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March 3 

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Saint of the day:

Saint Katherine Drexel


Patron Saint of racial justice and philanthropists

Katharine Drexel’s Story
 

If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that.

Born in Philadelphia in 1858, she had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, Katharine also had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.

Katharine had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities.

Back home, Katharine visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions.

Katharine Drexel could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor, she wrote in 1889, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!”

After three and a half years of training, Mother Drexel and her first band of nuns–Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored–opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states.

Two saints met when Mother Drexel was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans.

At 77, Mother Drexel suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000.



http://www.katharinedrexel.org/

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=193
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Drexel

https://soundcloud.com/user-84758912-221844386/saint-stories-for-kids-wk8-st-katharine-drexel

 

Prayer:

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St.-Katharine-Drexel-–-CNS.jpg


Visit:
Tomb of St. Katharine Drexel
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
1663 Bristol Pike
Bensalem, PA 19020

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Recipes:
 

Tocabe's American Indian Tacos &
Soul Food yummmmy!

To me these are the ultimate comfort foods!
I grew up on soul food, gumbo, etouffee, cheese grits, shrimp (any way), seafood, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, greens, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, fried okra, peach cobbler, banana pudding, pecan pie, corn bread, sweet tea...

Man oh man just thinking of this makes my mouth water!
This takes me back to sitting at my great grandmother's table. She was an amazing lady. Half English and Half Creek Indian, she was a healer of the heart and body. She was a nurse. She was the head of our family. And very much beloved. She taught us all how to cook very well. She taught us to give with an open heart. She was my favorite and still is. Love you Myrtle 

My great grandmother Myrtle 

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Ron's Fried Chicken!
 

  • Oil (280'F, about four inches high in your pot)

  • 4 cups AP flour

  • 2 TBSP of paprika

  • 2 TBSP of garlic powder 

  • 2 TBSP of black pepper

  • 1 TBSP of mustard powder

  • 1 TBSP of salt

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  • 3 cups of buttermilk

  • 1 cup of whole milk

  • 1 large cut up chicken

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Directions: 

  1. Mix the flour and the spices in a bowl and set aside.

  2. Mix the milk and the buttermilk together then add the cut chicken the the milk mixture.

  3. Take the chicken and dredge it into the blended flour mixture.

  4. Shake the chicken off and then dip it back into the milk mixture.

  5. Place the chicken back into the flour mixture.

  6. Let the chicken rest for about 30 minutes because this will set up the crust for your chicken.

  7. Heat the oil to 280'F

  8. Fry the cut chicken 10-12 minutes until golden. (chicken temperature should be 165'F)

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Succotash

To think of a recipe that would be perfect for this day I would have to think it would be Succotash. This Native American dish was introduced to Africans who combined it with tomatoes and okra to what we know it as today ...the American Succotash. 

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Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 1 white onion, diced

  • ½ cup diced green bell pepper

  • ½ cup diced celery

  • Salt

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 tbsp seeded and diced serrano chile peppers

  • 2 cups sliced okra, cut horizontally in circles

  • 1 cup chopped heirloom tomatoes (use a variety from your local market or grocery store)

  • 3 cups cooked lima beans

  • 3 cups corn, fresh off the cob

  • Water as needed

  • Black pepper to taste

  • Flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

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Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery, and stir to coat the vegetables in the fat. Add a few pinches of salt to help concentrate and enhance the flavors of the vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, stir, and allow the garlic to bloom. Add the chiles, then stir to combine. Reduce the heat and add the okra. Add another pinch of salt. Continue cooking, gently stirring the mixture, for another 4 minutes.

2. After 4 minutes, stir in the tomatoes, lima beans, and corn. Continue to cook the mixture, uncovered, until all the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add a little water to moisten the vegetables and help emulsify the butter. Stir and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Maintain a low temperature, cover, and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes. The cooking liquid will have thickened, and the vegetables will be tender.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl for serving. Add the fresh parsley and more black pepper. Serve immediately.

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Corn Bread

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/3 cup neutral oil or melted butter

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 cup milk
     

Directions:

  1. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or cast iron skillet well and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

  2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine well.

