Family Food for Feast and Feria

There's a terrific new food blog for cooking in the Liturgical Year called Catholic Cuisine. It's already filled with great ideas, recipes, and wonderful photos. This is a collaborative effort, and such a wonderful group of contributors. I'm quite honored to be rubbing elbows with these ladies!

Visit today and visit often! Enjoy!

I've been neglecting my food blog. I visit here often, because I have found it so convenient to print out my recipes, and not have to search around. But I haven't been very creative in the kitchen, so I haven't added to the blog.

But for those that are tired of seeing blueberries on the top venue, this post is for you. ;-)

I have to mention that I've decided blogging is the best thing for me. Why? Because when I write down my plans and/or the events of the feast days, I can remind myself next year what I did. It was nice to see last year's events, and easy for me to remember what cake recipe I actually did make for the lamb.

I'm keeping meals at basic for the Triduum. After seeing Joanna Bogle on Feasts and Seasons, it made me want Hot Cross Buns, which I may buy from the grocery store. I preferred her recipe which had a flour and water cross, but the whole bun had a sugar glaze. The local ones just have icing crosses, which seem less penitential. But Mrs. Bogle said having the buns on Good Friday, even with their spicy sweetness makes that day special. It's a special food only eaten on that day (although she did mention some serve the buns on Easter morning, too).

She also mentioned something about being in the kitchen more during holydays, such as Holy Week than the rest of the year. I've been feeling guilty that I bake only during these times, that it's not a good representation of my life, and I worried I was detracting from the feast. But she said just the opposite -- spending the extra time making these treats for the holy days marks the time and food as special, unique. She said it more eloquently, but it made me feel more confident to continue.

Tonight I'm serving roast beef and mashed potatoes. We'll rushing out to get a good seat for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, but we'll try to do similar to last year.

We're spending Easter Sunday at my mother's. Her meal will be roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, asparagus, green salad, rolls, and I will bring the Lamb Cake for dessert.

I'm making two cakes, one allergy safe for my son. I can't praise enough the mixes from The Cravings Place. These are the best egg, dairy, and gluten free mixes ever. Trust me, I can't make something this good from scratch. We've now had the brownies and chocolate cake mix. Yummy, even for those who don't have to abstain from certain foods.

Easter Monday, part of the Octave of Easter, when each day is Easter Sunday all over again. I'll be serving up Ham with Spirit Glaze. I love serving ham. It makes me feel frugal, when I can whip up several meals and lunches from one ham. It also is one of my son's favorite meals.

And now to work....

Here's an entry for The Virtual Kitchen's Blueberry Bash.

This is an easy recipe from my mother-in-law, and I do believe this was her mother's recipe, also. The pie shell is a meringue crust. For my husband this recipe is a must (and comfort food) for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. It means summer is here, and evokes all sorts of cozy family summer memories.

The shell isn't pure meringue, as the crackers and nuts add some texture. The contrast of the crunchy shell and sweet smooth whipped cream and blueberries makes a delicious summer treat.

Shell:
3 egg whites, beaten stiffly
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup rolled soda crackers
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup nuts, chopped

Filling
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar, to taste
flavoring vanilla, cognac, other liqueur (optional), to taste
1 quart fresh blueberries (or other berries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar and pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, a little at a time, continue beating until stiff peaks form again.

Fold in vanilla, soda crackers and nuts.

Pour into buttered pie pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool

While baking, whip heavy cream (with sugar and flavorings). Add blueberries, mix through the cream. Chill.

After pie crust has cooled, pour filling into pie crust.

Chill until ready to serve.

I've mentioned several times that Cooking for Christ is my favorite cookbook, especially in my liturgical year cookbooks.

I do believe that cookbook was the first of its kind in America. I have searched and searched and haven't found an American cookbook on Liturgical Year cooking that predates 1949.

I have run across mention and quotes from Florence Berger in other Catholic materials, such as the National Liturgical Week of 1952, discussing the implementation of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening, instead of the morning.

I often wonder what has happened to this author. Where are her children? Did everyone remain Catholics and faithful, especially during the turbulent 60s? I haven't come across any answers on the Internet. I search for her name, Florence Berger, Florence S. Berger, Florence Elizabeth (Sudhoff) Berger, Mrs. Alfred Berger who lived from 1909 to 1983....not much. I did find an ancestry page. But I'm not sure if these really apply. I do know her husband's name was Alfred, she had 5 children, and some were mentioned in the book.

Today I found a delightful online reprint of an article from Time dated September 19, 1949, entitled: Christ in the Kitchen. This was a kind of press release for the book before it hit the bookstores. It's enjoyable to read, as it brings the author more to life of her more happier times.

And it intensified my enjoyment of this invaluable treasure even more.

There's a new thread entitled Catholic Cookbooks at the 4RealLearning Forums. Liturgical Year reading and cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I admit my focus has changed somewhat since ds' food allergy diagnosis, but I still love reading the traditions and foods connected to the liturgical feasts and seasons.

While I have a series of posts planned on why liturgical cooking, I wrote this summary a while back:

Why do I do liturgical cooking? Because through food I can use symbolism, culture, history, and catechesis in all different varieties through the foods I serve at the table. Meals are natural conversation starters. They are the perfect place to start discussing the saint or feast of the day, the connections with the food, etc.

