This Week's Greens Challenge

I think I may have overdone it at the farmer's market. There is my haul of greens: romaine, mizuna, kale, collards, chard, bok choy, and Chinese mustard greens. Not pictured are the beet greens. I bought a bunch of golden beets and the greens were not beaten up but looked good. So I cooked them and added them to my crockpot of chili for a little nutritional boost. Also not pictured are the two bags of broccoli. My fridge is stuffed!  Can I get through this mountain of vegetation? We'll see, I and certainly my immune sytem hope so.

Lent Feast

As indicated in my Lent rules post, one day a week the disciplines can be relaxed. Actually, that has happened for a few days now since I am on a vacation. I will count the weeks as Monday through Sunday for my five bunches of greens. I will plan my one day off for Sunday, unless there is an interfering event, like this coming weekend. Family wine tasting and feasting means I will switch the feast day from Sunday to Saturday. Same as this weekend, where my vacation ended. Boo for end of vacation, but the regular routine will make Lent a little easier.

Feast Day Menu

Maryland's Kale

Vegan Crab Cakes

Rice

Fruit Salad

So the feast day feast was great! And it wasn't completely a feast either, as I made great progress on five bunches of greens and tried a new dish that will become a staple as Lent continues. In this case it is Maryland's Kale from The Everyday Happy Herbivore. The kale is cooked simply, with just sliced onions, garlic, Old Bay, and lemon. I cooked it longer than the recipe calls for because I like my greens well done, and I'm at altitude. Like the Carolina Kale, this would make a great main dish by adding beans and using it to top rice. I think I'll try adding mushrooms as well.

But the feast part was Lindsay's recipe for vegan crab cakes that stole the show. Made with tofu, oyster mushrooms, well seasoned and topped with tofu remoulade, they were fantastic! A great dish for when you have the time and energy for something a little fancy. Bravo Lindsay!

Next up:
Week (shortened) in Review
Can I pro-rate my five bunches of greens, since the week started on Wednesday? 'Course I can. It's my Lent after all.

The Lenten Experiment

        The usual way Lent was organized according to the all knowing elves at Wikipedia was with three practices, or disciplines: Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving. I am modifying Fasting and Prayer to suit my own goals with this year's experiment. Rather than a specific goal to achieve, or a result I wan't to have, I am focusing on the process and trying to create a few habits. Some are new, others have slipped away over time.

Prayer

        I am not using prayer in a religious sense, but instead as a time for meditation and reflection. This is a practice that comes and goes in my life. I meditate for awhile, then start to "forget", and it all disappears. So daily meditation will be the goal. The style that I am going to experiment with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which comes from the Buddhist practice of Vipassana, or insight meditation. I find it attractive both for the goal oriented beginning of stress reduction, but also because the practice has a long tradition behind it to go much further than symptomatic stress relief. Reflection will come in the form of writing and journaling, ideally daily, both online and off. In past years I have made interesting discoveries with this Lenten experiment, I hope the same will happen this year.

Fasting 

Traditionally, fasting meant a vegetarian diet, but I already do that. So, in the tradition of conservation and reducing luxury, I will eat the way most people of modest means do: Rice and Beans, and Rice and Vegetables. My breakfast will remain the usual oatmeal, but all lunches and dinners will be some variation of the above.

In my own variation of using Lent as an experiment, I will change my diet a little more toward Dr. Fuhrman’s version of superfoods. I just read his new book Super Immunity, and I want to strengthen my immune system. Thanks to my recent bout with pneumonia, I learned that my immune system is not as strong as I thought. So the discipline will be to eat five bunches of his top ranked leafy greens every week. I have eight to choose from, so that will most likely be dinner every night.

Copouts and Cheating

Since I make up my own rules, I added a little variation I found used by some traditions. You get to take one day off from the disciplines a week. Traditionally this was the sabbath day, which was conceived of as a mini Easter or resurrection, where one could feast again. I think it was to help people maintain their motivation and will to get through six weeks. I will allow myself the same escape route on Sunday. 

Making up your own rules? Yeah, buddy! It’s good to be the king.

Anybody else use the Lent season in a similar way? What do you do?