Our Annual Michaelmas Cupcakes

Our Annual Michaelmas Cupcakes 🗡 

#michaelmas #devilsfoodcupcake #stabitwithasword

Here is the link to Michaelmas Cupcakes in the archives. 

Saint Michael the Archangel, Ora Pro Nobis!

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Blackberry Mint Sparkler

As you can tell, I love the legend of blackberries associated with the Feast of St. Michael. It makes for so many fun ideas for foods and treats to celebrate the feast of the Archangels, September 29. I have included beverage ideas for feast days before, as I think they are a simple and generally healthy way to celebrate the feasts. Sparkling water always adds a flair of festivity to the mix. So here is a refreshing blackberry infused sparkling water recipe that would be a great way to remember St. Michael this year.  And if you want to go even simpler, just use a lime flavored sparkling water and add blackberries. So easy!

Blackberry Mint Sparkler

Ingredients

20 ounces chilled sparkling mineral water

1/4 cup blackberries

2 sprigs mint leaves

1 lime, 1/2 sliced plus juice of other 1/2

2 T. agave sweetener (or adjust to suit your taste)

ice

Directions

In a small bowl mix together lime juice and agave.
Muddle a few mint leaves in liquid.

Pour into 2 glasses.
Add lime slices and blackberries to each glass.
Top with ice.
Add sparkling water, stir, and serve. 

St. Michael and all the Archangels, Pray for us!

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Angel Food Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

Angel food cakes or cupcakes are always a good go-to option for the feast of the Archangels (September 29) or the Feast of the Guardian Angels the following week (October 2). This recipe which includes a buttercream frosting flavored with blackberry puree makes the treat an especially fitting one for the feast of the Archangels.  The blackberry addition recalls the legend of the blackberries associated with St. Michael's feast day.

Jessica has posted in the past about her wise and thrifty idea for making a batch of cupcakes and using a portion for one feast day and the other portion(s) for saint's days that follow closely after.  I do something similar by only baking half a batch. A typical cake mix makes 24 cupcakes but if you only make half at a time then you have 12 cupcakes which is usually more reasonable for a family dessert for one day. I just measure out half of the cake mix and add half of the additional ingredients. Some recipes call for 3 eggs and those are good boxes to make in 1/3 batches (8 cupcakes). Anyway, with angel food cake mixes, the only other ingredient is water so it is very easy to split the mix and add half the water. Continue to make batter as directed. Scoop batter into lined cupcake tin and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until top is dark golden and any cracks feel dry and not sticky.  Cool and frost with buttercream frosting.

For the buttercream frosting:

1/2 stick butter, softened

3 ounces fresh blackberries, pureed and strained

2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

food coloring, if desired

Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add blackberry puree and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. The puree makes the frosting a pretty pink so if you want it more purple add a little blue food coloring and mix until blended to a solid color. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes. Frosts approximately 12 cupcakes. Add blackberry to top if desired.

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Blackberry Tartlets For Michaelmas

According to an old legend, when St. Michael cast Lucifer out of heaven, the Devil fell on a blackberry bush and cursed and spat on the blackberries thereby rendering them sour after September 29.  Consequently, people would eat blackberries on Michaelmas but not after. Catholic Cuisine has offered a variety of blackberry inspired ideas over the years for St. Michael's day. This is a simple to make, bite-size appetizer or snack that would add the blackberry theme to a Archangel/St. Michael feast day.

Blackberry Tartlets

Ingredients

1 sheet pastry puff, thawed 

1 (8 ounce) package of brie, rind removed

blackberry jam (or puree)

blackberries

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Thaw pastry puff as per directions.
• Cut pastry puff sheet into 20 equal squares (I rolled out the sheet with a rolling pin so that it would be slightly larger before cutting)
• Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Press each square of the pastry dough into the bottom of each muffin tin. Be sure to press the crust all the way up the sides.
• Place a small chunk of brie in each tin.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• If puffs have risen too much push down gently with spoon to form indent. 
• Let the pastries cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely. Add a small spoonful of blackberry jam (or puree) and top with a fresh blackberry.

St. Michael and all the Archangels, Pray for us!

