Daily Archives: February 27, 2009

In my running commentary about Lent and my struggles with it over the years I have noted that I really don’t do fish, a staple of Lenten cuisine. Fish is so prevalent on Lenten menus that some calendars have a little fish superimposed on Fridays and sometimes Wednesdays. This is not a Jesus fish, it is a fish….this symbolizes no cow, no buffalo, no chicken, no lamb or mutton, no pig, not even Spam, which I don’t know if can be truly categorized as a meat.  When I first saw fish on a liturgical calendar I wanted to throw up.  I’ve had people suggest variations on fish, as I noted I did suffer one year deployed on ship eating meaty Alaskan King Crab and Lobster and patently avoiding the “turf” side of our surf and turf Friday menu.

Since I have both experienced the pain of traditional Lenten menus as well as noticed friends who are being faithful but obviously not liking it I have a few suggestions that Judy have come up with.

Vegetarian Pizza: We like things like mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted garlic, banana peppers and onions and I like olives, which go on my side of the pizza because Judy is somewhat allergic to them.

Pasta with some type of spicy sauce and good pasta noodles.  I like Baked Ziti, Baked Spaghetti, Penne and Marinara usually with oodles of garlic and peppers.

Italian specialities such as Stromboli or Calzone with vegetable fillings rather than meat.

Mexican provides some nice options usually based around beans and rice. bean burritos, beans and rice,  flour tortillas and bean chalupas (tostadas in California).

Cajun can work good in some instances, I always like red beans and rice.

Judy has come up with a great recipe for black bean soup which is both filling and zesty which is usually accompanied by some home baked bread.

Since we are only actually having to do these meals on Fridays and Wednesdays during some years, we really don’t need a lot of variation to do this.

I do hope this provides ideas for folks who either struggle with Lent, have food allergies that prevent them from eating fish, or who are new to this.