Bloody Mary Shrimps

Finding exciting ways to prepare shrimps as we wind down
our Lenten journey has been a challenge. Pinterest has an amazing variety of tastes and levels of skill for cooking. Yesterday I stumbled across this recipe for a spicy version of shrimp that made some sense.

They look tasty don't they? 

Bloody Mary Shrimps:

Marinate a pound of large raw shrimps in

1tbl chili powder

1t garlic powder

1t salt

1/2 t smoked paprika

1/2 t chipotle powder

Pinch of pepper

3 tbl honey

2 tbl vodka

1 tbl ketchup

1 tbl Worcestershire

1/2 tbl Tabasco

2 tbl olive oil

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

Marinate for a few hours. Grill on a hot grill pan till just pink then turn and finish (about 3-4 mins). Remove from pan as not to overcook. Spicy, tangy and delicious. 

Still plugging along....Lenten wise

Not too much to post about with the simple meals we have been eating for Lent lately. Our usual Wednesday Potlucks have been hijacked by the Pan Orthodox celebrations which makes it tough to even post about the Potluck foods. we have not been able to attend most of the Pan Orthodox stuff due to work schedules and I hate to go alone. I rarely know many folks there anymore.

So our diet lately consists of, besides buckets of boiled shrimp, mostly odds and ends. We are odds and ends eaters due to random leftovers and scarcity of foods. Last night I wasn't all that hungry and very tired for some reason, I napped hard. Bread, left over pasta, edamame and a glass of milk was all about I could muster (the milk is not even Lenten). Brenda ate the pasta, I ate the rest. we are at the halfway point though and that makes it easier to see the finish line so sorry about the lack of blog interest but as our diet improves so will the posts....

Boons and Busts

We have been eating a lot of seafood and we are looking for ways to change it up a bit. Last night our usual Salmon was kicked up a notch with the addition of some Dill Sauce. Brenda likes Dill but I am not a huge fan. This recipe brought us together though.

1/2 c mayo (we used light version)
1/2 sour cream (we used light version)
1 Tbl dill weed chopped fine
1 Tbl onion chopped fine
1/4 t garlic salt
1 tsp Horse radish
1 Tbl Lemon juice 

Mix all and allow to sit in the fridge for a bit. Mighty tasty on fresh grill salmon.

For the shrimp I wanted a better cocktail sauce. I watched Heartland Table and found this.

1/2 large sweet onion minced
2 tablespoons of coriander seeds toasted and ground
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 t dry

2 cups whole canned Plum tomatoes pulsed in a processor
1 bay leaf
zest of 1/2 lemon and juice
3-4 tablespoons of horseradish
4 shakes of cayenne
4 teaspoons of sugar

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and saute the onions until coppery brown. Add the ground coriander and thyme and stir. Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered till the tomatoes thicken and darken. Add the lemon juice, zest and horseradish, sugar and cayenne.  Cool to room temperature.

I found this a little blah so we added about 1/4 c Sriacha and some salt. That really brought it.

Prayer Ropes...Spiritual Survivor Bracelets

I have been asked to teach my altar servers how to tie prayer ropes at their retreat this weekend so I have been busy prepping the material and brushing up my knotting skills. We are going to use parachute cord I picked up at the Army Surplus store as it is popular these days to make survivor bracelets out of this material. What better use to employ this material for our spiritual survival?
The boys are ages 10 to 16, eager yet inattentive struggling to stay focused for the services and generally missing nearly every cue for their next task. The are well meaning and this retreat will give me and Fr. Alex a chance to define certain aspects of the service and how he needs them to behave, where to stand and other generalities of altar service. There is no sitting down up there and it can be a bit tedious for them. There is lots of stuff to get them in trouble and things to fuss with including charcoal and smokey incense as well as open flame. The temptation and potential for distraction is great so someone has to keep them in line. Traditionally, fathers would serve and guide the boys but a lot of the converts lack the experience so the role falls to me. A poorly prepared and behaved crew up there makes for a distracting service for all.
So the first order of business will be to teach the prayer used with the ropes. Not nearly as complicated as the rosary in the Western church, the simple Jesus prayer is repeated throughout the process if tying the knots and then using the rope. It goes thus: "O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
The ropes are a complicated process of finger knitting that produces a round knot of crosses pretty much impossible to untie. Legend has it that an angel taught a monk the knot to confound the Devil who would untie the monk's knots which he used to track his prayer rule. This knot made it impossible for the Devil to undo.
I am hoping the boys won't find this too lame as teenagers are wont to do.

PS

OK,  I wrote this before the retreat. We met on Saturday for what must have been a long time for the boys, about 5 hours. We discovered somethings about them and about us. Father has the patience of Job, I do not. The prayer rope exercise was a disaster and they could not make it through the first few steps and pretty much could have cared less.

