Author: me

Solstice Day

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Time was that the year was divided into four parts, delineated by the four observable solar events: Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox. It was very convenient that these dates could be observed by High Priests or Holy People, since no one had a calendar handy on the wall. Having mileposts on your journey through time help you to mark your way. For herders, the mileposts told you when to move the flocks to grazing in a different location. For farmers, when to plant, when to store up for cold weather. These were also festival days, dedicated to deities of the Sun or deities of the Crops. Sometimes the parties lasted for days! The Sun’s rays will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn on December 21: the moment of the Solstice. This year, on December 22, the Southern Hemisphere will be enjoying its longest day for the first full day of Summer. At the same time, the Northern Hemisphere will be experiencing its shortest day on the first full day of Winter. People here in the North sometimes shiver with dread at the idea of the longest night, but wait! After the Winter Solstice, the days get longer. The converse is true for the beach-going residents of the Southern Hemisphere. All of this season-changing, daylight-changing is due to the tilt of the Earth at 23 degrees from vertical. If the Earth tilted less, seasons would be less pronounced, and the reverse if the Earth were to tilt more. The Wheel turns. The Earth stays true in its orbit. The Sun gives us light. Happy Solstice.

December 22nd will be the first full day of Winter/Summer. Our meals honor both the Summer and the Winter Solstices. It is fun to have special meals to mark events, be they astronomical or cultural. Make the day an occasion!

Summer Solstice Eggs: 140 calories   8 g fat 2 g fiber 10 g protein 7 g carbs 64 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  When a Fast Day falls on or near the Summer Solstice, it calls for a breakfast to mark the occasion. The scallions, or ‘Spring Onions’, are an obvious choice for the departing season and nothing says Summer like tomatoes and basil. The strawberries straddle the seasons.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.  1 oz scallions [2 large], sliced diagonally 2 oz strawberries 2 oz tomatoes, cherry or standard [I used cherry tomatoes, sliced cross-wise] 2 Tbsp fresh basil, sliced across the leaf  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

After prepping the vegetables and basil [HINT: I did this the night before], put them into a hot saute pan which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Season them and put a lid on the pan while they heat and soften. Whisk and season the eggs, remove the lid, and pour the eggs over the vegetables in the pan. Cook, undisturbed, until the eggs are done to your liking. Plate the fruit and pour your choice of beverages. Say goodbye to Spring as you welcome Summer.

Winter Solstice Pizza: 283 calories 10 g fat 3 g fiber 16 g protein 16 g carbs 224 mg Calcium   PB  On the Winter Solstice, we like to prepare a pizza with elements of the season past [mushrooms and olives represent Fall] and of the season to come [cured meats stand in for Winter].

1 whole wheat tortilla [Herdez-brand 8” Fajita-style Tortilla is what I use], must be 170 calories or less 1.5 Tbsp crushed tomatoes + pinch granulated garlic 1 oz mozzerella cheese, grated 1 oz mushrooms [2 Tbsp] 1/3 oz prosciutto 1 Tbsp onion, chopped 1 calamata olive, quartered

Heat the oven to 400 F. Spread the tortilla with the crushed tomato sauce and garlic. Chop the prosciutto roughly and combine it with the mushrooms, onion, and cheese. Distribute over the pizza shell. Sprinkle with herbs, crushed red pepper, or other seasonings to taste. Dot with olive bits. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Light some candles and enjoy pizza on the longest night of the year.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg + 70-calorie whole-grain bread1.5 two-oz eggs + apple
corn kernels + diced tomato + red bell pepperheavy cream
red onion + cider vinegar + dry mustardsugar + cinnamon
turmeric + sugar + ground cumin + apple butter + peach
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

delicata squash + chili powderhard, rounded stones, such as granite or basalt
Bison chili ; ground bison + canned tomatoes beef + carrot + cabbage
garlic + red onion + red or black beansparsnip + Green beens + red potato
green bell pepper + ground cumin + melonspinach + White beans + herbs
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Hometown Heroine: Bethulia

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to A Star on the Forehead who is now Following.

Hannukka starts on December 19 this year. Candles will be lit and people will tell the story of the oil in the temple. But there is another story to tell, found in the “Book of Judith.” In Bethulia, lived a young widow named Judith. At that time, according to the story, Israel was a vassal state to Assyria, headed by King Nebuchadnezzar [in history, he is associated with Babylon, not Assyria]. After Israel refused to send troops to fight for him, the angry King sent Holofernes and his army to attack Jerusalem. But the road to the capital had to go through Bethulia, and the way was blocked. Holofernes besieged the city, cutting off their water. For 30 days the town held out. Judith called out the city fathers for suggesting a surrender; she accused them of lacking faith in God and said that if they wouldn’t act, she would. They dismissed her words and told the little lady to pray for rain. After much prayer for strength, Judith put on a fine gown and went with her maid-servant to Holofernes’ camp. The guards, impressed by her beauty and self-assurance, let her in and escorted her to Holofernes’ tent. She told him that she wanted to ally herself to his cause, saying that Israel would lose the battle when they committed a sin against God. Holofernes was quite taken by this apparent turn-coat. Judith stayed in the camp for four days, leaving every night to “go to the desert to pray for Holofernes’ victory.” On the fifth day, she appeared in the camp in all her finery with a bag containing cheese and wine. The General, smitten with her beauty, invited her to his tent for dinner. The cheese was very salty, so Holofernes drank a lot of wine — “more wine than he had ever drunk before,” and he fell into a stupor. Seizing the moment, Judith took his sword and cut off his head. The maid-servant put it in the food bag, and they calmly left the camp again and returned to Bethulia. [CSI interjection: did they change their blood-splattered clothes first??] Judith showed the head to the city leaders and counseled them to attack the Assyrians at dawn. In disarray without their leader, the invaders fled and Judith had saved the day. The Book of Judith never made it into the Christian Bible’s Old Testament, but the image of the pretty, brave, murderous woman became popular in art. It was first an allegory of the weak overcoming the strong [female David vs Goliath], then in the Renaissance it was the embodiment of drama and gore at the hands of two very capable women. In treatment by some female artists, it was the opportunity to rail against male oppression. Some of the most famous representations are by Cranach, Caravaggio, and Gentileschi.

