La Croix to Celebrate the Triumph of the Cross

On this day of the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross, we celebrate the discovery of the true cross by St. Helena and the dedication of the bascilica built on Calvary by Constantine.   It is a celebration and commemoration of God's greatest work: his salvific death on the Cross and His Resurrection.

Need an easy yet memorable idea to commemorate the day? Pick up some La Croix sparkling water to add to your meal or snacktime. The name Croix is French for "cross" so it can be a reminder of that great saving work of Christ for us.

Christ, through your holy cross save us. 

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Blackberry Mint Sparkler

As you can tell, I love the legend of blackberries associated with the Feast of St. Michael. It makes for so many fun ideas for foods and treats to celebrate the feast of the Archangels, September 29. I have included beverage ideas for feast days before, as I think they are a simple and generally healthy way to celebrate the feasts. Sparkling water always adds a flair of festivity to the mix. So here is a refreshing blackberry infused sparkling water recipe that would be a great way to remember St. Michael this year.  And if you want to go even simpler, just use a lime flavored sparkling water and add blackberries. So easy!

Blackberry Mint Sparkler

Ingredients

20 ounces chilled sparkling mineral water

1/4 cup blackberries

2 sprigs mint leaves

1 lime, 1/2 sliced plus juice of other 1/2

2 T. agave sweetener (or adjust to suit your taste)

ice

Directions

In a small bowl mix together lime juice and agave.
Muddle a few mint leaves in liquid.

Pour into 2 glasses.
Add lime slices and blackberries to each glass.
Top with ice.
Add sparkling water, stir, and serve. 

St. Michael and all the Archangels, Pray for us!

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"Saintly" Hot Cocoa to Warm Your December Celebrations

Yesterday we had our first signficant snowfall, and the children's thoughts immediately went to sledding ... and hot cocoa! It got me thinking -- with three of our favorite saint feast days coming up this month, why not celebrate with a little twist on hot cocoa?

First, here's a basic hot cocoa recipe, if you don't already have one. I have this long-since memorized, but it's my variation of the one I'm pretty sure you'll find on any can of Hershey's cocoa.

Basic Hot Cocoa Recipe

Pour 4 c milk into a 1-qt measuring cup. Add 1 capful (about 1/2 t) vanilla, and set aside.

Place in a medium saucepan:

1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt

(Save yourself some trouble, as well as the juggling of multiple small measuring cups, by making several individual batches of these dry ingredients and storing each in a small zip style plastic bag. You'll be amazed at what a time saver this can be!)

Whisk in 1/3 c hot tap water, and place over medium heat. Watch carefully and stir frequently until the mixture comes to a full boil; then continue to boil, stirring constantly, for two minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in the reserved vanilla milk. Return to the stove at a low to medium setting, until heated through.

Serve as is, or topped with marshmallows or whippped cream. Guaranteed to "warm the toe bones," as we say at our house! :) Makes four (8 oz.) servings of hot cocoa.


Now then, for the "Saintly" variations:

German Chocolate Hot Cocoa for St. Nicholas (Dec. 6)

Substitute 1/2 c. brown sugar for the granulated white sugar.

Substitute 2 c. of coconut milk for half (2 c.) of the milk in the recipe.


You can use a 15.5 oz can of coconut milk, or use this recipe for Coconut-Infused Milk:

Place 2 cups of shredded coconut in a heat-safe bowl.

Bring 2 cups of milk to a boil in a small saucepan. It will foam, then boil over very quickly, so watch carefully!

Pour over the reserved coconut, and let stand for about one hour.

Place the coconut and milk mixture into a blender, and process for about 30 seconds.

Strain into a 1-qt measuring cup, pressing the coconut to extract as much milk as possible. Discard the coconut.

Fill the measuring cup to the 4 cup mark with additional milk, then continue the basic recipe as written.

Tastes great with gingerbread cookies!



Mexican Hot Cocoa for St. Juan Diego (Dec 9) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12)

Prepare basic recipe as written; whisk in 2 t cinnamon and 1/2 t chili powder with the milk.

If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream and a few shavings of dark, sweet chocolate.

