The 4th Annual St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest

The 4th Annual St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest is taking place over at The Virtual Saint Joseph Altar until the end of the month. Be sure to head on over to check out all the beautiful Altars that have been set up in honor of this beloved Saint, or to share pictures of your own.

You can find pictures of my family's St. Joseph Altar 

over at Shower of Roses! 

Read more »

Celebrating Saint Joseph :: Gluten-Free Brownie Staff with Coconut Ice Cream

The following post was submitted by Mary at Better Than Eden, in honor of today's feast of St. Joseph!  Thank you Mary! 

We're taking the day off in honor of today's Solemnity of St. Joseph. I thought about taking the kids somewhere but Brian had to go to work and they seem just as happy building forts in the playroom. I was trying to think of a special way to celebrate today. I've never actually understood why St. Joseph's Day is traditionally an Italian thing. I guess they just like him a lot. We're not Italian so we've never done all those neat traditions and I've never even been to a St. Joseph's Table. I'd love to learn more about them all but in the meantime, I think we'll celebrate in a different way.

I decided that in honor of Saint Joseph we would treat our own family's Saint Joseph to a feast tonight. We're having rib-eye steak, baked potatoes, and glazed carrots.
And for dessert I spent this morning making his favorite...brownies.

Normally, Solemnities for us mean a suspension of any Lenten fasts but since we've been testing the gluten-free thing so long, I want to keep it going, hence the black bean brownies.
So here's what we're treating ourselves to tonight.

I had some black bean cake at a friend's house the other day and we were shocked with how much it tasted just like regular cake. It was delicious! So today I used this recipe for black bean brownies but made a few changes (don't you think it's hysterical when people write reviews like that? Like..."This recipe is perfect! I just switched out the apples and used potatoes, then I added shredded chocolate and increased the sugar from 1/4 cup to 3 1/2 cups. I also decided not to bake it and boil it instead. Oh, and I added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and truffle oil on top. Superb. This is my FAVORITE recipe!!" But I totally do the same thing.) So here's what I did:

Blend 1 can of rinsed black beans, 3 eggs, 3 tbsp. banana (not pictured), 3 tbsp. oil, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 c. cocoa powder, and 3/4 c. sugar.  I also added about 3/4 c. crushed walnuts because we like them.

I used our immersion blender and blended everything completely. I put in the beans and eggs first just to make sure the beans were completely pureed then added everything else.

After lots of internal debate and going through my cupboards to figure out how best to make a "Joseph's staff" shape, I decided on using a loaf pan and a circle pie pan. I greased both with butter and filled the pie pan half as deep with batter as the loaf pan. You can see in the picture how I cut the circle in half, stacked them and did a tiny bit of shaping to make it look sort of staff-esque. The extra pieces may or may not have ended up in my mouth as a "taste test."

The lily was a spur of the moment spark of liturgical genius. I used marshmallows cut in half, smooshed and sort of shaped like petals and a yellow licorice Trader Joe's candy leftover from Christmas (my kids sure know how to save their candy as long as possible...). The leaves I cut off a pineapple that happened to be in the fridge. This is why people think I'm a weirdo.

Because one of my husband's favorite things is a brownie sundae with bananas, I decided to experiment with a coconut milk ice cream creation. I couldn't find one faux ice cream recipe that used ingredients I had on hand so here's what I did:

Blend 1 can coconut milk, 1 banana, 1 tbsp. vanilla, and 2 tbsp. coconut nectar.

I again used my Cuisinart immersion blender which is one of the most used kitchen tools I own. I blended a while until it was well mixed and had whipped a tad. I chilled for about an hour and then put it in the ice cream maker for about 15 minutes. And...it worked! It looks like ice cream and tastes pretty good! It has more of a light banana flavor than I would prefer but I think the husband will enjoy it. We'll add some sliced bananas and chocolate syrup when it's time to put it all together.

I think St. Joseph will be pleased that I'm attempting to honor him and his fatherhood of Jesus by honoring my husband. Perhaps that's what he would want more than me stuffing myself with spaghetti which was the other option for the evening. Here's hoping that my interior resolution made early this morning to give him the evening off and lead the boys in serving him doesn't give way to the 5-7 p.m. daily occurrence of me wanting to curl up in a corner covering my ears after throwing all the children at him as he walks in the door. I'm much better intentioned and grace-filled at 10 a.m. than I am at 5 p.m. Is that just me?

At least today there'll be brownies.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Read more »

Italian Balsamic Honey Bean Salad for St. Joseph

Italian Balsamic Honey Bean Salad

This dish can be made on either feast of Saint Joseph to represent Italy's devotion to Saint Joseph and the symbolism of the fava bean in their devotion. 

Italian Balsamic Honey Bean Salad

any variety of cooked beans (we used white navy and garbanzo beans)

chopped raw baby spinach

diced tomatoes (Roma or grape best)

sauteed sweet onions (or raw if that is your preference)

balsamic vinegar (good quality, ours is from Italy but it can be just a symbol of Italy)

honey

olive oil

lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix beans, spinach, tomatoes and onions gingerly in a large serving bowl. In a separate small bowl mix a 2:1:1:1 ratio of balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil and lemon juice. This ratio really is to your individual liking as it is just the dressing for the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress the salad before serving. 

