Shabbat Shalom, Y'all! (Sabbath Peace, Y'all) with Recipes

   And speaking of "simchah's" (rejoicing, or 'joyous occasion'- in Hebrew) just as the evening and the morning were the first day, according to the Bible, the biblical feast day   (yes, it IS a feast of the Lord), Shabbat or Sabbath begins at sundown every Friday evening or, Erev Shabbat. God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ordained this feast so that His people Israel should lay aside their work and rest and worship Him. For the Jewish people, this is tradition. For believing Jews and non-Jews - we who recognize Jesus or Yeshua, as Messiah know God shows us this feast as a time to rest IN Him. Yeshua IS our Shabbat Shalom! He is our Sabbath Peace. Halleluyah!

   If you would like to to spend Sabbath or, Shabbat, (Saturday) resting in the Lord, reading His Word and worshiping Him, you may want to prepare ahead of time a delicious Jewish stew, Cholent. The word "cholent" is of Latin origin meaning "hot" as in calorie. 

   Folk tradition says cholent comes from the Hebrew word she'lan which means "rested overnight." This refers to an old time cooking process where Jewish families would prepare cholent and place it in the local bakers' ovens that stayed hot and slow-cooked their dish overnight.

    Traditional Jewish Shabbat foods such as cholent, must be prepared as early as Thursday, and certainly no later than Friday afternoon. The pre-cooked foods may then be kept hot for the Shabbat meal served Saturday afternoon. 

    Prepare this healthy, traditionally Jewish meal early Friday afternoon with my recipe  and allow it to simmer slowly all night in your crock-pot; the perfect vessel for over-night cooking this delicious stew from my Feast of Israel Cookbook. www.messiahsongs.com 

CHOLENT

(bean, barley, meat, onion, and potato stew)

 You'll need:

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup lima beans

1/2 cup navy beans

6 small potatoes, cut into cubes (or quartered)

1 pound stew meat, cut into cubes

1/2 cup fine, or medium barley

1 medium onion, quartered

11/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder, or, 3 garlic cloves minced

The night before you prepare this dish, put all the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Allow beans to soak overnight.Before cooking drain and rinse beans removing any stones or dried out beans. 

Peel potatoes, quarter and add to pot. Rinse barley and meat and add to the pot. Peel and quarter onion. Place in a 6 quart pot. Add drained beans and water until pot is three-quarters full. Add salt, pepper, garlic. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Let simmer at least an hour. Add water when needed making sure water level is at least one inch above ingredients. Keep pot tightly covered. Pour contents of pot into a crock-pot slow-cooker Low temperature. The longer this stew simmers the better. You can toss in a bay leaf for an added dimension of flavor, if you choose.

Serve Shabbat afternoon. Serves 4 to 6. B'tayavon!