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Apple Slices with Cinnamon - Fall Harvest Treat for Feast Days

Autumn and apples - it is the consummate harvest food. So many delicious varieties. Because apples are harvested in the late summer and fall months and they keep well into the winter, they were a common feast day food inclusion for a number of fall saints. We see apples at Michaelmas (September 29), Martinmas (November 11), and also for this week's feast of St. Charles Borromeo (November 4 on the General Roman Calendar and November 5 on Traditional Calendar). St. Charles is the patron of apple orchards so has a special connection for anything apple in feast day celebrations.  Another saint associated with apples is St. Dorothea (Dorothy) of Caesarea (February 6). She is usually depicted holding a basket of apples and roses for a pious legend associated with her martyrdom and the conversion of one of her persecutors.  And in Eastern rite churches (like Ukrainian Catholic) the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6, August 19 for Orthodox) is traditionally called Apple Spas. Apples are blessed on that day.  The apple is also symbolic of Christ, the new Adam. When Christ is depicted holding an apple it symbolizes the fruit of salvation (as contrasted with the apple in Adam's hand, meaning sin). 

Simplicity is always helpful to me in feast day ideas and this apple treat is a very easy and healthy snack option. It consists of freshly cut apple slices, sprinkled with cinnamon.  It is delicious and it tastes like a treat but is so easy to make.  I find I prefer a crisp and sweet apple for this treat (Gala, Fuji, Cameo, Honeycrisp, Braeburn). Use as many or as few apples as you need. Since they will be sliced you will only want to make what will be eaten in a fairly short time so they don't brown. 

Core and slice (thinly) the apples. Place in bowl. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Mix apples to coat evenly. Add more cinnamon if needed to taste. Serve.  


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Michaelmas Cupcakes

One of our family's favorite ways to celebrate Michaelmas is with cupcakes. Bake Devil's Food cupcakes, decorate with chocolate frosting, and serve with cocktail "swords" (Playmobil swords work great too!) to help St. Michael defeat the "devil”!

You can find additional pictures over at Shower of Roses 

and more recipes for Michaelmas in the archives! 

Grant us with Michael still, O Lord, 

Against the Prince of pride to fight; 

So may a crown be our reward, 

Before the Lamb’s pure throne of light. 

- Excerpt from "Hymn in honor of St. Michael the Archangel"

Happy Michaelmas!

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New St. Michael Apron and Giveaway!

Catholic Embroidery has generously offered to give one of their brand new St. Michael Embroidered Aprons to a visitor here at Catholic Cuisine, just in time for the upcoming feast of St. Michael on September 29th!

St. Michael Embroidered Apron - Quis ut Deus

Black cotton twill apron featuring our St. Michael Sword design that includes the scales of justice, flames of St. Michael's battle, and famous quote, "Quis ut Deus" - Who is like unto God?

This apron, and many more, can be purchased here at Catholic Cuisine (Catholic Cuisine will receive a percentage of any of the aprons purchased from this page), or they can be purchased directly from Catholic Embroidery!  Enter STMICHAEL coupon code for free shipping on all orders over $45 through September 29th.  Additional ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Michael can be found in the archives.

To enter the giveaway please use the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: I'm also hosting giveaways each day this week over at Shower of Roses from September 1-7, 2014. You can find Our September Book Basket and Giveaway here and today's Holy Heroes Giveaway here. Be sure to stop by and enter! 

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All-Saints Themed Cookies

The following post was submitted by Lynne from Adoro Te Catholic Home Educators. The All-Saints Themed Cookies were made for a parish bakesale to fund their home school groups March for Life bus and are simply beautiful! Thank you Lynne! 

All Saints Day should be a joyful feast in its own right, but its timing leaves much to be desired. For moms who’d like to combat the blur after a night of shepherding and last-minute costume changes, resist the urge to crunch on that rapidly-hardening candy corn and pull out a cookie sheet. The folks at Adoro Te Home Educators recently held a March for Life fundraising bake sale featuring some sweet, saint-themed cookies that are easy to recreate at home. All it takes is sugar cookie dough, a cookie cutter, pre-made fondant and a cookie mold.

