Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
August 26
Saint of the day:
Prophet Melchizedek
Prophet Melchizedek
Melchizedek's name literally means "king of righteousness". His title as King of Salem, literally denoted the title to be "King of Peace". In the Book of Genesis, Melchizedek was the king of the city of Salem, that had been under the reign of Kedorlaomer, until an alliance of cities rebelled. While it was not officially documented in the Bible that Melchizedek was fighting in the war, it is known that he was present after Abram rescued Lot and defeated the opposing army. After Abram had rescued had defeated Kedorlaomer and his allies, multiple kings came and met with Abram. Melchizedek was at the meeting in which he had brought bread and wine and was to serve as God's priest. Melchizedek then blessed Abram for his contributions to defeating Kedorlaomer. He also praised God for delivering the enemies under Abram, and as result of these blessings Abram gave a tenth of his property to the priest-king.
Legacy
Melchizedek is described to being without a father or mother, or even a genealogy. This may indeed refer to that Melchizedek has no recorded genealogical record to attribute parenthood or family lineage, or perhaps could even refer to a spiritual embodiment of Jesus Christ Himself.
The argument for a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ being Melchizedek falls primarily in the attributes ascribed to each that they share and because the amount of comparison by the author of Hebrews. The interaction of Melchizedek with Abram early on can be symbolism of Jesus and the Hebrew Nation of Israel that descended from Abram. Also Melchizedek brought bread and wine as food and refreshment, the same food Jesus gave to his Apostles to represent his body and blood. He was also the King of Jerusalem, which would be the city that would hold the Temple (which was also typology for Jesus's body), where he would die, and the same name for the city of Heaven (New Jerusalem) after his return.
Others say that Melchizedek was Shem as this has more realism and it would be unnecessary for the Son Jesus to be pre-incarnate. Very old ancient sources from Jewish, if not Hebrew scholars associate Melchizedek as Shem. This explanation also can make Melchizedek eligible in that his lifespan was long enough to be considered "indestructible".
The actual identity of Melchizedek is unknown. Some Christians believe that he may be a pre-incarnate version of Jesus Christ, Noah's son Shem, or simply a unique individual of his own. If he was his own individual then Melchizedek would be similar to a prophet or a Levitical High Priest in that he received a special designation of role by God. This role would have had immense responsibility and privilege in the level of interaction with God, and being a mediator for humans to God. Melchizedek being his own person may have been created simply to establish the order, bestow blessings onto Abram, develop Jerusalem into an early archetypical city, and provide indirect symbolic prophecies to Jesus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchizedek
https://bible.wikia.org/wiki/Melchizedek
Prayer:
Visit
Israel
Recipe
Eggplant Tachin
Eggplant and Rice
Ingredients
For the tachin and filling:
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3 tablespoons avocado oil, plus more for frying
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4 onions, diced
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2 large bulb eggplants or
4-5 long Italian eggplants (about 3 pounds) -
1 ½ cups basmati rice, rinsed
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3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
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½ cup mayonnaise
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¾ teaspoon rose water
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½ teaspoon saffron,
bloomed in 3 tablespoons of hot water -
3 egg yolks
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Juice of ½ lemon
For the barberry mixture:
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1 ½ tablespoons butter
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2 teaspoons sugar
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¼ teaspoon rose water (optional)
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1 ½ cup barberries
For assembly and garnish:
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Cooking spray
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½ cup slivered pistachios
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Dried rose buds (optional)
Directions
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Heat 3 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the diced onions, and gently cook them until they caramelize, about 45-50 minutes. If your pan gets too dry, add a tablespoon of water to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.
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While your onions cook, prepare the eggplant: With a sharp knife or mandolin, slice the eggplants lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of salt. Let them sweat in the sink for 30 minutes to remove any bitterness.
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Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the remaining tablespoon of salt, and cook your rice for 8 minutes, or until it is just cooked. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons of salt, rose water, saffron water, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Add in the rice, and mix well.
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Blot the eggplant slices with a paper towel to remove excess salt and any moisture. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet, and fry the eggplant slices until they get a light golden color, and begin to soften, about 2 minutes on each side. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining slices.
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Make the barberry mixture: In a small pot on low heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and rose water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the barberries, and mix well to coat them with the butter until warmed, 2 minutes. Add the caramelized onions to the mixture and remove from the heat.
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Assemble the tachin: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and spray a 7-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment, and spray again.
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Form a circular overlay design with the eggplants along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Orient the slices so the round end is in the center of the pan, and make sure to overlap the slices so there are no gaps along the corners and up sides. Press down to secure the slices.
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Add 2 ½ cups of the rice mixture and smooth it along the bottom of the pan, making sure to pack it down well. Spread 1 cup of barberry mixture in an even layer over the rice. Repeat with the remaining 2 ½ cups of rice mixture, packing down well.
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Layer a few eggplant slices on top to secure the rice mixture. Press down so the tachin is densely packed and secure. If there are slices that come up past the sides of the pan, trim them down flush with the pan edge.
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Cover the pan with foil, and place onto a baking sheet to catch oil leakage in the oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let the tachin rest uncovered for 10 minutes. Carefully, flip over onto a serving platter, remove the springform pan, and garnish with remaining barberry mixture, slivered pistachios, and rose buds.