by Lucas Cranach, 1530
by Caravaggio, 1599
by Gentileschi, 1620

Feta cheese is often part of a Hanukkah dairy meal, since it is salty. These two meals are delicious ways to use feta in cooking. My version of the dinner contains shrimp. Feel free to substitute a Kosher alternative if you wish. By having a ‘Dairy Hanukkah’ instead of oil-based foods, you can observe the holiday without the fat and calories. Save the latkes for a Slow Day.

Spinach-Mushroom-Feta Bake: 178 calories 10.5 g fat 1 g fiber 13 g protein 8 g carbs [4 g Complex] 214.5 mg Calcium   PB  GF — if using GF flour Miri Rotkovitz presented this recipe via thespruceeats.com and she recommends it as a ‘dairy meal for Hannukka’. Her version is a dinner pie, complete with an olive oil crust. My version delivers a lot of flavor at breakfast.  HINT: This recipe makes two servings. The other half of it would be a terrific lunch on another day.

½ tsp olive oil + non-stick spray 2 cloves garlic, chopped = 2 teaspoons 3 oz mushrooms, chopped or diced 3 oz chopped, frozen spinach 2 two-oz eggs 2 Tbsp milk 1½ teaspoons white whole wheat flour 1½ oz feta cheese, crumbled   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Thaw the spinach in a sieve to remove extra water. Gently cook the garlic in the oils until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the water they exude evaporates. Put the feta in a bowl, top with the spinach, then the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms/garlic cool before you stir the vegetables and cheese together. Combine the flour and milk in a small dish and heat in the microwave. Stir together to make a roux. Whisk the roux with the eggs. Put the vegetable-cheese mixture in an oven-proof dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Pour the egg mixture on top and bake at 350 F for 20-23 minutes. All the flavors meld together to create a savory way to start your day.

Zucchini-Feta Fritter Plate: 288 calories 7 g fat 2.4 g fiber 27 g protein 22 g carbs 285 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF flour A delightful meal for a busy day: delicious, savory, nourishing, and easy to prepare.

5 zucchini-feta fritters** 3 oz tomato, cherry-size or large ones sliced or cubed 3 oz shrimp, steamed or grilled previously 2 Tbsp plain yogurt Arrange on the plate and enjoy your stress-free evening meal.

**Zucchini-Feta Fritters makes 23-24  each: 34 calories 1.3 g fat 0.3 g fiber 1.5 g protein 3 g carbs 34 mg Calcium  1-1/8 pound [18 oz] zucchini salt 1 two-oz egg 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled or diced ¼ cup fresh dill weed OR 2 Tbsp dried 2 Tbsp fresh parsley ¼ c white whole wheat flour ¼ cup self-rising flour Grate the zucchini and put it in a colander over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and use your fingers to toss the zucchini to distribute the salt. Let sit several hours or overnight. Place the zucchini in a clean bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Combine well. Heat a griddle/large skillet and spray with non-stick spray. TIP: I used a 1.5 Tbsp scoop, but a heaping tablespoon would do as well.  Make piles of the batter on the cooking surface, then flatten them and cook until nicely browned on both sides.

Slow Days: My Grandmother’s Christmas Cookies

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

My father’s mother was not a good cook. No surprise there. Born in 1884, she was raised to know how to run a household, not to do the cooking and cleaning. In fact, one of the stipulations that my great-grandfather made when my grandfather asked for her hand, was that the wedding would be delayed until such time as the prospective groom had a sufficient income to hire domestic help. Once I asked my father what his family would eat when it was cook’s night off. He replied that his mother would open a can of ravioli and that was dinner. One of my grandmother’s two signature recipes was for the cookies that she made at Christmas. We would drive through the night from Connecticut to Pennsylvania to arrive before Christmas morning, and my grandmother would greet us with the cookies that she had just taken from the oven. They were cut-out cookies, misshapen and often a bit burned, but my father loved them. My sister and I never understood that when we were children, but now I get it. My mother, a great baker of cookies, asked for the recipe and here it is in the original: “Lard, Molasses, Cinnamon, and enough Flour.” My grandmother’s devotion to those cookies tells me that the recipe was from her beloved mother, who no doubt had it from her mother: Agnes Waugh Greason, 1811-1885. My grandmother called the cookies “Ginger Snaps” although there is no ginger in them. My mother called them “Greason Cut-outs” in honor of the Greason Family. Ancestor William Greason/Grayson settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1775, and married Agnes Waugh, 1756-1855. Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River was the frontier at that time, and supplies were scarce. The lard was from your own pig; molasses was obtained by barter [cane sugar was unavailable]; flour was milled locally; cinnamon was a precious commodity. When you encounter a recipe with such ingredients, you know it is an old one, from a time of perilous scarcity. Now I bake these cookies every December. At first, Dear Husband would not eat them. Lard? ick! But once he found that the recipe had such a long family history, he has taken to them and even finds them to be good to eat..

