Everything Old Is New Again
MARDI GRAS or FAT TUESDAY
This time of the year is rich in delicious memories. Mardi Gras is celebrated in various regions of the US where French influence is prominent. We’re all familiar with the week-long celebrations in New Orleans which we now have first-hand knowledge of through my niece and nephew, Nick & Liz, who recently moved to the area. CLICK HERE to view their 2020 Mardi Gras celebration as well as others. Growing up in a German, English, Irish dominated area, I knew the day as Shrove Tuesday or “Fat Tuesday.” There was a Mardi-Gras type festivity in my early childhood in Detroit, MI where a large Polish population celebrated Paczki Day. This tradition resurrected again in my teaching years at St. Joe High School in South Bend, IN where I learned a great deal about Polish immigrants and the delicious memories they brought to the U.S. Midwest. As for Italians, they celebrate Carnevale with fritters are on their menu! This is a perfect time time try GRANDMA PATER’S FRITTELLE RECIPE. Please share your families Mardi Gras and “Fat Tuesday” traditions and foods with the DM community.
FASTING IN AGAIN!
The day after Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday arrives and FASTING is still expected. People have been intentionally depriving themselves of food since the dawn of time for a variety of reasons: religious edicts and health being two of the main motivators. The practice goes in and out of fashion. Currently, fasting is NEW AGAIN as a weight lose tool and as a means to longevity. Fasting has always been practiced in the family as most were raised Catholic. My parents were orthodox observers of the fast and abstinence rules even after the Catholic Church changed their tune concerning the practices after Vatican II. Lenten fast and abstinence recipes continue to be seasonal favorites, although the dishes are few and far between. One meal, served often on Ash Wednesday, was Eggs & Potatoes (check out this updated recipe). Like most Americans, the practice of food deprivation, especially meat, has never been enthusiastically embraced in the family.
TRADITIONAL CHURCH RULES…CIRCA 1940
The abstinence law before Vatican II forbade meat and meat broths on specific days during the liturgical year. Eggs, cheese, butter and seasonings were permitted. On days of fasting, which was everyday in Lent before Vatican II, only one full meal a day was sanctioned but did allow a taste of food in the morning and in the evening. My parents would indulge in a piece of dry toast and coffee for breakfast and bone broth or soup for lunch on fast days. The rules of abstinence applied to all Catholics starting at seven years old. All Catholics from the completion of their twenty-first to the beginning of their sixtieth year, unless lawfully excused, were also expected to fast. I always thought it interesting that few of my relative followed the rules until I learned, “a dispensation is granted to the laboring classes (which they mostly were) and their families on all days of fast and abstinence except Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Wednesday in Holy Week, Holy Saturday forenoon…”
FASTING MENUS, RECIPE & A DM CHALLENGE
Beginning this week, and for the next five weeks of Lent, the website will feature meatless and meager meals. Old and new recipes will be highlighted and I hope many of you will share your favorite Lenten menus and recipes from your childhood. I’d also challenge you to a try an old-time Lenten Broth Fast. The recipe of the week is BEEF & BROTH. Both my grandmothers prepare a version of this dish. My mother combined their recipes which is the original Mom’s Broth and Beef recipe in my Delicious Memories cookbook. I have updated the recipe to enhance its flavors for use in my Lenten fast. The idea of a bone-broth diet has been popularized by Kellyann Petrucci, MS, ND in her book of the same name, Bone Borth Diet. I’ll use my family’s brodo recipe as it better suits my taste than any recommended in Dr Kellyann’s book. The recipe is easier to make and I get a dinner out of the effort. My sister-in-law, Bess, shared Petrucci’s book with me. I read it, and while it was a bestseller, I’m not sure it tells us anything we didn’t already know, and that is, if you cut out all sugars, flours, grains and processed foods from your diet, drink lots of broth and eat meager amounts of food, you will lose weight. An old idea with a modern twist!
If you don’t have time to make your own bone broth you can purchase at most grocers or order online. A good brand is Kettle & Fire.
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