Blessed Solanus Casey Soup & Sandwich

Bl. Solanus Casey, Capuchin friar and doorkeeper who was just beatified in November 2017 will be remembered on the first-ever celebration of his feast day this week, July 30. In the tradition of the Franciscans whose charism is care for the poor, Bl. Solanus had a desire to feed anyone who came to the door of St. Bonaventure monastery in Detroit. "They are hungry; get them some soup and sandwiches," Fr. Solanus was known to proclaim to his fellow friars. In 1929 at the start of the Great Depression Bl. Solanus had the idea to start a soup kitchen down the street from the monastery, where he could send anyone who came to the door looking for food. The Capuchin soup kitchen has a long history of feeding the hungry in that area of Detroit.

A simple soup and sandwich combo would be a fine way to remember the hospitality of this simple man of God. A very simple broth based soup and a peanut butter sandwich would reflect the simplicity of the Franciscan life. Or something cool and refreshing on these often warm summer days such as a cold gazpacho soup and a crispy lettuce, deli meat and cheese sandwich. Mid-summer days are also a great opportunity to take advantage of a fruitful garden harvest with a summer garden minestrone and fresh tomato-basil-cucumber sandwich.

Have it with the family or open your home to friends in the spirit of Franciscan charity or take some sandwiches to distribute to the homeless in your city. Whatever combo you choose, or however you choose to enjoy it, make July 30 a combo soup and sandwich day to remember the generosity and hospitality of this simple wonder-worker priest.

"They are hungry; get them some soup and sandwiches."

Blessed Solanus Casey, Pray for us!

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Sopa Estrella - Soup with Star Shaped Pasta

There are several small star shaped pastas in the variety referred to as stelline (Italian for "little stars"). It is sometimes simply packaged as pastina which is a the generic variety of of tiny pieces of pasta available in a variety of shapes. Pastina is the smallest type of pasta produced.  These pasta are common for broth based or thin soups.

August has several feast days where this tiny star shaped pasta, stelline, could be used as a symbolic reminder of a saint in a recipe.

St. Dominic (August 8) - On Monday we celebrated the feast of St. Dominic de Guzman. St. Dominic, the Spanish priest and the founder of the Dominican Order received the rosary from Our Lady and the child Jesus. It is said when St. Dominic was a baby his godmother saw a star on his forehead during the baptism, so a common attribute is a star either on the forehead or above his head.

St. Lawrence (August 10) - Wednesday is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. Due to the timing of his feast in mid-August at the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, that annual asteroid showing is often called the "tears of St. Lawrence." So a "shower" of stars in some dish would remember this tie to St. Lawrence.

Assumption (August 15) - Our Lady is known by many star titles - - Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) and Morning Star (Stella Matutina) being the most prominent. Other titles or images include Star of the New Evangelization, Madonna della Stella, Star of Jacob, Fixed Star.  The star image could be tied to any Marian feast day, but there is a very strong connection to this feast and the Star of the Sea title. In many places traditions associated with the sea are part of this celebration - like the blessing of fleets, blessing of the bounty of the sea, and wedding of the sea.

Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12) - In the image on St. Juan Diego's tilma we see Our Lady clothed in a mantle of blue with 46 stars.

Epiphany (January 6) - And of course we associate a star with the visit of the wise men who followed the Star of Bethlehem to the infant Jesus.

Our Lady of Pontmain (January 17) - Our Lady of Hope appeared to several children at Pontmain, France. They described her as surrounded by stars. "Oh, there are so many stars the Blessed Virgin will soon be gilt all over.”  Images of her under this title show he clothed in a blue mantle gilded with golden stars.

St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28) and St. Nicholas of Tolentino (September 10) both are shown with a sun/starburst on their chest in many depictions.

St. John Nepomucene (May 16), Bohemian priest and martyr for the seal of the confessional, is often shown with five stars over his head (because, on the night of his murder, five stars were seen over the spot where he was drowned).

This week for the feast of St. Dominic I modified a typical Spanish tomato broth sopa, using stelline pasta instead of the typical fideo to celebrate the Spanish Dominic de Guzman.

