Ossi di Morto, or “Bones of the Dead” are traditional Italian cookies, typically baked for Hallowtide.

Zabaglione (a.k.a. zabaione or sabayon) is a marvel of a dessert. With three basic ingredients—and a bit of practice at whisking over a water bath—you are rewarded with a warm, slightly boozy, cloud of deliciousness.

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?

Plantains or “cooking bananas” are a major food staple in Africa. Green plantains are used like potatoes: fried, boiled, or processed into flour to be used in a variety of tasty dishes. Plantains are widely available in the produce section at grocery stores in the U.S. They look like large green bananas. Uglai is a corn porridge similar to smooth grits, made with corn flour. Potatoes can be substituted for the plantains and grits or rice for the ugali if necessary. (But it won’t be quite as much fun!)

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.

The “dragged through the garden” style of the classic Chicago hot dog was an inexpensive way for working-class Chicagoans to get protein and vegetables during the Great Depression, and it still is! To this day, the people of Chicago are very particular about their hot dogs. It has to be exactly these ingredients in exactly this order. And NO KETCHUP. I’d encourage you to give it a try, though. It really is a taste sensation. My plain-ketchup-dog-loving kiddos all give them two thumbs up.

A booklet of classic poems about death to help you remember that you will die . . . and should live accordingly.

Instructions, prayers, and tips for remembering and praying for the holy souls in purgatory.

These Stations of the Cross coloring pages make a great activity for kids (and adults) during Lent, and especially on Good Friday, during that period of 12-3pm when Jesus hung on the cross.

Holy Week is the most important week of the liturgical year. And it's also the busiest, full of necessary chores and preparation for Easter, as well as meaningful Holy Week devotions practiced by Catholics for thousands of years. It can be hard to keep it all straight, and get to it all, especially in the midst of busy family life.

Your membership resources for the month of November!

Your calendar medallions for the month of November!

A downloadable calendar to use with your November Medallions!

Your original 2" calendar medallions for the month of November!

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

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Use this page to write down the names of friends and family members who have passed away, and remember them in your prayers all month long!

We are all here on earth training to be saints in heaven! Put your dedication in writing with this certificate, and hang it somewhere it can remind you to strive for sanctity each day!

Ask the Patron Saint of Immigrants (and an immigrant to the U.S. herself) to pray for our country and its immigrants while you color!

All you holy men and women, pray for us while we color!

This devotion goes back to the Middle Ages but has gained new popularity following Our Lady’s apparitions in Kibeho, Rwanda in the 1980s. Our Lady of Kibeho recommended that people pray the Chaplet (or Rosary) of the Seven Sorrows to obtain the favor of repentance.

Recite this prayer in honor of the Church Triumphant. Feel free to add all your family’s patron saints. P.S. Shouting “pray for us!” is encouraged.

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Holy Name!

I love recipes that are about turning unwanted or past-their-prime ingredients into something delicious, and bread pudding is a great example. This recipe is a great way to upcycle extra rolls (if only Thanksgiving came a week earlier!) or stale breads of any kind. I can’t find any indication of why this is called Saint Cecilia sauce or where the recipe comes from, but it does show up in quite a few vintage cookbooks, and is SOOOOO tasty. If you are concerned about raw eggs, you can substitute whipped cream for the Saint Cecilia sauce, and make the bread pudding with three whole eggs instead.

This recipe is almost the same as the one I use for Saint Bartholomew Skinned Chicken and Biscuits. It also makes a lovely chicken pot pie filling, by the way. Recipes called Chicken à la King (or the like in other languages) have appeared in cookbooks since as early as 1665, mostly without specific recipes, so there’s no way to know if they are similar to what we now know by that name. There’s also no indication that anyone but me associates the dish with the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. But there’s also no indication that they don’t . . . In any case, this is a lovely comfort food dish, great for cool evenings, and beloved by my kids and nieces and nephews. It can be served over noodles, rice, biscuits, or even waffles!

November 20 is often colloquially called “Christ the King,” but I prefer the longer, more of an absolute title “The Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.” It’s a name that seems deserving of quite a celebration, right? Right! Because it also marks the end of the liturgical year; Advent starts the new Church calendar. For this feast, a king cake seems appropriate, but Mardi Gras season has dibs on that recipe. So, we like this deliciously tart lemon cake, made in mini bundt molds to look like little crowns. I’d like to add some universe-y decorations some day, like star sprinkles, but I haven’t tried it yet - bonus points if you do!

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.

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.

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru in 1579. He served the poor, the sick, and his fellow Dominican brothers, working in the infirmary and the kitchen. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Perhaps he would have prepared this traditional Peruvian juice for himself or those in his care. “Jugo Surtido” means “assorted juice” but we would call it a smoothie. The addition of dark beer and a raw egg makes it “Jugo Especial.” But . . . I have yet to try it like that.

They are heavily spiced, sweetened with currants or raisins, and marked with a cross on top. We bake them each year and take them to the cemetery with us on All Souls’ Day, to exchange with friends who meet us there to pray for the dead.

This dish, originally from Southern Italy, features eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce. The sauce is purgatory and the eggs are the souls hoping to escape, although the metaphor breaks down a bit once we get to the table . . . unless our tummies are heaven. Let’s just go with that!