St Frances Cabrini

Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that knowing the will of God in her regard she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed beyond the strength of one woman.

(Pius XII, Canonization of St Frances Cabrini)

Frugal Gift: Church Lady Grocery Store Games

 

Six weeks from today is the Nativity of Our Lord. In my family, we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between various sides of the family. To reduce mailing costs (and to give gifts that can't be mailed) we often exchange Christmas gifts at Thanksgiving, even if they aren't opened until the end of December.

Here's a frugal gift idea, mostly purchased from the grocery store. The total cost was under $15, and it's local, comestible, and won't clutter up your house. What's not to love? Inspired by a visit to a local BBQ eatery, I put together a sauce sampler for my brother who enjoys smoking meats. 

Does your town have a local shelf stable specialty? Salsa? Chocolates? Preserves? When I lived in Boston, Trappist Preserves were for sale in the regular grocery store at the same cost as national brands. Spend some time poking around the next time you are grocery shopping- you might find a great gift!

St Martin of Tours

"Lord, if your people still need me, I am ready for the task; your will be done."
St Martin of Tours














Image source: Bernini "The Charity of St Martin"

St Leo the Great

Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.
Pope Saint Leo the Great












"Alessandro Algardi Meeting of Leo I and Attila 01" by Alessandro Algardi, (Italian, 1598–1654) - Image from Web Gallery of Art. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alessandro_Algardi_Meeting_of_Leo_I_and_Attila_01.jpg#/media/File:Alessandro_Algardi_Meeting_of_Leo_I_and_Attila_01.jpg

An ideal Friday lunch

A mug of tomato soup, hummus and pita, and a deviled egg.

Frugal Pesto, two ways

 

Top left: herb stem pesto salmon artichoke pizza

My family loves pesto, but in our small town, pine nuts are hard to come by and the grocery stores only sporadically stock prepared pesto. Instead, I have started using roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds in place of the pine nuts -an 8 ounce bag runs about $1.50.

This week, I made a couple frugal pestos from pantry and fridge/freezer staples. I haven't had much luck with incorporating herb stems in stock, but they work as well as leaves in marinades and blended sauces. Neither was on the menu in the forseeable future, so I opted to turn them into pesto rather than let them go to waste. I used the same formula a few days later, swapping frozen peas for the cilantro and enhancing its flavor with dried mint. Each recipe makes about a cup of pesto.

 

Herb stem pesto

1 bunch cilantro stems

2 cloves garlic

1 scallion (green and white portion)

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

2 T olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender.

Pea pesto

2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

2 cloves garlic

1 scallion (green and white portion)

1 mint tea bag

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

2 T olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender. 

Friday night veggie delights

If you are anything like me, you are enjoying the last few weeks of Saturday morning farmers' markets as summer slips into fall. Here are a few meatless Friday entrees to to make sure your produce drawer is ready to receive this new bounty:
1. Stirfry
2. Pasta primavera (Lasagne, if you have ricotta and feel ambitious)
3. Veggie pizza
4. Vegetable soup
5. Veggie enchiladas or quesadillas
6. Roasted vegetables over slow cooker polenta
7. Veggie omelette or quiche
8. Gardener's pie 
9. A vegetarian curry, such as coconut braised chickpeas

Make it: Mini Saint-of-the-Day Shrine

I'm slowly becoming resigned to the fact that I'm probably never going to be the mom who has the perfect dessert for every big feast day. (Plenty of people are, including some of my co-bloggers, and more power to them.) I still wanted this to be the year that I upped my liturgical game, though. So, having been inspired by this Facebook photo of unknown origin, I set out to create a shrine for our home altar that could be a home for our saint of the day.

