www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Lenten Cookbooks - Information Needed

In recent weeks, this website has received numerous requests asking for information on lenten cookbooks that are appropriate to our Byzantine fast (we always get such requests at the beginning of Philip's Fast and the Great Fast).

We would like to all the participants of The Byzantine Forum if they would do us the favor of providing information on the lenten cookbooks that are in their collection. If convenient, please post the following in a reply to this thread (or you can e-mail it):

-Title of the lenten cookbook
-Publisher
-Cost
-Source (be sure to include address, phone number and website, if available).
-A short review (Do you use it? Is it worth purchasing?)

PS: Please note that any cookbook that provides five or more recipes involving Jell-O cannot possibly claim to be authentically Byzantine / Orthodox.

Although I can not suggest any one cookbook in particular(have given all of mine away)may I recommend your local bookstore or health food store.There are numerous vegetarian cookbooks from which one could choose;meatless,dairyless,cooked foods, raw foods,wheatless, bean banquets,etc.,etc.,etc.
One may browse through these before purchase and find a cookbook for their particular level(?) of fasting.

P.S. - Best of all, being vegetarian
cookbooks, there are no Jello recipes
at all!!!
P.S.S.- You can also find vegetarian recipes
on the net.Sorry I don't remember any
addresses,but they Free!
[This message has been edited by tibubut (edited 11-14-2000).]

[This message has been edited by tibubut (edited 11-14-2000).]

There is quite a hefty text published by an Orthodox community in Nebraska which is 100% vegetarian in its recipes. I can't remember the name off-hand but I will get it from my library and post it as soon as I can. Several of my New Age co-workers thought it was the best vegie book yet. So complete and varied and rather affordable.

Joe Thur

Christ is in our Midst!

There are several excellent Orthodox/Eastern Christian Fasting Cookbooks. The best one is probably St. John the Russian's Orthodox parish of Norwich Conn's "Food for Paradise". The cook book does work well for all levels of fasting from oil days to no oil days, fish days, and Cheese Fare Week. I don't recall any Jello Recipes in the book.(Note if you have a Jello Recipe go to a Gracery store and look for a Gelatin that is Kosher Paerve meaning that it uses vegetable gel and not animal gelatin or go to a health food stor and look for Agar-Agar based gelatins)The cookbook is available from the church, of course, but may also be ordered thru St Nectarius Bookstore in Washington State or Father Anthony Conaris's Light and Life Books (Minnesota).Both of these are on the internet.

Both Bookstores noted above have several other Fasting Cookbooks that meet Orthodox/Eastern Christian Fasting Rules.I have also found several good Ethnic Vegetarian Cookbooks through "Vegetarian Times Magazine" they had last year a Greek Cookbook, Lebanese Cookbook, and a Russian Cook Book available at Christmas tide---on top of this, they have specifically Vegan Cookbooks that work very well for the traditional Orthodox/Eastern Christian Fasts. I don't know why more Orthodox Christians do not subscribe to Vegetarian Times because they provide excellent monthly recipes utilizing the fruits and vegetable of the season---It certainly expanded my families menus for Wednesday and Friday Fasts.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese internet site offers an area on fasting that will log into a vegetarian website that has wonderful fasting foods for Orthodox on it.

With all the great variety of recipes available, the hardest thing for a fasting christian is to avoid is the sin of gourmandizing. One very wise Orthodox Bishop, Bishop Kalistos of Blessed Memory from the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver taught, KEEP IT SIMPLE --- beans, vegetables, bread, juice and water with LOTS OF PRAYER make for the most successful keeping of the Fast.

Your brother in Christ,
Thomas

[This message has been edited by Thomas (edited 11-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Thomas (edited 11-16-2000).]

Here's the book:

"Simply Heavenly!: The Monastery Vegetarian Cookbook" (2nd Edition) by Orthodox Abbot George Burke

Published by Saint George Press, Route 1, Box 75, Geneva, Nebraska 68361

Copyright: Nov. 1995; ISBN 093210407X.

326 pages!!!; Cost: $19.95 or less (depending what virtual bookstore you go through).

