Recipes for May ~ Month Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary

"The May devotion in its present form originated at Rome where Father Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a vow at the end of the eighteenth century to devote the month of May to Mary. From Rome the practice spread to the other Jesuit colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic church of the Latin rite.  This practice is the oldest instance of a devotion extending over an entire month. Indulgences, three hundred days each day, by assisting at a public function or performing the devotion in private, plenary indulgence on any day of the month or on one of the first eight days of June under the usual conditions (Pius VII, 21 March, 1815, for ten years; 18 June, 1822 in perpetuum)." ~ New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia

Before I post the links to the recipes in honor of the various feast days celebrated this month, here are some ideas from the archives in Honor of Our Lady:

Charlotte has created the most wonderful May Crowning Feast inspired by some of Our Lady's Titles in the Litany of Loreto:

• May Crowning

Mary shares a wonderful series of posts highlighting some of the culinary herbs and flowers associated with Our Lady:

• Flavor the Month with Herbs for Our Lady
• Rosemary - Remembrance of Mary
• Thyme - The Virgin's Humility
• Summer Herbal Drinks with Mint and Lemon Balm
• Sugared Flowers for Mary's Month of Ma

Robina created a lovely Rice Krispie Flower Crown in honor of Our Lady:

• Rice Krispie Flower Crown for May Crowning  

Here are even more ideas in honor of Our Lady:

• Cupcake Rosary
• Holy Name of Mary Cookies
• Mary Blue Jell-O Cake
• Holy Name of Mary, "Ave-Maria" (Cake)
• Blueberry Muffins for Our Lady
• Blueberry-Strawberry Cobbler in honor of Our Lady
• All these and more can be found under the label for the Blessed Virgin Mary

**On May 31st, to celebrate the feast of The Visitation/Queenship of Mary, we will post a linky for you all to share your May celebrations (May Crowning Feasts, Crown Cakes, etc.) in honor of Our Lady!

May 1, St. Joseph the Workman, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pt. of Carpenters (New, Trad.):

• Gingerbread Tool Box for St. Joseph the Worker
• Lily Sandwiches for Our Lady (The lily is a symbol of St. Joseph)
• Nativity Cookies
• St. Joseph's Staff
• St. Joseph Raspberry Cream Cupcakes
• St. Joseph Sfinge (Cream Puffs)
• St. Joseph Salad
• Minestrone Soup
• Foods for St. Joseph's Altar

May 4th, St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, Pt. of mothers (Trad.):

• Feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine (Dinner Recipe)
• Feasts of St. Augustine & St. Monica (Cake Recipe)

May 10, Blessed Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka'i (New):

• Bl. Damien of Molokai

May 11, Sts. Philip & James the Less (Trad.):

• Bread - A Staple of Liturgical Year Celebrations

May 12, Bl. Imelda Lambertini, Pt. of First Communicants (Hist.):

• From Thy Bounty Fair - First Communion Celebrations
• First Holy Communion Desserts
• First Holy Communion Breads
• First Communion - Prayers, Symbols, and Decorations
• Kids in the Kitchen

May 13, Our Lady of Fatima (New):

• Portuguese Dish for Our Lady of Fatima
• Dancing Sun Cupcakes
• October 13th - The Miracle of the Sun (Cake)

May 18, Pope John Paul II's Birthday:

• Pope John Paul II Feast

May 22, St. Rita of Cascia, Pt. of "impossible" cases (New; Trad./some places):

• St. Rita of Cascia - Roses and Figs

May 31, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth (New) and Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Trad.) :

• Simple Cupcake Crowns
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Crown Cake
• A Crown for our Queen

Other Special Feasts:

Trinity Sunday (New, Trad.; Sunday following Pentecost Sunday - This year it is on May 30th):

• Annunciation Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Sweet Shamrock Pretzels
• Shamrock Toasties
• Trinity Sunday (Cookies)
• Trinity Cake and Ice Cream

"The mood of springtime informs the church's interior; nature's blossoming, the warm air of May evenings, human gladness in a world that is renewing itself -- all these things enter in.  Veneration of Mary has its place in this very particular atmosphere, for she, the Virgin, shows us faith under its  youthful aspect, as God's new beginning in a world that has grown old. In her we see the Christian life set forth as a youth-fulness of the heart, as beauty and a waiting readiness for what is to come."

-- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Seek That Which is Above (Ignatius, 1986), pp. 95-96.

My Queen! My Mother! Remember I am thine own. Keep me, guard me, as thy property and possession.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake for Feast of St. Catherine of Siena

In honor of the feast of St. Catherine of Sienna, Megan shares about her family celebration honoring this great saint and the reason she decided to serve Upside Down Pineapple Cake.  Thank you Megan! 

"It was another bright sunny day and the Ipps of coursed seized it with outdoor play. Little did we realize that dinner would sneak up on us suddenly. Today we were (29th of April is the feast day) celebrating the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena. For her Feast Day, Cowboy and Tornado were going to help me make a pineapple upside down cake.

The pineapple rings symbolize how Catherine was espoused to Christ by a nuptial ring that was only visible to Saint Catherine. In addition, the pineapples sink delicately into golden brown sugar, not being completely in view just like the invisible wedding ring.

We used a simple pineapple boxed cake mix and added rings of pineapple and halved Marciano cherries. Next time, we'll need to grease our 9x13 pan before pouring melted butter and brown sugar into the pan. We forgot to grease the pan and the cake did not flip as easily onto the awaiting pure white platter. Any favorite upside down pineapple cake recipe will work, just be sure to have extra cherries for everyone to sample.

As the yummy cake baked for 40 minutes we whipped up fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken strips and mushrooms soaked in butter. It was great fun to celebrate this Italian saint and will be a tradition we hope to keep for years to come. Even six month Angel enjoyed helping!

The night ended with watching Saint Catherine of Siena (My Catholic Family)."

St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

Coffee & Cannolis for St. Gianna

Robina, from Motherly Loving, shares a few ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Gianna Beretta Molla on April 28th.  Thank you Robina!

"I am having friends from our parish's Mom's Group over again for Coffee & Cannolis and to pray the rosary while our children play to celebrate the Feast of St. Gianna. I used to make my own cannolis as a child, but now I have a few select places that I buy from, with my all time favorite but far away being Venieros in Manhattan (their chocolate covered cannolis pictured above).

You could also celebrate St. Gianna's Italian heritage and make an Italian meal for dinner, some kind of yummy pasta or even pizza or eat out at your favorite Italian restaurant."

Classic Cannoli

For the Filling:
2 3/4 cups (22 ounces) fresh ricotta cheese
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Other Ingredients:
3 dozen pre-made cannoli shells
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Make the filling: Line a sieve with a layer of cheesecloth, and set over a bowl. Spoon ricotta into sieve. Cover, and let drain in the refrigerator overnight.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat ricotta and confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Beat in chocolate chips, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Dip one end of each cannoli shell into chocolate and dip into mini chocolate chips. Let set 15 minutes on parchment paper.

Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip. Pipe filling into one end of a shell to the center, then into other end. (*You can also just use a plastic bag and spoon it in.) Repeat with remaining shells and filling. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve immediately.

Prayer of Saint Gianna

God our Father we praise You and we bless you because in St Gianna Beretta Molla you have given us one who witnessed to the Gospel as a young women, as a wife, as a mother, and as a doctor. We thank you because through the gift of her life we can learn to welcome and honor every human person. You, Lord Jesus, were for Gianna a splendid example. She learned to recognize you in the beauty of nature. As she was questioning her choice of vocation she went in search of you and the best way to serve you. Through her married love she became a sign of your love for the Church and for humanity. Like you, the Good Samaritan, she cared for everyone who was sick, small or weak. Following your example, out of love she gave herself entirely, generating new life. Holy Spirit, Source of every perfection, give us wisdom, intelligence, and courage so that, following the example of Saint Gianna and through her intercession, we may know how to place ourselves at the service of each person we meet in our personal, family and professional lives, and thus grow in love and holiness.  Amen.

Saint Gianna, Pray for us!

Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Three

Our third Good Shepherd's Garden Party, as we celebrate the 50 days of Easter with The Garden of the Good Shepherd, is based on the theme "The Heaven's Tell God's Glory."

