lenten recipes

The following are selected recipes from “Homemade with Love: A Collection of Recipes by St. Alexis Orthodox Church, Palm Coast, Florida” which was published by Morris Press Cookbooks in 2007.

Zucchini Casserole
4 cups zucchini chunk
1 onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup green pepper, cut in small pieces
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Flavored breadcrumbs (optional)

Wash zucchini, trim, and cut into 1-inch cubes or slices. Steam in water until nearly cooked and drain. Combine remaining ingredients except the breadcrumbs. Place in baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until knife cuts clean from the center of the casserole.

Fred’s Tabbouleh
1 cup bulgur wheat
¼ cup olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped green onions
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon mint leaves
1 cup boiling water
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 bunch chopped fresh parsley
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Let sit half hour. Add garlic, oregano, cayenne pepper, green onions, parsley, tomato and mint into bulgur. In a separate bowl, mix together lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over bulgur mixture and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate.

Russian Eggplant “Caviar”
3 large eggplants
1 (28-oz.) can tomato purée
1 tablespoon sugar
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 large onions, chopped fine
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
Hot sauce to taste
Water

Bake 3 large eggplants whole for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool. Slit skins open; scrape the pulp out, removing excess amount of seeds by cutting away with scissors. Chop the eggplant. Sauté 3 finely chopped onions in vegetable oil. Don not brown; let them simmer in the oil until soft. Add the can of tomato purée. Add 5-6 cloves of minced garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon sugar or more (depending on taste). Add hot sauce according to taste.

For flavors to develop: Make this 2-3 days before you wish to use it.

Dad’s Manhattan Clam Chowder
1 large onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup green peppers, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup peeled white potatoes, diced
Olive oil or vegetable oil
1 pound can peeled tomatoes (chopped whole tomatoes)
3 cups water
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 bay leaf
Thyme (to liking)
2 dozen fresh littleneck clams (save strained clam juice) OR 3 cans of chopped clams.

In a large stockpot, heat some olive oil or vegetable oil. Sauté onion and cook until brown. Add remaining ingredients except clams and reserved juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add clams and clam juice. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

Bill’s Hearty Vegetable Soup
1 head escarole, leaves separated
3 carrots, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 large head cabbage, chopped
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
Pepper to taste
3 cups diced white potatoes
4 stalks celery, sliced with leaves
3 large leeks, washed and sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans white cannelloni beans
1 can diced tomatoes
Fresh thyme to taste
Olive oil

In a large pot heat some olive oil. Sauté leeks, onion and garlic. Add escarole and sauté. Add all vegetables except potatoes and sauté. Add 1 can tomatoes, fresh thyme and diced potatoes. Simmer 15 minutes. Fill pot 2/3 full with water. Boil. Add vegetable bouillon cubes and black pepper. Add cannelloni beans. Cook for 1-1 ½ hours. Soup is better at the next reheating when the flavors have had time to blend.

Asian Slaw
Two 3-oz. packages “oriental” flavored Ramen soup mix
1 cup sliced toasted almonds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup white vinegar
2 (8.5- or 10-oz.) packages slaw mix
1 cup sunflower kernels
½ cup sugar (or 4 packets NutraSweet)

Remove flavor packets from soup mix and set aside. Crush uncooked noodles and place in bottom of bowl. Top with slaw mix. Sprinkle with almonds, sunflower kernels and green onions. Whisk together contents from flavor packets, sugar, oil and vinegar and pour over slaw. Cover and chill for 24 hours. Toss before serving.

Greek Spinach and Rice
2 lbs. fresh spinach
1 cup uncooked rice
2 medium onions, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bay leaves
2 cups vegetable broth
1 small can tomato sauce
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry spinach. Tear into pieces. Saute onions, garlic and race rice in olive oil until golden in color. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add spinach, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Mix well and add broth. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. This is usually served hot, but it is also good cold.

Pasta with Asparagus
1/3 cup olive oil
4 large scallions, sliced diagonally (white part only)
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup pitted black olives, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 large tomato, diced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ cup vegetable broth
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 lb. pasta (such as fusilli, spiral, bow tie), cooked

Wash asparagus and drain off. If asparagus is tough, peel out skin and snap off and discard tough stem ends. You can blanch the asparagus in enough water to cover the asparagus. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Boil for a few minutes and remove to a paper towel to drain. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add asparagus, scallions and garlic. Fry over a high heat for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and fry 2 minutes more. Add tomato, basil and oregano and fry another 2 minutes more. Stir in white wine, ½ cup of the vegetable broth, olives, salt and black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Mix together cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup of broth in a small cup. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture over cooked pasta in a nice serving dish.

Lenten Devil’s Food Cake
3 cups cake flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 teaspoons baking soda
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups cold water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla

Sift all dry ingredients together three times. Put in mixing bowl. Make 3 holes. Put vinegar in first hole, vanilla in second and in third hole, oil. Over whole thing, pour 2 cups cold water and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool and frost pan.

Frosting:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Ground nuts (optional)

Mix ingredients. If using ground nuts, nuts may be added or sprinkled on frosting.

Fruity Dump Cake
17- or 20-oz. can crushed pineapple
1 can blue berry filling
1 (18.25-oz) box white cake mix
1 cup finely chopped nuts
½ cup flaked coconut
2 sticks margarine, melted

Using a 9 x 13-inch pan, pour in can of crushed pineapple, juice and all. Spread evenly across bottom of pan. Next, spread 1 can pie filling over pineapple. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over these two layers. Next, layer the chopped nuts and then flaked coconut. Drizzle melted margarine over entire dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Variation: Orange or spice cake mix can be used in place of white cake mix.

Schedule of Sunday Services

Confession offered approximately 30 minutes before each service, including Sunday mornings and by appointment with the priest.

9:10 AM: Hours (prayers in preparation for service)

9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy (the worship service)

After the service all are invited to join us for Coffee Hour and fellowship

Programs for children, youth and adults offered after most services