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Because of a medieval Swedish liturgical food pun, the solemnity of the Annunciation is associated with . . . waffles! In Europe, this important feast day was known as “Our Lady’s Day” in honor of Mary. In Swedish “Our Lady’s Day” is “Vårfrudagen,” which sounds a lot like “Våffeldagen” which means “Waffle Day.” So they went for it. And now, five hundred years later and five thousand miles away, the Tierneys always have waffles for dinner on the Annunciation.

Perfect for Gaudete or Laetare Sunday, this frosting is ALL-NATURALLY flavored and colored to be the most amazing pink. Oops, I mean, rose. We’ve yet to find a flavor of cake that this frosting doesn’t deliciously top. Use fresh or (defrosted) frozen berries. It will match the priest’s vestments and be a yummy (and pretty) feast day treat!

Weckmänn means “watchman.” These little bread men have been keeping watch over the celebration of Martinmas in Germany since the Middle Ages and make a lovely accompaniment to Six-Can Soup.

I first saw this recipe in one of those parish fundraiser cookbooks at my grandmother’s house in Memphis, TN. It was called six-can soup, because each of the ingredients comes in a can. I like it as a simple, tasty, easy-to-assemble meal that’s all non-perishable. It can all be stored in a cupboard in case of unexpected guests or days when all of a sudden it’s 5:15pm and I haven’t planned dinner. It’s perfect for Saint Martin’s Day because all those cans can be put to good use as punched-tin lanterns. Just combine all the ingredients in a soup pot or the insert of a slow-cooker or instant pot the day before. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to heat it for your meal. Fill all the empty cans with water and put them in the freezer overnight. Then the next day, remove a can and place it on a large folded towel to keep it steady and protect your surface. Freehand or following a pattern, use a hammer, chisel, & awl (or nail) to create a pattern of holes in the can through which candle light can shine. Be sure to punch two holes at the top so you can secure a handle. Remove the ice by soaking in hot water when you’re done. Add a handle of wire or string and a tealight or votive candle and enjoy a traditional Martinmas lantern walk and a warm soup dinner in honor of the good bishop Saint Martin of Tours.

This recipe is pretty ubiquitous in Catholic parish fundraiser cookbooks. I haven’t been able to find an explanation as to why it’s called spinach “Cabrini,” and don’t know if there’s any association intended with the saint, but sometimes it's better not to look a gift recipe in the mouth, right?

This tasty casserole is our family’s favorite way to use up old bread and avoid food waste. Hot dog buns to artisanal sourdough, it all gets chopped up and tossed into the dish! The casserole can be made ahead and stored in the fridge overnight. It makes a great dish for the freezer stash, a meal delivery, or a holiday breakfast, and it’s a go-to for us for after-Mass Sunday brunch. I like to set the automatic timer on our oven and have it hot and ready to eat when we get home. I have made up to a quadruple batch at once, increasing the cooking time to 1:10.

While no analogy will ever actually explain or actually help us understand the Trinity (so we should probably quit trying) . . . symbols of the Trinity can help us remember and devote ourselves to the mystery of three persons in one God. A three leaf clover has long been used as a symbol of the Trinity, and these tasty three piece rolls are a fun dinner table reminder of this unknowable mystery. Rolling and dunking the dough balls is a good job for kid-helpers.

Use this fun activity to share the story of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth (this feast is on May 31st) with your kids!

This cut-and-glue activity is a fun and easy way for your kids to have fun honoring our Blessed Mother this May!

Saint Gianna Molla was a devout Catholic who was also a busy wife, mother, and physician. Cut and arrange the items in her clinic!

Names are important and Jesus’ name is the most important of all. To celebrate the day, I like to make this tasty alphabet soup, and then . . . let the kids play with it! The kids get to scoop letters out with their spoons to build their names—and Jesus’ name of course—on the edge of their plates. You can pull the bay leaf and thyme sprigs out before serving, or you can just tell your family that whoever gets them in his bowl is king/queen/duke/princess/etc. of dinner. That’s what we do. For a heartier meal, add prepared meatballs, cooked chicken, or diced ham. The soup makes great leftovers, just add some water and reheat.

The beauty of this traditional Rwandan milk tea is in its simplicity: just black tea, warm spicy ginger, milk, and sugar. It’s lovely hot or cold.

This recipe originally appeared in Thomas Dawson’s The good huswifes Jewell, part 1 in 1596.

The spookiness comes from cutting a ghost shape out of cheese slices and laying it on top of the macaroni and cheese as soon as it comes out of the oven. Very scary. And meat-free.

