A dash of faith: Destin Log religion/food editor compiles cookbook for a cause

“Heavenly Delights” is where faith and food collide.

Aside from spilling the secrets for the perfect beignets, the cookbook doubles as a symbol of humanitarian activism — making each recipe taste that much more heavenly.

The cookbook, which boasts 745 recipes contributed from literally all over the world, was compiled by volunteers for Mission Love Seeds to help raise money for their cause. Priced at $22.95 plus tax, the cookbook is a wonderful mix of family recipes from locals and those across the country, as well as authentic Filipino and Haitian recipes submitted by the people involved with the missions there.

A Haitian Macaroni and Cheese recipe was submitted by Martine Longcamp, the director of Diakonos International Inc., an orphanage in Carrefour, Haiti.

“It’s the recipe she makes for the children there,” said Barbi Carroll, co-founder of Mission Love Seeds.

The book even contains recipes from the celebrity Duggar family, submitted by Jim Bob himself on behalf of his wife and 19 kids.

“I just e-mailed him; he was the only celebrity that got back to me, and he was very helpful,” said Pam Griffin, who took the lead coordinating the cookbook.

After four months of relaying hundreds of e-mails, lots of test cooking and careful editing, Heavenly Delights has a recipe for everyone — even the family dog, cat or bunny. Jam packed with desserts, easy dinners, 10-minute dips, or tips for the perfect filet, cooks at every level will find more concoctions than they could ever chew on.

All proceeds go to Mission Love Seeds and can be bought online at missionloveseeds.org or at the Destin United Methodist Church’s Fall Flair festival on Sept. 10 and 11. It will also be sold at locations around Destin including Ace Hardware in Destin and Sandestin, Doggy Bag, and Destin Pools.

Mission Love Seeds was established in 2004 by husband and wife team Barbi Carroll and John Hawbaker to help feed and clothe impoverished kids in the Philippines. Since then it has extended its reach to Haiti. The Destin-based organization was one of the first relief groups to assist families in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina five years ago.

The cookbook was the brainchild of Griffin, who has covered Mission Love Seed’s faith-based relief efforts since 2005 for The Destin Log. After chronicling the group’s work for so long and getting to know some of the children, Griffin was searching for a new way to contribute.

So she did what came naturally.

“To use the skills God gave me, organizing and planning, to do something good,” said Griffin.

Griffin, who has written a food column for The Log since 2002, figured she could help raise money by taking on the task of the cookbook. And while feeding the hungry was a big part of the effort, Griffin had a special mission in mind when she worked those long nights and weekends sifting through thousands of ingredients and recipes. She said she hopes Mission Love Seeds is able to acquire music systems to play Christmas CDs or Christian music in places far from Destin.

If she could, she would make sure all the orphanages had pianos — but for now, anything will do.

“I couldn’t imagine a world without music,” she said.

Heavenly Delights is a hardcover with a spiral spine making it easy and durable for use in the kitchen. Barbi Carroll makes a special note to thank all who volunteered their time making to the book come out as nice as it did, including Ann Hadsall-Allen’s work on the ads and The Log’s Sue Whittaker who spent hours proofreading.