Simple ingredients tell you that it is a recipe from the early 1800s.
The cinnamon red-hot adds visual interest and a little kick of flavor.
Grandmother’s cookies with a cup of tea on a cool December evening.
Original recipeScaled down recipePreheat oven to 325F.
1 cup lard
2 cups molasses
2 tsp cinnamon		1/3 cup lard
2/3 cup molasses 2/3 tsp cinnamon 		Mix together, either by creaming by hand or by using an electric mixing device.
‘as much flour as necessary to make a soft dough rollable’ 1 cup white whole wheat flour*Stir in the flour thoroughly.
Cinnamon red-hotsRoll out in batches on a floured surface to around ¼” thickness. Cut in your preferred shape. I use a Moravian Star** and press a red-hot into the center of each one.
Bake on parchment paper until firm to the touch, 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the pan. These cookies store well, as a ‘frontier’ cookie would need to do.

*I use white whole wheat flour because I think it is more like flour that would have been available in 1840. **The Moravians are a common religious group in eastern Pennsylvania, so I think that their many-pointed Christmas star is an appropriate cookie shape. If you want a Christmas Cookie with a history, try these.

Gustave Eiffel

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Gustave Eiffel was born on December 15, 1832, near Dijon. He was born during the early years of the Industrial Revolution, when the ability to make high quality iron in mass production had begun. This permitted the building of tall, wide, strong structures. Eiffel attended the  Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, where he learned to build with steel. He must have learned well, for he became known for building bridges. Bordeaux, 1860. Portugal, 1876. Garabit Viaduct, 1885. The structures are elegant and durable. His engineering firm was responsible for some notable buildings in Hungary, 1874; Nice, 1878; Chile, 1868. Eiffel designed the engineering supports inside of the Statue of Liberty, 1883, and of course his most famous work was the Eiffel Tower, 1889. The iconic tower was built to be a temporary demonstration of iron-working, a curiosity at the Paris World’s Fair of 1889, 100 years after the French Revolution. Artists and poets hated it and many citizens wanted the eye-sore torn down. But when it became a radio antenna in the late 1890s, it was seen as more than a place for tourists to visit. After the disastrous French attempt to build the Panama Canal, with Eiffel’s company designing the lock system, Eiffel retired. After two years in prison for the canal debacle, he was exonerated. Still healthy and curious, he spent his last 30 years studying meteorology, wind forces on tall structures, and wind tunnels. Can one today imagine Paris without its amazing Tour Eiffel? Incroyable! Can one today imagine New York without its amazing Lady Liberty? Fuggedaboutit! Gustave Eiffel certainly left an indelible mark on the world with his structures. A genius.

You might think that Eiffel’s birthday should call for that restaurant fad of ‘tall food,’ but we will enjoy simple French meals that are easy to prepare and enjoyable to eat.

Cherry Flamusse: 194 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 11 g protein 27.6 g carbs 157 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage.  PB GF – if using GF flour  This breakfast custard is borrowed from the dessert section of the cookbook, and it works very well either way! It is similar to a clafouti, but simpler. Served with cherries or any fresh fruit, it is sure to be a hit. HINT: This makes enough for 2 [two] servings: share with a friend or save the rest for a future breakfast or dessert. [As a dessert, without the clementine, one serving has 177 calories.]

2 two-oz eggs 6 oz milk 4 tsp flour OR tapioca flour 1.5 Tbsp sugar 10 sweet cherries, pitted ½ clementine  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]  Optional:blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Spritz 2 ramekins or an oven-proof dish with 1.5 cup capacity with non-stick spray. Cut the cherries in half and arrange on the bottom of the dish. Whisk eggs until foamy, then add flour and sugar, whisking until there are no lumps. Stir in the milk and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake at 375 F. for 20 minutes. Turn the flamusse out of the dish so that the cherries are on top. Plate with the clementine sections, serve with the beverages. Sure doesn’t taste like a ‘diet.’

Beef & Beet Salad:  243 calories 8.5 g fat 3 g fiber 24 g protein 17 g carbs 24 mg Calcium   PB GF  This unusual salad was found in James Peterson’s Glorious French Food. Should you have left-over roast beef, this is the dish to try. It is crazy easy.

2¾ oz thinly-sliced roasted beef 3½ oz pickled beets, as thinly-sliced rounds a few leaves of spinach, cut as chiffonade dill pickle spear 1½ tsp dressing*** 

***Dressing [makes 6 teaspoons] 2¼ tsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp chopped shallot 1½ tsp red wine vinegar 4½ tsp olive oil

Slice the beef and the beets as matchsticks about 2-3” long. Put in the serving bowl/plate along with the spinach, and drizzle the dressing over the top. Gently toss to coat the salad with the dressing. Plate it with the pickle. 

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

2 two-oz eggs + olive oil1.5 two-oz eggs 
garlic + mushroomsscallions
frozen spinach + milkbasil + tomato
flour + feta cheesestrawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

zucchini + 2-oz egg + dill weed8”, 170-calorie whole wheat tortilla
feta cheese + parsley + shrimpcrushed tomatoes + mozzarella
white whole wheat flour + tomatoonion + mushrooms
self-wishing flour + plain yogurtprosciutto + calamita olive
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Night Sky: Cassiopeia

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to ominousthespirit who is now Following.