Traditional cream cheese and cucumber tea sandwiches get an open-faced Saint Patrick’s Day twist for a feast day tea party. These can also be made as a traditional closed sandwich.

There is a tradition that basil grew up around the foot of the cross, where Jesus’ blood and Mary’s tears hit the ground. St. Helen is said to have found the True Cross hidden beneath an overgrowth of basil. So for dinner on the feast of the Holy Cross, I like to make a basil-heavy meal.

To remember the miracle, on this feast day, white rose petals are dropped from the dome during the celebration of the Mass . . . and snow-cones are enjoyed at our house.

Grab a copy of St. Catherine’s "Dialogue" and enjoy this light and fresh mocktail as you read over 300 letters dictated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and discover something new about the faith from this Doctor of the Church!

Mary’s fiat, or her “yes” to be the mother of God, encourages us to embrace God’s will in our own lives. He can perform great things when we cooperate with him!

Saint Brigid is said to have woven rushes (a grass-like plant) into a cross as she helped convert a pagan man upon his deathbed. If you’ve got access to rushes, weave away! Or, if you’re feeling less outdoorsy, we’ve provided pipe cleaners for you instead!

The word Agnes means “lamb” in Latin, which is traditionally associated with purity, innocence, and sacrifice in the Bible! Use the included template, yarn, and pompoms, to make a garland to celebrate her feast day, and reflect on this young virgin martyr and her shining example of faith and courage as you DIY. Plus, it works great for Easter, too!

Your calendar medallions for the month of December!

In Spanish, “magdalena” means “muffin,” and this tall, fluffy, lemony version made with extra virgin olive oil and a distinctive cone shape is ubiquitous in coffee shops across the country. The story goes that there was a young woman named Magdalena who would bake little cakes and serve them to the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (the Way of Saint James), the pilgrims went home and recreated them all over Spain, spreading their popularity. As Magdalena was likely named for Saint Mary Magdalene, these muffins are a great way to celebrate her feast day on July 22 AND Saint James on July 25, so maybe make a double batch? It makes a lovely breakfast, snack with afternoon tea, or dessert.

You know me, I like a good food-pun. For the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, I like to play up the near-homophone relationship of “carmel” and “caramel.” Full-disclosure, this isn’t “real” caramel sauce (that would be made of melted sugar, with added butter and cream) but if you’ve ever watched The Great British Bake Off, you know how finicky caramel can be. This dulce de leche sauce, popular in Latin America, is practically foolproof, super delicious, and made with just one ingredient: a can of sweetened condensed milk. Dulce de leche can be made on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker (like the instant pot). It is traditionally cooked right in the sealed can, but transferring the sweetened condensed milk into a jar before cooking avoids some issues of cooking in the can. Plus that’s how I was going to store it in the fridge anyway, and it’s less messy to transfer it before cooking. Serve it with sliced green apples, over a banana split, or make carmel brownie ice cream sundaes for the feast day, that’s what we’ll be doing!

This liturgical food pun was just too good to pass up! S’mores are especially delicious when the marshmallows are roasted over a bonfire, but we’ve also included instructions for making s’mores in your microwave or oven.

This Mexican “three milks” cake is light, moist, and not overly sweet, and no feast of the Mexican Martyrs would be complete without one! Can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, covered, for 3-5 days.

This classic British pub meal makes for a tasty celebration of St. George of Merrie England. “Bangers” is slang for sausages. The “bang” comes from the fact that during WWII when meat rations were low, sausages had to be made with other inexpensive fillers like rusk or breadcrumbs and a large ratio of water that would result in the sausages bursting with a “bang” when fried. True English bangers are a whitish pork sausage with a tasty smoothness that my family really enjoys. We can sometimes find them at our local grocery store. In a pinch, any white pork sausage will do!

Eighteenth-century Jesuit missionaries like Father Sébastien Rale and Father Joseph-François Lafitau described the making and use of maple syrup by the indigenous peoples with whom they lived. Making maple snow taffy is a simple way to enjoy maple syrup as Saint Kateri might have! As you might have gathered from the name, this treat is usually enjoyed during the winter. We don’t have snow at our house, ever. So we might as well make this treat in the summer. All that’s required is to bring real 100% pure maple syrup to a boil, then pour it over “snow” (we make our own in a blender). It cools to a sticky maple taffy that can be rolled up onto a stick. We like to use backyard sticks, as they seem more authentic, but if you prefer your treats to be 100% tree bark-free you might prefer a popsicle stick. P.S. Snowball fight!

On the feast of the Transfiguration, a cloud overshadowed those on the mountain while a voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him." In this recipe, the ice cream represents Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and when you pour your soda over the top a cloud "miraculously" forms!

