Hospitality for the Coming Age

One simple way for to raise your guests’ anxiety is to give them no place to put their coats! We have a goal in our house of having at least two hooks on our coat rack (the two closest to the door) clear all the time so that guests can easily hang their coats.
Our next [...]

Our house is mostly kid-safe, thanks to some friends having babies and inspiring me to put plastic in all the outlets and look around for glass. It still requires perusing when toddlers are around, but tends to be ready to go.
An essential part of kid-friendliness that I learned from my parents and grandparents is the [...]

We love having people over to our house, but there’s no way to get in without climbing stairs. The first five stairs don’t even have a railing. So it’s not at all accessible for people with any of many physical disabilities. When we know someone is coming we can help people up the stairs, but [...]

Accessibility is one of the most fundamental aspects of hospitality - right up there with a warm, genuine smile.
I’ve been working on food accessibility - having whole, nutritious and tasty food for everyone, regardless of allergies and other dietary needs. I’m vegetarian already, and have been vegan at very times, so those are pretty easy [...]

Eating seasonally is all about being resourceful. Churches are one great place to share the overwhelming amount of zucchini we get in August, or bumper crops of tomatoes in September.
And when a huge storm blows a bunch of peaches down, it’s time to share! Thanks to Esther for bringing these peaches to church.
They made the [...]

Crock-pots are a host’s best friend. Prepping food the day before and serving piping hot (not reheated) food - it’s brilliant!
I haven’t figured out a good schedule for using a crock-pot at lunchtime, since many dishes suggest 8 hours of slow cooking (and I don’t want to turn the crock-pot on at 4am). And most [...]

One of the best things about having a dining room is being able to set the table ahead of time. There are so many things to do at the last minute with food - the spices that have to be added at the very last minute, the things that need to be really cold, or [...]