It’s an Iron Ladle Challenge! In honor of the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther’s defiant confession of faith at the Diet of Worms, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel are each cooking up a tasty recipe inspired by a single key ingredient: worms.

Beginning with a brief history of Luther’s legendary 1521 trial appearance at the city of Worms, the Ladies then launch into a four-course smorgasbord of wormy dishes, from Erin’s savory udon noodles to Sarah’s zoodle skillet, from Rachel’s quadruple layer dirt cake with gummy worm surprise to Bri’s sour gummy worm monstrosity.

Lutheran history has never tasted so good (or, in Bri’s case, so very, very bad).

To learn more about the Diet of Worms, check out Dr. Jack Kilcrease’s explanatory article on LutheranReformation.org or the Rev. Hans Fiene’s animate comedy musical on the Lutheran Satire channel.

Join Lutherans across the nation in celebrating “Here I Stand” Sunday on April 18, 2021, and support the ongoing confession of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod with a "Here I Stand" Thank Offering at lcms.org/givenow.

Erin's Udon Soup

Use these ingredients or others you'd enjoy together:

• Udon noodles
• Broth of choice
• Baby Bok Choy (Pour boiling water over bok choy in steamer. That's all the cooking it needs!)
• 6 1/2 minute egg
• Shitake mushroom

Sarah's Ground Beef, Butternut, and Zoodles Un-recipe

• Brown butternut squash chunks (Sarah uses pre-packaged fresh chopped) in olive oil, salt, and pepper over medium heat. If cooking from frozen, leave the lid off the pan to allow the steam to escape.
• Prepare zoodles according to package directions, if using pre-packaged. Otherwise, spiralize your zucchini and cook until al dente.
• Add ground beef to butternut squash and brown. Spice to taste.
• Add Zoodles to butternut and beef, and mix well. Cover pan and turn heat off to let the flavors combine. Let simmer for a few minutes.
• Enjoy!

Rachel’s Dirt Pudding Piñata Cake

1. Using 8 or 9 inch round cake pans lined with wax paper or parchment, bake a chocolate fudge cake and fudge brownies according to the instructions on the packages. (For brownies, shorten baking time to about twenty minutes and remove when toothpick comes out clean.) Set aside on wire racks to cool.
2. Make dirt pudding dessert (leaving aside crushed Oreos for now) according to your favorite recipe. (Here’s mine. If you use this one, be sure to cut it at least in half for the cake.)
3. Cut circles about the size of a large cereal bowl from the centers of one cake round and one brownie round. (To see how a piñata cake of this sort would look like in a perfect world, check out this idiosyncratic YouTube tutorial.)
4. Begin building your cake with an uncut brownie round spread with chocolate fudge frosting.
5. Add the next two layers (cut cake round and cut brownie round), with frosting between and atop each layer.
6. Pause to add the filling in the cavity of the cake. Put down a layer of crushed Oreo cookie, then a layer of dirt pudding, then a layer of gummy worms. Repeat until the filling is even with the top of the hole.
7. Add the top (uncut) layer and frost the entire outside of the cake. Optional: dust with powdered sugar. If you have a talented teenage artist in the house, ask her to freehand draw you a Luther Rose in red frosting on the top of your cake. If you don’t, you may decorate the cake in whatever way seems best.
8. Enjoy!

Bri's Sour Gummy Worm Rice Crispy Treats

It's better if you don't try this one.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge). Follow us on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge, and also follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske).