Orthodox Mother's Digest

Asparagus and Gravy over Toast

2011-11-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

My mother taught me how to make this old-school treat, and it is so yummy!

For the Nativity Fast this year, my focus is quick and easy, and this fits the bill.

Asparagus and Gravy over Toast

Ingredients:

1 can of asparagus spears – drain and reserve liquid
2 TBS oil
3 TBS flour
Asparagus liquid plus enough water to = 1 ¾ cups
2 TBS soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
5-6 slices of bread

Steps:

1. Over medium heat, warm oil and then flour and stir, stir, stir until it browns – about 5-10 minutes.
2. Slowly add liquid, whisking to avoid lumps.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and simmer gently for 15 minutes to thicken.
4. Add the soy sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer another minute while you toast the bread and warm the asparagus in the microwave.
5. To serve, place toast on a plate, top with asparagus spears and then gravy.

This gravy is also good made with any kind of veggie broth and served with any kind of pasta, rice, potatoes, peas, etc.

I adapted the gravy recipe from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.

For Phyllis

2011-11-23T14:05:00.001-08:00

Gifts from God

2011-11-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

* 8 lb and 6 oz of precious baby boy.

* 4 year old big sister singing "O Gladsome Light" to her baby brother.

* 8 year old Little Builder, who had once said "I'm not happy about this" when he found out I was pregnant, holding his little brother and saying "I'm thankful he was born."

* meals from family and friends to make our evenings easier.

* dappled light gently shining on my orange rocking/nursing chair.

* colored leaves, a beautiful view outside for someone who is confined inside for awhile.

* healing, rest, love.

St John of Shanghai and San Fransisco Doll

2011-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

The doll for my newborn son is finished, the socks for me for the hospital are knitted, and the key for my substitute teacher at school is turned in.

All that is left is for some contraction action to get started...

"Look with compassionate eye and deliver me, Thy handmaiden, from pain. Lighten mine infirmity in the time of my travail and grant me fortitude and strength for birth giving, and hasten it by Thine almighty help."

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."

Letters from Father Seraphim

2011-05-01T17:13:00.001-07:00

I am thankful for time to read this week. Letters from Fr. Seraphim has been a blessing, both encouraging my heart and allowing me to feel close to Fr. Seraphim again, as I did when reading Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works.

Paschal Encouragement from page 112:

May the joy of our risen Savior be abundantly with you on these bright and radiant days of Pascha, and may you ever preserve the grace which you have received as a free gift from Him! Let no temptation overcome you, no darkness cloud your path, and no trial come upon you in which you do not immediately turn to Christ our All-merciful God, Who has trampled upon death and abolished the power of the devil.

Remain in Christ's grace and He will guide you all to salvation. Remember the end of our life, the never-setting day of Christ's Kingdom, and you will know why you are alive and for what you are striving. Christ is Risen!

Gifts from God: Help along the Journey

2011-01-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

A good allegory of the Christian struggle and a good lesson for my family's particular place in life's journey, Hind's Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard.

A blessed saint to inspire my faith. You can listen to the book here and find a literature lesson to go with this book here.

Hope for peace in my spirit, from St. Seraphim of Sarov, who encourages us to labor to acquire the peace of the Holy Spirit.

Gifts from God

2011-01-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

* students doing what I ask them to do, without bad attitudes

* good weekend with 16 students on the big yellow bus for a Speech Tournament

* house blessings!

* voice mail from little 3 year old and 7 year old, "have a good day Mamma - we love you!"

* unexplainable peace, the "peace that passes all understanding, that shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Nativity Fast Menu

2010-11-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

First, these easy muffins (but omitting the cloves) are definitely going into rotation as an after-school snack.

Second, you can visit the Menu document here for ideas. I haven't been able to link all the meals to recipes, but many of these recipes are on this blog in the "Fasting" section.

Third, this one is for those of you not in the US, who can't get Jiffy cornmeal pancake mix. You can mix up your own batch! This a great for these yummy staples: Cornmeal pancakes: add 2/3c soy/rice milk and a bit of egg-replacer
Tamale Pie: saute onions, beans, green chiles for the pie filling, then top with Jiffy mixed with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1/2c of soy/rice milk.

Gifts from God

2010-10-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

* husband who cooked ginger pancakes with peaches for supper

* other teachers at school, wiser ones than me, who help me - collaboration

* students laughing with me and not at me - a good rapport - this is truly a Gift from God! (and from St. Raphael & St. Moses, whom I have been asking to pray for me regarding school)

* a Second Grade teacher who truly looks after my son

* open doors concerning job opportunities for my husband

* reading Iggy Peck Architect and Buffalo Wings with my kids on the couch tonight.

* Akathist prayers that offer comfort and put words to ideas that I knew I needed to pray but hadn't the exact phrases

* a comfortable bed to nest into at night

St. Peter the Aleut, Pray for Us!

2010-10-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

My son's Sunday School class has chosen St. Peter the Aleut for their class patron.

Not only, as a teenage saint, is he a good example for young ones, but also as a martyr he reminds us of the importance of our Orthodox Faith, a Faith worth dying for.

I pray that I may live this Faith in my heart and in my actions.

St. Peter, pray for us!

Gifts from God

2010-09-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

* Reading in bed with my children at night before bed.

* Boxes of photographs of my grandparents, the better to remember them before sickness and weakness came. Old school-teacher photos, dapper suits, newspaper articles, perfectly curled vintage hair, smiles around the table as we perused the past.

* 4 other English teachers giving me ideas of how to make reading and writing more doable for my sophomores.

* pre-written prayers that sometimes say an idea better than I could, and often say an idea I hadn't realized I needed to think.

That last part is the challenge for me during worship: with a clear mind!

St. Peter the Aleut

2010-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Do you have a special way of remembering this teenage saint?

I asked this question last year and got no reply.

Last year in Sunday school, we enjoyed whale-shaped crackers and dried berries in memory of this young Alaskan man. I think that as the month passes, the best I can do this year is ask St. Peter to intercede for my teenage students.

Holy Transfer

2010-08-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

from Community...

...to home

She who bore Life dies to be received to Life,

and Holy God transfers blessed festal flowers
down the interstate,
ferrying also Love and Life from Eucharistic Body
back to our Family Alter.

Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos - An August Fasting Menu

2010-07-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am a high school teacher (Speech, English, Drama, and Debate) and school is rapidly approaching. We were blessed to home school last year, so are a little nervous about the kids being back in public school, though they are in wonderful programs. This year we'll have my husband in grad school, my son in 2nd Grade, and my daughter at Montessori preschool, so we'll all four be in four different schools!

Anticipating the need to give more time to my family and my classroom, I plan on substantially decreasing my blog presence. I did a similar thing last August, but had not the grace to let you know first.

My goal is to post once a month, near the beginning of the month, so here is my post for August: Dormition Fast Menu

Sunday - Procession of the Cross
Supper: Caponata and Polenta (with olive oil instead of butter)

Monday
Breakfast: Vegan Banana Bread I can't count the endless number of times we've enjoyed this - thank you so much, Matushka Emily, for sharing it!
Lunch: Crock Pot Veggie Soup
Dinner: Tostados (crunchy corn rounds topped with seasoned refried beans, caramelized onions & kale, tomatoes, and guacamole)

Tuesday
Breakfast: English Muffins and Fruit
Lunch: Polenta Slices (leftover from Sunday)with Peanut Butter Sauce or with Caramelized Onions and Kale from yesterday
Supper: Purple-hull Pea Patties or Pasta and Marinara

Wednesday
Breakfast: Scrambled Tofu
Lunch: Boca Burgers
Supper: Pinto Beans and Rice

Thursday
Breakfast: Squash Bread (like Banana Bread recipe, but use mashed cooked Sugar-Pumpkin Squash in place of banana)
Lunch: Bean Quesadillas
Supper: Liturgy for the Transfiguration

Friday - Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Breakfast: English Muffins and Fruit
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly
Supper: Grilled Fish marinaded in Dales

Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Bread, Earth Balance, and Sauteed Greens
Supper: Pizzas made with Mission Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Wraps and the crust, Basil Almond Pesto, mushrooms, tomatoes, and veggie mozerella.

Week 2 will be the same, except Monday will include Alaskan Salmon Patties in honor of St. Herman of Alaska

Snacks: grapes, banana chips, almonds, animal crackers, flour tortillas

And to feast, I highly recommend this Lasagna Casserole, which makes enough to serve one 8x8 pan and freeze the 2nd 8x8 pan for another week.

Gifts from God: More Monasteries

2010-07-23T09:45:00.001-07:00

The Dormition of the Theotokos in Michigan had a wonderful children's garden, planted by Abbess Benedicta, memory eternal.

I would love to create some of these little rock messages in our garden at home.
The Monastery also sells little nun and monk dolls , which were dotted all along the children's garden, re-enacting various scriptures and events.

At Holy Cross Hermitage in West Virginia, we all got to milk goats!

The monks use the goat milk to make soap and lotion products.

Although the monastery website provides a woderful 7-page Vistors Guide, I would add One More bit of ADVICE as a Mother:

Do NOT put your little girl in pretty church shoes. Tennis shoes or mud boots would be much more appropriate for milking goats and hiking through the woods!

As the monks said every time we told them "Thank You" for something,

THANK GOD for our summer visits!

Gifts from God: Visiting Monasteries

2010-07-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to spend an afternoon at the Presentation of the Theotokos Monastery in Marshfield, MO on our annual summer drive to the grandparents.

After visiting over a lovely afternoon snack, we stepped into the stream of prayer that flows day and night all over the world in faithful monasteries.

The nuns introduced us to some instruments that often call people to prayer.

Little Builder ringing the bells (with protective ear coverings).

Hammering the simantron. Mother Alexandra explained that when the animals heard Noah beating his hammer, they heard it as a call to come to the ark; and so we also can hear the beating of the wood as a call to enter the ark of the Church of Christ.

In general Abbess Sergia and Mother Alexandra were so generous and attentive to the children. When we asked them later what they remembered about the monastery they replied,
"the sweet nuns."

During the evening prayer services, both children were unusally peaceful and quiet. Our souls indeed were nourished by the sweet and holy spiritual atmosphere in the chapel.

Thanks be to God.

Scrambled Tofu Rancheros

2010-06-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Although my first encounter with Scrambled Tofu was pretty unsatisfying, I've been tweaking the process for the past year and found something my husband and I both like. The recipe is the same as linked above, except that I don't use bell pepper anymore - just nicely browned onion and garlic in olive oil.

The key, I think, is draining the tofu. That gets rid of the strange flavor.

This morning,

I grilled a corn tortilla,
spread some re-fried beans on the roasted corn goodness,
spooned on some tofu scramble,
and topped with salsa and fresh diced tomatoes.

It's not something I would make every morning, but sometimes during a fast a little extra protein helps.

Since I would eat Mexican food five times a week if my family tolerated it, this meal is a special treat for me.

Beautiful Beans

2010-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

At Coffee Hour last Sunday, our priest's wife asked me if I had planted beans. "They are so gratifying" she explained, "they sprout quickly and flower." I agreed with her; they are gratifying. And, I figured, by way of fasting food they are Orthodox. (smile)

I planted two types of beans this year. Pole beans called rattlesnake, which have a horrid name, but make pretty green beans with dark purple splashes that disappear when they cook. Sort of like those hot wheels cars that turn colors in the freezer, but more, um, natural.

