Fourth Week of Lent

Basic South American-style White Rice – Arroz Blanco

Prep Time: 25 minutes           Serves 4
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice

Preparation:

1. Peel the garlic cloves, and mash them with a mortal and pestle until it’s well crushed.
2. Run water over the rice, and stir briefly, then drain water off. Repeat several times  until the water runs clear.
3. Heat the oil in a 2 quart saucepan on medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 2 or 3  minutes, until the garlic turns clear and barely golden in color.
4. Add the water and the salt, and bring the water to a boil.
5. Add the rice to the boiling water and stir briefly. Cover, lower heat to medium-low,  and let cook for 15 minutes.
6. The rice should be fluffy and still appear slightly shiny and wet. If it appears too wet,  cook a few minutes more. If it appears dry, sprinkle couple of tablespoons more water over the rice. Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes more.
7. Fluff rice with a fork and serve. Enjoy! Also keeps very well for the next day.

Black Beans (from Cuban cookbook – Cocina Criolla)

1 pound black beans
10 cups water
2 green peppers, de-seeded
2/3 cup olive oil (two-thirds cup)
1 large onion
6-8 cloves of garlic
4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dry wine

Soak the beans in water overnight with one of the green peppers.  The following morning, cook the mixture in a large pot at medium-high heat for 45 minutes.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add and sauté the onion, the second green pepper and the garlic, all finely chopped.  Add the contents of skillet to pot of beans.  Add the salt, black pepper, oregano, bay leaves and sugar and cook for another hour at a gentle boil.  Then add the vinegar and wine and simmer for another hour until done. Best served over white rice.

P.S. If you wish for the beans to be less juicy, simmer for a longer period – very tasty. (from a Kansas cook)

Three practices for the fourth week of Lent

• When we work together, we are stronger than when we work alone.  Find a way that you can cooperate and work more effectively with the people in your workplace, family, school or community and do it.
• Dale Carnegie said that the greatest need people have is for love and approval.  Praise, compliment and honor the uniqueness of at least five people today.
• Slow down and notice what is going on in the moment.  Become more conscious of nature, those around you and your own thoughts and feelings.

Third Week of Lent

Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

1 cup red beans, washed and drained
3 cups of water
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 T. parsley, chopped
1 large bay leaf, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped

Cook beans in water. Season with salt. When preparing this meal outside of Lent you may want to try seasoning with bacon drippings if you wish. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add onion, garlic, celery, and bay leaf. Continue to cook over low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If beans become too dry, add heated water. Two tablespoons of sugar improve the whole effect. Serve on mounds of rice. Serves 4.

Three practices for third week of Lent

Choosing not to engage in any form of gossip today contributes to harmony. Consciously choose to see the good in others rather than finding fault.

Jesus says “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (John13:34) Meditate on how Jesus has loved you… How then can you put that love into practice with those around you?

Mother Teresa implored us to “find someone who thinks he is alone and let him know that he is not.” Today do as Mother Teresa suggests.

Second Week of Lent

Jordanian Rice, Lentils and Onions

3 or 4 large onions, sliced thin
2 T.  butter
2 T. vegetable oil
1½ cups lentils*
2 cups long grain white or brown rice
1¼ T. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. cumin
Leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter along with the oil and a tsp. of salt in the biggest skillet available and add the onions.  Set heat at very low and stir occasionally, cooking for at least 20 minutes.  Then turn up and cook some more and stir often, until onions are brown
2.  In the meantime cook the rice and the lentils separately according to directions.  The lentils need to be watched carefully…you want them done but not mushy…they should keep their shape.
3.  When everything is cooked, fold the rice, lentils, spices and half the onions in a large bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste.
4.  To serve form a large mound, top with the remaining onions and chopped parsley, a twist of pepper and a few grains of sea salt.  Serve with a bowl of plain yogurt.  It’s really good at room temperature and just gets better after a day in the refrigerator.

*You could use red beans if you wish

Three practices for the second week

To simplify is to invite peacefulness.  Think of three ways you can simplify your life and put at least one of them into practice today.

Mother Teresa said, “There is a hidden poverty more pervasive than lack of money.  It is the poverty of the heart.” Find three ways to generously give of your time, attention and talents to others.  Example….Spend time with your friend who has been having a difficult time since breaking up with her boyfriend.

Spend at least an additional five minutes in prayer this week talking to Jesus about a situation which needs healing.

First Week of Lent

Rice Red Beans from Haiti (Diri Et Pois Coles)

Ingredients
2 cups of long grain rice
1 cup of red kidney beans
1 finely chopped onion
1 chopped hot green pepper
1 tbsp of butter
2 chopped cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook the beans in 4 cups of water in a medium pot for 2 hours or until tender.
Drain the beans but keep the water (it will be used to cook the rice).
Fry the salt pork or bacon until crisp (use oil if needed). Add the onion, garlic, and green pepper. Add the beans along with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the water used to cook beans & bring to a boil
Add the rice and cook for 20-25 minutes.

— Recommended cookbook: A Taste of Haiti

Three practices for this first week.

Sacred scripture states, “As one thinks in one’s heart, so is that one.” Spend at least 3 minutes, relax, breathe and let your mind be fed by “whatever is good and beautiful” as a way of helping you to be more peaceful.

Jesus urges us to “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” (Matthew 7:12) We can practice this in ordinary acts such as allowing others to go ahead of us as we wait in line at the post office; giving someone our seat; sharing our homemade cookies with those next door.

Gratitude: On her show Oprah Winfrey frequently promotes the daily practice of gratitude. Begin the day by listing five things for which you are grateful and end the day by sharing with one person all the good things that happened to you today.