Feast Day: Our Lady of Lourdes

This is one of those feast days that really means alot to me and mine!

Dh and I met at Our Lady of Lourdes School in North Carolina -- we were both teaching and it was the wedding of science (him) and technology (me). The middle schoolers thought it was SOOOO romantic. [Don't tell anyone, but so did I!]

After we got married, we took our (then) four children to Europe for pilgrimage during the 2000 Jubilee Year. We made a special trip to Lourdes ... to see the Grotto, join in the celebration of a few Masses (Brikhead got to read the English-language petitions at the big Mass), attend the candle-light ceremony and rosary (Kotch got to read the English-language decade of the rosary) and receive the Sacrament of Confession. It was a most memorable trip -- not least of which was being dunked in the miraculous waters (including String Bean who was just three-months old!). We were also lucky enough to visit French-Basque region where my great-grandparents were born (Oloron-Ste-Marie, just above Lourdes; and Arles-sur-Tech, closer to the Med).

The next year, when we were moving to Europe, we again pilgrimaged to Lourdes, staying in the same lovely hospitality house run by the L'Emanuelle community, and again participating in much of the spiritual activities of the Shrine.

Millions of people visit this Shrine each year -- and they're not all Catholics, either. This is an amazing site where all come to seek the intercessions of Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. Here, Pope John Paul the Great came to pray before the Shrine. I like this picture as it gives a great idea of the magnificence of the natural grotto ... a place of peace and hope ... a place of faith!

Me and mine owe so much to Our Lady, particularly under this particular name. We continue to invoke the intercessory powers of Our Lady of Lourdes ... and she is a powerful ally. So, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is a big deal around here.

We were able to attend Mass this morning at dh's high school, but unfortunately won't be eating together as a family tonight due to various commitments on Wednesday nights (which I wish I could change, but no such luck.) I did go ahead and make one of our favorite French desserts, Clafouti (French Cherry Dessert), which I've made every year since our first pilgrimage to Lourdes!

String Bean and I MIGHT leave some for the others .... or not ....

Here's the recipe:

Clafouti -- French Cherry Dessert
(from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz)

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients:
3 cups cherries (either fresh, frozen or canned/drained)
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups milk
1 tbls vanilla
2 tbls butter
Powdered sugar

Place butter in a 9-inch square or 9/10 inch round pan. Place in pre-heated oven and allow to melt – swirl melted butter around pan to “grease”.

Thaw/drain cherries and set aside.

Mix the flour and salt. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Beat in the sugar. Gradually add the milk and vanilla (yes, one tablespoon!), stirring until the batter is very smooth.

Put about 1/4-inch layer of batter (almost one cup) in the pan and bake for 5 minutes or until lightly set. Remove the pan and spread the cherries over the surface, covering (pouring gently) with the remaining batter. Return and bake for 70 minutes or until puffed and brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

You can also use any fruit … apples, peaches, pear … using 3-3-1/2 cups of peeled, sliced fruit ... but we love cherries!

Feast Day: Presentation or Candlemas

Yesterday, February 2nd, was a feast day in commemoration of the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus to the temple, all in accord with Hebrew law of the time. It's also called Candlemas as it traditionally ended the Christmas season for the Catholic Church and the faithful brought their candles to be blessed ... as Jesus is the true Light of the World!

Our celebration of this feast turned into a wonderfully fun dinner party. The French teacher at dh's high school offered to make and serve the traditional crepes; I made ham/spinach lasagne and homemade bread. Talk about a feast.

The ham/spinach lasagna was a big hit! The recipe is so easy because you don't have to make the noodles first; you put them in the pan dry and they come out perfectly cooked! The recipe as we made it is included below.

Just before dinner, our very own french chef made the crepe batter (as it has to sit chilling for one hour). Kotch was her sous chef (and now we have someone trained to make these anytime for us -- pretty smart, eh?). Ms.K. also gave us a great handout on this French tradition, explaining that this holiday is called La Chandeleur, Fete de la Lumiere, or Crepe Day. It is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crepe pan in the other and flip the crepe into the air. If you manage to catch the crepe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the rest of the year.

Discretion being the better part of valor .... we didn't tempt fate by trying this! But here is how we made the crepes:

Crepe Recipe:

2 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 large eggs

Blend all ingredients together, making a smooth batter. Cover batter and chill for one hour. Once chilled, heat an 8-inch nonstick crepe pan or skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions to make a large circle (that is fairly thin). Cook about 1 minute. Carefully life the edge of the crepe with a spatula to test for doneness. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over, cooking for another 30 seconds or until center is set. Place crepe on paper towel to cool. Place on a plate in a 200-225 preheated oven to keep warm while finishing the remaining batter.

Once you are ready to serve ... put out different types of sweeteners (we used white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar and honey), melted bittersweet chocolate, jam or just plain butter and allow guests to make their own. Place a small amount of filling down the center of the crepe, roll-up and eat with your fingers -- DELICIOUS!

Here's the promised Ham/Spinach Lasagna recipe:

Ingredients:
16 oz. cottage cheese
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
16 oz. jar tomato sauce
1-2 cups chopped cooked ham
1 package lasagna noodles (1 used 15 noodles)
16 oz. frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 tbls minced garlic
2 tsp each dried basil, dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350. (I actually put this together in the morning; covered and refrigerated it; I removed the pan from the fridge when I started the oven preheating and then put it in the oven one hour before dinner).

In large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, half of the mozzarella, garlic and herbs. Set aside.
Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan; put a layer of dry lasagna noodles then a layer of half the cheese mixture; half the ham and spinach scattered atop. Do another layer of sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, ham and spinach. Finish with a final (3rd) layer of noodles, layer of sauce, and the second half of the mozzarella cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, removing the foil during the final 15minutes of cooking.