How Does Your Family Celebrate Catholic Food?

[Phemie]

If that were possible, it would be a great solution. Poke around the internet a little and see what you find.

**I have my doubts, though, as in my experience, the bread machine is best for conventional white breads. I’ve had disappointing results with whole wheat.
**
On the other hand, it may be possible to use the bread machine cycles (the kneading and rising–which it is very well suited for) for gluten free and then bake in the oven. (That’s what you do for pizza dough and challah–do the kneading and rising in the machine, but bake outside.) But, again, do some research–I bet there’s a lot of online discussion on this.

I concur. I found the bread machine good for white but since I prefer whole wheat or multigrain, it didn’t satisfy.

The bread I make most often now is a beer pepper bread made with about 50/50 whole wheat and white. It’s great to accompany a meal or for meat sandwiches and is the absolute best for turkey sandwiches after the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner particularly when served with cranberry-orange relish. Not so good with peanut butter or jam.

 

[EasterJoy]

…Catholic food on the other hand means Universal, which is what I eat. I eat everything she puts in front of me so I think she has it in hand…

Seriously, though, bringing a child up Catholic does mean bringing them up to eat whatever is put in front of them with gratitude and an open mind.

I apologize up front for being old fashioned…Catholic women are guilty of wanting more than their mothers and grandmothers. More education, more career, more money, more furniture, more cars, more houses and on and on.

More of all of that results in less of what our ancestors gave to their children and their husbands. Less time. Less simplicity. Less holiness…

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

a) who on earth really believes that the worldliness that infects the Church is something that the women alone are guilty of?

b) who told you that your mother (married post WWII) or your grandmother or any of the rest of your ancestors did not want a better standard of living than her parents had? How on earth did these American Catholics get to American shores, if they all had the attitude that holiness was being content with your lot in life right where you were born?

c) do we really believe that a couple open to the gift of a large family is worldly because the two of them have discerned that it takes two paychecks to feed their family and send them to Catholic schools?

On a final note: Please clarify that you would never dream of failing to teach your sons to cook and maintain a household, and to expect that they would be just as responsible for domestic chores as their wives would be, and that it is their job to learn to make the traditional dishes that they hope their children to enjoy one day. I hope none of us would even remotely imply to our sons that their sisters should not want an education or that holiness in the domestic Church is a woman’s job. It was the Church, after all, who raised up the greatest pioneers of universal education.

I say this because it is so difficult for a Catholic woman to raise devout children when her husband is not devout. It is difficult to raise children who are grateful or who expect to pitch in with the work when they see one parent expecting to leave the other do all the tedious day-to-day chores alone when both have to work for a salary to make ends meet.

It is a great thing to raise children to love simplicity and holiness and who see the folly of worldliness, but it takes two to do that. If you want your son to attract a generous, simple and holy Catholic woman, you are wise to raise him up to value simplicity and holiness himself and to expect himself to be generous with his time in the service of others.

The rich, after all, look to marry the rich. We should not teach our children to think spiritual riches an exception.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

There was a program hosted by a lovely British woman on EWTN that discussed specific Catholic food traditions. I don’t remember her name or name of the program.

In my family I can think of a number of foods we’d have for Catholic Holidays.

1. Christmas Eve was fish and seafood. I guess to abstain from meat. At midnight Christmas Eve, we would then have sausages braised in wine.
2. Easter would be lamb. And cute marzipan lambies.
3. St Joseph’s day, many would set up a St Joseph’s table of foods to offer to the poor. I believe that most dishes were meatless. So pasta con le sarde would be a dish . It’s pasta with sardines, fennel and a breadcrumb topping. And then zeppole which are delicious pastries filled with ricotta cream or with custard and candied fruit. Yum.
4. St. Agatha is the patron saint of Catania. There was a special cream filled pastry for her honor. That isn’t my family’s tradition, just another Sicilian tradition.
5. For the feast of St. Lucy, cooked cracked wheat. I guess to symbolize her eyes.
6. Growing up, Ash Wednesday our main meal would be pasta e ceci. Noodles with chick peas olive oil parsley and black pepper.
7. And the feast of St. Martin was the day that the wine would be fermented enough to be actually considered wine. So there would be dinner with roasted meat, and wine.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I have mild gluten intolerance. Is it possible to make gluten free breads in the bread machine?

My sister has full blown celiac. If it’s a brand new machine that’s never made gluten bread, yes you can use it.

For us, I can’t use my toaster to make toast for her. She had to get rid of her toaster, and her colander because it can have trace amounts of gluten.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I don’t see any difference in Catholic food than in Protestant food.

