Soul Cakes: The Original Halloween "Treat"

During the Middle Ages in England, on the night before All Saints Day, or Hallowmas, pesants and children called "soulers" would go about town singing and praying for the souls of the dead. They would stop at homes and beg for a "soul cake" and promise in return to pray for the household's deceased family members to be released from purgatory. If homeowners did not give out cakes it was believed their home would be cursed. And this my friends is thought to be the origination of trick or treating.


There are many recipes for soul cakes from a small round cake to a doughnut shaped treat. Some variations include cutting a cross on the top or adding rasins. It seems that the recipes developed over time and region. 


Because my children need more sugar from October 31st to November 2nd, we made our own soul cakes today. I'm hoping someone comes by singing the traditional song:


Soul, Soul, a soul cake!
I pray thee, good missus, a soul cake!
One for Peter, two for Paul,
three for Him what made us all!
Soul Cake, soul cake, please good missus, a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, any good thing to make us all merry.
One for Peter, two for Paul, & three for Him who made us all.


Chances are if I try to hand one out people will quietly usher their children to the next house and later report me to the police, so perhaps I'll just stick with taking them to our churches All Souls Day party on Tuesday night.


If you are looking for a festive treat to make on all Souls Day these are a delicious little treat. They are a bit like a spiced shortbread cookie, not really fluffy cake like.


I decided to go with a more traditional recipe from food.com, but I'll still post the full instructions with pictures for you below, as I made a few changes as I went.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons milk
• powdered sugar, to sprinkle on top

1. Using a pastry blender cut 1 c. of butter into 3 3/4 cups of flour. I bought my first pastry blender just for this occasion.

2. Blend in the sugar, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and allspice. Allspice smells like Christmas.

3. In a separate bowl beat eggs, vinegar and milk together. I would like to add a little shout out here to my amazing mother-in-law, who is always gifting me with amazing things for my kitchen, like these awesome Pyrex measuring cups, Thanks!

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix.

5. Kneed thoroughly to form a stiff dough. You really have to work this dough, I thought there was no way it was moist enough, but once I mashed it all up it was just right.

6. Roll out to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut out 3 inch circles with a cookie cutter or glass.

7. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm. I use a slotted spoon for this.

9. Eat, yummy.

FOCUS All Saints Day Party

Have I ever mentioned that I love being a FOCUS family? Welp, I do. It's a pretty incredible thing when your employer promotes family life and invites you into the office with your noisy kids for all kinds of reasons. Most recently the invitation came for a Halloween/All Saints Day trick or treat, the only stipulation was trick or treaters had to be dressed as a saint or Biblical character.

As you can see some of the staff joined in too. One of my favorites was the lost sheep, the guy with the question mark on him. He glued cotton balls all over an inside-out sweatsuit, pretty impressive... we just might have one of those next year. Also check out Juan Diego with his bag of tortilla chips, pretty sure that is historically accurate, he shared one of his maracas with baby Moses sitting next to him. The four ladies in scrubs are Doctors of the Church and you can also pick out Kateri Tekakwitha, Pier Giorgio Frassati, Mother Theresa and the Infant of Prague.

St. George, a Guardina Angel, St. Francis, another angel, St. Elizabeth (she was a queen),
David and Our Lady of Lourdes.

The kids did a thorough job collecting candy and got in some good practice before the big night tomorrow. I can't wait to see what guesses we get for who Paul is. Maybe I'll list the top ones tomorrow.

Fellow Franciscan brothers

Be on the look out for some more posts on the upcoming three days of celebration (Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day), including a recipe for the original All Hallows Eve treat... anyone already know?

The Rosary and Kids - Part 4

October is almost over, which means it's time for the 4th and final "The Rosary and Kids" post.  This time I've come up with a list of some of our favorite rosary products that have helped make the rosary a part of our home. I am so thankful for the wonderful people who take their time to make holy products!

1. Baby Rosary (0-12 monts). These sturdy non-toxic, wooden rosaries are a favorite teething toy. We love giving them as gifts to our expecting friends and family. You can find them at most Catholic Book stores.