Those will slowly produce all summer. I wish I had planted more!

Then, I planted etna beans, which are an Italian Soup bean. Why did I choose etna? Well, they make pretty pink and white pods and pink and white beans - why else! Also, I figured soup beans would be good to have around.

Farmers Market Goodies

2010-06-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

Our square foot garden is taking off, but we still head to our little town's Farmers Market each Saturday morning.

Zinnias for our Anniversary (11 years!)

Squash and Peaches scattered about the counter

We are so very thankful to have the opportunity to be locavores, and I especially appreciate the opportunity to get to know the growers has we visit them throughout the summer!

Gift from God: Zuchinni Bread

2010-06-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

I finally couldn't put it off any longer.

Every time I take a bite of my Pawpaw's recipe, I can see and hear and smell my Nana & Pawpaw's kitchen. The only reason I hesitated is because of doubt that the recipe, copied from a phone call in my mother's hand on yellow and white striped paper, would translate into a fasting treat, but it was time. Time for for Zucchini Bread.

I'm glad I did it, and here's the recipe for any of you who might be starting to get an abundant crop.

The only change is that the original recipe called for 3 eggs instead of rice milk and egg-replacer.

The Ingredients
(WET)
3/4 cup of rice (or soy) milk, warmed and beat with 1&1/2 TBS of Energy Egg-Replacer
*******************************************************************************
update: taking Marfa's advice, I made it again with 3/4 cup of applesauce and 2 TBS of flax meal instead of the rice milk/egg replacer combo - worked just fine. I did decrease the sugar a little, to compensate for the added sweetness.
*******************************************************************************
1 c oil
2 c grated raw zucchini
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
(DRY)
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1&1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

The Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease 2 large loaf pans.
3. Beat wet ingredients and sugar.
4. Sift dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Add dry to wet and add 1 TBS of vanilla, and optional chopped nuts or raisins.
6. Bake 50-60 minutes.

One loaf stuck to the pan because we didn't wait until it cooled to take it out. The other loafs came out fine after a couple of hours cooling. It seems a little oily, so I might decrease the oil next time, but let me tell you:

sitting at our round wooden kitchen table here in 2010, I was completely transported to 1986, at the rectangular table in my Pawpaw & Nana's kitchen in the little village in south Louisiana. Thank you, God, and please bless my grandfather Gilliam, and grant rest to the soul of my grandmother June.

Gift from God: Working Mother at Home

2010-06-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

As a teacher, I am very thankful for my summers at home with my kids.

Though I do feel, a bit... incapable maybe?

This morning at 7am I woke up determined to accomplish one major thing today:

Sweep the tile living room floor.

At precisely 2:08 pm, I finished sweeping. Okay, prayers and breakfast are important. And lunch. But how did it take us so long to clean the living room floor and sweep?

At school, the bell rings every 55 minutes, and grown-ups and students move and function. I guess I need to find my rhythm at home.

Lord, thank you for these precious months.
Lord have mercy on us, and help us find a way to work as a family at home.

Win, Lose or Draw?

2010-06-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Win - Spicy Green and Black Saute'
Last night, a friend brought over some sweet basil, a black bell pepper, a banana pepper, and a long hot pepper. We chopped them up and sauteed them with some garlic and chopped zuchinni. Oh my - a real treat.

Lose - harvesting cucumbers naively, attacked by little pricklies that this novice gardener did not realize guarded cucumbers.

Draw - My Shopping List. Somehow I left a couple of things from the last fast on there (like creamed corn and hominy) that I don't need this month, and I'm having trouble editing them back out. Oh well. By the way, I ended up scratching off over half the list before going, so it's not as huge of a list in practice as it appears.

And... more wins!

Win - Wheat Berry Tabouli
Whisk juice of 1 lemon, twice as much olive oil, salt, pepper and 1 clove of minced garlic. Pour over cooked wheat berries (1 cup), a chopped cucumber, a chopped tomatoe, and some chopped mint. I would have used parsley, but mine is going to seed so I didn't bother. Nice.

Win - Sunny Squash Soup, borrowed from Fat Free Vegan. I added all the optional ingredients except the tumeric, and only used half a jalepeno. Because of the potatoes, this soup was very creamy. Terrific way to use summer squash!

Chickpea Mash for Sandwiches

2010-06-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Since Presv. Maria asked,

Basically, drain the can of chickpeas and then then pretend you're making traditional tuna salad.

Add mayo, mustard, sweet pickle relish and a little salt and pepper. Mash it all up and use with bread or crackers.

Apostles Fast Menu

2010-05-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's one more menu, to add to the many good ones already out there, in case you are looking for fasting ideas.

We rotate suppers every other week, but keep breakfast and lunch the same. The google document has many links to recipes, and I'll try to add more as I get them collected.

View Apostles Fast Menu on Google Docs

Here's the Shopping List. It is VERY tailored to our hometown, and I would probably not buy all these things every week. Hopefully the garden will provide most of the produce. However, I can print this off, carry it around the kitchen, strike through the things I already have, and then use it at the store. It covers 2 weeks, with the exception (which is marked in the document) of produce that will be bought fresh for the second week.

And just for fun, here are two of my favorite recipes that I would have put in the menu, except that they are too spicy for my family:

Vegetarian Kung Pao
Green Chile Potato Soup

First Fruits - Oriental Coleslaw

2010-05-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

So little, yet so exciting! I had to laugh as I was reminded of the Israelites tithing their first fruits to God. What good would one small, oblong bell pepper and a sprig of basil do?

This bell pepper and thai basil teamed up with a cabbage from the Farmer's Market to make Oriental Coleslaw. No one else in my family likes it, which worked out well, as I took the leftovers for lunch at school all week. What a treat!

Oriental Coleslaw

The Ingredients
1 small head of cabbage
1 carrot, grated
1 bell pepper, thinly diced
1/2 cup of toasted almonds, chopped
1 pack of Oriental Ramen noodles, crushed
2 Tbs of Sesame Seeds
1/3 cup of roasted pumpkin seeds
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4-5 leaves of thai basil, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar (or less to taste)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
seasoning packet from noodles

Steps
1. If you want to achieve Asian appearance, roll up 3-4 individual leaves of cabbage at a time and very thinly slice across for long, skinny ribbons.
2. Cook and stir dressing ingredients until boiling. Cool.
3. Right before serving, add dressing and mix.
4. Most importantly! - Leave out any ingredients you don't like and throw in ones you do.

Don't like cabbage? Use broccoli in stead.
Want meat? Add chopped cooked chicken.
Oh, and honey-roasted sunflower seeds are very good in this.

Gifts from God - Pentecost Flowers

2010-05-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Inspired by posts by Matushka Emily and Sara at Liturgical Year For Little Ones, the kids and I went outside this morning to find flowers for Pentecost. Oriental Lilies, Cosmos, Oregeno, Parsley, Jasmine, and Various Flowering Weeds made their way from ground to little red bike trailer to vase.

Blessed Feast!

Garden - 3 weeks later

2010-05-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

big tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
rattlesnake green beans
etna italian soup beans
new zealand spinach
mesclun lettuce
spineless okra
banana peppers
jalepeno peppers
green bell peppers
yellow bell peppers
potatoes
zuccini
cucumbers
cantelope
cosmos
marigold
thai basil
sweet basil
mojito mint
lemon balm
marjoram
lavendar

still to plant: eggplant and delicata squash

For an Abundance of the Fruits of the Earth

2010-04-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Let us pray to the Lord!

Inspired by my fellow bloggers' garden plans, I decided to post our little garden plot for this Spring.

We started 3 years ago with a 4 x 8 plot, based on Square-Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It is the plot you see in the foreground of the photo. Although you could just add all new bagged ingredients into your bed, we (well, my dad and husband) dug up a little of our own soil and mixed it with topsoil, compost, peat, and cow manure. That way we didn't have to purchase as many bags.

This year we added a 3 ft. by 8 ft. raised bed behind it, with (drum roll, please......) TRELLISES! We had watched this video from our local library over the winter. Watched isn't accurate. We stalked this video. We watched it again and again and rewound certain sections, scribbling down measurements and tips. We watched it with building excitement (my son is my Little Builder after all). We watched it with growing confidence that we could actually do this. We re-checked it out of the library so many times they wouldn't let us renew it anymore.

Then we waited until it would quit raining already!

Over Spring Break, we built the new bed and trellis. Those pvc pipe pieces are nestling garden netting between them. After adding seeds and seedlings, we pinned in place a soaker hose, attached to a manual timer for easy, consistent watering. This bed is far away from the house, down by the sunny road,

To the left of the original bed are my pots of herbs and flowers, with some irises planted in the ground.

This is our Gift from God, and whenever I drive by it on the way out, I bless it with the sign of the cross and repeat the prayer from the Great Litany of Peace for an abundance of crops.

Lenten Cookies - Easy & Sort of Healthy

2010-03-16T18:03:00.001-07:00

Healthy? Well, they are still cookies, but these have a smaller ratio of sugar and fat than most recipes. Also, they have a bit of whole grains.

I adapted this recipe from a favorite cookbook: More With Less.

What makes them easy is that you pre-mix a gallon size batch of pantry ingredients and then whip up the last step whenever you need a treat.

Mix:
1&1/2 cups white sugar
1&1/2 cups of brown sugar
1&1/2 cups white flour
1&1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Cut in:
2 cups shortening

Add:
6 cups of rolled oats

Mix well. Store in a cool place. (I use my pantry)

Cookie Day
For 2 dz small cookies:
1. Scoop out 2 cups of mix into a bowl.

2. Warm 1/2 cup of soy milk (or rice or almond milk) and mix in 1&1/2 tsp of Energy Egg-replacer and 1 tsp vanilla.

3. Combine the pantry mix with the wet mix. Add whatever variation you want (raisins and cinnamon make a good cookie; so do peanut butter chips and/or chocolate chips)

4. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.

I guess I should have shared this sooner, since we only have a few weeks left of Great Lent! Sometimes these last weeks are the hardest, and with so many wine days coming up, a small treat seems like a good idea.

Starting to think about Pascha Flowers

2010-03-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

I fondly remember the first time I was able to participate in decorating the Tomb.

I also have a special memory of using the Pascha flowers one year for Birth-Visualization and even though my daughter is about to turn three, I still think of those lilies.

Three weeks to go! I thank God for a helpful Lenten Retreat this past weekend on "The Hymns of Repentance."

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life; for my spirit goes early to the temple of Thy Holiness, coming in the temple of my body, wholly polluted. But because Thou are compassionate, purify Thou me by the compassion of Thy mercies.

Green Bean and Potato Soup

2010-02-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

Are you making M'Jeddrah or Tofu Spanikopita any time soon? If so, cut and fry extra onions, and save some to use in this filling soup!

This recipe made just enough for our litte family of four (kids = 3yr & 6yr)

Ingredients

1/2 to 1 cup of caramelized onions
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/3 of a bell pepper, chopped
12 cups plus more water
1 TBS salt
1 TBS coffee creamer
1 bag of frozen green beans
1 large and 2 small potatoes, diced (that's what we had - adjust accordingly)
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
1 TBS tahini

Steps

1. Simmer strongly the onions, carrot, celery and bell pepper in the water for 30 minutes. You're making a stock. If you need to use a small dash of dried herbs instead of fresh, you could go ahead and add them now.

