I’ve made this recipe so many times, my copy of Vegan Planet automatically opens to this page, although it’s simple enough I don’t even look at the recipe anymore.

Heat the oil in a large skillet (really, make it large, or you’ll make a mess). Cook the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic over medium heat until softened. Stir in the spices, tomatoes, and beans. Add salt and pepper to taste, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender and the tomatoes are saucy, at least 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over rice or cornbread.

I’m eating the leftovers from yesterday’s breakfast right now as I type :)

Lenten Pumpkin Pancakes

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the almond milk, pumpkin, and corn oil until well blended (the instructions say to blend it in a blender or food processor, but a whisk does the job adequately). Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry and mix with as few strokes as possible. Cook on an oiled griddle or skillet until bubbles appear on top, then flip. Since this is a fairly thick batter, I usually spread the batter out a bit to keep them from being too thick.

That’s it! We usually eat these with honey, although maple syrup would be better. Still saving my grocery pennies for a big jug of maple syrup!

I went with Mama to go see everyone at the School of Nursing. They all liked me a lot.

I take lots of naps in the Boppy.

This one time, Mama washed ALL my blankets at once…so I had to use a DIAPER for a blanket. Sheesh.

I play with Mama on the bed a lot.

I really love my Papa.

This is how I look when I am displeased.

Like when Mama and Papa made the bed WITHOUT CHECKING TO SEE IF THERE WAS A BABY IN IT!

On my way to go grocery shopping with Mama.

Yay! I woke up from my nap! Time to play!

Uh, oh, Mama has the camera out. This might be a while.

Look, these are my hands. I like them a lot.

Mama, you are super crazy, do you know that?

But I like you anyway.

See, I stick my tongue out at people I like.

Ha ha, I am so funny.

Yay! It’s finally time to play!

My friend Sara served this to me one day for lunch, and I loved it so much I asked for the recipe. She went and pulled out the cookbook and I saw it was one I already had! This is from Simple Suppers by the Moosewood Collective, although I’ve altered it a little bit. I use this cookbook quite often. This recipe is one that actually has been kid-tested, since Sara’s three kids (all five years and under) love it.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

In a soup pot, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar, salt, and broth (or water). Add the squash (frozen, or scooped out of the skin if you bake your own) and lime leaf if you’re using it. Whisk to incorporate squash. If you baked it long enough, it should blend right in with a whisk and you shouldn’t need to blend it in a blender like the recipe suggests. When it is heated through, add 1 tsp. of lime zest and two tablespoons lime juice. Stir in the spinach and cook until it wilts. Taste for seasonings - I often add a little more sugar and/or salt, and sometimes more curry paste. The curry paste (it comes in a little glass jar from Thai Kitchen - do not substitute curry powder as it is not the same thing) is not too hot, but if your family doesn’t like spicy food, limit how much you add.

The original recipe also has you fry up some tofu cubes in soy sauce, oil, and curry paste and stir that in. I haven’t done this, but it would be an easy addition.

Mary at evlogia is organizing a fasting recipe exchange among Orthodox mama bloggers. Eventually she will link all the posts into one post on her blog, which I will share here for anyone who is interested once it is finished (the deadline for submissions is November 6th). While the idea is to share “kid friendly” recipes, I can’t say many of ours are kid-tested quite yet! I’ve made notes where a dish might be too spicy for children and where you could cut out some of the spice. Mary plans on doing this exchange for each of the major fasts throughout the year, so I’ll stick with recipes that are good for fall and winter, for the upcoming Nativity Fast which begins on November 15th. I think I will post each recipe separately, and then link them each to this original post so they are all available in one place.

For those of you for whom the idea of a “fasting recipe” is an obvious contradiction (hello, doesn’t fasting mean not eating?), a little explanation may be in order. While Orthodox Christians do have many days where total abstinence from food and drink is advised for those who are able (including the pre-communion fast each Sunday), we also have days and periods of fasts of abstinence, wherein we limit the types and amounts of food we eat. These usually are in preparation for a major feast, to spiritually prepare us for the holy day. So we fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, during Great Lent, the 40 days of Advent, for the days leading up to the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, and the two weeks leading to the Feast of the Dormition. The usual fast is no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine, or oil, although there are days where fish, wine, or oil may be allowed. Mary has two good posts on the purpose of fasting here and here and I believe she may add to this little series.

