St. Agnes Little Lamb Popcorn Snacks

I have seen this idea for sheep-themed birthday parties and thought it would make a nice and simple (and healthy) feast day snack idea of those saints associated with sheep or who have a sheep/lamb as a symbol. This week is the feast of St. Agnes (January 21), who is usually depicted holding a lamb to represent her virginity.

Fill small baggies with popcorn (not ziploc), tie the baggie closed, and tape on paper lamb head using this template or have your children draw their own.  I taped the corners to the back to make sure it retained the rounded shape. Could also just wrap in plastic wrap to make a round shape.

Other saints with lambs/sheep symbol including those who were shepherds:
St. Genevieve (January 3)
Sts. Jacinta and Francisco (February 20)
St. Bernadette (April 16)
St. Drogo (April 16)
Good Shepherd Sunday (4th Sunday Easter Season)
St. Germaine (June 15)
St. John the Baptist (June 24)
St. Joan of Arc (October 21)

*Looks like April 16 is a great day for sheep themed ideas with two different saints associated with sheep. 

St. Agnes, Pray for Us!

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An Advent Appetizer for Feast of Immaculate Conception

This simple appetizer with its combination of ingredients: goat cheese, pomegranates, thyme, and honey - holds symbolism for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Advent season. It is a yummy flavor combination, too, with the tangy sweetness of the pomegranates contrasting to the tartness of the goat cheese. Just top your favorite cracker and enjoy.

The pomegranate is often depicted in paintings of the the Madonna and Child. It's availability during the months around Christmas also make it a great food for the Advent and Christmas season.  While suggested for today, it is actually a fitting appetizer for anytime during the Advent or Christmas season.

Madonna of the Pomegranate ~ Sandro Botticelli

The four ingredients all have a symbolism or connection to make them fitting for this feast:
Pomegranate – fruit that is a symbol of the hope of eternal life through Christ the Word made flesh White (goat cheese) - symbol of Our Lady’s purity/Immaculate Conception
Thyme – herb that is a symbol of Mary’s humility
Honey – a “locust and honey” nod to St. John (2nd Sunday of Advent)

Pomegranate & Thyme Goat Cheese Log

Ingredients:
4 oz. goat cheese log
~ 1/2 cup of pomegranate arils
fresh thyme sprigs
honey

Directions:
Allow the goat cheese to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to soften. Add pomegranate arils to top and sides - gently pressing in to hold. Strip the thyme leaves from the stem. Sprinkle thyme leaves over the cheese log. Drizzle with honey. Serve with crackers.


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St. John Mini Grasshopper Ice Cream Pies

At the end of this week, we will commemorate the feast of the birth of John the Baptist. In Matthew's gospel we hear that while he was in the dessert, John the Baptist's food was locust and honey, so those are images we associate with him. In the past the idea of a grasshopper pie or parfait has been suggested here at Catholic Cuisine to associate with St. John the Baptist. There is the traditional grasshopper pie or a modified version with mint chocolate chip ice cream for a frozen alternative.

How did this combo become a "grasshopper" dessert? First came the grasshopper cocktail, a sweet after-dinner drink, whose main ingredient is green (thus the grasshopper) crème de menthe, and also white crème de cacao, and cream. Then in the sixties, using the same flavors, came the green mint pie with a cookie or graham cracker crumb crust. Making an ice cream pie with mint chocolate chip ice cream is a simpler version for the same flavors.

I had seen these mini graham crusts and thought they would be cute for making a couple variations. One is the mint chocolate chip version for the more traditional "grasshopper" flavor. The other is plain vanilla ice cream drizzled with honey. And the plastic grasshopper toy just adds to the effect.

To make the mini ice cream pies, set out ice cream until is softens enough to spoon into crusts and spread evenly. Refreeze. I sprinkled crushed graham crackers on pies to symbolize the sand of the dessert where John lived and preached. And a drizzle of honey was added to the vanilla pies.

As we experience the beginning of summer, long days, and warm evenings, this cool treat would be a refreshing way to celebrate.  Enjoy your John the Baptist desert dessert.

 

St. John the Baptist, Pray for us.

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Baptism of the Lord River Jordan Dessert

The following recipe for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was submitted by Tamalyn Lawrence. She shares that "It's very simple - blue water, sandy beaches, shells in the sand and blueberries for the river Jordan on top. Super easy and my kids really enjoyed it!" Thank you, Tamalyn!

Baptism of the Lord River Jordan Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 quart pineapple sherbet or vanilla ice cream
• 8 oz whipped topping like Cool Whip
• 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2-3 individual madeleine cookies (flavored or plain)
• blue food coloring

Directions:

1. Soften frozen ice cream or sherbet and spread in an 8x8 glass pan. Stir in blue food coloring and refreeze. "water"

2. Once ice cream has frozen, spread whipped topping across the top. Return to freezer or go ahead and decorate now.

3. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on the corners to create the "sand", leaving a space in the middle.

