To Cheesecake Batter Add a Dash of Prayer
製作乳酪蛋糕 添加些禱告
By Jan Hoffman

CAMBRIDGE, New York – When the nuns of New Skete bake, they pray.
新精舍修女院的修女烘焙乳酪蛋糕時，可沒忘記禱告。

“Scripture says, ‘Pray always,’ ” said Sister Cecelia Harvey, prioress of this monastery in rural upstate New York. “Can you not be aware of God while you’re putting cheese in a bowl and mixing things up?”
新精舍修女院位於紐約州北部鄉下，院長希絲莉亞‧哈維說：「聖經上說，『要不住的禱告』。把乳酪放進缽裡與其他材料攪拌時，你難道不會感覺到上帝的存在嗎？」

The Eastern Orthodox Nuns of New Skete, who bake, freeze and ship 13 flavors of cheesecake. The nuns have been self-supporting since 1969, when they left the Roman Catholic Church to found their monastery. But now the seven nuns range in age from 61 to 90. How to persevere?
新精舍東正教修女院的修女製作、冷藏並運交13種口味的乳酪蛋糕。她們1969年脫離羅馬天主教會，自創修女院，此後自給自足。然而如今這七名修女年齡已在61歲與90歲之間。何以為繼？

The nuns and the nearby Monks of New Skete, known for their German shepherd breeding programs and puppy training books, started sharing a business manager, marketing director and a technology expert for their online businesses. In 2012, over 10,000 cheesecakes were sold through their online store, gift shop, fund-raisers and wholesale distribution. Their bakery can produce 400 cakes per baking session. The nuns, with five part-time assistants, bake one to two days a week, about 37 weeks of the year.
修女院附近的新精舍僧侶群以培育德國牧羊犬（即狼犬）與編撰幼犬訓練手冊知名。修女與他們共用一名商務經理、一名行銷主管，以及一名負責網路行銷的技術專家。去年，她們透過自己的網路商店、禮品店、募款會與批發銷售，賣出逾萬個乳酪蛋糕。她們每烘焙一次可以生產400個乳酪蛋糕。在5名兼職助手的協助下，修女每周烘焙1、2天，一年約37周。

Last winter, the nuns introduced a new flavor, raspberry chocolate. They are developing a gluten-free cheesecake. With the monks, they have a Facebook page and a Web site for their commercial products, and a second set for homilies and spiritual beliefs.
去年冬天，修女們推出新口味覆盆子巧克力，目前正在研發無麩質乳酪蛋糕。她們與新精舍僧侶共用為商業產品設計的臉書網頁及網站，另有一個專供講道與屬靈信仰的臉書網頁及網站。

Some 35 years ago, the nuns were casting about for ways to remain solvent. They had cleaned houses in town, sewn sacramental vestments and helped the monks raise the dogs. Then an abbot from the Orthodox Church in America, suggested they try selling a specialty food – “not inexpensive, because even in an economic slump, people will want to treat themselves,” Sister Patricia Lawless said he advised them.
大約35年前，修女苦思如何才能維持償債能力。她們曾為城裡的人家打掃，縫製祭袍，幫新精舍僧侶照顧犬隻。接著，美國東正教會一位修道院院長建議她們試著販賣一種特色食品。派翠絲亞‧洛里斯修女表示，這位院長告訴她們：「價錢可不低，因為即使在經濟很不景氣的時候，人們還是會善待自己。」

Sister Magdalene Oliver, who joined New Skete in 1975 and died in 2003, loved to bake. Her recipe still informs their basic cheesecake. Their two-kilogram cake has lemon accents, is lined by pulverized vanilla cookie crumbs and retails for about $41. “You don’t put ‘plain’ on the label,” noted Sister Patricia. “Deluxe sounds better.”
瑪格妲琳‧奧利佛修女1975年加入新精舍修女院，2003年去世，生前很愛烘焙。她的製作方法至今還影響著她們的原味乳酪蛋糕。二公斤重的乳酪蛋糕著重檸檬風味，鋪有碎香草餅乾屑，單買零售價大約41美元。洛里斯修女說：「你不會在標籤上註明『素樸』。『豪華』聽起來好一些。」

The cakes, whose acclaim grew by word-of-mouth, are now shipped in ice packs and a cardboard container that reads, “Voted Best Cheesecake in the Tri-Cities Area” – Albany, Schenectady and Troy, about two hours north of Manhattan.
乳酪蛋糕因為人們口耳相傳而打開知名度，以冷藏盒運送，硬紙盒上寫著「三城區票選最好吃乳酪蛋糕」字樣。三城區指的是位於曼哈坦以北約二小時車程的奧爾巴尼、斯克內塔第與特洛伊。

“Anything that can go wrong, has gone wrong,” Sister Cecelia said.
哈維修女說：「能犯的錯我們全犯過。」

The nuns’ self-reliance permeates their monastery. The nuns made the cheese-slicers, carts and boxing frames in their carpentry shop, and had the spinning cake stands custom-built.
修女院處處可見修女們自給自足的精神。她們自製乳酪切片機、手推車與木工作坊的包裝檯，而且特別訂製旋轉乳酪蛋糕架。

Their communal day begins at 7:15 a.m. with Matins. Their pet German shepherds patrol the hallway. The nuns, in simple robes, file silently into their modest chapel and, after seven candles are lighted, chant prayers a cappella. “O God, create in me a pure heart,” they harmonize. “In my belly, a new and constant spirit.”
她們以上午7時15分的早課迎接每一天，她們的寵物狼犬會在門廳巡邏。修女們穿著簡單的長袍，安靜的魚貫步入樸實的禮拜堂，點起七根蠟燭後，開始在沒有樂器伴奏下吟誦禱告文。她們和聲吟誦：「上帝啊，求你為我造清潔的心，使我裏面重新有正直的靈。」

Sister Patricia has another ritual. “I enjoy a small slice of cheesecake every day,” she said.
洛里斯修女另有一項儀式。她說：「我每天享用一小塊乳酪蛋糕。」

“I don’t like liqueurs,” added the nun. “But now our Kahlúa cheesecake is one of my favorites.”
她又說：「我不喜歡烈酒。可是現在，我們的咖啡酒乳酪蛋糕是我的最愛之一。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/dining/the-nuns-of-new-skete-make-cheesecakes.html

Slideshow：Baking and Praying
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/03/13/dining/20130313-CHEESECAKE.html

Video：Scripture and Cheesecake: Monks are known to make beer to support their order. The nuns of New Skete, in upstate New York, bake cheesecake
http://nyti.ms/XFOz0s

2013-05-07聯合報/G5版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS陳世欽譯 原文參見紐時週報十一版左