Below is a list of favorites that I will post, and then hyperlink each of these recipes to the recipe post.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

Koshari

Hummus (this is for you, cousin Song!)

Shorbet Addas (Egyptian Lentil Soup)

Indian-Spiced Lentil Soup

Today is the Feast of St. James, and thus the name’s day of our little James (who is named for his great-grandpa James, his grandpa Gary James, his uncle Philip James, and of course after St. James). We took a long time in deciding on James’ name. We had settled on a name should he be a girl (being due on Dormition, a girl would have been named for the Virgin Mary (a variation) and her mother - go ahead and guess :) I hope there will be a girl to use it one of these days!), but I was in early labor before we hashed out a boy’s name. I finally got up in the middle of the night, since I certainly wasn’t going to be able to sleep through the contractions anyway, sat on my birth ball and pulled out Eusebius (an early Church historian) and read the story of St. James. After that I came back to bed and told Paul I agreed the baby should be named James. We decided just in time! His middle name, Benedict, is of course after St. Benedict of Nursia, and means “blessed.” Below is the story of St. James the Just.

James was a “brother of the Lord” by virtue of being the son of the elderly St. Joseph by his first wife, or, as some speculate, a cousin of the Lord. He is generally considered to be the author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament. Eusebuis quotes Clement regarding St. James being appointed to the episcopacy, saying, “Peter, and James [another James], and John, after the ascension of our Savior, though they had been preferred by our Lord, did not contend for the honor, but chose James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem…the Lord imparted the gift of knowledge to James the Just, to John and Peter after his resurrection, these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and they to the seventy.”

St. James’ episcople judgement is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 15. He presided over the First Council of Jerusalem, issuing the decree against the heresy of the Judaizers who insisted that Christians must follow Jewish law and be circumcised. In his authority as bishop, he decreed that the new converts need not be circumcised but need only abstain from food sacrifies to idols, from strangled animals, from blood, and from sexual immorality.

Eusebuis recounts the martyrdom of St. James by quoting St. Hegesippus, an early Church chronicler born about 110 AD: “James, the brother of the Lord, who, as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now, received the government of the church with the apostles. This apostle was consecrated from his mother’s womb. He drank neither wine nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came upon his head, he never anointed with oil, and never used a bath. He alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary. He never wore woolen, but linen garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone and was often found upon bended knees, and interceding for the forgiveness of the people; so that his knees became as hard as camel’s, in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God. And indeed, on account of his exceeding great piety, he was called Just, and Oblias (or Zaddick and Ozleam) which signifies justice and protection of the people; as the prophets declare concerning him. Some of the seven sects, therefore, of the people asked him what was the door to Jesus? and he answered, ‘that he was the Savior.’

“From which, some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the aforementioned heresies did not believe either a resurrection, or that he was coming to give to every one according to his works; as many, however, as did believe did so on acount of James. As there were many therefore of the rulers that believed, there arose a tumult among the Jews, Scribes, and Pharisees, saying that there was danger, that the people would now expect Jesus as the Messiah. They came therefore together, and said to James, ‘We entreat thee, restrain the people, who are led astray after Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all that are coming to the feast of the Passover rightly concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in thee. For we and all the people bear thee testimony that thou art just, and thou respectest not persons. Persuade therefore the people not to be led astray by Jesus, for we and all the people have great confidence in thee. Stand therefore upon a wing of the temple, that thou mayest be conspicuous on high, and thy words may be easily heard by all the people; for all the tribes have come together on account of the Passover, with some of the Gentiles also.’ The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees, therefore, placed James upon a wing of the temple, and cried out to him, ‘ O though just man, whom we ought all to believe, since the people are led astray after Jesus that was crucified, declare to us what is the door to Jesus that was crucified.’ And he answered with a loud voice, ‘Why do ye ask me respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of great Power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven.’ And, as many were confirmed, and gloried in this testimony of James, and said, ‘Hosanna to the son of David,’ these same priests and Pharisses said to one another, ‘We have done badly in affording such testimony to Jesus, but let us go up and cast him down, that they may dread to believe in him.’ And they cried out, ‘Oh, oh, Justus himself is deceived,’ and they fulfilled that which is written in Isaiah, ‘Let us take away the just, because he is offensive to us; wherefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.’ Going up therefore they cast down the just man, saying to one another, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, as he did not die immediately when cast down but turning round, he knelt down saying, ‘I entreat thee, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Thus they were stoning him, when one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, a son of the Rechabites, spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, cried ou saying, ‘Cease, what are you doing? Justus is praying for you.’ And one of them, a fuller, beat out the brains of Justus with the club that he used to beat out clothes. Thus he suffered martyrdom, and they buried him on the spot where his tombstone is still remaining, by the temple. He became a faithful witness, both to the Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ.”

