Lent 2022

We are about a month out from the Lenten season! This year we are doing much the same for Lent as we did last year, by adhering to a vegetarian diet (with fish Fridays of course!). This year it will be much the same, vegetarian all week, with fish on Friday and Sunday as the feast day, of course. However, we are adding another parameter and allowing dairy and eggs only twice a week as we now eat mostly vegetarian during the week nowadays. Hopefully this will increase creativity and exploration rather than feel restrictive (already have a stellar vegan mac and cheese recipe on deck, thankfully!). Last year I was inspired by a video I saw on Max Miller’s Tasting History about medieval Lenten substitutions, and looking forward to exploring some of the somewhat forgotten ways we got around meat and dairy when it was more of a luxury.

I am still trying to figure out some parameters around certain items however. In particular, leftovers from roasts on Sundays. I generally make stock from the leftover chicken carcass after a roast for a soup the next day for example. I think in the interest of wasting not and wanting not I will keep this practice. For actual meat leftovers, however, I think I will do my best to one: do my best to ensure no leftovers and two: to reuse them in a way that can be frozen and kept for the next Sunday. For example, leftover brisket can be made into a meat sauce and frozen for pasta the next week. Barring that, I think we’ll allow the bounty of Sunday to occasionally enrich Monday’s lunch or supper.

I always appreciate Lent as an opportunity to rethink how we nourish ourselves and to shake us out of our routine. Even if you do not observe Lent, I think it can be useful to do similar exercises. I think Veganuary is a pretty decent secular equivalent. We found some amazing dishes last year that became staples in our routine (looking at you Braised Tofu, which I think I could eat every week and never get sick of). I am looking forward to rediscovering forgotten favorites from the last round as well as finding new things to cook. Last year we did end up feeling quite stuck at times, particularly because Lent started a couple weeks earlier in mid-February and it’s easy to get in a rut with the limited end of winter and early spring produce choices. When it’s pretty much cabbage and kale on repeat things can feel really stale, no matter the variety of beans you have in the mix. It’s only a matter of two weeks but I think having a bit more choice for produce in those first weeks of April will make a big difference in keeping things fresh the final stretch before Easter. We also have Cool Beans in our arsenal which I think will make a big difference, and I’m currently on the hunt for another vegetarian or vegan cookbook (because you can never have too many). I am considering a couple different books at the moment but Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour in particular has my eye.

I am looking forward to sharing weekly recaps, hopefully this will make it easier to keep track of what works and doesn’t work for us!

Signs of spring.