Sopa Estrella

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup stelline pasta, uncooked
3 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in olive oil. Add chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Add dry pasta and simmer until pasta is tender. Add more liquid if desired for thinner consistency. Add salt and pepper. 

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St. Anne Thimble & Thread Pasta in Chicken Noodle Soup

There are two types of pasta I found whose names are associated with sewing in some way – ditalini and filini.

Ditalini is short tube pasta which means “little thimble.” It is a common soup pasta, typically found in minestrone.  I found it fun that this pasta is also sometimes called Ave Maria or Pater noster, as that was about the amount of time it needed to cook the pasta – the time it would take to say that prayer.  Filini is a very thin, small cut strand pasta. The name in Italian literally means “small strands” (or threads).  These are best for light, broth based soups or cooking with rice.  In the United States we usually find it packaged as fideo. 

Today, July 26, is the memorial of St. Anne and St. Joachim the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Since St. Anne is the patron of sewing and seamstresses, it would be fitting to make something using the “sewing” named pastas – “Thimbles and Threads”.

St. Clare of Assisi is the patroness of embroidery and needlework. Assisi is known for its beautiful needlework and embroidery and “Assisi embroidery” is a distinct type of cross-stitch.  Clare would have learned this skill herself as a girl. So her feast day, August 11 would be another opportunity to make this dish as well. And since the BVM is a patron of sewing as well, so any of her feast days, I would include, too.

Since they are both soup pastas I was looking for a broth based soup to use a combo of these two pastas and I decided on chicken noodle – a basic staple soup associated with comfort and healing.

Chicken Noodle Soup

½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onions
4 cans chicken broth
½ pound cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
½ t. basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup of pasta

In large pot sauté onion and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add broth, chicken, and herbs/spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add dry pasta when close to serving. Needs to cook for 5-8 minutes until tender. Serve.

St. Anne, pray for us!

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Meatless for Lent - Tortellini Soup

If you are looking for an easy and tasty idea for meatless meals for Lent, this is one that we recently tried and really enjoyed. It will become a meatless staple for us.  

Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (32 oz) container vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
2 (9 oz) packages frozen cheese tortellini
Grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, for garnish, optional

Directions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bay leaves and crushed red pepper flakes.

Add diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir in fresh basil, Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves from the pot. Use a hand immersion blender to blend the soup (or carefully transfer soup to a blender to blend and return to the pot). Stir in sour cream until well combined. Stir in the cheese tortellini and cook on medium-low until tortellini is cooked, approx. 8 minutes. Serve warm.

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Hearty Peasant Fare for Saints Jacinta and Francisco

February 20 marks the  anniversary of the date of the death of Jacinta Marto, one of the Fatima seers. Jacinta and her brother Francisco were the youngest non-martyrs to be beatified in the history of the Church. The brother and sister, who tended to their family's sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo in the fields of Fatima, Portugal, witnessed the apparitions of Mary, now commonly known as Our Lady of Fatima.  We are approaching the 100^th anniversary of the apparitions which will be commemorated next year, 2017. Thinking of Fatima and its upcoming centenary, I wanted share some ideas for this feast of the Sts. Jacinta and Francisco.

My husband’s family is Portuguese so I like to try to learn some of the common dishes associated with the country and culture. Portugal is known for its rustic peasant style cooking – food from the land. It is simple and doesn’t take much equipment to prepare, but it is always flavorful and comforting. As Sts. Jacinta and Francisco were shepherds the peasant foods like this would likely be common for their family.

Caldo verde, or green soup, considered by some as “Portugal's national dish” is a homey dish of potatoes, thinly sliced kale, and smoky pork sausage. Linguica is the preferred Portuguese sausage if you can find it. I was able to get it at a specialty meat market.  Readers often mention looking for healthy recipes for feast days. With kale being such a current super food, high in organosulphur compounds, vitamin A, vitamin C, B6, manganese, calcium, copper, and potassium.  I hope you find this addition one for the healthy (and hearty) category.

Caldo Verde - Portuguese Green Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

3 or 4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

2 quarts water

6-8 ounces linguiça (or other sausage)

¾ - 1 pound kale, washed, trimmed of the thick stems and thinly sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

 

Directions:

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Prick the sausages with a fork and add to the boiling water. Boil for about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the sausages to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, slice them.

