Family Food for Feast and Feria

I am not a gourmet cook, nor a chef, but I enjoy food. I love reading and trying out recipes. The number of cookbooks on my shelves are starting to rival my children's books, particularly on foods for the Liturgical Year.

I love food in all the different elements it brings: nourishment, comfort, socialization, teachable moments, family togetherness, incorporating the senses, culture, history and religion. But my biggest motivator is to serve nutritious but delicious meals for my family, particularly my dh. Remember the saying: "winning a man's heart through his stomach"? I've won dh's heart, but I try to keep the embers burning bright by serving a variety and what he loves.

My particular interests in foods lie in two distinct areas, although I hope to have them converge smoothly . First, cooking for Christ, particularly by following the Liturgical Year in the kitchen. I unite myself with Him on the altar, and then bring Christ to the kitchen and table. The Liturgical Year covers the feasts, seasons and the family days of the year -- in short, it encompasses the ebbs and flows of our family life. And this unites my little domestic church with the Mystical Body, the Church.

But I am also the mother of one child who has severe food allergies to wheat, eggs and dairy. Not having these ingredients limits us to our food choices. I try to serve meals that we all can eat together, so I'm in constant search for tasty dishes to serve. The traditional fare for some liturgical feasts call for the forbidden foods. So I am striving to celebrate the liturgy in our home in ways that can fit our needs. I have to be a professional tweaker and adapter of recipes. And if tweaking existing traditions doesn't work, I have to be creative to find alternatives that bring Christ to our meal.

I will focus on creating dairy, milk and egg free recipes, but I will include others, too. This blog is the record of my flops, failures and triumphs...and all those in between.