From a Monastery Kitchen: The Classic Natural Foods Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)Originally published in the mid seventies as From a Monastery Kitchen: A Practical Cookbook of Vegetarian Recipes for the Four Seasons Complete from Soups to Desserts with Breads I refer here to the 2002 Liguori expanded reprint edition, with a new Introduction by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-LaTourette, Benedictine based in an abbey in upstate New York and renowned chef of good, simple and essentially vegetarian monastic food.
In his introduction, Brother Victor-Antoine writes: "Vegetables play a unique and most important role in the daily monastic fare, for all classic monastic diet throughout the ages has been predominately vegetarian, while making provisions for the inclusion of seafood and dairy products as well. Monastic gardeners make a point of cultivating extensive gardens that usually produce an adequate supply of vegetables, fruits, and herbs for daily culinary use. Vegetarian cooking, for both health and spiritual reasons, has been rediscovered and has attained wide prominence. In the cooking at monasteries, this goes a long way toward sustaining and encouraging the positive trend we see today (p. 3)."
Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila LaTourette further writes: "This is a vegetarian cookbook; no meat recipes are included, but there are fish recipes. Not all monastics are vegetarians by any means, but the Rule of Saint Benedict, which Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery follows, strongly encourages abstaining from meat. And each of us today must consider whether we want more than the least of us on the planet can have; most of our brothers and sisters do not have meat. (p. 4)"
This is right in line with the recent words of compassion and global concern expressed so eloquently by Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his recent Apostolic Exhortation Sacramento de La Caridad: Sacramentum Caritatis as he urges us, compelled by our participation in the Eucharistic mysteries, to alter the economic structures which leave the majority of us destitute.
Thus Brother Victor-Antoine closely follows the Precept of The Rule of Saint Benedict proscribing quadrapeds. In fact you find here only a smattering of fish dishes. In the Main Dishes section you will find an excellent recipe for scrambled eggs, but the bulk are excellent, hearty, healthy and vegetarian dishes, such as one might enjoy within any excellent monastic enclosure.
The servings can indeed be generous, For example, the over half gallon recipe for Hermit's Soup which opens this book, including cabbage and carrots and turnip, etc., is suggested for one or two servings. This may seem a generous portion until you realize this may be the only meal of the day, or the evening meal. I might suggest after the hour of simmering passing your Braun MR400fHC Multiquick Hand Blender with Chopper through it a few times, and putting sour cream or fat free yoghurt on top, but too many chefs can spoil the soup. A slight pinch of ground clove, nutmeg or allspice might be nice as well, although they may do battle with the turnip. Perhaps best simply to display the small vials of spice to the soup, in order to frighten it duly into that other dimension of inscrutable flavor, no more. Or to simply follow in obedience the Brother's recipe in ipse.
This is followed by the high-carb Potato Soup, very healthy fare which really sticks to your ribs as you bring in the hay from the monastic fields. Those of a more sedentary life-style might choose a less caloric concoction from this wonderful book.
In fact, Brother Victor-Antoine begins his book with a goodly list of "Useful Tips for a Healthier Diet" including herbs as salt substitutes (which reminds me of the old joke: I tried a low-salt soup once. It was great; all it needed was salt.) and substituting pastries with fruit, and white flour with whole grain, and butters with olive oil, etc. the things one does without a thought nowadays.
The recipes as mentioned are arranged by Season, including Liturgical Season, and are really five star, more elaborate and sophisticated than first few I have presented here. I found a few of the titles rather inventive and more poetic or evocative than factual. For instance, the Subiaco Fish Fillets. I have been to Subiaco, the site of Saint Benedict's original hermitage and monasteries. I am an Oblate of the Subiaco Congregation. I cannot imagine any fish scaling those high and dry mountainous cliffs, filleted or not.
But such idle gossip has no place in a silent monastic refrectory. I am very grateful for this book and the warm companionship and even better food that it brings. And the prayers, of course, the prayers for peace together. In fact, please accompany this present book with Brother Victor-Antoine's excellent table prayer collection: Table Blessings: Mealtime Prayer Throughout the Year.
Many of the recipes reflects Brother Victor-Antoine's French heritage very well, and very simply. You will be surprised at how easily and how cheaply you too can prepare an excellent French meal worthy of the highest honors, and vegetarian.
Please take and read, for this too is our Body.

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Monastic cookery, as it has been practiced through the centuries, is cherished for its emphasis on simplicity, wholesome frugality, basic good taste, and the seasonal rhythms of ingredients used. Healthy eaters, practical cooks, cookbook collectors, and recipe readers will treasure this edition of this classic cookbook containing more than 125 recipes, arranged seasonally.

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