How Does Your Family Celebrate Catholic Food?

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Dolores49 said:
I apologize up front for being old fashioned. The Way To A Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach. That motto was followed by my maternal grandmother, my mother and continues to be followed by me. I’m in my 60’s. As a retired couple, we cook and plan our meals together. It is a never ending love fest. Of food. Of each other.

I raised our daughter in this way. Her husband-to-be remarked, “Gee, no one ever cooked for me before.” Goal! He proposed, she’s only 21 at the time – there’s more work to be done (she no longer goes to Mass; he’s kind of an atheist).

**Recently, we’ve recognized a distinct disconnect of Catholics “in the world.” Another way of saying this is, 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.**

Why should celebrity chefs, upscale restaurants, cookbook authors, and cable food shows take the place of the lovely family meal??

What are you doing to keep those fires in the stove burning?? Are you deeply focused on the family meals? Do both husband and wife share the kitchen duties? Shop together? Does your family treasure the Catholic Seasons? Through food?
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This was the part that was a wee bit offensive.

Is it the case that cooking is the only way to show love? For instance, in my family this evening, we had a “simple” cafeteria dinner, and my husband is taking the kids out in a canoe now. Wouldn’t it be rather bad if I were sniffing at all the kitchen-mad families slaving over a stove and dishes instead of giving their children healthful outdoor exercise?

There are so many different enjoyable things to do as a family, and cooking is only one of them.
 
Dolores49 said:
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.
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In her biography, she does have family members who assist with her children while she was in clinic and I would guess that includes cooking and housework, but even for a middle-class Italian family in the late 1950s and early 1960s, they did not have the same time-saving conveniences we do know, in terms of appliances, cleaning supplies, etc., so extra household help probably was needed, compared to moms today. I think she is an excellent model for those women who choose to pursue a higher education and have a career, even when there are little ones. As far as Mommy Wars…I suppose one could consider them “in the head”, but the sentiments in the Mommy Wars (working vs being at home, breast vs bottle, cloth vs disposable, private vs public vs homeschooling, etc) sure get debated a lot online these days. My take on that is “do what works best for you and your family and don’t be afraid to reevalute those choices if need be, but don’t discourage your fellow moms when their choices don’t mirror your own”.
 
catholicmamajoy said:
“do what works best for you and your family and don’t be afraid to reevalute those choices if need be, but don’t discourage your fellow moms when their choices don’t mirror your own”.
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Excellent advice for both sides of the debate.👍
 
Dolores49 said:
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.
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No need, no family to celebrate anything Catholic with as I am the only Catholic in the family. I am more than sure the term is not found in The Catechism so what would a goole search prove anyways? I still don’t like the term.
 
Dolores49 said:
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.
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Thank you for the links, Dolores49!
Perhaps if people took time to read some of the writings on them, they would see how food is tied into the different feast days and holy days. To say that food is Catholic is a misnomer. Of course it is the same food that everyone else eats, Catholic or not. And eating Kosher food does not make me Jewish.😉

However, it seems to me that the people that are so “upset” by the term are upset by the initial mis-wording of the OP’s post. I understand it as foods eaten for Catholic feasts and holy days. I love the idea because in hearing the story behind the food, and then eating it (say, Hot Cross Buns, for example) I find for myself, a connection to the feast, or the saint. It causes me to reflect on them, and maybe pray in a different, new way.

I think the difference is that some people eat just to survive. They may eat the “best” things for their bodies. And that is good.

But other people eat foods that may also satisfy their need for a connection in all things to their faith. The foods take on a deeper meaning when it can lead, or remind us of our Catholicism. And that is also good!
 
Xantippe said:
This was the part that was a wee bit offensive.

Is it the case that cooking is the only way to show love? For instance, in my family this evening, we had a “simple” cafeteria dinner, and my husband is taking the kids out in a canoe now. Wouldn’t it be rather bad if I were sniffing at all the kitchen-mad families slaving over a stove and dishes instead of giving their children healthful outdoor exercise?

There are so many different enjoyable things to do as a family, and cooking is only one of them.
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True. My mom and I used to bond over gardening. We love raising flowers, especially roses, together.

There are family board games, hiking, exploring new places together, going to the planetarium or museum.

I come from a family of cooks who like to show off their culinary skills. The men are even more passionate about cooking than the women. I always gain weight when I attend family events.
 
Phemie said:
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.).
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Who knew that McDonald’s French fries contained milk?
 
Book_Worm said:
Who knew that McDonald’s French fries contained milk?
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They don’t in Canada where the list of ingredients that go into McD’s fries differs slightly from that of the US. Here they use safflower oil, but do not use natural beef flavour, hydrolyzed wheat or hydrolyzed milk.
 
We have food that tradionally matches the feast days too-

I think it’s nice to create a loving Catholic family home, but the focus should not be on food alone, and if it is I hope that there is such a thing as Catholic food portion control, especially for growing kids. It can be dangerous to fill children’s emotional needs with food, as it makes one prone to obesity–

Also, all Catholic women want the same things as their ancestors did-to lead their family to heaven, and reflecting God’s love to them. That looks different in every family as xantippe said.
 
