Rays of Mercy Fruit Platter

~Happy Divine Mercy Sunday and Beatification of Venerable Pope John Paul II~

This is an easy Divine Mercy fruit platter to make, reflecting the rays of mercy.

"The two rays denote Blood and Water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...,

These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.

These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father.  Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him."~Diary of St. Faustina 299~

Simple Instructions:

Just place fruit on skewers to reflect the red blood ray (strawberries) and blue pale water (blueberries) rays of Divine Mercy.  I also used bananas to add to the pale rays that stand for water.  You often see white mixed in with the blue rays to the far right of the image. You can certainly opt out of the banana skewers and just use strawberries and blueberries for the 2 rays only. I then trimmed my skewers to fit nicely on the platter I had.

"Let the rays of grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life."

Diary of St. Faustina~1486

[May $20 Budget Meal] Specific Key Ingredient - "Tofu/Beancurd"

Here is the polling result voted by some of the readers over at Cuisine Paradise facebook page (HERE). From the photo you can see that Tofu has "14 votes" which is the highest among the rest of the mentioned ingredients. In the case, for May [$20 Budget Meal], we will use "Tofu" as the specific ingredient for one of the dish in the budget menu (eg: steam tofu, fried tofu, braised tofu and etc).

HOW TO JOIN:

~ Prepare either "2 Dishes plus 1 Soup" or "1 Pot Dish" using a budget which is not more than $20.00 for 2 - 4 servings. If you are from overseas, you can also participate by converting to the appropriate currency value, (ie. US$15.00, RM$50.00, Rp $138,000 and etc)

~ If you do not have a blog, just send in the photos and at least one recipe from your dishes and I will publish on your behalf in my blog, credited to you. (photos can be taken in any form using digital camera or hand phone)

~ All submission entries must be published in your blog or prepared during the month of May from 01 May  - 25th May 2011.

~ Please do mention in your blog that you are sharing this post to “May $20 Budget Meal - Specific Ingredient is "Tofu/Beancurd"” and link it to this page HERE (use this link: http://ellenaguan.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-20-budget-meal-specific-key.html) to encourage more readers to contribute into the event.

Since this month theme is on "Tofu/Beancurd" you can use your own imaginations or recipe(s) from cookbook to come up with all kind of related recipes using any type of tofu such as Egg, Silken, Traditional, Firm or etc that you prefer.

SUBMISSION:

~ E-mail your "blog link plus Photos of the dishes" or "photos with recipe" to ellenaguan@hotmail.com with a subject "May $20 Budget Meal" in the following format:

Your Name:
URL of your post:
Name of your dishes + soup:
Estimate amount spent for each dish:
Attachment of your photos in your email (each photo, preferably 500kb or less).

To enlighten you with a better ideas on the Tofu dish, here are four different types of preparation methods that you can take into reference. And if you are not sure about the post requirements or how to breakdown the price-list of each dishes/soup, you can refer to one of the example post HERE.

Lastly I would like to thanks everyone who has participated in the last two [$20 Budget Meal] events., all your dishes and ideas are Awesome!!! And till date we have in total, 35 sets of "$20 Budget Meal' which are quick and easy to prepare. If you are interested you can take a look at March Round-up(Here) and April Round-up(Here).

CLOSING DATE:

~ Wednesday, 25 May 2011, 2359 hours  and all entries will be compiled and posted on 31st May 2011.

Celebrating Easter ~ Share your pictures!

Photo: Our 2011 Lamb Butter and Paschal Candle

He is Risen! Alleluia!!

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter Sunday, and that you continue to have a blessed and joyous Easter Season!

For those of you with children, last year Charlotte and I put together plans for celebrating the 50 days of Easter with a weekly Good Shepherd Garden Party for our children and would love for you to join us!  The recipes and Bible readings for the first two weeks can be viewed and downloaded here and here.  Charlotte has also illustrated a set of 50 printable symbols, for anyone that wasn't able to order a Sticker Calendar or, like my children, would like to color their own set, in addition to using the daily stickers!

Beginning next Monday (and continuing each Monday throughout the Easter season) we will post a Mr. Linky, here at Catholic Cuisine, for whoever would like to share the pictures from each week's Garden Party!

In the meantime, we would love to see what you served for Easter! Please post your pictures (and/or favorite Easter recipes) and add a link to the bottom of this post.



Update: I've changed the date on this post so that it will remain at the top of the blog until Saturday.

