How can I make the upcoming lenten season a little quieter?

Unlike Great Lent, the Nativity fast falls during a period when many people are extra busy. It seems slightly more difficult to me to approach this season with due reverence and quietude, simply because there is so much to be done. (And there’s not nearly as much on my plate as there is for many others!)

In the interest of simplifying my life during this time, I plan to make extra lenten meals that can be frozen. There are two Wednesdays and two Fridays left before the fast begins for those of us on the new calendar, so why not use those opportunities to make double batches of food? I think I shall–and more besides.

Do you have a favorite lenten recipe that freezes well? Please share it!

This makes a right tasty breakfast. I don’t have exact measurements but I think it should go something like this:

1 cup quinoa, cooked
1/3 cup coconut milk*
1/3 cup crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon flaked coconut (optional)
1-2 teaspoons sugar (or your favorite sweetener)

Heat it up and eat it! Here you have protein, fruit, fiber, and pleasant eating.

* Some varieties of coconut milk contain added sugar or other ingredients. I use unsweetened, and not the lite version.

1 sweet potato, sliced thin
1/2 c. toasted coconut flakes
granulated sugar (optional)
salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange sweet potato slices on baking sheet. Spray them lightly with oil or water (you could also put a thin layer of honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, or something like that–the point is to make them moist enough for stuff to stick–but if you do, then forget the sugar). Sprinkle the slices with the toasted coconut, then sugar and salt to taste. Bake until they start to curl up or until they begin to brown, depending how crispy you want them.

I have trouble getting sweet potato chips to become crispy without burning some of them, so I usually just cook them till they’re soft. They’re great that way, too!

My friend Kris posted a great recipe in her blog. It offers a lot of what I love in this world: ease of assembly, spinach, red onions, and quinoa. I made a double batch of it tonight–yes, double, even though it was the first time I tried it, because I just had a hunch it was going to be a good one. And it is. And you have to try it, too. Thanks, Kris–this one’s a winner!

http://goodnessandgoodies.blogspot.com/2009/01/soup-glorious-soup.html

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a South American seed. It is high in protein (about 20%) and is also a complete protein. A serving (1/4 cup) contains seven grams of protein. It is gluten-free. It is easy to prepare and tastes great, with a pleasant mild nutty flavor. The texture is wonderful.

There are plenty of quinoa recipes to be found, but I’ve mostly been using it in place of rice. I like to add it to soups and stews. I also eat it for breakfast pretty frequently. It’s tasty just with the addition of a little maple syrup. I’ve been very quinoa-happy during the current lenten season (which is, unbelievably, almost at an end) and foresee eating lots more over the years.

If you haven’t discovered quinoa, you really should give it a try!

Please Note:
There seems to be some question as to whether or not regular gelatin is fast friendly, since it is an animal product. It’s not meat, milk, or eggs so I’m assuming it’s a go–but I wanted to point that out. Obviously, it’s not vegan! But there are vegan gelatins available.

my first attempt

Over the past couple of years, I’ve thought from time to time of trying my hand at making some homemade marshmallows. I saw Ina Garten do it on her Food  Network show and it looked pretty easy–and who could resist the beautiful, large, fluffy, fully customizable marshmallow she turned out in no time? Not I. But it was only a couple of months ago that I actually got up and did it. And it was easy.

Every year at Christmas, I make goodies to give to friends and family. This Christmas is no exception, but I wanted to do something a little different, and also something less expensive. Butter and eggs are not cheap! But guess what is? Sugar. And that’s basically what a marshmallow is made of. Also, since I have to mail some of these goodies to far off lands, marshmallows provide the added boon of lightness, which really helps to reduce my shipping costs.

But enough about my reasons. You, too, may require some kind of goody this season for a Christmas party, to give as gifts, or for some other occasion. If so, these marshmallows are great for many reasons–and they’re fast friendly to boot. So without further ado, you will need:

0.75 oz. (3 packages Knox brand) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup water
2 cup sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

You will also need a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. I don’t know how well hand-held beaters would work for this as I’ve never tried, but you’re welcome to use yours as the guinea pig and come back here and let me know!

Prepare a 9×9-inch pan with a layer of cling wrap that has been lightly oiled.

Put the 1/2 c. water in the bowl of the stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 c. water into a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Boil hard for about one minute. (Please note: A friend of mine has made these and said that she needed to boil it for several minutes in order to reach the correct temperature–which must be reached in order to make a proper marshmallow. Said temp is 234 degrees F, by the way, so you might bear that in mind!) Then pour the sugar mixture into the bowl with the gelatin. Add the salt and beat on high for 12 minutes. Then add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.

Pour the marshmallow goo into the prepared pan. Using a spatula that has been oiled is very helpful! Then cover the top with another piece of oiled cling wrap and press down to form a seal. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight, until the marshmallow is cooled and set.

Once it’s set, you can easily remove it from the pan and the plastic wrap. Use scissors to cut it into pieces, whatever size you like. And here’s a fancy trick: coat the marshmallow in powdered sugar (or, to make it a little less sweet–which is good!–mix equal parts of powdered sugar and corn starch) so it doesn’t stick to your hands. You’ll be sugaring it momentarily anyway! Once you cut a strip, coat it in the powdered sugar-corn starch mixture again and then you can cut the squares (or whatever shape you’re cutting) with ease. Then coat each piece in the powdered sugar-corn starch mixture again.

