Collop Monday

With Lent starting next week, it is a good time to talk about those food related days preceding. The Monday before Ash Wednesday has a variety of names:  Rose Monday, Shrove Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday (short for "hallow" – holy).  Another name is Collop Monday.  It is rather overlooked these days while Shrove Tuesday gets all the focus.

The collops for which it is named, refer to slices of meat, often cured meats such as bacon.  Collop Monday was a last opportunity for eating meat as well as eggs and butter which weren't eaten during Lent. Any fresh meat still available would be sliced into steaks and salted to preserve it until the end of the period of fasting.  

A traditional meal would consist of thick slices of bacon along with eggs.  The remaining fat was often kept for making pancakes the next day, on Shrove Tuesday. 

Our family doesn’t need any excuse to eat bacon or ham, but if there is one, all the better.  Consider reviving this Collop Monday tradition this year in preparation for the start of Lent. 

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Mardi Gras Beignets

Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday." It is held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.  

Last October, when my girls were studying the state of Louisiana, we made Beignets!   We used a recipe from a friend of mine who lives in Louisiana (Thank you Aimee!) which was so easy and yummy.   We decided to make them again today as our Mardi Gras treat!

Mardi Gras Beignets

Ingredients:

• Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls
• Oil for Frying
• Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Thaw dinner rolls according to directions.

When they've risen to the size of dinner rolls, heat up canola or vegetable oil in a frying pan.  Using kitchen scissors, cut each roll in half and then poke a hole in the center for even frying.

Fry until golden brown on each side and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar.

You can find additional recipes for Shrove Tuesday in the archives. 

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Pre Ash Wednesday Dust Cake

Believe it or not, Lent is coming soon!

Here's a hands-on idea to do with young children Pre-Ash Wednesday to talk about the meaning. 

Warning...It's messy! Be Not Afraid because that's just the point! The messiness highlights us, we who are all messy sinners, when left to our own devices. It's only with God's help that we are clean again.

As you crumble up the messy "Dust" Cake, talk about how it reminds us of Ash Wednesday and the words of the priest when he places the ashes on our foreheads: 

"Remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return."  (Genesis 3:19)

It's a tangible reminder that God made us out of dust (a lifeless existence) and someday we all return to dust until we are (hopefully) raised again by Christ on the last day. The hopeful part is where the ashes come in as they remind us to turn away from our dirt (sin) and get right (clean) with God!

*Only God can bless our dirty mess*

Dust Cake

There are many variations that you can use, even Gluten-free, but we used this one: 

• One box chocolate cake mix, baked ahead of time according to the directions on box 
• One small box of instant chocolate pudding 
• One small package of gummy worms 

Have the cake ready and cooled ahead of time. Make the pudding according to directions. Dump the cake into individual bowls and let the children break it up with their hands until there are plenty of chunks broken down into "dust" or crumbs. Stir in the pudding and add the gummy worms, representing our sin and messiness. Eat up and clean up, just like the results of God's mercy and grace!

Just A Few Fun Facts about Ash Wednesday To Share

 While Making Dust Cake:

• People have been using ashes as a sign of repentance since Old Testament times. Look it up! (Daniel 9:3-6) 
• Since Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Catholics, it's a time for us to stop and reflect upon our own walk with God and where we might have gotten off track. For many of us, the ashes are an outward expression (and reminder) of our broken nature and the deep necessity for reconciliation (repentance) in order to be whole again. 
• For over 1200 years, faithful followers have received ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross. 
• Remember those palm fronds from Palm Sunday? They were saved to be burned for this year's ashes. They are burned, incensed, and blessed with holy water, using prayers that are thousands of years old. 

+God Bless your Lenten preparations+

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Cookie Masks for Mardi Gras

We are making cookie masks today for Mardi Gras. I used my favorite cut-out cookie dough recipe, cut down to only make a reasonable amount of cookies. Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent, after all! (recipe below)

Last year we used heart shaped cookies to make our masks and this year, I thought I'd try a couple of others; a headless duck and a party hat.

It takes two cookies to make one mask. Just squish them together in the middle. They might take a little longer to bake than what the recipe calls for.

Once they are cooled, frost and decorate. I found it easier to use the back of a spoon instead of a knife to frost them.

While we all agreed that the different shapes were interesting, the children liked the heart shaped masks best.

Cut-Out Cookie Dough

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C. butter 

3/4 C. sugar 

1 egg 

1/4 Tbl. Vanilla or almond 

1/4 Tbl. butter extract 

1 3/4 C. flour 

1/2 tsp. baking powder 

1/4 tsp. salt


PREPARATION:

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and flavorings and mix well. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to batter and mix well. CHILL 3-4 hours or overnight before using.

