Alphabet Soup for the Saint Educators

With the upcoming feast of St Elizabeth Ann Seton (January 4), it seems a good time to feature an idea for those saints associated with education.  A hearty vegetable meatball soup is a good one for a winter evening and adding in alphabet pasta is a way to recognize teaching saints. We have several saints this month associated with education, who are patrons of students or teachers or who were teachers themselves, like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who opened schools, trained teachers and prepared textbooks for use in the schools.

• St. John Neumann (January 5) is credited with  establishing the first system of parochial in US and opened 100 schools in eight years in Philadelphia while bishop.
• St. Marguerite Bourgeoys (January 12) established an order of teaching sisters in Canada and opened the first school in Montreal. 
• St. Francis de Sales (January 24) is a patron of educators.  
• St. Angela Merici (January 27) founded the Ursuline Order, the first religious order for women dedicated exclusively to the education of girls.
• St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28) is the patron of universities, Catholic schools and students.  
• St. John Bosco (January 31) ran a school for boys and is the patron of youth. 

The saints associated with teaching are numerous and their feast days can be found throughout the year. To find out feast days for other education related saints such as, St. John Baptist de La Salle (April 7), St. Rose Venerini (May 7), St. Mary MacKillop (August 8), St. Madeline Sophie Barat (August 25), St. Gregory the Great (September 3), St. Teresa of Calcutta (September 5), St. Theodore Guerin (October 3), St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (November 18), and more...

You can check out these patronage lists:
http://catholicsaints.info/patrons-of-students/
http://catholicsaints.info/patrons-of-schools/
http://catholicsaints.info/patrons-of-teachers/
http://catholicsaints.info/saints-who-were-teachers/

Meatball Vegetable Alphabet Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 lb lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 cup alphabet pasta
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef or chicken broth
1 can (14 oz) pureed tomatoes
1 cup chopped kale (optional)
2  Tbsp tomato paste2 tsp Italian spice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In bowl, combine mayonnaise, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and ground meat; mix well. Shape into bite-size balls and arrange on 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake meatballs in oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, rinse, drain and set aside.

In large saucepan, heat oil and sauté onion and garlic, celery and carrots for about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and Italian spice; bring to boil. [I added chopped kale as an option since it is considered a "brain food" and this is a soup for educators.] Reduce heat and simmer, for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add pasta and meatballs. Reheat and serve.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and all patron saints of teachers, education, and students, Pray for us. 

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Orecchiette "Little Ears" Pasta Ideas for Saint Days

Orecchiette from the Italian orecchia, meaning "ear", and -etta, meaning "small" is a variety of pasta from southern Italy. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a small ear.  The ridged exterior and cup-like interior holds chunky sauces and scoops up small vegetables, making orecchiette perfect to serve with sautés. 

Last year, I posted an orecchiette recipe called tuoni e lampo which is a traditional Italian pasta dish with chickpeas. Its name, I thought, linked it well to the story of thunder and lightning associated with St. Scholastica and St. Benedict. But focusing specifically on the ear shape and its name, this pasta would be a fun one to use for a variety of saint feast days associated with ears and hearing.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests and confessors. St. John Vianney was especially known for his gift as a confessor. He  drew thousands of penitents to line up, sometimes days in advance, to experience what many recalled as his ability to see into the deepest recesses of the soul.  For this humble priest who was known to hear confessions for up to 16 hours a day, the ear pasta seems a fitting symbol.

Some other saints who have connections associated with hearing and ears are listed here – many coming up soon in September.

• St. Francis de Sales (January 24)  -  He was known as powerful confessor during the Counter-Reformation. His masterpiece of the spiritual life, Introduction to the Devout Life includes the well-known, “How To Make A General Confession.”   He is the patron of the deaf and hearing impaired.  
• St. Benedict (July 11) - St. Benedict in his rule begins the Prologue with these words: "Listen carefully, my son, to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart." 
• St. Alphonsus Liguori (August 1) – He is a patron of confessors and wrote much on the sacrament of confession. 
• St. John Vianney (August 4) – He was known for hearing confessions up to 16 hours per day and is a patron of confessors. 
• St. John Chysostom (September 13) – An early Church Father, he interpreted the epistles of St. Paul. He is often depicted in iconography with St. Paul whispering into his ear. His ear is incorrupt. 
• St. Cornelius  (September 16) – Pope St. Cornelius is a patron of hearing ailments due to his name coming from the Latin for horn, and in art is usually shown holding a horn, the type that was used in the Middle Ages to rally troops in battle. These horns had a similar shape as the ear horns that hard-of-hearing people once used to amplify sounds. By this process, he became the patron of ear ailments.
• St. Pio of Pietrelcina (September 23) – Confession was his primary activity of the day. He was known for reading souls in the confessional.