All of the cookie molds were ordered online. St. Nicholas, Madonna of the Portal and St. Cecilia are springerle cookie molds purchased from House on the Hill . The St. John the Evangelist and Salve Regina springerle molds were purchased from Springerle Joy.  St. Gabriel and St. Michael are bread stamps from Prosphora Stamp Central.



*Cookie mold tip: The St. Nicholas mold can be used for several saints. Color the fondant red and the image is St. Nicholas; color the fondant green and the image is St. Patrick.

Roll out your cookie dough to a 3/8 inch thickness and cut out the shape of the mold. This can be done in a few ways: purchase the custom cookie cutter available with some molds; use the cookie mold as a template by laying it on the dough and cutting around the edge of the mold with a ravioli cutter; or find the right sized cookie cutter from Cheap Cookie Cutters.  If possible go a slight bit smaller with the cookie cutter because the dough will spread when baking. Bake the cookies, in the center rack, at a 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (oven times vary).



* Rolling tip: We used dostix to roll out the dough evenly. Dostix make the rolling process fast and easy. They are the best baking purchase I have ever made. 

* Baking tip: Because these cookies are rather thick they have to be baked at a low oven for a longer period of time to ensure they are cooked through.



After the cookies are baked and cooled it is time to work on the fondant tops. Using pre-made fondant, we used Wilton brand fondant and gel food coloring, knead and roll out the fondant to a ¼ inch thickness. Lightly dust your mold with powdered sugar. Press the rolled out fondant into the mold starting from the center of the mold and working your way to the edges. Be sure to press the fondant into all of the deep areas of the design, you can feel the indentations as you press down on the fondant. Starting from the edge carefully peal the fondant from the mold. Trim the edges of the design then ‘glue’ the fondant to the cookie by brushing the top of the cookie with light corn syrup.



* Fondant tip: When coloring your fondant use plastic food grade gloves.

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Michaelmas Blackberry Cobbler

According to tradition (and Joanna Bogle in her Book of Feasts and Seasons) "blackberries are no good to eat after September 29th because 'the Devil spat on them when he was cast out of Heaven into Hell on Michaelmas'!" Here is an easy recipe for the Blackberry Cobbler I served my family today. It was delicious!

Michaelmas Blackberry Cobbler

adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 stick butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided 
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, rinsed and patted dry
• Whipped cream and/or ice cream, for serving (optional) 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.  Whisk in the milk and melted butter. Pour the batter into the baking dish.

Catholic Cuisine Apron can be found here...

Sprinkle the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries. Bake for one hour, until golden brown and bubbly. 

Ten minutes before the cobbler comes out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top. 

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.  Enjoy! 

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Celebrating Michaelmas and Nameday Prayers for the Family

In honor of St. Michael, and a certain little boy's nameday, our family always celebrates today's feast with Devil's food cupcakes (this year it was a simple cake, made from a mix) topped with a St. Michael statue.  The celebration is never complete without little swords for stabbing the cake devil!

This year's feast is coming to an end, but I thought I'd pop in for a minute to share a picture, and the Nameday Prayers from My Nameday - Come for Dessert.   I hope you all had a very blessed feast!

Nameday prayers. Today the family prays the following:

Father: The Lord, King of archangels.

All: Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Father: I looked up and saw a man standing there clad all in linen and his girdle was of fine gold. Clear as a topaz his body was, like the play of lightning shone his face; and like burning crossets his eyes; arms and legs of him had the sheen of bronze, and when he spoke, it was like the murmur of a throng.

All: He bestows favors on those nations who honor him, and his prayer leads them to the kingdom of heaven, alleluia.

Father: The angel Michael, chief in paradise, to whom the angelic citizens pay honor.

All: Most glorious prince, archangel Michael, be mindful of us here and everywhere; pray ever for us to the Son of God, alleluia, alleluia.

Father: From the writings of Pope St. Gregory the Great:

Michael means "Who is like God!" When any work of remarkable power is to be done, we are told it is Michael who is sent, that from both his action and his name we may understand that none can accomplish what God in His might accomplishes.

All: Salvation belongs to our God, alleluia.