4. Dot blueberries through the middle path to create the "River Jordan". Sprinkle white sugar on top of the blueberries.

5. Break madeleine cookies in half to push in the "sand" to make the "shells".

Serve immediately (can be frozen, but blueberries will freeze).


Note: Traditionally, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on January 13, the octave day of Epiphany. In the current liturgical calendar, the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the Sunday after January 6, which will fall on January 10, 2016.

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Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars

The Birthday of Saint John the Baptist from Saints: A Year in Faith and Art

There is a great recipe for Grasshopper Parfaits in the archives here at Catholic Cuisine. After making them for the rest of my family, I decided to try and find something that I could enjoy as well for our celebration on the Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist since I've been on a strict Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet for the past four months.  These Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars were perfect and tasted amazing! Cocoa Powder is not on the AIP list of approved foods and it had been a while (113 days to be exact) since I had eaten any chocolate, but so far I haven't noticed any adverse reactions and am hoping that it can remain in my diet as an occasional treat.  This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, seed-free, nut-free and makes a delicious option for those looking for a healthy dessert!

St. John the Baptist, martyred for defending the law of purity, drew strength from his austere and penitential life in the desert. Here is a delicious (and nutritious!) recipe for Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars to serve on this Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, recalling Matthew 3:4: “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”

Honey Sweetened Grasshopper Bars

adapted from Raia's Recipes

Ingredients:

Mint Layer

• 1 large avocado
• 1/4 cup organic raw honey 
• 6 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or a few drops of peppermint oil for AIP)
• dash of salt (I used Real Salt.)

Chocolate Layer

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp organic raw honey 
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Rapunzel Organic Cocoa Powder. You could also substitute carob powder for a caffeine-free treat that is AIP approved!)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (I used Frontier Naturals Non-Alcoholic Vanilla.)
• dash of salt

Directions:

Mint Layer
1. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with foil.
2. Place all ingredients in high powered blender (I used my Vitamix) or a food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Smooth mixture into prepared dish and stick in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate layer.

Chocolate Layer
1. In small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey over low heat.
2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Pour over chilled bottom layer and return to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is hardened.
4. Remove from foil and cut into bars.
5. Store covered in the freezer.

Makes approximately 8 servings

Note: These would also make a healthy green treat for St. Patrick's day in March! 

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us! 

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St John the Baptist ~ Locusts and Honey

For the feast of St John the Baptist this year, we wanted to focus on the two staple foods he had lived on ~ locusts and honey.
I had bought last year a Nordic Ware Bee Hive Pan since I have a son born on the feast of St Ambrose (bee hive is one of his symbols) and I would say that this is one pan you can put to good use throughout the liturgical year as many saints were associated with bees..St Rita of Casica another and all the eloquent, "honey-tongued" preachers of the Church.

I used this lovely Carmel Banana cake recipe for the beehive, but any good cake recipe will do, of course a recipe that has honey in it, even more appropriate.

I poured the yellow icing sugar mixture over the top and made sure it ran down both sides to the bottom, so no join can be seen where the two halves are brought together. The bees are in the mold, you only need to colour the bees.

Here are some of our edible locusts, all lined up on our tray!

I bought some crunchy caramel sticks, they have that bit of 'crunch' like a locust would have as well as some 'ooze' (the caramel) they would have as well.

I cut each stick in half and made sure that I shaved a little more off to create an angle as you can see above.

I used one bag of pretzels.

So basically, it is the crunchy caramel stick, pretzels broken like you see above, pecans and a tube of black icing sugar.

My 'glue' to put the locusts together is icing sugar, a little water and yellow and red food dye to create an orange colour that goes well with the colour of the pretzels.

So I 'glued' a pecan on the back, for the locusts back wings folded together.

Then I 'glued' on the locusts legs.

Then 'glued' a peacan on the sloped front of the caramel stick for the head and with the black tube, created the pop eyes of a bug.

Awww, how can anybody eat that cute little critter?

Oh my goodness, a plague of them here!

They weren't an expensive endevour either, I bought the caramel sticks for $4 ~ that gave me up to 48 locusts. One bag of pecans, one bag of prezels, a little icing sugar and that was it!

Happy Feast Day!

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Grasshopper Parfaits

If you are looking for an easy, throw-it-together-in-about-10-minutes-treat to celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (the only saint who gets to celebrate his birthday liturgically) then here is an idea for you. Grasshopper pies are refreshing in the summertime, but usually require chilling time. Grasshopper parfaits are ready to eat as soon as you like.

What you need:
instant chocolate pudding
milk
oreos
Andes Creme de Menthe baking bits
peppermint extract
green food coloring
whipped cream

Make the pudding according to package directions and set aside. Mix in 1/2 to 1 tsp. of peppermint extract.

Let your youngest child get all ninja-like on a bag of 15- 20 Oreos or just crush them yourself and mix with equal amount of Andes baking bits.

