A St. Valentine's Day Dinner

The following meal suggestion for a St. Valentine's Day dinner was submitted by Eliana Murphy.  Thank you Eliana! 

I found this recipe for a heart-shaped meatloaf back in the mid-90's and thought it would make a charming St. Valentine's Day meal. Together with the salad and some steamed veggies, it could form a wonderful part of St. Valentine's feast! The pictures are from when I prepared it six years ago for some friends at my grad school apartment.

Strawberry Hearts Salad

In keeping with the heart theme, I would suggest making a strawberry spinach salad with fresh baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Other topping suggestions include gorgonzola, brie, almonds, carmelized pecans or red onion. My family normally just buys a berry dressing at the store, but if you feel like making your own, many cooking sites such as this one offer homemade dressing recipes for strawberry-spinach salad.

A Heart-Shaped St. Valentine's Meatloaf

This meatloaf has a nice Italian flavor to it and is an easy dinner for St. Valentines Day that the kids can help to make! Just make sure those little helpers wash their hands well before and after mixing the meatloaf...  The recipe is adapted from Mom's Magic Meatloaf from the Sunset Magazine Low Cholesterol Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dry basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 egg whites
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
• 2 pounds ground lean top round
• 3 pounds thin-skinned potatoes (each about 3 inches in diameter)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheese, basil, pepper, egg whites, garlic, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Add beef and mix lightly. In a rimmed shallow baking pan (about 10 inches in diameter), shape mixture into a 2-inch-thick heart. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven; carefully drain fat from pan, then top loaf with remaining tomato sauce. Bake for 15 more minutes.

While meatloaf is baking, place potatoes in a 3 to 4-quart pan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until potatoes are tender when pierced (about 20 minutes). Drain and peel. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer until smooth; slowly beat in milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer meat loaf to serving plate. With a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe potatoes around meat loaf. (Or simply spoon potatoes around loaf.) Makes 8 servings.

This meatloaf goes well with steamed vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, California blend, frozen artichoke hearts(!), etc.

Heart Shaped Cookies

A nice dessert for this meal would be heart-shaped Linzer cookies!  I made these a couple of years ago but unfortunately cannot find any pictures from that time to share.

Prayer to Saint Valentine

Dear Lord, who art high in the Heavens, giver of Love and Passion, and He who strings the heart’s cords, lead the Lovers this day, February ten plus four. The day during the month of two, when the date is the perfect number of God greater two souls and two hearts. Some Loves are fleeting, but that which is built on you will never fail. So guide the Lovers to know what is to be. Your truths the Lovers’ mouths should speak, for Your truth is that which is honest to the heart. Only this, then, should pass over the red lips of the Lovers. Your art, the Lovers simply a medium. It is only with True Hearts that You can create a Masterpiece, So let the Lovers remember that their Soul’s Desire is the one for which You light their Fire. And let it be You who creates the Art of the Lovers; The art of two into one. Amen.

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Les Coeurs de Sainte-Catherine

"In Northern France it is a custom on St. Catherine's day to give heart-shaped cakes to unmarried women who have reached the age of twenty-five.  The idea is to encourage them in their search for love (and a husband)."  ~ Cooking with the Saints

Back in 2008 I posted about the tradition of Heart Cakes on the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Since our oldest daughter was named after this beautiful saint, we have always celebrated her nameday with a heart shaped cake!  This year we just made a simple applesauce cake, in a heart shaped pan, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  However,  any heart shaped cake would work perfectly!

Les Coeurs de Sainte-Catherine 

(St. Catherine Hearts)

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Spice Cake Mix (I used Namaste Foods Spice Cake Mix) 
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 fresh apple, grated or chopped (skin left on is okay)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350˚ F. Grease and flour a 12" heart shaped pan.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely and then top sprinkle with powdered sugar.

From My Nameday: Come for Dessert: How fortunate are girls named after the glorious virgin-martyrs who battled to maintain their integrity and faith, and in return were divinely protected and rewarded. The virgin-martyrs sacrificed what was naturally good for the sake of God, the supreme Good. Their lives should inspire the faithful, and particularly their namesakes, to pay due homage to God. Nameday prayers on feasts of virgin-martyrs:

Father: Come, O spouse of Christ, receive the crown which has been prepared for you forever by the Lord, for whose love you shed your blood.

All: In your splendor and your beauty, make ready, ride in triumph, and rule.

Father: Let us pray. O God, from whose bounty all good gifts proceed and who in Your virgin-martyr N.... did both give the flower of virginity and the palm of martyrdom, at her intercession unite our souls to You by love so that we may avoid all perils and gain the rewards of eternity. Through Christ, our Lord.

All: Amen. Christ conquers, Christ reigns!


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Feast of the Holy Innocents

The Holy Innocents are shown with the Holy Family, in spirit,

during the Family's Flight to Egypt in this painting by William Holman Hunt.

On December 28th, the feast of the Holy Innocents, the Church honors all the little children who were killed by King Herod in his attempt to kill the Christ Child. These Holy Innocents were the first to die for Christ, and so they have been honored, since very early times, as martyrs.

There are many customs associated with this feast. One custom is to serve some sort of "baby food" (for example oatmeal), especially to the youngest members of the family. Another would be to let the youngest child "rule the day." This child would then get to choose the food, drinks, etc for the day. The traditional dessert for this feast is a white pudding with a red raspberry sauce, which symbolizes both the purity of the Holy Innocent's and their martyrdom. Other options include baking a white cake or serving vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce.

We have a favorite Coconut Rice Pudding (that I have come up with from a number of various recipes) that we make for this feast that is both dairy and sugar free:


Coconut Rice Pudding

1/2 cup basmati rice, rinsed
14 oz can of coconut milk
2 cups water
1/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup grated coconut (optional)

Directions:
Combine the rice, coconut milk, water and agave in saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 min, stirring occasionally. Take off heat, add cinnamon and vanilla. When the rice is cooked, spoon it into a mold or pretty glass. Place the rice pudding in the refrigerator to chill until serving.

Raspberry Sauce

1 cup raspberries
1 tbs. agave nectar (or 2 tbs. sugar)
1 tsp. corn starch
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Place the berries in a sauce pan, add the water and agave (or sugar) and bring to a boil. Save a few of the prettiest berries to use as garnish. Once the berries have cooked down, push them through a sieve to remove the seeds. Mix the corn starch with a little bit of the berry juice. Return the juice to the sauce pan and add the corn starch mixture. Cook a few minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and cool.

(Another option is to just use Red Raspberry Syrup, instead of the sauce, for convenience.)

To serve, turn the molded coconut pudding out onto a plate, spoon some of the sauce over and garnish with a few pretty berries.


If you have children, there is a special solemn blessing that parents should give their children on this day:

Father: O Lord, hear my prayer.
All: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Father: Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, once Thou embraced and placed Thy hands upon the little children who came to Thee, and said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father!" Look now with fatherly eyes on the innocence of these children and their parents' devotion, and bless them this day through our prayers.
The father signs the forehead of each child with holy water.
Father: In Thy grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for Thee, loving Thee, fearing Thee, keeping Thy commandments. Then they will surely come to their destined home, through Thee, Savior of the world. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Father: May God bless you. And may He keep your hearts and minds -- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

Also, be sure to remember to pray for all the Holy Innocents in our own country at this time... All the innocent children who are being killed each and every day by abortion.

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all, Through Christ our Lord. Amen! (This prayer was written by Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director Priests for Life.)

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