Actually, I was wondering whether locusts were meat or fasting purposes . . .

hawk

You can wonder all you like - my reaction was

" No thanks - I'll pass on this "

I won't be able to harvest my white oak's acorns until October. I'll see how I do with filtering out the tannin, then maybe I'll give it a try.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Since we have not yet started the Great Fast, I feel compelled to present (or is it re-present) the following recepie:

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I'd like to share an old family recipe with you I cook up and serve quite often. It's easy, fun, and as you'll see, fairly well-balanced. It's called "4 Layers to the Sun" and it's a lasagna dish.
4 Layers to the Sun Step 1: First, you want to begin with the base of the dish -- the sauce. In my travels, I've come to find that if you prepare a good sauce, everything else will usually fall in line. For "4 Layers" you want to mix two 4 cans of tomato paste with a one pound of ground beef, one pound of smoked ham, 1/2 pound of sausage, 1/2 pound of turkey breast, 1/3 pound of pork, 1/3 pound of venison, and 12 strips of boiled bacon.
Step 2: In a separate bowl melt 2 sticks of salted butter and mix in chopped onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, red peppers, green peppers, eggplant, mangos and garlic. Combine the meat sauce with the butter and veggies and let simmer on low heat for one hour.
Step 3: Carefully add your lasagna noodles into 4 cups of boiling water. For an extra punch I like to splash in a couple tablespoons of Mountain Dew to the boiling water.
Step 4: Lay your bottom noodle into a well greased (I use ranch dressing) 8x12 pan.
Step 5: Ok, it's time for layer one! I like to think of my lasagna as structurally sound -- which is why my base layer is filled with 3 Texas T-bone steaks. When laying the steaks in, you may have to put on your best "jig-saw puzzle hat" for rearranging. When the T-bones are in there nice and snug, cover them with a generous stack of fried onion rings and a half bottle of A-1 steak sauce. Finally, pour on a nice coating of your simmering meat sauce.
Step 6: The next section is what I like to call the "rise and shine layer." Why? It's primarily breakfast foods. Start with 6 pieces of french toast arranged on top of a fresh noodle. Then set down a thin blanket of Canadian bacon followed by 8 over-easy eggs. Top with 2 cups of Trix cereal and a helping of fresh maple syrup. Cover with meat sauce and lie down next noodle.
Step 7: For the third layer you'll want to prepare your taste buds for a 'journey under the sea.' Begin by spooning and spreading out 2 cans of dolphin unsafe tuna. Place 2-3 (depending on their size) soft-shell blue crabs atop the tuna and cover with 8oz of tartar sauce. Lastly, top with 1/2 pound of minced Humpback whale blubber (which you should be able to find on the Internet). Cover with meat sauce and lie down next noodle.
Step 8: The final layer in "4 Layers to the Sun" is aimed to satisfy your sweet tooth. Begin by lining the naked noodle with 14 Swiss Cake Rolls. Next you will need the bottoms of 20-30 Snickers bars (use a cheese cutter to slice off the underbelly, just before the peanuts) and stack the nougat slivers in neat rows. Follow that with a thick layer of New York cheesecake filling followed with a coating of jet-puffed marshmallows. Drizzle with Hersey's chocolate syrup, secure top noodle, and empty your remaining meat sauce onto the lasagna.
Step 9: Sprinkle dish with handfuls of mozzarella, pepperjack, Colby, Swiss, muenster, cheddar, provolone, brie, feta, parmigiana, and nacho cheese.
Step 10: Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours.
Step 11: Grab a spork and enjoy! "4 Layers to the Sun" feeds 1 to 1 1/2 people and is best served with a tall glass of Diet Pepsi.

Father Deacon El, this recipe will be torture to read during Lent. It would make for the ultimate feast dish. The aroma must be an amazing combination of sweet and savory, though I've never baked with nougat and have a hard time imagining that smell.

Feeding 1 to 1 1/2 people, I take it would feed a hungry man or his pregnant wife.

Bob,

You merged the recipe in - good job, I was thinking that would be the ideal thing to do!

Many years,

Neil

Here is a recipe for a meatless tomato soup. It's easy to make and quite good. Enjoy!

Tuscan Tomato Soup

¼ c. olive oil
Two 35oz and one 28oz cans of whole plum tomatoes
4 carrots, 4 stalks celery, 2 or 3 small/medium onions, all finely chopped in processor
½ c. chopped parsley, 6 basil leaves chopped

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat and cook vegetables till tender. Crush tomatoes and add. Cook 25-30 minutes and add parsley and basil and cook an additional 5 minutes.

That sounds good, John, especially as I'm a fan of tomato soup

Many years,

Neil

NEIL:

What I posted is the latest version after many experiments with the original and deleting so some items.

BOB

From what a good and holy priest told me, was that if it has red blood and/or a dorsal nervous system, it is considered meat and Verboten. But since locusts have neither red blood nor a dorsal nervous system (theirs is ventral) they are "kosher."

OK, thanks.

Hmm, so male mosquitoes are OK, but females aren't after they feed

hawk

First catch your mosquito and then decide on the sex before you munch it


Anyone got any idea as to how to sex a mosquito ?

It's easy--if it bites you, it's female.

hawk

so then you can't eat it ?



I can't help feeling that there is a problem in deciding which ones CAN be eaten during Fast Periods

Saw a good recipe on the Food Channel at lunch. It's a creamy soup but without cream.

Cook onions, garlic, potatoes, artichokes with vegetable stock (about two cups) to cover. Cut the vegetables into small pieces so that they cook more quickly. Cook the vegetables down until they are soft. Allow the cooking to be done without a lid so that the excess broth cooks off. Then either put into a blender in small batches and return to another pan or use one of those hand-held gadgets to make it smooth. (You may leave it a bit less than smooth, depending on the texture you want. Minced chives complete the soup when you place into bowls. Serve with crusty, heavy bread.


I do a Lenten potato soup without milk that can also be expanded with the addition of clams or other allowable seafood to make a chowder.

Boil potatoes as you would for mashing. Boil carrots with them. Cook long enough that you can see the potatoes releasing starch into the bottom of the pan. Take the vegetables out and reserve. Decant the excess water out of the pan and leave the water you see int he bottom that has a milky look--that is excess potato starch that will help thicken the soup. Place a third of the vegetables back into the milky llking water and puree. Place the rest of the reserved vegetables back into the thickened puree. Add garlic and onions that you have softened in a skillet with water--strain out the water. Add peas and cook the soup for another five to ten minutes until the peas are thawed--if using frozen peas. Canned peas just need to be warmed. The addition of carrots and peas is my own preference for color.

The seasoning is done when the ingredients are brought together with the thickened base. Salt, pepper, and any other herbs to taste. Chopped chives add some eye appeal to the finished product in the bowl. Serve with Crusty bread. I prefer making a garlic bread with heavy bread over which I would put minced garlic bought in a jar (with some of its liquid). Place under a broiler for a few minutes.