Aqueduct Entrance, Qumran.

 

How about a vegetarian substitute for that meaty Christmas roast? Here’s one from the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom.

 

 

Luxury Nut & Seed Loaf with Cranberry, Apple and Brandy Sauce.

 

Loaf

 

225g bulgur wheat

330ml boiling water

45ml soy sauce

175g pistachio nuts

175g pine nuts

225g blanched almonds

175g cashew nuts

110g hazel nuts

110g sunflower seeds

110g poppy seeds

250g onion, finely chopped

4 x 15ml spoons fresh, finely chopped parsley

2 x 15ml spoons dried thyme

4 large free-range eggs, lightly whisked, or egg substitute equivalent

60ml olive oil

A little oil for pouring on roast

 

Place wheat in a mixing bowl and pour on the boiling water and soya sauce.

Cover and let swell for 25 minutes.

Grind nuts and seeds to a medium fine consistency.

Mix together with the wheat. Stir in the parsley, thyme, onions, eggs and oil.

Mix well and allow to stand.

Oil a large baking sheet and line with greaseproof paper.

Form a loaf shape with the nut mixture, about 10cm wide, press firmly together and prick the top with a fork.

Pour on a little oil and sprinkle with some extra nuts (optional) and cap loosely with a foil hood.

Bake in oven 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes.

Remove hood, baste with oil on baking sheet and bake for a further 10 min.

Place in a large serving dish, then cool, easing off the paper as you do so.

Cover with the hood until ready to garnish.

 

Sauce

 

275g cranberries

275g cooking apples, cored and thinly chopped

150ml apple juice concentrate

50ml water

60ml brandy

 

Cook all the ingredients except the brandy together for about 20 minutes.

Add the brandy and re-heat for 30 seconds.

Serve as an accompaniment.

 

Add your favourite usual or unusual accompanying vegetables.

 

Plenty more recipes and tips @ http://www.vegsoc.org/

 

 

It has been argued by some that Christ himself may have been a vegetarian. That the Essenes, the ascetic Jewish sect, who certainly influenced Christ’s teachings, were vegetarian is suggested by several ancient authors. This possibility has been confirmed by recent archaeological evidence - the absence of animal bones from a site believed to have been an Essene community at Ein Gedi oasis in southern Israel.

Some believe Christ himself may have lived as an Essene for a period. Robert Graves chose to depict him as an Essene initiate in his fictional biography King Jesus.

There is certainly a history of vegetarianism among many early Christian adherents, including the Ebionites, an early Judeo-Christian sect. Clement of Alexandria, who was himself vegetarian, states: "It is far better to be happy than to have your bodies act as graveyards for animals. Accordingly, the apostle Matthew partook of seeds, nuts and vegetables, without flesh".

Many of the other Church Fathers were vegetarian including James the Just, the brother of Jesus, head of the first Christian community in Jerusalem.

 

More recent vegetarians include John Wesley;

…abstaining from wine and animal food… I have been free (blessed be God) from all bodily disorders.

Letter to Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, June 11, 1747

 

and William and Catherine Booth;

It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work in the world is done by men who never taste anything but vegetable, farinaceous food, and that of the simplest kind. There are more strength-producing properties in wholemeal flour, peas, beans, lentils, oatmeal, roots, and other vegetables of the same class, than there are beef or mutton, poultry or fish, or animal food of any description whatever.

(Orders and Regulations of the Officers of the Salvation Army)

 

 

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”.

Genesis 1:29

 

 

Edo bri'cho o rish d'shato brich'to!