St. Catherine of Siena Faith Cupcakes

Saint Catherine of Sienna Exchanging Her Heart with Christ " by Giovanni di Paolo, part of a three part altar panel, hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Saint Catherine of Siena
Virgin & Doctor of the Church
April 29 ~ New Calendar - April 30 ~ Traditional Calendar

 

Our catechesis today deals with Saint Catherine of Siena, a Dominican tertiary, a woman of great holiness and a Doctor of the Church. Catherine’s spiritual teachings are centered on our union with Christ, the bridge between earth and heaven. Her own virginal entrustment to Christ the Bridegroom was reflected in her celebrated visions. Catherine’s life also shows us the importance of the spiritual maternity exercised by so many women in every age. From this great saint let us learn to grow in holiness, love for the Lord and fidelity to his body, the Church. ~ BENEDICT XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE, November 24, 2010

~~~

St. Catherine of Siena is assigned the virtue of faith for the Little Flowers Girls’ Group. 

The sunflower represents faith.

“Our faith may be compared to this flower, since its gaze is ever fixed above, and turned towards the glorious sun of divine truth.”

~ Fr. Lasance - Catholic Girl’s Guide

I decided to make this cupcake in honor of St. Catherine of Siena and the virtue of faith.

  I found the idea at Skip To My Lou.

St. Catherine of Siena Faith Cupcakes

SUPPLIES:

• yellow cake mix
• buttercream frosting (recipe below)
• chocolate frosting
• chocolate puff cereal
• cupcake liners
• golden yellow gel icing color
• star tip for icing

DIRECTIONS:

Bake cupcakes as desired. I used a box mix of yellow cake.

Frost the middle of the cake with chocolate frosting.

Dip the frosted cupcake into chocolate puff cereal.*  Don’t worry too much about the edges because you will be able to cover up any imperfections with the yellow icing, in the next step.

*Save this step for later if you plan to refrigerate the cupcake.  If not, the cereal will loose it’s crunch and become stale.

Using a star tip, frost around the chocolate top of the cupcake with buttercream frosting that has been dyed yellow using Golden Yellow gel icing color. 

 

1 batch of the buttercream frosting is enough for approximately 36 Faith Cupcakes or 1 dozen traditional cupcakes.

 

Recipe: Buttercream Frosting (taken from the Bird and the Berry)

Prep Time: --  |  Cook Time: --  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 3 cups of icing

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Slice butter into large bowl.  Cream shortening and butter with electric mixer.

Add vanilla.

Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.

Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 

The frosting should be creamy in texture and easy to pipe, but stiff enough to hold shape and not move off the cupcake.

NOTES:

The more you whip the frosting the more air you add to it and the creamier and fluffier it will be.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use.

Refrigerate in airtight container, this icing can be stored for 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

[Breakfast Ideas] Poached And Soft-Boiled Eggs with Toast

What do you usually have for your breakfast. In Singapore most of us love to have Coffee with toast and soft boiled egg either at home, coffee shop or etc. And the most common hang out will be either at Ya Kun or Toast Box where they serve pretty good toast with soft boiled egg.

Here I will be sharing two quick and easy recipes on how to prepare Toast with Eggs like those western style breakfast serving in most cafe where you can impress your family members during weekend breakfast.

Most of us know that Eggs have excellent nutritional value. They contain protein which is needed for building and repairing the cells in muscles and other body tissues as well as supply valuable minerals and vitamins. Since my boy loves egg(he eats at least 1 egg per day) we usually have at least a tray at home every week. Recently I got a box of this new CP Chilled Fresh Eggs which are known to be sanitised, oiled and chilled within one hour of being laid to ensure that the supreme freshness from the farms is sealed and kept within the eggs.

These eggs are packed in a transparent tray with size range from 65 - 70g per egg that cost S$2.50 per box of 6 Large Eggs. And on the packaging it is also stated that these eggs contain lesser cholesterol than ordinary eggs, and have a lifespan of up to 90 days! As you can see from the photos below, the egg yolk of these CP Chilled Fresh Eggs is rather more firm and orange in colour compared to the normal yellow yolks that we used to see. And we also find that it taste more fragrant while eating poached or soft-boiled too. If you are interested to give it a try, these eggs are available at all Cold Storage, NTUC Finest, Meidiya and Carrefour currently.

You can achieve different texture of soft-boiled egg according to your preference by timing the simmering time such as 5 minutes for medium-boiled and 7 minutes for hard-boiled (mine was about 3 1/2  to 4 minutes as I prefer it to be a bit runny for dipping my toast). The reason for stirring egg occasionally also helps the yolk to stay centered in the egg for even distribution.