2. Blend the stock & veggies to make your soup base. I use my hand-held immersion blender.

3. Add salt, creamer, and green beans and cook until as done as you like them. I did 30 minutes at a rolling boil, adding water as necessary.

4. Add potatoes and herbs and boil until the potatoes are tender.

5. Remove herbal twigs and whisk in tahini.

6. Adjust seasonings. I added some pepper.

Sorry no pictures, we devoured it too quickly, with a side of multigrain healthy bread.

Gifts from God: Thoughts for My Journey through Lent

2010-02-14T18:34:00.001-08:00

The choir sang the first minor-keyed "Lord have mercy."

The priest's vestments changed to purple.

The prostrations began.

Experiencing these ancient traditions, I tangibly felt myself take a spiritual step into the journey of Great Lent.

Here are the thoughts I'm taking with me, thoughts that God has been gently and graciously revealing to me over the past few weeks, starting with this troparion, and last week with these words from Saints Barsenuphias and John.

And there is the Prayer of the Optima Elders, which includes these lines:

Whatsoever tidings I may receive during the day, do Thou teach me to accept tranquilly, in the firm conviction that all eventualities fulfill Thy Holy Will.

and

When things unforeseen occur , let me not forget that all cometh down from Thee

In the book I have been reading, Lynette's Hope, this theme has marched steadily through the pages:

God gives us what is profitable for our souls.

This book is a compilation of Albanian missionary mom Lynette Hoppe's newsletters, journals, and web posts as she struggles with stage 4 cancer. She writes:

One of the gifts God has given me recently is a spirit of deep contentment. I am contented with the cross I have been given, because I know that it is rooted in the goodness of God. Because God is good, all that He sends us is for our good.

Although she (and hundreds of others who loved her!) prayed for a miracle, Lynette also accepted the will of God:

I do not believe something bad has happened to me. I see this cancer as a manifestation of my Lord's desire to draw me nearer to himself. He wants all of me and not just a half-distracted nod in his direction now and then. I am honored to be entrusted with such a gift. I just hope I am worthy of it... My prayer is not for healing, but for the grace to walk with courage and joy through whatever I may encounter. I don't want to become ill-tempered and whiny. I want to shine through this and gain that for which it is intended: a deeper love for God and a closer walk with Him

As for me, I doubt my ability to have such faith in that circumstance, but here's what I am left with: If Lynette Hoppe can count cancer as "an eventuality that cometh down from Thee", if she can trust God in that extreme circumstance that the pain can have a purpose of drawing her nearer to God, then I can accept my lesser struggles and pain as an opportunity to grow closer to God. I can seek Him and His peace and joy in the present moment instead of worrying about our future.

Just this past week, we received a newsletter from our beloved Saints Mary and Martha Monastery, which encouraged me with these words:

The voice of the Lord is in each of our moments. He is ever present in the current activity whatever it may be: keeping a home, caring for self and others, worshipping, the job, or resting. Every relationship allows us to encounter our good God; therefore, if we look to Him instead of worrying about what if..., His peace will abide.

One last source of encouragement has wrapped it's arm around me. In the prayers at the end of the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children, lips sigh, "Oh Lord, give them that which is profitable for their salvation."

Again and again and again.

God gives us what is profitable for us.

I beg Him to help me trust in His great Love. I am thankful for this season of Lent, for the chance to offer myself to be molded by Him, to be drawn closer to Him. I don't want to ruin it with my lack of faith and acceptance. I beg God to help me surrender my pain and impatience to be transformed by His Love.

Quick Pantry Savers for Great Lent

2010-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

I'm inviting you to a party, and hope you contribute!

Although our ideal is to eat locally grown, non-processed, whole food as much as possible; our reality sometimes betrays that. Especially my reality, which can be a little forgetful.

I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have ingredients for several easy meals waiting in the pantry or freezer. Then, on those days that get hectic and I can't soak and cook beans in time for dinner, we have some sure-fire savers to fall back on.

Here's an example: Black Bean Mexican Soup

Ingredients = 3 cans from the pantry

Pour them into a pot.

Add a few dashes of cumin and garlic powder.

Simmer for 20 minutes and pour into bowls.

This serves our small family of 4 (the kids are 2 yrs. and 6 yrs.), but could be easily doubled or tripled. If I have time I make cornbread as an accompaniment, but pre-made tortillas work just as well.

I need more recipes like this to have as a safety net during the Great Fast. Do you have any ideas to share? Just post a blog about it in the next week, and let me know the link. I'll compile all the links into one post for a "Quick Pantry Saver" party!

When God Delays...

2010-02-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

Last night after supper, my husband read to us about the Saints for the next day.

Today we remember Sts. Barsanuphias and John.

"Oh." he said. "We have their book. Father Seraphim and Fr. Herman translated their advice on the Spiritual Life for the monks living at St. Herman's."

"We do?" I pondered. See, last weekend our priest walked us through some writings of St. Basil, helping me to believe that it was indeed possible to read the spiritual fathers with understanding and benefit. I know, I know: this is something I was told 6 years ago when we became Orthodox, but my first venture into the Ante-Nicean Fathers was difficult; I had not yet been weaned from the milk of Max Lucado to be able to handle more mature food.

My husband replied, "Sure - it's over there in the bookshelf. I'll go get it."

This morning, while waiting for the computer to load, I opened Guidance Toward Spiritual Life to see what sort of guidance these holy men were giving.

from pg. 49:
When we pray and God delays in hearing (our prayer), He does this for our benefit, so as to teach us longsuffering; wherefore, we need not become downcast, saying, "We prayed and were not heard."

God knows what is profitable for a man.

Rejoice in the Lord, leave off all your cares, and pray for me, O my beloved brother, one in spirit (with me).

Advice I need to accept, ponder, and obey.

Irish Brown Bread for St. Brigid

2010-01-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

After gaining some inspiration from Mary, who pointed me to Jane's blog about St. Brigid, I decided to pull out a recipe we've liked in the past. We've adapted it from Inn Time for Breakfast... Again.

2 cups of whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground, which is rather rustic)
1 cup of flour
1 cup of oatmeal
1 TBS baking soda
1 egg
2 TBS of vinegar plus enough milk to make 2&1/2 cups of "sour milk"

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Add egg and buttermilk, which the owners of the Will O'Glenn Irish Bed and Breakfast tell me makes the dough soft
3. Scrape dough into greased pie pan. (The original recipe called for shaping into a round loaf, but my dough is always too wet for forming it.)
4. Bake 400 degrees fro 20 minutes. Cut a cross into the top of the loaf.
5. Reduce heat to 200 and bake for another 30 minutes.

You're supposed to cut the cross before putting it in the oven, but my dough is too soft at that point to hold the cross lines, so we do it when we change temperatures.

Results - yummy whole grain goodness, especially with corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.

Also yummy with jam and cheese for breakfast.

Job Interview and Sighs

2010-01-27T09:12:00.001-08:00

60 people applied for that 1 job. Basically, the interviewer suggested my husand apply some other places.

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding.
In all of your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Book of Psalms

Job Interviews and Giggles

2010-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

My husband has been searching for employment and today, at the table, I was asking him about an upcoming interview (Monday if you would like to pray), wondering if the work schedule at the local state university hospital would allow him to get off for Pascha.

Upon hearing the name of the university, Little Builder asked him,

"So what job are you interviewing for, Papa? Football player?"

(actually, Social Worker)

Gifts from God

2010-01-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

* your prayers, through which God granted us a calm weekend of debate tournament and travel with no problems.

* the Prayers of the Optima Elders, which gave me inspiration for my "wishes for my students" in my pep talk to them Saturday morning: that they may have strength to endure the fatigue of the day and face all that they meet with peace. The two-day tournaments are very grueling for the students, and I truly prayed this for them.

* encouraging words from Mairs for my classroom:
The best teacher you can be to *all* your students is the teacher who engages her students, makes them think, fosters a positive classroom environment for everyone, teaches compassion in your demeanor and approach to all your students, even the ones you don't understand or know how to help academically.

* a fun morning of "Holiday Homeschooling" with the cousins, since public schools are out for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We said prayers, wrote spelling words, did a little science, making cinnamon cream to top our hot cocoa.

* earnest voice of the two year old from the back seat, singing "God, gwant you many ears!" (she means years, just has trouble with the pronunciation)

Heading out of Town...

2010-01-14T09:40:00.001-08:00

...and bringing 26 high school students!

Prayers would be appreciated as I take the Debate Team on a tournament. We'll leave after school today on the big yellow bus.

Have a great weekend!
Monica

Carrot Souffle

2010-01-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

revisiting a treat from last January...

The night you make it, it's dessert.
The next morning, it's breakfast bars.

I first enjoyed this recipe when eating with my grandparents. The menu included: black-eyed peas with sausage over rice, pineapple-cabbage coleslaw, and carrot souffle.

I'll give you the original recipe, but mention these changes I made:

-used only half the sugar
-used oil instead of butter (I've got a non-dairy girl)

The Ingredients
2 cups of cooked sliced carrots (or you could use 1 can of carrots, drained)
3 TBS butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp flour
1 tsp vanilla

The Steps
1. Place everything in a blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 for 45 minutes

FYI - I usually plan to make this the night after I make carrots as a side dish. I make extra, so I have them on hand.

Gifts from God: Encouragement

2010-01-04T18:19:00.001-08:00

On Saturday morning during our prayers of the Third Hour (thank you, Mary), when Little Builder read the troparion for the departed, I had to ask him to stop and read it again. How could I have missed it before?

O Thou Who by the depth of Thy wisdom, out of love for mankind, dost provide all things, and grantest to all that which is profitable...

I have been struggling with trusting God with some areas dear to my heart, and He has been so graciously reminding me of His Love and that He will provide all we need.

Thank you, O Lord, for giving me the gift of encouragement.

Book Review and Lessons: The Woman and the Wheat

2010-01-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

In the weeks before Christmas, it was very common to hear the gentle roar of the UPS or FedEx truck zooming up the driveway and around to the back of the house.

One white padded parcel carried a surprise: a book we didn't have to wrap or wait to read. The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer! I am grateful for the opportunity to review another of her books.

The Woman and the Wheat is a follow-up to The Man and the Vine, both tracing the elements that will make up the Eucharist, along with the people who nurture them. I encourage you to read the story behind the story, and you might want to listen to the audio recording of the Man and the Vine.

This review will be divided into 2 sections: The Illustrations, and The Rhythm.

The Illustrations
Ned Gannon's vision of the woman is warm and strong. I can't help but veer from the review here: And she lives in my dream home. Oh, to have that wood-burning oven! Oh, to have those huge skylights! To be a farmer and a baker!

In an interview with the illustrator, Gannon shares that his favorite image is the one of the woman in the wheat field, because it envelops many childhood memories in Kansas. He paints with a sense of authenticity, which richly portrays Meyer's story.

Let's get to that story.

The Rhythm

My high school students and I happened to be reviewing metrical feet before the Christmas break. We were learning how to scan a poem, which you can learn about with this nice Powerpoint presentation (not mine) and see more examples of words marked up here.

