"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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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