In a medium soup pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add onions and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until tender and translucent, but not browned. Add potatoes, water and salt. Cover and boil gently over medium heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a skillet cook sausage slices until most of the fat is rendered out. Drain and reserve.

Scoop out about 2 cups of the potatoes and mash well. Return potatoes to pan, add the sliced sausages and simmer about 5 minutes more. Add the greens, stir well and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overcook; the greens should be bright green and slightly crunchy. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and drizzle each serving evenly with extra-virgin olive oil. Serves 6

Broa - Portuguese Cornbread

Ingredients:
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2  t. sugar
1⁄4 c. warm water
1 1⁄2 c. cornmeal, finely ground
2  t. salt
1  c. boiling water
1⁄4 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2  c. all-purpose flour, plus
1  T. coarse salt

Directions:
Combine the yeast, sugar, and the warm water in a large bowl until the yeast is dissolved and foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal and salt with the boiling water. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend. Allow to stand for a few minutes for the cornmeal to soften and cool to room temperature. Add the melted butter and mix to incorporate. Now, pour the yeast mixture into the cornmeal mixture, stirring to combine. Gradually add the flour, mixing well after each addition. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the dough feels dry and doesn't come together easily. Continue to mix until a dough forms into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Grease a large bowl with oil and place dough to the bowl, brush the top with more oil.  Cover with kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, between 1-2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead briefly, 3 or 4 times, to punch out the air. Gather the dough into a ball and shape it into a round loaf. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and place a pizza stone in the oven to heat up. Put the dough round on the pizza stone and brush the top with oil. Sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse salt. Bake in middle of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the bread is golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Saints Francisco and Jacinta, Pray for us!

 

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Santa Lucia Leves (St. Lucy Soup)

The following recipe, adapted from Cooking with the Saints, was submitted by Hi Cookery for the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th. Thank you Highlander and Islander!

December 13: Feast Day of St. Lucy

Warm up during the winter weather with a saintly soup! On those darker, depressing December days in the northern hemisphere, we like to lighten up with leves (soup) of Santa Lucia.

St. Lucy, whose name means “light” in Latin, was a third-century saint from Sicily, Italy. Legends state that she was tortured to death by having her eyes gouged out and being burned at the stake for her Christian faith. St. Lucy is the patron saint of the blind and those with eye problems, as she gives hope to see the Light and Savior of the World—Jesus!

Santa Lucia Leves is a Hungarian recipe. This soup can be served during the season of Advent and Christmas and on the Feast Day of St. Lucy.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Scheugraf)

Ingredients

• ½ cup rice, uncooked
• 8 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• 1 cup fully-cooked ham, chopped
• ½ cup flour

Directions

Boil the rice in salted water until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain the rice-flavored water into a large bowl. Save the rice for another recipe, if desired (see Notes).

Mince the onions and chop the ham into tiny pieces. In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat.

Saute the onions and ham until shiny. Mix in the flour until smooth. Pour in the rice-flavored water and simmer to thicken. Stir and ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with parsley flakes (optional). Serve hot with bread or crackers.

Notes

• Use the leftover boiled rice to make Italian-style arancini (recipe is posted on National Rice Month in September). These Sicilian rice balls are normally filled with a tomato or meat sauce, mozzarella cheese and/or peas. But on the Feast Day of St. Lucy, Sicilians celebrate with sweetened rice arancini filled with chocolate.

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Pot Pie Soup for St. Francis

This post was written by Catholic Cuisine contributor, Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda. 

 Last year, I made Chicken Pot Pie Soup which is basically a cream of chicken soup with baked pie crust crumbled on top. I thought that using my mini animal cookie cutters I could make the pie crust represent the animals that St. Francis is patron of.