Father: Let us pray. O God, who ordained the services of angels and men in wonderful order, be pleased to grant that our life on earth may be guarded by those who stand always ready to serve You in heaven. Through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen. Christ conquers, Christ reigns!

Holy Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, 
Pray for us!

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"Angel Curls" Cookies

The following recipe was submitted by Luis Acosta, a seminarian in Mexico.  Thank you Luis!  

I´m Luis from Mexico, I'm a Jesuit seminarian hoping to become a Jesuit priest someday.  This is a recipe I made for my seminarian brothers in a reunion we had. It´s perfect for all Hallows eve, all saints' day, all souls' day, guardian angels' day, St Michael's day, for any bakery sale at your church or just for fun!!!

"Angel Curls" Cookies

Ingredients:

-2 cups all purpose flour

-1 tsp baking soda
-400gr butter
-1 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-4 tsp vanilla
-6 cups quick cooking oats
-1 cup pecans
-1 cup raisins

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix toguether flour and baking soda, reserve
-In a separate bowl cream toguether the butter with the sugar
-Add the eggs and the vanilla to the creamed butter and mix it all toguether
-Stir in the flour with the baking soda and blend well
-Add the raisins and the pecans
-Stir the oats, 1 cup at a time and mix just until blended
-Drop mixture by spoonfulls in an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned
-Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then remove to a wire rack until they´re completly cooled
-Store in a covered container.

This recipe will give you like 7 dozen cookies!!!! I´m not kidding.

Tips:
-Add 2 tsp of cinnamon to the flour and baking soda for and extra-touch
-Instead of pecans and raisins you can use walnuts, almonds, coconut, chocolate chips or anything else you want!!!

I hope you enjoy the recipe!!!!

And please, pray for me, for my brothers and for all the priestly vocations in the world, your prayers are our strength. God bless you all!


Please join me in praying for Luis and for all seminarians preparing for the Holy Priesthood!

God our Father, You have chosen Your Son, Jesus Christ, to reveal Yourself to us. You have chosen Your Church to show us Your love through Him. You have chosen Luis, your son, to be a priest as a sign of that love to Your people. We pray that the Holy Spirit continue to fill him with Your peace and joy as he prepares for the holy priesthood. We pray that through his priesthood he may proclaim the wonder of Your faithfulness and love to all through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.

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Angel Food Blackberry Trifle for Michaelmas

As Abigail mentioned in the post below, blackberries are traditional for celebrating the feast of St. Michael. In A Book of Feasts & Seasons, Joanna Bogle, says that "It is a tradition that blackberries are no good to eat after September 29th because 'the Devil spat on them when he was cast out of Heaven into Hell on Michaelmas'!" But what do you do if your family doesn't like blackberries? Here is a trifle recipe that my family enjoys that is great with or without real blackberries. Blackberry jam substitutes for the real berries and is a lovely compliment to the sweet lemon cream and light angel food cake which reminds of the other archangels we celebrate today.

Angel Food Trifle

1 angel food cake (store bought or homemade), chopped up into bite sized pieces
2 (8 oz.) tubs Cool Whip or equivalent whipped cream
2 lemons
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
fresh/frozen blackberries or blackberry jam or preserves


First, zest lemons to measure 1 tablespoon of zest. Next, juice lemons to measure 1/4 cup. In a bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, & juice. Fold in 1 1/2 C. of Cool Whip. Set lemon cream aside.


To assemble the trifle:
Put 1/3 of the cake bits in the bottom of a tall glass container. Spoon 1/3 of the lemon cream on top along with scoops of plain cream. Add blackberries, sprinkling a few here and there or enough to make a solid layer depending on your family's fondness of blackberries. If you are using the jam instead, drop spoonfuls of it on top of the cake before the cream layer. Repeat twice to make 3 layers finishing with a layer of Cool Whip. Top with more blackberries. (If you are making this ahead, you might want to wait and add the blackberries on top just before serving so they don't weep all over your whipped cream.)

In the event your family doesn't like blackberries, I thought I'd let you know we decided to use some Haribo Gummi Raspberries to decorate the top. Symbolic and tasty!

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Apple Cake for Michaelmas

The following recipe was submitted by Abigail Burke, from Elk Grove, CA, for publication here at Catholic Cuisine. Thank you Abigail!

