Collection: The Catholic All Year Marketplace

Perfect for Lent, homemade pretzels are a great way to jump into bread making. Pretzels are historically associated with Lent, as their traditional shape is meant to look like arms folded in prayer ( with a twist!). This easy recipe makes chewy, yeasty homemade soft pretzels in only 40 minutes. My kids love to make the Lenten pretzels, even if the ones they make don’t necessarily end up looking pretzel-like. Don’t be scared of the baking soda bath. That’s what gives the pretzels their dark brown color and distinctive chewy texture. You can do it!

Saint Katharine Drexel was born in 1858. She was a wealthy Philadelphia socialite before renouncing the world and dedicating her fortune to the founding an order of nuns devoted to the service of black and Native American people in the American southwest and Haiti. Philadelphians Pat and Harry Olivieri are credited with inventing what’s now known as the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich in the early 1930s. Mother Katharine lived to the ripe old age of 96 and died in 1955, but I don’t have any information about whether she ever enjoyed a Philly Cheesesteak herself.

A humbling yet hilarious family activity for Holy Thursday is to imitate Jesus by washing the feet of OUR closest companions: our family members. Write names on these slips to find out who is washing whom.

Your membership resources for the month of February!

Saint Blaise is the patron saint against throat ailments. What better way to remember this saint all year long than with this tasty and effective, all-natural throat soothing concoction? It’s time-tested, simple, and convenient. The jars are so pretty, they make great gifts for teachers and co-workers.

On (or around) the feast of Epiphany we like to throw one last Christmas party, because it’s still Christmas! We encourage novelty Christmas accessories for the occasion. Because the Three Wise Men are traditionally understood to have come from different continents: Europe (Melchior), Asia (Caspar) and Africa (Balthasar), I like to serve various international “parcel”-type finger foods, so that our dinner spread is as universal as our Catholic/catholic faith.

On (or around) the feast of Epiphany we like to throw one last Christmas party, because it’s still Christmas! We encourage novelty Christmas accessories for the occasion. Because the Three Wise Men are traditionally understood to have come from different continents: Europe (Melchior), Asia (Caspar) and Africa (Balthasar), I like to serve various international “parcel”-type finger foods, so that our dinner spread is as universal as our Catholic/catholic faith.

For the crime of being a Christian, Saint Sebastian was sentenced to death by an archer firing squad. He survived. Emperor Diocletian wasn’t impressed, though, and had him put to death again, this time successfully. In the saint’s honor, these mini-skewers are best made on arrow-shaped food picks (included in the box) but also work on toothpicks or longer wooden skewers, and are tasty as an appetizer or a meal. Put them together before serving or let kids skewer cooked ingredients themselves. Other fruits, meats, and/or vegetables can be added or substituted.

Print these outlines to accommodate extra crafters for the Straw Star of Bethlehem activity in the December 2023 liturgical box.

“Christmas Eve Salad” in English, Mexican Ensalada de Nochebuena (ehn-sah-LAH-dah de NO-chay BWAY-nah) is a cool/sweet/tart addition to any feast day table. It can also be made in a fruit salad-style without lettuce, but this recipe is how my family likes it best. Other common ingredients include grapefruit, prickly pears, beets, apples, pineapple, and pecans. Feel free to create your own combination!

There is a long history in the Church of fasting before major feast days. In fact, until 1983, the Christmas Eve fast was still binding, which meant that on Christmas Eve Catholics would eat one regular meal, and two small meals (technically called collations), all meat-free. It’s no longer binding, but we’ve found it works for us to have a collation breakfast and lunch and then a festive, memorable, meat-free dinner.

In Sweden, Saint Lucy saffron buns (also known as lussekatter) are eaten throughout Advent and especially on the feast of Saint Lucy. The curled S-shape with two raisins, reminds us of St. Lucy’s eyes. This dough comes together easily with a stand mixer, or by hand if you’re willing to work for it! If you don’t have vodka on hand to soak the saffron threads, just add them to the milk instead. All-purpose flour can be substituted. Kids love to help roll the dough, shape the curled-S eyes, and add the raisins.

Your membership resources for the month of December!

Your calendar medallions for the month of December!

Making dried orange slices at home is easy, if not quick. They store beautifully and are useful as garnishes for beverages and desserts, or for snacks, and can also be strung up as festive holiday decor or added to potpourri. Bonus: They make the house smell great! Nota Bene: This same technique can be used for any type of orange, and also other citrus fruits.

Another option for a warm spiced beverage on a cool day is mulled cider. Putting it together at home is simple and tastes so much better than pre-made! One spice bag will flavor up to 8 quarts of mulled cider in one batch. Just keep the ratio of one part orange to three parts apple juice.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

The name of this rather obscure cocktail comes from a legend in which young maidens would seek to find the name of their true love by sipping on lavender brew while invoking Saint Luke with the words: “Saint Luke, be kind to me. In my dreams, let my true love see.”

Pope St. John Paul II’s favorite food, famously, is a puffed pastry and custard cream dessert now known as kremówka papieska or “papal cream cake.” Other than that, he was known for eating whatever was placed before him, and not making his food preferences known. I’d like to think that the Polish nuns who did his cooking might have occasionally made him something like this one-pan kielbasa skillet dinner!

Oeufs à la coque are traditionally served in a dedicated egg cup with mouillettes (toast fingers) on the side. If you don’t own egg cups, a napkin ring or an inch-and-a-half of a paper towel tube makes an acceptable substitute.

We love this lemonade for the Assumption and also for the feast of the Holy Cross, which is traditionally associated with basil!

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.

At the birthday party, I serve blue food, as blue is Mary’s favorite color!

To celebrate the feast we like to remember Matthew’s counting table and have silver dollar pancakes for dinner. This recipe makes great pancakes of any size.

Enjoy grapes and herbs sprinkled with holy water this month!

Okay, it’s really “eclairs,” we know. But these delicious desserts have the perfect name for the feast of St. Clare!

This chicken recipe, brined and seasoned using ancient Roman ingredients and methods, is my family’s all time favorite chicken.

Traditional Catholic prayers, Bible passages, songs, and devotions for the month of the Precious Blood!

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!