SOFT-BOILED EGGS

Ingredients: (serve 2)
2 Fresh Egg, at room temperature
Multi-grain toast fingers, to serve

Method:-

1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Reduce heat to medium(once the water boil) and simmer for 3 minutes.

3. Remove pan from heat, using slotted spoon transfer eggs to egg cups.

4. Using a teaspoon, carefully remove tops from eggs and serve with toast fingers and extra sides(optional).

In Poaching method, the egg is cracked into a bowl then gently slid into a pan of simmering water and cooked until the egg white has almost solidified but the yolk still remains soft. And this is a healthy way of consuming fresh egg without using at oil or fat in it's preparation.

POACHED EGGS

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 Teaspoons White Vinegar
2 Fresh Eggs, at room temperature
Butter Toast, to serve

Method:-

1. Pour cold water into a large saucepan at least 8 - 10cm deep. Add in white vinegar and bring to boil over medium heat.

2. Reduce heat to low(water should still be simmering around the edge with tiny bubbles).

3. Crack 1 egg at a time into a shallow bowl, using a spoon stirring water to create a whirlpool. (stir about 5 - 6 rounds)

4. Slowly tip egg into water while with the whirlpool spinning and for 2 minutes for soft yolk or 3 minutes for firm.

5. Using a slotted spoon, remove egg from water, drained well and serve it on toast.

6. Skim foam from water and poach remaining egg.

For this recipe, try to use fresh egg for poaching as the egg white will be at its thickest and it will produce a good shape. Whereas stirring the water with spoon also keeps the egg rounded while adding vinegar to the water helps to set the egg white quickly too.

Bread of Life :: First Communion Candy Molds

I just realized that I never did get around to posting about the last of the Easter Symbol Candies that I included in my children's Easter Baskets.   Originally I had planned to save this candy mold to make for on top of a cake to celebrate our my oldest daughter's First Communion later this year.  However, after trying it out when I was making all the other candies, I decided it did tie in nicely to Easter as well. 

We used two quotes to go along with this "Bread of Life" Candy - one explaining the symbols of Bread and Wine/Wheat and Grapes and the other explaining the IHS symbol, both from ICC Religious Education. 

Bread and Wine/Wheat and Grapes: Because of the bread and wine they produce, the symbols of wheat and grapes are often used to designate the Eucharist. Bread is the basic food of every culture and of every age in human history. Made from the toil of human hands, the many grains of wheat are transformed and become one to nourish and sustain us. A meal, in which bread is broken and shared, becomes a means of bonding human beings together. This is the sign Jesus used to describe Himself as the "Bread of Life." Following His command, in faith we take and eat this Bread, His Body, and become one with Him."  From ancient times wine is associated with banquets, joy and celebration, a gift of God to gladden our hearts. The grapes, like the grains of wheat used for bread, are fruits of the earth and give of themselves in order that we might celebrate and be glad. This sign which Jesus used for His Blood, speaks to us of giving and of sacrifice in order that we might enjoy the benefits of His love in the banquet which is the foretaste of heavenly joy.

IHS: IHS stands for the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek.

For my first attempt, I used a few different color candy melts:  White, Green, Yellow, and a mix or Red and Light Blue to make a Burgundy for the Grapes. 

This took a little time, as I patiently waited for each color to set.    I did have a little trouble getting all the air bubbles out of the beads around the top of the chalice, but poking a toothpick through the chocolate (searching for each bubble to pop) was a quick and easy solution.   

As you can tell from the pictures, I didn't do the best job on keeping the colors exactly where they were suppose to be, but I still thought it turned out lovely! 

Another, much easier, variation would be just to use all white Chocolate.   To make the next chocolate literally took just a couple minutes to fill the mold and shake the air bubbles out.   

Be sure to put a little extra chocolate at the top of the chalice to prevent breakage, and also be sure to let it set completely before removing it from the mold.

I think this solid white one would look so pretty on top of a soft-pink frosted cake for my daughter.   

Here are some of the other Communion Themed Candy Molds that can currently be found at Amazon:

You can find other ideas and recipes for celebrating First Communions in the archives! 

[Easter April $20 Budget Meal] Round-Up!

Thanks everyone for supporting the Easter April - $20 Budget Meal event with a Easter theme of using Egg in one of the prepared dish. Thanks everyone whom take the effort to note down the pricing of ingredients and spending on each ingredient to support this event. Here we have a total of 21 fabulous sets of "2 Dishes 1 Soup" menu from blogger and facebook friends of different countries such as USA, Australia and Singapore.