I made a basic pie crust recipe but you could just roll out a pre-made one. Cut out the shapes and bake them up on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle them over soup when ready to serve. The recipe for the soup is below but you can use your favorite recipe if you have one.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

2 tablespoons of butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons of flour

4-6 cups of chicken stock  (depending on how thick or thin you like your soup)

4 cups of frozen shredded hash browns

4 cups of cooked, diced chicken

½ cup of heavy cream

1 cup of frozen peas

In a large soup pot, melt butter and cook onions, celery and carrots over medium heat until softened. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for just another 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add chicken stock and increase heat. Once soup begins to simmer, add hash browns and simmer about 15 minutes until soup begins to thicken. Add chicken and simmer until heated through. Add cream and peas. Simmer 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dear God, You enabled St. Francis to imitate Christ by his poverty and humility. Walking in St. Francis' footsteps, may we follow Your Son and be bound to You by a joyful love. Amen.

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St. David's Day Soup

This post was written by Catholic Cuisine contributor, Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda. 

The feast of St. David is coming up on March 1st. In honor of the Welsh tradition of wearing leeks and husband's family's Welsh heritage, it's become our tradition to celebrate with leeks for dinner.

Creamy Chicken Potato Leek Soup

2 Tbl. butter
1 Tbl olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
4 small-medium leeks, cleaned and sliced
6-8 cups chicken broth
1-2 Tbl. cornstarch
4-6 cups of yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1C. of heavy cream
1 C. leftover chicken, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese to top, opt.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.
Cook leeks in butter and oil until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Stir cornstarch into broth and pour broth into pot. Add the potatoes and chicken and bring to a boil. Pour in the cream, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
Mash potatoes for a chunkier soup or blend with an immersion blender for a smoother consistency.  Season with salt and pepper before serving.
Serve with shredded cheese on top.

Roasted Butternut Squash "Croutons"

2 C. butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 Tbl. olive oil

kosher salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss the squash cubes in the oil. Place on cookie sheet in single layer. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in hot oven for 25- 30 minutes. They won't be crispy like regular croutons but they will be incredibly flavorful.

God our Father, you gave the bishop David to the Welsh Church to uphold the faith and to be an example of Christian perfection. In this changing world may he help us to hold fast to the values which bring eternal life.

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St. Faustina's Soup

The following post was submitted by Kathy at 9 Peas, complete with a soup recipe from their recent celebration of the feast of St. Faustina on October 5th.  Thank you Kathy!   

You should know, I'm a notorious 'feast day' recipe hack. Which means, I take a recipe and 'make' it work for the feast day, not the other way around. I learned pretty quickly that I do not cook well when trying other country's recipes. I do really well when I try to make something have a 'feel' of that country. The goal is for my kids to learn, and for us to enjoy a meal together.

Saturday, the Feast for St. Faustina Kowalska was actually cold and rainy. The perfect day for a soup, that I dubbed Polish because it had sausage in it - and that might be stretching it because it wasn't technically Polish Sausage 'ahem' but, for my children's sake it was a soup we already love and therefore I christened it St. Faustina's soup for the sake of the Feast Day and the soup didn't have a name anyway, so it was meant to be. *recipe at bottom of post*

I did not make these. I looked up Polish Desserts online and found this website. I knew our local Sam's carried these and being pressed for time - I picked up a box. The kids loved them and I appreciated getting to provide a Polish treat without any more kitchen time. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook & bake but Saturday was filled to the brim, we didn't make it to the Symphony Concert, because our day was so jam packed.

What would I do without these Turkey's I just do not know. They keep me in laughing, and I love watching their sense of humor develop! I also love watching their Faith grow, I enjoy Feast Days so that we can learn about the Saint but also about the country they are from.

St. Faustina's Soup

2 lbs sausage (you could be on your game and actually buy polish sausage for this, I know it would be delicious)
1 small yellow onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
(I usually soak Great Northern Dry Beans and cook those for this, but Saturday was busy, so I used cans)
2 can butter beans
2 cans Capelini Beans
2 can Northern Beans
(Basically just use any white beans you like, but remember the salt content will be greater so taste before over salting)
2 bunch kale washed and torn into shreds
Chicken Broth (I use 2 boxes)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Cook Sausage with onions and garlic, add to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer on low all day, serve with hearty bread or croutons. Sooooo yummy!

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Shamrock Soup

The following recipe was submitted by Joanna Cichy in honor of the upcoming feast of St. Patrick! Thank you Joanna! 