Serve with Mexican Wedding Cakes for a special treat!


Scandinavian Orange Chocolate Hot Cocoa for St. Lucy (Dec. 13)

Prepare hot cocoa as directed in the basic recipe above.

Whip 1 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Gently fold 2 T orange marmalade into the whipped cream.

Place a large dollop of the orange whipped cream on each serving of the hot cocoa; top with freshly-grated orange zest, if desired.

Goes exceptionally well with your favorite St. Lucy's Bread recipe! Pin It

Saint Nicholas Cocoa Mix

One of our favorite traditions, for the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th, is making St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa for our own celebration, as well as to give away to friends and family either on St. Nicholas Day or for Christmas. It is such fun for the children to make, plus it is so delicious!

SAINT NICHOLAS COCOA MIX

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups (20 ounces) powdered milk
1 (16-ounce) package instant cocoa
1½ cups powdered sugar
10 ounces (2½ cups) powdered non-dairy creamer
4 cups (8 ounces) miniature marshmallows
6-8 ounces finely crushed peppermint candy
Candy canes, optional


DIRECTIONS:

Combine powdered milk, cocoa, powdered sugar, creamer, marshmallows and peppermint candy; mix well. Store in an airtight container.

This recipe makes enough mix to fill 5 wide-mouth quart sized jars. We always close the jars with white wide-mouth jar lids, red ribbon and a tag with the recipe.


RECIPE TO ATTACH:

For each serving, put ½ cup of mix in a regular-size mug, fill with boiling water; mix well with candy cane. Enjoy!!

(I've uploaded pdf files of my tags for St. Nicholas Day and Christmas, which you are welcome to use.)


GIFT BASKETS:

The St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa is also a great addition to gift baskets as well! Just package up a jar of the mix, possibly a couple mugs, and a bunch of candy canes, and then...

...For a Christmas Gift Basket add a copy of The Legend of the Candy Cane or maybe the DVD instead, and then throw in some Candy Cane Kisses.

...Or, for a Saint Nicholas Day Gift Basket include one of the great picture books about St. Nicholas, or maybe the movie Nicholas, The Boy who became Santa, and then finish it off with a bunch of chocolate gold coins!

Prayer to St. Nicholas

O good holy Nicholas, you who brought joy to children, put in my heart the spirit of childhood about which the Gospel speaks. Teach me how to sow happiness around me. Amen.

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Our Heavenly Grandmother

St. Anne is most traditionally seen wearing green and red. Little girls in Louisiana named for St. Anne used to wear red and green ribbons in their hair on her feast day. We made some for my girls that you can see here. Since it is summertime, when we think of green and red, we think of watermelons. So in honor of St. Anne's colors, we made watermelon cookies and quenched our thirst with watermelon lemonade.

Watermelon Cookies

I used Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie Mix. Mix sugar cookies using cut-out cookie recipe and red food coloring. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or other round object, such as a glass or round plastic container. Place circles on ungreased cookie sheet. (I used parchment paper.) With a knife, carefully slice circle in half and separate by at least 1/2 inch to allow for expansion during baking. Gently press miniature semi sweet morsels into each semicircle. (Little ones can do this just know that the mini morsels melt quickly if handled too much. Refrigerating them beforehand helps. I sprinkled them onto the unbaked cookies and then let the kids push them into place where they fell.)

Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be done when edges are lightly browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Remove from cookies sheets to aluminum foil on a flat surface and allow to cool completely.

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp water
15-20 drops green food coloring

In a small bowl mix together all ingredients to form a glaze. You may add drops of water to thin glaze if it is too thick. To decorate the cookies, roll the round end of the cookie in the glaze, allow excess to drip off into bowl. Place cookies back on foil until glaze dries.

Watermelon Lemonade

• 2 (12-ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 15 cups seeded and cubed watermelon
• *2 sprigs mint (optional)
Process watermelon, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Combine concentrate and 2 mint sprigs, and cook in a saucepan over medium-high heat 10 minutes. Stir together watermelon puree and lemonade mixture; cover and chill 8 hours. Remove and discard mint. Stir and serve over ice.