Michaelmas (September 29th, now known as the Feast of the Archangels) is often associated with the end of the harvest, so you can make a lot of wonderful autumnal dishes for this feast. Although apple and blackberry pie is the traditional dessert for Michaelmas (see Joanna Bogle's Feasts and Seasons), here is another option using harvest apples:

Apple Cake with Carmel Glaze

For Cake:

1 cup cooking oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
3-5 cups peeled and chopped fresh apples

Combine the oil and sugar. Add well beaten eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, then add dry ingredients to sugar mixture. Stir in chopped walnuts and apples. Pour into bunt pan and bake at 325 until done, about 65 minutes.

For Glaze:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cream

Place butter and sugar in a double boiler and allow to melt, blending well. Add cream and bring to a boil. Cool, then add vanilla. Pour over cooled cake.

Hope you enjoy!

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St. Michael's Waffles

The feast of St. Michael the Archangel, also known as Michaelmas, is celebrated on September 29th.

In her book Cooking for Christ, Florence Berger shares the tradition of making waffles baked in a Gaufrette Iron for Michaelmas Day. She says, "Our family has not yet invested in a true French Gaufrier, but we use a waffle iron to make an American version of St. Michael's Gaufres. The recipe is like that of waffles." I think I will follow her lead and do the same!

GAUFRES
(St. Michael's Waffles)
from Cooking for Christ

2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4-1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Blend eggs and sugar. Add flour and milk alternately. Beat hard. Add butter and vanilla. The mixture is thin and should spread evenly on the preheated iron. If Gaufres tend to stick, butter both sides of the iron. Serve hot or cold.

We will be topping our breakfast "Gaufres" with Blackberry Syrup. Doesn't that sound yummy? In A Book of Feasts & Seasons, the author, Joanna Bogle, says that "It is a tradition that blackberries are no good to eat after September 29th because 'the Devil spat on them when he was cast out of Heaven into Hell on Michaelmas'! So the days just before Michaelmas are your last chance for bottling blackberries and making blackberry jam."

Perhaps this year I will be able to take my children blackberry picking, in preparation for the feast day.  If not, we will pick some up at our local Grower's Market, like last year.  

*This post is an excerpt from our Plans for Michaelmas.  Pin It

Instant Gnocchi for Michaelmas

On Michaelmas, or the feast of St. Michael, which is celebrated on September 29, many Italians serve Gnocchi, or potato dumplings.

The following recipe was submitted by a Catholic Cuisine reader, Fred Hass:

The following recipe for Instant Gnocchi is terrific. It was formulated by a dear friend, Florence Machetta. It takes all the work out of making gnocchi!

The history of gnocchi is very interesting and may be traced to the time of the Roman legions. The word "gnocco" in Italian means a stupid person. How the word gnocchi derived is not clear. Various regions in Italy have their own distinctive variations one of which from Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol is spinach gnocchi, called strangolapreti. This translates to "choke the priest." The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.

Hope you like this recipe.

Instant Gnocchi

from Florence Machetta, “my own formula”

Ingredients:

Potato flakes 2C
Flour ½ C
Powdered milk ¼ C
Salt 1 t
Garlic powder ½ t
Egg 1
Water 10 oz
(Can use 10 oz milk instead of dry)

Instructions:

Put dry ingredients in bowl.
Beat egg in water.
Add wet to dry and mix well and knead on floured board until dough is elastic. Form one inch ropes of dough and cut into 2 inch pieces.
Roll each piece over a grater or end of dinner fork to form the gnocchi. Bring pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Reduce heat and simmer until gnocchi float to top then remove with slotted spoon.
Serve with sauce of your choice.

Mangia bene!

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Apple Chicken

I thought I would take a second and post this recipe (which we made for Michaelmas) here. It is very easy, very yummy, and is an excellent fall/harvest meal.

Apple Chicken

• 6 skinless chicken thighs (I increased this to 8)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1/3 cup dijon mustard
• 3 apples -- unpeeled, cored & sliced 1/2" thick
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions (I omitted since I forgot to buy some. Oops.)
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Heat oil in large skillet. Brown chicken over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Combine apple juice and mustard; pour over chicken. Cover; cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes. Add apples, raisins and green onions. Cover; Cook 5-10 minutes longer. Place chicken and apples on a serving platter; keep warm. Gradually stir combined cornstarch and water into cider liquid. Cook and stir until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken and apples.