I grew up with nuns, and I helped them in their garden, so I grew up with fresh vegetables and very, very plain food. We ate to stay alive, we didn’t live to eat. So today I eat what is supposed to be healthy - fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, tuna and salmon. Very, very little junk food or empty calories. No red meat! None. I never had a soda growing up, and can’t stand them now, so if I feel like something sweet I usually drink coconut water. I will have two cookies over the weekend, oatmeal or chocolate-peanut butter, and I’ll eat a piece of cake or pie on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Maybe on Easter That’s it. I don’t cook for anyone but myself, but if I did, they’d eat the same things I do or they’d have to go elsewhere.

But what is Catholic food? I’ve never heard that expression before.

So no feasting on Holidays and on Sunday? Even Franciscans have feasts on Holidays.

 

[catholicmamajoy]

There was a program hosted by a lovely British woman on EWTN that discussed specific Catholic food traditions. I don’t remember her name or name of the program.

In my family I can think of a number of foods we’d have for Catholic Holidays.

1. Christmas Eve was fish and seafood. I guess to abstain from meat. At midnight Christmas Eve, we would then have sausages braised in wine.
2. Easter would be lamb. And cute marzipan lambies.
3. St Joseph’s day, many would set up a St Joseph’s table of foods to offer to the poor. I believe that most dishes were meatless. So pasta con le sarde would be a dish . It’s pasta with sardines, fennel and a breadcrumb topping. And then zeppole which are delicious pastries filled with ricotta cream or with custard and candied fruit. Yum.
4. St. Agatha is the patron saint of Catania. There was a special cream filled pastry for her honor. That isn’t my family’s tradition, just another Sicilian tradition.
5. For the feast of St. Lucy, cooked cracked wheat. I guess to symbolize her eyes.
6. Growing up, Ash Wednesday our main meal would be pasta e ceci. Noodles with chick peas olive oil parsley and black pepper.
7. And the feast of St. Martin was the day that the wine would be fermented enough to be actually considered wine. So there would be dinner with roasted meat, and wine.

Joanna Bogle was the host of that show. She has couple of lovely books about celebrating the liturgical year within the family.

I have read this one and love it.
amazon.com/Book-Feasts-Seasons-Joanna-Bogle/dp/0852442173/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462033589&sr=8-
3&keywords=joanna+bogle

A similar one.
amazon.com/Yearbook-Seasons-Celebrations-Joanna-Bogle/dp/0852441290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462033589&sr=8-1&keywords=joanna+bogle

Did anyone else find it odd or ironic that while the original posting seemed to “call out” aspirations of higher education for women, her signature or tag line mentioned St Gianna- a married medical doctor with children? I’m thinking St Gianna probably made some wonderful Italian food for her family while still being able to practice medicine. As someone else mentioned earlier, higher education (and a career outside the home) and being a good homemaker aren’t mutually exclusive. Let’s end the “Mommy Wars”.

 

[catholicmamajoy]

Husband and I share cooking, based on whatever is being prepared. He’s a far better baker and grillmaster than I am, so Iet him handle the BBQing and cakes and cookies. I usually shop for the food, since I’m currently an at-home wife and mother and have a little more time to do so, plus I don’t mind going to several stores for better deals and specific items. When I worked outside the home, we’d usually shop at Sam’s together once a week and I’d hit the regular groceries during the week on the days I had off. We try and celebrate specific saints’ feast days and Holy days within the liturgical year by meals or a dessert. I have gotten the majority of ideas for those meals from the following cookbooks:

A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz

Catholic Traditions in Cooking by Ann Ball

Building the Family (volumes one and two) by Suzanne Fowler

Various cookbooks from Br Victor D’Avila-Latourrette

Feast! by Daniel and Haley Stewart

Family, Festivals, and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large

As far as ethnic food traditions, our ancestors (from Scandinavia and far Eastern Europe) have been in the US since the latter part of the 19th century, so very few things have been carried over into our own childhoods.

 

[LaughingBoy1503]

Catholic Food = Food that Catholics often enjoy eating.

It does seem like a strange term, but there’s no special meaning behind it.

Yeah, I figured that much but I can honestly say I hope the term never catches on

 

[Book_Worm]

The reason is because if a man posted something like this he would be labeled a sexist misogynist meanie head… the social engineering worked now we have the world we have

How on earth do you get that from the post you quoted? Does even a lovely post like this on Catholic traditions of food and family life have to have a political undertone? I guess that, like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Phemie]

If you’re looking for something for a specific feast or holy day I can honestly say that we have only 2 traditions:

1. fried fish cakes (made of mashed potatoes, flaked salt cod & onions) and tossed salad for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and,
2. meat pie for the after Midnight Mass réveillon at Christmas and through the Christmas season.