2. Holy Baby DVD (1-2 years). We don't watch much TV in our home, but we wouldn't have survived the Cotter family vacation to Lake Michigan without this DVD. Mary Clare was 13 months at the time and we drove somewhere around 12 hours straight to get home. Watching Holy Baby kept her happy when the drive got long. The DVD recites the rosary in 7 languages while a montage of very simple objects are shown. Many of them are religious, like statues of saints and Noah's Ark toys.

3. A Child's Guide to the Rosary By Elizabeth Ficocelli (3-8 years). This is a delightful little book about a class of children who are learning about the rosary. They present each of the 20 mysteries in a way that is easy for kids to understand. Complete with kid friendly pictures and points of meditation, this book is a great tool for introducing the mysteries in a practical way.








4. Speak, Lord, I am Listening: A Rosary Book By: Christine Haapala (7-12 years). We recently received this as a gift from one of our mission partners and it is a wonderfully crafted book. Each mystery is presented with thought provoking watercolor images and relevant scripture verses to accompany each bead. It is a great way to help keep focused on the mystery you are meditating on.

5.  The New Rosary in Scripture: Biblical Insights for Praying the 20 Mysteries By: Edward Sri (13+, maybe? I'll let you know when we get there). This book walks you through a biblical explanation of each of the mysteries. It also includes frequently asked questions about Mary and the Rosary, as well as explanations on John Paul II's reflections on the meaning of the rosary.

How to Cut your Grocery Bill in Half

No, this is not an advertisement. It's a way of saving money often called "the coupon game" and I love it! About a year ago I was introduced to this fun and exciting (well, I think it is) world of saving major bucks on your grocery bill. To keep your attention I have included a few recent receipts.

Full Price: $148.43, Paid: $59.20, Saved: $89.23

Full Price: $118.90, Saved: $59.99, Paid: $58.91

I'm guessing many of you have heard about the coupon game, but may be skeptical of this unconventional way of shopping. I wasn't a believer until I tried it myself and it works. How you save so much is by only buying things that are on a good sale and then adding a coupon to the sale item whenever possible. By stocking up when things are cheap you create a mini grocery store in your basement and thus rarely pay full price for food and household supplies.

Part of the basement grocery store

It takes some getting used to because you don't really have to plan out meals for each night of the week. I probably have food for 30 dinners in my house right now and each afternoon I just think... "What do I feel like tonight?". After I have decided what strikes my fancy I go "shopping" downstairs. So are you in? If yes, here is the rundown: Warning, it does take some prep time.


1. Know your stores. You can only get great deals if you know what your stores offer. Give them a call and ask them the following:
A. Do you double coupons? Most stores will double up to $1.00; $0.30 becomes $0.60 and $0.75 becomes $1.
B. Do you accept other store's coupons? For example, accepting a Walgreens "only" coupon at X grocery store.
C. Do you offer scan guarantee? This is if an item rings up wrong you get if for free... I've gotten free cheese and pizza this way. Either they will give you one item free (even if you bought 5) or they will give you all the items free.
D. Do you match competitors prices? Target does this "as is" and Walmart will do it, but not if it is a buy one get one free or 50% off deal.
E. Can I get $0.05 back for each reusable bag that I bring in?
F. If I bring in a store coupon (target specific) and a manufacture coupon (general mills cereal) will you take both for the same product?
G. Will you take expired coupons... if so, how expired?


2. Make a master list of frequently used items. I have on my computer a list of things I frequently buy (canned soup, chocolate chips, pasta, dried fruit, cleaning supplies...). I review the list every so often to make sure I have a stock of the things I need. If I am running low on a product I start watching the ads to see when it goes on sale so I can stock up (last week I bought 20 boxes of pasta and 20 jars of sauce... they won't expire until 2013, I think I'm good).


