Best/worst In Convent Food

[TradMom]

+Praised be Jesus Christ!

Yes, this is fun topic...nice to have a little levity in here!

Best (this is a tie!): Abbey of Regina Laudis (oh, that coagulated milk and salad!) and the Carmelite Monastery in Alhambra, CA (not the active Sacred Heart Sisters) (spinach souffle! Perfection!!!!!)

Worst: Our Lady of the Rock (Shaw Island) - we were in the guest houseand returned after a hard day of working in the garden to a dozen eggs (uncooked) and a loaf of bread! No note! (????)

I have always found it interesting that in our searches, the best and worst food came from the same community...(RL founded OLR)

The Carmelite meal was about four years ago and not only was it delicious, it was served with the greatest courtesy and love! And attention to detail....!

[He is Risen!]

Sisters of Life always have the best food, and all so very neatly labeled and laid out. The worst was Daughters of St. Paul, I visited them in Chicago and one of them made me a sandwich and I think the main ingredient was mustard. She kept telling me how some nice person donated lots of mustard, it wasn't very good mustard, but there certainly was a lot of it.

[Maria Faustina]

wow I wouldve never thought of this thread! I love it! These are some great stories

[awyers]

I loved Sister Joseph Andrew's (SMME) chicken and dumplings. Also, at thanksgiving we had both stuffing and dressing, a southern custom I guess. I never knew there was a difference and wasnt expecting both. Needless to say my fellow postulant had to help me out as I over indulged in the stuffing before the dressing even came my way! Sr. Mary Judith also made some amazing pastries for solemnities.

Mostly the food at convents has been amazing. If I had to pick a bad experience it would probably be ice cold/old grilled coagulated milk sandwhiches which were greasy yet hard at the same time, ewww! Also, the SMME have a real affinity for produce which was really abused and practically rotten as well as baked beans and beets which have always been a challenge for me.

A few funny fruit experiences involved mangos and kiwi fruits both of which a certain sister had never eaten and didnt know what to do with. I broke out in hysterics when she ate both of them like an apple, skin and all!

[Winchester]

Sister Immaculata's Heretic Surprise.

[tinytherese]

The Benedictine Sisters of Mary Queen of Ephesus had this one sandwhich with toasted break filled with these kind of :egg:s. It may have been the tastiest sandwhich that I've ever had.

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='Piobaire' post='1753841' date='Jan 17 2009, 03:07 PM']I loved Sister Joseph Andrew's (SMME) chicken and dumplings. Also, at thanksgiving we had both stuffing and dressing, a southern custom I guess. I never knew there was a difference and wasnt expecting both. Needless to say my fellow postulant had to help me out as I over indulged in the stuffing before the dressing even came my way! Sr. Mary Judith also made some amazing pastries for solemnities.

Mostly the food at convents has been amazing. If I had to pick a bad experience it would probably be ice cold/old grilled coagulated milk sandwhiches which were greasy yet hard at the same time, ewww! Also, the SMME have a real affinity for produce which was really abused and practically rotten as well as baked beans and beets which have always been a challenge for me.

A few funny fruit experiences involved mangos and kiwi fruits both of which a certain sister had never eaten and didnt know what to do with. I broke out in hysterics when she ate both of them like an apple, skin and all![/quote]
I remember in Nashville, i was eating a kiwi fruit, skin and all, and Sr. Maria Ivana grabbed it, took it onto her plate, peeled it and gave it back to me....all in silence!

And you are right, I remember at the Sisters of Mary, never eating my fruit. After a while, there was fruit collecting around my plate in the refectory. Mother A had to make an announcement right before breakfast one morning, asking the rest of the Sisters to "partake of Sr. Miriam's fruit basket..." I think I was pretty red in the face....(Sr. Miriam was my religious name...)

Edited January 17, 2009 by dominicansoul

[MithLuin]

Huh. I will peel kiwis sometimes (with my fingernail, so probably totally gross to anyone watching me), but just as often eat the skin. There's nothing wrong with it.


