Joyous Feast-Pascha Moments and Updates

A beautiful joyous feast to all.  

From Holy Saturday at Midnight until this upcoming Sunday, is one day! 

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

Check out these cool Pascha Chocolates!

Actually found these while we were heading to the awesome Metropolis of Boston Retreat Center for the National Presbytera Retreat. It was a fantastic time and the facilities are so beautiful and staff are very engaging and attentive.
Next retreat is in October in Texas, mark your calendars!!!
Can't wait to see all my Sister-Presbyteres, it truly is a sisterhood.

We stopped at this grocery in Concord that turned out to be divine. 

I found these, they made me giggle. I've been wanting to share them for a long time.

Here are some of our beautiful flowers from our Kouvouklion.

They are still aromatic.

I made this wreath on Holy Friday, after helping with the flowers for the Kouvouklion.

This year we weren't able to get bay leaves and these gorgeous lemon branches came instead.

These were left over and so before heading to the Apokothelisis service (the Un-Nailing), 

I was able to tie this together. Not as structured, sort of whimsical?

Too big? What do you think?

Holy Thursday

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Today we celebrate, wave those palms.

Not sure of the original source, if you know it, contact me please, to allow proper credit. Thank you to the sweet soul that shared it with me and gave me a BIG smile and laugh.

Have a Blessed Holy Week!
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20 Orthodox Crafts for Lent and Other Times

With Holy Week approaching here are ways to help our littles.  Looking for a fun craft to add to your church school lesson or perhaps a Lenten retreat or just someway to reinforce the lessons of the season at home? You are not going to believe this post! I gathered my favorite Orthodox crafts, all one place, to make it easier to pick.

  Whoo hoo, let the fun begin!!

If you like what you see and wish to pin it, please be courteous and take from the source post, give credit to these incredible people who inspire us. Photo heavy post after the jump.

Lenten Recipe Roundup

I've been looking back at my recipes from last year and decided to do another recap. So, here's an easy link to each of last year's recipes for Lent. All veggie, many vegan. Be sure to check back for the Lenten Orthodox Crafts and more recipes, posting soon! There are quite a few pictures after the jump.  ENJOY!!

We Begin

To Forgive:

In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a verb meaning to stop feeling anger and blaming. In Greek, the meaning is more to willingly show favor, grant pardon and exercise grace. Each year on Forgiveness Sunday, we look back and forgive and look forward once more,  one more opportunity to examine what is true and how we may grow from it.

Forgive Me.
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Palm Sunday

No palm is too little to wave for the Lord. Have a blessed Holy Week.

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Share the Day -Eggplant Stacker

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40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes
Eggplant Stacking

Here's another one of my BFF's, she inspires me, she supports me and is one of the most beautiful and elegant women I know. She is also another Presvytera, whom I consider a mentor and is as awesome in the kitchen, as she is everywhere else. 

Thank you sweet friend  for sharing the day and this recipe!

Share the Day-Asian Coleslaw

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40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes

Joining us once more is one of my BFF's, she has shared as a guest blogger here and here.

Enjoy!

Some call it Chinese Noodle Salad but I call it Chinese Cole Slaw, made 'chinese' only because it has rice vinegar and ramen noodles in it!  It's really quite tasty and an old standby for potluck dinners but beware of allergens (these can be left out or replaced with nut-free crunch too).  If you are concerned about sugar, you can reduce that or probably eliminate it and add extra mandarin oranges.  Despite the dressing, the leftover can be refrigerated and enjoyed for the next day or so.

5 More Ways to Enjoy Olives

40 Days-40 Lenten Recipes
Olive Spread with Toasted Pita Chips

Are you tired of Olives yet? Me neither.

This is another super-easy but super satisfying appetizer and/or snack.  I have not made my own pita shells but there are plenty of people who have, go check out my Pinterest, I have pinned some. One day I'll get to it. But for now, well have to be OK with store-bought.  I like the thicker variety, so not the pockets.  I cut them, brush them with a little olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt, Mediterranean, of course. Bake them for 10 minutes in an oven 350 degrees. Take them out and enjoy!

Now for the olive spread.  Get out your handy-dandy food processor. Seriously, I truly don't know how I used only a blender this whole time?  Place 1-2 cups of pitted Kalamata olives and a little (2 T) olive oil and blend.  If you like to make a more sophisticated olive tapanade, add some capers, squeeze of lemon juice and a little fresh basil.  

You know I love these flavors, you have seen it in recipes here and here.

Here are some more ways to use and enjoy olives.
How do you like them?

Olive Rolls

Lenten Macrame Bracelet

40 Days-40 Days Lenten Recipes and Crafts!



Here is a fun and satisfying craft. Knotting and macrame is coming back to the scene, I remember my Mom completing many hanging planters.  Going to have to look and see if she still has any for the porch? I was introduced to this at a retreat last year and it can be addictive. Loving the adjustable close.



Here is one I am working on. I use a clipboard to stabilize it and make it portable. The instructions to make your own can be found in the following link,
found here.

Look at how pretty these are below. They are made with a thicker grade thread, than I am using left. Recently have been wearing the purple one and gave the others as gifts.

Share the Day Saturday- Chocolate Cake

Share the Day Saturday

Today's recipe is one shared by another Prez, you may remember her from this recipe, which she shared in the Lenten Series of Recipes last year. Anyway, what can I truly say about her, this odd compliment of the day probably says it best. You can enjoy more of these if you follow me on Pinterest.

Source

Here is the beautiful cake she made using this recipe. Doesn't it look awesome!

Lobster Roll with Citrus Fennel Tapenade

40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes

OK, we are on a pretty serious budget in our house. This is not something that is normal. But I found this deal on lobster tails, that I couldn't pass.  8 tails for the same price as a bag of shrimp. Seriously, going to make the most of this. 