We discovered the areas the need to be brought up to speed including the basic terminology of altar objects, that they have no clue as to what the priest is doing pretty much at any given time. It's going to be a while before they come up to speed. I have two new guys, one of them post college who helped me chant the vesper service so he will be a big help. The boys were pretty excited about reading/ chanting the Epistle but none of them tried it on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Great Lent and eating.....or not eating

Our focus this year has really not been much about food as food is not the focus of Lent but it tends to shadow us a bit as we struggle to maintain our energy for the workday and be spiritual at the same time. Brenda calls it eating "junk" but by that she means healthy tidbits of what's in the fridge that includes a lot of shrimp, asparagus and veggies, humus and baba ganoush.  I have been making a real effort to eat healthy this Lent as well as maintain a low carb, Mediterranean diet as best I can.

Being meatless is hardly noticeable but it is hard not to fill up on carby foods as a substitute and you find yourself with a box of crackers or some other nonsense before you realize.

I bought about 20 pounds of shrimp at Wal-Mart because they had very large shrimp on sale for a very good price. I have boiled them, roasted them and will eventually saute them as I grow weary of the fare. I keep 2 pounds of boiled shrimps in the fridge for easy snacking. They practically have no calories and are low in fat. We also bought Cod which I have added to a large pot of gumbo (a little spicy for the older set, oops.) that went over well at Pre Sanctified liturgy. I also baked a loaf of Prosphora for the service. Its hard to keep that from going in my mouth too.

All in all we had almost finished the second week, I am losing a bit of weight or at least a inch or two around the middle, always a sign of a successful fast.  Time to get some serious recipes out and spice things up a bit so I see some dirty shrimp in our future as well as some pasta. We have been good so far in laying off the stuff but meals are getting tedious so...

Lenten Treat

Looking for things to keep me somewhat sated during this first week of Lent, I found small packs of Edamame that can be nuked at work and eaten. I love these little bean pods but they can be a bit bland so....a sauce is in order.
How about a little treat from Hiro's here in Omaha. They make a great spicy Edamame.

1/4 c soy sauce
1 Tbl brown sugar
1/4 c rice vinegar
healthy squirt of Siracha
1 tbl Garlic chili paste
1 tbl toasted Sesame oil

A short burst in the microwave to melt the sugar and stir it in then I poured a few teaspoons over my hot Edamame.  Hot, sweet, spicy and delicious.  Its pretty close to the original.

Good Questions...good answers

WHY DO WE FAST SO OFTEN?

 

 

 

By Fr. Stephen Ziton 

 

 

 

Let’s begin by taking a look at what happens when we do not keep the fast. In Genesis 3 we learn of the fall of Adam and Eve, and how their failure to keep the fast when they ate the forbidden fruit was a sin (i.e., love of their own will more than the will of God) which caused mankind to be expelled from paradise and perfect union with the Creator. Why would we want to mimic the original sin?

Our bodies and our souls are connected in such a way that the actions of our bodies articulate the attitudes of our souls. Prayer is not just a function of the soul alone. We see this phenomenon often in the Scriptures. In Luke, when the Samaritan leper gave thanks for his healing, he did more than just say words, he “fell down on his face at [Jesus’] feet” (9:16). Later, in chapter 18, the Publican praying in the temple was so full of sorrow, he would not even look in the direction of the heavens, but cast his eyes down and smote his breast while praying for mercy. And it is more than mere coincidence that we prostrate when we say the prayer of St. Ephraim during Great Lent, “O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. . . .”

All of the Holy Fathers of the Church, as well as many of the saints from both the Old and New Testament, practiced fasting, including Christ Himself. In fact, Jesus also taught that certain forms of evil could not be conquered without it (Matt 17:21).

Father Thomas Hopko reminds us that man does not fast because it pleases God if His servants do not eat, for, as the Lenten hymns of the Church tell us, “the devil also never eats.” Neither do we fast in order to afflict ourselves with suffering and pain, for God takes no pleasure in the discomfort of His people. But we fast only to gain mastery over ourselves and to conquer the passions of the flesh.

If I may insert a personal note here, fasting helps me on several levels. First, when I cannot have any amount of meat or dairy, my body reminds me. My lack of contentment with what I eat is something of which I am continually aware. But this helps me become more focused in prayer because my sensitivities have not been dulled by foods that satisfy. Also, it gives my spirituality a realistic barometer that lets me know where I am with my faith. It’s easy to use the verbiage of an addict (“I can begin the fast anytime I want to”) because we are all addicted to food to various degrees. But it is a very practical dilemma with which we have to come to grips meal after meal. For example, do I love the Big Mac more than I love the Lord and doing his will? Is there any real harm to that cup of cappuccino? After all, God is going to have to forgive me of much bigger sins than eating a cheese sandwich. Excuses are never very far away.