The Heaven's Tell God's Glory Menu Suggestions

Sun Cupcakes

Whipped Creamy Clouds

Talking Rain Sparkling Ice

Thunder and Lightning

Windy Cakes

Rainbow Kabobs

Crushed Ice

Decorating Ideas

Lightning Bolt Straws

Pinwheels

Head over to Charlotte's blog to see the pictures from her Good Shepherd's Garden Party for Week 3.  I just love the "Sun" Pizza she ended up making!  Isn't it so cute!?!

I also made a substitution for the sun...  I just wasn't up to baking the cute sun cupcakes after making two other cakes last week. However, I wasn't very creative and just used a package of cookies instead of the cupcakes.  :)  You can see our pictures at Shower of Roses.

Charlotte and I have been amazed at all of your creativity as you modify our plans for your own Garden Parties!  Angie, who doesn't blog, emailed us the following pictures to share saying,  "Here are the things I made for the week 3 party. My kids love breakfast dinner, so they were thrilled to have grapefruit "suns", pancake "Clouds" with bacon lightening, sparkling pink lemonade rain, with ice "hail", scrambled eggs "wind", and rainbow fruit kebobs. We finished off with the rice crispie shields for St. George. Thanks for all the great ideas!"

Grapefruit "Suns"

Pancake "Clouds" with Bacon "Lightning"

Sparkling Pink Lemonade "Rain" with Ice "Hail"

Scrambled Eggs "Wind"

"Rainbow" Fruit Kabobs

Thank you, Angie, for sharing your beautiful pictures and ideas with all of us!  

Charlotte and I never even considered incorporating breakfast foods (like Angie's above, or Colleen's from Week 2) into our menus!   What a great idea!! 

Now it's your turn! How did your family celebrate this past week?

To Post:

1. Create a post about your Good Shepherd's Garden Party or activities for the third week of Easter.
2. Using the Mr. Linky below, enter the exact link to your post.
3. Link your post back to this post. (Please feel free to include the Good Shepherd's Garden Party Button!)
4. Be sure to visit the links and see how everyone else has been celebrating!
5. The linky will be open until next Monday when we add a new one for Week 4.

Dragon Cakes for St. George

Did you make a Dragon Cake in honor of St. George today? Did your kids have fun slaying their dragon? We'd love to see it!

Red Cross Crispies for St. George!

These great Red Cross Crispies, in honor of St. George whose feast day is celebrated on April 23rd, were submitted by Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross. Thank you Tiffany!

"This was the easiest "unplanned" snack I've ever made. I happened to have Rice Krispies on hand so I made them while the kids were doing their dramatic arts lesson. I just cut them into triangles with a touch of red icing to be the shield of the Red Cross Knight. I think it took a whole 15 minutes...Yay for simple!"

Red Cross Crispies for St. George 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1-10 oz. package (about 40) regular -OR- 4 cups miniature Marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®
Red Icing


Directions:

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool.

4. Cut into triangles.  Add red icing as pictured. Best if served the same day.

Don't forget to read Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges. Tiffany's children had a darling impromptu dress-up party and reenactment after reading this story. Be sure to click over to her blog to see the rest of her pictures!

Hope you all have a very Happy St. George's Day! 

A Lion Cake for St. Mark's Feast Day

This Lion Cake was submitted by my friend Jacinta. She made it for her son's birthday, on the feast of St. Leo, but it would also be perfect for the upcoming feast of St. Mark, since he is often symbolized as a lion.  Thank you Jacinta!

Lion Cake

(recipe from Parenting Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 (9-inch) round cake
1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
Orange food coloring*
1 can (5 oz) crunchy chow-mein noodles
2 Junior Mints
1 small tube brown decorating icing
3 red Starburst or Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews
6 brown M&M's Minis
2 gummy peach-flavored rings [Note: there's no official name for this]

What you'll need:

A bread knife
A resealable sandwich-size bag (Ziploc)
A serving platter

*If you can't find orange food coloring, use a mixture of red and yellow food coloring to achieve the right color.


Trimming the cake:

1. Place the cake on a clean work surface. Using the bread knife, trim a 1 by 5-inch long piece on an angle from opposite sides of the cake to create the lion's jawline (see picture). Discard scraps. 

