St. Sebastian Fruit Skewer Arrows

On January 20 we remember St. Sebastian, early Roman martyr. He was sentenced to be shot to death by archers. His body was riddled with arrows and he was left to for dead, but survived and was later clubbed to death. He is the patron of soldiers, athletes and archers. The arrow symbol is associated with him for this persecution that he suffered.

Other saints who have arrows for a symbol are:

• St. Frances of Rome (March 9) - art depictions of her holding arrows
• St. Thomas the Apostle (July 3) - was martyred by spear, though arrows and stones are also often pictured with the spear as his symbols
• St. Philomena (August 11) - the two anchors, three arrows, palm and ivy leaf found on the tiles of her tomb were interpreted to represent method of martyrdom
• St. Ursula (October 21) - an arrow is the symbol of her method of martyrdom and pictured either holding an arrow or with an arrow in her chest
• St. Edmund (November 20) - symbol is crown this two arrows, symbol of his martyrdom

Readers often ask for healthy feast day options and also ones that are simple. Hopefully this is an idea that fits both those request criteria. Fruit skewers can be made in just a few minutes. A variety of fruit can be used - blackberries, blue berries, raspberries, melon balls or cubes, grapes. And strawberries with their "tipped" ends make a nice pointed end of the arrow, so place it as the final fruit. You can also leave the pointy skewer end free.  We cut feather end (fletching) out of construction paper and taped on the skewer.

St. Sebastian, Pray for Us!

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Gemelli Pasta for all the Holy Twins

Today I am adding another idea to the pasta for feast days collections. Gemelli is a pasta that is a single s-shaped strand twisted into a spiral. To the eye it appears as twin tubes twisted around one another.  The name derives from the Italian word for "twins" because it looks like twin tubes. Gemelli is ideal for lighter, smoother sauces which will cling to the twists, such as pesto or butter/oil sauces. It is also common in pasta salads.

Because of the connection to twins, gemelli is an ideal pasta to use on the feast days of any twin saints, of which there are a few: 

• Sts. Cosmas and Damian (whose feast day is today - September 26)
• Sts. Crispin and Crispinian (October 25)
• St. Scholastica (February 10) and St. Benedict (July 11)

Also, the name Thomas is from the Aramaic name Ta'oma' which meant "twin" (Didymus in Greek). So St. Thomas the Apostle is often referred to as the twin and this pasta would fit his feast day (July 3) as well. 

There are a variety of recipes for using gemelli. Here is a simple one to try.

Gemelli with Mozzarella, Tomatoes, & Arugula

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound small cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup firmly packed baby arugula leaves
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 pound gemelli
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, finely shredded

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the garlic and the 1/4 cup olive oil and let stand for 20 minutes to allow the garlic to infuse the oil. Strain and discard the garlic. Add the tomatoes, sea salt and pepper to the oil.

Rinse the arugula and dry thoroughly. Add the arugula to the serving bowl with the other ingredients and toss to mix well. Cover the sauce and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before using.

Cook the pasta in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and transfer the pasta to the bowl with the sauce. Toss well, adding up to a few tablespoons of the cooking water if needed to moisten the sauce so that it coats the pasta well.

Divide the pasta among warmed shallow bowls. Top with the cheese, dividing it evenly, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

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Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad with Curry-Saffron Dressing for the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

This recipe, in honor of the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, was submitted last week by Alan J. Hommerding,  Senior Liturgy Publications Editor for World Library Publications.   I apologize for posting this late (our kitchen remodel/addition is proving to be quite overwhelming at the moment), but at least it will be here in the archives for next year.   Thank you Alan! 

"With July soon upon us, I remembered when I worked at a parish consecrated to St. Thomas.  I came up with this recipe to combine the “holiday” weekend tradition of firing up the grill with an Indian flavor, since his legends say he took the Gospel to India."

Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad with Curry-Saffron Dressing

Prepare 3 cups whole grain brown rice according to package directions. Refrigerate.

Marinate 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in juice of ½ lemon and fresh ground pepper (a very light dusting on both sides of each breast) for about ½ hr.

Toss ½ large sweet onion, very coarsely chopped in 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. honey

Prepare coals in grill according to directions, when medium-hot:

Grill chicken breasts approx 7-8 min. per side, until done (depending on thickness), cover and refrigerate.

In a perforated grilltop skillet, sauté onions until browned/carmelized (you will need to stir constantly to avoid scorching the honey). Refrigerate.

Cube or shred cooled chicken.

Toss chicken, rice and grilled onions with ½ c. golden raisins (or other dried fruit) and dressing.  Refrigerate and serve chilled. Garnish with dried chives, chopped scallions, or other herb.

Dressing:

1 small container plain yogurt
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tbsp. saffron
salt and pepper to taste

St. Thomas the Apostle, Pray for Us!

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Chaldean Coconut Cookies

Another option for the feast of St. Thomas would be to make Chaldean Coconut Cookies.

In her book, A Continual Feast, Evelyn Birge Vitz recommends making Chaldean Coconut Cookies for the feast of St. Thomas. She says that "these triangular coconut cookies are served at First Communion parties among Christians in such countries as Iraq. According to their tradition, Saint Thomas the Apostle on his way to India brought the Gospel to the Chaldeans of Babylon and Assyria."

Chaldean Coconut Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flaked coconut
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

In a small heavy saucepan mix the sugar and water. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture come to a boil and skim off the foam. Let cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture registers 240° F. on a candy thermometer. Let cool.

In a bowl beat the eggs lightly, and add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the sugar syrup. Knead the dough gently in the bowl with the palm of the hand and the fingers for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 300° F.

Take balls of dough a little larger than a walnut. Using a spoon or your fingers, form each ball into a flattish triangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Place the cookies on greased baking sheets. Bake them for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they are very light brown.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies.

*If I have a chance to make these, I will update with a photo.

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Thomasstriezeln

The feast of St. Thomas the Apostle is July 3rd. In honor of his feast, I am planning on trying out the recipe suggested in Cooking with the Saints for Thomasstriezeln (St. Thomas Fingers). They look delicious, and not overly complicated to make.

Thomasstriezeln

1 TBSP Dry Yeast
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 Lemon
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
6 egg yolks
4TBSP butter
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 TBSP Cinnamon

Mix yeast with the sour cream and let it stand for 5 minutes. Was the lemon and grate peel finely into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and stir them together. When the dough becomes slightly sticky, knead it for 5 minutes. (More dough may need to be added to make sure the dough is firm.)

Butter a 14x6 inch baking sheet and roll out the dough on it. With a pastry cutter, cut the dough into long fingers. Brush with melted butter. Mix powdered sugar with cinnamon and dust fingers thoroughly with the mixture.

Cover with a towel and let fingers rest in a warm place for about 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F until golden. Approximately 30 minutes.

Yield: 40 fingers

You know, the more I use this cookbook, the more I am loving it... Now, to make those fingers!

St. Thomas the Apostle ~ Pray for Us!

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