Easy Eats for St. Angela of Merici's Feast Day

Want an easy meal addition for January 27?

Buy grapes.

Yes, grapes!

According to ST. ANGELA MERICI (1474 - 1540) FEAST DAY - JANUARY 27TH, grapes symbolize:

1. the Eucharistic blood of Christ.
2. St. Angela de Merici's family vineyard.
3. the cluster of women St. Angela of Merici drew together as the first teaching congregation of women in the Church, the Company of Saint Ursula.

Thus, grapes can become a simple addition to your feast day table that offer an opportunity to discuss St. Angela de Merici's love for Christ, her family history, and the fact that she founded the first "secular institute of religious women" who lived at home, had no special habit, and took no formal vows, but still practiced virginity, poverty, and obedience..

For a bit more feast day table fun and culinary history exploration, since St. Angela of Merici was born in Northern Italy in the 1400's and died in the 1500's, you might add some 15th and 16th century Italian dishes to your table as well.

Our family did this last year, choosing to try Fungi di Monte (Mountain Mushrooms), which was only a hit with my husband and me...

...and Menestra d'herbette (Herb Soup / Pottage of Greens), which only three out of five of us here liked.

Thus, it looks like I will be browsing the collection of authentic recipes at Medieval Cuisine once more this year to find new inspiration! 

I will also, once again, be browsing my own past collection of ideas at Answering a Request for St. Angela of Merici Activities.

Find more ideas!

That post includes more ideas and links than I used last year with my children, so it will be worth me revisiting and could be helpful for you, too.

Among the ideas from the post that I put into practice last year were:

• praying a short prayer found at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church with my family: 

Saint Angela,
you were not afraid of change.
You did not let stereotypes keep you from serving.
Help us to overcome our fear of change in order to follow God's call and allow others to follow theirs.
Amen.

• watching a brief video from Catholic Online that offers a quick overview of St. Angela Merici's life:

• enjoying a virtual sightseeing tour while learning about St. Angela Merici:

This, of course, led my crew into discussing and looking up incorrupt saints after dinner, which may or may not be something you wish to unfold depending on your family's sensitivities.

Any which way - no matter what else you choose to do to celebrate - grapes make an easy and meaningful addition to your table when introducing or learning more about St. Angela of Merici.  Might I suggest, then, that you put some on your shopping list this week?

St. Angela of Merici, pray for us.