In our house an ordinary pot of cream of broccoli soup becomes "Shamrock Soup" on St. Patrick's day.  It's great as a main meatless meal during Lent or as a first course for a celebratory meal.

Shamrock Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 TBS butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 TBS flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3-4 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8-1/4 black pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot melt butter on medium heat. Sautee onions and celery until tender. Add the flour, whisking until combined. Add the 2 cups of milk and turn the heat to high. Whisk constantly until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and add the remaining 4 cups of milk. Add the broccoli, salt, and pepper. Turn up the heat to medium high/high and bring to a gentle simmer, whisking on occasion so as to not scald the bottom of the pan and to prevent over boiling. Turn to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Serve with a pot of gold (bowl of shredded cheese) and some potato rolls!

Serves 6-8

Additional recipes for the feast of St. Patrick can be found in the archives!

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Restorative Vegetable Broth

The following recipe was submitted by Veronica Gantley, from My Catholic Kitchen.  Thank you Veronica! 

Here is a simple broth to make on Ash Wednesday or on Good Friday when we are fasting and are so mindful of our food consumption.  It is also great for when you are sick.

Restorative Vegetable Broth

Ingredients: 

• 2 large portabella mushrooms coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots coarsely chopped
• 2 ribs of celery coarsely chopped
• 3 ounces of prunes
• 4 garlic cloves smashed
• 4 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Directions:

In a 6 quart stock pot add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, prunes, and garlic.

Add water and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and barely simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim any foam from the surface as it boils. Strain broth and discard solids.

Note: The broth will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 6 months.

You can also find the recipe for Fasting Bread and other recipes for Lent in the archives! 

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Meatless Meals :: Three Sisters Stew

This following recipe was submitted by Dust Thou Art.  She says, "I made this for St. Katharine Drexel this past Saturday, but it would also work very well for Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14th), and it is meatless also." 

March 3rd was the commemoration of St. Katharine Drexel. As I wrote in my monthly planning post:

St. Katharine is kind of a hilarious story. She was an American heiress (think Paris Hilton with a brain) who read books about the plight of the poor, and in particular about the suffering of American Indians. So (being rich, naive, and headstrong) she went to Rome to ask the Pope, in private audience, to do something about it. And the Pope was like "Um... what are YOU doing with your time?" And to her (everlasting) credit, instead of reacting like "What do you mean, I was thinking more along the lines of me holding 'awareness' events and cocktail parties," she was shocked into actually really thinking about what he was saying. It didn't happen overnight, but she began to do more and more, and soon she actually gave up all her wealth and founded an order of religious sisters. Anyway. Since it's also an ember day, I was thinking a hearty meatless stew with native North American ingredients--corn, beans and squash. Often called "three sisters soup", so doubly appropriate for a religious sister. :)

Three Sisters Stew

If you Google around for this soup, nobody makes it the same way. Nobody even makes it close to the same way. One recipe will include pureed pumpkin, hominy, and kidney beans. The next will be chunks of butternut squash, frozen corn, and green beans. The only must for this recipe is some kind of squash, some kind of corn product, and some kind of bean. You MUST have one of each of these three categories, as they are the "three sisters" of the title. They go together because they grow well together. But other than that you can really go for whatever's in season and your own tastes.

Accordingly, this is more like a blueprint for you to follow. I'm giving what I put in this time, but I don't expect you to put the same things in your soup. I don't expect me to put the same things in next time I make it. Many different indigenous groups planted using the Three Sisters technique. I had some southwestern ingredients handy so I followed that style.

AROMATICS:
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. sliced mushrooms
(or other aromatics, such as shallots, celery, etc)

FAT:
1 T olive oil
1/2 T butter
(or however you like to saute)

LIQUID:
4 c. vegetable broth
(or other broth, or water)

MAIN VEG:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cleaned, cut into large dice
1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and broken into bite sized pieces
1 lb baby yellow potatoes, large dice
2 c. frozen corn
(or other soup veg, making sure you include corn and squash!)