As I was standing in the front of the gray classroom, clapping my hands and inflecting my voice to emphasize the stressed and unstressed syllables of a word, Jane G. Meyers' words started playing across my brain.

The "a ha!" moment cleared up for me why her writing seems so poetic even though it doesn't rhyme - she uses metrical rhythm. I wonder if she mathematically plans it that way - substituting this word for another that fits the meter - or if the words just come to her head already packaged in a rhythm? (Jane - are you reading? Can you comment?)

If you teach middle or high school students, I don't know why you wouldn't watch that slide presentation (or do your own research), define and learn the different types of feet, and then scan The Woman and the Wheat as an exercise in analyzing literature.

Well, I can think of one reason why. You might rather read it for enjoyment or for theology. The lyrical words portray the most awesome truth about our Lord Jesus Christ. My favorite lines are not my favorite for the meter, but for the meaning: they describe the woman as she approaches the chalice:

She opened wide and the love filled her mouth and she thought of the wheat and she thought of the love. She kissed the cup and she prayed a prayer, and the joy grew loud in her soul.

Love filled her mouth.

A few weeks ago my priest encouraged me, "if God loves us, then there is no reason to feel despondent."

That LOVE is something I often seem to overlook. I get too caught up in all the things that must be done, or in the details of following our Faith, and I pridefully try to accomplish everything myself, which is bad theology. I can do nothing without Christ.

Then, blinded to the truth, I begin to believe that God is not going to take care of things and meanwhile it becomes increasingly clear that I certainly fail at taking care of everything. Despondency. Unnecessary despondency. Unnecessary because God does love us. If the Invincible One - who has all power over all things and can do not only the impossible, but also the mundane - if He who has the power to do loves us, then all that is needed will be done.

Our most loving God offers us a rhythm to receive His love. The rhythm of the feasts and fasts, of names-days, of Gospel readings and hymns carrying us through each year. The rhythm of morning and evening prayers and the prayers of the Hours. Moments of stressed importance to draw us back to Him when we would get too wrapped up in the unimportant.

The rhythm of Communion. Each time we approach the blessed sacrament of Communion, we mystically share intimacy with Christ who is Love.

Love filled her mouth.

Thank you, Jane G. Meyer, for two lovely books that are joyful children books, that trace the life cycle of nature and connect it to man's co-work with God, and that remind me of the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Technical Difficulties - Check back in 2010

2009-12-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our driver crashed, so I haven't been able to post for a while.

But posts are playing in my mind. Here's what you'll find if you check back in a week:

Recipe for the St. Herman Salmon Potato Pie

Review of the much anticipated The Woman and the Wheat

Report on Gifts from God

In the mean time, may you enjoy your families as much as I've been enjoying mine!

Remembering St. Herman

2009-12-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

With dear friends,

and a book,

and an Alaskan-themed meal.

After last year's plans for Salmon Patties failed, I was grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate the life of St. Herman this past weekend.

We sang the lovely troparion of the feast, then we enjoyed Alaskan Salmon & Potato Pie, Sweet Peas, Sweet Pretzels, and Spruce Island Sugar Cookies. We also read St. Herman of Alaska by S.A. Smith.

The children made the sweet pretzels. Probably these are nothing like the treat St. Herman is said to have served the orphans. If you have a more authentic recipe - please let me know!

Here's the cookie recipe for "Spruce Island Cookies" from our Presvytera, who got it from "When You Fast..." by Catherine Mandell, SVS Press, which you can order here.

1 c. confectioner's sugar
1c. lenten margarine, softened
1 T white vinegar
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cream together confectioner's sugar, margarine and vinegar. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl. Add to the margarine mixture and stir until blended. If the dough seems dry, add a little liquid (soy milk, water, etc.) to correct consistency.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes (like a tree!) Place cookies carefully onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies liberally with green sugar or leave plan to frost after baking. Bake 6-8 minutes (I'd check at 5 minutes) or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on the pans, loosen cookies with a spatula, and let sit on the baking sheets one minute more. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3-4 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter!

Here's the frosting recipe, although she's never tried it!

Frosting:
2c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla or orange extract
2 T water or soy milk
green food coloring

Beat all ingredients together until a smooth and spreadable consistency results, adding food coloring as needed for desired tint. Frost cookies, leaving trunks plain. Can also sprinkle wet frosting with green sprinkles. Place on wire rack to allow the frosting to set.

Recipes from "When You Fast..." by Catherine Mandell, SVS Press, which you can order here.

St. Herman, pray for us.

The Woman and the Wheat - I can't wait!

2009-12-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Ever since we read The Man and the Vine, I've been waiting for this book to come out. Order it here!

Anna has a lovely review of this new book by Jane G. Meyer here.

Preparing for St. Nicholas Day

2009-12-03T18:37:00.001-08:00

On Sunday we will have a St. Nicholas Day Creative Arts Festival.
This boat was Little Builder's entry last year. He wanted something he could hammer.

This year's theme comes from the troparion:

Because of your humble life heaven was open to you,
Because of your poverty spiritual riches were granted to you.

Little Builder has been enjoying his hand-me-down digital camera, and wanted to use it for his festival project. He took all the pictures except the one I took of him offering to share his train track.

If you were thinking that sharing a train track isn't all that special, you missed the screams and fights at our house between the kids over the train tracks.

Offering them up willingly is the type of other-centered, selfless giving that can only be spiritual riches.

Akathist of Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T17:07:00.002-08:00

Our parish gathers to sing this lovely prayer service of Thanksgiving tonight.

This Akathist was found among the effects of Fr. Gregory Petrov after his death in a Soviet prison camp in 1940. It has often been attributed to Fr. Gregory, but it is now more commonly considered to be the work of Metropolitan TRYPHON (Prince Boris Petrovich Turkestanov) +1934.

Find the whole Akathist to print and pray here.

Also, the Antiochian Archdiocese Website has the Proclomation of Thanksgiving by George Washington and links to several articles on Thanksgiving, including Molly Sabourin's thoughts on Thanksgiving at Ancient Faith Radio.

The Gift of The Good Samaritan

2009-11-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

This morning's Gospel reading was the story of the Good Samaritan. Our priest shared a beautiful teaching of the church that I had not heard before.

Who is the Samaritan?
Who is the one beaten on the side of the road?

Christ is the Good Samaritan and we are the ones who were beaten by the world and by sin, left for dead. Christ picks us up, cleans our wounds, anoints us with the oil of His mercy and with wine. He brings us to the Inn - His Church - for the innkeeper to continue the work of our healing.

Sigh of relief. Smile of gratitude. Sounds so good to be taken care of so lovingly by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The challenge from Christ, after the story: Now, go and do likewise.

Nativity Fasting Food Ideas

2009-11-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Reposted with some updates...

Mexican
1. Veggie Fajitas

2. "Cheese" Enchiladas

3. Wet Burritos

4. Spinach Queso over Rice

5. Spinach, mushrooms, & rice-cheese quesadillas
Shrimp Fajitas

6. Black Bean, Frito, and Cilantro Cream Burritos - the Fritos really make this dish!

7. Fried/Grilled Fish Tacos

8. Use Soy-rizo (like Chorizo) in any recipe, replacing the meat

9. 7 Layer Dip for Office Parties (layers starting from bottom layer): refried beans, silken tofu blended with taco seasoning, quacamole, lettuce, tomatoe, olives, green onions. Serve with chips.

Chinese
1. Stir Fry & Rice

2. Sweet & Sour Shrimp

3. Thai Tofu & Broccoli with Peanut Sauce over Rice

4. Shrimp Fried Rice

5. Veggie or Shrimp Lo-mein

6. Asparagus Stir-Fry

7. Eggplant with Garlic Sauce over Rice

8. Ginger steamed Fish with Veggies & Rice

Italian
1. Pasta & Marinara

2. Gnocci with soy-milk Bechamel blended with cooked zuccini (yes, it's green sauce)

3. Bowties, Broccoli, Carrots and Primavera "Cheese Sauce"

4. Bolognase using soy crumbles or crumbled Boca Burgers, or TVP

5. Shrimp Fra Diavlo

6. Eggplant "Parmesan"

7. Tomato, Peas, Rice-Mozerella Orzo (this Giada recipe is yummier as is for feast days, but also good substituting soy milk and rice mozzerella for a fast)

8. Butternut Squash or Mushroom Risotto

9. Veggie Lasagna

10. Seafood Lasagna

11. Near East "Pine Nut" flavored Cous Cous with Garlic-Basil Veggies on the side.

Cajun
1. Shrimp Jambalya

2. Jambalaya Pasta (with carrots & white beans instead of meat)

3. Gumboz-n-Herbs (Gumbo made with lots of different kinds of greens)

4. Shrimp Etoufee'

5. Crawfish Etoufee'(this Emeril recipe is good; we use oil instead of butter)

6. Fried Catfish

7. White Bean & Carrot Etoufee' (or choose whatever veggie/bean your family likes)

8. Corn, Crab, & Tomatoe Stew

9. Okra Shrimp Gumbo

10. Cabbage, Green Bean, & Potato Gumbo

Soups
1. White Bean (carrot, onion, celery, tomato)

2. Greek Lentil Soup

3. Black Bean (garlic, onion, cumin, chili powder)

4. Winter Squash Bisque

5. Clam Chowder (I've used non-dairy powdered creamer mixed with water as the "cream"... I know, sort of pathetic)

6. Corn Chowder

7. Broccoli "Cheese" Soup

8. Split Pea Soup (use liquid smoke to add ham flavor)

9. Indian Curry (sweet peas, onion, potatoes)

10. Cauliflower Chamomile Soup (from the inside of a Celestial Seasonings box)

11. Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

Other
1. Eggplant Casserole (shrimp, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, canned tomatoes, bread crumbs, mushrooms)

2. Smothered Beans-n-Greens w/ Corn Bread and Sliced Tomatoes

3. Veggie or Tofu Pot Pie (if I did this, I'd probably use a pre-made crust on a week-night)

4. Veggie Pizza (we like rice-mozzerella on top)

5. Greek Smothered Peas, Mushrooms & Garlic Tomato Sauce over Rice

6. Crab Salad (corn, cooked rice, green onion, mayo, salt, pepper & sugar)

7. Tuna Salad

8. Salmon/Mashed Potato Patties

9. M'Jeddrah (Lentils & Rice with Caramalized Onions)

10. Squash, Bean, & Tomato Ragout over Polenta

11. Hatian Beans & Rice

12. Beet & Potato Salad (Russian Style)

13. Eggplant "Caviar" (which varies greatly, from basic to cilantro-flvored with pine nuts)

14. Greek Potato Salad (olive oil, parsley, green onion, salt, pepper)

15. Grilled Fish

16. Magic Loaf (leftovers are good for lunch sandwiches)

17. Any Bean/Grain Combo, like Crock Pot Grains

18. Black-Eyed Peas Patties with Remoulade

19. Tofu Spanikopita

20. Veggie Loaf

21. Haitian Beans & Rice

I have printed these ideas in a Monday through Saturday Table-Format and keep them on my fridge.

If you like, whenever you post a new idea or recipe on your blog, let me know and I'll add a link on this page back to your site.

Nice Ideas for Christian Education

2009-09-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited Elenie's share-site for Orthodox Christian lessons plans, you should. She has shared curriculum plans for children, preteens, and teenagers. Coloring books are available too. And of course, Elenie's blog includes ideas too, like this cool "stain glass" project.

