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Dear Anthony,
I've been in charge of the kitchen and the head cook here at Lesna monastery for 18 years now. We follow the Optina monastery typicon for fasting. The most important thing to remember is to do everything with a prayer and a blessing. I always try to remember to pray to St. Evfrosinios the Cook. It's also important to remember that there's a liturgical aspect to every meal in a monastery: each meal is a reminder of the Last Supper. That's why we eat together, in silence and with spiritual reading. Skipping a meal is almost the same as skipping a church service, and monastics are reminded that if we leave a meal early, before the last blessing, we are like Judas, who left the Last Supper before everyone else. We also follow St. Theodore the Studite's rule of cooking only once a day, for the noon meal. In the evening we heat up whatever is left from lunch. We always try to have balanced, nutritious and tasty meals, so that that people don't waste time dreaming about food or try to "eat out". We do use spices, including curry, but not excessively. Our sisters and most of our pilgrims really like the cooking here, so if you would like a recipie for something specific I'll be happy to share.
in Christ, m. evfrosinia