Here are four different ideas for how your family can pray for your grandparents this month. Don’t forget to cut out your spiritual bouquet to send along with your Grandparent’s Day card!

In the original Latin, “Ember Days” are called “Quatuor Tempora,” or “four times” of the year. In the 16th century, Jesuit missionaries from Portugal settled in Nagasaki. As a meatless meal, they introduced what we now call “tempura”: battered shrimp and/or vegetables fried in a traditional Portuguese-style. It’s perfect for Ember Days, Fridays, and the Feast of the Japanese Martyrs on February 6. You’ll get the best results using big shrimp or prawns from the seafood counter. 16-20 count per lb are great. Smaller shrimp will also be delicious, they just won’t look as much like restaurant tempura. This batter is also often used on veggies like broccoli florets, baby corn, green beans, mushrooms, and slices of onion, sweet potato, and eggplant.

All the saint of the day images for the month of June!

This is more of a concept than a recipe and as much an activity as a meal, but I wanted to share t as an example of how catechism and food are tied together in our home. Whether it’s as simple as an apple on the feast of Ss. Adam and Eve or as complex as turducken and crème brûlée on the feast of the Holy Trinity, food is a way to bring people together and start a conversation, sometimes with whatever happens to be in the pantry.

What better way to celebrate Jesus ascending into the heavens than with fluffy, cloud-topped cupcakes! This recipe uses real vanilla beans, right in the batter, which is so cool. For the best effect, top with Jesus cupcake toppers (for all the oohs and ahhs from children and adults alike).

One of the best parts of my high school career was eating at the home of a friend who came from an Italian-American family. Every meal his mom cooked was amazing, but the most fun were the days when they would invite big groups of kids for what we called Pasta Alla Tavola or “Pasta on the Table.” Mrs. Vitale would dump pots of pasta with butter and parmesan cheese in the middle of the “table.” Then we would all eat it . . . with our hands. It was the BEST. It’s perfect for the feast of St. Joseph. As a carpenter, Joseph worked with his hands. In honor of his day, we eat with our hands! It’s not much of a “recipe,” per se, but here it is . . .

I stood in my kitchen one Friday afternoon, looking at a slightly runny red gelatin heart, decorated with orange segments and pretzel sticks. It was sitting before me, somewhat off-center on its cake plate. It was supposed to be the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but it had looked better in my head. Less oozy. Then, my four year old daughter walked in, took one look at it, and literally gasped in wonder at its beauty. She called the other kids in to see it. They agreed that it was awesome, but could use some whipped cream. So that’s what we did. We put some whipped cream on it. Over dinner, we talked about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and her visions. We talked about the burning love that Jesus has for each one of us, and the pain that he suffers because of the sin and the ingratitude of mankind. Then we ate the weepy heart. And now my kids can’t imagine a feast of the Sacred Heart without one. That’s what living the liturgical year looks like in our home.

Paglia e fieno or “straw and hay” is a traditional dish from the Siena region of Italy. It’s a delicious combination of pasta, prosciutto, cream, peas, and Parmesan cheese. To make it look like, well, straw and hay, it’s usually made with an equal combination of spinach fettuccine and egg fettuccine. However, if spinach fettuccine isn’t readily available, you could always do just hay, or substitute a tricolor bowtie or rotini mix. Bacon can be substituted for the prosciutto.

Saint Mark is described in the Bible as a naked guy. . .his origin story involves him being an unclothed robber who fled the Garden of Gethsemane before he changed his ways and helped write the Gospels. Since it’s sort of hard to politely include that imagery in liturgical cooking, we prefer to celebrate him by remembering his symbolic creature – a winged lion! This lion’s head bread ends up being a pretty spectacular snack. If you think of a way to add wings, let us know!

In Matthew 17:24–27 we find the story of the miracle known as the “coin in the fish’s mouth.” Jesus tells Peter to go catch a fish in the Sea of Galilee, in which he will find a coin with which he is to pay the temple tax. Galilean tradition tells us that the fish was a tilapia and so tilapia are known there as St. Peter’s Fish. A popular dish in the region is St. Peter’s fish served whole and fried, with chips (that’s fries to Americans). This is the dish I serve on the feast of St. Blaise, as we laugh in the face of dangerous fish bones after getting our throats blessed at Mass. But if you’re not feeling that vibe, this recipe can be prepared with fish filets. The cooking time is the same. For the seasoning, combine dried oregano, basil, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, etc. or use a seasoning mix like Old Bay, Tony’s, taco, Mrs. Dash, or Italian. Or omit this and instead top with 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley after cooking. Or do both!