EMBER DAYS - SORREL SOUP; WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OF THE WEEK AFTER THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

EMBER DAYS - SORREL SOUP; WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OF THE WEEK AFTER THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS







This Wednesday (23rd September), Friday (25th September), and Saturday (26th September) are the Ember Days following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. These Ember days were traditionally practiced to offer thanks for the grape harvest.
Ember Days were related to the seasons in agrarian times and derived from an acknowledgment of our indebtedness to God for our physical well-being. Such awareness, however, is not confined to the past, nor irrelevant to modern life. Ember Days are days of prayer and penance, whereby God’s blessing is sought and during which thanks and praise should be offered to God in appreciation of the blessings bestowed on us. The Sydney Archdiocese has noted on their web-site that the modern observance of Ember Days focuses on our responsibility for stewardship of the world’s resources, and that, together, we should intercede for a conversion of heart in regard to the care of the earth. The Archdiocese provides: “For this reason, the bishops requested that emphasis be placed on doing penance, on fasting and abstaining in connection with these Ember Days. Fasting and abstaining from meat will encourage us to restraint in our exploitation of natural resources.”
Ember Days occur in regard to four seasons throughout the year, the first of these being the Ember days of Advent in the week following the feast of St Lucy on 13th December. The next Ember days are the Lenten Ember Days, these being the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the week following Ash Wednesday. The Whitsunday Ember Days are those in the week following Pentecost Sunday.
Ember Days require similar fasts as Fridays throughout the year, in which the total food intake throughout the day amounts roughly to one small meal, and in which no red meat is eaten. The custom is generally to eat vegetarian on those days or eat seafood, similar to the Friday fast and abstinence.
A simple soup containing vegetables is set out in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, by Brother Victor Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette. It is a vegetable soup. However, it also has olive oil, eggs and cream, which somewhat circumvents the fasting and penance idea. It does use up extra sorrel though, if you have too much in the garden (and it can be turned into a penitential soup by the simple expedient of omitting the non-penitential foods)….
Saint Bertille Herb Soup
Ingredients
1 small head of leaf lettuce
1 bunch of sorrel
1 cup chopped parsley
10 spring onions or chopped leeks
1 bunch watercress
butter
2 litres vegetable stock
1 cup white wine
½ cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk beaten lightly
½ cup chervil
salt and pepper
1 Shred the lettuce and the sorrel. Chop the parsley, spring onions and watercress into small pieces.
2 Melt the butter in the soup pot, add the chopped greens and cook slowly for a few minutes over low heat. Stir continually. Add the stock and the wine. Cover the pot and cook for about 40 minutes.
3 Remove the pot from the heat, add the cream, beaten egg, chervil, salt and pepper. Blend well in a blender. Reheat the soup for a few minutes, do not allow it to boil. Refrigerate the soup and serve cold. Or it can be served hot with slices of French bread at the side.


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