Friday, February 4, 2011

Before Lent- 7 QuickTakes

Now that the Christmas season is really, really over (40 days after, etc, etc)- it is time to start planning for Lent (the Great Fast)! Now, of course, Lent (of course, we Byzantines are different AGAIN- the Great Fast begins for us after Sunday Liturgy before Ash Wednesday- future blog material) is pretty far off, so I thought I would share how I will be spending my Mardi Gras 'season' 

1.  Watch movies for fun- TV goes off during the Fast.
2. Plan Mardi Gras party for the big girls- invite their fellow 'Little Flowers'
3. Invite guests over for dinner as much as possible. And then the house will be magically cleaner than usual
4. Print new booklets for church for special liturgies during the Great Fast.
5. Practice new songs for the Divine Liturgy and Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
6. Clean the fridge of non-fasting foods
7. Plan menus for the fast- be as vegan as possible.

WOW- These 'quick takes' were truly quick!
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16 comments:

  1. JenniferFebruary 4, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I look forward to future posts about Lent differences. That is very interesting! Aside from that I love the quick take about company = cleaner house. So true here too!!

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  2. DeannaFebruary 4, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    Love the quick takes and your blog is wonderful!

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  3. jenFebruary 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    hopefully pancakes are involved in this mardi gras season. (it's an anglican thing.)

    i'll have to see if i can find the veggie loaf generator that one of my orthodox friends sent me.

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  4. KellyFebruary 4, 2011 at 6:10 PM

    SO true about company/cleaning house. I always find myself going, "was that always there?"...about many things laying about. :)

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  5. Catherine AlexanderFebruary 5, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    Watching TV for fun is a good point. I often forget to enjoy during the feasting!

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  6. KassieFebruary 7, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    I would love to see some of the meal-plans! I'm also trying to go as vegan as possible during Lent, and frankly, it scares the living daylights out of me - but in a good way! :D

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  7. ElizabethFebruary 7, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    As we approach the Great Fast, I'd love to have you share some of your favorite fasting recipes. My family gets really tired of rice and beans!

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  8. priest's wife - S.T./ Anne Boyd February 7, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    posting meal plans....that's a good idea! As long as no one judges me too harshly- vegan every day is tough with little ones and also medical needs- but the goal is definitely meatless during Lent- vegan on Wed and Fri- Sundays are still Imperial feast days, but I still think I am going to go with meatless after church meals after Saturday evening and Sunday morning Divine Liturgies...does anyone have suggestions for 'simple' meatless bring-to-church-and-feed-20 to 50-people-meals? I'm thinking soup!

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  9. priest's wife - S.T./ Anne Boyd February 7, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    Elizabeth- I remember my mom using beans and rice (with some cumin and chili powder) and a meat substitute for tacos- the perfect meatless dinner- even better with cheese if you aren't going vegan that day.

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  10. amyFebruary 7, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    I too would love some vegan/veggie meal planning encouragement (Promise, no judging!) Fresh ideas are a godsend as the lenten season progresses- as Elizabeth said, rice and beans get old quickly.

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  11. jenFebruary 8, 2011 at 5:18 PM

    there are great vegetarian soups that one could make.

    there's also "pasta bake" which works if you can have dairy. it's pretty much lasagna, the cooked pasta of your choice on the bottom, a layer of cottage/ricotta cheese with spices, a layer of tomato sauce, and mozzerella cheese on top. a 9x13 pan serves about 10 people so you need maybe 3-4 pans?

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  12. JentoInfinityFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    I just saw this yesterday: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/white-bean-chili-jalapeno-bulgur-00000000019592/index.html

    Perfect for Wednesdays & Fridays :) I'm wondering if, after Lent, it might work with shrimp, chicken or pork... Well I mean, during Lent, shrimp is OK.

    I want to try to go meatless for Lent, but DH is not a fan. We do go meatless on Wednesdays and Fridays, but the other days are "free." Reading your post made me think of last year's Lent and I went digging for my post about it. http://rabbitandturtle.blogspot.com/2010/02/oh-yeah-its-lent.html I totally forgot about my STRANGE food on the first day (Monday)!

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  13. priest's wife - S.T./ Anne Boyd February 8, 2011 at 8:50 PM

    GREAT LINK- THANKS rabbit! I like chili of all kinds, but I usually just sort of make it- trying to grow up and use recipes :)

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  14. Pilgrims9February 9, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    I like these links for recipes ideas during the Great Fast...

    Molly Katzen (her Moosewood cookbook is one of my favorites):
    http://www.molliekatzen.com/archives.php

    Tons of great crock pot recipes, not all vegetarian or vegan, but most could be modified:
    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

    Orthodox Kitchen:
    http://www.orthodoxkitchen.com/

    The Post Punk Kitchen:
    http://www.theppk.com/recipes/

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  15. ElizabethFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    I tried to make my favorite butternut squash soup the other day with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I must say, it just wasn't the same. In fact, I didn't finish the batch. I just can't modify my usual recipes. I need to come up with entirely new ideas.

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  16. priest's wife - S.T./ Anne Boyd February 9, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Elizabeth- I always make broth from leftover chicken bones and use it as a base for most of my soups- so I agree! I need to find a YUMMY veggie base for soups

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