Recipes and Recommendations for Imbibing Beauty through Books and Beverages

By Annie Nardone

Think back to the books you’ve read that captivated your imagination, resonating with prose as if the author was writing directly to you. You underlined passages, drew stars and checkmarks in the margins, and filled sticky notes with favorite quotes. And you couldn’t help but recommend these works.

My house is filled with books, but my favorites, what I thumb through to return to my favorite passages, surround my desk. They are shelved close at hand, stacked next to my computer, balanced on my reading chair, and piled on the floor. Most are filled with sticky tabs and bookmarks. All have one commonality—they are suffused with transcendent beauty that stuck with me long after I finished the book. Each embodies a forever magic.

Reading good literature should be a daily event. Carving out a set time and place to read soon becomes a wonderful habit, no less than necessary food for the mind. In the following collection  I am including literary recommendations (“The Pages”) accompanied by a beverage (“Pints, and Pours”) with which to pair them. Each recipe aligns with the author’s era and art in some way.


The pages: The supper of the lamb by Robert farrar capon

“You see, I hope, how hard it is to rush past even a single detail. The world is such an amiable place.”— Robert Farrar Capon 1

Storyteller, chef, and Episcopalian priest, Robert Capon doesn’t just tell us the how of traditional cooking, but invites us into the why. Supper of the Lamb is a call to see beauty and delight in slowing down, reveling in the time invested in a simple, home-cooked meal made with friends. The magic of Capon's writing is his ability to weave the simplicity of cooking techniques with his personal recipes. Each chapter blends spiritual wisdom into common acts of goodness, making any gathering a soul filling occasion.

I confess that I read cookbooks like most people read fiction. The Supper of the Lamb is pure delight, a box of rich word truffles to be slowly savored, just like a satisfying novel. My copy is fully underlined and highlighted because the prose is brilliant and wise, the recipes are basic, and Capon shares some of the best advice on living well.  

The book is seasoned with wry humor. He opens chapter 1 with “Let me begin without ceremony,”2 and proceeds to guide us through the preparation of lamb for eight guests. He continues at a leisurely pace through breads, meat, vegetables, desserts, and beverages with simple recipes and suggestions for leftovers. His chapter on proper cutlery is a standout as he gently chides us all for our serrated bread knives. He begins the chapter entitled “The Suspended Solution” on preparing the perfect gravy, confessing, “At long last (you have been patient), I am ready to thicken the stew.”3 Yes, lead on, my friend.

Enjoying a good beverage in a cozy chair while reading is a delightful escape. Slow down. Linger over the words. This book would be a perfect book club selection because each chapter offers a recipe or two, creating a potluck opportunity for gathering.

Pair your reading with one of the following drinks. Capon concludes by sharing several cocktail recipes, including this twist on an old standard cocktail. The mocktail recipe is my own.

PINTS, AND POURS

Sweet Martini
2 parts dry gin

1 part sweet vermouth

Twist of orange peel

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, pour, and serve with the peel on the rim.4

Citrus Basil Refresher Mocktail

Muddle 2-3 fresh basil leaves in a tall glass with a splash of fresh lemon juice. Fill the glass with ice, seltzer and an orange slice. Stir and serve.




THE PAGES: Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer

“The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” 

— Francis Schaeffer5

I used to live near Holy Cross Abbey of the Cistercian order in Virginia. Many times, this peaceful place was my media free, day-long retreat from the commotion of big city life. I’d pack a tote with paper, pen, Bible, and one book. Francis Schaeffer’s Art and the Bible was my first and best monastery companion. I sat in the silent abbey chapel for hours, asking God for direction in my writing, while reading Schaeffer’s essay. I read the entire text that day, underlining each biblical example of God’s orders to create beauty. Here were the words confirming that the act of making to glorify God is transcendent and good. Whether the piece is painting, poetry, or music, the work is an act of worship when offered back to the One who inspired it. Creating is a joy, a gift, and a holy calling on our lives.

What role do the visual and performing arts play in the Christian life? Schaeffer believes that “if Christianity is really true, it involves the whole man, his intellect and his creativeness.”6 This book opened my imagination to the direct connection between God’s act of creating and the instructions He gave for creating the tabernacle.  Schaeffer’s message is that art is integral to the Christian life. Art and the Bible is a mission statement directing us to create beauty because God first imagined it and called it forth, giving specific instructions in scripture. God told His people to craft representational art and mandated specific designs to Moses for the ark and temple: to craft almond blossom cups, branch detailing, blue pomegranates, and delicate lamps out of pure gold.7 God instructed Solomon to adorn His house with precious stones and gold.8 It is our call to create beauty according to our giftedness.

