Lenten soup

From my journals of 2003 and 2013: My first few weeks in my new parish in John Day, Oregon in March 2003, also coincided with the last two weeks of Lent, and besides holding the Stations of the Cross on Friday, the Knights of Columbus organized a Fish Fry in the sizeable parish hall, and I was surprised to see over 100 people in attendance, not just parishioners but anyone in town who enjoyed fellowship and fish and chips. The Knights enjoyed cooking the crispy fish, which as far as I remember was called Alaskan pollock. This was held every Friday in Lent. Then when I was in St Francis of Assisi in Bend, from 2013 to 2016, I started another custom by providing our children with soups on Wednesday when they had their weekly Religion class. This was a personal project which I enjoyed doing as I love cooking soups. Most of the time I prepared lentil or split-pea soups, complete with crackers or bread. Children came in droves with their parents, which they also enjoyed a bowl of hearty soup with many complements. Since we had close to 200 children to feed, I had to prepare 3 large pots of soup, and it took a big portion of an afternoon to cut up the celery, carrots, potatoes, onion and diced ham. Everything was diced small and the combination of all the ingredients, plus some cayenne pepper, thyme and salt and pepper created a delicious meal. I always had left-overs which I kept in plastic containers, which I froze and enjoyed on another day. I doubt if they kept this tradition after I left, but that memory remains in my mind as I’m sure it still is a treasured recollection on those who enjoyed my soups over a decade ago. Especially those who had asked for my recipe which I gave out willingly and happily.