  3. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your oil or butter, milk, and egg. Stir just until the mixture comes together and there are only a few lumps remaining.

  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

  5. Serve hot.
     

Notes:

  • You can make it it in a 9-inch round cake pan, square baking dish, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bonus! You can also make these into muffins or double the recipe and toss it in a 9×13-inch baking pan. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time if you are making muffins or doubling the batch. Muffins take around 15 minutes to bake and a doubled recipe takes 35-40 minutes to bake.

  • Use yellow cornmeal in this recipe. White works fine, but it just doesn’t look the same. Golden yellow cornbread is a must. Also, don’t try to sub any of the cornmeals used for making tamales – they are a different grind and the texture doesn’t come out the same.

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Southern Style Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

2 pounds of pasta (something curly like elbow or cavatappi)

1/2 (2 oz) stick Butter

 

Cheese Sauce

  • ½ stick (2 oz) butter

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  • 6 oz whole milk

  • 4 oz Monterey Jack

  • 4 oz sharp cheddar

  • 4 oz white cheddar

  • 4 oz cream cheese

  • 4 oz velvet cheese

  • 4 oz mozzarella cheese

  • 4 oz heavy cream

  • 2 oz sour cream

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

  • ½ teaspoon creole seasoning (optional)

  • ½ teaspoon paprika

  • 2 cups whole milk

 

On the Pasta

  • 4 large eggs, beaten

    Topping

  • 4 oz sharp cheddar

  • 4 oz smoked gouda

  • 2 oz Kerry Gold Butter, small cubed for topping

 

Directions

  1. Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Don’t over cook the pasta because it will finish cooking in the oven. Remove the pasta from the water and now add the butter so the pasta does not stick together.


Making the Cheese Sauce

  1. Place the butter in sauce pan let it melt. Add the flour and make a roux. Cook until it is blonde. Add the milk, mix well. Add the cheeses and mix well. This will take some time and it will be very think. Add the sour cream, heavy cream, and seasoning and mix well. The sauce should be done now.


Prepping the pasta

  1. Add to the pot of buttered pasta the beaten eggs and coat the pasta well.

  2. Add the cheese sauce and mix well. This mixes best in the stock pot and then add the pasta to a ceramic baking dish.
     

  3. Top the pasta will the cheese mixture and then finish with the cubed butter.

  4. Bake at 375°F four about 30 minutes or until gold brown.

Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Note: 2 cup of Seasoned Panko bread crumb can be added as a topping. Melt some butter, add to the crumbs, and mix well. Lay the crumbs out of a sheet pan and toast the crumbs in the oven for a few minutes. Add as a garnish.
*If you would like a creamier pasta add more milk to your cheese sauce and if you want a drier pasta add less.
*Use a cheese box grater to cut the cheese, don’t use already cut cheese. Pre-shredded cheese bought from the store is sometimes coated so it doesn’t clump, this will also lessen the melt.
*This pasta dish will sit nice and tall like a lasagna, it is thick. This is enough for a large lasagna pan so cut the recipe in half if needed

 

 

 

Indian Taco
 

 


Indian Frybread

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour

  • 4 tsp baking powder

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 1 cup milk

  • Oil for frying

 

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan or microwave, heat milk and honey until lukewarm temperature.

  2. In a bowl soft together flour, salt and baking powder.

  3. Slowly add the milk-honey mixture to the four and stir until soft dough is formed

  4. On a floured surface, knead dough gently. Do not overwork dough.

  5. Cut into eight equal pieces.

  6. Roll each piece to about ½ thick circles, as you might when making tortillas.

  7. Fry on each side until golden brown. 

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Hominy Salsa

 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups hominy, drained and rinsed

  • ½ red onion, finely diced

  • 2 tsp cumin

  • 1 tsp chili powder

  • 2 tsp sugar

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

  • 1 Serrano chile, seeds removed and finely minced

  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro salt freshly ground pepper

 

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients and stir until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve


***To make an Indian Taco top with whatever you like! Make it with or without meat.

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