Chocolate Chip Kale Cookies

40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes

Kale is all the rage. It's easy to grow, high in vitamins but it's bitter. It's not something our family cares for very much. Have tried it as chips, blech! Gross! No matter how much you salt them, and try to convince yourself they taste just like real potato chips, trust me, THEY DON'T. Now kale in soup, a different matter, not bad in soup, not bad at all. But the child, won't go near it, even in soup.
Now I have found a new way to add this healthy green leafy veggie to our life. COOKIES! 

Share the Day Saturday-Mushroom Barley Soup

40 Days-40 Days Lenten Recipes 

Today is a guest post from someone who is an awesome cook and a great friend. She shared here as one of last year's Lenten Guest posts. It was delish and has become a favorite around here, I look forward to trying this one too! Thanks for sharing sweets!

Chocolate Fig Tarts with Almond Date Crusts

40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes

This has become my all-time favorite dessert. It's Lenten, Paleo (depending on ingredients) and Vegan. The flavors of this tart blend perfectly together, whether you want it sweeter with the fruit topping or a bit more savory with almond.  The filling is rich and almost decadent-just heavenly!

I think even in non-Lenten times, this is an awesome healthy sweet treat.  Which means it's a treat, don't think just because healthy ingredients are used you can exist on this and eat it everyday? 

It's called balance, people, balance!

Calamari and Capers

40 Days-40 Days Lenten Recipes

Calamari and Capers

This is a favorite dish, there are so many variations you can make of it. Adding not only the capers with a squeeze of lemon, but also something else, if you are feeling a bit more adventurous? Are you? Then add some spicy hot slices of jalapeno or hot peppers. In non-Lenten times, some fresh Parmesan sprinkled on top completes the dish.  This is a great dish as an appetizer, a side or as an entree if placed on a bed of rice or spring greens.

So how to make these.  You can buy them and just bake them, find them in your freezer in the fish market area of the grocery. Or if you have availability to the fresh calamari or frozen calamari, start with cleaning and slicing the rings. So the rule is when frying something breaded, you need wet to dry, or dry to wet.  Translation, dry your rings, dip them in a wet substance (if going vegan try coconut milk) and then into flour with bread crumbs. Then place in the fry pan with about an 1/2-1 inch of oil.

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Lent and being too busy?

I had the pleasure of hearing one of youth, a second grader answer a question this weekend during Church School that made every adult want to leap up and applaud. The question was, "what season are we in and what is it?"  The answer, "it's the 40 days of Lent and it's when Jesus was in the desert and was being tempted by the Devil. So we remember it by trying to stay away from stuff that tempts us." What a great kid!

Take time ( a minute or if you can even longer today) and a say a prayer, make the connection that counts.
It does make a difference!

Here's an easy prayer, not always to easy to say but powerful.

Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner.

I was introduced to this below over the weekend. It's very thought-provoking and I know not new but worth a revisit. Let me know what you think about it? Would love to hear from you.

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DEVIL'S CONVENTION

Satan called a worldwide convention.

In his opening address to his evil angels, he said,'We can't keep the Christians from going to church.'
'We cannot keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.'
'We cannot even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.'

'This is what I want you to do angels ...

Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!'

'How shall we do this?' shouted his angels.

'Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,' he answered. 'Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.'

'Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep thern from spending time with their children.'

'As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!'

'Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. Keep the TV, VCR, CDs, and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.'

'Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.'

'Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what is important, and they will become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly!'

'Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week'.

'Do not let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and movies instead.'

'Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.'

'Go ahead, let thern be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so rnany good causes they have no tirne to seek power frorn Jesus.'

'Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.'

It will work! It will work!

It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
I guess the question is has the devil been successful at his scherne? You be the judge!
Does 'busy' rnean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Author unknown

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Coastal Charm

Lenten Spring Mantle Decor

40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes (and Crafts)

Need to share and send a shout out to two of my favorite blogs!

First let me thank Christina for the sweet Lamb chatterboxes. I made a few of them and put them in a basket in our church narthex for the kids to take home as a family activity. They were snatched up pretty quickly and enjoyed!  If you haven't seen these, so adorable and a great way to open some sweet discussions with the little people.

Now I wish to thank Kristi from I Should Be Mopping the Floor for posting a free Printable.

 It is so pretty and exactly what I wanted for our Lenten Mantle. 

You can see it below. 

Instead of framing it, although it would look very nice this way, I decided to do something else.

I took the 8x10 and had it blown up to 12x16, it didn't cost much as I had a coupon etc... 

Anyway, once I brought it home, used the old modpodge then a little white paint to blend in the edges. The white paper it was on was significantly bluer than my canvas. Go figure?

When I initially put it up it looked lovely but I felt it was still missing something. I played around with the vases and other things on the mantle. Then, I figured out what was missing for me. So, I added the yellow flowers to match the wall color and bring in the daffodils. I tried to match Kristi's pretty flower design. What do you think?

Too much? or Good Match?

Kristi, I just LOVE it!

Thanks!

Here's the full mantle view.

I can't wait for the Forsythia to be in bloom, maybe should get daisies next?

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I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Share the Saturday-Plantains

Share the Day Saturday-Plantains
40 Days-40 Days of Lenten Recipes

Elegant and sweet like its guest poster who happens to be another Presvytera and someone very special.
Pres. Marilou is also a blogger and has a brilliant view of the world, which she shares in a simple way that you don't even realize how deep she's going. She's deep trust me, join her some time, here.

The instructions are simple, slice the plantains lengthwise, saute/fry them with healthy oil of choice and sprinkle a little brown sugar and cinnamon over top and allow it to caramelize.  

Had some today just absolutely fantastic. Delicious!

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