Lenten Cooking

I am trying to focus on making fast days more prominent this Lent, and I'm going to put my copy of From a Monastery Kitchen to good use. This classic cookbook by Brother Victoire-Antoine d'Avila Latourrette is organized by season and contains lots of soups, main dishes, salads and desserts.

From the front flap:

Monastic kitchens strive for a healthy and balanced diet, one in which vegetables play a critical role. Monastic gardens produce their own vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the monks and nuns. There is nothing dull or bland about their food, neither in preparation or presentation.

The recipes contained in this book are not only tasty and healthful recipes, but showcase one of the key factors of monastic cookery: the careful attention to the rhythms of the season, utlilizing the bounty of Nature in the ingredients. Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourette combines them with wise words, inspirational quotes, and informational lore, making this a feast for the mind and body.

Yesterday, for Ash Wednesday, I made Vermicelli Soup that consisted of vegetable stock, garlic, carrots, onions (I sustituted shallots due to my Headache Diet), vermicelli, fresh parsley and salt. I added some cumin as well. It was great! The boys lapped it up with homemade herb bread and butter, and grapes for dessert.

The monks must grow leeks because they use a lot of them in various recipes. I've only cooked with leeks a couple of times but I guess I'll be getting more practice.

Book Mooch

I recently joined Book Mooch, an international book swapping site that lets you get rid of the books you no longer want and "mooch" books from others. When we lived in Atlanta, I was a huge user of PaperbackSwap.com and was able to do a huge refresh of my home library. But it's only available to people living in the US.

I've placed a Book Mooch widget on my sidebar that shows the five books most recently added to my inventory (books that I want to give away). The first day I joined, I had three mooch requests and sent those books off right away.

Unfortunately, shipping in Canada is extremely expensive so I'm not sure whether this will be worth it in the long run. In the US, the "Media Mail" category lets you ship a book (or other media) of up to a pound for under $2. Here in Canada, it's something like $8.00. Unless I can find another way to ship, this exercise may be short lived except for rare or hard to find books.

Ash Wednesday

It was a strange day. The Toronto area has been hit by a huge snowfall. Z is out of town on business. Half an hour to dig out the car to get to mass at noon, which was peaceful and exactly what I needed to start Lent off on the right foot. A call from the Dean of Discipline Students at the boys' school regarding, well, I won't say. Simple supper of soup, bread, and fruit. Boys were unusually calm and friendly with each other. Early to bed.

My plans for Lent include giving up desserts, saying Morning Prayer each day by 9:00 am, and going on a weekend retreat at the end of this month. I'd also like to get to weekday mass one day per week.

How will we be remembered?

Tragedy Reveals Unbelievable Beauty

Lenten Cooking

I am trying to focus on making fast days more prominent this Lent, and I'm going to put my copy of From a Monastery Kitchen to good use. This classic cookbook by Brother Victoire-Antoine d'Avila Latourrette is organized by season and contains lots of soups, main dishes, salads and desserts.

From the front flap:

Monastic kitchens strive for a healthy and balanced diet, one in which vegetables play a critical role. Monastic gardens produce their own vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the monks and nuns. There is nothing dull or bland about their food, neither in preparation or presentation.

The recipes contained in this book are not only tasty and healthful recipes, but showcase one of the key factors of monastic cookery: the careful attention to the rhythms of the season, utlilizing the bounty of Nature in the ingredients. Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourette combines them with wise words, inspirational quotes, and informational lore, making this a feast for the mind and body.

Yesterday, for Ash Wednesday, I made Vermicelli Soup that consisted of vegetable stock, garlic, carrots, onions (I sustituted shallots due to my Headache Diet), vermicelli, fresh parsley and salt. I added some cumin as well. It was great! The boys lapped it up with homemade herb bread and butter, and grapes for dessert.

The monks must grow leeks because they use a lot of them in various recipes. I've only cooked with leeks a couple of times but I guess I'll be getting more practice.

Book Mooch

I recently joined Book Mooch, an international book swapping site that lets you get rid of the books you no longer want and "mooch" books from others. When we lived in Atlanta, I was a huge user of PaperbackSwap.com and was able to do a huge refresh of my home library. But it's only available to people living in the US.

I've placed a Book Mooch widget on my sidebar that shows the five books most recently added to my inventory (books that I want to give away). The first day I joined, I had three mooch requests and sent those books off right away.

Unfortunately, shipping in Canada is extremely expensive so I'm not sure whether this will be worth it in the long run. In the US, the "Media Mail" category lets you ship a book (or other media) of up to a pound for under $2. Here in Canada, it's something like $8.00. Unless I can find another way to ship, this exercise may be short lived except for rare or hard to find books.

