Collection: The Catholic All Year Marketplace

This rustic soup is a real family favorite. We have it on Christmas Eve and sometimes also for our “all white dinner” on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and it’s perfect for a German saint day. It’s always in the Lenten “soup and stations” rotation, and the kids often choose it for their special days. I have very fond memories of cutting dumplings into bubbling soup with my grandfather, and I love doing it with my kids now. It’s not exactly a quick and easy process, but the results are so worth it. The soup thickens up with time and gets even better. It can be made a day or two ahead if desired. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding water if necessary. Stir very often to keep from scorching the bottom when reheating.

Saint John is often pictured holding a cup with a cute little serpent coiled around the edge to symbolize a cup of poisoned wine that didn’t kill him. Saint John’s Day is traditionally the day to bring a bottle of wine to Mass with you for Father to bless. If you’re not able to make it to Mass, or your wine isn’t, the head of the household can ask God to bless the wine.

Your calendar medallions for the month of December!

British chef Fergus Henderson’s renowned restaurant “St. John” is named for the street on which it sits in the Smithfield area of London. Chef Henderson specializes in “nose-to-tail” eating and gourmet versions of British comfort food. This is an adaptation of his recipe for a classic American dish, which—if not officially associated with St. John the evangelist himself—bears the saint’s name and makes for a lovely meal on a cold winter’s day.

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 month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Use this tracker to check off your daily Rosary. Not ready for a whole Rosary yet? Try starting with one decade, and work your way up to all five by the end of the month.

The surprise is that these sugar cookies get their lovely green color from . . . spinach! You really can’t taste it, honest.

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.

Any combination of apples will work. My favorite is Granny Smith + Honeycrisp.

It’s little-known these days, but every Friday of the year is still a required day of penance, and the recommended act of penance is still abstinence from meat (although an alternate sacrifice is permitted in some dioceses outside of Lent) . . . EXCEPT when a solemnity falls on a Friday, which the solemnity of the Sacred Heart ALWAYS DOES! Time to celebrate!

In 1917, Our Lady appeared to three peasant children in Portugal six times, emphasizing prayer, making sacrifices for sinners, a devotion to the Immaculate Heart, and saying a daily Rosary. To commemorate the day, plan to say a family Rosary together. These biscuit cookies can be used to form an edible decade, or enjoyed together afterward as you watch the movie Fatima!

The story of the Annunciation can be found in Saint Luke’s Gospel, and tells of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary in the village of Nazareth. In this humble home, it’s announced that Jesus was to be conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary. As you color, let it be an invitation to deeper prayer and meditation on this joyful mystery!

Celebrate the feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity by praying the prayer on the back of this holy card and by displaying their image for the day!

Honor Saint Paul Miki and his twenty-five companions by trying the traditional Japanese art of folding paper, or origami! As you fold, feel free to talk about the blessing of religious freedom and the persecution many Christians still face today.

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!

This coloring page draws its inspiration from Saint Teresa’s writings about the interior castle in the soul. Color your castle and ask Saint Teresa to intercede for you on your own journey closer to God!

Celebrate Our Lady Queen of Angels with some light as air Angel Food Cupcakes topped with whipped cream! Add a few blueberries on top of each cupcake for a touch of Marian blue too!

St. Kateri is known as the Lily of the Mohawks. She lived in a Mohawk village in what is now western New York state. Three Sisters Soup is a traditional Native American recipe from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nation, of which the Mohawks are a part. The term “Three Sisters” refers to the three main crops of some North American tribes: maize (corn), squash, and beans. The three plants were planted close together and like close sisters, aided one another in their respective growing processes. Regular corn can be substituted for hominy, but hominy is more traditional. Serve with corn muffins . . . boiled if you want to be authentic!

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 France, lobster is served for the feast of saints Anne and Joachim. But because lobster isn’t always an option we love to serve shrimp scampi. It’s shellfish, it’s delicious, and it’s a little bit more manageable than an entire lobster on your plate.

Have the whole family join in on dinner prep tonight as you make a fun meal to remind you that Jesus has real power over death! As you wrap up your hot dog you can talk about how Lazarus died, was put into a tomb, and most importantly how Jesus raised him from the dead.

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

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.

If you didn’t grow up in Southern California like I did, fish tacos might sound a bit unusual. But if you’re okay with fish sticks and tortillas, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Because that’s all it is! This is a fun and portable meal that works great for Friday picnics and beach days and sporting events. It is the perfect complement to St. Thomas s’Mores (get it . . . s’MORES?) on the feast of Ss. John Fisher and Thomas More. To have them on the go, bake the fish sticks and warm the tortillas at home. Wrap them in foil and pack the warm and cool stuff in separate coolers, then assemble at your destination. If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute parsley or basil.