Art and the Bible is Schaeffer’s standout work, an excellent text on his Christian perspective of making, establishing the arts as foundationally important in the life and worship of the Church. 

Schaeffer was the founder of L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. As a nod to Swiss chocolate, I have the perfect pairing for your reading. 

PINTS, AND POURS

Homemade Hot Cocoa 

1 quart whole milk (or dairy substitute)

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I like dark cocoa)

1/4 cup sugar, to taste

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Pour milk into a heavy saucepan and warm at a low setting. Whisk in cocoa powder, sugar, and a teaspoon of real vanilla extract. Simmer and stir for 10 minutes. Pour into cups and top with whipped cream.  

You can elevate your cocoa with chocolate shavings and a splash of peppermint schnapps, Kahlua, or Frangelico.


THE PAGES: Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle

“But only if we accept all of ourselves, our flaws as well as our virtues . . . do we become useful servants—of our art, of our Lord.”

—Madeleine L'Engle9

I discovered Walking on Water in my bookshelf during the long days of COVID lockdown. (I actually read dozens of books during that time, spending three hours or so in a comfy chair every morning with copious cups of tea and my cats.) At that time, I was searching for encouragement from Christian authors for my own writing, and since I love L’Engle's A Wrinkle in Time series, her nonfiction Walking on Water sounded promising. I was not prepared to read such profound wisdom, honesty, and inspiration.

Walking on Water is a necessary book for anyone who strives for the holy connection between art and faith, especially for those who write to reflect the glory and mystery of God. L’Engle teaches us to draw from classics and sacred literature, because our own art or writing will be the embodiment of the goodness we read and observe. L’Engle writes like she is giving personal advice to the reader, sharing favorite quotes that she wrote in her leather bound Commonplace Book. It is a great comfort to read about her difficulties and dry spells—they happen to everyone, artist or not, even the famous.

Walking on Water is a wonderfully theological read that I would compare to a scrapbook of brilliant inspiration: bits of advice on perseverance, quotes from the fathers of our faith (I copied many quotes as reminders), as well as examples of the power of good literature. The entirety of the text carries your imagination into understanding beauty and truth in all things.

L’Engle wrote, “To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all.”10 So true. This book will teach you to see, hear, and sense the mystery found in the arts. You’ll find a Reader’s Guide at the end of the book, making this a wonderful small group study.

Pair L’Engle’s writing with a soothing cup of tea, as I did during lockdown. I learned how to make a proper pot of tea at The Kilns, C.S. Lewis’s Oxford home. The choice of black tea is up to you, but we brew Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold. 

PINTS, AND POURS

A Proper Pot of Tea

Boil a kettle of water. 

Pour enough hot water into the teapot to swish and warm the pot, then dump the water out. 

Add hot water to the teapot, about three cups, and two teabags. 

Stir a bit, cover with lid, and time for 7 minutes. 

Remove tea bags, pour into teacups, and serve with a splash of milk. 

(I was also informed that cream is for coffee, milk is for tea. True: there is a remarkable difference.)

An Upstart Tea for Two

The pot of tea you've just made, but let it cool

2 teaspoons lavender syrup (recipe below)

2 cups prepared lemonade

Two shots of herb-forward gin

Fill two tall glasses with ice. Divide the lavender syrup, lemonade, and gin between the glasses. Fill to the brim with the tea and stir. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon organic culinary lavender

Stir together water and sugar in a heavy pot over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the burner, stir in lavender and steep until cold. Give it a stir again and let sit another hour. Strain and pour the syrup into a pretty bottle and refrigerate. Keeps indefinitely.

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Annie Nardone is a lifelong bibliophile with a special devotion to the Inklings and medieval authors. She is a Fellow with the C.S. Lewis Institute and holds an M.A. in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University. Annie is a writer for Cultivating Oaks Press and An Unexpected Journal. Her writing can also be found at Square Halo Press, Rabbit Room Press, Clarendon Press U.K., Calla Press, and Poetica. Annie is a Master Teacher with HSLDA and Kepler Education and strives to help her students see holiness in everyday life and art. She lives in Florida with her husband and six cats, appreciates the perfect cup of tea, an expansive library, and the beach with family.

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1 Robert Farrar Capon, The Supper of the Lamb (New York: Random House, 2002), 22.

2 Ibid., 1.

3 Ibid., 98.

4 Ibid., 267.

5 Francis Schaeffer, Art and the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2006), 91.

6 Ibid., 16.

7 Exodus 25, ESV.

8 2 Chronicles 3, ESV.

9 Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (New York: Penguin Random House, 2016), 122.

10 Ibid., 23.