A ‘constellation’ is a group of stars that appear to form a picture. Modern astronomers world-wide recognize 88 constellations, each occupying a designated area in the sky. The constellations seen from the northern hemisphere are the ones that inhabit mythologies from Europe and North America. Constellations seen from the southern hemisphere are ‘man-made’ — that is, astronomers who did not know their names [if they had any], created the names and the pictures that they formed during the 1600s and 1700s. Some constellations are seen seasonally, like Orion in the Winter, but some are seen all year ’round. In the Northern Hemisphere, there is a group of star pictures which are made up of the circumpolar stars. Cassiopeia or Cassiopeia’s Chair is one of them. I remember my mother pointing it out to me when I was a child — it was my first constellation. The ancient Greeks had stories to explain why these pictures were in the sky and here is the myth of Cassiopeia:

She was the Queen of AEthiopia, ruling with her husband Cepheus. Cassiopeia was very vain about her good looks, and her daughter Andromeda had inherited her mother’s beauty but not her personality. Cepheus and his wife were lining up suitors for their daughter’s hand when disaster struck. Cassiopeia had bragged that she and Andromeda were prettier than the the Sea Nymphs and Posiden, their father and God of the Sea, was upset. So he sent a sea monster to wreck havoc on coastal towns of Ethiopia. An oracle told the king and queen to chain their daughter to a rock as a sacrifice to the monster. So, with a few tears, they did. Just when all hope was lost, the hero Perseus came flying out of the sky on a winged horse, Pegasus. Perseus tried using his sword, but to no avail. Saying, “Avert your eyes, Andromeda,” he took from his satchel the head of the Gorgon Medusa and turned the monster to stone. Perseus then rode back to the palace with Andromeda and asked to marry her. Cassiopeia turn him down, because he wasn’t good enough for her daughter, and Perseus was rather annoyed at that. Saying, “Avert your eyes, Andromeda,” he took from his satchel Medusa’s head, and turned the Cassiopiea to stone –right there, sitting on her throne. The gods put her in the sky, to remind women not to be vain about their looks. As her constellation circles the Pole Star, her chair is sometimes right-side up, and sometimes up-side down — a terrifying punishment for the foolish queen.

Cassiopeia has five stars, shaped like a ‘W’ or an ‘M’. It is visible all year in the Northern sky. Once you see it, you will find yourself picking it out again and again. Happy star-gazing.

For some reason, shirred eggs always struck me as elegant, an elevated way to prepare eggs, so for the hoity-toity Cassiopiea we will have them for breakfast. Since Perseus saved Andromeda with his sword [and the Gorgon’s head], we will impale some meat for our dinner — along with some vegetables.

Shirred Egg: 147 calories 8.5 g fat 2 g fiber 10 g protein 10 g carb 106 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF – if using GF bread  I learned to prepare this dish when working on my Girl Scout ‘Cooking’ badge. I still eat it because it tastes so good. Easy to serve to guests, as well.

One 2-oz egg 1 Tbsp half&half = 10% milk-fat salt & pepper to taste 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese 1 oz melon  half a slice of 70-calorie whole-grain bread, toasted Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait  [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Heat the toaster oven to 325 F. Spritz a 1-cup ramekin with cooking oil or spray. Break the egg into the cup, and pour the half&half on top. Sprinkle with cheese, add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then let sit 2-3 mins. Plate with the toast and fruit. Serve with your choice of beverages. 

Shashlik: 292 calories 10g fat 3 g fiber 19 g protein 32 g carbs 53.4 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF bread  Here is the meal of nomadic herdsmen in the grasslands of Asia and Eastern Europe. Originally made with lamb or beef, this Ukrainian version uses pork shoulder. It can be enjoyed with or without the bread. The recipe is from natashaskitchen.com. For the flatbread, I used Mongol Bread, full recipe in the blog about Kublai Khan, 4 May 2022

Sv 2 = Fast dinnerGrill or broiler.
5 oz pork sirloinCut pork in 1” pieces and put in a bowl.
1½ cloves garlic, pressed
½ medium onion 		Cut onion in 1” pieces. Press garlic and add both to bowl with pork.
2 pinches salt
pinch pepper		Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir everything to combine.
1½ Tbsp red wine
2 tsp olive oil		Add oil and wine. Stir to combine. Cover, put in fridge 3-4 hours.
wooden skewersCover skewers with water for 20 mins. 
Preheat grill/broiler. Before cooking, set to medium.
3 oz Bell pepper, 1”chunks
3 oz zucchini, 1” chunks		Skewer meat and onions, but not too closely together. Skewer vegetables separately.
Strain marinade and boil it briefly.
Grill 4 mins on all sides until cooked. 
Flat bread =86 caloriesServe in flatbread with drizzle of marinade.

Religions: Mithraism

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

The Roman Empire left a big imprint on Europe and many of its influences lingered after the Empire fell. Think: Romance Languages. But its religions did not remain, having been supplanted by Christianity. Many of us are familiar with the deities of their official religion, since the planets bear their names. Few are familiar with a secret cult which flourished among the Roman military and merchants who dealt with the far-flung army. It was the Cult of Mithras and from 100-300 CE, it gave Christianity a run for its money. Although Mithras is mentioned in Persian texts many thousands of years ago, his Roman following sprang into existence only in the late 1st century CE. Mithras was a young, clean-shaven, free man who was born from a rock. [why? how? when? who knows] He is friends with Sol, the invincible Sun god. For some reason I can’t explain, Mithras, with the approval of Sol, hunts and kills the Bull, symbol of fertility and vitality. Mithras and Sol then eat the flesh of the Bull and drink its blood. This paves the way for rebirth and renewal and resurrection. The Cult of Mithras was a secret society from which there are no written records. Their temples were built in caves or under-ground, to promote mystery and secrecy in dark places. Every temple had a sculpture or painting of Mithras killing the Bull over the altar. What little we know of their religion involves a baptism [in water? in blood?] to mark the start of a new life; a ritual of pretending to die and then come to life again [perhaps going under-ground then reemerging was symbolic of that]; and a shared communion of wine and food. The religion was monotheistic, unusual in pantheistic Rome, and Mithras’ birthday was December 25th. Perhaps the ‘date’ of Christmas was said to be December 25 [even though it wasn’t] to take the day away from Mithras’ followers. Indeed, many scholars see so many similarities between the two religions that one might think that the Cult of Mithras was established to counter Christianity. Dr Martin Luther King, while at theological school, wrote a paper on the influences of the two religions on each other. The Mithras Cult was a secret males-only society, like a men’s fraternal lodge, and it thrived for several centuries — until it didn’t. Being a member of ‘the in-crowd’ surely attracted members, but that exclusivity also probably killed it. Christianity spoke of resurrection too, but for everyone — not just the few. As the power of the Roman Empire faded, the soldiers left the outposts of service, and the Cult of Mithras dwindled and died, not to be revived.