*I served it with Steamed Carrots and Garlic Angel hair pasta:

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From Thy Bounty Fair: Feasting with the Angels!

All you Angels and Archangels, Thrones and Dominations, Principalities and Powers, Virtues of the heavens, Cherubim and Seraphim, bless the Lord forever.





Today is the Feast of the Saints Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, Archangels.
The angels play a large role in the life of the Church, from the beginning of Creation, throughout the Old and New Testament, and the daily lives of all. Women for Faith and Family capture all the teachings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the angels.

September 29 was originally dedicated only to St. Michael, with St. Gabriel formerly on March 24 (the day before the Annunciation), and St. Raphael on October 24. The 1969 reform of the General Roman Calendar combined these feast days for today's triple feast.

As discussed before, there are many traditions and foods connected with this feast. From CatholicCulture.org:

This day is referred to as "Michaelmas" in many countries and is also one of the harvest feast days. In England this is one of the "quarter days", which was marked by hiring servants, electing magistrates, and beginning of legal and university terms. This day also marks the opening of the deer and other large game hunting season. In some parts of Europe, especially Germany, Denmark, and Austria, a special wine called "Saint Michael's Love" (Michelsminne) is drunk on this day. The foods for this day vary depending on nationality. In the British Isles, for example, goose was the traditional meal for Michaelmas, eaten for prosperity, France has waffles or Gaufres and the traditional fare in Scotland used to be St. Michael's Bannock (Struan Micheil) — a large, scone-like cake. In Italy, gnocchi is the traditional fare.

Since this is a food blog, I'm highlighting the feasting. But food is just a part of the feast: the Liturgy, the prayers, the crafts, the reading, copywork, nature study, and other activities are the various colored threads woven together to make a beautiful tapestry in our domestic churches. May the angels continue to guide and protect us safely to our heavenly home.

Please note: This post was originally published in 2008, and there are several blogs that are not operating, but we will leave the post as originally written. Those blogs no longer linking will have an asterisk (*) before the paragraph.

Mary at Our Domestic Church loves to research feast days (almost as much as I do), and then loves to place a spin on some of the traditions. Angel Foods for Feasting and Angels From Thy Bounty Fair are two posts that give a wide range of ideas for these feasts that involve angels.

I haven't traced the originator of the idea, but one of the most popular item for today's feast is Devil's Food Cake accompanied by cocktail swords, so that everyone can assist St. Michael in defeating the Devil. It is a great hands-on activity that can give all of us the reminder that we need to constantly fight temptation and sin.

*And our tour continues with Suzanne at Gladdest Hours shares her photos and Michaelmas feast day plans. She includes reading, decorations, activities, and her menu, Oriental Chicken Wings, Angel Hair Pasta, Broccoli, and Devil's Food Cake with swords.

Chez Ouiz shares her pictures from last year for the feast of the archangels. Stabbing the Devil's Food Cake with swords is front and center tonight for dessert, and the picture of her boys in costumes acting out St. Michael and the Dragon is so wonderful!

Jessica at Shower of Roses shares in detail all her feast day plans for Michaelmas. The menu will involve St. Michael's waffles, Apple Chicken, and Devil's Food Cupcakes with swords. The feast day plans are also real learning -- so she includes crafts, copywork, and reading.

*Marci at 6Hands2Hold is having an angel themed day for the Feast of the Archangels. Menu highlights: Breakfast will include blackberries, lunch deviled egg sandwiches, and dinner will be Angel Hair Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce and Grated Carrots. Dessert will be...you guessed it, Devil's Food Cake accompanied with swords!

Carole, who now lives and learns in Wales, sent me her feast day plans. I have to admit, I wish I was breaking bread with her. Her menu: Bottled Blackberries, Roast Chicken with Sour Cream and Apple Stuffing, and homemade bread.