*If you are not going to add the mint, then skip the stove top step.

I made half of this recipe and I strained my watermelon puree through cheesecloth so there wouldn't be much pulp. 10 cups of watermelon made about 8 cups of puree which made 5 1/2 C. of watermelon juice once it was strained. I mixed those 5 1/2 C. with one can of frozen lemonade.

The French have a great devotion to St. Anne and love to celebrate her feast day with seafood. Maybe consider making your favorite fish recipe for dinner!

We are celebrating early because the 26th is my husband's birthday. Pin It

Celebrating St. Junipero Serra with California Mission Foods

The Spanish influence on California and other areas of the Southwest, is still very evident in the culture including the food. The Spanish missionaries who founded the chain of missions in California brought with them their culture and traditions and also adapted them to the products of the new world. In the United States we recognize the July 1 optional memorial of St. Junipero Serra, the Spanish Franciscan, who is the Father of the California missions.

In Bess Anderson's California Mission Recipes cookbook, she acquaints readers with the various foods that would have been traditionally prepared and eaten in the missions. The ingredients used were mainly those harvested at the mission or occasionally those brought by ship. The preparations of the food in the missions most often was under the direction of a padre, with the preparation carried out by Indian women of the mission. Anderson indicates that from various records we know the missions had both lean and rich years. There were times, for example, when the daily ration of Father Serra consisted solely of 3 tortilla cakes and wine.

Anderson's book as well as the various mission preservation organizations are sources of traditional mission-style recipes. Enjoy a recipe from the California mission tradition on the feast of St. Junipero Serra.

POSOLE
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 T. vegetable oil or lard
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t.cayenne
1-1/2 lbs. pork shoulder, cooked and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups canned white or yellow hominy (drained and rinsed)
3-5 cups pork broth, degreased and strained
1 cup canned green chiles (chopped)
2 whole Jalapenos, canned or fresh
salt to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add spices, stirring to blend. Add pork, drained and rinsed hominy, pork broth, green chiles and jalapenos. Cook at a simmer, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes or until the meat and hominy are tender. Add more water or broth as needed to keep pork covered in the final minutes of stewing. Remove posole from heat and cool slightly. Degrease the stew. Check to see if salt is needed. Reheat before serving.

BUNELOS
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
3 cups sifted flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
fat or oil for deep frying
sugar cinnamon, ground

Beat eggs until light in color and thickened, add milk and melted shortening. Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Sift into egg mixture slowly and blend well, making a soft dough that doesn't stick to hands. Shape into walnut-sized balls and roll on a lightly-floured board into a round-shaped cakes similar to a tortilla. Fry in deep hot fat until golden brown in color - about 3 minutes on each side. Drain well. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Make s 30 bunelos.

LOIN OF PORK WITH WINE
3-4 pounds pork loin
2 T butter
2 onions, sliced
2 medium tomatoes
2 carrots, diced
2 springs parsley 1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

Brown the pork on all sides in the butter. When brown add the vegetables, wine, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender. Serve on a heated plate. Strain the liquid in the pan over the meat.

PUMPKIN CAKES
1 cup pumpkin mash
1 cup corn meal
1/4 fat.

Gradually add meal to the pumpkin mash, stirring constantly. Then add butter a little at at time. Mix thoroughly, stirring very hard to form a stiff dough. Shape into round flat cakes and bake over a high heat on a well=greased hot griddle for 5 minutes on each side. Serves 4

CHAMPURRADO

2 cups warm water
2 cups milk
1/4 cup masa harina (or 1/3 cup nixtamal)
1 disk Mexican chocolate, chopped
3 piloncillo cones, small, (one ounce each) chopped
1 pinch of anise seed, ground (optional)

In a large pot, whisk masa harina into the warm water until thoroughly combined. Add milk, chocolate, piloncillo and anise. Bring to a simmer and whisk with a molinillo (a special tool to whip the drink) until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved.

