WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, my mother did a ton of needlework. She’s a master seamstress, quilter, you name it, and for a time, she taught a group of Seventh Day Adventist missionaries how to make cloth dolls for children in Central America. How they hooked up, neither she nor I can remember, but as a result, we spent some time hanging out in the Seventh Day Adventist community. The thing that made the biggest impression (I was 6, remember) was that they were vegetarians. Maybe that’s what made my recent find of the Benton sisters’ cookbook speak to me as it does.
To my horror, the Seventh Day Adventists I met all those years ago ate a faux-lunchmeat, a kind of 1970s predecessor to Tofurkey, which I tasted, found unspeakably nasty, and never tried again. While I like tofu, I don’t do fake meat. That said, I am all for vegetarianism, though it’s not for me.
But when I started researching sisterly cookbooks, I discovered the Benton sisters. Audrey, Trishonna and Emberley Benton, with help from their mom, assembled their own nearly-vegan cookbook in 1993, and managed to keep it in print through (at least) 1999. (I call the book nearly-vegan because some recipes include honey, which strict vegans eschew.)
The Bentons are (or were–it seems that they may have stopped performing) Christian singers as well, and have an oddly charming quality. Maybe it’s just all that amazing hair. Maybe it’s their enthusiasm for educating not just adults, but teenagers, about health and nutrition: They label their recipes as “teen tested.” (Now if they could make my 7-year-old and 4-year-old eat any of their food, that would be a feat.)
While I am unlikely to ever prepare or serve Cream Peas on Toast (despite the enthusiastic endorsement of this book’s previous owner), the granola sounds good. Really good. (Though I might reduce my own fresh cider, boiling it down into a syrup, rather than using frozen apple juice concentrate. I’m funny that way.)
Want to come over for breakfast? No mystery-meat, I promise.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
oh god, that hair! Let’s hope they wore hairnets around the cream and peas.
I know, I know. I can achieve some big hair with all my red curls, but these women put me to shame…
Regarding your comments on the Benton sisters getting your children to eat any of their food – don’t make a judgement until you’ve tried it. They label their recipes as “Teen Tested” because they created the recipes themselves and tested them on their friends. They have the best tasting vegan recipes I have ever tasted in 20 years of being an Adventist. They have a recipe for fudge that is made with Carob (which I have NEVER considered even close to tasting like chocolate), that is comparable to anything you could get from a store – my Dad (who is a meat & potatoes man – he has jokingly said he is allergic to anything green) loved their fudge. So . . . my suggestion . . . try some of the recipes for your kids (don’t tell them, of course, because if you do they will not like it – no matter how good it tastes ^_^ ) – you just might be surprised =)
These are 3 of the most beautiful women I have met. They are loving and kind, and look to uplift others in any way they can. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was when we attended an Evangelism training college together and I sang a song – and all 3 of them told me how beautiful my voice was and encouraged me to continue – I consider that a wonderful compliment coming from women who have recorded music their whole lives =).
These 3 sisters married 3 brothers – and are now all Benton-Blake. They are currently quite busy raising families – as can be seen on their website: http://www.bentonsisters.com
They are also involved with camp meetings at Alpine Meadows – http://www.alpinemeadow.org
As well as supporting their mother in her ministry – Diamonds in the Sand – which can be accessed through their website.
Enjoy . . . =)
On Friday afternoons in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the mid-1990s, you would find many students rushing home to watch At Home with the Benton Sisters, and it wasn’t for the ministry. It was pretty entertaining to us nonbelievers. At parties my roommates and I would start talking about it thinking we were the only ones watching–turned out it was popular amoung the 18-to-22-year-old demographic.
I love reading your fondness and enthusiasm for the Bentons. Their sincerity is evident, and infectious, and a great reminder to us all to share our gifts with all our sisters. Thanks for reading and commenting, Julia and Jamie!