Ash Wednesday 2012

Today begins our 40 days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving in preparation for the celebration of Easter.


Last night we had a Shrove Tuesday/ Mardi Gras celebration of sourdough chocolate chip pancakes which the boys said tasted great!  And, unbelievable as it seems, I think their bellies were full!

Later this afternoon, after the two older boys return from serving Mass at the Sisters', we will be working on making a salt dough crown of thorns and putting together the the family altar.  I'm hoping to have a purposeful Lent this year.

With academics running smoothly and the boys done with most of their work by 1:00, I'd like to begin to use the afternoon time to focus more on the Liturgical Year.

Shrove Tuesday Pancakes (Real Food Style)

In the past, our Shrove Tuesday/ Mardi Gras meal was chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream.  However, with several of the family on a special diet, I need to revamp the meal plan for that day.  What I have come up with is a real food replacement that I hope will still make everyone excited.

Erin's sourdough pancakes are already a treat in this house, so I'm going to whip up several batches of these.  It's important when making this recipe not to double or triple or, in our case, quadruple the batch; but to make each batch separately.  This is because, once the baking soda is added, the batter fluffs up really nice and needs to be added to the pan right then.  Trust me on this one.

For the chocolate chips I'm going to use this recipe from  Whole New Mom for homemade chocolate chips.

Then, I'm going to whip up some organic heavy cream with a touch of honey.  Or, if I have time, homemade triple vanilla ice cream.

What are your Shrove Tuesday plans?  I'd love to hear about them in the comment box.  

Preparing for Lent

We are a little over a week away from Lent.  I've started some preparations, but, as always, there is so much to do and not nearly enough time.

The children and I have begun discussing what they are going to 'give up'.  As usual, we always get the child who says, "I'm giving up cleaning my room." This year it was Bella.  I just smile because the little ones don't know that this joke is probably centuries old.

After all the giggling dies down, we talk about the reasons why we give things up.  Does God really need us to give up candy or computer time?  Eventually,  through questioning, I can pull out the answer that, no, God does not need us to give up these things, WE need us to give up these things, these creatures.  Because drawing closer to God means pulling further away from the world.  By mortifying the flesh, we become stronger and better able to choose God's Will in our lives.  I try to guide them to give up something that hurts a little.  Next week they will write it down on a piece of paper and place it near the crucifix... a symbol of their little gift to Our Lord.

For the little ones, a really great Lenten tradition is to make a crown of thorns with salt dough and toothpicks.  As little sacrifices are made, one of the thorns is removed from the crown.  The goal is to have removed all the thorns by Holy Thursday.  We'll be working on that project toward the end of the week and I'll try to post pictures and a recipe.

Also on my 'to do' list is to compose a Lenten menu plan.  On most evenings of the rest of the year, our meal consists of a soup course, main course, cheese course and on feast days, an occasional dessert.  During Lent, there will be only one course and I will focus on soups, bread and cheese.  It is always hard for me to not only cut back on the variety in eating, but also the variety in the cooking.  One of my pleasures in life is creativity in the kitchen.  Giving up the creative for the mundane will be one of my mortifications.

I hope to post my menu plan once it is in place.  My goal is to have a two week rotation for Lent.  I'll be relying heavily on two of my favorite cookbooks: Sacred Feasts: From a Monastery Kitchen& The Pure Joy of Monastery Cooking: Essential Meatless Recipes for the Home Cook.

Genetics or Behavior?

Here is an interview with Dr. Terry Wahl.  She helped to reverse her MS with diet.  It's a very interesting watch.