Franklin TOPS MA 463

I won the sampling slap down.  After all our discussion about how to make healthy exchanges in rich ingredient Italian cookies, when it came to putting your money where your mouth is, when the rubber hit the road...nobody brought in their cookies.  No one except me.  Therefore, I won.

Mmmmmmmm.....sometimes when you win, you lose.

Now, I have to make them again to enter the St. Rocco Italian Cookie Contest.  And I'm going to be busy next week, too.  Laurie's wedding is next weekend and it's a weekend event.  That's also the time of St. Rocco's.  Somehow or other, I've got to make time to bake those cookies.  And do a good perfect job of it, too.  After all, the honor of T.O.P.S. is at stake.

Lord, help me.  Is there a patron saint of baking?  St. Rocco will have to do.

St. Rocco intercede with prayers for me since I'll be extremely busy.  If possible, a miracle would be appreciated.  You know I'm not the world's best cook, and I'm up against some really fantastic Italian bakers.  Please see what you can do for me.

Cardinal Law

Note the Cardinal in procession.  Somebody relay the message that there's some people in Boston who would like to speak with him.

Amaretti Lite

Amaretti Lite, like it?  That's what I'm going to call my Italian cookie.  (See this morning's posting.)  I went shopping after work for the ingredients.  If T.O.P.S. choses my recipe, I plan to make some alterations.  First, I'm adding Amaretto.  The mixture was too dry, anyway.

I wouldn't form the dough into balls.  Actually, I thought they'd melt down, but they didn't.  The result was that they took too long to brown, and the bottoms got too brown.  They just don't look that good.  Next time, I'll flatten the dough on the cookie sheet.

Even if my T.O.P.S. group doesn't pick my Amaretti Lites, to enter the St. Rocco Italian Cookie Contest,  I'm still making it again.

I  can do better.

Crazy Baking Zest

I'll be crazy for another week.  Ever since I learned of the St. Rocco's Cookie Contest I've been racing around for ideas.  I want my health/diet/support group to enter.  That's TOPS!  Take Off Pounds Sensibly.

I think it's a wicked idea!  TOPS doesn't endorse any one diet plan.  In fact, we've had people in our club that also belong to Weight Watchers, or Jennie Craig.  We're about healthy life styles, rather than diets.  If you must pin us down to a "diet", then we'd say the Exchange Diet.  IOW, we exchange unhealthy food for healthy food.  Heavy cream would be exchanged for low-fat cream.  A slice of pecan pie would be exchanged for an apple.  Get the idea.  TOPS is about changing your life style.

So there I am reading my church bulletin and I see "St. Rocco's Cookie Contest."  How's that for Pastoral Reflection!  I immediately began to salivate think what cookie to make.  Gradually, I tried to think of "exchanges" I should use to make a cookie healthy.  Another thought:  I don't have any Italian cookie recipes. My mother is Lithuanian.

The biggest stumbling block is the fact that the parish, St. Mary's, is saturated with wonderful Italian cooks.  What was I thinking!

But I couldn't let go of the thought.  So I brought the contest to my TOPS meeting.  They latched onto the idea like a shy child on to his mother's skirt.  The recipes morphed into culinary baking concepts.  (Although Gen Gen, a purist, was horrified at the very idea of exchanging her Italian recipes.  Some just don't get the concept.)

I've been marauding Italian cookbooks and learning all about blanching, icing, piping, meringue, etc., because the club is having a sampling at the next meeting.  We will all bring our cookies to the meeting and we'll vote for the most tasty.  That's the one, TOPS 463 will enter in the St. Rocco's Italian Cookie Contest.

As for me, I asked my favorite priest, Father Aniello, who's Italian as you can get, his favorite.  He said,
My favorites are the sfogliatella from Naples and the Paste secche (the dry little cookies made from almond pastry).


Hmmmm.  Maybe I'll make karvojus.

K of C

Image via Wikipedia

I'm still laughing over a comment made tonight.  We were at prayer group in the "lower church."  The "lower church" contains a small chapel and many other meeting rooms.  We were in the chapel and the Knights of Columbus was in a meeting room.

Just before we ended our prayer session, one of the Knights popped his head in the chapel and invited us to their social activity.  They had finished their meeting and were just having beverages and strawberry shortcake.

We considered this, the fruits of our contemplation.  We joined them.

While eating the strawberry shortcake, I commented to one of the Knights,  "Hey, if this is what you guys do, I want to join the Knights of Columbus."

His response: "Sure, you'll be called A Lady of the Knight."  ;-)

Lucy's Baptism

Photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Catholic Music Festival

The 1st ANNUAL CATHOLIC MUSIC FESTIVAL
 in NEW ENGLAND will be held at MY FATHERS

HOUSE RETREAT CENTER in MOOD,Ct ON September 17th 18th and 19th.

The event is being cosponsored

by My Fathers House and The Catholic Dinner Club.

The purpose of the Catholic Music Festival

TO HONOR GOD

To honor CATHOLIC MUSIC and CATHOLIC MUSICIANS

To raise money for My Fathers House Catholic Retreat Center

Have you EVER gone to hear a Catholic music artist in concert? It is time to HONOR OUR LORD JESUS and to CELEBRATE CATHOLIC MUSIC!!!

 ALL FAITHS are WELCOME to join us CELEBRATE CATHOLIC MUSIC in

NEW ENGLAND.

! ! ! JOHN POLCE      MARTY ROTELLA       eXAUDIO

! ! ! Rhode Island ! New Jersey! ! Connecticut

AND MANY MANY MORE CATHOLIC ARTISTS:

Music,prayer,reconciliation,Mass,reasonably priced food, religious crafters and raffles. This event will be

GREAT for families, young adults and adults of all ages.COME OUT and CELEBRATE CATHOLIC MUSIC in NEW ENGLAND!!  BUS LOADS ENCOURAGED!

PASS THIS INFORMATION onto anyone in NEW ENGLAND you think may have an interest,

FRIDAY NIGHT: MASS and Adoration start at 7:30

SATURDAY Music starts at 10:00 AM. Mass ends the concert at 4:00 with a free will offering

Saturday NIGHT stay for dinner after Mass (buy a ticket in advance for a head count) and we will have

the CATHOLIC UNDERGROUND CT group made up of committed catholic young adults The evening will includenAdoration with Confessions and then LIVE MUSIC and refreshments for the evening.There is no charge for the Saturday night event.

SUNDAY Music starts at 10:00 AM. Mass ends the concert at 4:00 with a free will offering

TICKETS : $40.00 for 1 day $75.00 for both days $150.00 for the weekend including room and board

(subject to availability). KIDS UNDER 12 FREE. All rates are per person. SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER

tickets $10.00 FOR TICKETS and more info go to http://www.myfathershouse.com/ or call 860-873-1581.

Hot dogs, Cheeseburgers / Hamburgers $1.00 Sausage burgers $2.00 Soda or potato chips $0.50 Coffee $1.00

PRODUCERS:JESUS of NAZARETH and the HOLY SPIRIT Promoter: The Catholic Dinner

Club: Mr.Keith Lombardo O.P. ALL PROCEEDS go to My Fathers House Retreat Center.

2010 NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL

1st ANNUAL CATHOLIC MUSIC FESTIVAL