Roll cookies out approximately 1/4 inch thick. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes. This dough keeps well in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. 

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Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day!

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday), or "Pancake Tuesday."  Traditionally all fats, eggs, and butter had to be given up for Lent and making pancakes or waffles was a good way to use them up.    Here is the recipe for our favorite Buttermilk Pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk
½ cup milk
3 eggs
⅓ cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides.  Serve hot with butter and maple syrup!


To tie in the Mardi Gras Colors of Green, Yellow, and Purple (while at the same time trying to avoid sugar/food coloring since my children are fighting a cold),  I also served a big fruit platter using green grapes, kiwi, pineapple, bananas and purple grapes.   It was a hit!

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Mardis Gras Cupcakes

Merry Mardis Gras! 

(Fat Tuesday in French)

I thought I'd share this fun recipe for cupcakes using the official colors of Mardis Gras, 

with their roots in Catholicism.

Purple=Symbol of Justice

Green=Faith

Gold=Power

*Idea inspired by Family Fun Rainbow Cupcakes*

Ingredients:

~White cake mix

~Food Coloring (red, blue, yellow, green)

~Baking Cups

~Frosting or Whipped Cream

Instructions:

1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among three small bowls.

2. Add food coloring to the 3 bowls. (purple, green and yellow)  Combine red and blue food coloring to make purple. 

3. Line approximately 15 muffin pan wells with baking cups.  Evenly distribute the green batter among the cups, then the yellow, then the purple.  As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.

4. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions.  Before serving, you may remove the paper wrapping to better view the color scheme.  This is what they look like inside!

5.  We added both chocolate and whipped cream frosting to please different palates and to see how both frosting colors reflected the colors.

6.  We made these Fleur-de-lis cupcake toppers from a google image, toothpicks and tape.  I reduced the image to 30% for printing.  You may find it here: http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/3-mardi-gras-fleur-de-lis-karen-conine.jpg  Or you can google images for "Mardis Gras Fleur de lis" to find other beautiful ideas.

~There is much Christian/Catholic symbolism here~

Enjoy your feasting with this beautiful prayer:

~Fat Tuesday Prayer~

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for it is from your goodness that we have this day to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent.

Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat. Today we feast. We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us. We thank you especially for one another. As we give you thanks, we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do. As we share these wonderful gifts together, we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those who need our support.
Prepare us for tomorrow. Tasting the fullness of what we have today, let us experience some hunger tomorrow. May our fasting make us more alert and may it heighten our consciousness so that we might be ready to hear your Word and respond to your call.

As our feasting fills us with gratitude so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us a place for deeper desires and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor. May our self-denial turn our hearts to you and give us a new freedom for generous service to others. We ask you these graces with our hearts full of delight and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead. We ask them with confidence in the name of Jesus the Lord.

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Irish Potato Pancakes

The feast of St. Brigid of Ireland, Abbess of Kildare, is coming up on February 1st.

"To honor St. Brigid, you must turn to dairy products, for she is the patroness of dairy workers. Choose a recipe that calls for buttermilk and butter and, of course, the potato. Pancakes are the traditional food in almost every country for celebrations, and Ireland is no exception." 
~ The Cook's Blessing

I ended up having a few extra peeled potatoes this morning,  so I decided to test a recipe for "Irish Potato Pancakes" from a great little out-of-print cookbook by Demetria Taylor, The Cook's Blessing.  The pancakes were simple enough to make and loved by my whole family.

Irish Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup freshly grated raw potato
2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
butter
sugar

Directions:

Mix and sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat eggs slightly in large bowl; stir in buttermilk. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing just until blended (batter will be slightly lumpy). Stir in grated potato, butter or margarine, and vanilla.

 

Ladle batter, a scant 1/4 cup for each pancake, onto greased heated griddle. Bake 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbles cover the top and underside is golden; turn; bake 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Serve at once, with plenty of butter. Sprinkle generously with sugar, as the Irish do.

Makes 3 dozen 4-inch pancakes.

Note:  This dish, also referred to as Boxty Pancakes, can be served on Shrove Tuesday and All Hallows' Eve.

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A Shrove Tuesday Treat: Filhoses!

This post was written by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Amy.



A Mardi Gras tradition in our house is Portuguese donuts! It is very similar to Portuguese sweet bread but this dough is, of course, deep fried and sprinkled with copious amounts of sugar.

The recipe can be found in Foods of the Azores Islands by Deolinda Maria Avila. There are many great recipes in this book, though it is hard to find.