Ash Wednesday

It was a strange day. The Toronto area has been hit by a huge snowfall. Z is out of town on business. Half an hour to dig out the car to get to mass at noon, which was peaceful and exactly what I needed to start Lent off on the right foot. A call from the Dean of Discipline Students at the boys' school regarding, well, I won't say. Simple supper of soup, bread, and fruit. Boys were unusually calm and friendly with each other. Early to bed.

My plans for Lent include giving up desserts, saying Morning Prayer each day by 9:00 am, and going on a weekend retreat at the end of this month. I'd also like to get to weekday mass one day per week.

How will we be remembered?

Tragedy Reveals Unbelievable Beauty

Menu Plan Monday

Lent starts this week, so we'll be fasting on certain days, and as a family, not eating sweet desserts.

Monday: Shrimp stir-fry on rice, leftover (homemade) french bread.
Tuesday: It's Shrove Tuesday! Pancakes! Eggs!
Wednesday: Ash Wednesday. Vegetable soup and bread for supper.
Thursday: Pasta with veggie-meat sauce. Salad. Bread.
Friday: Cheese pizza. Veggies and dip. Normally I would serve fish on Lenten Fridays but the boys are at a Catholic school and will be served fish at noon.

Mass Report

Our regular choir director/organ virtuoso was out of town this weekend on musical business, so one of our tenors subbed at the organ. Who knew? This twenty-something, quiet lad with a wonderful voice is a harpsichord student at the local U (but a wannabee organ student, apparently). The mass parts were "peppy", I believe due to some nerves, but he performed admirably, with prelude, communion, and postlude solos that were just fab. One of the other tenors was cantor, and the organist let the cantor sing the Gospel Response and the Alleluia unsupported, which was beautiful. His big voice filled the church and made these moments very memorable.

As for the choir, we did two unaccompanied pieces. During the offering we sang Remember Your Servants from the Russian Orthodox Liturgy and arranged by Richard Proulx. The text is the Beatitudes which made up the gospel reading this Sunday.

During Communion, we sang Oculi Omnium (pdf) by Charles Wood (1866-1926). In English, the text reads:

The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord:
and Thou givest them their meat in due season.
Glory to Thee, O Lord. Amen.

Very apt as we move into Lent this week.

Sadly, the homilist was a visiting seminarian (I believe) and due to some combination of his voice and the appalling acoustics back in the choir loft, I couldn't understand a word he said. Other voices were fine (the lector, Father Larry, the Loreto sister who also spoke), and it wasn't a volume issue. Some combination of (maybe) his accent, the pitch of his voice, and who knows...the carpets on the floor of the church... just deadened his speech.

After mass, there was a blessing of throats, Feb 3 being the Memorial of St. Blaise. There were long lineups after mass to be blessed by one of the priests or deacons with these words:

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It was amazing to see probably three-quarters of the church join in the lines for the blessing.

Menu Plan Monday

Lent starts this week, so we'll be fasting on certain days, and as a family, not eating sweet desserts.

Monday: Shrimp stir-fry on rice, leftover (homemade) french bread.
Tuesday: It's Shrove Tuesday! Pancakes! Eggs!
Wednesday: Ash Wednesday. Vegetable soup and bread for supper.
Thursday: Pasta with veggie-meat sauce. Salad. Bread.
Friday: Cheese pizza. Veggies and dip. Normally I would serve fish on Lenten Fridays but the boys are at a Catholic school and will be served fish at noon.

Mass Report

Our regular choir director/organ virtuoso was out of town this weekend on musical business, so one of our tenors subbed at the organ. Who knew? This twenty-something, quiet lad with a wonderful voice is a harpsichord student at the local U (but a wannabee organ student, apparently). The mass parts were "peppy", I believe due to some nerves, but he performed admirably, with prelude, communion, and postlude solos that were just fab. One of the other tenors was cantor, and the organist let the cantor sing the Gospel Response and the Alleluia unsupported, which was beautiful. His big voice filled the church and made these moments very memorable.

As for the choir, we did two unaccompanied pieces. During the offering we sang Remember Your Servants from the Russian Orthodox Liturgy and arranged by Richard Proulx. The text is the Beatitudes which made up the gospel reading this Sunday.

During Communion, we sang Oculi Omnium (pdf) by Charles Wood (1866-1926). In English, the text reads:

The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord:
and Thou givest them their meat in due season.
Glory to Thee, O Lord. Amen.

Very apt as we move into Lent this week.

Sadly, the homilist was a visiting seminarian (I believe) and due to some combination of his voice and the appalling acoustics back in the choir loft, I couldn't understand a word he said. Other voices were fine (the lector, Father Larry, the Loreto sister who also spoke), and it wasn't a volume issue. Some combination of (maybe) his accent, the pitch of his voice, and who knows...the carpets on the floor of the church... just deadened his speech.

After mass, there was a blessing of throats, Feb 3 being the Memorial of St. Blaise. There were long lineups after mass to be blessed by one of the priests or deacons with these words:

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It was amazing to see probably three-quarters of the church join in the lines for the blessing.