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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Bohemian Kolaches for St. John Neumann

John Nepomucene Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in the village of Prachatitz in Bohemia  which is now the Czech Republic. John, who had always been interested in being a missionary to America and came to the United States at age 25 and was ordained a priest in 1836.  He served the Niagara frontier for several years. He joined the Redemptorists and professed vows in 1842 and was the first Redemptorist to be professed in the United States.

Fr. John Neumann became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1848.  His ability to speak seven languages, German, Czech, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Gaelic helped him to serve his people. In 1852, he was appointed the 4^th Bishop of Philadelphia. His first concern was always the immigrant children. He gave first priority to establishing schools and is credited with setting up the first system of diocesan parochial schools in the United States.  Also during Neumann's administration, new parish churches were completed at the rate of approximately one per month.

Bishop Neumann collapsed and died January 5, 1860.   On June 19, 1977, John Nepomucene Neumann became America's third Roman Catholic saint, and the first American male saint.

His feast day is January 5 and he is the patron of sick children and immigrants.  [Biography]

To remember St. John Neumann on his feast day, a beloved Bohemian pastry, kolaches, make a great treat. A kolache is a sweetened yeast pastry filled with a fruit, cream cheese, or a poppy seed filling. There are probably about as many variations as there are Czech grandmas.  There are many different shapes, sizes and fillings.  From rounds to folded pockets, hand sized to pie-sized, sweet to savory. Some raised, some not. Most seem to agree that the name “kolache” (or kolach, kolace, kolacky) comes from the Czech word for “cookie”.  So I tried my hand at one variation in honor of the Bohemian to American saint, St. John Neumann. 

Kolaches

Ingredients:
2 packages active dry yeast
½ cup sugar, divided
2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
5 ½ to 6 ½ cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups canned prune, poppy seed, cherry or lemon filling
1 egg white, beaten

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm milk; let stand 10 minutes. In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, remaining sugar, eggs beaten, salt, butter and yeast/milk mixture. Mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Add additional flour, if necessary. Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Roll the dough into balls.  Place balls on pan lined with parchment paper and brush balls with melted oil. Let rise until dough is light (double height).  

Firmly press indentation in center and fill each roll with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Here is a link to recipes for several different fillings.

Brush dough with egg white. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until rolls are light golden brown. Yield: about 28 rolls.

PRAYER FOR INTERCESSION OF ST. JOHN NEUMANN

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one Heavenly Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.

Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of the needy, the weak, the afflicted and the abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult and, at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by the Body and Blood of our Redeemer and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother.

May death still find us on the sure road to our Father's House with the light of living Faith in our hearts. Amen.

[Edited to add: This is also an idea for celebration of Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun, whose remains have been identified and returned to Kansas 70 years after his death as a POW in Korea. Fr. Kapaun was a son of Czech/Bohemian immigrants as well. Sept. 27, 2021]

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Italian Epiphany - Befanini

It is interesting to discover the various traditions of the Christmas season from around the world. My interest in Italian culture increased this year since my daughter spent a semester abroad in Florence. The Italians have the tradition of La Befana, the old woman. In folklore, Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of Epiphany (Jan. 6th) to fill their socks with candy and presents if they are good or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad. The name Befana is derived from the word epifania, the Italian name for Epiphany (Greek). One traditional treat made for Epiphany in Italy, particularly Tuscany region, is a sugar cookie called Befanini.

Befanini - Italian Epiphany Sugar Cookie

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 ½  cups sugar
• 6 ounces butter (softened)
• ½ cup of milk
• 3 eggs plus 1 for the egg wash
• Zest of half lemon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoon of Sambuca or Rum
• multicolored sprinkles

Directions:

In mixing bowl, combine the flour and the sugar.  Add the softened butter and mix.  Add the eggs and continue mixing.  Now add the lemon zest, the baking powder, the salt and the liqueur.  Mix on medium speed adding the milk as necessary to make a smooth dough.  

Transfer the dough to floured pastry board and knead to form a ball.  Wrap the dough and refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven at 350 degree.  Add flour to working surface and around your rolling pin. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters in different shapes to cut your cookies.  Stars are especially appropriate for Epiphany.

Place on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make an egg wash with one egg and a bit of milk. Brush the cookies with the egg wash mixture and add sprinkles.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 until nice gold color.  Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Makes about 5 dozen.

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The Great O Antiphons

Visit Shower of Roses for the details on how to make these O Antiphon Chocolate Coins. 

Catholic Cuisine contributor, Jennifer Gregory Miller has a great article on Observing the O Antiphons over at Catholic Culture. 

From the Archives here at Catholic Cuisine:

O Antiphons (also by Jennifer Gregory Miller)

O Antiphon Coins

O Antiphons :: Incorporating an Old Monastic Tradition in the Home 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel...

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Pope St. Clement - Clementine Cranberry Tea Bread

On this feast of Pope St. Clement I think of clementines for feasting. The timing is prime as clementine cuties are just starting to become abundant in the stores - right as we celebrate St. Clement's feast. This tasty sweet and tangy tea bread is a fitting tribute to today's patron.  Enjoy this bread with breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea.

Clementine Cranberry Tea Bread

Ingredients:

4 ounces butter, at room temperature

2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

zest of 3 clementines

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons clementine juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease and flour 8 x 4 or 9×5″ loaf.

Combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar and zest in mixer bowl. Beat on medium until light, 3 – 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition, and scraping sides. Stir in the vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add it to batter, stirring on low speed until just combined. Fold the batter a few times with a rubber spatula to make sure zest clumps are distributed throughout the batter. Fold in the cranberries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake 75-90 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes and remove from the pan. Poke it all over the top with a toothpick or skewer.

Make the glaze:
While loaf is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar and juice. Brush the glaze over the top and sides. Cool completely and serve. Makes one 9×5″ loaf.

Pope St. Clement, Pray for us. 

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St. Elizabeth Rose Rolls

Roses and bread are both symbols for St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17) and St. Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal (July 4) so a bread in shape of rose serves as a dual reminder for their feast days. Last year I shared a braided twist rose bread idea but here is another variation on the rose bread for the feasts of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Elizabeth of Portugal. 

This recipe uses the same sweet roll dough from the previous St. Elizabeth Rose Bread idea.

Sweet Roll Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
½ c. warm water
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 c. butter, margarine or shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 ½ to 4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 ½ hours.

Cinnamon Filling
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cinnamon 

Mix until all sugar and cinnamon is moistened. 

Make 4 small balls (golf ball size) of dough and roll them out into 3 1/2 inch diameter circles. Overlap dough circles as shown. Sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar mixture across middle, leaving curved edges clear. 

Roll circles up into rolls as shown. You should end up with rolled dough with both ends fluted. Cut roll in half. 

Place dough in greased muffin tins. Cut/flat end should be down and the pretty, fluted/curved end up. 

Let rise until double (30-40 minutes). Bake in 375 degree oven 14-18 minutes. 

St. Elizabeth, 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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