Move over Curtis Stone, there’s a new bunch of chefs creating meals for $10 or less. The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are taking their faith into the kitchen to create some joy and love in their community and the wider community, reports Catholic Outlook.
“For a long time, I really wanted to show people that we Sisters need to take care of our daily life as any average family,” Sr Grace Roclawska CSFN, Provincial Treasurer and Program and Engagement Representative at the Institute for Mission, said.
“We do not have cooks in our communities, as it was in the older days. We all share our house chores.
“We need to prepare and cook our meals to make sure our community eats nutritional meals to keep us healthy for our ministry life,” Sr Grace said.
Sr Margaret Kozub CSFN is filmed preparing a meal for the Convent Cooking YouTube series. Image: Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth/Catholic Outlook.
Sr Sophie Boffa, one of the newest members of the congregation, and a chaplain to Westmead and Blacktown Hospitals added, “cooking is super important in the community. It’s most of all a way we can show love and care for our sisters”.
What started off as a ‘one woman show’ evolved into an online cooking series, with step-by-step instructional videos and recipes uploaded to YouTube and their provincial website.
The videos may not be shot in a fancy studio kitchen, nor have time pressures that would be seen on any cooking show, but they are down-to-earth and modest, like the sisters themselves.
“We were thinking about ways to reach out to our friends and neighbours during Lent, especially as we couldn’t see them in person. Then the idea came to cook and it just went from there,” Sr Sophie explained.
“The cooking videos started in Lent and were published on a weekly basis, showcasing recipes for meatless meals, and continued during Easter, which included recipes for happy, festive meals. We will now start to share recipes for ordinary time,” Sr Grace added.
Creating meals for around $10 provided the sisters with an attainable goal that can be replicated outside of their community.
“Things are getting so expensive these days, and many people find it a struggle to find and cook affordable and tasty meals, especially for a family,” Sr Sophie said.
Sr Grace added, “I love to challenge myself when I cook. I always calculate how much my ingredients cost and how available they are in the nearby supermarkets.
“We wanted to show others that we understand people living on a small budget and want to help them to find yummy food.”
Living in community with 25 people from five different nationalities provides the sisters with the opportunity to share and try local and international cuisines.
When asked if there were any cooking tips they’d like to share, the sisters mentioned loving what you are creating and the joy they experience when they do.
“My favourite quote is ‘food is God’s love made edible’. I heard it some time ago, but cannot remember the author. I truly believe that. Food is a gift which needs to be received with gratitude and celebrated,” Sr Grace said.
This is an abridged form of an article by Mary Brazell published in Catholic Outlook. See the full article here.