For the frosting:

1. Spoon 3 Tbsp of the untinted vanilla frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Add the food coloring to the remaining frosting to tint it orange.

Assembling the cake:

1. Place the cake on a serving platter. Spread the cake evenly with the orange frosting.
2. Poke the chow-mein noodles into the sides of the cake for the mane; insert more chow-mein noodles into a widow's-peak shape into the top 2 inches of the cake to create the lion's forehead.

For the face:

1. Snip a small corner from the bag of untinted vanilla frosting. Pipe two 1 ½-inch circles for the lion's eyes.
2. Place the Junior Mints onto the circles for the irises. Pipe a small dab of vanilla frosting on each Junior Mint to add sparkle to the eyes. Place a chow-mein noodle above each eye for the lion's eyebrows.
3. Using the brown decorating icing, pipe a W shape for the lion's mouth, as pictured.
4. Microwave the red Starburst for 2 to 3 seconds to soften slightly. Knead the Starburst together to make a 1 ½-inch triangle and place it in the center of the cake for the nose.
5. Add the M&M's Minis for freckles. To finish, lay the gummy peach rings on the upper left and right corners of the cake for the lion's ears.

You can also find the directions for making Lion Cupcakes and other foods in honor of St. Mark in the archives! 

The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week Two

Continuing our celebration of the 50 days of Easter with The Garden of the Good Shepherd, our second Good Shepherd's Garden Party is based on the theme "Welcome to the Lord's Table."

Welcome to the Lord's Table Menu Suggestions

Set the Table
Decorate the Chairs
Lamb of God Rolls

Sparkling White Grape Juice

Ice Cream Sundae Bar with Easter Candy Toppings

Honey Butter

Fruit Salad

Charlotte and I both ended up making a couple little modifications to this week's menu (as we encourage you all to do as needed!) to better suit our families and schedules.

Head over to Charlotte's blog to see the pictures from their

 Good Shepherd's Garden Party ~ Week 2.

If you'd like, you can then head over to my other blog to see pictures from our Good Shepherd's Garden Party.      

Now it's your turn!  How did your family celebrate this past week?  

To Post:

1. Create a post about your Good Shepherd's Garden Party or activities for the second week of Easter.
2. Using the Mr. Linky below, enter the exact link to your post.
3. Link your post back to this post.  (Please feel free to include the Good Shepherd's Garden Party Button!)
4. Be sure to visit the links and see how everyone else has been celebrating!
5. The linky will be open until next Monday when we add a new one for Week 3.

Cupcake Toppers for Pope Benedict XVI

Last year, in honor of our beloved Holy Father's Birthday, I made my children Pope Benedict's Coat of Arms Cupcakes.

Expanding on this idea, Catholic Cuisine reader Lara from Canada created some cute little cupcake toppers using the Coat of Arms to share with you all!   Thank you Lara!

UPDATE:  You can print the updated Cupcake Toppers for Pope Benedict's 84th Birthday here. 


You can find other recipes for celebrating Pope Benedict's Birthday here.

Lord Jesus Christ, You willed to build your Church on Peter the Rock and the Popes who have succeeded him through the ages. Pour forth your grace on our Holy Father, that he may be a living sign and an indefatigable promoter of the unity of the Church.

Help him to proclaim your message to all people and to listen to the message that comes to him from the consensus of all its members and from the world that You made. Make him serve others after your example and in accord with his traditional title: "Servant of the servants of God."

Unite us closely to him and make us docile to his teachings. Amen.

St. Mark Lion Pizza

Feast of St. Mark Lion Pizza

We made this pizza for the Feast of St. Mark but it would be great to use for St. Leo the Great or any other "roaring" occasion!

This was lion was very easy using a Take-N-Bake pizza.
Ingredients:
Take-N-Bake Cheese Pizza
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C cooked sausage (for mane)
sliced mushroom (for nose)
8 slices pepperoni (for ears and eyes)
Small sliver of red bell pepper (for mouth)
2 sliced olives (for center of eyes)
Assemble ingredients like the picture below:
(Add shredded cheddar cheese over the mozzarella first)

Happy Feast of St. Mark!

