SAN DIEGO — “Food goes hand-in-hand with our religion.”
That’s how chef Adriana Grub explains the genesis of her Spanish-language radio program, “The Flavors of Faith,” where she combines the lessons of the Holy Scriptures with recipes she shares with her audience.
“One day, I wondered what foods the Holy Family ate and thought how important it was for families to come together around meal times,” she said. “Family unity is fundamental, and there is no better opportunity to harvest it than at the moment we prepare meals and sit at the table to eat them.”
She began with the idea of writing a book, but life experiences led her to host the weekly program on Hombre Nuevo Radio, an online station that serves the local Latino Catholic community. That’s how “Los Sabores de la Fe” came to life in 2018, which combines corporal nourishment with spiritual nourishment.
She plans the theme of each program according to the liturgical calendar.
“I see what festivities are coming up and I choose recipes accordingly.”
As the Lenten season approaches, she shared a simple fish recipe that she said is perfect for a family to prepare while conversing about the life of Jesus.
Grub was born to a Catholic family in Mexico City. She began trying her hand in the kitchen when she was 6 years old, alongside her mother and grandmother, who taught her to prepare everything from good rice to exquisite cakes. By age 10, she was in charge of the traditional holiday turkey meal, she said, complete with traditional stuffing she helped her mother prepare.
These foundational experiences inspired her to share the beauty of cooking as a family.
“We’re losing family unity due in large part to being so rushed to do so many things,” she said. “We just don’t make time to sit together at the table.
“That’s why, with each recipe that I share, I invite families to come together to prepare it, set the table, say a prayer, chat during the meal and then do clean-up together like the team that they are.”
Her show is transmitted on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. through the Facebook page of Hombre Nuevo Radio.
The station is a Catholic, nonprofit organization that aims to give Christ and the Church a strong voice in the media. Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano serves as the spiritual director of the apostolate.
In addition to sharing a recipe every week, she features a guest who chats with her about a timely topic in the faith. And she invites audience members to send in their personal petitions to present before the Blessed Sacrament.
For the upcoming liturgical season, the chef shared a recipe for fish served Veracruz-style, perfect for a Friday meal during Lent.
Fish has been recognized a Christian symbol since the earliest days of the Church. Scripture tells us of Jesus’ miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes (John 6:30-40) and how He instructed Peter and his brother, Andrew, to “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
She sums up her goal for her work this way:
“To continue to spread love, hope and charity for my neighbor with my culinary skills as well as the Word of the Lord.”
The Spanish-language program “Los Savores de la Fe” is transmitted on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. through the Facebook page of Hombre Nuevo Radio. The station is found online at hombrenuevo.com.
Santa Veracruz Fish
Ingredients
- 4 fillets of white fish
- 1 onion, sliced in half rings
- 4 tablespoons of Roma tomatoes, chopped without skin
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup of capers
- 1 tablespoon of green olives, chopped in half
- 1 tablespoon of parsley
- 1 can of chiles güeros
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onion and garlic until they are transparent.
- Add the tomato. Cook for 10 minutes or until it starts to fall apart.
- Add the parsley, capers, olives and chiles güeros. Add salt and pepper to taste and turn down the heat to simmer.
- Add the fillet of fish to the simmering salsa. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
- Serve with a side of white rice.
