Twelve Months of Monastery Soups

  I received this book from my children for Christmas.  It fits my plan to focus on simple, healthy, and frugal cooking for my crowd.  If there is one thing Br. d’Avila-Laourrette knows about it’s frugal, healthy, crowd pleasing cooking.  He is the resident cook and gardener at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery in Millbook New York.   There he grows most of the vegetables used in the soups he makes.  Most of the soups are meatless and work perfect for Friday suppers of soup and bread and simple Lenten meals.  The recipes are organized by months of the year,  focusing on foods that are in season each month.  I have jumped around quite a bit of course.  Most of the ingredients I have found easily at our local market,  and I look forward to spring when I can shop at our city Farmers Market and whip up these delicious soups with a local flare!    He does call for alot of white wine in many of the recipes, (which is certainly not a problem for me! )  I suppose if you were to cut down on the wine you would also cut down on the cost.   This lovely little book is also peppered with quotes and proverbs pertaining to soup, simplicity, and hospitality.     We really enjoyed the Minestrone Monastico last week, (just one of the many variations of Minestrone in this book.),  and tonight we will be having a pot of Traditional Austrian Cheese Soup.  YUM!

Minestrone Monastico

3 quarts water

3 carrots

3 potatoes

1 cup green beans

2 celery stalks

1 cup dry white beans

3 onions

1 cup olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup macaroni

tarragon, minced

salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Wash and peel the vegetables and cut them into small pieces (except the dry beans).  pour the water into a large soup pot and add all the vegetables (including beans) except the onions.  Cook slowly over medium heat for 1 hour.

2.  Saute the onions in a bit of the olive oil in a large frying pan.  when the onions begin to become golden, turn off the heat.

 3.  To the soup, add the onions, wine, rest of the olive oil, macaroni, tarragon, salt, and pepper and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.  Cover the pot and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve hot, with a side dish of grated Parmesan cheese.

 *Br. Victor notes that while a single cup of wine is listed, one could easily add a cup or two more.  “The wine is the secret ingredient of this recipe – it makes all the difference in the world.”

 Traditional Austrian Cheese Soup

  *this one is simmering on my stovetop as I type.

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 finely sliced celery stalks

2 leeks sliced

2 large potatoes cubed

6 cups water

1 8-ounce package cream cheese cut into cubes

1 8-ounce container plain yogurt (*I am using Kefir instead)

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Pour the oil into a soup pot, add the celery, leeks, and potatoes, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and cook the soup slowly for 35 to 40 minutes.

2.  When the soup is done, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring from time to time.  Add the cream cheese, yogurt (kefir), salt, and pepper.  Stir continuously until these latter ingredients melt and blend thoroughly with the rest of the soup.  Serve hot.

Our School Season Menu

  We started our new chore assignments two weeks ago and it is running very smoothly.  We are still spending alot of time outside and the lawn and garden need tending too,  so that throws a kink in the inside upkeep.  I know that will slow down when the weather cools.  

  Last week we implemented our three week menu rotation.  I listed each week in our Homekeeping Journal.  I also listed each recipe and the ingredients needed to make each dish.  This has made my meal planning, list making, and shopping so much easier.    The nesting urge is also in full swing,  so most of the meals I doubled and froze an extra.  As of right now I have five dishes and two meatloaves (giant ones at that!)  in our freezer.  We always get TONS of much appreciated meals from friends and family after having a baby. So many, that when Molly was born that we had a warm meal delivered every other day for over a month!  My goal is to make my postpartum time simple,  enjoyable,  and memorable for the entire family.  I know proper meal planning plays a big role in this. 

  First I thought I’d share our lunch menu.  We have the same thing each day of the week.  This way the older children learn how to make these simple meals well,  my shopping list stays the same for lunch items,  and we know exactly what to grab out of the fridge each day after spelling lessons!

*fridays are aways meatless

Lunch Menu

Mondays:  Beef, bean, and cheese quesadillas/burritos,  tortilla chips and salsa/nachos.

Tuesdays:  Soup,  (homemade or canned, depending on circumstances) peanutbutter      bread, milk

Wednesdays:  Pasta with alfredo sauce and broccoli and homemade rolls

Thursdays:  French bread pizza,  cheese cubes, baby carrots

Fridays:  Egg or tuna salad sandwiches, yogurt

Dinner Menu Week 1

*unless otherwise noted,  I have steamed spinach with each meal and we all have some form of either frozen veggies or fresh salad.  Drinks vary from milk to icy lemonade, and of course a Killians for Dh !

Monday:  Magnificent Casserole,  corn muffins.  (made three, ate one, froze one, Mary and I took one to a family that just had their third precious child.)

Tuesday:  Son of a Manic Mealoaf is on the menu (from Leanne Ely’s Frantic Family Cookbook) but we had a pleasant visit with unexpected guest during dinner prep time.  I threw some steaks under the broiler and made a quick salad instead.  I made up the meatloaves yesterday and tucked them both into the freezer.

