Here we are at the last Sunday of Epiphany with Lent just around the corner. I will miss participating in the imposition of ashes this year, I think it will be the first time since I was a small child that I have not taken part in that ritual as, since the inception of the Pod, we have even had a mini-version of the rite, here in my home and prior to that it was always a practice at both St. Matthew’s and St. Stephen’s. For many years I had the job of burning the previous Easter’s palms in a large wok and we used to incorporate that task into the Ash Wednesday Children’s Program or into an Intergenerational Service. Lots of acrid smoke and the occasional setting off of the smoke detectors were annual excitements relished especially by small boys!! I’m afraid imposing them on myself just doesn’t cut it but I will find an online Service to watch next Wednesday, which is the best one can do under the current circumstances, at least I can make pancakes for Shrove Tuesday dinner. 😊
It has been a full week with further progress happening as we prepare for the “Day Camp Cook-along”, that’s the final title we have settled on for our short series of cooking classes for Day Campers and their families. I do hope someone will sign up in the next few days as it is rather discouraging that so far no one has replied to our information emails. On a brighter note, a couple of people have shown interest in joining the Lenten Day Retreat for Team Alumni, scheduled for the last Saturday in March.
Afternoons I have continued to plug away at my Food Bank phone calls and am managing to keep up with the additional names that Jessica is entering into the system just ahead of me! I don’t dare ask how many more still need to be added to the spreadsheet, I think I’m at something like 162 calls as of yesterday afternoon.
It has been a blessing that we have only had a bit of snow this week so at least shovelling has been manageable, although the last few days have been extremely cold with frostbite warnings so Thomason and I have been obliged to take shorter than usual walks as there is danger of his getting frostbitten paws and we don’t want that to happen!!!
There have also been a couple of Zoom and FaceTime meetings during the week. Tuesday afternoon was the monthly meeting of Diocesan Council, which meant the typing up of minutes Wednesday and Thursday evenings. This is also a week when I do menu planning so I’m still finishing up that task to cover lunches and dinners for the coming 2 weeks.
Thursday evening I also had a very nice FaceTime chat with the Theological Student who I partner through the Bishop’s Commission on Ministry. We hadn’t spoken for about a month so it was good to catch up and hear how her studies are going and also talk about the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) module, which all Postulants for Ordination are obliged to take.
This morning I did a bit of sewing on my borrowed machine and now have some bread rising to bake later this afternoon but first I shall need to do some more phoning so we had better close off with our recipe and I’ll get back to work.
One night this week I made a Bangkok Coconut Curry Bowl. It was really very warming and tasty on a cold winter night.
Bangkok Coconut Curry Bowl
- 2 Tbsps. sunflower oil
- 1 head broccoli, broken into small florets
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, shredded lengthwise
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 tsp. finely minced ginger root
- 1 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
- 2 Tbsps. Asian Fish Sauce
- 2 Tbsps. Tamari
- 1 Tbsp. Sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. curry powder (preferably homemade)
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 12.oz Brown Rice noodles
- 2 tbsps. sesame seeds
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
Cook the brown rice noodles, drain and set aside. In a small saucepan heat 1Tbsp. oil and fry the green onion, gingerroot and garlic until golden. Add the coconut milk, curry powder, sugar, fish sauce, Tamari and Sriracha. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. Meanwhile heat the remaining Tbsp. of oil and stir-fry the onion, broccoli and carrots until crisp tender. When the sauce is ready add it and the cooked noodles to the vegetables, toss to heat everything and coat it with the sauce. Transfer to individual bowls and garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves. Serves 3-4