ICED MEXICAN CHOCOLATE
2 cups milk, scalded
4 T ground coffee
1 cinnamon stick
4 squares unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cold milk
2 t vanilla

Add coffee and cinnamon to the scalded milk. Cover, let stand 5 minutes and strain. Heat chocolate over water, add boiling water, and sugar and cook until smooth and thick. Add the coffee-cinnamon liquid. When ready to serve, blend in the cold milk and vanilla. Serve in tall glasses with crushed ice. Serves 6-8.

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Slainte'

I would like to interrupt the wonderful Lenten posts to remind everyone of an upcoming feast near and dear to my heart.

The Saint Patrick's Day feast almost always lands toward the end of Lent when the fasting and mortifications have become habitual and we are, perhaps, longing for an opportunity to celebrate the lives of one of our great saints.

Patrick was not, in fact, Irish but rather born of a wealthy Roman family. His name was Succat and in his youth he was abducted by Irish brigands and forced into slavery on the Emerald Isle. Patrick prayed faithfully for an opportunity to escape and eventually God led him away from his captors to safety. After studying to become a priest Patrick was sent back to Ireland as a bishop to convert the pagans. This he did with great success and become so beloved in the process that very few people even remembered that Patrick was not Irish. Those that knew did not care, at heart he was a true son of Eire. He loved the people and took their conversion to heart. Patrick died in 461 and his work lived on long beyond his life.

Such a great Saint deserves a little celebration right? So substitute another penance and indulge a little.

Your penance could be green beer. I never understood the appeal of that particular concoction. A Black and Tan, some Guinness, even a long tall Killian's is acceptable, encouraged even since beer is a most noble beverage. However the true drink of the day is that liquid amber, that ambrosia of Eire....whiskey.

The custom of imbibing alcohol on St. Patrick's Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the old story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey that was much less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper by telling him that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil who fed upon his dishonesty. The devil was large and bloated. In order to banish the devil, the innkeeper must change his ways. Sometime later St. Patrick returned to the hostelry and he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper to find the devil emaciated and starved from the landlord's generosity. St. Patrick promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick's Pot. The custom is known as "drowning the shamrock" because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.( Paraphrased from Saint Patrick's Day History by Peggy Trowbridge)

It would be a shame not to imbibe in the good stuff in honor of the great man on his feast day. In my house we are fans of Jameson's a good Catholic whiskey, but there are several good ones available.

Another traditional libation is Irish Coffee. This is a wonderful close to a meal with friends.

Irish Coffee

2/3 part freshly brewed coffee
1/3 part Irish whiskey
2 tsps brown sugar
lightly whipped cream

Into a stemmed glass, put two teaspoonfuls of sugar, preferably brown; add one-third Irish Whiskey and two-thirds really hot, really strong black coffee, preferably freshly brewed, not instant. The glass should be filled with this mixture to within half an inch (1cm) of the brim. Stir well at this point to ensure all of the sugar is dissolved, and then carefully float over the back of a spoon a collar of lightly-whipped cream, so that the cream floats on the top of the coffee and whiskey. Do not stir any more. Serve the drink without a spoon or a straw, as part of the pleasure comes from sipping the hot coffee and whiskey through the cool cream.

A feminine cocktail...

Dublin Handshake
1/2 oz Baileys Irish cream
1/2 oz Irish whiskey
3/4 oz Sloe gin
Combine in shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into rocks glass with ice.

Of course, a Baileys on the rocks is always very pleasant.

What's a good drink without a good toast? You can not beat the Irish for a toast so here is one for your feast day.

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Rose Cake and Punch for St. Therese

The Feast of St. Therese is coming up!!! It is celebrated on October 1st on the New Calendar, and on October 3rd on the Traditional Calendar.

This year, for the feast of St. Therese, I am planning on making the Rose Petal Coconut Cake suggested in My Nameday, Come for Dessert, and serving it with a Rosy Punch, suggested in The Cook's Blessings, for my hubby and I, with a non-alcoholic version for my children.


ROSE PETAL COCONUT CAKE

Empty one package of instant white cake mix into a bowl. Prepare as directed on package.

Pour batter into two round eight-inch layer pans, 1-1/2 inches deep and lined on the bottom with paper. Bake in a moderate oven, 350 degrees F., 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cakes.

