Collection: The Catholic All Year Marketplace

The Chair of Saint Peter is a relic that the faithful can visit in St. Peter’s Basilica. Tradition says that the interior wooden chair belonged to Saint Peter, the first pope. The exterior is a sculpted gilt bronze casing added in the seventeenth-century. Pope Benedict XVI described the chair as “a symbol of the special mission of Peter and his Successors to tend Christ’s flock, keeping it united in faith and in charity.”

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

It's a bit on-the-nose. But we can't resist this salad for the feast of St. Ambrose. Not only is it tangy and delicious, but it's perfect for this feast day. The legend of St. Ambrose says that when he was a baby, a swarm of bees landed on him and left only a drop of honey on his face; his father said that it meant he would grow up to be "honey-tongued." And, it was true! St. Ambrose was known for his eloquence as a bishop, and his legend won him the title of patron of beekeepers! Enjoy this dessert that's sweet as honey today.

We know we can always count on Saint Apollonia to intercede for us if we have tooth pain, but why not avoid that entirely by practicing good oral hygiene? Never forget to brush again with this handy tracker.

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!

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.

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.

Banbury Tarts are a traditional tea treat named after the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire in England. They have long been associated with late summer fairs held under the patronage of Saint Luke.

My family loves this soup for the feast days of French saints, and it’s always one of the soups I serve at our Lenten Soup and Stations get togethers. To make it more crowd-friendly, I assemble the cheesy crouton topping separately.

Get it? Because St. Michael has a spear? This recipe works with thin or thick asparagus, just adjust the cooking time as necessary.

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

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

Mary Magdalene is remembered, among other things, for having been exorcized by Jesus of seven demons (Luke 8:1-3) and for being the first to see the risen Jesus, having arrived at the tomb at daybreak on Easter morning, carrying spices with which she and the other holy women planned to embalm Jesus’ body (Matthew 28: 1-10). This simple vegan recipe combines seven spices in a tasty feast day meal that’s also great for meat-free Fridays. If you’re looking to add more protein, ground beef or turkey can be added when cooking the onions (drain the excess fat before adding the spices) or cooked, shredded chicken can be added at the end before serving. Feel free to adapt the spice blend to your family’s preferences or what you’ve got in the pantry. Serve with a salad over rice, noodles, or polenta.

Your calendar medallions for the month of April!

Today is traditionally for prayer and abstinence, particularly for a bountiful harvest and protection from natural disasters. We think one of the best ways to celebrate is with a quick, no-bake tart decorated with your own harvest, either homegrown or store-bought. Bonus, this recipe is simple enough that even the tiniest of hands can join in!

Enjoy this classic summer treat in the midst of Eastertide, packed with nutrients and endless possibilities for preparation, as we pray on this traditional day of penance and abstinence. Plus, purple is often the liturgical color associated with today. Don’t forget to bless the farmers who produced the harvest for you, too!

On the feast of the Immaculate Conception we like to pray the Litany of Loreto which honors Our Lady’s many titles. Find some of those titles in this word search then pray the litany together as a family.

Display this print throughout the month of September to remember this month’s devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. Don’t forget to pray the prayer on the back for Our Lady’s feast day on September 15th! This painting is by the late Gothic artist Absolon Stumme(d. 1499).

Celebrate Our Lady Queen of Angels by displaying your holy card and praying the prayer on the back!

St. Augustine and St. Monica lived in the northern part of Africa. This delicious stew is a traditional dish from that area and is perfect for celebrating their feast days!

Fry bread is a staple that stretches back generations. It is part of the cuisine of many different tribes from various regions of the U.S. In the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nation of which Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was a part, it’s called Ghost Bread, and was associated with the mourning period after a death in the family. It’s great served with Three Sisters Soup. For a sweet treat, it can be topped with cinnamon and sugar, or dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with honey.

For the feast of St. John the Baptist, our favorite locust-eating saint, we recommend eating at least ONE grasshopper to celebrate! Grasshoppers are actually widely consumed all over the world, and have similar nutritional value to more traditional meats, and these Crispy Cricket Tacos are a fun and more familiar way to enjoy some crickets for today’s feast!

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.

This burrito casserole is a long-time family favorite. Perfect with a MexiCoke for the Mexican Martyrs, it’s easily customizable and makes a great option for a meal delivery. For the chicken, substitute ground beef, pulled pork, or leave the meat out for a tasty meat-free Friday meal. For the refried beans, substitute drained black or pinto beans. Add sauteed corn, onion, peppers, and tomatoes for some veggies. Add pico de gallo, hot sauce, or diced jalapeño peppers for some heat!

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

Saint Gianna Molla studied for her medical degree in Milan, and later specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan. This restaurant-quality Chicken Milanese recipe also includes a tasty arugula and citrus salad, sure to get a doctor’s approval, and comes together in only 30 minutes, which any working mom can appreciate.

In Poland, Easter Monday means Śmigus-dyngus, a country-wide water fight. It’s also called Lany Poniedziałek, the Polish for “Wet Monday.” Folks in Polish neighborhoods in the United States call it Dyngus Day. It goes back all the way to the fourteenth century! On Easter Monday in Poland people spend the day chasing each other around with buckets of water. In solidarity with weird Catholic traditions, we like to have backyard water balloon fights and a fun water-themed dessert or afternoon snack. This traditional Italian cake is light, fluffy, and great if you happen to be out of (or avoiding) eggs and dairy. Add cocoa powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, fresh herbs, and/or citrus zest for a punch of flavor, but it’s tasty as is!

These tasty cream puffs made with Choux pastry dough are traditionally served in Italy on the solemnity of St. Joseph. This Sicilian version is filled with whipped cream. A Neapolitan version is filled with custard cream instead. They are sure to impress, just resist the urge to open the oven while cooking.

At a Jewish Passover Seder meal like the one Jesus was celebrating on Holy Thursday with the apostles, bitter herbs are served as a reminder of the bitterness of the slavery endured by the Jewish people in Egypt. This salad is bitter and sour (and yet very tasty). Kids don’t usually LOVE it. But in our family everyone must try it. If they don’t like the bitterness, we discuss how that’s kind of the whole point.

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!

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

Saint Apollonia is the patron saint against tooth pain and fear of the dentist. Let’s try to avoid both of those with this perfected recipe for that quintessential party treat: popcorn balls. Still sticky and sweet with even more flavor, these popcorn balls are softer and more chewable than the standard version.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?