Fasting Recipes in the Orthodox Church

[Akathist]

In time I hope we can have a good recipe list to help us in planning for fasting days and seasons.

This is a blending of five old threads together so there is duplicates. If someone notices a duplicate recipe, please send me a pm with a link so I can delete it.

Over time I hope to alphabetize the recipes and add links to them here in the OP so that all one would have to do is come to the OP and click on a link.

Please feel free to add recipes to this thead. It is a sticky now but when Lent is over it goes back into the Library but we can add to it anytime there too.

 

[Theophorus]

PS I forgot to mention soy sauce. Put it in the gravy.

Yes soy sauce! I had forgotten that it existed. There is hope.

 

[vanshan]

Vegetarian Gravy--makes everything (noodles, rice, tofu, etc.) taste better.

Melt a 2-3 tablespoons of non-dairly margerine, or olive oil on oil days, in skillet. Mix in 2 tablespoons of flour until a smooth paste forms. Slowly mix in 1 cup of vegetable broth. Bring to simmer and stir constantly until thickens.


I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.
- Erma Bombeck

I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.
- Anonymous

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat.
- Jim Davis

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
- Fran Liebowitz

 

[Mary of Bethany]

LOL! Yesterday I was going through my low-carb cookbook & a Lenten cookbook before I went to buy groceries, and my husband said I needed to write my own cookbook - "Lenten Cookbook for Orthodox Low-Carbers"! My response, was, "yeah, sure - for all 10 of us in the world"!

 

[Prawnik]

Here is a resource for y'all:

http://vegweb.com/

Lotso Lenten recipes to be found, as well as wonders such as the "tofurky". The less said about this, the better.

 

[Wiffey]

LOL! Yesterday I was going through my low-carb cookbook & a Lenten cookbook before I went to buy groceries, and my husband said I needed to write my own cookbook - "Lenten Cookbook for Orthodox Low-Carbers"! My response, was, "yeah, sure - for all 10 of us in the world"!

Directions in such a book might look like this: "Go to the bank and withdraw life savings. Then go to seafood counter to purchase lent-approved seafood. This will end up being the approximate cost of GNP of Bolivia."

Low carb Lent seems both difficult and costly!
I wish you luck

 

[Momzilla]

Anyone want a recipe for sweet potato burritos? They're yummy, I promise.

 

[Matrona]

LOL! Yesterday I was going through my low-carb cookbook & a Lenten cookbook before I went to buy groceries, and my husband said I needed to write my own cookbook - "Lenten Cookbook for Orthodox Low-Carbers"! My response, was, "yeah, sure - for all 10 of us in the world"!

LOL, you've obviously never been to coffee hour at my parish. A substantial portion, if not all of it, is low-carb, no matter who provides, because so many of us are low-carbing it. And everyone puts Splenda in their coffee. Fast period low-carb coffee hours are rough, but not impossible.

 

[ufonium2]

Speaking of tofurkey, has anyone tried chreese? I had shells and "cheddar chreese" today for lunch and it was actually not the worst macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted. I didn't have to force myself to eat it, which makes it by far the best vegan food substitue I've ever had.

 

[Momzilla]

it was actually not the worst macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted.

Now there's a ringing endorsement.

 

[Wiffey]

Yup. Makes me want to run right out to the store and pick me up a box...

 

[walking.away.123]

Anyone want a recipe for sweet potato burritos? They're yummy, I promise.

Yes!

 

[vanshan]

Peanut Sauce:

1/3 cup peanut butter (natural is best)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup water
ground cayenne pepper to taste
green onions, sliced

Mix all ingredients, except green onions, thoroughly. Heat in microwave 30 seconds. Add green onions Serve on top of noodles, pasta, or even chicken.

I had this yesterday and, in keeping with the spirit of this thread, it didn't make me completely ill.

Basil

 

[Momzilla]

Here ya go... this makes a lot, so you'll have extra to freeze. Even my non-veggie husband loves this.

1 big can candied yams
2 Tb. oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
Hot chili powder to taste (I use at least a Tb.)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
Water
Salt & pepper to taste, and maybe some tabasco.

Drain the yams and rinse of most off the yucky syrup. Leave some on if you want a stronger sweet flavor in the dish (the sweet/spicy combo is what makes this so yummy). Saute the onions & garlic in the oil until tender. Add chili powder and saute one minute more. Add the yams, smooshing them with a fork or the back of a spoon. Add enough water to make a thick paste. Add the black beans and heat through. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and tabasco.

Serve in flour tortillas with salsa (and, on non-fast days, cheese and sour cream).

You can also make this with fresh sweet potatoes that you boil yourself, but the canned version is a lot quicker, so that's generally what I do.

 

[xenia]

Tofurky is just awful. Just awful.

::: Xenia shudders at some memories :::

 

[xenia]

My thoughts on fasting:

I went to a health food store looking for stuff for the fast. As always, I was tempted to by various soy analogs... fake chicken wings, manufactured psueudo-bacon and the like. These things are expensive and seemed to me to take away from the meaning of the fast. It seems to me that the simplest food is the best: rice, beans, bread, tortillas, peanut butter, plain fruit and veggies, water, coffee and tea. And plain soymilk and tofu. Potatoes. Nuts.

Just my opinion!

-Xenia

 

[vanshan]

I agree with Xenia . . . if it looks like chicken, tastes sort of like chicken, then it's probably tofu . . . er . . . I mean it's somewhat out of the spirit of the fast.

I prefer rice milk to soy milk . . . . and according to something my wife too much soy is bad for us.

Basil

 

[Prawnik]

My thoughts on fasting:

fake chicken wings, manufactured psueudo-bacon and the like. These things are expensive and seemed to me to take away from the meaning of the fast. It seems to me that the simplest food is the best: rice, beans, bread, tortillas, peanut butter, plain fruit and veggies, water, coffee and tea. And plain soymilk and tofu. Potatoes. Nuts.

Just my opinion!

-Xenia

I'm with you.

Here is my handy dandy Thai Peanut Sauce Alleged (so-called because it tastes exactly like a good satay sauce, but I don't think this is how satay sauce is actually made).

About 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
About 1/2 cup of peanut butter
Sweeten to taste (I use orange marmalade, I think they use coconut milk in Thailand)
Spice to taste (I use sriracha sauce and horseradish)

Play with your ingredients until you get a flavor and consistency you like.

Eat on rice, potatoes, veggies, bread, anything.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

My shopping list ended up being low-carb bread/muffin mixes, natural peanut butter, sugar-free jelly, soups, artichoke hearts, low-carb pastas, and veggies. Not too bad.

I've never used tofu . . . I wouldn't even know what to do with it!

 

[Prawnik]

according to something my wife too much soy is bad for us.

Basil

I don't mean to babble, but soy contains plant hormones, which are analogs to estrogens.

This means that eating tofu will turn you into a Sensitive New Age Wimp. I firmly believe this.