Spread seven-minute frosting (You can find this recipe here Seven-Minute Frosting, or make/buy a frosting of your choice.) between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle lightly-tinted pink coconut on the sides of the cake while the frosting is still soft. Decorate the top of the cake with a full-blown red rose made of crystallized rose petals, with an icing rose, or even an artificial one.

To tint coconut, place 1 teaspoon of milk or water in a bowl. Add a drop or two of red vegetable coloring (or yellow if you wish to make a yellow rose cake) and mix well. Add 1-1/2 cups of coconut and toss with a fork until coconut is lightly tinted throughout. (You may prefer to put coconut into a jar with a tight cover and shake it vigorously.)




ROSY PUNCH

• 1 can frozen Hawaiian Punch concentrate
• 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
• 1 quart Tea Concentrate (To make: Pour 1 quart cold water over 1/4 cup loose tea or 12 teabags, and let stand until of desired strength. Remove teabags.)
• 1 bottle rose wine
• 1 bottle Sparkling Burgundy, chilled

Combine first 4 ingredients. Chill until ready to serve; pour over ice in punch bowl. Add Sparkling Burgundy. Serve at once. Makes about 26 punch cup servings.

(For my children, I will be replacing the Rose Wine & Sparkling Burgundy with White Grape Raspberry Juice and 7-up.)

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The Blood of St Januarius

Today is the feast of St Januarius a bishop who was martryed under Dioclesian. He was a saint and martyr who died while visiting Christians imprisoned by Rome and forced to work as slaves in sulphur mines for the crime of being Christian. His body was brought to Naples, where his relics have been honoured since that time.

Each year in our home we remember this feast of the usual yearly miracle associated to this martry for Christ. St Januarius is famous for the liquidation of his dried blood (contained in a vial, so common to Roman martrys) on particular holy days each year. One such day, is his feast day, the 19th of September.

It is held up for pilgrims to see, in the hands of the priest where this vial is usually seen to bubble and liquify for a short period of time to attest to the faithful that he still watches over the city. I say usually, as it has on a few occasions failed to do so and usually it has been connected to disasters that have struck in that year.

For the feast of St Januarius we made some lovely berry drinks, in rememberance for this miracle - it is very simple 3 cups of apple juice, 1 cup of frozen blueberries and 1 cup of frozen raspberries in the blender, a very healthy and tasty drink - cheers to St Januarius!

Here is the news report of St Januarius's feast in 2008.

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Mystic Monk Coffee

Speaking of the upcoming feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Coffee... I thought I would take this opportunity to draw your attention to the Carmelite Monks in Wyoming.

In order to build an abbey and support themselves, the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is roasting and distributing Mystic Monk Coffee.

Mystic Monk Coffee is roasted by the Carmelite Monks, a Roman Catholic monastery in the silence and solitude of the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming. The monks live a hidden life of prayer and contemplation in the pursuit of God. The monastery is inundated with young men who seek to leave everything to pray for the world, in a tradition at least a thousand years old. It is the monks’ great joy and privilege to share the fruit of their life with you in every cup of Mystic Monk Coffee.

We are especially fond of this particular Carmel, are currently Guild Members, and my husband even had the opportunity to visit since his brother spent a few months there before returning to the FSSP.

So... What are you waiting for? Hop on over and order some coffee, and while your at it, don't forget to order their CD. The music is beautiful! Pin It

Granita di Caffe

In the Feast Day Cookbook, Katherine Burton recommends making Granita di Caffe, a cool and refreshing Coffee Ice beverage, for the summer time feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Granita di Caffe

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups strong coffee

Stir the sugar into the warm water until it is melted and add the lemon juice. Stir for about five minutes. Add the coffee, strain, place in a freezing tray, and then freeze (stirring frequently), until it becomes a mush.

Serve the ice slush in glasses, with any of the following toppings:

• Whipped cream (add vanilla, sugar, almond extract, etc.)
• Liqueurs (Amaretto, Kahlua, Baileys, etc.)
• Chocolate curls
• Small pieces candied citrus peel

I actually think it would be perfect topped with whipped cream and some caramel sauce, don't you? Pin It