Meat pie where I come from differs greatly from the tourtière popular in Québec. They use ground beef and pork. We also use pork and beef but we’ll throw in chicken or turkey, and any wild meat we can get our hands on: generally rabbit or deer but also moose if we can get it. Caribou would be the wild meat of choice here in Labrador, though now the hunt is banned. The meat is not ground but stewed with onions and seasonings and then cooled, chopped up and mixed with enough of the cooking broth to make a moist filling that won’t dry when baked. Some add cubed potatoes but I’ve never liked that much so I don’t add it to mine. The pie is sprinkled with ground cloves before the top crust is put on.

 

[Book_Worm]

I come from a family where good food was the norm, love to cook, and have been told I’m good at it. I find great pleasure in preparing a delicious meal and sitting around the table sharing it with friends and family.

However, I’ve found it to be much more difficult of late. My DH was diagnosed as pre-diabetic last year, and I’ve had to change my habits and learn new skills. We eat very little meat and almost no sauces. Lots of salads and vegetables. I think I’ve done a good job adapting, and DH’s counts are now in the normal range, but I have found that it’s somwhat difficult to forget about 50 years of cooking knowledge and start all over. It’s definitely in the “challenge” category rather tha a joy.

Additionally, the proliferation of food allergies and intolerances has also made cooking for others more difficult. Every meal for extended family now has to take into consideration gluten and lactose intolerances as well as my beloved DGS’s milk, egg, cheese, peanut, tree nut, and shellfish allergies. And that’s before you even start to think about food preferences, likes, and dislikes.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

Joanna Bogle was the host of that show. She has couple of lovely books about celebrating the liturgical year within the family.

I have read this one and love it.
amazon.com/Book-Feasts-Seasons-Joanna-Bogle/dp/0852442173/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462033589&sr=8-
3&keywords=joanna+bogle

A similar one.
amazon.com/Yearbook-Seasons-Celebrations-Joanna-Bogle/dp/0852441290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462033589&sr=8-1&keywords=joanna+bogle

Did anyone else find it odd or ironic that while the original posting seemed to “call out” aspirations of higher education for women, her signature or tag line mentioned St Gianna- a married medical doctor with children? I’m thinking St Gianna probably made some wonderful Italian food for her family while still being able to practice medicine. As someone else mentioned earlier, higher education (and a career outside the home) and being a good homemaker aren’t mutually exclusive. Let’s end the “Mommy Wars”.

Thank you for the name and book suggestions!!

And, I am sure St. Gianna, being Italian cooked wonderful meals. I think it’s genetic…

 

[Phemie]

Additionally, the proliferation of food allergies and intolerances has also made cooking for others more difficult. Every meal for extended family now has to take into consideration gluten and lactose intolerances as well as my beloved DGS’s milk, egg, cheese, peanut, tree nut, and shellfish allergies. And that’s before you even start to think about food preferences, likes, and dislikes.

Yes, allergies do make things more difficult. All three of my kids were allergic to milk and the boys were allergic to eggs. The boys’ allergies disappeared by the time they were 3 or 4 but DD’s milk allergy has never disappeared. She still breaks out in hives when she comes into touch contact with milk so imagine the planning that went into nursing an older child who loves cheese & yogurt.

That said, I learned to use olive oil for frying instead of butter or margarine, to read every label (who knew chocolate POPSICLES contained milk??), and if necessary I learned to portion out her meal before I went on to add last minute ingredients she couldn’t eat, (buttered veggies, cheese toppings, etc.).

 

[jaimeleglise]

Our family did not have special liturgical foods. Maybe it depends on your ethnicity. We observed the no meat on Lenten Fridays and fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

The only thing that comes to mind are hot cross buns and chocolate rabbits.

 

[Dolores49]

Catholic food?

What’s considered Catholic food?

.

Dear DaddyGirl, Catholic food is shorthand for “recipes that celebrate traditional liturgical Catholic feast days and seasons.” Liturgical Seasons are Advent, Christmas, Saints Days, Lent and Easter. Includes Saint Patrick’s Day. Catholics can even celebrate their Saint’s Day, the saint chosen as their patron.

If you want to learn more, please visit this great resource, Catholic Culture: Catholic Liturgical Year. The page has a list of 186 recipes for the entire year. catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/

“Celebrations surrounding feast days are an integral part of our Catholic tradition. The custom of sharing food and festivities after liturgical events is a practice that has been observed for ages.
Each and every Christian country has its share of traditional dishes made from recipes handed down for generations. Many times the entire meal is prescribed by custom and its least detail is symbolic in meaning. We hope that you will find many recipes that you will enjoy trying and that in doing so you will enter more fully — even in the natural order — into the Church’s celebration of its mysteries. Note that there are many similar recipes to compare and discover the best version for your own family.”