On Sylvia's Orthodox Mom blog, you can find a link to an Orthodox Kids Corner, with coloring pages and games.

If you've visited the Greek Archdiocese children site Saints Alive, but it's been a while, you might try dropping back by. They've added several games, in addition to the puzzles originally available.

Finally, if you're looking for a service project to do with your children or your Sunday School class, the St. Innocent Orphanage and Project Mexico have a nice video about their work. Little Builder loved watching how thousands of Orthodox volunteers help build houses in Mexico. They also offer a Church School Curriculum on the volunteer page. This is how they describe it:

Church School Curriculum

"Answering Christ's Call to Love Your Neighbor"

If you are looking for a fun, hands-on way to teach young people about the importance of doing acts of charity, Project Mexico has developed a three-lesson Church School Curriculum that is available at no cost. The three lessons give students an opportunity to:

* Examine what it means to be poor
* Hear what Christ instructed us to do for those in need
* Learn about Project Mexico's ministry to the poor and orphaned of Mexico.

The Curriculum binder contains lesson plans and special aids for the teacher, tips on preparation and publicity, and handouts to be copied for the students. Also included in the binder are two supplementary lessons: "The Life of St. Innocent" and "Christmas in Mexico." Use all of the lessons or tailor the curriculum to your parish's specific needs. The length and focus of the curriculum make it a great option for Vacation Bible School or a Lenten project.

Preparing for St. Peter the Aleut

2009-09-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday we finished up our review & Lesson Book Entry for St. Peter the Aleut.

Realizing that he is commemorated this coming Thursday, September 24, we thought about ways we could celebrate. Perhaps purchase an Alaskan-shaped or themed cookie cutter? It would come in handy for several North American Saints.

Or maybe we could find out what types of foods Aleuts traditionally ate, and serve these for supper Thursday night? We do something similar to this for St. Herman's Feast Day.

According to Wikipedia:

Fishing, hunting and gathering were the only way aleuts could find food. Salmon, seal, walrus, crabs, shellfish, cod were all caught and dried, smoked or roasted. Caribou, musk oxen, deer, moose, whale and other types of game were eaten roasted or preserved. Berries were often whipped into alutiqqutigaq, which was a mixture of berries, fat and fish, or dried.

Don't think I'll try that berry dish, but we do have some deer in the freezer (my father is a veteran hunter). (Update: we had whale-shaped cheese crackers and dried berries for a snack)

Do you have a way to commemorate this teenage martyr?

I especially like this icon, with his words to his captors included.

Troparion - Tone 4

Today Alaska rejoices and America celebrates
for the New World has been sanctified by martyrdom.
Kodiak echoes with songs of thanksgiving,
Iliámna and Kenái observe the Festival of Faith.
The apostle and martyr Juvenaly is glorified
and Peter the Aleut is exalted by his voluntary sacrifice.
In their devotion and love for the Lord
they willingly endured persecution and death for the Truth.
Now in the Kingdom of Heaven they intercede for our souls.

Gifts from God: Local Treasures

2009-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

A unique recipe from a local cookbook for "Breakfast Chocolate Gravy", which made for a fun Saturday morning breakfast with homemade bread.

The back right corner of the local health food store, with the faithful shelf holding the red-marked discount items. Total price? $5.

The local feed-and-seed store, which is one of my favorite places to go. Little Builder enjoyed taking along his hand-me-down camera, catching buckets of 6 types of nails (among other things) for digital immortality.

Naked Ladies

2009-08-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

Once when I was 11 years old, my mother was driving us home from school one august afternoon and said,

Oh my, look at all those naked ladies in that yard!

Zoop. My sister and I turned our heads quickly to the right. Only a yard. With flowers.

Mamma explained that they are called naked ladies because they have no leaves clothing their stems.

These days, I hear people call them spider lilies.

Our first lady opened today.

Gifts from God: Looking Back at the Summer

2009-08-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Most generous God, for these gifts and many more:

cars packed with survival supplies for trips with grandparents to new places

shoes left as evidence of many cousins enjoying a family reunion

husband's graduating class receiving the proof of many years of hard work

and now, summer break is over.....

... better put my nose back to the grindstone

Here's wishing you a blessed new school & church year.

Gifts from God: Lovely Dormition Surprises

2009-08-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

The Dormition is such a tender and encouraging Feast.

Friday night after Vespers, I was sweetly surprised to hear the Lamentation melody from Holy Week. Those tones touch some place deep inside of us, don't they? Eleni mentions more about this. We didn't have a special procession or tapestry, but the tones alone were touching.

How is it that I've been Orthodox for 5 years, but this is the first year this Fast/Feast has touched me - or the first time I recall even paying attention to it?

Perhaps because of Katherine's lesson plans.

Maybe because of those incredible Paraklesis prayers, which Sylvia was so kind to post.

Maybe because of our priest's clear explanation of how Mary is the first example and a foretaste of the blessings of all Christians. Last night he encouraged us that the image of Mary's soul in Christ's arms is a picture of our soul when we die in the Lord.

This morning he made the connection of the Gospel reading to the Dormition: great blessings await one who listens to God and then says "yes" to do what He asks. These two Marys are our model to follow.

In giving birth, O Theotokos, thou didst preserve thy virginity;

And in falling asleep, thou didst not forsake the world.

Thou who didst give birth to Life, wast translated to life;

And by thy prayers, deliver our souls from death.

-Troparion, Dormition of the Most-Holy Theotokos

How to Turn a Beloved Book into a Literature Lesson: The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare

2009-07-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

Below is a chart with examples of literary devices from The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare.

Depending on the age of your student(s), you may want to work on only 1 literary device at a time.

For example, one week, read the book through looking for alliteration, which is the repetition of the beginning sounds of words. Practice noticing alliteration (a favorite technique in most children’s books) all week in the various things you read. Play games like “A my Name is Alice, and I like apples” (B my name is Betty and I like bongos and so forth) or “I’m going on a picnic” (and bringing awesome apples, bright yellow bananas, crunchy crackers, etc.) Have your child write a summary of her own saint’s life, using alliteration at least 3 times. Write a poem practicing alliteration in each line.

Depending on the age and level of your student(s), you can work on as many of the below literary devices at a time as you think works for you. I would use a few of these with my 6 year old, but I also remember writing papers in the 12th grade for AP English in which we identified and analyzed an author’s use of these very devices. Consequently, the material can be modified for high school students as well.

Final note: the chart includes hyperlinks to a variety of sights, so you can decide which one is right for your age group and personal preference. This is not an exhaustive list of literary devices, but is a list of some techniques Jane G. Meyer uses in creating her “lyrical” story.

Link to St. Brigid Chart of Examples

Link to a Literary Devices Chart Template you can use to find more examples in this book or in other books.

Amazing Story, Enjoyable Story-Telling

2009-07-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

“Oh, my.”

Pages turn.

“I didn’t know that.”

Story sings and words play in Celtic frames.

“Wow! No way.” I turn to my husband, “Babe, listen to this!”

So progresses my journey through the pages of The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out the details. The first time I read the book was to myself, silently, sitting on the couch one evening after the kids went to bed. Just the facts of the life of this amazing Irish saint are enough to make this book valuable, but I don’t recommend reading it silently or alone.

The next day, when the kids – 2 years and 6 years old – joined me on the couch and we read aloud, then the joy of Jane G. Meyer’s writing could be heard and savored. Meyer likes to play with her words, reminding me of the way my daughter likes to play with a shelf of shoes. Anyone can line the shoes up in pairs. My daughter likes to take the shoes off, rearrange them, try different combinations, get rid of some, and bring in new ones from other rooms. Jane G. Meyer does the same things with words, rearranging, ordering, changing them until the effect is more of a hybrid between prose and poetry, much like another beloved lyrical book in our home: Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall.

I teach English, and The Life of St. Brigid is so full of examples of rhetorical technique that by nature I had to start creating a lesson plan that used this text to identify certain literary devices like alliteration, repetition, assonance, and more. If you are teaching older reader-writers, you might like to use this chart (coming soon) to supplement your studies. If you are using Mary's British Isles Curriculum next year, this story of God’s faithful servant from Ireland might fit in nicely.

My only complaint in reading this book is that the creative font is hard to read if you have a headache, and not great for beginning readers. Despite these minor things, the Holy and Amazing St. Brigid is worth reading about, just for God’s story in her life.

Don’t limit yourself to an English lesson, either!

Open your heart to St. Brigid’s inspiring faith in God’s provision. (This has been an encouraging book to read as my husband continues his job search in a strained economy.)

Open your eyes to the intense colors and carefully painted Celtic designs by illustrator Zachary Lynch.

Open your lips and sing to your pantry or invite St. Brigid into your prayer life.

This book contains the amazing story of a girl who knew no boundaries in her faith of God, it is an enjoyable read-a-loud, and it can be a handy resource for extra rhetoric practice. I pray that St. Brigid’s love and generosity might grow in my family, overflowing like her blessed pantry.

**********************************************************************************
PS1 - For another perspective of this book, see Emma's thoughts.

PS2 - Now I understand why Sophia's family named their farm St. Brigid's Farm - she was a shepherdess in Ireland and is a protector of flocks and herds.

PS3 - Visit Author Jane G. Meyer's website here.

PS4 - I love that this book includes a kontakion to St. Brigid.

In preparation for the Dormition Fast

2009-07-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll let you read other blogs like this series for spiritual preparation.

All I'm offering is kitchen help. Watch this video for a tutorial on how to make crab(cooked), cucumber & avocado sushi rolls. Yum!

Here's how to make the "sushi rice"

I must say that I am looking forward to starting The Most Holy Theotokos Study on Evlogia Katherine has created.

Gifts from God: Other Mothers Part 2

2009-07-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

From my own mother's garden transplanted to mine - lantana, so easy to keep alive!

MammaJuliana often reminds me to hit the thrift stores. When I realized recently that Little Builder's swimsuit was left at the Grandparents' house, we headed to Goodwill for a $2 replacement.

Alana at Morning Coffee includes the Farmers Market in her weekly routine. We are so blessed to have our little market here in our little city.

Once again, thanking God for the blessings of other mothers.

Gifts from God: in the Kitchen

2009-07-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have met a new friend, this parchment paper. She barely lifts a finger, effortlessly releasing these artisan loaves.

No more scraping bottoms of loaves from the pan.

No more piling up a 1/4 inch layer of corn meal (or regular flour for prosphora) under my loaf in order to prevent the finished loaf from sticking to the pan.

No more unintended flat bread from the dough sliding and spreading out on a greased pan.

Just brown loaves of goodness, sliding off the pan onto the baking rack.

Gift from God #638: Parchment Paper

If anyone knows a reason why one couldn't use parchment paper under prosphora, let me know! I can't wait to use it when it's my next turn to make it!

Birthdays and Namedays

2009-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sylvia was pondering how to go about celebrating these two special days, and we didn't have to choose yesterday. Little Builder had a birthday and our Toddler had her Name Day - St. Elizabeth the new Martyr - so we had one big celebration with two cakes.

Little Builder wanted to have the party at his beloved Sunday School teacher's house, so we grilled burgers, hit balls off his new tee, played in the slip-and-slide, and enjoyed each other's company. Our church friends are so gracious to help us make these days special.