Eating meat in ritual meals was a big part of the Cult of Mithras. Excavations of temples reveal a variety of bones from the feasts, including rabbit, game birds, and pig. Our breakfast is about the rabbit that got away, causing the hunter to make a cheese meal instead. Our dinner contains meat from the sacrificial bovine itself, cooked in a pie with mushrooms. Of the four Mithraic sites in the UK, one is in Wales, one is in London, and three are on Hadrian’s Wall. These meals are very British.

Welsh Rabbit ScrOmelette: 152 calories 9.5 g fat 0.6 g fiber 11.4 g protein 3.4 g carbs 97.5 mg Calcium   NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  The origional version of this recipe is served in Old Williamsburg, Virginia at Chowning’s Tavern. We love it for a homey supper, just as people did in Colonial Days and here are the same flavors in breakfast form.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid to store in the ‘fridge for next week.  ¼ oz Cheddar cheese ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce ½ tsp dry mustard 1 oz pear or strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Grate the cheese and stir in the Worcestershire and mustard. Spritz a fry pan with olive oil or non-stick spray and heat over meduim. Whisk and pour in the eggs. Add the cheese mixture and scramble or let cook then fold as an omelette. Prep the fruit and the beverages and ponder the rebellious days of Colonial America.

Steak & Mushroom Pie: 277 calories 5 g fat 7 g fiber 27 g protein 25.6 g carbs 34 mg Calcium Two very compatible flavors together again, topped [not encased] in puff pastry. Similar to a meal enjoyed at The Sign of the Angel in Lacock, Wiltshire, England. A real treat. HINT: recipe serves 2 [TWO], photo shows one serving.

4 oz grilled sirloin steak [leftover from a previous meal, perhaps] 1.5 cups mushrooms 1 Tbsp red wine ¼ cup creamed onions ½ tsp thyme + salt & pepper to taste 1/6 sheet puff pastry [Pepperidge Farm, frozen sheets are easy to find and use]  per person: 1/3 cup peas

Thaw the frozen puff pastry for 40 minutes on the counter. Rewrap and return one sheet to freezer. Remove one of the sheets, unroll it carefully, and cut the sheet into 6 squares. [TIP: stack the remaining 5 pieces with waxed paper or cling wrap between the layers. Pop into a zipper bag and freeze for later use.] Cut the steak into ½”-1” cubes. Combine the meat with the mushrooms, wine, onions, seasonings in an oven-proof dish just large enough to hold the meat mixture yet large enough to be topped with the puff pastry. Heat the meat mixture until it is warm. Lay the puff pastry on top, decoratively slitting the crust. Bake at 400 F. about 15 minutes, until the crust is well-browned. Cook the peas and imagine that you are dining in an English country restaurant.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg + Parmesan cheese2 two-oz eggs 
70-calorie whole-grain breadmilk + sugar
half & half [blend cream]white whole wheat flour
apple or strawberriessweet cherries + clementine
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

pork shoulder + garlicslices of cooked roast beef
onion + red wine + olive oilrounds of pickled beets
zucchini + bell pepperDijon mustard+ shallot
Mongol bread or other 86 calorie flatbread.red wine vinegar + olive oil
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Mozart

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Blogger 999 who is now Following.

On November 22, 1791, Wolfgang Mozart fell ill at his home in Vienna, Austria. Attended by several friends, he died on December 5, after singing parts of his Requiem in D with them. There has been much speculation as to the cause of his death. When someone young and famous dies, the rumors fly. No, Mozart was not killed by Antonio Salieri — that was a dramatic invention by Peter Shaffer, author of the play Amadeus. [Salieri was godfather to one of Mozart’s children.] Was the cause of death TB? or mercury poisoning [mercury was used as a medicine]? syphillis? Modern forensic analysis comes down on the side of septicemia, a blood infection that could have damaged his kidneys, leading to his death. Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria into a musical family. He was a child prodigy, composing music at age 5. As a child, his father exploited his talent by taking him on long, difficult journeys all over Europe so that the child could perform. Leopold, his father, hoped that young Wolfgang would acquire a noble patron. It didn’t happen, yet as he traveled around, Mozart was meeting prominent musicians and learning new styles of music. He was often juvenile and silly, but he was serious about his music. In his lifetime he produced some 500 works in many styles as identified in the  Köchel catalogue. This hard work never really paid off for Wolfgang, as he and his wife Constanze were careless with money and had trouble making ends meet. That day in 1791, the music died but the work lives on. If you are not familiar with his music, click here.

A favorite snack in Vienna is a sausage sandwich called ‘Bosna.’ We’ll have those flavors in eggs, thank you very much. Mozart’s music could be dark and stirring, as in his Requiem Mass, or light and comic, as in Cosi Fan Tutti. Our dinner plays with the maestro’s ‘cheeky’ side. BTW, playwright Shaffer also popularized the notion that Mozart suffered the ignominy of burial in a pauper’s grave. How he was buried was consistent with middle-class citizens of Vienna. Another myth busted.