This has been done through the centuries. I'm not having an original thought. I like being I'm in touch with Catholics centuries before me in cooking for the feasts. It's follows the definition of Catholic -- it's universal, spanning the globe and time.

Some of my favorite liturgical cookbooks:

• OOP Cooking for Christ: Your Liturgical Cookbook by Florence Berger, my first and favorite. A revised version is available from NCRLC, although I'm partial to the original. Why is it my favorite cookbook? I haven't done many of the recipes, but I LOVE her discussions. She writes like you are sitting at her kitchen table enjoying some coffee together.



• OOP Catholic Traditions in Cooking by Ann Ball.



• Feast Day Cookbook by Helmut Ripperger reprinted. You can view the .pdf file.



• OOP Catholic Cookbook by William Kaufman



• OOP The Cook's Blessings by Demetria Taylor



• OOP Helen McLoughlin's My Nameday -- Come for Dessert, Liturgical Press, 1962. She also wrote 3 pamphlets, which are also out of print, but my some of my favorite references:
  
  Family Advent Customs (.pdf file), Liturgical Press, 1954, 1979.
  
  Christmas to Candlemas in a Catholic Home (.pdf file), Liturgical Press, 1954.
  
  Family Customs: Easter to Pentecost, Liturgical Press, 1956, 1979. Her Easter pamphlet is not online in entirety. If you Google the title and author, and ask to show omitted results, CatholicCulture.org has much of her book online.

These cookbooks aren't Catholic in origin, but really cover many feast days:

• Festa: Recipes and Recollections of Italian Holidays by Helen Barolini. I love reading her descriptions of Italian feasts. And the recipes are quite good.
  
  
• Celebration Breads: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions by Betsy Oppenneer. Bread recipes from all over the world for different feasts. Great variety, terrific detailed instructions.



• Feasting for Festivals by Jan Wilson is OOP, but there are very cheap copies available from Amazon. I think this is Anglican, but there are wonderful recipes and crafts from a British viewpoint.



• I am happy to see Festive Food of Ireland by Darina Allen back in print. I bought a copy when I was in Ireland 10 years ago. It's a beautiful little book, decorated with Celtic illustrations and great photos and the recipes all have accompanying descriptions of the Irish customs.

The following have recipes, but are not dedicated cookbooks:

• OOP Around the Year with the Trapp Family: Keeping the Feasts and Seasons of the Liturgical Year by Maria Von Trapp, a classic for the family liturgical living. I have uploaded the text and some graphics in this Around the Year with the Trapp Family blog and this is the text version.



• OOP Catholic Parent Book of Feasts by Michaelann Martin



• OOP The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland (only a few recipes).



• Book of Feasts and Seasons by Joanna Bogle (she also blogs).



• Women for Faith and Family has some Sourcebooks with recipes



• Celebrating the Faith in the Home Series by Teresa Zepeda and Laurie Navar Gill from Emmanuel Books.

I have many others, but this post is already overwhelming. I enjoy all of Brother Victor-Antopine d'Avila-Latourrette's cookbooks. Ethel Marbach (Pochocki) had a few pamphlets and Holy Housewife Cookbook that are extremely enjoyable to read. And there are two cookbooks, The Lenten Kitchen and The Advent Kitchen by Barbara Benjamin and Alexandria Damascus Vali that contain some healthy and tasty recipes for the fasting seasons.

If you put on the "Liturgical Year Mindset" almost any cookbook can become your helper for Liturgical cooking. I love thumbing through different ethnic cookbooks to find recipes named after saints, or made especially for the feast days. So many countries the saints and feasts were tightly woven into daily, secular life, and the cookbooks reflect this pattern.

What's on your shelf? Any ones that you can recommend?

One of our staples in our wheat free pantry is Tinkyada Rice Pasta. We use it to replace all pasta, noodles, spaghetti, etc. It was an easy transition, and we all enjoy the pasta at our meals. I try to make extra for lunches or dinners for my son, particularly if we are out or traveling. I usually make a whole bag, which can last for two dinner meals and extra lunches.

I follow the package directions for cooking. I drain and rinse the pasta well (otherwise it just sticks together). After that I add vegetable oil or Smart Balance margarine. I reheat the noodles briefly in the microwave before serving (if I'm serving alone as a side dish -- rinsing makes them cold).

The problem is leftovers. Rice pasta doesn't always reheat well. It can get hard and not palatable. But this week I made a discovery that will revolutionize our leftover pasta dilemma! (Those who do not use a microwave can just skip this entry.) Perhaps we're the only family with this problem, but the problem is solved.

On Thursday I was reheating a half batch of noodles I had made on Monday. They were cold and hard. My first attempt at just heating them for a minute in the microwave warmed them, but did not soften then. But then I added some canned chicken stock, just a tablespoon or two to the noodles, heated for a minute or two and eureka! Soft palatable noodles, like they were just cooked. Water might work, but the chicken stock added a touch of flavor.

For a smaller batch, like an individual serving for my son's lunch, I'll cover the dish with a dampened paper towel and reheat for about 30 seconds to refresh the noodles. When you don't do sandwiches, you have to come up with some tasty carb alternatives.