A Continual Feast by Evelyn Berg Vitz. It’s about how different cultures celebrate the liturgical year, complete with recipes. Wonderful book. 👍
 
The problem with “feast day” foods is that everyone loves them. That’s not really a problem, but it is up to you to make King Cake or Gumbo Z’Herbes something religious. Most traditional ethnic foods were too good to keep.

There isn’t a religious reason it has to be King Cake you use to celebrate the season from Epiphany to Shrove Tuesday, and–OK, some will argue with me–there is no reason your King Cake has to be just the way the sisters made them at the convent 100 years ago, either.

What is not so important is who puts the trouble in to observe the year in the domestic church or what they do, whether it is flowers or decorations or food or activities particular to that season, but that there are observances meaningful to the family.
 
EasterJoy said:
The problem with “feast day” foods is that everyone loves them. That’s not really a problem, but it is up to you to make King Cake or Gumbo Z’Herbes something religious. Most traditional ethnic foods were too good to keep.

There isn’t a religious reason it has to be King Cake you use to celebrate the season from Epiphany to Shrove Tuesday, and–OK, some will argue with me–there is no reason your King Cake has to be just the way the sisters made them at the convent 100 years ago, either.

What is not so important is who puts the trouble in to observe the year in the domestic church or what they do, whether it is flowers or decorations or food or activities particular to that season, but that there are observances meaningful to the family.
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Right.
 
I am confused as to what the meaning of Catholic Food is in the op.

Through the first part of the post-it says to me that Catholic food is anything that takes love and time to prepare, and that their daughter got engaged because this practice was passed on and she showed her fiance love through food. Then it gets a bit off topic.

Then the last question was about feast days.

So what exactly is this thread about? Feast day foods or when a family shows love through food it makes it Catholic somehow?

Then I also read part of the blog that is about halal food. So I have no clue.

So my answer is no and yes. Or yes and no, 😛
 
mommy_k said:
I am confused as to what the meaning of Catholic Food is in the op.

Through the first part of the post-it says to me that Catholic food is anything that takes love and time to prepare, and that their daughter got engaged because this practice was passed on and she showed her fiance love through food. Then it gets a bit off topic.

Then the last question was about feast days.

So what exactly is this thread about? Feast day foods or when a family shows love through food it makes it Catholic somehow?

Then I also read part of the blog that is about halal food. So I have no clue.

So my answer is no and yes. Or yes and no, 😛
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I think the OP meant foods associated with a particular home celebration marking particcular liturgical seasons. In the end, it is not just about showing love but also about connecting our lives in the institutional Church and the life of our domestic church at home.

Although I take serious issue with the idea that we can afford to teach the preparation of family recipes to just our daughters (whether the food has any connection to the liturgical year or not), our family has always liked connecting home traditions to our parish celebrations. Those home celebrations take planning and sometimes the traditional dishes take a lot of work! Since it is no longer realistic to expect that future daughters-in-law are going to want to learn to do these things or that they’ll have similar traditions from their own families, it is less reasonable than ever to teach these things to the girls only.
 
mommy_k said:
I am confused as to what the meaning of Catholic Food is in the op.

Through the first part of the post-it says to me that Catholic food is anything that takes love and time to prepare, and that their daughter got engaged because this practice was passed on and she showed her fiance love through food. Then it gets a bit off topic. Then the last question was about feast days. So what exactly is this thread about? Feast day foods or when a family shows love through food it makes it Catholic somehow? Then I also read part of the blog that is about halal food. So I have no clue.

So my answer is no and yes. Or yes and no, 😛
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This thread’s purpose is to reflect on and learn about Catholic liturgical seasons through food. My family completely lost the connection to the faith. That’s sad. I’m still learning what the traditional foods mean. Catholics must lovingly keep these traditions.

So many have objected/questioned the phrase I used, “Catholic food.” Yet, would you question “halal food?” You know immediately that it is Islamic, right? That is a very sound reason for promoting Catholic food among ourselves.
 
Dolores49 said:
This thread’s purpose is to reflect on and learn about Catholic liturgical seasons through food. My family completely lost the connection to the faith. That’s sad. I’m still learning what the traditional foods mean. Catholics must lovingly keep these traditions.

So many have objected/questioned the phrase I used, “Catholic food.” Yet, would you question “halal food?” You know immediately that it is Islamic, right? That is a very sound reason for promoting Catholic food among ourselves.
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Weeeell, food has a different role in Islamic and Jewish religious culture than it does in Christian culture. In Jewish culture, only eating kosher food is a big deal–it keeps Jews socially separate from non-Jews and preserves Jewish identity.

We also don’t have the same idea of clean versus unclean that drives those food traditions.
 
Xantippe said:
Weeeell, food has a different role in Islamic and Jewish religious culture than it does in Christian culture. In Jewish culture, only eating kosher food is a big deal–it keeps Jews socially separate from non-Jews and preserves Jewish identity.

We also don’t have the same idea of clean versus unclean that drives those food traditions.
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Right. All food is Catholic food. “Catholic” does mean “universal”… 😃
 
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