Lent Is Around The Corner.

**Gingersnap** · 02-24-2009, 05:40 PM

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. In my own tradition, this means meatless Wednesdays and Fridays although fishy items are allowed. For the Orthodox, this means no flesh and no fat. The Baptists will have to give up the medicinal beer.

What are some good budget-stretching meals for Lent? Is Lent important foodwise in your Christian walk? If you aren't Christian, well....you still probably have a good veggie soup recipe. ;)

**PoliCon** · 02-24-2009, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. In my own tradition, this means meatless Wednesdays and Fridays although fishy items are allowed. For the Orthodox, this means no flesh and no fat. The Baptists will have to give up the medicinal beer.

What are some good budget-stretching meals for Lent? Is Lent important foodwise in your Christian walk? If you aren't Christian, well....you still probably have a good veggie soup recipe. ;)

You want a good soup recipe that's easy on the wallet?

This is a form of depression soup - a recipe handed down from my grandparents - one they used during the depression.

Ingredients -

Water
Potatoes
Chopped spinach
2 sticks of butter or oleo
salt & pepper

Dice up some taters and put them in a big pot. Add water. Add spinach. Add butter. Salt and pepper to taste - boil.

when the taters is soft - the soup is dun.

I always make it with butter because it makes the flavor much better than oleo . . . .

**stsinner** · 02-24-2009, 06:17 PM

Does my heart good to see such conversation.. I love that soup recipe.. Our kids, and us for that matter, don't know anything about how it must have felt to be FORCED to serve that soup to our kids.. I love to teach my kids about stuff like that. I fear those days may be coming again...

**PoliCon** · 02-24-2009, 06:26 PM

Well if you like that one - there is a similar meat version that works just as well -

Ingredents -

Taters
Onions
Ground beef
Water
Salt & pepper.

Slice up the taters like you would for an au gratan - put them in a pot with plent of water. Crumble in the raw ground beef. Add diced onion. salt and peper to taste. Boil. Soup is done when the taters is soft.

The great thing about both soups is when you reheat them - the character of the soup changes - they get thicker from the taters boiling away - which makes them better. :)

**Gingersnap** · 02-24-2009, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by stsinner

Does my heart good to see such conversation.. I love that soup recipe.. Our kids, and us for that matter, don't know anything about how it must have felt to be FORCED to serve that soup to our kids.. I love to teach my kids about stuff like that. I fear those days may be coming again...

You're in the right place. We love budget food, home sewing/gardening/amusement, pinching pennies until Lincoln screams and other thrifty habits. ;)

**megimoo** · 02-24-2009, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. In my own tradition, this means meatless Wednesdays and Fridays although fishy items are allowed. For the Orthodox, this means no flesh and no fat. The Baptists will have to give up the medicinal beer.

What are some good budget-stretching meals for Lent? Is Lent important foodwise in your Christian walk? If you aren't Christian, well....you still probably have a good veggie soup recipe. ;)

Depression Dining: What to cook when times get tough

Pat Box grew up in a large family in Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, Calif. No one went hungry, but it took ingenuity. Illustrates FOOD-DEPRESSION (category d)

LOS ANGELES — When she was a kid, for a treat Pat Box and her seven siblings got "water cocoa," which is pretty much what it sounds like and nothing special today. But that was in the 1930s, when her father's business was reselling bakers' barrels to coopers, and the family would get first crack at them, scraping the wood for any traces of sugar or cocoa left behind.

With luck, they'd also have rye bread and fresh butter they'd buy on Brooklyn Avenue.

"It was wonderful," said Box, 87, one afternoon while she gathered with friends at the Claude Pepper Senior Center on the west side of Los Angeles.

At a time when Americans face frightening and disorienting economic uncertainty, the Great Depression provides valuable lessons. For many people, putting a meal on the table without turning to processed or takeout foods is no longer something just for a weekend dinner party but a skill they must learn. People who remember what it was like to eat during the Depression talk about thrift, growing their own, sharing with neighbors and learning to cope with what they had.
..................................more

http://www.salisburypost.com/Lifesty...ood-depression

**lurkalot** · 02-24-2009, 07:14 PM

Once again I will do my traditional giving up of Lent for sex ;)

**Gingersnap** · 02-24-2009, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by lurkalot

Once again I will do my traditional giving up of Lent for sex ;)

Sex for Lent, you mean. How does that impact your chocolate intake? I mean giving up the decorative, ediblble kind?

**PoliCon** · 02-24-2009, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by lurkalot

Once again I will do my traditional giving up of Lent for sex ;)

interesting . . . I tend to give up all drinks except water for the 40 days of lent. It sucks. It's hard. I usually feel awesome after - and chug a beer as soon as the fast is lifted!

**megimoo** · 02-24-2009, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by Gingersnap

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. In my own tradition, this means meatless Wednesdays and Fridays although fishy items are allowed. For the Orthodox, this means no flesh and no fat. The Baptists will have to give up the medicinal beer.

What are some good budget-stretching meals for Lent? Is Lent important foodwise in your Christian walk? If you aren't Christian, well....you still probably have a good veggie soup recipe. ;)

Lent in a Baptist Church?

When I first announced that we would be observing Lent at CrossRoad Church it created quite a stir amongst several members and frequent attenders. One well-meaning, but hopelessly sarcastic, friend even asked me if we were giving up being Baptist for Lent! For others it was no joking matter. There was concern on their part that we were doing something that identified us with the Roman Catholic Church and that was unhealthy. Today, as we prepare to kick off our observance of Lent, I thought I would make an effort to quell some of our members' fears and encourage all of you to use this time to seek a closer relationship with God as we prepare for Easter.

Isn't Lent a Roman Catholic thing?

The answer to this question is Yes and No. Yes, Roman Catholics observe Lent, but so do Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans, and Lutherans. Just because the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) observes Lent, however, does not mean that we are somehow sacrificing the gospel or identifying with the RCC with our observance. Lent, as a church observance, actually preceded the formation of the RCC by at least 200 years.........more

The Who, What, When, and Where of Lent .

When Lent first began to be observed in the church, it was common practice to baptize new Christians once a year. The baptisms took place on Easter. All new Christians were discipled (catechized) from the time they trusted in Christ until Easter when they were Baptized. The early churches, in an effort to help these young Christians grasp the significance of both their baptism and Easter celebrations, required them to fast for forty hours prior to their baptism. The fast was then broken after their baptism when the church celebrated its Easter feast. Gradually the entire church began to observe Lent as a way to prepare for their church's Easter celebrations. The length of time gradually was extended from forty hours to forty days
...................more

But Why Lent?

http://bontsblog.blogspot.com/2007/0...st-church.html