Here are all the entries for the [Easter April - $20 Budget Meal], listed in the order of the date submitted.

Watercress Pork Ribs Soup (西洋菜排骨汤), Braised Fish Head (红烧鱼头), Steamed Egg with Chinese Yam and Mushrooms (淮山蒸蛋烩双菇)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.20; Serves 6



Luo Han Guo and Watercress Soup plus Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$11.50; Serves 3



Sausage, Bacon and Egg Pie, Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup, Salad Green

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.70; Serves 3 - 6



Chinese Yam and White Fungus Soup (淮山雪耳瘦肉汤), Seaweed Egg Roll (紫菜腐竹鸡蛋卷), Steamed Fish with Tomato and Salted Vegetables (蕃茄咸菜蒸鱼尾)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.00; Serves 3



Garlic Kale, Daikon Fried Egg, Stir-Fry Combination Veggies

by Tigerfish of An Escape to Food (Sunnyvale, California - United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 4



Stewed Pork Rice (卤肉饭), Stewed Eggs with Bean Curd (卤蛋/ 卤豆干) and Cabbage and King Mushroom Soup (白菜鸡腿菇汤)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.50; Serves 6



Pork Shabu Salad with Ponzu Dressing and Egg Drop Soup

by Namiko of Just One Cookbook (United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 2-3



Spicy Kangkong, Chicken in Rice Wine and Dried Laver Anchovies Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 5.04 (S$6.20); Serves 4



Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Ham and Egg Pizza Tart

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$8.60; Serves 3



ABC Soup (马铃薯蕃茄红萝卜煲鸡汤), Corn Fritters with Avocado Dip (黄金玉米片) , Broccoli with Egg Whites in Milk Broth (奶汁蛋白西兰花)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.00; Serves 3-4



Seaweed and Minced Pork Soup, Fried Bitter Gourd Omelette and Ma Po Tofu

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$6.60; Serves 3



Honey Marinated Chicken Wings, Ham and Onion omelette and Cream of Mushroom

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.40; Serves 2



Corn, Carrot and Radish Soup, Stir Fry Long Beans and Mushrooms and Chili Prawns with Century Eggs

by Daphne of More Than Words (Australia)
Total Spending: AU$13.10; Serves 4



Steamed Fried Fish with Miso Sauce, Stir Fry Marrow Green and Egg with Crispy Silver Fish and Radish Pork Ribs Soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$18.50; Serves 4



Eggy Pepperoni Pizza and Eggy Turkey wrap

by Lobster of Lobsterpaints (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.95; Serves 2



Minced Pork Omelette, Steamed Tilapia and Fish Ball Soup with Spinach

by Anncoo of Anncoo Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.65; Serves 4



Crabstick Steamed Egg, Stir-fried Cucumber with Prawns and Lotus Root Soup

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.20; Serves 6



Seah’s Chicken Curry, Sambal Fried Egg and Stir Fry Bittergourd with Clam in Miso Sauce

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$17.75; Serves 4



Spicy Bulgogi Pork, Shanghai green with Shitake Mushroom and Korean style mussel, pork and egg soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$16.65; Serves 4



Steamed Tilapia Fillets, Eggs with Napa Cabbage and Seaweed Tofu Gochujang Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 6.87(S$8.50); Serves 4

Entry From @ahpoohbear

 

Japanese Oyakodon and Miso Soup

by Joyce of @ahpoohbear (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$3.60 ; Serves 2 - 3

JAPANESE OYAKODON RECIPE

Ingredients: (serves 3)
1.5 cup of steamed rice
1 Chicken Breast Meat, about 200g
1 onion, thinly sliced
Chicken stock (I used concentrated chicken stock and mix with water)
Mirin
3 eggs
Soy sauce to taste

Preparation:

1. Cooked steamed rice and set aside.

2. Fry the sliced onion till fragrant and add in the chicken pieces.

3. Add in the chicken stock, mirin and soy sauce to taste.

4. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes.

5. Crack the eggs into a bowl but do not beat the eggs. Instead, use a knife to slightly cut the egg yolk.

6. Once the chicken is cook, pour the egg over.

7. Let the egg cook for about 3 minutes, till the egg yolk is slightly hardened.

8. Turn off the heat.

9. Put the steamed rice into deep serving bowls and serve the simmered chicken and egg on top.


MISO SOUP

Ingredients:

Instant miso soup paste from supermarket

Preparation:

1. Get a packet of instant miso soup paste from the supermarket.

2. Pour hot water and serve.


Toal Cost: S$3.60
Chicken = $2.00
Eggs = $0.60
Onion = $0.20
Instant Miso paste $0.80 per packet


Once again, thanks everyone for taking your time to come out of these wonderful budget meals, ideas and kitchen tips. Do stay tune for our May event announcement on the specified "ingredient" upon voting from the readers. All you dishes are feature at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page HERE and the dish who earns the most number of "LIKE(s)" will received a mystery gift.