thoughts on fasting
the purpose of fasting in (contemplative) Christianity is to increase humility and to help to 'tame the passions'. Some religions, such as the orthodox, have a quite fixed calendar of fasting days, while others may do so for special occasions only. For myself, I like to use it to balance out my diet and alternate my usual foods with fasting foods. Sometimes I do this purely because I really like some of them, but also as a reminder of how, we in the west, eat far too much and far too many animal based products.
As this weekend has been quite hectic (for a hermit anyway), and involved a weekend of Jamaican food and a Chinese meal on Monday for a friend's birthday, it seemed a good idea and a relief to introduce one for the next couple of days as they feel 'cleansing' and I guess, healthy.
What I chose for this fasting meal isn't really one of my top favourites but is tasty and nutritious and easy to make. I did expand on the original by adding a green pepper and some thyme as well but it is essentially the same. As with most of my fasting foods, they originate from Greece, largely because they have a wide range of foods for fasting days. After a few days of rich and heavy foods, it feels good to eat something 'cleaner'. let's hope it tastes as good!
Recipe for the basic 'fakes ( Φακές ) follows
recipe link (opens in new window)
(and don't forget to add the red wine vinegar on top to finish .. it really does make all the difference)