PROTEIN BEANS:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. dry lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
(or other protein beans, are you getting the idea yet)

SEASONINGS:
cumin seeds, ground cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, oregano, chili powder... all to taste
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1. Take a large stock pot and heat up the fat in it over medium heat. Add your aromatics once the fat is hot and "sweat" them. You can add some seasoning at this time (like cumin seeds) also. The aromatics will release their lovely scents, as well as water, which will evaporate so that the mixture reduces somewhat in volume, and maybe even caramelizes. We like this.

2. Once this mixture is looking brilliant, we add in everything else, liquid last. If you want it thick, only add liquid up to the point where it barely covers the veg. If you want more liquid... add more! Turn the heat up to high.

3. Once the soup hits boiling, reduce to a simmer. The temperature will depend on whether you cover the pot, how big the pot is, how hot your stove is, sunspots, etc. On my stove it was on medium-low uncovered.

4. Let it simmer for an hour or so, until vegetables are tender to your liking or you get too hungry to wait any more. This is assuming that you are like me and like your soup vegetables very tender. If you like your green beans (or what have you) more crisp, you'll have to divide your vegetables into two groups. One group being the squash, carrots, potatoes, and other things that need to cook for a while. The second group being green beans or other quick cooking veg. Add the first group, and reserve the second until ~10 minutes before serving.

ACCOMPANIMENTS:
ripe avocado slices
shredded cheddar cheese

The avocado and cheese suited the Tex-Mex style of the soup. You might try sprigs of fresh herbs or croutons, or if you want to get advanced, corn fritters or fried squash blossoms.

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Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup

I recently had the pleasure of reading a review copy of Brother Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette's The Monastery Garden Cookbook.  It was was sent to me by Monastery Greetings, a lovely catalog based website that combines hundreds of religious and spiritual gifts from Abbeys, Convents, Monasteries, and Hermitages.  

Anyhow, I already own a couple other books by Brother Victor, including Twelve Months of Monastery Soups and Blessings of the Table, and was excited to be able to add this one to my collection as well.   After talking to a friend and looking through the table of contents, it looks like The Monastery Garden Cookbook is a revised version of his out-of-print book Fresh from a Monastery Garden: An A-Z Collection of Delectable Vegetable Recipes, though I don't own a copy of the older book to compare for sure.

This book contains 200 vegetable recipes, starting with Artichokes and ending with Zucchini and Yellow Squash, direct from Brother Victor's kitchen at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery, complete with illustrations and descriptions.

With the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul coming up tomorrow, the recipe for Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup caught my eye and I decided to give it a shot.    Brother Victor says, "This soup is often served in our monastery during the summer months, especially on June 29, the feast of the great apostles Peter and Paul, foundation stones of the church of God, whose icons are venerated in our chapel."

It was quite simple to make (the trip to the market with all the kids for some Avocados and Leeks was by far the hardest part) and it is chilling in the fridge right now.  I tasted a little bit and it is absolutely delicious!  Here is the recipe in case any of you would like to make it for tomorrow.

Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup

adapted from The Monastery Garden Cookbook

Ingredients:  

3 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and sliced
3 avocados, peeled and sliced in half
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
lemon rind as garnish

Directions:

Place the leeks in a saucepan, cover with 6 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cook leeks for 15-20 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, allow to cool slightly, and then whirl leeks and water in a blender or food processor.  (I used my Vita-Mix.)  Pour the mixture back into the pan or a large bowl.

 

Tip:  If you'd like to use some of the lemon rind as a garnish, it is probably a good idea to peel the lemon before juicing it for your soup! ;) 

Place the avocados, lemon juice, sour cream paprika, and salt and pepper in the blender or food processor and whirl for about 1 minute.  

Add to the leek mixture and blend all the ingredients well by hand.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.  Serve cold and add some lemon rind on the top of each serving as garnish.  

Yields 4-6 servings

The Monastery Garden Cookbook, in addition to many other Catholic Cookbooks, is available at Monastery Greetings.  While you are there, be sure to check out their section on Fruitcakes!  I don't generally care for Fruitcake, but the new Tropical Dessert Cake from The Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe is out of this world, or maybe I should say just heavenly!  We'll be enjoying the rest of it for dessert!