Filhoses 

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon whiskey
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 cups flour

Directions:

Beat eggs, add sugar, butter, yeast dissolved in water, whiskey, lemon rind and salt. Beat till light and add flour, kneading until smooth. Cover dough with cloth and let rise till double in bulk. Heat oil in a deep pan (I use my cast iron pan), keeping heat at about medium.



Take about 1/3 cup of dough and stretch it into an oval shape, piercing the middle. Carefully, drop the dough into oil till golden, turning only once. Remove from oil and cool on paper towels.

Serve warm sprinkled with sugar… and maybe bowl of sugar to dip them in too!!!

Enjoy!

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Quick and Easy Mardi Gras King Cake

Here is one more recipe for making a King Cake tomorrow. I am sure it won't be quite as beautiful or delicious as this one, but if your life has been anything like mine lately, quick and easy might just be necessary! ☺


INGREDIENTS:

• One package ready-to-bake canned cinnamon rolls (8 rolls) with icing (This can be doubled to make a larger cake!)
• Green, Purple, and Yellow decorating sprinkles/sugar crystals

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open canned cinnamon rolls and separate into individual rolls. Take one individual roll and unroll it to full length. Fold full length of dough in half. Twist (or braid) rope and place on cooking pan. Twist (or braid) second rope and place on the cooking pan end-to-end with the first rope. Continue adding twisted sections of dough until you have made a complete circle. Using your hands, gently move circle of dough into an oval for a more traditional King Cake shape.

Place King Cake into 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove King Cake from oven when it is nice and golden brown.

Before the King Cake begins to cool, spoon a generous amount of icing over the top and sides. Immediately after icing your King Cake, sprinkle the icing with a combination of the purple, gold, and green crystal sprinkles.

Note: You could also use this recipe to make mini king cakes! Follow the directions above, but instead of connecting each of the individual cinnamon rolls together, form the twisted (or braided) roll into a small circle pinching the ends to close. Also, be sure to place the "cakes" far enough apart so that they do not touch on a greased cookie sheet or baking pan.

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King Cake for Mardi Gras

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Pancake Day. It is the last day of an unofficial period called "Carnival" which began after Epiphany.

A well know celebration of "Carnival" (which comes from the Latin word carnelevare meaning "taking away of the flesh") is the famous Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The traditional dessert for the day is a King Cake.

King Cakes are made of a cinnamon filled dough, and baked in an oval shape. The cake is topped with a delicious glaze and then sprinkled with colored sugar. The three colors of the sugar are Purple, Green, and Gold (representing Justice, Faith, and Power). A plastic baby (a gold coin may be used as well) is baked inside the King Cake, and the tradition is whoever receives the baby in their piece of cake must buy the next King Cake or throw the next party.

The following recipe and photo was shared by Melissa on her lovely blog Bountiful Blessings. Thank you Melissa!

King Cake

Traditional New Orleans Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups flour unsifted
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, this is lemon rind, grated
1/2 cup warm milk
5 egg yolks
1 stick butter cut into slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more softened butter
1 egg slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1" plastic baby doll Directions

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl, and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for ten minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixture almost doubles in volume. Combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and, using a wooden spoon, slowly combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time) and continue to beat 2 minutes, or until dough can be formed into a medium-soft ball.

Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead like bread. While kneading, sprinkle up to 1 cup more of flour (1 tablespoon at a time) over the dough. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.

Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a moderately thick kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using your fist, punch dough down forcefully. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, pat and shake dough into a cylinder. Twist dough to form a curled cylinder and loop cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover dough with towel and set it in draft-free spot for 45 minutes, or until the circle of dough doubles in volume. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake on middle rack of oven for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Place cake on wire rack to cool. If desired, you can hide the plastic baby in the cake at this time.

Colored sugars

Green, purple, & yellow paste
12 tablespoons sugar

Squeeze a dot of green paste in palm of hand. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the paste and rub together quickly. Place this mixture on wax paper and wash hands to remove color. Repeat process for other 2 colors. Place aside.

Icing

3 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 - 6 tablespoons water

Combine sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. If icing is too stiff, add more water until spreadable. Spread icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle the colored sugars in individual rows consisting of about 2 rows of green, purple and yellow.

Cake is served in 2" - 3" pieces.

Any leftovers could be placed in the freezer to be served on Laetare Sunday as a foretaste of Easter!

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Shrove Tuesday pancakes

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday, or "Pancake Tuesday" because traditionally, fats, eggs, and butter in the house had to be given up for Lent, and pancakes, or waffles call for all these ingredients, so this was a great way to use them up before Lent began. The money not spent on dairy products was then collected and donated to the church.

Fluffy Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup softened butter

1) In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk, vanilla and softened butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

2) Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes; cook until the second side is golden brown. Pin It