In the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, fasting periods are called tsom, and they show up all through the church year, not just before Easter. During the Great Fast leading up to Fasika, the rules can be quite strict: no animal‑derived foods, and meals taken later in the day. Yet the everyday food that emerges from thoseContinue reading ““Tsom” Food: Fasting Before the Feast”
Category Archives: Fasts and Feasts
Eid al‑Fitr: Sheer Khurma and the Sweet Morning After
When the new moon is sighted and Ramadan ends, the next day dawns as Eid al‑Fittr—“the festival of breaking the fast.” If Ramadan is a month of daytime restraint, Eid is a day of joyful permission. Many Muslim cultures begin Eid morning not with something savory, but with something sweet. That first sweet bite isContinue reading “Eid al‑Fitr: Sheer Khurma and the Sweet Morning After”
Fasika: Easter After a 55‑Day Fast
In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Easter is called Fasika, and it’s the most important feast of the year. The feast, however, makes sense only when you see what comes before it. For about 55 days prior to Easter, many Ethiopian Orthodox Christians observe Hudade (also called the Great Fast or Abiy Tsom), a Lenten‑likeContinue reading “Fasika: Easter After a 55‑Day Fast”
Iftar: Dates, Water, and a Gentle First Spoonful: Breaking the Fast with Dates and Soup
If suhoor is the quiet beginning of a fasting day, iftar is its joyful release. At sunset in Ramadan, as soon as the call to the Maghrib prayer echoes, Muslims around the world reach for the same two simple things: dates and water. This small act connects them directly to the example of the ProphetContinue reading “Iftar: Dates, Water, and a Gentle First Spoonful: Breaking the Fast with Dates and Soup”
Suhoor: The Blessed Pre‑Dawn Meal-The Meal Before the Dawn
How Muslims Eat Before Dawn During Ramadan Long before most of the world wakes up, Muslim kitchens glow softly in the dark. Pots simmer, kettles steam, and families gather around the table for suhoor—the quiet pre‑dawn meal eaten before each day’s fast in Ramadan begins. Suhoor isn’t just “breakfast at a weird hour.” It isContinue reading “Suhoor: The Blessed Pre‑Dawn Meal-The Meal Before the Dawn”
Lenten sweets Kwareżimal: Almond Cookies Built for Fasting
Lent has a reputation for being all about giving things up—meat, chocolate, social media, you name it. But step into a Maltese bakery or a British kitchen in the weeks before Easter, and you’ll find something surprisingly lush: sweets made for the fasting season. These aren’t random cookies and buns. They’re desserts shaped by centuriesContinue reading “Lenten sweets Kwareżimal: Almond Cookies Built for Fasting”
Fish Friday
On Fish Fridays, your plate carries more than dinner; it carries centuries of politics, piety, and the occasional royal power move. From royal policy to parish fish fry. In 1563, Elizabeth I’s chief adviser, William Cecil, pushed Parliament to bring back strict “fish days,” not to make England holier, but to make it stronger atContinue reading “Fish Friday”
“Donuts Before Discipline” – Berliner and Fastelavnsboller
In German and Nordic kitchens, the days before Lent smell like hot oil and sugar. While southern Europe leans on fritters and sweet breads, northern Europe goes all‑in on doughnuts and cream buns—Berliners in Germany and fastelavnsboller in Denmark and Norway. Both are part of Shrovetide/Fasching/Fastelavn, the last chance to revel in wheat flour, eggs,Continue reading ““Donuts Before Discipline” – Berliner and Fastelavnsboller”
Sarakosti Secrets: How Greek “Peasant Food” Turned Beans into the Meat of the Poor
Fasolada, Fakes, and the Quiet Power of Fasting in the Orthodox World In a world where “healthy eating” often means pricey superfoods and complicated diets, there is something deeply refreshing about a kitchen that runs on beans, onions, olive oil, and time. That kitchen exists—and has existed for centuries—in the Greek Orthodox world during Sarakosti,Continue reading “Sarakosti Secrets: How Greek “Peasant Food” Turned Beans into the Meat of the Poor”
It's Nicky Lynn 