Eusebius adds that “so admirable a man indeed was James and so celebrated among all for his justice that even the wiser part of the Jews were of opinion that this was the cause of the immediate siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them for no other reason than the crime against him.” He also quotes Josephus as saying, “These things [the subsequent seige of Jerusalem by Vespasian] happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was the brother of him that is called Christ, and whom the Jews had slain, notwithstanding his pre-eminent justice.”

Troparion

As the Lord’s disciple you received the Gospel, O righteous James;

As a martyr you have unfailing courage;

As God’s brother, you have boldness;

As a hierarch, you have the power to intercede.

Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion

When God the Word, the Only-begotten of the Father,

Came to live among us in these last days,

He declared you, venerable James, to be the first shepherd and teacher of Jerusalem

And a faithful steward of the spiritual Mysteries.

Therefore, we all honor you, O Apostle.

“To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets, cakes, and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? …a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute.”
~G.K. Chesterton

Outside my window…

Not much to report. Gray, cloudy, looks like Seattle :)

I am thankful…

For our bishop, Bishop Thomas of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic. We have been blessed to have Bishop Thomas visit St. Philip’s several times since we’ve been there, and I’m always grateful to have such a wise and loving father overseeing our Church. Paul says that he takes the Gospel very seriously, the Gospel very seriously, and himself very unseriously, which seems about right to me :) He led a mini-retreat at St. Philip’s last Saturday on “Raising Godly Children.” We prayed the beautiful Akathist to the Mother of God, the Nurturer of Children, and afterwards Bishop Thomas spoke to us about raising children to be holy in the midst of a very unholy culture. Both on Saturday and again in his homily on Sunday, he spoke of the need to raise children in an atmosphere of holiness, wherein there is no difference, no confusion, between the life lived in the Church and that lived at home. Yesterday, we commemorated the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, who we honor as protectors of the True Faith. He spoke of the Holy Fathers and said that the Holy Fathers probably became Holy Fathers because they were raised by holy mothers, by holy fathers, and in holy households. He encouraged us to truly make our households holy households and make Christ the center of all we do, that our children may emulate a holy example.

I especially appreciated his answer to the question, “how do we get our children to desire to pray with us? When it comes time for morning and evening prayers, should we require they join us, or should we just pray ourselves and hope one day they will choose to join us? Is is right to “force” children to pray with us? Will it make them see prayer as a chore?” The bishop answered, “We require our children to eat healthy food. We require that they take a bath. How much more important is training in prayer and the spiritual life? We try and make the food palatable, we try to make bathtime enjoyable, but in the end, they still need to eat, and they still need to bathe. You can do your best to make morning and evening prayers something they look forward to, something they understand and participate in, but in the end, they still need to learn to pray with the family.”

I also appreciated the answer he recounted to us that he gave to a mother once that reproached him when he was a parish priest and had told his parishioners to keep their children from evil influences. She said, “We need to teach our children about the real world!” The bishop retorted, “Out there is NOT the real world! Out there is corrupt! Out there is perversion! THIS (pointing to the church) is the real world! What could be more real that our life in Christ and the salvation of our souls!”

I am hoping and praying…

That the right part-time work will come my way. I’m looking for part-time childcare or housekeeping work that I can bring James along to, and also hope to start doing some editing from home. I’ve had a few inquiries on the childcare front, so hopefully I find the right match soon.

Also praying for several friends and aquaintences that hope to be blessed with children soon.

From the Kitchen…

I’m currently baking my cousin Marilynn Song’s bread recipe. I was getting discouraged with my normal 100% whole wheat bread that never seems to rise high enough, and my sourdough bread is always gummy in the middle, and while I like the super-sour rye bread, I think Paul likes it when I make “normal” bread :) This recipe has been pretty foolproof. Looks good so far - they are risen high and turning golden brown in the oven as I type!

I am reading…

The Iliad, still, and slowly. Yesterday I was SO exhausted with my sciatica and taking care of baby who wouldn’t take a nap all afternoon. Finally he fell asleep, and I took a bath with a glass of wine (until baby woke up 30 minutes later). It wasn’t exactly the time for ancient Greek poetry, so I started one of Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.

