Recipes for Lent

[CatholicSam]

As for the lobster, it could be a good idea if someone’s wedding anniversary or birthday or something landed on a Lenten Friday and they wanted something special.

 

[Orogeny]

Guiness, like any stout, becomes extremely bitter when cooked with.

I didn’t know that. I suppose it must be the dark crystal malts.

Oh well, I guess we will just have to drink it instead of cooking with it! Darn!

Peace

Tim

 

[samcarter14]

Y’all need to try doing the Eastern Catholic Lent. Seriously, it’ll make eating fish on Fridays look downright gluttonous.
Throughout the year, we abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, in memory of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. Then during Lent, there are different degrees of fasting, according to my spiritual director:

1. THE MINIMAL DEGREE:

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE LIGHT DEGREE:

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE MODERATE DEGREE

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
c. Mid Lent week: abstain from meat all week.
d. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE CONSERVATIVE DEGREE

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. All during Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE STRICT DEGREE

a. All during Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs.)
b. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

We generally do something along the lines of the Moderate Degree; Wednesdays and Fridays we fast from all animal products, including fish. The other days of the week we abstain from meat and eggs. I include dairy in my diet because my body doesn’t like soy or gluten, so I cannot eat bread. My husband can subsist on peanut butter sandwiches.

So some of the vegan meals I make during Lent might be:

Corn-potato chowder, made with a bit of soymilk or just with creamed corn (from a can) and vegetable broth;

Lentil shepherd’s pie (instead of beef, use cooked lentils mashed well with seasonings and mixed with vegetables)

Veggie burgers

Tofu-veggie stirfry with rice (kids love tofu, they’re weird )

Spaghetti with vegetarian sauce

Taquitos with refried beans inside

 

[basilisk]

Holy macaroni! Who ever thought we’d be able to be thankful for the LAXITY of the Roman Church?

 

[Phemie]

We love this super simple middle eastern rice & lentil dish.
herbivoracious.com/2007/10/recipe-mujadara.html

I serve it plated with a simple salad of chopped cuke and tomato marinated in lemon juice with a sprinke of salt. My Dh is a diehard carnivore, but he loves this. The onions are what make the dish.

Oh man, now I can’t wait for Lent!!

 

[LilyM]

I do a fair bit of pasta with vegetable - based sauces (cheesy mushroom sauce, pesto made from basil or arugula (rocket), or a very spicy tomato sauce). Not just during Lent, mind you.

If I’m craving some protein, I’ll get a good brand of tuna canned in extra-virgin olive oil and mix that in with it - goes especially well with the pesto.

 

[loved]

We are every Friday of the year abstainers. I’m always in need of new vegetarian meal ideas. Thanks to everyone for sharing them.

To those of you who are Eastern Rite Catholics. God bless you for giving so much. I can’t imagine sacrificing all those things for six weeks. May you be blessed for your great love.

 

[Spots]

We do lots of meat-less spaghetti/lasagna, or tomato soup/grilled cheese.

Although I’m preg this year, so I don’t have to fast, lol! I’d like to fast from meat on fri at least, though, but still need to run it past my ob

 

[happymommy]

Y’all need to try doing the Eastern Catholic Lent. Seriously, it’ll make eating fish on Fridays look downright gluttonous.
Throughout the year, we abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, in memory of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. Then during Lent, there are different degrees of fasting, according to my spiritual director:

1. THE MINIMAL DEGREE:

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE LIGHT DEGREE:

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE MODERATE DEGREE

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
c. Mid Lent week: abstain from meat all week.
d. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE CONSERVATIVE DEGREE

a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. All during Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

1. THE STRICT DEGREE

a. All during Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs.)
b. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.

We generally do something along the lines of the Moderate Degree; Wednesdays and Fridays we fast from all animal products, including fish. The other days of the week we abstain from meat and eggs. I include dairy in my diet because my body doesn’t like soy or gluten, so I cannot eat bread. My husband can subsist on peanut butter sandwiches.

