Happy Feast of All Saints

"Today, my dear Christians, is a day on which, more than on any other, the faithful look up to heaven and reflect, how supremely happy the saints are who enjoy the bliss of heaven at the throne of God; a day on which, by meditating on the never-ending happiness of the saints, an ardent longing is stirred in our hearts that we may one day take part in this happiness."


"Dear Christians! We all have to-day the desire—yes, even the ardent longing—to enjoy one day with the saints in heaven their glory and their happiness. But let us consider well that the Christian whose thoughts and actions are only directed toward transitory treasures, honors, and pleasures is not on the path where the joys of heaven are found. Christians must not desire what is earthly, but what is heavenly; not what is false, but what is true; not what is temporary and fleeting, but what is eternal and never-ending. Therefore our hearts must not be set upon the treasures, honors, and pleasures of this world, so that we may not miss the end for which we were created—heaven. "For what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?" (Matt. xvi. 26). Our Saviour calls to us Christians and exhorts us to strive after the happiness of heaven with these words: "Seek first the kingdom of God" (Matt. vi. 33). "The fool," says St. Ambrose, "holds with them who are of the world; the wise man prefers the eternal glory of heaven" (Serm. 37)."

-- Cure de Ars, excerpts from Sermon for the Feast of All Saints

Happy All Saints Day!

My Beggars

The gang all ready to head out for Trick-or-Treat night.

Gabe the Giraffe hung out with Grandma at home to pass out treats.

Joseph thoroughly enjoyed his new train wheels. He also was quite fond of going door to door to get candy. Once he got the hang of it, he was full steam ahead.

Juju the Ladybug was easily frightened. Steam machines, masks, and people running amok made her quite nervous. This was more than made up for by the cute way she would say "tank oo" to all the neighbors.

Bophie, always my princess, is forever caught between being a "little" kid and a "big" kid. She spent the night trying to run with the older girls as Dad lad them on a quest to make it through all the houses in the neighborhood. He ended up carrying her for the most part.

Bear, a pilgrim/St. Eliazabeth Ann Seton (once I dye the cap black), packed on two pairs of jeans and three shirts under that costume. It was cold out there!

Banana, a doctor/St. Gianna Molla, led the quest for candy. She also handled pumpkin carving this year like a surgeon.

I should've taken pictures of the loot. Five beggars, two hours, and generous neighbors make for a house too full of chocolate for this low on will power, sleep-deprived mom.

Wordless Wednesday-- Pumpkin Patch Edition

Food Drives

I don't know if this only happens in my area, but the week of Halloween always seems to bring out kids collecting can goods for food pantries. I actually look forward to this. I like clearing out the cans that seem to collect dust. I also much prefer this to other fundraisers where I am asked to spend $14 for a roll of wrapping paper I could pick up for a buck fifty.

This year, the first group was a handful of girl scouts on a scavenger hunt. They were panting and out of breath trying to hurry. I think we made their day. A month or so ago dh was at our parish as they were cleaning out the pantry. They had the absolute biggest can of spaghetti sauce I had ever seen. Dh, being unable to pass up something free, brought it home. It took up half a shelf in my pantry and, really, the jar was more appropriate for a dinner of 50 rather than our family of 5. So the girl scouts got the spaghetti sauce. I now have half a shelf in my pantry too. It was a win-win situation.

The next group introduced themselves as the local high school National Honor Society. You know top of their class, smartest kids around. I was in the NHS when I was in high school as well, so I was happy to retrieve 4 large cans and clear more space in my pantry. I bring them out to the two young girls at my porch who then exchange funny glances and look back at me and say, "How do you think we should carry these?" Apparently, we were the first house they had solicited and they had not thought about how they would actually carry the cans they wanted to collect from our neighborhood. Remember, this is the National Honor Society. I went in to retrieve the sturdiest bag I could find. After thanking me one girl turns to the other and says, "you think anyone else thought about how to carry this stuff?" The group of 10 year old girls scouts were smart enough to bring a wagon, I guess it is a good thing I gave them the spaghetti sauce.

My Favorite Fall Food

Squash Soup! I had a request for the recipe, so I thought I would try to post it. We wait and wait for the squash to go on sale. The minute it is in the produce section, my girls are carrying over 2 or 3 to put in the cart. Something about the sweet and spicy and the creamy texture makes this the ultimate fall comfort food in our house. I often make it for Friday dinners in October and November as we try to observe Friday abstinence all year round.

I am typically one of those follow a recipe to a t person. The chemist in me (believe it or not that is what my degree is) requires that I measure everything. That does well for baking, but not cooking in general. This is probably my one recipe that has little to no measurements.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
2 large butternut squash
Ground red cayenne pepper, cracked black pepper, kosher salt (all to taste)
1 onion
1 stick butter
1 ½ large cans of broth (I typically use chicken)
2 8oz packages of cream cheese

Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Lightly sprinkle with red cayenne pepper, cracked black pepper, kosher salt (all to taste). Place squash in a shallow baking dish that has about an inch of water in the bottom. Roast for about half an hour at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let it cool. When it is cool enough to handle, remove the peeling and cut into pieces. I make my pieces about the size I use when making mashed potatoes.

In a soup pan over medium high heat melt butter. Add onions and allow to caramelize. Then add the broth and squash pieces. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using a blender, puree the squash and broth mixture with the cream cheese. Put the soup back in the pan to heat, but do not allow to boil. I taste it here to decide if I would like to add more spice as we tend to like it fairly spicy here. Serve warm

Here is a recipe similar to mine: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butternut-Squash-Soup/Detail.aspx

Want to share your favorite fall recipe?

Fall

I wouldn't want anyone to think that the only reason I love fall is college football. There is so much more than that. Here are some of my favorites:

• Knee-high socks on my girls. Being homeschooled they are largely unaware of fashion so they get on kicks. Last year it was anything that made them look like they belonged on with Laura and Mary on the prarie. This year it is anything that resembles a school uniform. Plaid skirts with knee high socks will always be cute.

• New school books. We got one last package of new books this week. I just love the crispness of the pages and the excitement of looking through what we get to learn (I say we because I am often in need of a refresher, especially with History).

• Apple picking, hayrides, pumpkin patches. We will be doing more of this in the coming weeks.

• Sweaters, sweatshirts, and jeans and new shoes to crunch the leaves.

• Squash soup. We had it for dinner tonight. It is such an easy soup to make and it is absolutely hands down one of my favorite meals. A salad and a loaf of bread and you have some serious comfort food that is fairly healthy. I can't wait for tomorrow's leftovers.
  

OK, my favorite is still football, but tonight's dinner reminded me of how much I love this time of year.