Sunday, February 14, 2010
Lent!
Lent is almost here...this year I am truly excited. I am desperately feeling the need to stop, place myself at the feet of Our Lord, rest my head on His knees and listen to His voice. I need to get closer to Him and I feel my soul crying out for His nearness. I can't wait to work with Rose Marie as we follow Jesus in this beautiful season. I am excited for myself to be able to enter into the fasting and praying again this time. I am trying to be realistic about sacrifices this year and focusing more on the heart of lent as opposed to what to give up. I am already reading the book, "Jesus of Nazareth," by Pope Benedict and I LOVE it! I think I am going to consider that my Lenten reading for now and if I finish before the season is over, I will go to my favorite, Fulton Sheen. :) This week I need to finish preparing our Lenten works to begin on Wednesday. I also need to nail down some creative ideas for meatless meals (cheese pizza only goes so far.) Does your family have any favorite meatless meals? I could really go for some soup ideas. God bless!
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8 comments:
We have a Greek Bean Soup that we eat even Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for our meal. Let me know if you want the recipe. :)
Lizzie, I would totally love that recipe - looking for filling nutritious meals I can make while pregnant/nursing :)
Jess, we do cheese/veggie tortillas, tuna casserole, salmon (with honey butter sauce), loaded salads or baked potatoes.
I know what you mean about anticipating Lent. I hope I can do what I want to . . . Its such a good time for getting serious about your life. I have been wanting to read J of N. too -- I'm glad to hear that is good! :)
Our meatless dinners are mac and cheese, (from scratch) cheese and tomato quesadillas, salmon patties (uses canned salmon), grilled cheese with tomato basil soup (uses chicken broth but you could prob. substitute veg. broth for Lent), a black bean/tomato/rice dish and pasta with a white alfredo sauce or a red sauce without meat. Also, I have a Egyptian Lentil Soup recipe -- we always eat this Good Friday.
Let me know if you need any recipes. :)
Also, what are you planning with Rose? I am trying to figure out what to do with the girls this year to observe Lent (in addition to our regular Stations of the Cross).
1 lb. dried white beans (Northern or small white) washed
1/2 cup olive oil
3 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
pepper to taste
1 lb. canned tomatoes
12 cups water
1 tsp. dried mint (or 1 tbsp. fresh mint--optional)
Soak beans overnight or bring water to boil, add beans, boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. In the meantime, saute onions, garlic in the olive oil until translucent and golden. Add to soaked beans along with drained tomatoes, pepper, bay leaves, and most of the mint. Let simmer, covered, until the beans are soft. You may wish to puree part or all of the soup in a blender. Add salt and the rest of the mint. Sometimes I eliminate the tomatoes and add chopped celery and a little chili powder, OR you can add oregano and basil instead of mint and chopped parsley [sic].
Recipe of Mrs. Daniel Quest, Nevada, Missouri, Christendom Family Cookbook (1991).
That's a copy, I don't do the mint. Sounds strange to me, but there you go. :)
We most frequently do the Jamaican Beans and Rice from Nourishing Traditions with cheese quesadillas, the simple lentil soup from the Nourishing Gourmet website (do NOT omit the red wine vinegar - it makes the soup so delicious!), stir-fried lentils from Joy of Cooking (we serve it over brown rice), Minestrone soup, veggie pizza, and we make tuna patties with canned tuna, egg, mustard, relish, bread crumbs, celery and scallions. You can serve those over salad or on a bun with cheese and mayo.
I know you probably have had this recipe before but we really like Monzerella and pesto grilled cheese sandwiches and then serve with some tomatoe soup, YUM! Thanks for a lovely evening last night :)
xo,
Amber
Wow! All of these ideas are so wonderful! I am so excited to try them. Thank you so much Lizzie for the soup recipe!! That will be a must try this season. Mary, could I have the Egyptian Soup recipe...sounds very exotic. :) Mara, I completely forgot out Minestrone soup! That is a a favorite here. We love doing the Mozzarella and Pesto sandwiches here for lunch during Lent...Amber, your Mom makes the best ones! ;)
I'd love the Minestrone soup recipe, Mara. :)
Egyptian Lentil Soup (3-4 servings)
2.5 c. water
1/2 cup dried lentils
1 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped potatoes
4 cloves garlic (I think I usually half this amount, but I know you like it :)
1.5 tsp olive oil
1 tsp grd cumin
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
More salt and pepper to taste.
Add first 5 ingredients to pot, cover bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer 15-20 min or until lentils and veg. are tender. Set aside.
In small saucepan warm the oil over low heat, till it is hot but not smoking
To the oil add in the cumin, tumeric and salt. Cook and stir constantly for 2-3 min (to release the fragrance) Be careful not to scorch spices. Then set aside for 1 min to cool.
Stir spices into lentil mixture, add cilantro and lemon juice, stir to combine (Note: this soup will be a unusual green color from the tumeric).
Season with salt and pepper, re-warm if necessary.
(You can puree this soup if you want to or use an immersion blender if you want it to be smoother but still a bit chunky. I don't do anything to it.)
Here's another soup recipe we tried yesterday -- D. loved it and even my non-soup-eating girls liked it.
Potato Soup (3-4 servings)
3-4 c. peeled and diced potatoes
1/4 c. sliced carrot
2 stalks sliced celery
2.5 c. water
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1.5-2 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Combine first four ingredients. Bring to boil, then simmer to veg. are very soft (30 min ish) Set aside.
Saute garlic and onion in butter till tender Add flour and salt and pepper, cook for 2-3 min. Combine with potatoes/veggies. Mash mixture with potato masher. Add milk, but pot on low to thicken and warm through.
Add cheese just before serving and stir to melt.
Happy Lent!
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