Meals
Robert is out working in the garden as I write this. Over the years, we’ve moved away from unhealthy processed food to lots of fresh produce and whole grains. And this summer (2010) God sent us the gift of Robert … he’s planted food gardens all around the convent, and we’re already enjoying serving home grown food at our table.
Lately we seemed to get asked quite a bit about our menus. What kind of food do we serve? What would a meal at the convent look like? In answer to these questions …
We try to serve healthy but tasty meals, always with a vegetarian option. You won’t find junk food (ie potato chips, cookies, soda pop, etc) in the kitchen. We stay away from fatty / processed foods, serving fresh produce as much as possible and “real food” (vegetables, fruit, low on meat, beans, whole grains). We base menu decisions on what’s available from the garden as well as what we have in stock in the cabinets. We serve water as the main beverage for a meal. We do sometimes have wine, occasionally lemonade or iced tea. For snacks, we usually have available nuts, pretzels, crackers, cheese, and always fresh fruit. We typically have some dark chocolate around, and sometimes there’s some ice cream in the freezer, though we buy the brands that are without lots of preservatives.
Some typical menus would be:
Breakfast
Our basic breakfast menu is:
• oatmeal or quinoa with condiments (maple syrup, brown sugar, raisins, berries, walnuts, cinnamon)
• hard boiled eggs
• orange juice
• coffee
• some kind of fruit - apples, bananas, oranges, berries … whatever’s in season
Sometimes Dave puts on his chef’s hat and makes omelets. If you catch him on one of those days it’s a treat!
Lunches
• Baked potato bar (potatoes, sweet potatoes, various toppings, broccoli, maybe some beans on the side)
• Sandwiches (tuna/hummus/lean turkey)
• Salad Bar (build your own with fresh produce, chicken, boiled eggs)
• Various soups or stews made with fresh ingredients served with home baked bread
• Whole grain pasta (marinara, pesto, pasta salad,etc)
We try to recycle leftovers into lunch menus.
Dinners
• Various soups or stews made with fresh ingredients served with home baked bread
• Red beans and rice, a convent favorite (served with cheese, fritos, brown rice) and salad
• Black beans and rice served with guacamole, corn tortilla chips, greens
• Taco salad
• Vegetables (potatoes, beans, various garden vegetables)
• Baked chicken and vegetables
• Whole grain pasta (marinara, pesto, pasta salad,etc)
• Stir fry … rice and vegetables or pasta and vegetables, sometimes served with chicken or tofu (yes, tofu can be quite tasty)
Desserts
We don’t usually serve dessert after lunch. For dinner, a typical dessert would be some dark chocolate with strawberries or pineapple, or we might have watermelon. We do know how to celebrate, so on special occasions we might bake a cake or some brownies or have ice cream. We do reserve that for special occasions, however, and most nights try to satisfy the sweet tooth without overloading on sugar.
And about coffee and tea …
We’re coffee snobs. We admit it. We serve LaTerza Coffee, roasted in Cincinnati by our friend Chuck. We also have 1 lb bags for sale for $12 if you want to take some home with you. Coffee is available throughout the day, as well as a nice assortment of herbal teas.