It can be easy to justify not participating in the fast to your greatest ability if that is your desire. If you’ve never done it, it’s hard to describe what you’re missing. But it’s a great first step to growing as a Christian. Fasting can be a lot easier when it is viewed not as an end in itself, but as something which aids in our repentance. So, ask your Spiritual Father to give guidance if you’ve never fasted before. Avoiding the foods from which the Church asks us to abstain is easier if you replace them by increasing worthy activities like self-examination, works of love, giving to the poor, prayer, reading the Scriptures and the Fathers, and refraining from gossip. If you are only avoiding certain foods and aren’t doing those things which edify, then you are not really fasting; you’re just on some kind of weird diet. The bottom line is Christ fasted (Matt 4) and taught His disciples to fast (Matt 6, Mk 2). Are you participating as best as you can ...? Are you one of His disciples?

Fr. Stephen is pastor of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Wichita, KS. 

 

Word Magazine  March 2000 Page 14 

Cheese and Onion Enchiladas

We have been purchasing enchiladas from a lady at Brenda's work. They are spectacular.

You know me? I can't leave this alone. I had to make my own after tasting her Cheese and Onion Enchiladas. The first task is to make enchilada sauce. No, you can't buy it, you must make it there is no comparison.

For the Sauce:

Dried Chili's, stems removed.   I used New Mexico and Guajillo Chili's, about 20 or so total.
water, a quart
salt to taste
1/2 t Oregano
Beef bullion or beef stock

Place the chili's on a baking sheet and roast (toast) at 400 degrees till fragrant. It does not take long, don't burn them.
Meanwhile boil the water. After the chili's come out of the oven, throw them in the boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes or so till they are soft.  Process them in a food processor or blender till smooth adding the 'tea' from the boil to thin them out. It took about 2 cups.

Once well pureed, strain the mix over a bowl and press to remove the liquid and have nothing but pulp left. Discard the pulp.


To this puree, thin if necessary and add the bullion (if using),  oregano and salt. (I did not use salt as the bullion is salty enough. ) Taste and correct the seasoning. It should taste pretty good by now. The consistency I had was like thin cream.Yields about 2 cups.

For the Enchiladas:

1 large onion, chopped medium fine
2 T olive oil
8-10 flour tortillas (I used low carb)
8 ounces total (maybe more) of fresh grated Cheddar and Monterrey Jack. 

 Saute the onions till they pick up some color. Set aside.  Spread some of the sauce out into a shallow pan. Coat both sides of the tortilla with sauce (it will be thin) and then 1/4 to 1/2 c of cheese mix and top with a heaping tablespoon of the onions.  Roll them up tight.  I placed these in a greased rectangular casserole. Topped with a bit of cheese.  Reserve the left over sauce for your next adventure.

Bake at 350 for 10 or 15 minutes till the cheese melts and is bubbly.

The redder the dried chili, the redder the sauce. I used very dark red chili's so the sauce is browner. Notice there is not tomato or anything else in the sauce, its pretty basic and very tasty.

H1N1 and the Human Condition...a sad conclusion

We went to see Greg last night, to look at him, touch him and be with the continuing vigil of support that surrounds him like a favorite worn blanket after the massive stroke that took him away. Brenda had been up the night before and met most of the Omaha Police Department that Greg worked with who have a brotherhood not unlike the military, leaving no man behind.

We did not see Vanessa last night as she probably hunkered down with the kids who are the worst collateral damage to what has happened. Imagine trying to explain the unimaginable to some children when you can't believe it yourself. Heartbreaking.

A lot of the gals have already made plans to be there for Vanessa over the next few weeks and months to help her through the worst of it but does it ever get better?  Especially after seeing him last night. I have smoked a few cigars with Greg in the past and listened to some of his stories (and there were many) and I saw no difference in the ICU bed. Here lies a guy, large in stature, healthy looking despite the medical hardware, warm and robust. No wonder this is hard to explain, he literally looks asleep. They will harvest his graciously donated organs today and the lucky recipients will have a part of this genuine fellow to carry on but leaves the rest of us wondering....what just happened here?

Great Lent...the beginning

We are close to starting Great Lent as we do every year. Not something we look forward to but once into it it seems to be a natural cycle and we don't ever mind participating. For us that means no meat for the next 4-6 weeks as well as a break from dairy and eggs if we can manage.

An increase in services and attendance to the church, Friday night Fish Fry's (even though, technically, fish is not on the menu during most of lent), scouring the ads for sales on shrimp and seafood and creative vegetarian dishes or adjustments to our regular fair to make dishes vegetarian.  We have been collecting recipes for the last few weeks since it is always nice to have something different for the Potlucks.

This year, I'm a bit anxious as we have a new priest and I am hoping we use the same books. I like those services but if history is any indication, it will be nothing like our past Wednesdays.  So a new year, a new Lent and a season of repentance and fasting in the near future but we have our parish friends and family to get us along.