Here's the semi-truck cake a little closer.

Grains Swap

2009-06-28T18:38:00.001-07:00

Michelle mentioned that Ma Torg is hosting a Vegan Recipe Swap, and this week’s theme is Grains.

If you love your crockpot, try this on Wednesday:

Crockpot Grains

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup millet - uncooked
* 1/4 barley - uncooked
* 1/3 cup brown rice - uncooked
* 1 cup onion - chopped
* 1 cup green pepper - chopped
* 1/2 cup carrots - finely chopped
* 1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
* 1 16 oz can tomatoes - drained - reserve liquid
* 1 1/2 cups corn
* 1 tsp dried oregano
* 1 tsp dried basil
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Add water to reserved tomato liquid to equal 2 1/2 cups. Stir into grain mixture. Cover and cook on low setting 8 hours. Stir before serving.

This recipe was contributed by Marie from the Radiant Recovery Community Forum.

From Lean and Luscious and Meatless, by Hindman and Snyder

Oh, Soybean

2009-06-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

You not only offer scrambled-egg substitute and Moo-less Mocha Pie.

You also are not bad in the shell, steamed and ready to be popped open by adventurous fingers.

And after supper is over, you sneak over into the category of craft supplies, marking states on vinyl placemat.

Gifts from God: Other Mothers, Part I

2009-06-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Since school has dismissed and I have more time at home, I have been using your ideas all week long.

Thank you to my mother, my sister, and my dear friend Maria, for demonstrating for me how simple it is to treasure my children's artwork and use it to warm our home.

Thank you, Emma, for felt ideas.

Thank you, Katherine, for detailed directions and suggestions on studying our Faith using Lesson Books. We did our first entry yesterday for Pentecost.

Thank you Elizabeth, for helping me figure out how to help Little Builder over that hump of doing the copywork! (I asked him - draw first, then write)

Thank you, She Who Must Be Obeyed, for the lovely moments of music at snack time.

Thank you, Sylvia, for reminding me that I'm supposed to be kissing that icon on the way out the door.

Thank you, Meadowlark Days, for rhubarb bread.

Grasshopper Cake

2009-06-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 white cake mix
2 eggs
2 small or 1 large carton of cool-whip
2 jars of hot fudge
bottle of Creme de Menthe liquor (you'll use 8-12 TBS)
cherries for decorating

Steps
1. Mix cake as directed, but add 4 TBS of creme de Menthe to replace some water

2. Bake as directed. Cool.

3. Cover cake with room-temp hot fudge sauce.

4. Fold 4 TBS of Creme de Menthe liquor into the cool-whip. Taste for flavor and color and add more if you want. Spread on top of fudge layer.

5. Decorate with cherries. Marciano, canned, fresh would all be fine.

Growing Gifts from God

2009-06-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Grape update:

itty bitty grapes...

...growing bigger

Swiss Chard

Me (with grasshopper cake)

2009-05-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

A solitary grape vine planted by my grandfather sits just east of the house. Every year I hope the vine might not fall to little devouring bugs.

At the first sight of the holes in the leaves, fingers search and find itty bitty black worm-shaped diners infecting my vine. For some reason, I wait and don't come back to kill them for a couple of days. The damage spreads. I decide to tackle the job and turn each leaf over, smushing the enemies dead one by one.

I am glad to see the fruit growing.

But sad that the leaves were still damaged.

It makes me think of residual soul damage leftover from sin infections I allow to grow. Noticing the eaten leaves, sometimes I still wait before smushing it out. Often, despite small bits of visible fruit, there is still damage left behind from worldly things I allowed.

Praise be to God, who gives us an image of hope for sickly leaves in the Gospel of John: 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Footnotes: The Greek for prunes also means cleans.

Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Gifts from God

2009-05-19T19:36:00.001-07:00

*coming home from work to an unexpected clean kitchen

*cooking dinner with both kids as sous chefs, breaking apart broccoli and bread-crumbing salmon patties.

*uncultivated surprises in the woods

*finding some hay for mulching the veggie bed

*Little Builder receiving a hand-me-down digital camera

*He and Papa getting creative

*blessings from the Church: services to remember our loved ones and Koliva to remind us that we must fall to the ground like a grain of wheat and die, in order to be raised to a new life.

Passion Flower for the Pascha Season

2009-05-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

This flower poses so unusual a picture that when a Native Mexican monk first sketched it and sent the image to a botanist in Spain, the botanist refused to publish it in his book. He thought the monk had made it up.

Often the flower is associated with Christ. The 3 stamen are for the 3 nails. The 5 anthers are for the 5 wounds of Christ. The circle of filaments is His crown of thorns.

The vine has a reputation of being hardy and invading the garden, but I've been waiting almost 4 years for my puny cutting to get past the "surviving" stage and actually bloom. Just when I had given up on it, this unusual flower decided it was time to make an entrance.

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

To my own Mother, who still is incredibly generous and patient.

To my new Mother, who opened her arms to me the day my husband brought me home.

To all my Mothers who share this space with me, who bring me laughs and encouragement.

To our Lord's Mother, whose heart has felt every pain I will ever feel as a mother. Pray for our children, O Theotokos!

Gifts from God

2009-05-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for Alex. She is quickly recovering and at home.

I'm also thankful for...

A night out with my sister and mother.

Our first meal with something from the garden - sugar snap peas as a side dish.

Little Builder's Mother Goose Concert

Teacher Appreciation Week meals by the PTA

Inspiration from you other blogging mothers

Thursday Prayer Request

2009-04-29T17:23:00.001-07:00

Please pray for my small friend Alex, who is 10 years old and is having heart surgery Thursday in Boston.

Lord, may you grant her a speedy and full recovery and give peace to Alex's parents.

Memorial Wheat

2009-04-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Katherine at Evlogia is making Memorial Wheat for Tuesday. Remembering our loved ones on this particular date is a tradition that I didn't know about, but this is a very special way to remember. I hope to make some for our beloved Anna for her 40th day.

Memorial Wheat recipe from the archives...

2 cups of wheat berries (the "soft" ones cook faster; can usually find these from health food store)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. white raisins
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup finely ground zweiback toasts (optional)
1 cup powdered sugar
dragees or more nuts/ raisens for decoration

Day 1. Cover and soak berries overnight.

Day 2. Drain & rinse. Cover with water in large pot and bring to boil. REduce heat and simmer uncovered 1-3 hours, until puffy and tender (keep covered with water and stir occasionally).

Drain in a colander; rinse and drain again. Spread the wheat our on a smooth dish towel to dry overnight.

Day 3. Light a candle and pray. Mix all ingredients. Put combined mixture on a tray that has been covered with wax paper.

Heap in a mound toward center and press to make smooth.

To top it: Either just sift on 1 cup of powdered sugar, or first sprinkly with 1 cup of finely ground zweiback toast and then with sugar. (the zweiback keep the sugar from absorbing and disappearing into the wheat).

Make a cross in the center with koufeta, dragees, nuts, raisens, whatever.

May Their Memory Be Eternal!

Gifts from God - Bright Week

2009-04-23T18:31:00.001-07:00

* 2 year old shouting "Chwist Risen!"

* On Bright Monday, rose petals and bay leaves adorning the floor of our church nave, evidence of a glorious feast.

* favorite Bright Week treats, like Chicken-n-Dumplings, Cheese Enchiladas, and Breakfast Sausage.

* after finally committing to homeschooling next year, finding great ideas from Katherine.

* another mom and I, dumping a huge bag on the kitchen floor of new-to-us shoes from a friend at church, then trying them on like little kids trying out new toys.

* swiss chard, radishes, cabbages, carrots, peas, and Mary's Gold growing in the garden.

* Little Builder curled up in my lap on the couch as we listen to the morning matins psalms.

* The hymn, The Angel Cried rejoicing through the car.

I took this lovely photo from Mary's facebook album - thanks!

Memories from our first Pascha, 5 years ago

2009-04-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Prayer for Orthodox Mothers During Holy Week

2009-04-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Lord, help me remember that there is sanctification in attending carefully to church serices, but also in the hearding of children during church services.

Help me offer the gift of training my children up in church with humility and joy.

Lord, have mercy on us!

Pascha and Birth Visualization

2009-04-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

I wonder if I will always associate Pascha with birth, or if those memories will fade as new ones form. It has been 2 years since my daughter's birth, but still I have vivid memories of praying, pouring my heart out, for a safe delivery every time the priest chanted the request to God during a Holy Week litany:

O Thou the Mighty Provider, Healer and Physician of souls and bodies...have mercy on Thy people and save them from all calamities, tribulations, and misfortunes, O Thou the upholder of those who trust in Thee. We ask Thee, O Lord, hearken and have mercy on us.

After a very difficult first labor, delivery, and recovery; I was begging God to help me through the second one. Glory be to God, He made it beautiful. With St. Elizabeth the New Martyr as my own private nurse, God gave me peace and strength, even in scary moments, and he delivered our little Ella from calamity.

from the archives...
I've been watching the lilies bloom and they remind me of preparing for my daughter's birth 2 years ago. She was due on Pascha, and during Holy Week I spent many minutes during services watching the lilies opening on the Epitaphios. I had read that this was good to practice and use during labor, to envision your cervix opening. Well, it worked for me, so I'm sharing some lilies with you, in case anyone is preggers out there--or plans to be.

Pascha Baskets

2009-04-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

What goes into a Pascha basket? Nichola T. Kraus has written an informative article about what goes in their baskets, and what each thing symbolizes.

This explanation from "Children of the Church" posted by St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Texas reminds us that, "...each of the foods in the Pascha basket have rich meaning, as does everything in Orthodoxy. Glory to God!"

If you would like to print something with pictures to use in teaching your children, you might like this version of "Preparing a Pascha Basket." or this one that the kids might color.

A new tip: put the salt in a little container in which you will place a candle. The salt acts like sand in holding it in place. Being practical, and knowing I wasn't going to be sprinkling my salt on anything, I haven't included it in the past, but with a job to do, salt will probably make it into the basket this year.

I still remember the year we went to Burger King on the way to Church Saturday night. Two bacon-double cheese burgers nested in our basket until 2:30 am. They did not taste wonderful and we've never attempted that again!

******************************************************************************
With gratitude, I share our Pascha Basket Cover.

Four years ago our sponsors commissioned a dear sister at Holy Apostles to make this basket cover for us as a Pascha gift.

The oil is represents the Holy Spirit and reminds us of our Chrismation.

The grapes on the cross and the wheat to the right are for the Body and Blood of Christ, as shown in the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist.

Every Pashca (Easter) we fill our basket with wonderful things, cover it with our beautiful cover, and bring it to church.

We hang it up near our Prayer Corner for the weeks after Pascha.

Christ is Risen, and he has bestowed on us

the gift of

LIFE!

Kulich

2009-04-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

from the archives...

Russian Pascha Bread

Symbolic of Christ, who is our True Bread

Don't have pics from last year, but this one is from Mt. Holyoke's website:

Here's one from Russians in Australia:

And a shorter, fatter variation from Finnish Cloudberry Quark resting next to a beautiful Cheese Paska.

I made this recipe our first Pascha - we had officially been chrismated into the Orthodox Church for a few hours, that Holy Saturday afternoon when I took to the kitchen.

