Meatless Fridays, here we come!

Today's Gospel Mt 9:14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast."

And so the bridegroom (Christ) has been taken away from us and we are fasting. Its Friday, and in our family we fast from meat. I wish we had more fish 'n chips on Fridays but everyone else in my family does not like fish! Historically, fish was the "poor man's" meal and that is where the tradition of abstaining from meat and eating fish came from. So that we can relate more with the poor. Edited to add that Friday, being the day Jesus died, is not a time for feasting, and to abstain from meat (a rich man's feast) was a way to acknowledge in a small way the cost of our salvation.

Instead of fish then, we are having one of my all-time favorites:  Black bean soup (courtesy of Rachel Ray's Express Lane Meals) with foccacia bread.  I follow the recipe but don't usually do the shrimp part.

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Limed Up Shrimp

5 Tbsp EVOO

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Tbps chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt & black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Zest & juice of 2 limes

1/4 Cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

16 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, & butterflied

2 14 oz cans black beans, rinsed & drained

1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

5 Cups chicken stock

1/2 Cup heavy cream (optional)

Hot Sauce, to taste

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 Tbps of the EVOO (twice around the pan). Add the onions, three fourths of the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, salt, & pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions are tender, stirring frequently.

While the onions are cooking, in a shallow dish combine the remaining garlic, the remaining 3 Tbps of EVOO, the red pepper flakes, lime zest, parsley, & a little salt. Add the shrimp and coat them thoroughly in the mixture. Let the shrimp sit while you move forward with the spicy black bean soup.

Add the black beans to the skillet with the onions. With a potato masher or the back of a rubber spatula, smash the equivalent of half of the beans – the mashed-up beans will thicken the soup. Add the fire roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, and heavy cream (if using) to the pot, stir, and turn the heat up a bit to bring the soup to a bubble. Once at a bubble, turn the heat back down to a simmer and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Give the pot a stir every now & then to ensure that it’s not sticking.

While the soup is simmering, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the shrimp & cook them for 2-3 minutes on the first side. Flip the shrimp, add the lime juice, and continue to cook them for 2-3 more minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.

Taste the soup & adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, & hot sauce. To serve it, place a few ladles full of the spicy black bean soup in shallow soup bowls, and arrange 4 shrimp standing up in the center of each bowl.

*We all modify recipes to some degree, and for this one I add an extra can of black beans.  I also haven't sought out the fire-roasted tomatoes so just use regular.  For seasoning I like to play with a little liquid smoke in addition to the above, and we generally avoid the hot sauce.

Black bean soup with a dollop of sour cream.  Served with foccacia bread and oil/vinegar to dip.

Nourishment

Ohhhh, I wish you could smell the delicious aroma in my house tonight.  I am making the most wonderful stew and mashed potatoes, courtesy of Rachel Ray and as seen on the Dr.Oz show.  Its time-intensive to prepare and I'm making a double batch so we have lots for the freezer.  A friend made it for us over the holidays and it was amazing!!  The potatoes have parsnips and a little white cheddar cheese in it - wow, parsnips are so fragrant and what a sneaky way to feed them to my children!

The gravy is made from organic apple cider!

Cooking is one of the most important "earthly" things I can do for my family.  If they don't eat well, they don't learn well.  They don't do anything well!  And the key for me is good planning combined with lots of freezer cooking.  I make up 3 weeks of meal plans at a time and then when I cook I try to make extra to freeze.  I used to do marathon freezer cooking weekends - but I don't have enough time for that anymore :). 

Speaking of nourishment, I've been pondering the spiritual nourishment of our family. This truly IS the most important thing my hubby and I can foster, and we are all in need.  Christ nourishes, but we must bring them to Christ.  They must know Him.  And the food He provides?  Himself.  How's that for a concept for a little one to grasp? 

I love our suppertime Scripture memory work.  I change it once I feel we all have a really good grasp of the passage.  Something new we are incorporating this year is committing more of the Catechism basics to memory, using the method outlined in Memorize the Faith, which I downloaded on my handy-dandy kindle.  It looks soooo fun!  I'll keep you posted.

This week we are preparing for Epiphany; a banner is hung in our kitchen and we are anticipating a yummy crown cake!

God bless your week!
And try that stew!!