Saints Peter and Paul, Pray for us! 

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Good Friday Meal – Tomato Bisque

  It is a family tradition in my home to serve tomato soup on Good Friday.  This tradition was started by Sweetie’s Godfamily.  The children and nursing or pregnant mom gets a grilled cheese to go with their soup. 

Sweetie has named the tomato soup, Christ’s Blood.  I love that my GFG are always finding meaning in everything around them.

Good Friday (also called "Great Friday" or "Holy Friday") is the most somber day of the entire year. A silence pervades, socializing is kept to a minimum, things are done quietly; it is a day of mourning; it is a funeral. The Temple of the Body of Christ is destroyed, capping the the penitential seasons begun on Septuagesima Sunday and becoming more intense throughout Lent. Traditional Catholics wear black, cover their mirrors, extinguish candles and any lamps burning before icons, keep amusements and distractions down, and go about the day in great solemnity. ~ Fisheaters

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I’m sorry that this post is last minute.  My family has been a bit under the weather. 

The recipe below will make a bisque almost identical to that found at Safeway, yummy.  Some may question it’s appropriateness for a Lenten Meal, it’s that tasty.  I do!  However, it’s the only meal we’ll eat on Good Friday.

I triple the recipe below to feed my family, 2 adults and 4 kids.  It yields lots of leftovers but once the soup is gone, it’s gone since I’ll only make it once a year. 

This soup is good hot or cold.

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   Cut squash.  Sauté onions and garlic in butter or oil over medium-low heat until soft and golden.  Do not brown. Add tomatoes, tomato paste,  stock, butternut squash, salt, pepper, basil and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.

Partially cover and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender. 

Puree the soup with an emersion blender. Stir in cream.  Add some Tabasco sauce for a little kick. Heat the soup just to a boil, then serve.  Garnish with parmesan cheese.

I generally don’t follow this recipe (or any other recipe) to a T.  I included my variations in red. 

 

Recipe: Good Friday – Tomato Bisque

Prep Time: 15 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 30-35 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 6

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil (I use this Olive Oil (from Carmen’s Godfamily.)  My fav is A².)
• 1 onion, chopped (Don’t worry about chopping it small for the kids.  It’s all going to be blended.)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I use the minced garlic that comes in the jar.  I buy it from Costco and it lasts me all year long.)
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with liquid (Canned tomatoes with Italian seasoning for added flavor.)
• 1/4-1/2 cup roasted garlic tomato paste (Add garlic powder to reg paste.)
• 2 cups vegetable or organic chicken stock (Any stock will do.  But theses two are the healthiest choices.)
• 2-2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced (Directions are below.)
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (Dried Italian seasoning to taste, in place of basil and thyme.)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups nonfat half-and-half or nonfat yogurt (Once again, this is the healthy version.  I tend to go for taste, heavy cream.)
• Several dashes of Tabasco or other hot sauce.  (My kids don’t care for spicy so I divide the soup at the end and add hot sauce to half.)
• Parmesan cheese to garnish (cheese is not optional in my home.)

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut squash.  This can be a toughie.  Be sure to use a sharp knife.  Cut in half, the shorter way.  Scoop out the seeds and fibers just as you would a pumpkin.  Peel the skin with a vegetable peeler.

Sauté onions and garlic in butter or oil over medium-low heat until soft and golden.  Do not brown.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste,  stock, butternut squash, salt, pepper, basil and thyme.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.

Partially cover and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.

Puree the soup with an emersion blender (You could use a standard blender, then pour back into the saucepan.)

Stir in nonfat half and half or yogurt.

Add some Tabasco sauce for a little kick.

Heat the soup just to a boil, then serve.

Garnish with parmesan cheese.

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Our Lady of Lourdes Chicken Soup and Dumplings

When I broke my leg a couple years ago, the lovely ladies in my Catholic Book Club brought our family meals for 2 months straight. This meal was one of those meals. I asked for a copy of the recipe from my friend Susan, and on the copy, it says it is from Building the Family Cookbook, by Suzanne Fowler.

At the top of the recipe, it reads:

This is a comforting soup and the perfect dinner to have after the "budget talk". Your husband will be impressed that you can make so little, so delicious and go so far!