Lorri and The Mac and Cheese Chronicles shares her homeschool group Michaelmas celebrations. Dessert included angel food cake with whipped cream wings and devil's food cupcakes.

Eileen at Eileen on Him has her Michaelmas feast day celebration from last year. On the menu: St. Michael's Bannock with Honey Butter; Garden Salad with fancy-grated Parmesan cheese; Archangels on Horseback over Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo.

Heather at These Thy Gifts shares the successful feast day dinner, which seemed to be quite a hit by the pictures of the happy faces. The menu included deviled eggs, Deviled Chicken, Roasted Deviled Potatoes, steamed carrots (St. Raphael is the patron saint of eyesight!) and, Devil's food cake for dessert--with those little cocktail swords.

Feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2nd
Today's feast is first of two feasts of this week in honor of the angels. October 2nd is the Memorial of the Guardian Angels.

Jessica shares her Guardian Angel Plans which include include an angel food cake in a trifle bowl to incorporate whipped cream clouds.

Heather also has angel food cake and angel hair pasta on the menu for her her guardian angel plans.

Angel Crafts

I think the feast day crafting goes hand-in-hand with the menu plans. Some great examples can be found at Dawn's Tea and Craft ideas for these feast days. And while Alice doesn't have specific liturgical teas for the angels, there are angelic ideas on these pages, which combine crafting and foods for the feast. Many of the links above in this post also include creative angel crafts, and here are some more inspirational ideas:

Mary gives directions for some wonderful Angel Candy Favors, made from golden Hershey Kisses. These are just too cute!

Ana Braga-Henebry designed these darling angels to craft. Printer, scissors, tape, crayons, craft sticks and you're good to go! I plan on crafting as soon as I post this!

Eileen had some wonderful painting crafts for the Guardian Angels, too.

And for wonderful coloring pages, get your dance card and waltz on over to Waltzing Matilda where Charlotte shares her talent with us. First there is the archangels: St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel. Then she has the Guardian Angels based on one of my favorite Hummel pictures.

I'll close with the Collect Prayer from the feast of the Archangels:

God our Father,
in a wonderful way you guide the work of angels and men.
May those who serve you constantly in heaven
keep our lives safe from all harm on earth.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Michaelmas Feasting from Wales

This post was submitted by my friend Carole who is now living in Wales.

Most of what I learned about St. Michael's Feast, I learned from reading Cooking for Christ by Florence Berger and Joanna Bogle's A Book of Feasts and Seasons (thank you Jenn for all the great book recommendations)! My youngest son's patron saints are St. Michael and St. Patrick. Last year I made the easy recipe Archangels on Horseback (from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Vitz).

16-20 sea scallops
8-10 pieces thin-sliced bacon; cut each piece in 2
Buttered toast

With a half slice of bacon, wrap each scallop, fastening with a toothpick. Cook under the broiler until bacon is brown and crisp, serving on hot buttered toast, cut in squares or rounds.

To make these "Angels on Horseback" replace the scallops with shucked oysters.

This year I decided to center our celebration around the various customs involving food.

This afternoon, my dd and I will be taking some blackberries (which grow wild in this area), and making Bottled Blackberries from .A Book of Feasts and Seasons. I have told my dc that since the devil spat on the blackberries when he was cast out of Heaven on Michaelmas, then they will not be good after today. Therefore, we must preserve what we have to enjoy on our toast later in the year.

First make a syrup, 1/2 pound sugar to 1 pint of water (remember it is English measure)! Make sure the syrup is boiling when you use it. You wash and clean the These aren't canned in the typical way we do in America, and I am making so little I will keep mine in the refrigerator.

It is traditional in England to have a feast of roast goose and stuffing. We read that Queen Elizabeth was eating her Michaelmas goose when she received word that the Spanish Armada had been defeated. Since my ds is studying Medieval Literature/History this year, I decided to make an historical connection with our meal. Not being very brave or adventuresome about cooking a goose, we are settling for a Roast Chicken with Sour Cream and Apple Stuffing. My ds will tell the family a little bit about St. Michael and the traditions as we celebrate our evening meal.

For the chicken, I stuff the chicken with onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaf. Then I coat the outside with thyme and Old World Seasoning (a Penzey's spice, but it is close to Rotisserie Chicken by McCormick). I place it in a 450 F oven which I then turn down to 350 F and cook for 20 minutes per pound.

