LEI cookbook stirs up community connections

Food and cooking bring people together, linking families and communities. They are an integral part of the stories we tell, and how we connect to others. In the spirit of such connections, Lake Erie Ink (LEI) has launched a Creative Community cookbook project that aims to bring people together through shared recipes and stories.

The cookbook is the latest iteration of an ongoing project that LEI launched in 2020—the Creative Community Challenge.

Originally conceived as a way to bridge social isolation during the quarantine, each challenge is open to all ages and all types of writing and art. It asks contributors to submit creative work on a given theme, culminating in an anthology and a storefront display. The project brings together people of all ages from the community to share their stories in a myriad of different forms.

This fall, a collaborative cookbook, Stirring Stories, will be LEI's seventh Challenge.

The book will feature recipes, writing and art from LEI students and the Greater Cleveland community, as well as recipes from local chefs, including Shawnda Moye, Doug Katz, and Tommy Fello.

Imagine someone cooking your favorite meal, filling the air with the most amazing scents. Are they sweet or savory? Is it a special occasion? Who is in the kitchen? Entire scenes can be conjured by tastes and smells.

Every recipe has a story that goes with it. Eating a certain dish can evoke memories of specific places and times, and the person who invented the recipe or passed it down. Stories about food are the stories of who we are and where we’ve been.

Lake Erie Ink invites community members to share favorite recipes and stories this fall, and participate in this creative culinary experience. The resulting publication will be printed and available at local bookstores and other shops. Each contributor will receive a free copy.

To learn more about the project, or to submit a recipe, writing, and art, visit Lake Erie Ink’s website, www.lakeerieink.org/creative-community-challenge/.

The submission deadline is Nov. 6.

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A Coca Cola Cake

Tastes chocolatey and good
Coca cola cake tastes like a 
Disco ball

Smells good smells like
Bubbly, good, and fresh

Coca cola cake feels like victory

by Jayda D., a former LEI student, 2018

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