Fasting and Feasting thru the Church Year

New Year!

2011-01-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well I said I was going to kick this blog back up and then nothing. My PC crashed and was in the shop for a few weeks.....then I was away for a few weeks.....the the holidays.......so I'll try again.

During this fast free period between Christmas and Theophany (when we Byzantines are forbidden to fast), I thought I would post a version of Chicken Caccatorie thats always a big hit around. I made this dish a few months back for a potluck and ever since a few of the teanage girls who worship here with us have been after me to teach them how to make it. So last Saturday they came out to the monastery and we had some fun in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe we used.

12 pieces chicken

1 lg onion chopped

2 bell peppers seeded and chopped

1 lb mushrooms sliced ( we used half white mushrooms and half

portabellas)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lg cans crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups red wine

6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped

1/2 bunch Italian parsley chopped

1/2 bunch basil chopped

1 Tbs dried thyme leaves

1 Tbs crushed red pepper flakes

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 500. Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme, place on a covered cookie sheet. Roast the chicken pieces until golden brown (chicken does NOT need to be cooked through), remove from oven.

Heat olive oil in a large pot(big enough to hold all the rest of the ingredients). Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic and mushrooms and sautee until the onion starts to brown. Add the wine and cook until it reduces by 1/2 ( about 10 min ). Add the tomatoes and the herbs, season with the salt pepper and red pepper flakes, simmer the sauce for a few min.

At this point you can finish the dish in 1 of 2 ways.

You can add the chicken and simmer it in the sauce for about an hour.

What I did was I poured the sauce over the chicken, cooled the whole thing down and refrigerated it overnight.......then the next day I reheated it covered in the oven. This gave it time for all the flavors to come together and get real YUMMY. I put it in a 300 oven for 2 hours....and was all ready for our potluck lunch when we had finished the Divine Liturgy.

Sauteed Broccoli Rabe

2010-12-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

3 to 4 bunches broccoli rabe (about 4 pounds total)
Kosher salt to taste
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Large pinch red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper

Trim the stem ends of the broccoli rabe.

Quickly blanch broccoli rabe in boiling water.

Heat olive oil with the red pepper flakes and garlic in a large skillet. Drain broccoli rade and immediately add to the hot skillet tossing to coat with the oil. Season with the salt and freshly ground pepper.

This is great as a vegetable or tossed with pasta, even as a topping on a pizza.

Its great left over in an omelet. .

Combine oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a large skillet; warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to color, about 2 minutes. Add leaves and stems to pan, turning occasionally, until leaves and stems are warmed through and stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Time to kick this blog back up!

2010-10-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ok....so I know its been a while since I posted last........I can make all kinds of excuses but I wont bore you with them. Ive had a lot of folks after me to get this thing going again and with the Nativity fast quick upon us I figured it was time. So here goes.

On Friday night this past week I tried a new recipe out and it was a big hit. Here goes!

Pappa al Pomodoro con Fagioli

2 lg onions sliced thin

16 garlic cloves sliced thin

2 lg (28 oz) cans Italian plum tomatoes

2 lbs stale bread in about 1 inch cubes

2 cans cannellini beans drained

large bunch basil

salt & pepper

red pepper flakes

10 cups water

Saute onion and garlic in a drop or 2 of oil along with the red pepper flakes until garlic is nicely browned. Add tomatoes along with the juice from the can and half the basil. Cook over high heat breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, allowing the liquid to cook down and the tomatoes to get soft. When the tomatoes start breaking apart add the bread, lower the heat add the water and season with the salt and pepper and the rest of the basil. The bread will get thick soaking up the juice. Stir well and don't let it scorch. Cook stirring well until the bread becomes mush. Add the beans and allow to warm through.

Enjoy!

On days when olive oil is allowed it is great with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil drizzled on top.

This dish will certainly keep you warm!!

Vegetarian Pozole

2008-12-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didnt see your post earlier about St. Nicholas day Jessica. Though even if I did I dont know of any fast friendly traditional St. Nicholas deserts that the kids would enjoy. I'll see what I can come up with for next year.

Everyone loved this Vegetarian version of Pozole at potluck this last Sunday. I was even told that I'm an honorary Mexican.