Saint Joseph, pray for us!!

Read more »

Italian Cream Cupcakes

The following recipe was submitted by Hi Cookery in honor of today's feast of St. Joseph and the Installation of Pope Francis. Thank you Highlander and Islander!  Update: I just created a Vatican Flag Cupcake Printable for you all. Here is the link! 

Habemus papam—we have a pope! Congratulations to Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who was elected as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013. This is a significant event for the billions of Catholics worldwide as the church struggles to stay grounded in Christian morality in a predominantly secular society, deal with scandals and controversy, continue its rich historical traditions, grow in modern times and still keep the faith.

Succeeding Pope Benedict XVI, Francis is a Jesuit priest of Italian immigrant parents in Argentina, whose papal name was taken after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of Italy. Before first blessing those gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on the night of his election, Pope Francis asked that they pray for him. He surely needs our prayers, as being head of the church is not an easy task.

While baking Italian cream cupcakes for a pope prayer party for Islander’s brother’s students, we prayed that the Holy See is made an instrument of the Lord’s peace during his tenure as pope. We topped the cupcakes with tiny Vatican flags instead of a pecan for a festive Francis food. May God bless Pope Francis!

Recipe
(Adapted from Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn)

For the Italian Cream Cupcakes

• 1 box (18.25 ounces) yellow, white or French vanilla cake mix (we recommend Duncan Hines brand)
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons coconut flavoring
• 1 cup flaked coconut, sweetened
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, vegetable oil and eggs. Blend well until smooth.

Mix in the coconut flavoring. Fold in the flaked coconut and chopped pecans.

Scoop the batter into 24 cupcake papers lining a muffin pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. Prepare the frosting.

For the coconut and cream cheese frosting

• 1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used clear vanilla flavoring)
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1+ tablespoons water or milk (optional)
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• pecan half (optional)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in the butter until well blended with the cream cheese. Stir in the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar a cup at a time and mix until smooth. Add water or milk to the frosting, if necessary, to make a spreadable consistency.

Use a spatula to spread frosting on top of the cupcakes. Dip the frosted cupcakes into a small bowl of coconut flakes. Decorate with a pecan half or mini Vatican City flags.

Notes

• We used a yellow cake mix and a white coconut cream cheese frosting to match the colors of the Vatican flag.
• Boost the coconut flavor in the cream cheese frosting by substituting the vanilla for a teaspoon of coconut flavoring. Toast the sweetened coconut flakes to bring out the fruitiness as well as add some color to the cupcakes.
• The parish we attend, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, is proud to bear the name of new pope!
• Make Italian cream cupcakes for the installation of Pope Francis on March 19, the Feast Day of St. Joseph, or on October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis.

Read more »

St. Patrick's Day Pudding

Last year my boys had their final Hockey game of the season followed by a potluck for the families, on St. Patrick's Day! In an effort to tie in the feast day in addition to a few morning treats along with Cinnamon Shamrocks I decided to take a Green Pudding dessert!  This delicious dessert only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and it was one of the first things gone at the potluck.  My kids have already asked if we can make it again this year.

St. Patrick's Day Pudding

adapted from McCormick

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes (4-serving size each) vanilla instant pudding (or you can use pistachio pudding and eliminate the green food coloring} 
• 3 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon green food coloring
• 1-8oz. tub of Whipped Topping 
• 1-18oz pkg. Oreos, coarsely crushed
• Shamrock candies, cookies, etc. for garnish

Directions:

Pour milk into large bowl. Stir in food coloring. Add pudding mixes and beat with a wire whisk 2 minutes or till well blended. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir in Cool Whip.

In a trifle bowl layer the crushed cookies and pudding mixture, beginning and ending with the crushed cookies.

Garnish as desired. (I used Shamrock Candies to represent the Trinity!) Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve.

Additional recipes for the feast of St. Patrick can be found in the archives! 

Read more »

Shamrock Soup

The following recipe was submitted by Joanna Cichy in honor of the upcoming feast of St. Patrick! Thank you Joanna! 

In our house an ordinary pot of cream of broccoli soup becomes "Shamrock Soup" on St. Patrick's day.  It's great as a main meatless meal during Lent or as a first course for a celebratory meal.

Shamrock Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 TBS butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 TBS flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3-4 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8-1/4 black pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot melt butter on medium heat. Sautee onions and celery until tender. Add the flour, whisking until combined. Add the 2 cups of milk and turn the heat to high. Whisk constantly until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and add the remaining 4 cups of milk. Add the broccoli, salt, and pepper. Turn up the heat to medium high/high and bring to a gentle simmer, whisking on occasion so as to not scald the bottom of the pan and to prevent over boiling. Turn to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Serve with a pot of gold (bowl of shredded cheese) and some potato rolls!

Serves 6-8

Additional recipes for the feast of St. Patrick can be found in the archives!

Read more »