Add 8-10 drops of green food coloring to whipped cream. (I used Cool Whip because I needed to get it out of my freezer.)

Layer in a tall glass; pudding, whipped cream, and cookie mixture. Repeat. Chill, if you want to, or just serve!

Enjoy!

St. John the Baptist, cousin of Our Lord, pray for us!

Original recipe found at Allrecipes. This version includes my alterations.

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Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

June 24th

~Celebrating The Nativity of St. John the Baptist~ 

Read more about the Forerunner of Christ HERE and HERE

St. John the Baptist is often endeared for his humility.   He was humble in his actions, dress, and even through what he ate.

"John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist.  His food was locusts and wild honey."~Matthew 3:4~

Try this St. John the Baptist Locust and Honey Snack!

Warning:  This is not the most "glamorous" snack...But that's exactly the point! 

It's a tad-bit messy but very simple, fun, and healthy too.

Ingredients:

2 celery stalks

Handful of mini pretzels

Peanut Butter

A few drizzles of honey

3-4 Large Marshmallows

Pinch of mini chocolate chips

1.  Clean and cut your celery stalks to use for the locust body

2.  Cut large marshmallows to size for the head (photo below)

3.  Spread celery with peanut butter and lightly coat marshmallows with peanut butter

4.  Use peanut butter to stick marshmallow head to celery body

5.  Break pretzels to form locust legs 

6.  Break pretzels for antennae and use peanut butter to stick (Sometimes using a toothpick to do this is easiest)

7. Place mini chocolate chips for locust eyes

8. Drizzle honey through the middle of the celery

9. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips to finish

~Because of the detail work and trying to get the "parts" to stick, this snack may be difficult for children under 5 to make~

Our 2-year old voted "Yum!"

~It is with a humble heart that I thank Jessica for inviting me to post here occasionally.  I look forward to sharing the joys of our beautiful faith through liturgical celebrations.  God Bless all of you authors and readers!~

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Honey Granola for St. John the Baptist

This post was written by past Catholic Cuisine contributor Amy.

Today we celebrate the Martyrdom of John the Baptist . The saint who was blessed to not only be related to our Lord Jesus but to be able to baptize Him as well! One of the things St. John the Baptist was famous for was his diet. While I do not recommend a diet of locusts and honey, I will offer you this family friendly breakfast you can have in his honor!

It is very simple to make and yummy! If you do not have agave nectar you can substitute 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Also, if you can, get really good honey. Blackberry honey is quite divine!

Amy Caroline’s Honey Granola

· 4 cups oatmeal (quick is usually best, but since I rarely buy that stuff you can use the other kind)

· 1 cup to 1 ½ cups chopped nuts (any you love – I use a mixture of walnuts, pecans, almonds and sunflower seeds)

· ¼ cup vegetable oil

· ¼ cup agave nectar

· approximately ¼ cup good honey

· 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oats and chopped nuts in bowl. Pour oil over it and toss. Then add agave and mix. Then honey. I am not sure on this measurement. I usually just drizzle it all over until I think, “Oh yummy!” Mix in the honey. The honey will make clusters, which is very yummy, but you may wan to break them up a little with your hands. Smooth this out on a LARGE foil covered baking pan. This makes a lot of granola, so if you don’t have a big pan you can make two batches. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until it start to turn golden brown, especially along the edges.

While this is baking pour raisins (you can definitely do more than 1 cup and you can add other dry fruit too) into the bottom of a LARGE bowl. When the oats are done pour them on top of the raisins. Mix nicely and let sit for just a few minutes. This will soften the raisins and make them oh so nice.

You can serve this warm or put in a big ol’ storage bag and serve the next day. Not sure how long it will last in storage. It has never lasted more than a day around here… if even a meal!

Hope you all like it!

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Grasshoppers and Honey

From the Gospel for 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B, Mark 1:1-8:

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins....
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.

This Advent our family is focusing on the four primary figures of the Advent Liturgy, Isaiah, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. I shared our Advent Wreath and Poster idea on my blog.

This week starts our focus on St. John the Baptist, who ate locusts and honey. Today would traditionally be St. Ambrose feast day, and his symbol of honey ("Honey-Tongued Doctor,") is also a perfect match for the honey that St. John the Baptist. All the wonderful food posts for St. Ambrose can do double duty.

I also plan on making a Grasshopper Pie this week to celebrate St. John. The simplest recipe would be using mint chocolate ice cream in a chocolate cookie pie shell -- easy and delicious. Although Cooks.com has several versions, this recipe seemed to have the most detail. I'm actually going to make this for my son who has food allergies to milk, eggs, and wheat. I have some allergy free chocolate cookies, Cool Whip (contains a small amount of casein which he can tolerate), and almond milk to replace some of the ingredients and we're good to go. We'll see if it works out.

Now, if you want to be a little more authentic, you can actually order food grade crickets in sweeter flavors.

Prepare the Way of the Lord, Make Straight His Paths! Pin It