Wednesday:  Baked Chicken.  It was Samuel’s birthday and he requested pizza,  so Papa John’s delivered dinner this night.  I made two baked chicken dishes up and froze them both.)

Thursday:  English Muffin Casserole was on the menu for this night but one of my dearests friends showed up with a piping hot meal for us at 6 o’clock.  We enjoyed her delicious chicken chili over brown rice, green beans, fresh bread, and chocolate pudding! Her 5 children made the most adorable cards for me and the kids!  I made the English Muffin Casserole up yesterday (2 of them) and tucked one into the freezer and one is ready for us to enjoy after Mass this morning.   

Friday:  Baked Macaroni and Three Cheese.  (I made two and froze one)

Saturday:  A Saturday favorite, made by Tony  and Abby,  Tomato soup and Grilled Cheese!  (They talk about opening up a diner one day,  they would call it D&D Diner.  Dad and Daughter…funny, those two!)

Sunday:   We will have one of the English Muffin Casseroles I prepared yesterday.

  So week one had some change ups,  but I always had something on hand to make no matter what cropped up.   Yesterday afternoon Dh took most of  the kids to play some baseball while Molly and I did our shopping for the upcoming week.  (I won’t share with you the ugly details of my stereotypical pregnant woman breakdown in the parking lot…)  We plan on begining our lesson times on Monday.  I  am hoping to have few to no distractions while we try to get back into our schooling groove. (you can laugh at me later! LOL!)    Following is our menu plan for next week.

Dinner Menu Week 2

Monday:  Chicken and Rice Chowder.  I plan on making a big simmering pot for dinner,  and the base for another night to be frozen for later.

Tuesday:  Red Beans and Rice with Keilbasa.  I have enough to make one/freeze one.

Wednesday:  Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks.  I have enough for two meals,  one to eat, one to freeze.

Thursday:  Pot Roast and Potatoes.  I will make two roasts,  one to eat,  one I will shred for another time. 

Friday:   Creamy Tomato Pasta.  Again,  one to eat one to freeze.

Saturday:  Spicey Hoppin’ John – YUM! (and of course,  one to eat one to freeze)

Sunday:  Chicken/Pasta/Greens salad and bread.

Gardening on a Postage Stamp

  I love to cultivate and grow fresh herbs and veggies,  but  I am challenged by lack of space.  We live on a 40×120 lot in the middle of the city,  and we have 8 lively children that play ruggedly outdoors all summer long.  We long to move out to a more rural area,  with a few acres where we can run, play, and grow whatever we wish.  As we work toward that goal, ccontainer gardening has become our answer to sharing the precious out of doors space we have here. 

This is the view of our back patio.    We keep two big umbrellas open during the sunny summer days.  We have no trees to speak of and this offers us some shade in our otherwise full sun west facing back yard. 

On the patio we have boxes containing herbs like oregano, lavender, thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, chives,  and yarrow.  We also planted a few pansies in between for color.   The pot with the pole in it is full of chocolate mint.  It doubles as a base for one of the umbrellas. 

  

                                      

A nice big pot of basil:

I have two potted jalapeno plants to add some zing to our fresh salsa!  The pot in the back ground (behind St. Anthony) contains sage,  perfect for homemade chicken stock.

This is our St. Anthony grotto.  It is  in dire need of clean up and paint.  I just may put a child or two on that task this afternoon!  Behind St. Anthony are Red Raspberry bushes,  growing on both sides of the fence. 

These pots contain 3 varieties of tomatoes,  cherry, roma, and beefsteak.  Henry eats cherry tomatoes like candy,  so I don’t expect many of those to make it inside!   My clothes line goes between the two columns.

This south facing bed contains various summer blooming flowers and bulbs.  We share the fence with our neighbors.   We have desperately been trying to grow grass  back here for years.    We recently broke our ‘no chemical fertilizer’ rule, and are hoping for the best. 

We try to keep it a fun place for the children to play,  we have a slide for the littles,  basketball for the bigger kids,  scooters, rollerblades, and skate boards zip up and down the driveway constantly.  And of course they also love to just sit back here and tell stories in the sunshine! 

  

We are trying to make the most of our space,  comfortable to our whole family,  yet hopefully enticing to potential buyers.    One day we hope to have that 5 acres to run and roam,  for now though,  we will try to bloom where we are planted!

Inspired by Suzanne

  Suzanne inspired and encourged me in this thread where I first asked around about the practicality of using cloth napkins.    The first set I bought were rust and olive colors,  dark and perfect for the long winter.   My husband also remarked at what a good idea it was.   I began considering purchasing a few more because were going through the ones we had so quickly that I had to wash them twice a day.  Then I came across this post from Suzanne at the perfect time!  I bought a few dozen in bright cheery colors and they add a very nice touch of loveliness to our table.  I think they looked equally lovely hanging in the late afternoon sunshine!  Thanks Suzanne for the inspiration! 

*It would go without saying that the boys will not use a single pink napkin!  (and yes, those are baby woolies freshly washed and lanolized!)