I spent 2 weeks at a Carmelite monastery once. I remember there being plenty of food, and no doubt it was good. The only thing I remember, however, were the omelettes - I think we had them for lunch pretty often, and they were delicious. You chopped up whatever you wanted in them yourself, and then Sr. Maria made them all for us. She was very good at it.

One of the sisters told me a story about different people who had stayed in the guest quarters there (not me). In one case, a person was given ice cream, and asked if there were sprinkles or chocolate syrup or something for it. The sister was a bit taken aback, but had to say, "um, sorry, no..." And in another case, a priest was staying for an annual retreat (I think), and they accidentally forgot about him one night! So, he just made do with whatever was there, and made up a cold meal for himself, never complaining. The point of the story was that she had a lot more respect for the priest .


Oh, and the woman who cooked the meals for the Capuchins in DC was [i]amazing[/i] - I don't think I have ever eaten so well before! But I also think she used a lot of lard, so it probably would have killed me to eat there any more often .


The most memorable meal was with the Missioners of Christ in Comayagua, Honduras. They very kindly put up my sister and I, who were visiting for Holy Week (my sister was a volunteer nurse in a different town in Honduras that year). I think I got a bug as soon as I got off the plane, but the advantage of visiting a nurse was that my sister started me on meds right away. Only problem was they were kinda gross, and upset my stomach (though I am sure they were doing a great job of curing whatever was wrong with me). So, fasting on Good Friday meant I tried to take the meds on a mostly empty stomach, despite her warnings. Dinner consisted of me whining about having to take the meds, finally taking them....and then promptly puking up all the orange-ade I'd been drinking in a trashcan. After that, I meekly ate my grilled queso sandwich and didn't talk much, but felt better . All of the food in Honduras was good, but I wasn't there long enough to get sick of it.


[This "c.h.e.e.s.e=coagulated milk" thing is very silly!]

Edited January 17, 2009 by MithLuin

[Thomist-in-Training]

Hmm, I think my favorite taste-wise was a pasta, white sauce and tuna dish we had for the Assumption last summer at the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate when it was a Friday, [i][/i]besciamella[i][/i], the only Italian dish we got out of the Italian sister. Hmm, worst? I've only been a few places, but the slightly depressing part was the Monastery I just got back from: they usually don't eat meat, but when I got there it was the Octave of Christmas, so we got it day after day, and then there was fish. The second or third day there was only che ese, I felt a little sad...! but I think I'll get used to it. Besides sometimes they do have fish, and sometimes beans, and meat on Sundays.

[johnnydigit]

i noticed that many communities are blessed with an amazing abundance of food. i've seen the lay community bring in piles of ice cream, cakes, ice cream cakes, gourmet bread, gourmet everything. for many it's more of a struggle to keep from eating too much!

a friend once said at a monastery that the soup they served was the best soup he'd ever had.

i also have never laughed at the dinner table so hard as when i was visiting a friary with 5 CFR priests and me at table.


[b]worst[/b]: authentic Polish sausage meal in Poland.

[b]best[/b]: overall food at local Benedictine monastery.

[b]fanciest[/b]: dinner with special guests at a rectory in NY.

[linnie]

Best? Standing around the monastery kitchen snacking on Sr. Stephanie's whole grain muffins and indulging in homemade salsa and chips.

But it wasn't just the taste of the food, it was sharing it with the sisters. After all, its the people that make a meal special.

blessings, linnie

[stlmom]

[quote name='johnnydigit' post='1755088' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:24 AM'][b]worst[/b]: authentic Polish sausage meal in Poland.[/quote]


Whaaat??? You never ate my grandmothers' (both of them) cooking, obviously!

[dominicansoul]

my first Polish sausage was their original kiobalsa dinner with the Seraphic Polish Sisters in San Antonio....

...i spent the entire night in the bathroom....my stomach was NOT used to it!

another convent memory:

actually SERVING the Sisters their meal....I was very very nervous....

i burned Sr. JP's hand with the coffee pot!!! When I went to Mother A with this little news, she laughed out loud....!