When I’m sitting for hours with the sick baby, I’ve been reading him Mary the Mother of God: Sermons by St. Gregory Palamas. I figure it will either make him wonderfully wise and pious, or it will put him to sleep :) They are really beautiful sermons, and explain so clearly why we honor and love our Mother. I highly recommend everyone read his two sermons entitled “On the Entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies,” which is rightfully considered one of the most famous of the writings of St. Gregory.

I am pondering…

On Sunday at the Divine Liturgy, a tiny crumb of Divine Communion was accidentally dropped from the chalice. Of course, as we take dreadfully seriously the teaching of Our Lord and the unbroken witness of the Christian Church over the centuries, we truly believe it is the very body and blood of the glorified Jesus Christ, who is made present by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Often, if a particle of Divine Communion is accidentally dropped, the carpet is cut away and burned, after anything that could possibly be consumed is consumed. Anything used to clean it, such as the cloth, is burned. I won’t detail just how our bishop, who was present at this Liturgy, dealt with this, but I assure you there was a extraordinary amount of care that was taken. One cannot leave the Body and Blood of Christ Himself on the floor to be walked on. While we should never hope for such an accident to happen, it does serve to remind us of how we should approach such an awesome mystery, the Divine Mysteries. We should remember the words spoken by the priest or deacon as they bring the chalice out to the peopel, “With the FEAR of God, with faith and with love, draw near.”

I am listening to…

Part two of our friend Fr. Andrew Damick’s series on Orthodox and Heterodoxy. I highly recommend these lectures and would be happy to burn them to CD and send them to anyone who cannot listen online. I’ll probably continue to link to these as more episodes come available.

One of my favorite things…

James wanted to nurse for TWO HOURS this morning. I can’t say it’s one of my favorite things at the time (at some point Mama needs to take a shower, you know), but I keep reminding myself that it will be a very short time before I look back on this time of him being such a little baby fondly, and I doubt I will be able to spend entire Saturday mornings snuggling my next babies.

This week in the Church…

Friday is James’ very first name’s day! For those of you unfamiliar with name’s days, the feast day of one’s patron saint is a big day in a family, and is a more important celebration than one’s birthday. The Feast of St. James the Just, Brother of Our Lord and Bishop of Jerusalem is on Friday. I hope to go a Divine Liturgy for St. James with our little James on Thursday night, since we have very few opportunities to go to a Divine Liturgy for one’s own patron saint (my name’s day, January 2nd for St. Juliana, always gets eclipsed by the Feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov on the same day) and we’ll have a little celebration on Friday. I will try and post the story of St. James on Friday also. It was reading the life of St. James in the middle of the night, in labor, sitting on my birth ball, that made me agree that the baby should be James should he be a boy.

A few plans for the rest of the week…

We hope to go up to St. Paul’s Antiochian Church in Emmaus tomorrow, pastored by the aforementioned Fr. Andrew, as the bishop will be present to elevate Fr. Ted Mikovich to the rank of archpriest. Paul was assigned to St. Paul’s as a seminary intern and worked with Fr. Ted, so we hope to be present as this honor is bestowed on him. Other than that, the only other thing planned so far is the drive up to the Liturgy for St. James at the same church. I was also up visiting Fr. Andrew and his wife Kh. Nicole yesterday, so that will make a total of nine hours in the car driving to Emmaus and back this week! Wow, I should not have added that up.

James Benedict this week…

James just gets cuter and sweeter by the day. He giggles and “talks” to us. He sits like such a big boy in my lap during dinner. But he’s still my little baby and spends much of his day snuggled in the wrap. He has had a blocked tear duct since birth that causes him to have a constant teary, goopy eye. But this morning he woke up for the first time with a totally dry, clear eye! It’s stayed that way all day so far. I know they can close back up several times before they stay open, but I’m crossing my fingers that his eye will just stay clear. He’s growing more and more hair (after having it all fall out after he was born). It’s still thick and very dark, and we think it may grow straight up like his Papa’s :) He’s sleeping next to me on the bed right now, swaddled up like a little baby burrito.

A picture to share…

I don’t think I’ve taken a single picture this week. I’ll make up for it later :)

Posing for the ladies

Naked time

Buddha baby

Snoozing in Papa’s childhood blanket