We didn't think we'd like candied peel, so we replaced it with dried cherries when we changed up a recipe from Cakes & Cake Decorating.

Pots
I've used new clay flower pots, coffee tins, and even a 2-cup and 4-cup glass mixing cup before. Whatever you use - grease it well and line the bottoms with waxed paper and flour the sides. If you want a really tall dome, folllow the directions on the My House and Garden recipe.

Ingredients

1 TBS yeast
6 TBS tepid milk
6 TBS sugar (divided into 2TBS and 4 TBS)
4&1/2 cup all-purpose flour (divided into 1/2 cup and 4 cup)
pinch of saffron strands
2 TBS dark rum
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 TBS butter
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup or so of dried cherries
1/2 to 1 cup of slivered almonds

1: Blend & Sit
bowl one - yeast, milk, 2 TBS sugar, and 1/2 cup flour.
bowl two - saffron and rum
Let sit about 15 minutes.

2: Bread Dough
Sift remaining flour into a bowl and rub in butter and remaining sugar. Make a well and work in yeast mixture, saffron mixture, and everything else to make dough.

3: Knead & Rise
Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes, until smooth. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1&1/2 hours or until doubled.

4: Ready, Set, Bake
Preheat oven to 375 F. Knock back the dough, divide it (this recipe makes one 4c. glass measuring cup and 1 small coffee tin) and form into round lumps. Press the lump into the bottom of the pot, cover and rise for another 1/2 hour. Bake for 35-50minutes, depending on your pot. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

5: Decorate
Mix 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 tsp warm water and 1 tsp amlmod extract until smooth. Pour over the dome so that the glaze drips down the sides a little. Decorate with nuts & cherries, leaving room for a candle in the middle.

At our Russian parish, everyone had one of these and lit the candles and Father blessed them all along with the Pascha baskets. At other parishes, we've been the only ones with Kulich, but usually everyone enjoys it.

Kulich is the very best sliced and spread with Cheese Paska. My version of Cheese Paska coming soon...

For Pascha bread recipes from different cultures, visit here.

Memory Eternal

2009-04-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

words from our priest, better than mine:

Our beloved sister in Christ, whose baptismal name is Anna, has fallen asleep in the Lord. Please join me in praying for the newly-departed servant of God, Anna, saying "Lord Jesus Christ, grant rest to the soul of thy servant." You can pray this prayer on your prayer rope, just like the Jesus Prayer.

"Brethren, we would not have you ignorant concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord will himself descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (Epistle reading at the funeral service)

Prayer Request & Gifts from God

2009-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

I'm taking 26 students to the Debate Championships this weekend. May all stay safe, healthy, and make wise choices.

* What a beautiful gift from God we all receive today, The Annuciation:
Today is the beginning of our salvation!

* Dinner with our Priest and Presvytera, a blessed time of fellowship.

* An appreciative email from a parent of a debater who has not always agreed with me in the past. A huge blessing to my teacher soul.

* A husband who actively and intentionally works at "dwelling with your wife in understanding"

* Wide, chubby-cheeked smiles to go along with the new words our toddler is offering.

* Returning health.

Thank you, God, for every good thing you have given us this past day.

1 Bag of Beans, 3 Meals

2009-03-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Thankful for the Lenten Season. I've noticed many of you have slowed down or postponed blogging until after Lent, and I hope you don't mind if I join the technology slow-down during this Blessed Season of Fasting.

One handy offering for you: how to stretch a $.97 bag of beans.
I started with a one-pound bag of navy beans.

First Meal - Smothered Beans-N-Greens to Pre-sanctified Liturgy
Second Meal - Not-Tunafish Salad
Third meal - pulled out of the freezer for a quick supper - Bean Soup

These meals worked for us - a family of 4 - but I think you could double them for larger crews. Enjoy, and may your spiritual journey be blessed!

Smothered Beans-N-Greens
Adapted from one of my favorite's: The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.

Ingredients:
1 bag of beans (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup of pintos and 1 cup of Great Northern - but we're cooking extras on purpose)
3 TBS oil
4-6 onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, diced fine
1 tsp dried oregeno
1&1/2 tsp salt
1 bag of frozen chopped spinach
1 can of chopped tomatoes
black pepper

The Steps:
1. The night before you want to make Smothered Beans, put your rinsed and sorted beans in the crockpot with plenty of water. Leave on low while you sleep. In the morning, turn them off and put in the fridge. You could also start this the morning-of if you're not super busy.

Day of - heat oven to 275.

2. Warm oil in a heavy pan, and add onions, oregano, and 1 tsp of salt.
3. Saute 5 minutes, until onions are soft. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or however long it takes to make them caramelly. Remove lid and stir every so often. Add garlic when the onions have another minute or two left.

4. While waiting on the onions, pull out the beans and drain them - SAVING the COOKING LIQUID!
*** Measure 1&1/2 cups of cooking liquid to use in this recipe.***
*** Rinse the drained beans, adding the run-off to the left-over cooking liquid. This will become your soup for meal #3.***

5. Thaw spinach in a microwave safe bowl, then dump2/3 of onions on it. Stir.

6. For later meals, pour the other 1/3 of onions into the left-over cooking liquid. Also, drain the tomato liquid into this future soup.Give it a whir with the hand-blender if your kids will not like the visible onion.

7. Assemble: Place half the greens mixture in a casserole. Add 3 cups of rinsed beans. Spread the remaining greens over the beans and top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and some black pepper. Without disturbing the layers, gently pour enough of your 1&1/2 cups of bean liquid down the side of the casserole to barely cover the tomatoes.

8. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Add a little more water if you think it is drying out. Replace cover and braise for 20-30 more minutes. *Since I brought this to church for potluck, instead of the 275 oven at home, I just put it in the 250 warm oven at church with everyone else's stuff to braise for 1 & 1/2 hours. It was fine.

Set aside 1&1/2 cups of rinsed beans for tomorrow's meal, then add the rest to the soup and freeze.

Meal #2 - "Not Tuna-fish Salad"
Mix beans with whatever your family likes in Tuna-salad. We used mayo, mustard, and sweet relish. Serve with crackers or in sandwiches.

Another variation: beans, oil, balsamic vigegar, oregeno, parsley, onions, tomatoes.

Meal #3 - "Bean Soup"
1. Thaw beans and liquid.
2. Add to a pan with left-over spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce and spices you like.
3. Bring to boil, then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add a handful of un-cooked pasta and a diced potato and simmer for 10-15 minutes longer.

Good Advice for Fasting

2009-03-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

Not from me, of course, but from Metropolitan JONAH of the OCA:

"Let our fasting be accompanied by the refusal to indulge in judgment and criticism of others: gossip, slander, suspicion and innuendo, all that is hateful to God. Let us fast from meat, as we fast from the carnality of hatred and resentment of others, which is the source of our passions, pain and addictions. Let us fast from cheese, as we cut out the bitterness that curdles the joy in our lives, the pure milk of love. Let us fast from eggs, so that the seeds of corruption do not hatch in our souls. Let us fast from oil, so that we do not grease our lips to slander and fry our neighbor. Let us fast from wine, that we might remain sober and watchful, to maintain the purity of our souls, minds and hearts."

Read the rest here.

Moving Words in the Liturgy Today

2009-03-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

"This is the Apostolic faith, this is the Orthodox faith, this is the faith of the Fathers, this is the faith that is the foundation of the world."

Too bad I didn't have a camera for the procession. Next year.

I pray you are all having a blessed Lenten season. I am truly grateful for this time of reflection and preparation: a Gift from God.

Other Gifts:
* slight weight of toddler's arm resting over my shoulder in one of those rare moments when she'll give in to me snuggling her and holding her.

* cabbage, onions, carrots, chard, and sugar snap peas in the ground.

* fox gloves in the ground for the Theotokos.

This picture isn't my garden design, but just an illustration of a Mary Garden, which I think is a lovely concept.

"Throw it in" Sweet & Spicy Vegetarian Chili

2009-03-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

One last addition to the Bean Soup Party. Thank you, Anna B., for sharing this recipe that makes 20 (1/2 cup) servings. By the way, Anna says that you don't have to have all the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 bottle of beer
16 oz can of frozen apple juice
4oz pack of chili seasoning
28 oz can of chopped tomatoes with juice
12 oz can of tomatillos, drained
4 x 16oz cans of chili beans or 1 lb of dried beans cooked
4oz can of chopped green chiles
16 oz jar of green salsa
16 oz jar of salsa
1 small can of chopped black olives, drained
1 small can of sliced green olives, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
2 TBS dried basil
16 oz pack of frozen corn

Directions
In a large pot, throw all ingredients in and bring to boil. Cook about 30 minutes to 1 hour on medium. Leave in warm oven during Liturgy, to enjoy with your parish afterwards.

Bean Soup Recipe Party

2009-03-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

May you have a great Great Lent!

Check back in a few days, as I'll add more recipes as they come in. Here are a few to get started:

Updated 3/2/09:
Christina has both bean soup and other recipes compiled very nicely for you here.

Mimi offers this version with squash.

Every fast I hear our parish ladies volunteer to bring Fasolatha to a potluck, but I never knew how to make it until I saw Sylvia's Fasolatha recipe.

Red pepper flakes and spinach make this Low-fat Lentil Soup from Michelle call my name.

Here's one I like - Rustic Italian Bean Soup
1. Soak overnight, drain the next morning, then put in a crockpot on low and cover with water:
cup of dry red kidney beans
cup of dry pintos

2. When you're ready to make supper, chop an onion, a bell pepper, a carrot, and saute in oil with a bay leaf, Italian Seasoning, celery seed, salt, and pepper.

3. Add chopped garlic to the saute once the other ingredients have had a chance to caramelize.

4. Pour the beans and bean liquid from the crock pot into the pan (or the other way around) - along with a small can of tomato paste - & simmer until creamy. Or do it the other way around and pour the veggies into the crockpot and let that simmer. Whatever.

5. Adjust seasonings and serve with bread. Of course, this is better the next day!

Try this Spinach Lentil Soup from When We Fast.

Lentil Stew with Parsley Potatoes comes from Fast Meals from a Slow Kitchen. And Alana also offers this advice about de-gassing fasting.

Katie says this is her favorite.

From Ortho-Vegan's Kitchen I'm linking to 2 delicious ideas:
1) Tuscan White Bean Soup
2) Gaucho Beans

Greek Lentil Soup is about as easy as it gets.

Stephanie, of crock pot fame, likes Smokey Refried Bean Soup and Morroccon Lentil Soup.

Although it's not soup, it is Crispy Black Bean Tacos from Emily at Stay at Home Big Sis. These look Yum!

Phyllis from Hunsucker's Home offers this favorite! She usually doubles it. It's very quick and simple to make. From the More with Less Cookbook:

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup
Combine in soup kettle:
1 c. lentils
4 c. water
1/2 t. cumin
Cook until lentils are soft (30-45 minutes), adding water if necessary for good soup consistency.
Heat in skillet:
1 T. olive oil (I don't know if that's allowed while fasting. You could do without and just throw the onions and garlic into the soup. I've done that in a real hurry before. :-)
Add and saute:
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Blend in:
1 T. flour (If you're skipping the oil, skip this step, too. Just turn the soup off and add the lemon.)
Cook a few minutes. Then add sauteed ingredients to lentils and bring soup to boiling point, stirring occasionally. After soup boils, remove from heat and stir in:
2 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
She adds: Lately we've had trouble getting juicy lemons. I've just used lemon pepper instead.