We're also making a homemade bread (which we do a lot) to thank the Lord for the wheat harvest. This is part of the harvest end of the celebration.

I hate to say it, but for me, the celebration is frequently about the food! One last activity that we have planned is to plant a Michaelmas daisy. I have not fully planned our new garden, so we will probably just transfer it into a decorative pot. But the Michaelmas daisy is actually an aster with tall purple flowers ... very tiny and dainty. These plants bloom around this time of year and are frequently used to make posies for the table or to put on top of cakes given to the girls at London's Greycoat School after a special service (I learned this from Joanna Bogle's book). Pin It

Upcoming From Thy Bounty Fair: Angels, September 29

This is a very late reminder that the next installment of the From Thy Bounty Fair will be September 29. The theme is angels, since September 29 celebrates the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, and three days later on October 2nd we celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels.

Submissions are encouraged and welcome from bloggers and non-bloggers. Please submit links to posts, pictures or ideas to me by Sunday evening, so I can post them on the feast of the Archangels. All ideas, small or great are welcome!

Looking for inspiration?

My first stop is Catholic Culture for September 29 and October 2nd.

September 29 was originally dedicated only to St. Michael the Archangel, and called Michaelmas. This was a harvest or thanksgiving feast, so there are many recipes and traditions attached to this day from many cultures. There are various foods, some based on culture or region and some based on legend or folklore, which are linked with the feast day and could be included in a celebration.

Bannock is a traditional bread eaten in the Celtic countries. Ernst Schuegraf, in Cooking With the Saints has this to say:

On the Islands of Scotland, St. Michael is a very popular saint, and it is an ancient tradition to eat St. Michael's bannock on his feast day. On that day, everyone in the household, family member or visitor, must eat a piece of this large cake baked on a griddle.

According to an old folk tale, blackberries were supposed to have been harvested and used up by this date, too, since it is told to children that when Satan was kicked out of Heaven, he landed in a bramble patch -- and returns each year to curse and spit on the fruits of the plant he landed on, rendering them inedible thereafter. So a dish or drink with blackberries would be fitting.

Goose is another traditional food served on the feast. Foods that are harvested around this time like apples are a nice touch and commonly included as well.

In The Catholic Home, Meredith Gould mentions that carrots play a prominent role in Scotland on this feast. As Raphael is the patron of eyesight, carrot dishes could be included.

There are numerous dishes that use angel somewhere in the title, all very fitting to include in either feast day celebration:

-angel food cake
-angel hair pasta

It would be fun to incorporate foods that remind us of angels -- light, fluffy evoking a sense of clouds or heavenly domain:

-whipped cream topped desserts
-cream puffs
--marshmallows
--meringue

Cakes are always a staple of feast day celebration, and angel feasts included. Angel food which has been mentioned is a fitting cake for either feast day. I'm particularly fond of the idea of serving Devil's Food Cake on the Feast of the Archangels with a figure of St. Michael perched on top. Include the cocktail plastic swords so that all who partake can pierce the cake, joining in St. Michael's victory over the Devil. The angel food can be saved for the Memorial of the Guardian Angels.

Incorporating symbols of angels is another direction to take. The artistic rendering of angels as winged messengers and defenders is unique to anything else in the Christian tradition.
Anything angel looking (or angel shaped) or with wings is a fun addition to the culinary table of this these feasts.

-chicken wings
-angel shaped cakes
-angel shaped cookies (Christmas cookie recipes often include angel shapes for ideas)

Examples:
Polish angel wing cookies (Chrusciki)

Angel Wing Cookies

Other types of symbols specific to the archangels:

Archangel Michael ("Who is like to God") -- sword and shield with symbol of the Trinity; armour; lance and shield; scales; millstone; piercing dragon or devil; banner charged with a dove;

Archangel Gabriel ("power of God") -- Fleur-de-lis; scepter and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch; scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena or Hail Mary Full of Grace; Resurrection trumpet.

Archangel Raphael ("God heals") -- staff, pouch, and fish; staff and gourd. Pin It