These marshmallows are great just this way. I like to put a little one in my coffee. I’m sure they’d be great in hot chocolate, too, or you could make s’mores with them, or really do anything you do with storebought marshmallows.

There are also a lot of variations you could make on this. You could dip them in caramel and/or chocolate* (semisweet would work best with the super sweet marshmallow, in my opinion). You could just drizzle the chocolate on (put them on a sheet of wax paper atop a cookie sheet and freeze until the chocolate is set). You could put toasted coconut on them. You could roll them in colored sugar, or crushed peppermint, or nuts. Or chocolate and nuts. You could replace the vanilla with something else like peppermint flavoring. Oh, the possibilities…!

By the way, the finished marshmallows can be frozen. They thaw quickly and are just as good after having been frozen as they were before.

* I don’t think there is such a thing as fast-friendly caramel. However, some semisweet chocolate chips are dairy-free, such as the Kroger brand (not Great Value, but the actual Kroger brand that comes in a white package with red and blue lettering). I’ve also heard tell that Trader Joe’s sells vegan chocolate chips.

Most potato soup recipes call for milk and usually butter–and certainly if they have the word “creamy” in the title! But this one doesn’t need any animal products at all to be creamy and flavorful. I’ve adapted this from a recipe I got from Alissa Wilkinson. You’ll need:

4-6 gold potatoes (you could use another kind but I like these for their texture)
3 leeks, chopped (the white part, y’all!)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
6 c. water or broth
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Put everything into a crock pot except for the kale and salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours or high for about 4. Then puree it all. An immersion blender works well for this purpose. Then add the kale. At this point, you could cook it in the crock pot for a while until the kale is done–or you could do what I did and dump it all into a pot on the stove, bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper and serve with a crusty bread.

- Four 10-oz. cans of baby clams
- Four 14.5-oz. cans of Italian style diced tomatoes
- Four 14-5 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 8 gold tomatoes, cubed
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup clam juice
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 drops hot pepper sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes, clams, clam juice, wine, sauces, and herbs in a large pot. Simmer about 30 minutes. Add vegetables and simmer 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, or cook in a crock pot on low for 6 to 8  hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

The gold potatoes have a great texture with this soup. It’s good fresh, but better the next day. This recipe makes a ginormous batch! Yes, I know this is not vegan because of the clams, but it is fast friendly.

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Manhattan-Style-Clam-Chowder/Detail.aspx

This is a recipe blog and nothing else. I don’t plan to post anything unrelated to food in it or make it a commentary on Orthodox fasting. But please bear with me for just one post that doesn’t include a recipe.

Although I call this Sans Soy Vegan, the aim here is to make a collection of recipes for the purpose of observing the two hundred or so fast days of each Orthodox year. Being a non-vegan convert, I am having to learn a new way of cooking in order to take part in the fasts.

But it’s not just a new way of cooking, it’s a new way of looking at food in general. It is relatively easy to avoid certain kinds of foods. Avoiding certain amounts of foods is an entirely different matter (I know I have completely defeated the purpose of fasting before by eating far too much of foods that are “allowed”)–and even more difficult is keeping one’s focus on prayer and meditation. I am constantly reminded during a fast of the reason why I am eating less and different foods, but it’s all too easy to let those thoughts be fleeting. Part of the problem is my own imagination and sloth. Another part, and a significant one, is the distractions of daily life. Things need to be cleaned, children need tending to–and I have to feed myself and my family. But it seems to me that during a fast, food should not be a focus. If it is, then what kind of fasting is it?

For someone who is new to Orthodox fasting, it takes time to learn how to put together foods that are palatable and inexpensive–hence, this blog. But I hope that over time, I will update here with less frequency until eventually I rarely or never post anything new, because I don’t need to think about it.

In the meantime, I hope others will find these recipes useful. I leave you with something from Blessed Seraphim:

Prayer, fasting, vigils, and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, certainly do not constitute the aim of our Christian life: they are but the indispensable means of attaining that aim. For the true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, vigils, prayer and almsgiving, and other good works done in the name of Christ, they are only the means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God. Note well that it is only good works done in the name of Christ that bring us the fruits of the Spirit.

–St. Seraphim of Sarov

Okay, here’s the deal: I roasted some kale in the morning. In the evening I made a variation of Rachael Ray’s sherry cherry tomatoes (I did it all on the stovetop and didn’t mess with the oven) and decided to toss in the leftover kale, along with some cannellini beans. The result, served over brown rice, was rather scrumptious. Rather than roasting the kale in advance, however, I think you could safely skip that step and just add fresh kale. You’ll need:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh kale
1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or dry sherry wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt

Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, and onions; cook for two or three minutes and then add the tomatoes, tossing them with the oil. Then add the sherry, sugar, pepper flakes, and salt. Toss again and cook for about 15 minutes. Then add the kale and beans and cook for another five minutes or so, or until the tomatoes sort of collapse. Serve over pasta or rice or as a side dish.

Here’s the original recipe from Rachael Ray: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/sherry-cherry-tomatoes-recipe/index.html

ETA: I used the leftovers the next day. I put them straight from the fridge onto sourdough bread with tuna and it was amazingly good. This is definitely a favorite! (I realize tuna is not vegan, but it is allowed on certain fast days.)