Recipes and Recommendations for Imbibing Beauty through Books and Beverages
By Annie Nardone
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: 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'Engle[1]
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.”[2] 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] Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (New York: Penguin Random House, 2016), 122.
[2] Ibid., 23.