Bosna Bake: 147 calories 9.4 g fat 1.5 g fiber 9 g protein 7 g carbs 52.6 mg Calcium  The nutritional values given are for the plated items and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF I took the ingredients for an Austrian sandwich and mixed them with eggs. That’s turning snack food into a healthy breakfast.

1 two-oz egg 0.5 oz bratwurst, large dice 1 Tbsp onion, diced 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped 1 tsp ketchup ½ tsp prepared mustard ¼ tsp curry powder 1 oz strawberries   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

Put the sausage, onion, and parsley in a dry pan and saute them until onion is transluscent and sausage is cooked. Stir together the ketchup, mustard, and curry in a separate little dish. Whisk the egg, stir in the onion-sausage and pour into a lightly-spritzed ramekin or other oven-safe dish. Bake at 350 F. until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. Before serving, dollop the eggs with the ketchup mixture, and plate with the strawberries.

Cod Cheeks in Cream Sauce: 227 calories 12 g fat 2 g fiber 24.6 g protein 6 g carbs 66 mg Calcium  PB GF   The cheeks of cod and halibut are considered a delicacy among fisherfolk. This simple recipe is SO delicious and very special. 

This recipe serves two [2]Prepare a mise-en-place because this cooks quickly. NB: if serving the asparagus, start it cooking now.
300 g fish cheeks
salt + white pepper		Pat halibut cheeks dry, and season with salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oilPut oil in a skillet over med-high heat. When very hot, add cheeks, cook 1 min on each side, until almost cooked through. Put on a plate.
¼ c white wine
1 sm clove garlic		Mince garlic. Pour excess oil from skillet. Add wine and garlic and cook until wine is reduced by half.
1-2 oz creamAdd cream. Simmer and reduce until it lightly thickens.
1 Tbsp grainy Dijon
2 tsp chives/scallion		Mix in these ingredients. Season sauce w/ salt + pepper.
Return cheeks to skillet and heat them in the sauce until cooked through, ~2 mins. Plate cheeks equally, top with sauce.
7 spears asparagus pre serving OR  side salad with beets + blueberriesServe with cooked asparagus, topped with a smear of the sauce OR a side salad with beets and blueberries.

Saint Eligius

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

It was 580 CE, in Limoges in the Kingdom of Frankia, King Lothar/Chlothar II/Clothaire was on the throne, and Éloi [called Eligius in latin] was born to a farming family. As a teenager, he apprenticed to a goldsmith. A portion of his earnings was supposed to be given to his family, but he gave it to the poor and the enslaved people instead. Éloi’s skills as a goldsmith earned him a royal commission from Clothaire: create a throne [some say a saddle] of gold and gems. The king gave him the gold to use, which would be enough for the proposed item, plus more since goldsmiths usually factored in some ‘waste and loss.’ What they were really doing was removing a large portion of the gold by mixing it with base metals and keeping the gold for themselves. But Éloi was an honest workman. He made a throne/saddle from the required weight of gold and then fashioned another, just like it, out of the remainder, not stealing any of it. So impressed was Clothaire, that he appointed Éloi as Royal Goldsmith in Paris. He made reliquaries for St. Martin and St. Columbanus. In that position, he became wealthy and trusted as one of the king’s advisors. The king sent Éloi to Marseilles to run the royal mint. While doing the king’s bidding, Éloi also bought slaves coming into the port and freed them. The next king, Dagobert, brought Éloi back to Paris to run the mint there. All the while, his faith work increased: he founded a monastery in Limoges, as well as the first religious house for women in Paris. When Dagobert died, Éloi left government work and became a priest. He was immediately made Bishop of Noyon and threw himself into the job of preaching and converting in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Antwerp. One of the most famous legends about Eloi has to do with shoeing a horse. The horse kept kicking, so Eloi took off its leg, fitted the shoe, then put the leg back onto the horse. The king sent Eligius to Brittany to convince them to come under the Frankish umbrella. There are many churches and towns in Brittany named for the saint, including St Ilan in Langeux which was the home base of one of my family’s ancestral branches. Eloi died on December 1 in 660 CE. He is the Patron Saint of Goldsmiths and veterinarians.

Aubergines are enjoyed in Provence, where Eloi founded a monastery, so we will enjoy them in our eggs at breakfast. In Flanders, Hutspot is a favorite food and it might become one of your favorites, too.

Aubergine ScrOmelette:  152 calories  7.6 g fat  2 g fiber 10.5 g protein 11 g carbs [10 g Complex] 64.7 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  PB GF  Eggplant and tomatoes are such a fine combination, that you want to eat them with everything. Eating them out of season is a possible too.

1½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid to store in the ‘fridge for next week.  1¼ oz fresh tomatoes, diced OR same amount of canned, diced tomato 1¼ oz eggplant, peeled ¼ oz onion OR 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped large pinch Herbes de Provence pinch crushed red pepper flakes 1¼ oz pear Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Chop the eggplant and onion/garlic. Simmer the vegetables and herbes in the tomato sauce in a covered pan until they are tender. If too thick, add a little water. Whisk the eggs with the vegetables and put into a hot saute pan spritzed with cooking spray. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Alternatively, cook the eggs as a flat omelette and spoon the tomato-eggplant on to them as a filling, then fold. Slice the pears and prepare your beverages. Savor the flavor of summer.

Hutspot with Dutch Meatballs: 243 calories 8 g fat 4 g fiber 17 g protein 31 g carbs [21 g Complex] 82 mg Calcium   PB GF – if using GF rye bread  This recipe from Flanders and Holland is a hit at our house. The sweet carrots really add something to the potatoes.  HINT: This meal serves two with meatballs left over.