[mariaassunta]

So anymore to add to this thread I like it...
my best desert was when we made homemade ice cream and baked Alaska with our novice mistress.

my best food dish was dogs in a bun

worse one was the left over food sometimes which was reheated or the prunes and barley on Good Friday

and everything else I used to help me so it wasnt too baD!

[HisChild]

When I went to visit the PCPA in Portsmouth, Sister Marie Ste. Claire made these amazing cheddar and ham biscuits for breakfast. I had to have the recipe so I could go home and make them!

The worst? Hmmm. Brussel sprouts. Hands down. LOL

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='the lords sheep' date='13 January 2009 - 03:52 PM' timestamp='1231872738' post='1750243']
Worst? I had some pretty odd things in the orphange in Argentina with the Servants of the Lord... the very worst was boiled tripe (cow's stomach).
[/quote]

Ah! I was wondering what the English translation of a cow's stomach would be! All I knew was the Spanish translation and the fact that we should be very grateful that we live in American formation houses...

[laetitia crucis]

Okay, so I've just read through all of these and have definitely laughed a lot! (Especially in regards to the cornflakes!)

So, I suppose my worst food experience was during my first year as a professed sister -- we had just received a rather abundant donation of vegetables, which as needless to say, a good portion of these veggies were quite rotten. So that day, I was one of the lucky ones chosen to sort the veggies. (Actually, despite the yuckiness, I find it somewhat enjoyable. Almost like watching a really gruesome surgery. You just can't help yourself!)

I was given a box of zucchinis to sort through. Basically, if at least SOME part of the vegetable (or fruit) is salvageable then you cut off the bad parts and keep whatever's left. (Personally, I really appreciated living that way with our donations. O Lady Poverty!) So, I'm going through my disintegrating box of zucchinis and get to the bottom and spot what looks to be this nice plump zucchini. I go in to pick it up and as soon as I touch it, KA-BOOM! The zucchini EXPLODED!!! (To say the least, I was SO grateful to be wearing an apron over my habit that day...) I almost couldn't believe it. My first thought: "Well, that zucchini has definitely lost its substantial form..."

I never knew zucchinis could explode.

Anyhoooo.

The best food? Hmmm... Sr. M. Ludwina of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate makes some amazing pansit (Philippine noodle dish)!

I think I also had the best PB&J sandwich from a SMME "Come & See" a few years ago. De-lect-able.

SSVMs also know how to make GREAT pizza from scratch. Even with all the random donations on top, it's still (usually) turns out quite tasty!

And Sr. Regina, CFR makes a mean Italian spinach soup.

And...
[quote]...This was at St. Dominic's priory. I'm not going to mention the puddings because there are only three places left in the choir and I want Dutch girls in them so we can make a foundation back here. [/quote]

I'll let you know about those puddings after I return from my visit next month!

[HisChild]

Oh my! The exploding zucchini made me spew my soda all over myself! LOLOL I couldn't stop laughing!

I love it!

But I have a question and I'm sure it was answered some place else but what is the issue with not spelling c h e e s e correctly? What happens? Or should I just attempt to do so and find out for myself?

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='HisChild' date='01 November 2009 - 07:01 PM' timestamp='1257116500' post='1994915']
Oh my! The exploding zucchini made me spew my soda all over myself! LOLOL I couldn't stop laughing!

I love it!

But I have a question and I'm sure it was answered some place else but what is the issue with not spelling c h e e s e correctly? What happens? Or should I just attempt to do so and find out for myself?
[/quote]


Despite the "gross" factor of the exploded zucchini, I must admit I did find great amusement in it... honestly, I'm glad there were other sisters around to witness it! (Although the sister next to me didn't take it so well... Haha!) Makes me wish I had it on camera!

I was also wondering about this c h e e s e thing...

coagulated milk... (Okay... I just waited a few seconds hoping it would somehow change into "coagulated milk" before my very eyes, but so far nothing has happened. I guess it happens after you post...)

coagulated milk testing...

[laetitia crucis]

Ah... so it changes into "coagulated milk" AFTER posting.

Now I know.

Is somebody lactose intolerant? :coagulated milk:



Edit: Aww, that c h e e s e emoticon is so disappointing.

Edited November 1, 2009 by laetitia crucis