From the Publisher (got this from B&N.com):

"With 1,400 vegan vegetarian recipes, this may be the last cookbook a vegetarian will ever need. What's a vegan? Like all vegetarians, vegans don't eat meat or fish, but they also don't eat eggs, dairy products like cheese and milk, or even honey. What is wheat gluten? Simply Heavenly! includes recipes using wheat gluten to create delicious meat substitutes like UnBeef, UnPork, UnSausage, UnBacon, UnChicken, and more. For each meat substitute there are dozens of delicious recipes - Tangy UnMeatballs, UnBeef Pot Roast, Mexican UnPork Chops and Beans, Italian UnSausage, UnChicken Cacciatore, UnShrimp Creole - every favorite meat dish you can think of is here (without the meat). Is there anything but wheat gluten recipes in this book? Simply Heavenly! includes recipes for everything from salads, breads and soups, to pasta, pizza and sandwiches, not to mention other vegetarian favorites like tofu, vegetables, grains, beans and lentils. So you're not sure if you want to give up milk and cheese? There's a whole chapter of dairy substitute recipes including Parmesan Cheez, Notzarella Cheez, Tofu Mayonnaise, Tofu Cottage Cheese, and Tofu Sour Kreem, to name just a few."


Again, my vegan New Age post-Aquarius co-workers stated it was most excellent and exhaustive in its recipes. As they say in the restaraunt, "Enjoy!"

Joe Thur



[This message has been edited by Joe Thur (edited 11-17-2000).]

Dear Brother, Joe Thur

Christ is in our Midst!

I have heard very nice things about the cookbook you wrote about, however, in getting the cookbook you may also open yourself to some of the other writings of the Abbot George Burke. The monastery is a Gnostic-Orthodox Monastery and is not "Orthodox" or "orthodox" believing instead of the Holy Apostolic Orthodox and Catholic Faith's belief of the bodily ressurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and ourhope of the Resurrection---Abbot George Burke has written new age style pamphlets that include support for Reincarnation instead of Ressurrection among other things.

I would recommend caution when one purchases items from this source---as great as the cookbook is, the Theology that accompanies it from its publishing house is NOT Orthodox or Eastern Catholic in nature.

Forgive me if I offend,
Your brother in Christ,

Thomas

Thomas,

The request was for a recipe book, not a theology book. The book is loaded with excellent vegan recipes. Will one be condemned if non-meat recipes are used from Indian or Thai cookbooks? I wasn't promoting Gnosticism, but I did buy the cookbook at the parish which is administered by our eparchial Director of Religious Education.

Thank you anyway for the sound warning. The reasons behind these cookbooks may be troublesome, especially in the theological context. For a vegan cookbook, the picture of Abbot George on page vii shows a man who needs to go on a diet.

Joe Thur
Deacon-Student




[This message has been edited by Joe Thur (edited 11-20-2000).]

Dear Administrator, and all,

Funny you should mention cookbooks.

I have recently heard that the Women's Guild of Saint George the Great-martyr Byzantine Catholic Church in Aliquippa Pennsylvania is publishing a cookbook. There are special sections for fasting recipes, including the preparation of the traditional Christmas eve supper, and Lenten dishes. These include Bybalki, pirohi, halushki, lima bean soup, and others.

For those who are interested, they may be obtained ($12.00 + p. & p.) from

Women's Guild
Saint George the Great-martyr Byzantine Catholic Church
1001 Clinton Street
Aliquippa, Pa. 15001-3903

The shipment of this new cookbook from the printer is Nov. 27th, and they should be available on or near December 4th.

Thank you very much for this interesting thread, and for the opportunity to tell you about our new cookbook.

In Christ,

Elias, monk

[This message has been edited by Monk Elias (edited 11-20-2000).]

Dear Brother Joe Thur,

Christ is in our Midst!

I agree with you that Abbot George's Cookbook is a very good Cookbook. My real concern is that many visitors to this site are Inexperienced questors after Byzantine spirituality (be that Catholic or orthodox expressions of the faith). I afraid that if they ordered the cookbook from the monastery they would be given the opportunnity, as I was, to order some of the gnostic literature of Abbot George's monastery also written by Abbot George. They could be fooled into believing that Abbot George's teachings were the true expression of Byzantine sprituality.


TO ALL:
My wife brought to my attention one of the cook books I had left off of my list, that of : "THE FESTIVE FAST-Greek Meatless Cooking in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition" written by Marigoula Kokkinou and Georgia S. Kofinas, it is printed by Akritas Publications and available through Light and Life Books located at web site: www.light-n-life.com [light-n-life.com] I hope that thse books will help you in keeping the fast.

A SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:
"Let us fast and acceptable fast, pleasing unto the Lord; A True Fast, the estrangement of wrong, the restraint of the toungue, the abstinence from anger, the seperation from desires, slander, falsehood and oath breaking, with the impoverishment brought on by these things, fasting is true and acceptable." Hymn of the Triodion

Your brother in Christ,
Thomas

[This message has been edited by Thomas (edited 11-22-2000).]