Pozole is a rich soup traditionally made with chunks of pork simmered in a red chili broth with hominy. I substituted beans for the pork and made it in a slowcooker. The long slow cooking made for a very rich flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Vegetarian Pozole

1 lb. pink beans
20 oz. vegetable broth
18 dried New Mexico red chilies
10 cloves garlic 5 minced fine and 5 left whole
2 tbs whole cumin seed
1 large onion cut in quarter
3 29 oz. cans Mexican style hominy
2 tbs dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Put the beans and vege broth in a slowcooker set to High.
Remove the stems and most of the seeds from the chilies (the more seeds the hotter). Break the chilies in 3 to 4 pieces and put in a saucepan with the onion, whole garlic cloves and cumin seed. Cover with water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chili from the heat and blend smooth in a blender. Add this to the slowcooker along with the hominy and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook about 12 to 14 hours, until the beans are tender.

Serve with shredded cabbage, finely diced onion, chopped cilantro and lemon wedges to be add individually by the diners. Enjoy!

Making Fasting Easier

2008-12-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Most of us who were raised in the average American home have no idea how to fast. It really does require us to rethink how we eat. When we have restrictions on what we can eat its much more difficult to prepare a meal, you cant just pick up "fast" food (most "fast" food is not fast friendly) you actualy have to think about (at least I do) whats on the menu. People often comment that keeping the fast is so hard. So what to do about it? Be prepared, plan ahead and keep it simple.

Be prepared! A week or so before the fast starts stock up on foods that will make your life easier. Some foods I like to keep on hand for last minute fasting meals; dried beans, especially lentils (they cook up in just 30 min), canned beans, pasta, tofu, lots of fresh veges and salad stuff, frozen or canned fish and shellfish are also great to have around.
Plan your meals ahead. This will help with shopping as well as helping to utilize leftovers saving $$.
Keep it simple. One of the reasons we fast is to allow ourselves more time to pray. Its kind of pointless to spend hours in the kitchen preparing lenten meals and not to spend enough time in prayer. There is nothing wrong with a bit of monotony at the table. Try cooking a larger batch of something then you usually would and serving it again later in the week.

Nativity fast

2008-12-03T11:36:00.001-08:00

Having started the Nativity fast, I've had a number of calls for recipes for fasting dishes that I have served here in the monastery. I thought I would post some of them.

Pasta with Lentils

1 lg onion diced
4 ribs celery diced
4 cloves garlic minced
3 Tbs oil
1/2 lb lentils
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
crushed red pepper flakes to taste OR 2 tbs whole black peppercorns
salt to taste
1 lb. Spaghetti cooked

Heat oil in large saucepan. add veges and garlic and saute til they start to soften. Add lentils and just barley cover with water. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for about 5 min. Add tomatoes and seasonings. Simmer for another 30 min. or until the lentils are tender. Toss with the hot cooked spaghetti.
(On days when olive oil is permitted I will add about 1 cup or so when I mix the sauce with the spaghetti).
(If you use the whole peppercorns they will soften up when they cook in the sauce, they add a nice bite and an interesting taste sensation)

I made the next dish for our Sunday Potluck lunch last week, it was a big hit.

White beans with Pumpkin

1 lb small white beans
3 carrots pealed and diced
6 ribs celery diced
1 lg onion diced
1 whole jalapeno stem removed sliced in rings leave the seed in
1 1/2 lbs uncooked pumpkin cut up in 1 in cubes (I used buternut squash)
1 1/2 tsp whole dried thyme
1 tsp celery seed
2 vegetarian bullion cubes
salt & pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a large crock pot. Fill pot with water to cover. Set to low setting and cook for about 12 hours until the beans are tender.

I served this over rice.

Welcome

2008-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Fr. Moses, an Eastern Catholic monk of Holy Resurrection Monastery in Newberry Springs CA. Welcome to this Blog. As the monastery cook I am often questioned about food related issues, especialy when it comes to fasting. I thought this would be a good place to discuss these issues, share recipes and just encourge each other in the day to day living out of our Christian faith.

Please feel free to add recipes, questions or thoughts!