I don’t usually give much thought to the day before Ash Wednesday– my mind and my plans have already wandered into Lent itself. But this year I made an effort to research some traditional foods for this celebratory Tuesday. Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the last day of Carnevale– no matter what you call … More A little Indulgence from Italy
February is a strange month. Sometimes it brings a taste of spring, sometimes a return to winter with a vengeance. Today it is cold– almost colder than it’s been all winter– but the sun is shining fiercely, and somewhere nearby, birds are singing. Have they seen singing all winter, without my notice? Or do they, … More Birdsong and Cream Buns: small winter delights
In many Christian traditions, Good Friday is a day of fasting. The extent of the fast varies, but in our family we eat a small breakfast (usually hot cross buns) and then nothing until the evening, breaking our fast with soup and fresh bread (and more hot cross buns.) It is a day of quiet, … More Breaking our Good Friday fast
Mushrooms are a food that, for me, speak directly of the earth. Though not technically in season right now, there is a something in their earthy brown shapes and flavors that lends itself well to Lenten foods. They seem to combine the hope of growth and the delight of unexpected bounty with the somber frugality … More The small miracle of a mushroom
Long ago in England (and still in Hereford) clergymen would distribute “pax cakes” to their parishioners at the end of Palm Sunday services, with the words “peace and good neighborhood.” The idea was for neighbors to end disputes and quarrels before Holy Week began. Sometimes they were small fried pancake-like treats, and sometimes they were … More Palm Sunday: peace, good neighborhood, and sweets.
During my search for Lenten foods, I discovered a wonderful, simple bean soup called fasolada (fassolatha). Sometimes called the national dish of Greece, it dates back to Ancient times, and has sustained the people of that nation throughout history. It is a common dish on Greek tables and a Lenten staple. Simplicity is central to … More Ancient food and thoughts on Lent
In the past few years, I’ve developed a ritual of baking bread during Lent. Not only does a loaf of fresh bread round out a simple meal nicely, but baking bread has become a study in mindfulness for me. It is necessarily a slow process; laborious enough that the finished product begs attention, awareness, gratitude. … More Irish Soda Bread, two ways.
“Potaje de garbanzos y espinacas,” from Claudia Roden’s The food of Spain, is “the Castilian version of a thick soup that is eaten in many parts of Spain during Lent, when it is known as garbanzos de vigilia (meaning ‘chickpeas of abstinence’).” With bread and a salad (not pictured), it is a simple yet special meal. … More Greens, eggs, and the first signs of spring.
In Due Season 