Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 24,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Mom’s Christmas pillows will be the first to come out of hiding this year. She knitted them from Dad’s designs and they are among the real treasures of the season. We’re planning to put up the tree on Saturday and set it glittering with light. We’ll light the second candle of Advent on Sunday with friend and colleague Mary Stadnyk who plans to join us for dinner.

It’s traditional in our house to whip up a batch of potato pancakes on the First Sunday of Advent every year and since we weren’t able to do that last week, we’ll give it a go on Sunday and serve them with roast chicken, mashed potatoes and a cherry crisp* for desert.

This year, especially, I’ve been collecting readings, meditations and prayers from a variety of sources to reflect on throughout Advent. I’ll be sharing some of these readings with you, starting with a wonderfully meaningful assortment of Advent Prayers from Creighton University’s Online Ministries.

The first one is entitled “Watching the Sunrise During Dark Mornings of Advent,” and I read it this morning just as the sun began to rise over the trees that frame the lake:

“Thank you. What a gift this morning from you as I watched the blazing sunrise through a cloudy winter sky. It is hard getting up these dark mornings, Lord, and yet you gift me with a sight that I miss at other times of the year, when the weather is warmer and the sun rises before I get up. I stared out the window at the red and purple light, gloriously framed by the gold of the rising sun. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ was the only thing that came to me. I watched in silence, filled with a sense of your presence in my life.

“I am filled with gratitude this day for such a treasure and could feel it and see it as a gift from you. Thank you for your love. Today, let me carry a sense of how much you love me to send such a gift. …Your glory fills my spirit and I want only to give thanks with my life this day.”

Cherry Crisp

Ingredients: Vegetable oil spray; 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup rolled oatmeal; 1/3 cup butter; 1/3 cup sugar; 1 16-ounce can pitted sour cherries in natural juice; 1/3 cup sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch; 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil. In a bowl, combine flour and rolled oatmeal. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add 1/3 cup sugar and mix well. Set aside.

Drain cherries, reserving cherries and juice in separate bowls.

In a saucepan, combine remaining sugar with cornstarch, spices and lemon juice. Slowly blend in cherry juice. Place over low heat and cook, stirring constantly until sauce is thick and clear. Add cherries. Pour into prepared baking pan and sprinkle with topping. Back 30 minutes.

After the candles are lit, serve the crisp and share the glow.

That was just the beginning. In rapid succession, one blow after another was rendered — first the critters got seriously sick and just as they were recovering, it became clear that brother Pete needed real medical attention. Now, the dust is settling, so to speak.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Pete is in the hands of a fine medical team and we’re looking forward not only to our niece, Sophia’s wedding on Nov. 19 but to celebrating Thanksgiving with our family and friends in the days to come.

It’s time to breathe deeply, pray greatly and get back to blogging about food and faith. Nothing gives me more comfort and few things give me greater joy.

Today, I managed to take a breather at the Trenton Farmer’s Market and explore the fall produce. The shelves are chock full of Jersey apples, all manner of potatoes, brussel sprouts, fresh pulled carrots topped with lacey greens and even late Jersey field tomatoes. It couldn’t be better.

I bought two bunches of carrots so the rabbits can nibble the fresh greens. The carrots themselves will go into a beef stew I’m cooking up for Pete (more about that on Monday). 

But this is New Jersey afterall, home of the cranberry bog and it warmed the cockles of my heart to see boxes full of cranberries lining the shelves. With an eye toward family visits over the next couple of weeks, I bought three pounds and plan to turn it into relish.

This year, the focus will be on creating a really good cranberry mustard relish, the likes of which Pete and I discovered at a local farm market this summer. Because cranberry concoctions have been a Thanksgiving tradition for as long as I can remember, and because we love Dijon mustard, I’ve been working on creating a Rogers version for our table. This is the first variation, adapted from several Internet sites, on what will likely become a theme.

Jersey Cranberry Mustard Relish

Ingredients — 1 pound fresh cranberries, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 4 tablespoons good Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard.

Preparation — Combine cranberries and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until cranberries begin to pop, stirring occasionally. Cool completely. Stir in both mustards. Cover and chill. This can be made one week ahead of the big meal.