So some of the vegan meals I make during Lent might be:

Corn-potato chowder, made with a bit of soymilk or just with creamed corn (from a can) and vegetable broth;

Lentil shepherd’s pie (instead of beef, use cooked lentils mashed well with seasonings and mixed with vegetables)

Veggie burgers

Tofu-veggie stirfry with rice (kids love tofu, they’re weird )

Spaghetti with vegetarian sauce

Taquitos with refried beans inside

I’m glad you listed some of the things you cook, because all I kept thinking was, Man, they must eat twigs and berries during Lent!

 

[Feanor]

But my true favorite Lent food is anchovy pizza!

Yum,
tee

Now you’re talking. Problem is I love it so much I wouldn’t feel penitential!

 

[samcarter14]

I’m glad you listed some of the things you cook, because all I kept thinking was, Man, they must eat twigs and berries during Lent!

Heh. We were once vegans for years, and the strict abstinence is basically a vegan diet (sans oil in some rites, not all rites prohibit the use of oil). It’s not too hard for DH; harder for me because I can’t eat bread or pasta.

 

[KCtheMommy]

We do lots of meat-less spaghetti/lasagna, or tomato soup/grilled cheese.

Although I’m preg this year, so I don’t have to fast, lol! I’d like to fast from meat on fri at least, though, but still need to run it past my ob

Chances are you’ll be fine without meat. I have given up meat every Friday during Lent pregnant, breastfeeding or not.

Vegetarians and vegans have babies too!

 

[redrosetea]

Cheddar Ale Soup is our favorite Lent recipe. Typically it calls for a chicken broth base but vegetable broth works fine. I saw last year some guy’s website about being able to use chicken broth during Lent as it’s not the flesh, but I don’t feel right on that. So I stick to veggie broth.

Cheddar Ale Soup
3TBSP Butter
1 Onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 Medium carrots, chopped
1 bottle pale ale (don’t use Guinness Stout, it’s way too bitter)
1 14.5oz can chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half and half
3/4lb Shredded sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste
Crushed crackers

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until onions are soft.
Add beer and broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.
Puree mixture in blender and blend in small batches until smooth. Return blended soup to saucepan and add half & half. Heat until steaming (don’t boil) then whisk in cheese a handful at a time making sure each addition is melted before adding the next.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add tabasco to your liking (it’s the tabasco that makes the dish).
Serve with crushed crackers.

sounds good but we can’t have chicken broth…and cream of mushroom soup has chicken stock in it too

 

[puzzleannie]

DH is vegetarian mostly and I already eat fish 4-5 times a week, and heavy on the veggies most of the time, so penance does not really enter into it, but some of my favorites when I did have to cook family meals (favorite for me means easy to make, affordable, and kids will eat it)

crabmeat casserole is a nice party dish if you want to bring something to make sure there is a meatless entree.

uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice mix prepared according to package directions. I used a frozen real crabmeat product about 8 oz, just added on top of rice so it was thawed by the time the rice was ready. add frozen petite peas or mixed peas and carrots about a 10 oz box. works best of you cook them separately and gently mix in so they don’t get too mushy, very pretty. you put it all in a greased casserole, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dots of butter and brown for 8 minutes or so if it is for a party, or just serve it out of the pot for family. with a fruit cup, salad or slaw pretty good meal for 4 people, or side for 8 people.

tuna tetrazzini–fetuccine or spaghetti cooked and drained, jar of alfredo sauce, or just butter and grated parmesan, tuna drained (or cooked tuna steak if you are splurging), cooked chopped broccoli, mix in casserole and bake just until heated through and starting to bubble. add a small jar of diced pimento to make it prettier

fish chowder–pound of any white fish cooked lightly until it flakes, or simply add frozen filets to a quart of canned vegetarian broth or your own stock. add a can of clams, drained, if you want to be more authentic. about 2 cups of frozen hash browns (the shredded kind not the little cubes), can of creamed corn, I like to saute chopped leeks in butter until soft and starting to brown, and sprinkle on top of each bowl. you can just add chopped green onions and parsley for a bit of green color (or not if your kids are allergic to anything green). If you like mushrooms add a can. bring it all just to simmering, do not boil, cook for 20 minutes or so, until potatoes are soft and fish is flaky. Do not omit the 1/2 to one cup of cream or at least half and half. there is no point in even bothering to make it otherwise. Add it about 5 minutes before serving just to warm through. I also like to add one carrot, grated about 10 minutes before it is done, just for some color.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Now you’re talking. Problem is I love it so much I wouldn’t feel penitential!

