must eat to survive, to nourish our bodies, to stay healthy. But cooking is much more than that. We thank God for the blessings of our homes, for clean drinking water, and safe neighborhoods, but we are so grateful that the joys of meal preparation enable us to break bread together in fellowship; and with thanksgiving we praise God for inviting all of us to the table to enjoy the abundance of these wonderful meals.

As you explore the recipes contained in this special cookbook, we hope that these recipes bring back thoughts about past church and family potluck meals, or of birthdays and graduations, baptisms, Easter, Christmas, Oshogatsu, to remind us just how precious our meals are in shaping our own personal stories and memories. Please also remember that many of these historic Asian recipes from this part of Centenary’s cookbook harken back to the Issei pioneers, most who did not have written recipes, nor write or speak much English. We are grateful to their Nisei children who did their best to capture and adapt these dishes into modern recipes; and are so grateful that they created their own J A recipes for us to enjoy. We feel blessed to share this cookbook into the future. Perhaps you will find some recipes that will be reminiscent of a dish made by your grandparents or great grandparents; others that kindle a memory of comfort food from your childhood.

We hope that you will truly cherish your meals together as you create dishes from this collection of Centenary’s beloved cookbook. We are grateful to all who went before us in submitting recipes for these favorite dishes. May our plates be overflowing with God’s abundance and our hearts be filled with the joys of sharing our cooking, a universal language of love.
(From the introduction of the Centenary's Favorites, Asian Recipe Edition)
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All proceeds from this cookbook will go toward the mission of Centenary United Methodist Church (Los Angeles, CA) - A place where we ENRICH lives through experiencing God's love, and become EMPOWERED to IMPACT the world.