Eating & Drinking Liturgically: The Hidden Beauty of Seasonal Food
By Sarah White,
I brought up the gift that is the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church a few months back, how it always begins with Easter, flows into Ordinary Time, then into Advent and Christmas, Ordinary Time again, and then into Lent…leading us right back to Easter. It’s an ebb and flow, constantly going between times deemed “ordinary” and “extraordinary.”
Even the scripture read in mass every day cycles over the course of three years, as opposed to the repeating liturgical calendar’s yearly cycle. This means that if you read through the daily missal for three years straight, you will go through the entire Bible. This, wonderfully, has little effect on how purposeful the Scriptures are read throughout the year––how intentionally the Catholic Church has structured carrying Her faithful through Scripture throughout the seasons.
There is a lot to be said about the beauty of the liturgical cycles. Each year, we know Advent is coming again, yet the season can be completely different for us from the year before. I can think back to each Lent I’ve spent as a Catholic and see them all so differently. The repetition of experiencing Lent doesn’t diminish the potential for spiritual connection or spiritual growth. If anything, it enhances it. Each season seems to have its own way of taking its time (which we sometimes appreciate and sometimes do not, looking at you: extra long Lent last year that I was confident would never end).
In the same way, I think there is also a lot to be said about the beauty of seasonal cycles in food. Of being able to only eat certain fruits and vegetables at certain times of the year, of taking special care to incorporate strawberries during the summer because they won’t be in season come winter, and never leaving the store without getting some squash or pumpkin in the fall because they won’t be on the shelves come springtime. I know that, these days, we have the unique privilege of not seeing many things disappear from the shelves once they are technically out of season. We are not forced into seasonal eating if we don’t want to be! Grocery stores will keep many things available to us year round, “in season” or not. And that is a gift I don’t want to sidestep in my recommendation to be more aware of the seasonal cycles of fresh produce.
In the same way Advent this year could look so very different from how it did last year, I only wish to invite you to perhaps let the same happen with cherries every summer. Or pomegranates, come holiday season. Or apricots, come springtime. That you use them when they are in season in as many ways as possible, because in a few weeks (or months) they won’t be anymore, and it’ll be time to draw your attention to another set of seasonal foods. Even if it’s still available at your local grocery store. My husband and I have been exploring this part of eating as a way to learn to love our food more, and it’s been working. I cannot tell you how much mango we consume when it’s in season! To start, you can look here or here for calendars and grocery lists.
Recipes
Taken from the cookbooks Drinking with the Saints and Cooking with the Saints
September 3, Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa is a woman many look up to––and for good reason! Her charism in giving spiritually and emotionally to the poor around her changed the world and inspired countless conversions and reversions. During her time as a nun, she founded the Missionaries of Charity and paved the way for dying patients being able to receive the chance to die with dignity through proper medical care, regardless of their faith. To celebrate her life and her legacy, Cooking with the Saints offers this delicious recipe:
Albanian Lemon Butter Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ softened butter
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp melted butter
1 to 2 beaten egg yolks
Confectioner’s sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix together flour, yogurt, granulated sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda and lemon zest into a large mixing bowl. Once the dough becomes flaky, turn it onto a clean surface. Butter your hands with the melted butter and knead the dough, shaping into small walnut shapes.
Place the cookies on the baking sheet 1 inch apart. Brush with beaten egg yolks.
Bake for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and enjoy!
September 12, The Holy Name of Mary
The Devil told Saint Francis that he is afraid of three things: the Holy Name of Jesus, the brown scapular, and the Holy Name of Mary. The feast day of the Holy Name of Mary was first observed on September 15, the octave day of her nativity, but has over time been adjusted to September 12. What first comes to my mind is Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine at the Wedding at Cana, which leads me to a drink you have tons of wiggle room to choose for to celebrate this wonderful feast day: any wine you like! White, rose, red, take your pick! Open the bottle with some friends, and toast to the Holy Name of Mary, her trust in her Son, and ask that she may intercede for us in asking for the same graces for our own trust in the Father.
