All Saints Day Feast!!

Happy Feast Day to all people of the world today. In the Catholic Church, Nov. 1st is generally celebrated as the feast of all Saints and a it is a day for much celebrating and rejoicing. Saints are those Men and Women who (are just like the rest of us) led ordinary lives with such extra gumption in thier belief for Jesus Christ. So joining with them, we celebrate the world.

"The Feast of All Saints is a holy day of the Church honoring all saints, known and unknown. This is much like the American holidays Veterans Day and Presidents Day, where many people are honored on one day. The saints are not divine, nor omnipresent or omniscient. However, because of our common communion with and through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 350) testifies to this belief: 'We mention those who have fallen asleep: first the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition...(Catechetical Lecture 23:9)."

Many individuals plan big parties or host feasts to honor the holy life of a saint, as thier own namesake, or a patron of theirs. It's not worshiping as said above, but a day of rememberance. In Spain, a sweet dessert known as Panellets is made for Nov. 1st and is crowd stopper. So celebrate your saint in style and thank them for showing you, that even the most hardened of sinners, can become great saints!!

Panellets

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground almonds
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 -1 cup water
  
• 1 small potato
• gtrated peel of 1 lemon
• 3-4 drops lemon juice
• Toppings:
• pine nuts
• sweetened cocoa powder
• candied fruit
• Flavorings:
• instant coffee powder
• coconut flakes

Preparation:

Makes approximately 32 cookies.

Blanch almonds, then grind in food processor until almonds are a fine dust.
Peel the potato and cut into quarters. Boil potato in a saucepan until cooked. Drain water and mash with a fork.

Place sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and stir to dissolve sugar. Add more water to completely dissolve sugar if necessary. Place on medium heat on stovetop and bring to a boil, stirring often. Add 3-4 drops of lemon juice. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is a thick syrup.

Remove saucepan from heat. Using a large wooden spoon, gradually stir in ground almonds, potato and grated lemon peel. Allow to cool to room temperature. Then, refrigerate overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 380F degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Spoon out dough with a teaspoon. Roll dough into small balls in your palms. Then roll the balls in powdered cocoa or pine nuts. If using pine nuts, brush each with a bit of egg white. Place on greased cookie sheet.

If you want to flavor the cookies, separate a portion of the dough and with your hands, work in a bit of instant coffee flakes, candied fruit or cinnamon. Then make individual balls.

Bake cookies just long enough to brown the pine nuts - about 4 minutes. Remove immediately using a spatula before cookies cool.