Remembering St. Herman

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

More Christian Education Links

Here is a Comprehensive List of Links and Resources for Christian Education.

Nice Ideas for Christian Education

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

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

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

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

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.