GF Lenten Tea Menu

The following post was submitted by Summer from Home.  Thank you Summer! 

When we discovered that our seventh baby had gluten sensitivites, one of my first thoughts was, "What about our liturgical feasts?" I know, a little crazy, but my family loves to celebrate with a special saint day treat here and there. So, when Lent rolled around this year, I was determined to adapt Jessica's Lenten Teas for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Here are our plans:

Holy Thursday
Palm on the Road- read Little Colt's Palm Sunday book, always gf!
Costly Oil- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
30 Pieces of Silver- banana pennies for a little extra fruit
Unleavened Bread- thick gf flour tortillas
(We are going to use this recipe from Spark Recipes. We haven't tried it yet, but it has excellent reviews.)

The Mount of Olives- black olives
The Cock Crows Twice- chicken pot pie
An excellent pie crust recipe from King Arthur Flour
My favorite chicken pot pie recipe, yum!: Allrecipes (just be sure to substitute sweet rice flour for wheat flour)

Gethsemane Figs- fig butter to spread on the tortillas
Sleepy Apostles- Celestial Seasoning Sleepytime Tea
Judas' Kiss- fresh strawberries
Clouds of Heaven- home whipped cream
Peter's Tears- sunflower seeds

Good Friday
Water Bowl- water, easy!
The King's Crown- refried beans with cheese sprinkled on top and organic tortilla chips
Out of Envy- guacamole
The Purple Cloak- boysenberry fruit leathers (the TJ's version has no added sugar)
The Crown of Thorns- Glutino crackers with cream cheese and tortilla chip thorn bits
Golgotha Eggs- boiled eggs
The Seamless Garment- rice flour or corn tortillas with cheese cubes
The Two Robbers- spinach leaves
Vinegar to Drink- balsamic vinegar
The Temple Curtain- tear a napkin
The Roman Centurion- red grapes (my children do not like fresh tomatoes)
Laid in a Tomb- drop biscuits with jelly in the middle
(We love biscuits and have them every Saturday morning for our big breakfast with daddy. However, a tasty gf recipe is tough to find. Trust me, I have made a lot of hockey pucks! This recipe from Hodgson Mill is the best by far.)

GF Drop Biscuits Recipe
Preheat oven to 375
Grease standard 12 muffin pan

3 cups all purpose GF baking flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. xantham gum
1 tsp. baking soda
Blend above ingredients well

1/2 cup cold butter
Use a pastry blender or two forks to blend into a coarse meal with dry ingredients
(I always cheat and use my butter warm)

1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 lg egg, beaten
In a large measuring cup, mix wet ingredients together. Pour into dry ingredients. Batter will be moist and very thick. Evenly spoon batter into muffin tin. Lightly flatten the tops of biscuits using fingers dipped in milk.

Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool.

Holy Saturday...
Will be spent baking our traditional Lamb Cake, just with GF Betty Crocker helping out.

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Passion Pita Pizzas

The following post was submitted by Lori from Busy with Blessings, sharing the "Passion Pita Pizzas" she created with her children last year on Good Friday. Thank you Lori!

First we took a pita and discussed how the stripes remind us of Our Lord's scourged body and that by His stripes we are healed. We are also thankful that He gives His body to us in the Holy Eucharist to strengthen us along our journey.

We brushed the pita bread with olive oil for He was arrested in the Garden of Olives. (I bake these at 425 for about 5-8 min to get them crispy.)

Next we spread the pizza sauce to represent the blood He shed for us and for all so that sins may be forgiven.

The white cheese and mushrooms were added to represent purity from sin.

We added green bellpepper in the shape of a cross to represent life.

Black Olives were added for His 5 Wounds.

Onions were added last to represent tears shed.

I sprinkled a little more cheese on the top and baked them for about 10 min., keeping an eye on them so they didn't burn.  They are very symbolic and yummy!

Lord by Your Cross and Resurrection You have set us free, You are The Savior of the World!

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Holy Thursday Gumbo Z'herbes (Green Gumbo)

The following recipe for Holy Thursday was submitted by Frank Speyerer. Thank you Frank!

Gumbo z'herbes is the least common of the three traditional gumbos we eat in New Orleans, and it's nothing like the other two. For one thing, it doesn't usually contain a roux. In its most rigorously constituted form, there should be no meat or seafood in gumbo z'herbes. This is penitential gumbo for Lenten eating. However I add bacon and a ham hock for seasoning.

The name is a contraction of gumbo aux herbs--gumbo with greens. The more different greens it contains, the better the gumbo z'herbes. The tradition says that you must have an odd number of greens in there or risk bad luck. Whatever number of different greens you use will be the number of new friends you'll make before next Easter.

Besides the usual mustard, collard greens and turnip greens, some of the additional greens may include spinach, 
green onions, parsley, watercress, 
beet tops, 
carrot tops, radish tops, peppergrass,
 dandelion greens
, green leaf lettuce (not iceberg) or cabbage. 


More gumbo z'herbes is served during Holy Week than all the rest of the year combined. It was a family tradition that my Mère (grand-mother), Louise Egan (1883-1955) cooked gumbo z'herbes (without meat) on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday.

Gumbo Z'herbes (Green Gumbo)

Ingredients:

• 8 strips bacon cut into one inch pieces

• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 bunch mustard greens 

• 1 bunch collard greens
• 1 bunch turnip greens 

• 2 small turnips, peeled and cubed

• 2 cups dry white wine

• water to cover
• 1 ham hock

• 2 teaspoons Frank’s Creole Seasoning (see below for recipe) or salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

1. Wash the greens and drain well.
2. Cut out the stems center ribs from the greens.
3. Tear the greens into small pieces.
4. In a black cast iron pot, sauté the bacon over medium heat until it is translucent and the bottom of the pot is coated with the rendered bacon fat.
5. Sauté the onions and garlic until soft.
6. Add the greens and the cubed turnip.
7. Add the water and wine to cover.
8. Add the ham hock and seasonings and bring pot to a boil over medium heat.
9. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the greens are tender, about 2 hours.
10. Serve greens hot with their cooking liquid or "pot likker”.

Serves: 15

Franks Famous Creole Seasoning

This type of seasoning base is used in many New Orleans restaurants, from Emeril's to Commander's Palace to K-Paul's. This is particularly good on grilled chicken or duck.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1½ teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried oregano leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried parsley leaves
• ¼ teaspoon ground bay leaves

Note: This version of Creole seasoning contains salt -- If you like to control salt content separately, omit the salt from the blend.

Method:

1. In a medium bowl or food processor combine salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, white pepper, ground black pepper, granulated onion, granulated garlic, crushed basil, crushed oregano, crushed thyme and parsley. Mix thoroughly.
2. Use like salt. When it's salty enough, it's seasoned to perfection.
3. Store in an airtight container for up to three months.

Note: The amounts in this recipe are given by volume. So a "teaspoon" can be a cup or a Tablespoon depending on how much seasoning you wish to make. Double or triple the recipe as you wish.

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