WWJE: What Would Jesus Eat?

Easter dinner can be such a yawner.

A bowling ball-sized ham decorated with pineapple slices, a bowl of potato salad, a dainty plate of deviled eggs.

For those celebrating Easter this year, why not skip all that and study the Bible instead? The Scriptures have everything you need for a holiday menu that is less time consuming to prepare, healthier than traditional fare and steeped in symbolism and spirituality.

"You can come up with a complete meal made from foods from the Bible," said Allan A. Swenson, author of "Foods Jesus Ate and How to Grow Them," in a telephone interview from his home in Maine. "It's not that hard."

Judeo-Christian religions are rooted in the Near East on land that formed the Fertile Crescent. Rich soil and ample water sources yielded a cornucopia - almonds, apricots, wheat and barley, apples, figs, dates, leeks, lentils, pomegranates, cucumber, fava beans, date palms and more. And according to the Bible, they did eat. The Old and New Testaments abound with references to the foodstuffs of the ancients.

From 2 Kings 4:42: "And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat."

From Song of Solomon 2:5: "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love."

And from 1 Chronicles 16:3: "Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman."

"There's a lot of good information in the Bible," Swenson said. "There is religious and spiritual information, but also information on how to live a good life and eat healthy food."

Swenson believes that we should all move toward eating natural foods that haven't been processed. In short, eat like Jesus ate, not just on Easter, but every day.

For Easter, Swenson posited a Bible-based menu.

Start the meal, Swenson suggested, by offering your guests bowls of figs and dates.

Make the next course soup - barley or leek would be perfect.

"Barley because it was a main food of biblical and Jesus' time," Swenson said. Back then, he said, barley was mainly used to make bread, but also stews and soups, and it was a common food of the poor.

Then, move on to a salad of bitter herbs, greens such as endive or chicory or dandelion. Swenson notes in his book that biblical scholars disagree about the exact identity of the bitter herbs referenced in the Bible, but based on his research, these greens were common. Top the salad with garbanzo beans or olives and make an olive oil- or yogurt-based dressing. Serve with unleavened bread, the most sacred food of the time, the very symbol of life.

For the main course, nix the glazed ham and go with lamb, a rare treat in biblical times.

Choices for side dishes are many. Fava or broad beans. Braised mustard greens or leeks. Lentil salad. Serve fresh fruit for dessert.

Be sure to acquaint your guests with your biblical dinner theme. Place a Bible in a prominent place and perhaps mark some passages that correspond to the Easter eats. It could spark some deep conversation.

"The whole idea of a biblical dinner," Swenson said, "is to relate back to our religious roots."

Want to be even more authentic? Forgo utensils, use oil lamps, adopt the manners of the time - including foot washing and greetings in Hebrew - repeat authentic prayers and serve watered-down wine.

Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com