While attending Northern Arizona University, my three housemates and I shared meals using recipes from the More-with-Less cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre. I had no idea who Mennonites were.

Later, in another house with four roommates, we used the same cookbook. I think it belonged to a roommate whose last name was Friesen, although she wasn’t keenly aware of her Mennonite roots at the time. She was studying nutrition and knew the nutritional information and recipes would be healthy.

Little did I know that this was my first taste — literally — of being Mennonite.

My husband, Craig, was introduced to Mennonite thought in a different way — through Ronald J. Sider’s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Using More-with-Less in conjunction with our reading of Sider’s book deepened our search for a Christian faith rooted in discipleship, peace and justice.

Both my husband and I were raised in communities of faith. His family was Presbyterian. I took myself to church beginning in the sixth grade and attended a Baptist church with my neighbors. When we moved, I got involved with the evangelical organization Young Life. Later, at Northern Arizona, I was active in Campus Ambassadors, which encouraged a life of discipleship.

Living with women from Campus Ambassadors, I began to understand community life in Christ more fully. Using the More-with-Less cookbook solidified that sense of community.

As newlyweds, Craig and I purchased a copy of More-with-Less. We moved to Philadelphia for him to attend Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary), where he studied with Ron Sider.

Sider introduced us to the Mennonite church by inviting us to attend the Germantown Mennonite congregation. There we were more fully introduced to the idea of more-with-less as we visited members’ homes and went to church potlucks.

My story came full circle when Craig became pastor of Zion Mennonite Church in Elbing, Kan., Doris Janzen Longacre’s home church.

We were taken in as family by her brother Herman and his wife, Ruth. In their warm embrace of our family, we had the opportunity to meet Paul, Doris’ husband, and their daughters. Most of all, we became friends with Doris’ nephews and nieces. (Doris had died of cancer in 1979 at the age of 39.)

Beyond their family, we were surrounded by the extended family and friends of Doris, who had helped to form her and, therefore, her cookbook.

In Elbing, I became a bread baker. I loved the Turkey Red wheat that I could buy at the local co-op or Dillon’s grocery store. I baked four loaves of bread a week for my family using the More-with-Less recipe for oatmeal bread. As adults, they still request this when they come home to visit.

And, as a young family trying to pinch pennies, many More-with-Less recipes were useful in bringing healthy, affordable meals to our table.

I am grateful for the way Doris Janzen Longacre discipled me in her cookbook and for the many who contributed to it with recipes and stories. As a convinced Mennonite, I’ve been formed by More-with-Less and given it as a gift to others.

Karla Morton is a public education teacher in Meridian, Idaho, co-pastor of Meridian Mennonite Church with her husband, Craig, moderator-elect of Pacific Northwest Conference of Mennonite Church USA and a mother of four and grammy to two boys.

Oatmeal bread

From More-with-Less by Doris Janzen Longacre

Recipe contributed by Ella Rohrer, Orrville, Ohio, and Carol Ann Maust, Upland, Calif.

Combine in large bowl:

1 cup quick oats
½ cup whole wheat flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat flour and reduced the white flour by ½ cup)
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons margarine (I use butter)

Pour over:

2 cups boiling water 
Stir to combine.

Dissolve:

1 package dry yeast in ½ cup warm water (I would add a ½ teaspoon of sugar to help the yeast grow)
When batter is cooled to lukewarm (I test the temperature of the mixture with my pinky), add yeast mixture.

Stir in:
5 cups unbleached white flour (I can usually stir in 3-4 cups, leaving 1 cup for kneading)
When dough is stiff enough to handle, turn onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch dough down and let rise again. Shape into two loaves and place in greased 9x5x3-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with margarine for a soft crust (I leave this step out as we liked the crust a bit more crusty.)

This bread makes delicious sandwiches and toast.