Feast and Fast

Lent seems to have snuck up on us this year, don't you think? I am always prepared, or at least expecting, Great Lent in the spring, but the forty day fast before Christ's birth seems to come out of nowhere! I think the American Holiday season kind of distracts you from it...everyone else is preparing for Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing and the like. Personally, I love cooking without meat or dairy- it's cheaper, simpler (in my mind, anyways) and tends to be healthier (I'm an everything in moderation kind of gal.)

If you're like me, a little guidance in your cooking goes a loonngggg way. Throwing things in a pot and magically creating an amazing dish is NOT my thing. I need very clear instructions to work from, at least the first few times, before I go rogue (i.e. switch out the rosemary for dill, ha!) So the following websites are a few of my go-tos when it comes to cooking during fasting periods. I thought I'd share them, in case anyone else is in the same or a similar boat!


1. Naturally Ella

I've been making the above paella for a few years now, and only recently realized what a great selection of vegetarian recipes this site has. There's a few new ones I'm excited to try out- this African curry, for example. Plus, the website is SUPER easy to navigate, with recipes grouped by meal, season, and even dietary needs.

2. Authentic Greek Recipes

I love this recipe index. When I moved back over to the U.S. from Crete I went through serious food withdrawals. Sure, you can get an ok gyro or maybe some awesome calamari if you're lucky, but slightly more odd or obscure dishes (often the lenten ones) are MUCH harder to come by unless you make them yourself. So this site was a bit of a Godsend when I found myself craving Greece's amazing lemony chickpea soup back in Florida.

3. Oh Dear Drea

Confession time: I've never actually used this site for food! It's a lifestyle blog, and while I don't personally subscribe to veganism, I love that Drea feeds her kiddo so many different types of cuisine(and so many fruits and veggies! you go girl!) Pictured above is a vegan Thanksgiving feast of 8 recipes (I might try that stuffing next week!) and her instructions on how to prepare basics such as tofu can open a whole new world in your cooking. And I am all about trying new things!

4. Real Simple Recipes

Κυριακή

Today at the supermarket the cashier pleasantly chirped "Happy Easter!" to me as I gathered my things, to which I so politely responded: 

before realizing it is EASTER SUNDAY for all you non-Orthodox people out there (read: pretty much everyone.) Happy Easter guys!!

Alas, I did not go to church today, 

as I desperately need every hour of my life to memorize the various types of leukemias 

(there are lots of them.
chronic and acute,
myelogenous and lymphoblastic,
preceded by dysplasia or not preceded by dysplasia.
Basically leukemias suck in more ways than one.) 

But Peter did! 

What a lovely lad, no? 

I mean, this guy's got the whole kit and caboodle:

big blue eyes

heaps of energy 

(seriously, I think there's hyper-yellow-lab somewhere in his lineage)

British accent 

AND churchgoer. 

I'm a lucky lady. 

Peter didn't go to just any church, either-

he went to this beautiful place-

Holy Cross Monastery in East Setauket, New York

This monastery was badly affected by Sandy last fall

and in need of donations in order to continue with ongoing repairs 

{Please consider making a donation to them via check or paypal
by clicking through to the website.}

Also, I will give a dollar to anyone who can pronounce the word 'setauket' correctly. 

Probably.

yep, that's a lot of snow.

Since there are many Sundays in which I must miss church for studying purposes,

I did a little googling and found this gem.

It's a goarch.org webpage with a list of parishes that livestream their liturgies

{and selected other services, too!}

on their websites, free of charge with no new files or installments necessary 

{I have tried watching my home parish of St. Mark's this way,

but their website requires a special download. 

and sometimes doesn't work. boo} 

It was great! 

I got to see my old priest's new church 

{Father Paul Pappas- what a nice guy} 

and also hear the priest repeatedly tell little kids to open wider

so as not to spill communion

or stand a little taller 

so he could reach them more easily

which was quite entertaining. 

Happy Easter to all non-Orthodox Christians out there; 

and a blessed Sunday to everyone else. 

Lenten Meals

Alright Peter, I've got the recipe for you. Sorry if my raving has started to get on your nerves, but seriously- this meal was delicious. Creamy beans + delicious shrimp + DILL AND LEMON. Did I mention this meal was delicious?

 I feel kind of funny posting this, because even though this recipe is technically lenten, it's certainly not a bland food- fasting is about not only abstaining from animal products olive oil and wine, but also about reviving our hunger for Christ. We achieve this by attempting to adhere to a fairly strict fast- simple foods, simply prepared, in smaller portions. This recipe is certainly none of those things (well, it is pretty easy to make- so there's one!) but it does not contain any meat or dairy products and I thought it was worth a share.

This is the original recipe. I don't like scallions and if you've hung out with me in the kitchen at all you know I LOVE dill (some would call it an addiction...they would be what I like to call 'haters' in American English. dill rocks.) So the recipe I am writing down here is a tad bit different from the one on the web site. But here's the gist of it:

• 1  10-ounce  box couscous (1 1/2 cups)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3  tablespoons  unsalted butter So, here I used olive oil. Ok, technically it's not lenten, but you can hardly consider the super-market stuff they sell at Publix to be the same as the fragrant green gold they used in the ancient church. (p.s. can you tell I'm Greek?)
• 2  cloves garlic, chopped
• 4  scallions, chopped I used 1 large white onion, as scallions suck 
• 1  pound  medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1  15.5-ounce  can cannellini beans, rinsed --> in the running for new favorite bean. sorry chickpeas (and my entire yoga class.) 
• 1/2  cup  fresh flat-leaf parsley ALL THE DILL. 
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice (or as much as humanly possible

Directions

1. In a saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil.
2. Stir in the couscous and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover and let sit off heat for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.

I crossed out the above directions because there's directions on the box. just follow those. 

1. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter  olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the garlic and scallions  onion and cook for 30 seconds until the onion begins to clear. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until they begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans, parsley ALL THE DILL, lemon juice, remaining 2 tablespoons butter olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
4. Cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the couscous.

I would add toasted pine nuts too. Because they are awesome. And since I don't have any fancy pictures of my beautiful kitchen masterpiece, here is the Real Simple version, (which is also obviously much prettier than mine:)

καλή πέπση! 

καθαρά Δευτέρα

Morning Peter!

Since it is clean Monday I didn't think any post except a spiritual one would be appropriate. Today is the first day of lent. Concretely, we eat simple foods; no meat, dairy, oil or wine may be consumed today. Spiritually, we reflect on the somberness of the time we are about to enter- Great Lent. We reflect on Christ's unlimited mercy and The Lord's ultimate sacrifice. We reflect on our body's need for God; without God, without His food and water to nurture us, we waste away, not only physically but spiritually as well.

I would have liked to post  a hymn sung by my mother and a friend of hers, but I am not so tech-savvy that I can get it from my personal iTunes into a file on the internet. Suffice it to say it is beautiful, and I wish I could share it today. Maybe another time. In the meantime, here is an equally beautiful chant done in the Byzantine style but in English for my non-Greek or Orthodox readers (looking at you, Peter) , O Virgin Pure. It seems appropriate as Friday is the first Akathist Hymn, a service solely in praise of the Virgin Mary. Be sure to attend if you are near an Orthodox Church somewhere, it's a beautiful service and well-worth it. There's also a pre-sanctified liturgy every Wednesday in lent which is also worth attending if you have the time. Have a blessed lent everyone.