Today on Shrove Tuesday we feast on the good things left in our larders as we prepare for the quiet, inward time of Lent. Traditionally that means pancakes, although I’ve never been a good pancake-maker.
This whole question of food (something dearer to my life than it should be, going by the size of my hips!) got me thinking about people’s views on monastic food. When I say I’m going to stay in a monastery, people seem to think the life revolves around copious amounts of lentils.
St Benedict was a very practical person. In his Rule, he allows for two cooked dishes to be served at a meal “…to allow for the weaknesses of different eaters; so that if someone cannot eat of the one dish, he may still make a meal from the other.” He also allows for “tender vegetables”, a pound of bread and half a pint of wine daily. But there is an emphasis on frugality.
I don’t think there can be many monasteries that still provide half a pint of wine a day(!), but the spirit of Benedict’s Rule can be interpreted as simple, good quality food, well prepared, with an extra effort on feast days.
This was illustrated well in a recent Radio 4 programme that featured Turvey Abbey, where I so often stay. The sidebar of the link gives the recipe for what was prepared: Sausages with Roasted Sweet Potato, plus Dutch Red Cabbage with apple and cinnamon. Not a lentil in sight!
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