3. Collect your coupons. There are several places to get coupons, save them all until they expire. You might think I would never buy that! BUT, you might buy it if it is free! I "bought" 6 bags of nature valley granola clusters for free... I wouldn't buy them at their typical $4.00, but I'll take them for free!
A. Subscribe to your local paper. Save the coupon booklets in a 3 ring binder until they expire, just because you won't use a coupon this week, doesn't mean you might not need it next week or in a month.
B. Check for printable online coupons. Grocerysmarts.com has it ALL. Just make your way through each of the groups (A, B, C and singles) to see them all. You will need to install something to print, but after that it is a breeze. You can print 2 of each coupon (you need a coupon for each item you are buying... 5 bags of chips needs 5 coupons). New coupons come out at the beginning of the month, so this is the best time to get them. There is a limited number of coupons that can be printed across the nation, so once that number has been hit, the coupon disappears.
C. Gather coupons from products you buy. Backs of cereal boxes, inside oatmeal boxes and inside muffins boxes are just a few places I have found coupons.
D. Check your local grocery store website for coupons you can download right on to your saver card. These coupons will not double.
E. Check your stores for printable coupons. Target has a ton of Target specific printable coupons on their website.
F. You can even buy coupons online at sites like thecouponclippers.com for a small handling fee.


4.  Look through those ads! Ads come to my mailbox on Tuesday, so when the kids go down for their nap I start circling all the items that I might want to buy and crossing off items that are on sale for a cheaper price than another stores advertised price. I've seen weeks where potatoes are on "sale" for $3.99, $2.99 and $1.99, depending on the store... obviously you want to get them at the $1.99 store.


5.  Match your coupons with sales. This is where it gets really fun. I pull out my coupons and check the web to match up products. I have gotten TONS of free things from granola bars to deodorant to frozen veggies to chicken broth to chex mix... I could go on. Once I got PAID $1.00 to buy five tubs of icing... that was really cool.


6.  Make your lists. I then write a list of specific things to buy from each store and make a pile of coupons to put with each list. I also add to the list where to buy things I don't have coupons for. Someone usually has bread, milk and bananas on sale, so I buy them according to the cheapest store. I also write a list of things that I need that I will have to pay full price for. This list is a sad list, but must be done.


7.  Have fun shopping! I get really excited watching the total drop and drop. At first I would point out my free items to cashiers, but they didn't appreciate it, so now I call my husband or text a local friend, so they can join in on the fun!


So yes, you do have  to put a little money into buying the newspaper and ink for the printer, but I used $35 in coupons last week alone, which paid for the newspaper for the year. And yes, it does take time, but I like to think of it as giving myself a $100 paycheck for saving a $100.


The final awesome part about all of this is you don't have  to stock shop every week! When things are busy I take a week or three off and just go to one store to buy about $20 of perishable necessities and I am set because I have so much at home on reserve. And with so much at home I don't find myself running to the store for that one ingredient I need to finish a recipe, because I have more in the basement!


Now I know what some of you are thinking... Lisa, you are expecting me to go to multiple stores... it's difficult enough to make it to just one with the kids! Well, here is my secret, on Wednesday morning (when the new sales begin in my area) I wake up at 5:30, hit three stores and return home by 7:30 with my loot. I know 5:30 is early so some fellow thrifty mom's will make the rounds in one night after the kids go down or brave it with the kids. Remember, once you are stocked, you don't have to do it every week!

Happy shopping!

From Napkins to Vestments

All right procrastinators, this one's for you. Homemade vestments for All Saints Day in less than an hour. 

Isn't he cute!

Materiels: 

Two cloth napkins in green, red, white or purple, depending on what liturgical season you are going for

2 1/2 yards of 1 1/2 to 2 inch gold ribbon

Hot glue gun and/or sewing machine

Step 1: Sew or hot glue 1 1/2 to 2 inch gold ribbon onto both sides of the napkins. Pictured is the back side.

Step 2: Sew the tops of the napkins together leaving a 7 inch gap in the middle.

That's it folks! Enjoy!

Mission Monday 10-25-2010

                             

I (Kevin) spent last week in eastern Kansas (Kansas City, Leavenworth, Topeka, and Saint Marys) meeting with my FOCUS mission partners. Many of the meetings were with people who I had either never met or never sat down and told them about my mission with FOCUS. (Those who I had never met were transferred to me from missionaries who retired from FOCUS).


Overall, the trip was a success. We are currently trying to go after a new fundraising goal. I received many generous offers from donors who were willing to increase their support. More importantly, I was able to deepen my relationship with my mission partners and get to know them better. I think many have a greater understanding of FOCUS' mission and exactly what I do through my work as the Manager of Curriculum.

"Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I....came."