Materials:

• dollhouse room box (I'm having trouble finding anything similar online, but these are from the dollhouse furniture section at Michael's)
• gold acrylic paint
• fancy scrapbook paper
• miniature egg-and-dart trim (found in the craft wood section of Michael's)
• small crucifix, about 1½" or less (ours are from broken rosaries)
• medium-sized wooden bead, or gold polymer clay (to hold the crucifix)

Tools:

• paintbrush
• small hand saw, sandpaper, and wood glue (for trim. The wood is soft, so I imagine a utility or craft knife could be made to work in a pinch)
• spray glue or rubber cement

Michael's sells the dollhouse boxes in two sizes. On the left is the small size with, from left-to-right, a saint block from AlmondRod Toys, a standard craft store peg doll*, and a larger peg doll (3 5/8"). The same dolls are shown in the larger-sized box on the right.

Cut the trim to just a hair longer than the width of the box (to allow for sanding), and sand the ends smooth. Attach with wood glue so that the top of the trim is even with the top of the shelf, and let dry.

Paint the box and trim with the gold paint, leaving the back surface white. This took more coats than I'd expected (5-6), but the paint dries quickly, so you really only need to give it five minutes or so between coats.

Cut the scrapbooking paper to fit (centering the motif, if necessary). The boxes weren't quite square, so we cut them just a tad big, and shaved off little bits until they fit. Glue to the back with rubber cement or spray glue.

We used wooden beads with holes large enough to accommodate the crucifix, painting them gold to match the shrine. (Something like this might also work, but I haven't tried it myself.) If you can't find something similar, you can mold a base out of polymer clay, using the crucifix to make the hole in it before baking.** Whichever you use, use a tiny bit of hot glue to secure the crucifix if necessary, then use hot glue or wood glue to place it on the top shelf of the shrine.

The glue is dry, you are ready to display your saint of the day! If you don't have figurines, I've found that the larger-size box is just right for propping up a standard holy card.

Other ideas:

• A paper banner, reading "Saint of the Day," or "Ora pro nobis," instead of the trim.
• Tiny silk flowers in a vase made from a large fancy bead or a wooden candle cup.
• Tiny votive candles (just for decoration, of course!)

*Sorry, I don't have the dimensions. Maybe when Margaret Mary is back from Philly, she can help me out.
**I was really hoping these would work, but sadly, they're just a tiny bit too big!)

Friday night pizzas

Artichoke and kale; crab and corn; farm eggs and braised scallions

With the warm summer weather, our weekly Friday night pizza has migrated to the grill and we have abandoned our usual pantry staple toppings for the bounty of the herb garden and farmers' market. While these pizzas might be meatless, they aren't lacking in flavor. Frugal Friday tip: roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds make an economical substitute for pine nuts.

Kale pesto with sweet potatoes and Vidalia onions

Clam and parsley; zucchini

Parsley pesto, zucchini, and heirloom cherry tomatoes

Back to School done right

I just got home from parish school registration for my older son. I wasn't initially motivated to go- all finances from tuition to milk money are handled through a tuition management company, my son won't need the school uniform until kindergarten, and somehow we muddled through last school year without attending. While in my heart I wish school started after Labor Day, I have nothing but props for how well the school staff set up this event geared towards parents (there will be a parish wide family hot dog dinner the night before school starts next week).

Entering in the school gym, one went through a circuit of informational tables: first, we were welcomed by the Principal and received the School Calendar and Handbook. Then followed the middle school religion teacher, a young religious brother, staffing a table geared to middle school needs. Next came the opportunity to share time, talent, and treasure by volunteering for Parent Teacher Council events and ordering SCRIP. A representative from the uniform company was available to answer questions, and secondhand uniforms were available for purchase.  Subsequently, athletics waivers could be turned in; laptops were available to register for inclement weather alerts. The last leg reinforced the connection between the diocese, parish, and the school: Virtus registration, verifying parish census information; and receiving a children's Sunday lectionary from the parish priest. Additionally, student club tables were located in the adjacent lobby. All in all, it was a well coordinated event that bodes well for the new school year.

Image: Vincent Van Gogh, "The Schoolboy"