Pentecost is the name of the Jewish festival that was being celebrated in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit first descended upon Mary and the disciples. It is also called the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. Originally, this was a spring festival celebrating the first-fruits of the wheat harvest. It also commemorates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Tradition says that the people waited so long for Moses to return from Mt. Sinai that the milk curdled and white cheese was left, and so dairy products—specifically cheesecakes and cheese blintzes—are eaten at Shavuot. The whiteness of these dishes serves as a reminder of the purity or holiness of God's Law. These cupcake-sized cheesecakes are quicker and easier than their full-sized counterparts, and the cherry pie topping brings a festive Pentecost-red touch to the traditional white.

Enjoy some apple pie in honor of Mama Mary, Mother of the Church! Tart Granny Smith apples are complemented by the sweet filling. This pie freezes well!

On the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, we remember the day the sun miraculously danced in the sky. These cupcakes are a fancy treat to celebrate this great feast of the Blessed Mother! Orange zest in the cupcake batter AND the frosting makes them taste like sunshine, but it’s fun to decorate them that way, too. We recommend dried pineapple “suns” for an elegant topper, but candy corns work for a less-involved decoration!

In the section Trinity Sunday in The Catholic All Year Compendium, I wrote: I have a liturgical living bucket list of crazy foods I would like to someday be able to serve for feast days. They haven’t happened yet because they are difficult to obtain or prepare or are prohibitively expensive. On that list is my dream food for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity: Turducken. It’s a chicken, stuffed into a duck, stuffed into a turkey (all deboned and sewn back together with various veggies and stuffings in there too). Three birds in one meat. The chicken is meat. The duck is meat. The turkey is meat. The chicken is NOT the duck. The duck is NOT the turkey. The turkey is NOT the chicken. How perfect would that be?

The “croque madame” is a French grilled cheese sandwich with ham inside and a fried egg on top. Sounds odd, but it’s SO good. It was my very favorite meal on our pilgrimage to Lourdes a few years back. THEN I realized that the name of the sandwich basically translates to “crispy lady” and I knew it was meant to be a part of our feast day celebration of Saint Joan of Arc. Gruyere is the cheese that’s traditionally used, but swiss works in a pinch.

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!

In this booklet, you'll find prayers, readings, hymns, and reflections for Easter Mass during the Day!

Super simple, but sooooo fancy, fruit water is a perfect addition to tea parties, luncheons, and . . . water fights? I think so, anyway. It’s most flavorful when prepared ahead of time and left to steep for 2-4 hours (not more than 10-12). But it’s fun to set out various bowls of ingredients and let kids build their own concoctions and eat/drink them right away. Fresh or frozen fruit works

This traditional Brazilian dish uses canned hearts of palm, which is convenient if you don’t want to harvest the inner core of a palm tree stem yourself. The flash of red from the tomatoes and red onions makes it especially appropriate for the day!

What to do with all that lovely stock you just made? Turn it into a simple and infinitely customizable soup. For a quick dinner option, I use two 10-12 ounce packages of frozen seasoned vegetables, and a 1 pound bag of frozen meatballs. It’s also great with fresh or leftover veggies and leftover chicken or other meat. Leftover rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes can be mixed in. Use fish, shrimp, shellfish, or a mix of canned beans for a meat-free soup for Friday Soup & Stations.

This is really just stock or bone broth, but my kids like to call it “trash can soup” because the stock is made entirely from things we would have otherwise thrown away. It’s free. It’s an authentically “whole” way to eat. It’s a natural way to reduce food waste. It was a usual practice for our ancestors. Most importantly, it’s tasty and nourishing and straightforward to make.

Panettone is a light and fluffy fruitcake traditionally served throughout Italy (and the world) at Christmastime. But in Milan, it’s also served on the feast of Saint Blaise. So if you missed it on Christmas, here’s your second chance! This overnight starter version helps keep the panettone fresher for longer.

St. Thomas Aquinas’s “dumb ox” nickname is the inspiration for this fun feast day dinner! I love it when I get to serve a saint story-themed meal to my children, the idea of which will be shocking and horrifying to them, but that is actually a totally normal dinner that they’ll like eating. Oxtail soup is perfect. An ox is just a bull with a job (and some surgical modifications), so oxtail is just a cow’s tail, which, once it’s skinned and whatnot, is just a piece of beef with some bones in it. Ethnic grocery stores often have them in stock, but any store’s butcher counter should be able to get some for you. In a pinch, you can make mock oxtail soup with a combination of beef stew meat and marrow bones.

Decorate you mantle or wall for Jesus’ special day (January 9th) with this banner. Use it again to celebrate baptism day anniversaries in your family!

The Magnificat, also known as the Canticle of Mary, is taken from Luke 1:46-55. Use this page to decorate, and—if the family doesn’t already know it—practice and learn the prayer by heart this month.

In honor of Saint Jude and his tongue of fire, we’re making fire-roasted veggies, but . . . in the oven.