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Penne Pasta "Quills" for the Evangelists

There are hundreds of kinds of Italian pastas, and each one has its own special name.  Each pasta name actually means something which can be really fun and symbolic for making a connection for a creative dish or celebration.

Penne pasta is a tubular shaped pasta with slanted ends. The name means “quills” or “feathers” and is so named because of this shape. We associate quills with feather pens and writing. Many saints who were writers, doctors, evangelists are depicted holding a quill.

Because of its shape, penne complement virtually every sauce and are exceptional when paired with a chunky sauce. Penne pairs nicely with chunky meat, chunky vegetable, cream, or oil based sauces. It is also a good shape to use for baked dishes.

Red is the vestment color used liturgically for the feast of martyrs and also for the evangelists. St. Mark, whose feast is today was both. Making a dish using the "quill" shaped pasta in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes will include the symbols both of him as a writer of the Gospel represented by the quill shape and as a martyr/evangelist with the red.   While I chose a sun-dried tomato and cream basse option, any of the marinara sauces would be equally fitting for an evangelist. 

Evangelist Feast Days

St. Mark - April 25

St. Luke - October 18

St. Matthew - September 21

St. John - December 27

Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Penne

2 C. dried penne or mini penne pasta
1 T. olive oil
1/2 C. sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 C. cream
1/4 C. freshly grated parmesan
1/2 t. garlic powder

Boil pasta. While waiting for pasta to cook, saute sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil for a few minutes. Add cream and mix. Add parmesan and garlic powder. Mix. Drain pasta and pour sauce over warm pasta. Serves 4.


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Bishop's Cake

This afternoon our family had hoped to travel and attend The Ordination of Bishop Liam Cary, the priest that married my husband and I back in 1999.  Unfortunately, my husband had to work today after all, and we had to cancel our travel plans. Thanks to the internet and live streaming, we will still be able to watch the Ordination Mass online!

To celebrate this special occasion we decided to bake a "Bishop's Cake!" This is an old fashioned pound cake, which would also be suitable to make for any of the feasts of bishop saints.

Bishop's Cake

adapted from both The Silver Palate Cookbook and Catholic Culture

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound(2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 whole eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar gradually in mixing bowl until fluffy.

Add the sifted flour to the butter mixture.  Add the lemon juice and vanilla, stir well.   Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  (After the first 30 minutes, cover loosely with Aluminum Foil) 

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.   Remove from pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Note:  As a variation, sprinkle crushed blanched almonds over the top of the cake right before putting it in the oven to bake.

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Saint Francis de Sales Honey Goodness Breakfast Bars

Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales. St. Francis de Sales is well known for his books: Treatise on the Love of God and Introduction to the Devout Life. In addition he wrote many pamphlets and letters. The Church has named him patron of the Catholic Press.

Amy Heyd, author of Saints at the Dinner Table, shares the following recipe for Saint Francis de Sales Honey Goodness Breakfast Bars on her website. She says, "These bars remind me of the goodness that radiated from Saint Francis de Sales, as well as the way he remained "sweet" to get people to listen to him."

Saint Francis de Sales Honey Goodness Breakfast Bars
Source: Amy Heyd's Website

1 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
4 ounces applesauce (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried apples (get the soft kind you find by raisins, don't get the crispy apples)
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and honey using a mixer on low for about 2 minutes. Add the egg, applesauce and vanilla and mix for another minute. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into the butter mixture. Mix on low for 1 - 2 minutes until the flour is fully incorporated into the mixture. Add the oatmeal and mix on medium until the oatmeal is fully incorporated. Chop the dried apples into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch cubes and add to the batter. Stir the raisins in with the apples and batter.

Spread the batter evenly into a greased two quart baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the bars. To prevent the bars from burning, lightly cover the bars with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.


“It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman.... It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world. ” ~ St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us!

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