Blessing of the Loaves, a Prayer of Thanksgiving

Are you familiar with the prayer for the blessing of the five loaves, or artoclasia in Greek? You would have seen the service done at the end of Vespers on a major feast day or a parish name day. As a sign of thanksgiving, the five loaves of sweet bread are brought to the church with a small bottle of wine and olive oil. It is usually brought by a family celebrating the feast day or name day, or when a prayer has been answered.

http://myocn.net/blessing-of-five-loaves-artoclasia/

Banana Bread Makes Fasting Easier

This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, Adventures of an Orthodox Mom  She calls it Curious George Bread.  We call it Delicious! 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients (and then set aside)

· 1 3/4 c. flour

· 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

· 1/2 tsp. baking soda

· 3/4 tsp. salt

 

Beat together

· 3/4 c. oil or tahini for non-oil days (I use coconut oil)

· 3/4 c. sugar

· 1/4 c. cold water

 

Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture.  The mixture will be thick but don't worry.  The bananas will add plenty of moisture.

I made a double recipe so we could have cupcakes and froze them for a ready snack.

 

 Mash 3-4 bananas and incorporate into mixture

 

 

Add 1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli are lenten



 

 

Pour into a greased loaf pans and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  I like to add chopped walnuts inside and then put larger pieces on top so we can remember which ones have nuts and which don't. 

 

 

 

Or pour into lined cup cake trays and bake for 15 minutes.
 

 

If I need a quick cake, I pour the batter into a greased and floured glass cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.  I dust the top with cinnamon or powdered sugar for an added treat, but they are sweet enough that a topping really isn't needed. 



 

Lenten Meal Plan- Week #4

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

 

What continues to surprise me when I meet an adult who doesn't keep the fast is his justification for his choice, "We didn't grow up fasting."  "We didn't grow up fasting" is not a justifiable reason to ignore the fast.   It shows no growth, no initiative. It's a terrible answer. But, it is an honest answer.   And it even gives me greater momentum to encourage all of you to teach your children to fast. If you don't teach them to fast, there is a greater risk that when they get older, the will not fast and they will miss this blessing, this gift from God to repent.  There are several ways to teach children to fast that won't starve them or rob them of their necessary nutrients.  Talk to your parish priest for some ideas that can help you  offer your children a successful experience. 

 

We have just completed three weeks of Lent and have four more to go! Our Journey is half way over. This is a good time for us to stop and ask ourselves:
 

·   "Have I tried my best to get to the extra church services?"

·   "Am I planning my meals so I can have a successful fast?" (french fries and spaghetti more than twice a week is not a successful fast.)

·   "I have been overly distracted with food that I've neglected to be charitable?"

Most importantly...

 

·   "Does my life (or behavior) look any different than it did 3 weeks ago?"
 

These are good questions that I'd like to encourage you to stop and ask yourself.

 

This Week's Meal Plan

 

This is what I am planning for this week!

 

 

 

 

SUN- Bean Soup and fresh bread. 

MON- Shrimp and Rice and a Salad.  

TUES- Baked Potatoes with Veggie Chili and Cut Vegetables.

WED- Pierogies with Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

THURS- Veggie Soup and Fried Zucchini

FRI- Morning Star BBQ (Meatless) BBQ Ribs and Potato Pancakes

SAT- Lenten Dolmathes (still didn't get to them last week) and Briani so I don't have to cook on Sunday.

In a Pinch, I Get the Need to Kneed.

 

I don’t know why it took me so long to make homemade pizza.  It is now my favorite go-to!  Last night we were in a pickle… nothing planned and not in the mood to go to the grocery store.  But we had salad stuff, flour and cheese.   I still have a chunk of mozzarella, asiago and provolone left over from our open house. 

What I liked about last night’s dinner was that with a large salad, I was able to make mini pizzas to serve on the side.  This way, we ate our veggies and we had a  small treat.  The dough I didn’t need is sitting in the fridge and I will have a nice warm roll with my lunch today.  I am really glad I figured out the dough thing (I am no longer a yeast killer nor impatient with yeast) in time for Lent.  Fasting isn’t about suffering but obedience and self-control.  So this Lent, with the bean soups and increased vegetables, we can also treat ourselves to a fresh roll or two... in moderation of course!

 

Pizza Dough 

·        Combine 1 t sugar and 1 ½ c warm water.  Sprinkle 1pkg active dry yeast in water and set aside for 10 minutes or until foamy.

·        Stir in 1 T olive oil.

·        Combine 4 ¼ c all-purpose flour with 1½ t salt in a food processor.  With the machine running, add the yeast mixture until dough forms a ball.  If it’s too wet, remove dough from processor and kneed on a floured surface until elastic and smooth. 

·        Lightly coat a large bowl with oil and place dough in bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and cover with a large towel.  I usually heat the oven while I am mixing the ingredients and then turn oven off at this point.  This usually warms the oven enough and I let the dough rise on top of the oven.

·        The dough should double in size in an hour.

·        Turn oven back on to 350 degrees.

·        Punch down the dough.  Half of the dough is plenty for one pizza.  You can make a pizza or use smaller amounts for minis.  The dough you don’t use can be placed in a floured bag and stored in the fridge for a day or you can freeze in a floured bag, thaw in the fridge the night before you are ready to use it and rest on counter for 15 minutes. You can also thaw dough for 1 ½ hours on your counter before you need it.