Best/worst In Convent Food

[FFI Griswold]

Ave Maria!

 

Most days depend on the postulant or novice that cooks, and given that most young men have no idea how to cook when they enter, the list of stories and laughs would be too long and probably too embarrassing to mention.. Not to mention there's a new class every year! Whatever you can probably imagine, it's been done, except 10x funnier.

 

I barely knew how to cook when I entered, and made my share of grievous mistakes, but since then I've learned so much and have a much stronger sense of what my mom and sisters had to go through. Cooking is hard work, yet such a great blessing and even a rewarding art, especially being able to serve your brethren for the love of God and doing what Our Lady did. Making and eating religious food can be fun, can be a penance, and can always be meritorious (especially if you "always sacrifice something, else you're a glutton").

 

BTW, has anyone read the cooking story about Brother Juniper, the companion of St. Francis?

 

Ave Maria!

 

JMJ,

 

fra John Paul

[maximillion]

When I came out of the convent I discovered I knew all about and could cook in the French Country Style. Yum!

[DiscerningCatholic]

I can't cook that well. I always say that if the sisters want me to do penance, they can make me do the laundry and ironing for a week. And if THEY want to do penance, they can put me in charge of food for a week. :|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:blush:

Edited June 3, 2013 by DiscerningCatholic

[dymphnamaria]

Ave Maria!



BTW, has anyone read the cooking story about Brother Juniper, the companion of St. Francis?

Ave Maria!

JMJ,

fra John Paul

Oh yess I remember that. When Bro. Juniper cooked the feet of a pig for the sick man. :)

[OnlySunshine]

I love to cook.  I've started experimenting with recipes and making them my own -- especially recipes that aren't gluten-free and then turning them into something I can eat.  For the most part, it's worked out quite well, aside from brownies that I made last week.  They were really good but got stuck to the pan because the top was dense and the bottom was moist so they kept breaking apart.  :blush:

[ChristinaTherese]

Ave Maria!

 

...

 

BTW, has anyone read the cooking story about Brother Juniper, the companion of St. Francis?

 

Ave Maria!

 

JMJ,

 

fra John Paul

You mean about the pig's foot? Yep. rotfl

[Mary's Child]

My favorite convent meal so far has been with the MSSR (Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa) my last night with them we had burritos someone had donated, rice, beans, chips and salsa :) . It was very good and the best part is that sister was worried about what to feed us and had only 5 minutes to come up with it, right then the door bell rang and it was one of their local families their with dinner for us. :bounce:

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

BTW: The Visitation Sisters of Rockville, Virginia have amazing variety at every meal, and most of it is pretty excellent. Sister Corazon makes a fine egg foo yung on meatless Fridays. A lot of the food is from processed ingredients (boxes, cans, etc.), but she really "dresses them up" very nicely. Those sisters have a major jelly bean fetish, btw. ;-)

 

The Benedictines of Greensburg, Pennsylvania... It was variable. They take mostly donations and, though I never saw anything moldy or gross, they did have some "unusual" items. Lots of gelatinized things... Blech. But then, I am very picky about cold salads. They were also scarce on protein.

 

The CDS sisters of Canton, Ohio had wonderful meals. I only ate with them once; the rest of the five days I was there I ate together with their elderly residents. (They run a nursing home.) Both ate extremely well. I couldn't tell if the food was processed or not, but it was certainly healthy and well balanced.

 

Does anyone know about the food at the Monastic Family of Bethlehem in NY?

 

The food at Bethlehem is wonderful! It's French cooking. They also give you too much to eat!

[OnlySunshine]

I think my most favorite meal (I'm not sure if I posted it here yet) was when I went to visit the Northern Province of the Carmelite DCJ Sisters.  They had a few Filipino novices and it was their turn to be in charge of the kitchen.  They made the most incredible Pancit recipe of very thin rice noodles, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs.  I have always LOVED Filipino food and I've tried many times to recreate it at home.  While my version is good, it's not as good as theirs.  I also don't think it's as good as the authentic Filipino food at the Church bazaar.  The great thing is that I can still eat Pancit even though I'm gluten intolerant (as long as I use soy sauce that doesn't contain wheat which is pretty easy to find, thank GOD!) since it's made from rice noodles.  :)

Edited June 3, 2013 by MaterMisericordiae

[Eowyn]

I thought I just read, "Best/worst In Convert Food"

 

 

:rotfl2:  :rotfl2:  :rotfl2:

 

 

So, that gives a whole new meaning to all the Lutheran Church Supper food that I ate when I was growing up.  Red Jello, Coffee, Chocolate Cake with Boiled White Frosting (sounds gross, but is delish) and HOT DISH.  That will be the novitiate menu in my convent.  :) :) :)

[Gabriela]

The food at Bethlehem is wonderful! It's French cooking. They also give you too much to eat!

Do they eat meat? Don't they eat in their cells, like the Carthusians?

[Anastasia13]

Ugh! That convert food, you want to stay away from that stuff! :hehe2:

Depends on the parish. I like the post-liturgy food I got after converting.  :bananacorn:  :cheeese:  :cake: 

[ChristinaTherese]

Depends on the parish. I like the post-liturgy food I got after converting.  :bananacorn:  :cheeese:  :cake: 

I didn't get any. :cry:

 

JK, my parents had to go back home and had a long drive ahead of them... and it was after the Easter Vigil (which I think started at 8), so it was late. They had no idea what they were getting into when they decided to do that, I think. But I was okay with not getting to eat the food provided afterwards.

[vee]

bump!

I cant believe I havent posted in this thread before!

The worst dish Ive had in a convent wasnt anything taste wise but rather something about it that resulted in several people, me included, having very upset stomachs.  My troubles started shortly after the meal while doing the dishes.  This resulted in me racing out of the kitchen  to what I prayed was a washroom out of earshot.  I prayed so hard that no one would hear but when I got back to the kitchen Sister was like "ohh I hope your stomach is ok" I WANTED TO DIE  thinking she had heard something!   

 

The best?  Where do I start!  It has been said before, and bears repeating that one should pay attention to the kitchen and its cleanliness etc because you could very well be eating that food  for the rest of your life.  Where Ive applied the food is very healthy, balanced, nutritious and so forth.  They are vegetarian but the predominance of rice, fish, and vegetables is just my thing.  Then there are the amazing soups, vegetable soup, egg drop soup, the tortellini alfredo with the most excellent alfredo sauce I couldve eaten the whole thing!  A mild curry dish that I inhaled as well, blueberry pancakes, home made cheese cake, and all the Filipino food.  My only problem was trying to not look like a complete pig... 

[Nunsuch]

[My apologies if this was included in any of the previous 11 pages, which I have not read.]  There are 2 very wonderful cookbooks written by Brother Rick Curry, a Jesuit. He has only one arm, and thus was deemed ineligible for the priesthood. [He later earned a PhD, however.] Anyway, he now runs the national theater for the handicapped (US).  But his first assignments were as a cook. He has interviewed Jesuit cooks from around the world, and included both their stories and their recipes. One book--the first--focuses on bread, and the other on soups.  If you search under Rick Curry on Amazon.com, you should find them easily.

Also, the Sinsinawa (Wisconsin) Dominican sisters make THE best cinnamon bread in the world. It is amazing. You can even order it online, though I have never done so.