Hutspot: makes 1 cup which serves 2 people 2 oz potato, peeled 2 oz carrots, peeled 2 oz onion salt and pepper to taste Cube the potatoes and put into a sauce pan with water half-way up. Cut the carrots in coins and put on top of potatoes. Slice the onions and put them on top of the carrots. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until all vegetables are soft. Drain, reserving the liquid. Mash the vegetables, adding reserved liquid if needed. Season to taste.

Dutch Meatballs: makes 6 which serves 3 people ½ pound ground turkey, 3% fat 1 oz rye bread, crust removed if very hard ¼ cup skim milk 1 shallot [1 Tbsp chopped] 1 egg white ¼ tsp nutmeg ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp black pepper Chop or tear the bread into ½” pieces. Put in a small dish and pour in enough milk to wet the bread – you will have some left over. Add the seasonings and egg white to the meat. Squeeze the extra milk out of the bread and add it to the meat/seasonings. Run it all though the food processor. Heat a non-stick pan and spray with non-stick spray. Measure the meat mixture into 3 Tbsp portions and gently form into balls. Place in hot pan and cook until brown on one side. Turn and cook further. Turn onto another side and cook until done.

Plating: Plate two meatballs per person, along with the hutspot and a bit of grainy mustard, if you like.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg + onion1.5 two-oz eggs + dry mustard
bratwurst sausage + mustardCheddar cheese
parsley + curry powderWorcestershire sauce
catsup + strawberriesstrawberries or pear
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

150 g cod cheeks per person + olive oilgrilled sirloin steak + mushrooms
whipping/heavy cream + Dijon mustardred wine + creamed onions
asparagus + white winepeas + thyme
chives/scallions  + side saladpuff pastry from a purchased sheet of pastry
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Night Sky: Orion the Hunter

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

A ‘constellation’ is a group of stars that appear to form a picture. Modern astronomers world-wide recognize 88 constellations, each occupying a designated area in the sky. The constellations seen from the northern hemisphere are the ones that inhabit mythologies from Europe and North America. Constellations seen from the southern hemisphere are ‘man-made’ — that is, astronomers who did not know their names [if they had any], created the names and the pictures that they formed during the 1600s and 1700s. One of the oldest, largest, and best known constellation is Orion. I say ‘oldest’ because a representation of it was carved into ivory 32,000 years ago; ‘largest’ because it is the 26th biggest constellation; and ‘best-known’ because both the Europeans and First Nations of the Americas recognized it as being a Giant or a Hunter. The Greeks had two legends to explain how a prominent hunter got into the night sky, and this is the one that I like.

Orion was a mortal man who loved to hunt. He was good at his craft and didn’t mind telling you that no animal could escape him — neither the wild bulls, nor the boars, nor the deer, nor the lions, nor the bears — and on and on. The Earth Goddess Gaia became very annoyed by this — by the slaughter of her animals and by his braggadocio. She sent a lowly Scorpion on a mission to assassinate the Hunter. And so it was that one day, while Orion was pontificating on his magnificence, the Scorpion stung him on the heel and the Hunter died. The Gods placed him in the Winter sky to remind men not to boast. Orion is seen facing us, with a bow [some say a shield] in his left arm and his right arm up-raised. Three stars form a belt at his waist, from which hangs a sword. He is accompanied by his two dogs, Sirius and Procyon who are on his right. All Winter long, he strides from East to West across the sky. In the Spring, when Orion is disappearing into the West, the constellation Scorpio rises in the East to chase him out of the sky.

Orion contains some famous stars. His right shoulder is the star Betelguese [‘armpit of the warrior’ in Arabic]. His left shoulder is Bellatrix [‘woman warrior’ in Greek]. His left knee is Rigel, one of the brightest stars in the sky. I would tell my students to look at those three stars closely and to compare them: Betelgeuse is a red star, Bellatrix is a white star, and Rigel is a blue star. The colors tell the temperature of the star as codified by Annie Jump Cannon. I am always happy to see Orion for the first time in the late Fall, and I greet him like an old friend. Throughout the winter, he keeps me company as I go out to the barn at night. And when he begins to settle into the West for his Summertime rest, I know that Spring is close at hand. To find Orion, look in the Southern sky, about half-way up. You will probably see his Belt first, then look up for his shoulders and down for his knees. He covers a lot of sky! If you are reading this from the Southern Hemisphere, you will see Orion in the Northern sky and he will be up-side-down compared to how he appears to us in the North. [Of course, that would look normal and right-side-up to you.] If it is coming on to Winter where you live, go out and see if you can find Orion in the night sky. Look up and marvel at the beauty of the stars on a clear night and about how a boastful hunter ended up in the sky.

Hunting does not always involve shooting animals. In the Summer we love to hunt for mushrooms to bake into eggs. When near the sea, we enjoy hunting for mussels at low tide which can be cooked into a delicious gratin.

Mushroom Bake: 145 calories 6.6 g fat 1 g fiber 10 g protein 9.5 g carbs 102 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  Goodness has everything to do with this delicious meal.

1 two-oz egg 1 Tablespoon ricotta 1 oz chantrelle/cepe or other ‘wild’ mushrooms 1½ tsp Parmesan cheese, grated 0.1 oz chopped prosciutto 1 oz pear or apple  Optional:  5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water

Spritz a ramekin [for 2 people, Dear Husband prefers to use a 4×6” oval casserole] with oil or non-stick spray and set the toaster oven at 350F degrees. Chop the mushrooms and proscuitto. Stir the cheeses together and combine with the mushrooms and prosciutto. Whisk the eggs into the mushroom/cheeses and pour into the container. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Add a beverage and fruit, and you are ready for a bounteous day.