“If Jesus didn’t want us to eat anchovy pizza on Fridays, why did he print little fishes on the calendar?”


tee

 

[ChristinaM]

I go meatless every Friday too. Last year I went totally meatless for Lent and it was a very enlightening experience. I would like to do it again but I don’t want to inflict my penance on my non-Catholic DH…so I will have to try something else.

I make a mean homemade French onion soup. Paula Deen’s recipe on Foodnetwork.com is a good simple recipe. There’s nothing better, or simpler, on a cold winter night than a bowl of French onion soup with melted cheese. Although, I didn’t realize we weren’t to use meat broths on Fasting days. Seems like I had read somewhere you could. But I’ll use veggie broth from now on!

Other favorite recipes:
Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pasta
This is a Friday night recipe of my and DH’s invention. Very tasty!
1/2 lb pasta (penne and bowties work well with this)
4 oz. goat cheese crumbles
5 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly
1 bag of pre-washed spinach
1 tbsp. olive oil
Italian spice blend, to taste
Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente, and drain. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic until well browned. (Real caramelizing is over low heat…usually I cheat and crank up the burner.) Season the onions with a pinch or two of the spice blend and salt and pepper. After onions are done, put a few handfuls of spinach in the same skillet and continue cooking until the spinach is wilted. Combine the onions, spinach and pasta in a large bowl. Fold in the goat cheese. Season to taste and serve.

The goat cheese will get all nice and melty from the residual heat of the pasta and vegetables. It’s delicious!
**
Chipotle Black Bean Chili **
(From a vegetarian cookbook I have. Black beans are an excellent meat substitute, most nutritious and filling. DH calls this “vegetable stew” because he insists there is no such thing as a meatless chili. He eats it anyway, so I humor him.)
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans diced green chiles, drained (you can replace the tomatoes and chiles with 2 cans of Ro-Tel, if you desire, but adjust the chili powder and chipotle peppers to your own heat requirements. )
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced finely
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 chipotle peppers, diced (These come in a can as “chipotles in adobo sauce”, can be found in the Mexican section of your grocery store)
1-2 tbsp chili powder

In a large soup or stock pot, saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes, black beans, corn, chiles, and chipotles. Season with chili powder and salt, and adjust the spices to you/your family’s taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with cornbread. This tastes even better the next day!

 

[tee_eff_em]

Although, I didn’t realize we weren’t to use meat broths on Fasting days. Seems like I had read somewhere you could. But I’ll use veggie broth from now on!

Depends on who you are (or: Whom do you mean by we?).

The case can certainly be made that meat broths are allowed to Latin Rite Catholics, eg by Jimmy Akin.

tee

 

[samcarter14]

For French Onion soup, you’re better off using a mushroom broth than a veggie broth, to make it vegetarian. I’ve done this and it tastes wonderful. I can’t remember the mushroom stock base I used, though. I think it was called “Better than Bouillon” and I found it at a higher-end grocery store.

The mushroom stock will give the soup the color and better flavor than a veggie stock.

 

[ChristinaM]

Depends on who you are (or: Whom do you mean by we?).

The case can certainly be made that meat broths are allowed to Latin Rite Catholics, eg by Jimmy Akin.

tee

I’m a Latin Rite Catholic. I had read that Jimmy Akin article before, but redrosetea’s comment threw me for a loop. I can understand not eating chicken noodle soup on a fasting day, but chicken and beef broths are the base for many otherwise meatless dishes. (And I can’t imagine getting any farther from the cow than that instant beef broth stuff! ) I guess I’ll have to do some more research on that.

Mushroom broth sounds like a great idea for French onion soup! Whenever DH and I use dried mushrooms in a recipe, we save the liquid that we used to reconstitute the mushrooms and use it to cook with. We like to do this with risotto and mushroom soup. It’s very flavorful indeed.