Cookin' With Jesus

I found this Christmas card in San Francisco. It included recipes for a Mt. Olive Loaf, Bethlehem Lamb Stew, and Mary Magdalene's Holiday Tarts.

Without scrutinizing the content, I thought it will be fun to try these recipes during the holiday and feature on the blog.

But tonight, when I opened the card to make one of the recipes, the joke caught up on me. Recipes called for wild ingredients such as donkey and camel meat or ground palm leaves; and cooking instructions that included simmering for 40 days and 40 nights (original recipes featured below).



However, I was determined to make this work and the Bethlehem Lamb Stew seemed most promising.

I simply replaced the 3 jugs of red wine with half a can of Guinness beer, used only one bay leaf instead of 3 and one cup of water instead of the one quart of the Nazarene lamb broth.

Finally, rather than simmering for 40 days and 40 nights, I simmered for 40 minutes covered and another 40 minutes uncovered. 


For the more adventurous readers, here are the authentic recipes. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!