I hope you are inspired!

 

[Dolores49]

Yeah, I figured that much but I can honestly say I hope the term never catches on

Well, Google “Catholic food” dearie!

In response to DaddyGirl, I also posted a good explanation today. If you don’t see it let me know.

 

[Sarcelle]

Dear DaddyGirl, Catholic food is shorthand for “recipes that celebrate traditional liturgical Catholic feast days and seasons.” Liturgical Seasons are Advent, Christmas, Saints Days, Lent and Easter. Includes Saint Patrick’s Day. Catholics can even celebrate their Saint’s Day, the saint chosen as their patron.

If you want to learn more, please visit this great resource, Catholic Culture: Catholic Liturgical Year. The page has a list of 186 recipes for the entire year. catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/

“Celebrations surrounding feast days are an integral part of our Catholic tradition. The custom of sharing food and festivities after liturgical events is a practice that has been observed for ages.
Each and every Christian country has its share of traditional dishes made from recipes handed down for generations. Many times the entire meal is prescribed by custom and its least detail is symbolic in meaning. We hope that you will find many recipes that you will enjoy trying and that in doing so you will enter more fully — even in the natural order — into the Church’s celebration of its mysteries. Note that there are many similar recipes to compare and discover the best version for your own family.”

I hope you are inspired!

Thank you for the link. I am inspired. I already have my eye on a few of those recipes.

 

[Dolores49]

Joanna Bogle was the host of that show. She has couple of lovely books about celebrating the liturgical year within the family.

Did anyone else find it odd or ironic that while the original posting seemed to “call out” aspirations of higher education for women, her signature or tag line mentioned St Gianna- a married medical doctor with children? I’m thinking St Gianna probably made some wonderful Italian food for her family while still being able to practice medicine. As someone else mentioned earlier, higher education (and a career outside the home) and being a good homemaker aren’t mutually exclusive. Let’s end the “Mommy Wars”.

Dear catholicmamajoy, the Mommy Wars are in the head. St. Gianna was the exception not the rule, okay? She likely had a full time cook! I know women who put on a good image who have full time cooks.

 

[catholicmamajoy]

Dear catholicmamajoy, the Mommy Wars are in the head. St. Gianna was the exception not the rule, okay? She likely had a full time cook! I know women who put on a good image who have full time cooks.

No dear, Mommy Wars are when we have one demographic of mothers insisting their way is the better way for all mothers regardless of the situation**. In 2016, St Gianna is the rule (and role model) for those who work outside the home- God, Family, Career. I know plenty of women who work outside the home and are still good homemakers. I used to be one and within a couple years, will be one again. I don’t know any women who have full time cooks, regardless of their own employment status and why should it matter? You don’t have to be at home all day to be a good homemaker and insisting one does is just adding to the Mommy Wars. Sure, some women choose not to work outside the home (right now, I’m one of them), but that doesn’t make me any less of a good homemaker when I decide to return to work., It just means a little more effort in doing things or delegating things.

 

[Dolores49]

Husband and I share cooking, based on whatever is being prepared. He’s a far better baker and grillmaster than I am, so Iet him handle the BBQing and cakes and cookies. I usually shop for the food, since I’m currently an at-home wife and mother and have a little more time to do so, plus I don’t mind going to several stores for better deals and specific items. When I worked outside the home, we’d usually shop at Sam’s together once a week and I’d hit the regular groceries during the week on the days I had off. We try and celebrate specific saints’ feast days and Holy days within the liturgical year by meals or a dessert. I have gotten the majority of ideas for those meals from the following cookbooks:

A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz
Catholic Traditions in Cooking by Ann Ball
Building the Family (volumes one and two) by Suzanne Fowler
Various cookbooks from Br Victor D’Avila-Latourrette
Feast! by Daniel and Haley Stewart
Family, Festivals, and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large

As far as ethnic food traditions, our ancestors (from Scandinavia and far Eastern Europe) have been in the US since the latter part of the 19th century, so very few things have been carried over into our own childhoods.

Great ideas, thank you for joining the conversation.

Check out the Catholic food blogs, too, for inspiration –
CatholicFoodie.com
thecatholictable.com/
catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/
mycatholickitchen.com

I have a new Catholic food blog, thewisershopper.wordpress.com . I hope you’ll visit and be inspired to celebrate the Catholic traditions through food! Maybe you’ll start your own Catholic food blog – we need more.