The Bethlehem Menu
The Bethlehem Menu
Food is a global language. I used to wonder about the food eaten during the time of Jesus. So I decided to google that. It was amazing what I found. There was so much of information and one thing led to another and we as a family decided to cook The Bethlehem Menu for Christmas this year. It was a wonderful lesson in faith, history, geography, science and much more.
The Bethlehem Menu consists of foods eaten during the time of Jesus like fish, fruits, nuts, honey, lamb, chicken and pickles. All the recipes we chose includes food eaten during that period. The only exception was the potatoes. The reason we included them was because it is the most popular vegetable on every Christmas Menu and it has cheese and milk which were Biblical foods.
The kitchen is a wonderful place to learn anything and everything. In fact, it could be a lifelong lesson. Our happiest moments were spent in our family kitchen where both our parents spent hours teaching us the ABC’s of life. My Dad was a high core professional at work and in the kitchen, he donned his apron and taught us about life.. My Mum studied International Cuisine and together they passed on their knowledge to us via the kitchen.
A lot of people may laugh at that. In fact recently at a workshop that I conducted there were two women who questioned that. Speaking from experience I can firmly say that everything you learn in the kitchen can be applied to life in some way or the other. It’s the concept of transfer of training that we learnt effortlessly at home. Cooking with family and friends is a grand celebration of flavour. It requires patience planning, organizing, working as a team, directing the group, co-operating, exchanging views with each other and of course budgeting for various recipes.
Those who grow up in this kind of atmosphere develop character, become very creative and learn to use all their senses including hygiene, harmony, passion, integrity, humility, caring and become very courageous in their approach to life. The secret to being a great person is to be open to new learning no matter where you are.
And now let us get on with it.
The Bethlehem Menu
Wine
Bread of Life/Nativity Rice
Biblical Chicken
Shepherds Lamb Stew
St. Peter’s Fish
Christmas Scalloped Potatoes
Traditional Honey Vegetables
The Wise Woman’s Salat
Almond Angel Wings
Festive Cream Cheese tarts
History in A Jar Pickle
Wine
This was the safest thing to drink in Biblical times and was usually watered down.
Wine is something we make at home every year. You can use homemade wine or bought wine. It’s up to you.
Bread of Life/Nativity Rice
Unleavened bread like chappathis or parathas or anything else you fancy. We included rice since it is the Asian equivalent of our daily bread.
Make whatever you fancy.
Biblical Chicken
Chicken was one of the meats included in Biblical diets.
Shepherds Lamb Stew
This is a family recipe from my Mum and was made for numerous special occasions. Use lamb or mutton as it is called in India.
St. Peter’s Fish
Fish was a very popular meal for the people of those times. The Tilapia is known as St. Peter’s Fish because it was the fish caught by Peter when Jesus asked him to throw the net on the other side.
Christmas Scalloped Potatoes
Potatoes are one vegetable that are as old as time. They were not included in the Biblical diet because they had not yet reached the Middle east. It is one of the most popular vegetables eaten at Christmas and other celebrations. The ingredients used include milk and cheese which were a daily diet during those times.
Traditional Honey Vegetables
This is a traditional Jewish dish made for important occasions.
https://theversatilehousewives.com/2021/12/12/traditional-honey-vegetables/
The Wise Woman’s Salat
Salat is the Hebrew word for Salat and is a delicious salat comprising 4 ingredients. I called it the Wise Woman’s salat to honour my late Mum. I like to think that the Wisemen were wise because of the women who brought them up and the extraordinary women they must have met on their way. And according to a story I read moons ago, there was a fourth Wiseman, hence 4 ingredients are used.
Almond Angel Wings
These are delectable bites of cooked marzipan.
Festive Cream Cheese Tarts
These are irresistible cream cheese and condensed milk mini tarts. You cannot stop with one. Recipe from my daughter Serita Isaac
History in A Jar Pickle
Surprisingly, I found that pickled cucumbers were very popular and was a crucial way of making sure people had enough food to eat year-round.
I do hope you will enjoy cooking this Menu as much as I did creating it.
Wishing all my readers and family and friends the joy and love that Christmas brings. And praying for a happier 2022
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