Whenever I am able to talk about my work for an entire week, I come back to the office very energized. I am reminded of my purpose and mission with FOCUS and I am greatly encouraged by all of the people who choose to support our family's mission through their prayers and financial support.

Coming back to the office this week, I have a number of projects that are ongoing--a website, a Bible study, and a few others. I also have a number of meetings that focus on a vision for the next few years for our curriculum. It should be a great week.

Two cheers for Lisa and the kids who were home without me all week. I have an awesome family and you always appreciate them a little more when you have been away.

Kevin

From Pants to St. Francis Tunic

Over the years I have made many of my kids Halloween/All Saint's Day costumes. First, there was the infant of Prague costume for when our kids are infants.

Then came St. Anne.

Next Our Lady of Lourdes.

Last year after we moved I didn't have it in me to pull off elaborate (this is a relative term) costumes for my kids. Fortunately my daughter wanted to be a guardian angel ($10.00 at Walmart- yes please), but my one year old son didn't have an opinion. I wasn't going to put a costume on him, "We just moved in (is 3 month ago "just"?), it's been too crazy, he'll understand when he's older". On about October 29th, I started feeling guilty. I ran to Walmart and bought some green cloth napkins from the clearance aisle and gold ribbion and here's the result...

He was an ordinary time priest.

This year I wasn't feeling particularly creative again, but fortunately my girl wanted to be a guardian angel again... good thing I bought last years $10.00 costume a little big. My son, now 2, still didn't have an opinion, so he was just going to be a cloth napkin priest again... until my husband brought me a pair of worn out brown pants that he declared destitute.

Notice the lovely ink marks (he's a writer, he can't help it) and the worn pockets

After a long string of children's books about pioneer women who saved all their scraps of fabric for quilting I began feeling uneasy about just throwing them in the trash. The pants sat on my dresser for a while until I had the crazy idea of turning them into a St. Francis of Assis tunic.

It doesn't have a hood, but I was working with a pair of pants. It also could be a great Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha or St. Padre Pio base. My plan is to go buy some rope to put around the waist and call it good.

Below is the best I can do to explain what I did, for anyone else who is having "quilt story guilt".

Here they are, the pants that I will magically turn into a tunic.

First cut the pants on the inside inseam to open them all the way up. Cut away the waist band, zipper and pockets, keeping as much of the fabric as possible. What you see above: The seat of the pants are in the middle and the holes on each side are where the pockets where. The waist band would have been all along the top. The middle is lower because I had to remove the back pockets. The pumpkin is to add a splash of festiveness.

Cut off the bottom portion of the pants (from what would be about just below the knee down) for the sleeves. This really depends on how tall your child is and how long the sleeves need to be.

Take out the hems to make the sleeves longer, if needed. Each leg will be one sleeve.

Fold over the excess fabric in the seat area to form a straight line. It's the extra at the top of the pants near the middle "V" where the neck will go.

Cut off the extra fabric.

Sew together the two sides of the fabric, essentially joining the legs. You will not need a glue stick (near the sewing box) for this project, my daughter must have put that there.

Fold the other half of the legs in to create a vest, then remove the excess fabric like you did on the other side. Sew the two side of the fabric together , like you did on the other side. 

Sew the tops of the vest together for where the vest will rest on the shoulders. This would have been the top of the pants where the waist was cut up earlier. 

Measure the pant legs to make sure they will fit into the former pockets, now arm holes. You may need to cut the arm holes a little bigger. Cut the sleeves to a proper width so they will fit into the arm holes and sew them into a tube.

Sew the sleeves into the arm holes.

Turn everything inside out and you have a tunic! I didn't hem the bottom or the neck because I feel like the more worn looking it is, the more St. Francis like it will be... and to do that would be more work.

Pumpkin Patch

Here you will find the standard Pumpkin Patch post. There's not much to say other than, we went to a pumpkin patch... and I bought more butternut squash because the lady sold 4 of them to me for $3.00, or about $0.20 a pound, looks like I'll be making more butternut squash soup.

The Corn maze that took us 25 minutes, instead of the 10 it suggested... and we even cheated.

I tried so hard to get this shot in the "corn box". Paul just kept trying to eat the corn and Mary Clare said the sun was in her eyes.