Coming soon... Sweet & Spicy Chili

Gifts from God

2009-02-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

A day off school to spend outside with my children.

Yellow flowers to brighten my yard and my desk.

A nice metaphor for Lent - a promise of new life springing out of winter ground.

Buttercups, more fruit of my grandparents planting labors. Bulb by bulb they built a beautiful retirement place.

Grape hyacinth peeking through the leaves. Lord, help me to stop and see the beauty in all the busyness of my days - especially the days I don't have off from work.

Thank you, Lord, for the idea to start listing my gifts.

Papas & Pintos

2009-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

First - Papas
Without knowing it, my husband and I were thinking about this at the same time. As I was uploading the post about Orthodox Fathers, he was busy creating his own blog! He has been a constant source of navigation in my life for the last 10 years, pointing me towards God as we journey in our faith. We don't always agree, but I enjoy - and consider it a gift - being partners with him as we "work out our salvation", struggling to be transformed into the image of God.

Orthodox Papa's Digest is where he's recording his thoughts about how to develop his own faith and pass it on to our kids. If you'd like, hop on over to ponder his personal reflections on Good Guys and Bad Guys.

Now - Pintos
I hope you are working on your post about Bean Soup for our party! FYI: and kind of beans, peas, or lentils are fine. Any additional ingredients are fine and welcome. More than one recipe is fine, too.

Gifts from God - 5 year old's Perspective

2009-02-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Little Builder took his own pics of things for which he thanks God:

* Macaroni-N-Cheese

* My sister and my friends

* Nana, Granps, Grami, Grandpa

* Playing with blocks

Orthodox Fathers Too

2009-02-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

Several of you have already discovered Don over at Ramblings of a Single Dad. I know, because I found him through your blogs!

If you hop over, you'll find interesting and heartfelt information about foster care and adoption, including a Liturgical Service for Adopting a Child.

He also has a huge list of links to dad blogs. And other interesting ramblings, like this one about the time his son was suspended from school - as a teacher I really appreciate how he home-educated him for the week.

Another subject: Please consider joining my Bean Soup Recipe Party.

Bean Soup Recipe Party

2009-02-21T08:49:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting a Bean Soup Recipe party for everyone!

Where: Here at Orthodox Mother's Digest

When: The first Monday of Lent (recipes due to be posted by Forgiveness Vespers)

Who: Each of you either 1) emails me a favorite bean soup recipe or 2) posts a favorite bean soup recipe on your blog and emails or comments to me the link.

What: I'll make a large post called "Bean Soup Recipe Party" that will include links to all of your Bean Soup Recipe posts. It will also include any recipes emailed in.

Basically, I just wanted a fun way to get more variations on Beans for Lent.

If you don't want to post on your blog, mail your recipe to me at orthodoxmother at gmail dot com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Marriage

2009-02-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

For a peak from Scripture, a peak at the potential blessedness of marriage :

look here.

Thanks, Susan Sophia!

Crockpot Chicken

2009-02-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

One day last week, as I was collecting my purse and coat from my classroom, getting ready to head home, I panicked, I haven't planned anything for dinner tonight! Then I remembered there was chicken in the crockpot. What a good feeling.

I had been meaning to try this recipe for so long, and finally did. We absolutely loved it.

Since I didn't have Italian Dressing, I used lemon juice, olive oil, and oregeno. And I forgot the onions, but they weren't missed. And it is just as good without the cream cheese (we had it both ways, on 2 different nights.)

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Exotic Ideas for Lent

2009-02-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

First, I want to mention something our priest shared with us about this week of non-fasting.

He said that the church wants us to remember to not be like the Pharisee (in the story of the Publican and the Pharisee)when we start our Lenten fast in few weeks. Take this week and not fast, as a reminder that it's better to not fast at all than to fast with a condenming or proud heart.

Hmmf. I always had merely thought that we didn't have to fast this week as sort of a "treat before a diet." However, this is something I appreciate about our faith: there is always more and deeper meaning. I always have further to grow. I don't reach the "end" and then feel like, "well, what now?" Every year, during the same cycle of service, I hear and learn new things. Thanks be to God!

Now, for the exotic idea for when fasting does start: Black Bean and Squash Mole Enchiladas.

Gifts from God

2009-02-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

* laying with Little Builder on the couch as he slowly wakes up from his car nap home from church today.

* coming up on 10 years with my husband and thankful for his companionship.

* 70 degree weather - perfect for tilling our veggie patch before it turns cold again. The sugar snap peas will go in the ground soon.

* a weekend with my son's Kindergarten "Traveling Mascot", who played Lincoln Logs with us and went to church with us.
I'm thankful for the creative ways his teacher finds to excite the kids about travel, history, science, and social graces.

* a myriad of parent volunteers who will help me host competitors from 10 schools on our campus this weekend for a big Debate Tournament; and my parents who will come up and help watch the kids.

* fellowship with friends from church - great stories, encouragement, laughs, and lasagna around a great big dining table.

* Saints whose lives inspire me and my kids (Read about St. Theodore the General if you didn't hear it after Vespers last Saturday night.)

* a circle of moms online - I'm feeling thankful for you tonight.

Praise be to God for every good thing.

Stopping...

2009-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Two things crossed my path today that have me thinking of stopping to catch the moments in life, to love, to be thankful to God and share this joy with others.

The first is this quote from Phyllis' blog:

“It has been coming to me of late, that our Master’s words about gathering up the fragments that nothing be lost, may touch more than life’s loaves and fishes. I think I must gather some Love-fragments up, and give them to you, or the wind of Forget may blow them away to Oblivion.”
From Sunrise Land, page 74

The second is a poem my English II students read today in class:
"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I'm sure this poem inspires many interpretations, but today I paused over the repeated phrase "And miles to go before I sleep." I asked the students why the poet stopped, when he had so far still to go.

Typical answers emerged: to pee, to shake the bells, etc. But one student ventured, to see a beautiful view?

In this long journey of life, the poet wanted to stop and take in a beautiful moment, as strength for the plodding ahead. My "miles to go" may be miles of dirty dishes, miles of laundry, miles of papers to grade, miles of diapers to change. May I stop more often.

I believe these two bits of literature are part of God's answer to my heart cry to Him last night. After a night of harsh words, impatience with my kids, and mostly trying to put them off while I finished other stuff, I begged our Father in Heaven to help me spend the few precious hours I have with them loving them.

Thank you, Father, for helping me to stop this day and see the beauty you have surrounded me with in my family.

Egg-less Banana Bread

2009-01-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Lent is almost upon us. I am looking forward to reflecting on Christ; to experiencing the dark, candle-lit, minor-keyed Pre-Sanctified Liturgies; to practicing a more simple approach to food, including these ideas about gluttony from Alana; and to sinking into much more that has nothing to do with food.

And yet, there is the daily task of feeding the family. I offer the fast-friendly banana bread recipe several of you requested. May God bless Mary L., who introduced this treat to us when she brought by a meal after the birth of Little Builder.

The Ingredients
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I've used plain, and spelt flour too)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup soy milk or rice milk
1/4 cup apple sauce or oil
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed bananas
sprinkling of mini chocolate chips

The Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix, in another large bowl, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and bananas.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined.
5. Grease & dust 6 muffin cups and divide the batter among them. Or use an 8inch square casserole dish.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

We like this bread spread with peanut-butter.

Carrot Souffle

2009-01-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

The night you make it, it's dessert.
The next morning, it's breakfast bars.

I first enjoyed this recipe when eating with my grandparents. The menu included: black-eyed peas with sausage over rice, pineapple-cabbage coleslaw, and carrot souffle.

I'll give you the original recipe, but mention these changes I made:

-used only half the sugar
-used oil instead of butter (I've got a non-dairy girl)

The Ingredients
2 cups of cooked sliced carrots (or you could use 1 can of carrots, drained)
3 TBS butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp flour
1 tsp vanilla

The Steps
1. Place everything in a blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 for 45 minutes

FYI - I usually plan to make this the night after I make carrots as a side dish. I make extra, so I have them on hand.

Prayer for the New President

2009-01-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

A prayer for civil authorities (excerpt from the Liturgy of St. Basil):

"Be mindful, O Lord, of all civil authorities and of our armed forces; grant them a secure and lasting peace; speak good things into their hearts concerning thy Church and all thy people, that we in their tranquility may lead a calm and peaceful life in all reverence and godliness. Establish the good in thy goodness, and make good the evil, by thy benevolence."

Orthodox Mother's Digest

Asparagus and Gravy over Toast

For Phyllis

Gifts from God

St John of Shanghai and San Fransisco Doll

Letters from Father Seraphim

Gifts from God: Help along the Journey

Gifts from God

Nativity Fast Menu

Gifts from God

St. Peter the Aleut, Pray for Us!

Gifts from God

St. Peter the Aleut

Holy Transfer

Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos - An August Fasting Menu

Gifts from God: More Monasteries

Gifts from God: Visiting Monasteries

Scrambled Tofu Rancheros

Beautiful Beans

Farmers Market Goodies

Gift from God: Zuchinni Bread

Gift from God: Working Mother at Home

Win, Lose or Draw?

Chickpea Mash for Sandwiches

Apostles Fast Menu

First Fruits - Oriental Coleslaw

Gifts from God - Pentecost Flowers

Garden - 3 weeks later

For an Abundance of the Fruits of the Earth

Lenten Cookies - Easy & Sort of Healthy

Starting to think about Pascha Flowers

Green Bean and Potato Soup

Gifts from God: Thoughts for My Journey through Lent

Quick Pantry Savers for Great Lent

When God Delays...

Irish Brown Bread for St. Brigid

Job Interview and Sighs

Job Interviews and Giggles

Gifts from God

Heading out of Town...

Carrot Souffle

Gifts from God: Encouragement

Book Review and Lessons: The Woman and the Wheat

Technical Difficulties - Check back in 2010

Remembering St. Herman

The Woman and the Wheat - I can't wait!

Preparing for St. Nicholas Day

Akathist of Thanksgiving

The Gift of The Good Samaritan

Nativity Fasting Food Ideas

More Christian Education Links

Nice Ideas for Christian Education

Preparing for St. Peter the Aleut

Gifts from God: Local Treasures

Naked Ladies

Gifts from God: Looking Back at the Summer

Gifts from God: Lovely Dormition Surprises

How to Turn a Beloved Book into a Literature Lesson: The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare

Amazing Story, Enjoyable Story-Telling

In preparation for the Dormition Fast

Gifts from God: Other Mothers Part 2

Gifts from God: in the Kitchen

Birthdays and Namedays

Grains Swap

Oh, Soybean

Gifts from God: Other Mothers, Part I

Grasshopper Cake

Growing Gifts from God

Gifts from God

Passion Flower for the Pascha Season

Happy Mothers Day

Gifts from God

Thursday Prayer Request

Memorial Wheat

Gifts from God - Bright Week

Memories from our first Pascha, 5 years ago

Prayer for Orthodox Mothers During Holy Week

Pascha and Birth Visualization

Pascha Baskets

Kulich