The Good Shepherd's Garden Party :: Week One

We are celebrating the 50 days of Easter with The Garden of the Good Shepherd and with a weekly Good Shepherd's Garden Party!  The theme and menu for the first week was based on "The Good Shepherd's Pasture."

The Good Shepherd's Pasture Menu Suggestions

Mini Shepherd's Pies

Shepherd’s Crooks

God’s Sheep

Graham Cracker Gates

Ewe and Ram Cupcakes

Lamb’s Wool

Wolf Paw Cookies

First head over to Waltzing Matilda to see pictures from Charlotte's first Good Shepherd's Garden Party!  Aren't her Ram cupcakes adorable?  She let me have a sneak peek at them before attempting to decorate ours.  And be sure to check out her favorite new Easter Decoration!

Then you can click over to my other blog, Shower of Roses, to see pictures from our party.

Now it's your turn!  How did you and your family celebrated this first week of Easter.  We'd love to see pictures and hear about how you modified our Good Shepherd's Garden Party for your family, or incorporated any of our other ideas (whether you choose daily activities or just one party for the week) into your celebration. 

To Post:

1. Create a post about your Good Shepherd's Garden Party or activities for the first week of Easter.
2. Using the Mr. Linky below, enter the exact link to your post.
3. Link your post back to this post.  (Please feel free to include the Good Shepherd's Garden Party Button!)
4. Be sure to visit the links and see how everyone else has been celebrating!
5. The linky will be open until next Monday when we add a new one for Week 2.

Divine Mercy Rice Krispie Treat

For Divine Mercy, we made Rice Krispie bars, (with chocolate chips added after the krispies) put them into a heart shaped pan and used pull apart string licorice for the "mercy" side and white frosting (put into a baggie, corner cut and squirted out) for the "graces" side.

*Our computer was down yesterday, so this is late, but it can be made anytime, right?

Divine Mercy Pancakes

This picture was submitted by Robina, at Motherly Loving, for publication here at Catholic Cuisine. Thank you Robina!

We celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday with a lunch of heart-shaped pancakes with strawberries and blueberries for the red and blue rays representing the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' pierced heart.

Hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

St. Faustina, Pray for us.

Divine Mercy Cheesecake

Today, we made our favorite Creamy Lemon Cheesecake again in the heart shaped pan and used strawberry pie filling and blueberry pie filling to represent the rays of blood and water. Maybe the blueberries were stretching it, but lemon and blueberry is a wonderful flavor combination!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Jesus, I Trust in Thee!

A Cake in Honor of the Image of Divine Mercy

This beautiful cake, in honor of the Image of Divine Mercy, was submitted by Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross.  Thank you Tiffany!

I love the Divine Mercy Devotion! As a family we have enjoyed praying the meaningful novena that started on Good Friday. I learned about St. Maria Faustina, a long with my children, when we began homeschooling 6 years ago. We have come to love this devotion together, trying to live the merciful way.  My oldest son (age 16) has a particular fondness of this devotion so he insisted on baking our dessert in honor of the Image of Divine Mercy that Jesus asked St. Faustina to have made.

We used confetti cake with confetti icing because they both reflected the Divine Mercy colors and then we decorated the best we could to reflect Jesus in his Divine Mercy Image! It's nothing professional but made with love and devotion.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is also a favorite of my oldest son. We look forward to Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend.

We shall pray unceasingly "Jesus I Trust In You!" This is St. Faustina's exclamation of trust. It is our "yes", our fiat, with Mary, Mother of Mercy. This is to express our faith, hope, and love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Pope John Paul II, Mother of the Redeemer [1987], n.14).

A Cake for Divine Mercy Sunday

Here is a lovely idea for a cake for Divine Mercy Sunday from Sara at A Shower of Roses.

Sara says in her post, "I just used the shortcake recipe from my BH&G cookbook, doubled it, and made a square and circle. I cut the circle in half to make the heart. Then I covered the seams with the blood and water pouring from Jesus's heart----strawberry syrup made from berries we picked last summer, and blue whipped cream. And it tasted wonderful, too, just like Jesus's sweet mercy!"