A simple meal - vary amin'anana

by Veronica Greenwell 

Tonight we made a small, simple meal from our Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl 2012 Lenten Calendar. It is a dish called Vary amin'anana, which means rice mixed with greens. It is a very simple dish and has very simple ingredients. 1/2 of an onion, 1 tsp of ginger, 1 tomato - cooked in a small amount of oil for a few minutes, then greens are added, and cooked for a few minutes more, then a bit of rice and water.

Our ingredients.

Our meal

While cooking, we learned about our Catholic family in Madagascar.  80% of the people in Madagascar are farmers, but Madagascar is frequently stricken by many natural disasters - making farming an uncertain career. For this reason, 35% of people there are hungry and struggle each day to get enough food.  CRS had helped a village by building a water pump.  It improved the productivity of their farms by providing a steady source of water. It also freed time for farmers to farm, instead of travel back and forth to the river for water. CRS also helped farmers learn new planting techniques and provided them with drought resistant seeds.  A thankful farmer, Mr. Robin, was able to hire 2 employees and also lead a local farmer's market which provided local, affordable, good quality food to his community. 


When I was making our vary amin'anana, I used 1/2 of an onion as the recipe called for. My husband noticed the other half of the onion in the refrigerator and recommend I throw the whole thing in.  We are big eaters, and usually I'd have no problem using a whole onion- or even 3 onions -in a meal.  This time, however, it felt different. My intent was to make a simple meal to help unite us to the poor of this world, and share their burden. 

I thought about the people of Madagascar, and what it would be like to be hungry. I thought of my family being hungry and imagined them not having anything to eat tomorrow - or having a simple meal again tomorrow.  I thought about that onion, and wanted to save it - for tomorrow - for another meal.

We ate our dinner tonight, happy, peaceful and content. A cup of wilted greens and some rice for each adult, and a small portion for each child.  We split an orange for dessert.  We were happy.

As CRS helped farmers in Madagascar improve the fertility of their land, God's love improves the fertility of our hearts.  He gives us a richer place to grow and cultivate our love for our families and for others.  Our Lenten journey is an opportunity to let God improve us, and in our "giving up", we can learn how bountiful our lives truly are. 

Is this yummy?

It is delicious!