Our Lady of Lourdes Chicken Soup and Dumplings

10 cups Water

2 Large Chicken Breasts (cooked and cut up for soup)

1 chopped onion

1 tsp Salt

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 Bay Leaf

1 1/2 c. Carrots, sliced

1 c. Celery, chopped (I used the inner w/leaves)

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon (I used "Better Than Bouillon" brand)

Put all in pot and cook these for about an hour. Then add dumplings.

Dumplings:

2 cups Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Cold Butter

1 cup Milk

3 Tbsp dried Parsley

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and parsley. Cut in cold butter until crumbly.

Mix in milk with fork. Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls (or teaspoonful, depending how big you want your dumplings) into the soup. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove cover and carefully flip dumplings. Continue cooking uncovered for 10 minutes.

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Pure Potato Soup in Honor of Our Lady

The following recipe was submitted by Lori, from Busy with Blessings, for the upcoming feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Thank you Lori!

On February 11th we celebrate Our Lady's first apparition to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France.  We celebrate a name day on this feast day so it's an extra special day here.  Last year I served a special French meal (American style) including Pure Potato Soup, Ham Steak, and French Rolls.  (By the way the potato soup is only 2 pts a cup - if your counting :)

Pure Potato Soup in honor of Our Lady

Ingredients:

1 small onion
Bag of shredded potatoes
Packet of White Gravy Mix.
Broth 1 - 26oz box plus about a half of an addition can

Directions:

Saute the onion in a little of the broth from the box. Once the onion is translucent, add remaining stock from the box and the bag of shredded potatoes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the packet of white gravy mix with about half of the can of broth. Once this is mixed well, add to the soup. Bring up to temp. then reduce and simmer about 30 to 45 min. or until your potatoes are soft.

The white gravy mix makes the soup a little on the peppery side (which I really liked)! The specks of pepper in the soup can remind us of our sins and how we are to pray to Our Lady asking her to help us to be good.

And here's a beautiful prayer from Catholic Culture to pray before tonights meal:

Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God

We praise and magnify you, O Lord, the most high, for in the fullness of time you chose the humble virgin of Nazareth as the mother of your only begotten Son. By the intercession of her prayers we beg your blessing upon our daily food and drink. May they sustain us in our journey until you bring us to the eternal joy of heaven, where Jesus is king forever and ever. Amen

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Saint Brigid Vegetable Soup

This post was written by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Amy.



Saint Brigid snuck up on me this year! I was already making chicken stock for soup for tonight, so I decided to do some research on how to make my broth Irish! Searching online I found one reviewer on All Recipes say how to make an authentic Irish vegetable soup.

She explained that it always starts with homemade stock (beef or chicken). You add desired vegetables already chopped. I will use onions, carrots, celery, and some red peppers (you know what ever was in the fridge!). Simmer till vegetables are tender.

I know what you are thinking… if it is Irish there has to be a potato in it, right? Right!

When the soup is served, you place a whole boiled potato in the bowl and pour the soup over it!

This is a great, quick, option for dinner tonight on the Feast of Saint Brigid! Serve with warm homemade bread for a not so quick option! There are many Irish Soda Breads around, too, including Barbara’s right here.



Also, don't forget to serve some Irish beer with dinner (for those of age, of course!).

St. Brigid’s Prayer

I’d like to give a lake of beer to God.


I’d love the Heavenly


Host to be tippling there


For all eternity.

I’d love the men of Heaven to live with me,


To dance and sing.


If they wanted, I’d put at their disposal


Vats of suffering.

White cups of love 

I’d give them,


With a heart and a half;


Sweet pitchers of mercy I’d offer


To every man.

I’d make Heaven a cheerful spot,


Because the happy heart is true.


I’d make the men contented for their own sake


I’d like Jesus to love me too.

I’d like the people of heaven to gather


From all the parishes around,


I’d give a special welcome to the women,


The three Marys of great renown.

I’d sit with the men, the women of God


There by the lake of beer


We’d be drinking good health forever


And every drop would be a prayer.

God Bless and Happy Feast of Saint Brigid!

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