Leek & Mussel Gratin:  278 calories 10 g fat 5 g fiber 17.5 g protein 29 g carbs 240 mg Calcium   PB GF  All the components of this meal are typical of Wales, UK. And — these fine ingredients make for a fine meal. If you are lucky, you might find a Welsh cheese.  HINT: The following recipe serves 2 [two].

5 oz /114 g mussels*, weighed after removing from the shells ½ oz/15 g/2 Tbsp oat bran ¼ cup/ 118 ml whole milk 6 oz leeks, trimmed, cleaned 1 oz Cheddar cheese [or the Welsh cheese Penbryn], grated Celtic Sea salt   per serving: 3 oz carrots, sliced as coins  OR  ¼ oz Cheddar, grated   *You could use oysters.

If starting with mussels in their shells, cook them briefly [5 minutes] in 1 inch of simmering water then cool and remove from shells. [Save the mussel broth for chowder.] Measure out milk and stir in oat bran. Do this early so it can sit for a bit. Slice the leeks cross-wise in ¼” slices. Steam them in a little water until limp. Drain and put in a saucepan with the mussels, milk-oat, cheese, and salt to taste. Stir to blend and heat over low. Spoon equally into two scallop shells – real or porcelain – or ramekins which have been spritzed with cooking spray. Top with the additional cheese. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes, until hot and the cheese on top is melted and browning. Meanwhile, prepare the carrots. Plate it all and let your mind go wool-gathering to the mountains of Wales.

Slow Days: Ossobuco

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Italian cuisine runs the gamut from plain to complex, from North to South, from pasta dishes to pasta-less dishes. In the North, the Piedmont Region has foods that one never finds in the southern part of the country: beef in plenty, cheese from water buffaloes, rice, butter, corn, and fewer tomatoes. One famous dish from Milano in the Piedmont is Ossobuco. The word means ‘bone with a mouth’ since the meat in the meal is slices of veal shank with a hollow bone in the center — the bone with a mouth. As we get into the cooler weather and past Saint Martin’s Day [when the farm animals were slaughtered], our thoughts turn to eating rich, flavorful stews or heavier pasta dishes. Enter Ossobuco. Perhaps the most difficult part of the recipe is finding the veal, since veal has justly fallen into disrepute due to the sad way that the veal calves have been raised. Our veal comes from D’artagnan, an online source of many meats, and it is raised humanely in France. That solved, preparing Ossobuco is not a complex process. Our recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazen’s excellent Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

We make a large batch so we will have leftovers. Four veal shanks will serve many using this recipe
The ingredients are simple and so is the preparation.
6-8 ServingsLarge covered Dutch oven or 16” cast iron pan with cover.Preheat oven to 350F
1 Tbsp vegetable oil + 1 Tbsp oil 4 veal shank slices, each 1½” thick white whole wheat flour, pepper, saltHeat oil in casserole over medium high heat until quite hot. Dry meat with paper towels and dredge in seasoned flour. Cook meat on both sides until ‘deeply browned.’  Depending on size of the casserole, you might do this in stages. Add more oil as needed. Put meat aside on a plate.
The wine is simmering and the brown bits are being scraped off the pan.
The soffritto adds a depth of flavor to the stew.
Now the veal is returned to the pot.
½ cup dry white wineAdd wine, cook down by half while scraping up brown bits. Pour it off and save it. 
1 Tbsp butter
½ c onion, chopped finely
½ c celery, chopped finely
½ c carrot, chopped finely 		Put butter into casserole over medium heat on stove top. When melted, add vegetables. Cook, stirring a bit, 6-7 minutes to form the soffritto. In Italy, they call it soffritto, in France it is mirepoix.
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 strip of lemon peel, no white pith 		Add these, cook and stir ~1 minute, until vegetables are wilted but not brown.
Put veal atop the soffritto, laying the pieces flat if possible, or overlapping them slightly.
Ready for the oven, all ingredients in the pot.
Stew is cooked, meat is mixed into the sauce with marrow bones in center.
½-1 cup homemade meat broth
1 c canned Italian plum tomatoes with juice 3-4 sprigs of thyme
2-3 sprigs parsley, chopped 2 bay leaves freshly ground pepper + salt 		Chop tomatoes and parsley. Put all of these into the casserole, along with remaining deglazing liquid. Liquids should come up to top of the veal slices, but not cover them. Bring to a simmer and cover. Put casserole in the heated oven and set a timer for 2 hours.
Every 20 mins, check the cassserole. Turn and baste shanks, adding more liquid, 2 Tbsp at a time, if needed.
When meat is very tender, take casserole from oven. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. If sauce is too thin, cook it down on the stove-top.
Now for the heresy! Remove meat shanks and slice meat, saving the marrow bone. Add slices back to the sauce, stirring them in. Nestle marrow bones in the center of the pot, standing on end.

For a vegetable course, we prepared an antipasto plate of vegetables marinated in Italian Vinaigrette. For bread, no-knead focaccia, sliced for ease of serving.

Fresh, hand-cut pasta, 5 oz per person drizzle olive oilCook pasta 1-3 minutes until al dente. Drain, adding some water to sauce. Drizzle pasta with a bit of oil.
focacciaPresent casserole and pasta separately, allowing diners to serve themselves and to take one of the marrow bones if they like. Serve with slices of focaccia loaf.

One could serve risotto or polenta, to be in keeping with Northern Italian cuisine, but we opted for fresh pasta which is more typical in the North than the South. For dessert, panna cotta with fruit coulis.