The first storm hit the weekend of the Assumption and caused actual damage -  sagging gutters and sophets made for a sagging roof line and a pool of water that formed around the base of the porch spilled over into the interior and carved a hole in the woodwork.

 Our annual family and friends reunion went on as scheduled the next day despite the soggy circumstances.

We hadn’t totally recovered from that when Hurricane Irene stopped by for a visit. Having made it through the battering winds of Saturday, Aug. 27, by Sunday morning, Aug. 28, we were feeling fortunate that the only thing wrong at our place was a lack of power. It went out at precisely 11:15 p.m. on Saturday.

The feeling of thanksgiving evaporated by mid-morning as we watched the rising tide of the lake across the street and braced ourselves to evacuate. Throughout this intense period, I prayed mightily to Sts. Joseph and Anthony for intercession, even sprinkling the back yard with crumbs from a remnant of St. Joseph’s Bread saved just for such an occurrance.

According to pious tradition (or Italian superstition), invoking St. Joseph’s assistance this way in bad weather is a good thing. For added help, I lit a candle to St. Anthony as well, imploring him to “find” the field across the street and return it to its grassy status before the water crossed the road.

As it turned out, the flood gates were opened and the waters did subside. Now, municipal officials gave the orders to lower the water in the lake. But I believe they had some heavenly encouragement.

For the next two days, worldly friends stepped in to help as we dealt with an ongoing power outage. Juta, my friend from college days, brought flashlights, batteries and lanterns. Betty took time out from dealing with a mud slide in her back yard to offer us respite, actual light and hot coffee, etc. in her kitchen. And Gloria baked. We got to enjoy home made corn bread and white cake til the lights came back on.

Just yesterday, a colleague shared some corn bread with me and it brought back a flood (pardon the pun) of warm memories. That corn bread Gloria baked had come to symbolize the friendship and affection we experienced during the storms. Her recipe is a family treasure that she keeps safely tucked away.

So, I adapted one from several sources to share with you.

Friendship Bread

Ingredients: 2/3 cup butter or equivalent (I use Smart Balance); 1 cup sugar; 3 eggs; 1 2/3 cup light cream; 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup cornmeal; 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt.

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs and cream. In a third bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and add that to the creamed mixture alternately with the egg mixture. Pour into a greased 13-x-9-x-2 inch backing pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares and serve warm.

As I’ve written before, since childhood, this was a time when  family gathered at the shore, coming in from the city to walk in the water for good health, to worship together and break bread together and catch up on the summer goings on.

This year the cycle was scheduled to repeat itself once again as family and friends gathered from North Jersey and Delware for the shared celebration.

We were all really looking forward to the annual observance which traditionally includes morning Mass, a trekk to the beach to beach and a barbecue in the back yard.

Alas, the stormy weather which imploded on the Jersey Shore yesterday continues. There were a few breaks in the clouds but then, the rain struck again with fury.

The folks are gathering tomorrow instead and with any luck, the barbecue will go on in the backyard a day late. Hopefully, Pete and I will be scooting over to the shore line to scoop up buckets of water that folks can bathe their feet in tomorrow.

Aside from the Assumption, this week marks the tenth anniversary of moving in to the little blue house on the lake and the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the garden. The first seeds were sown a decade ago in honor of the Blessed Virgin. The garden has come into its own and I hope things dry out tomorrow so all of us can enjoy it together.

The front of the house is wrapped like an English cottage garden with lush greenery, punctuated now and then by blooming colors. A concrete St. Francis – with a rabbit nestling at his feet – welcomes visitors in front.

On the side of the house, a clutch of hostas has grown into such a big border that it will have to be divided. Anyone out there looking for hostas? Get in touch. Mine sprang from hostas from the childhood home of a good friend. I inherited them when the house was sold. I’d be happy to see a third generation of Nolan hostas come into bloom.

The shade garden in the back is now fully formed and of course, guarded by another St. Francis and his faithful companions, Mr. Monk and Sharona, two chip monks who often perch on his head.

There’s a big, bright striped market umbrella hovering over the picnic table that puts me in mind of Joseph’s coat of many colors. Hopefully we’ll be chowing down under it as Mary, resplendant in her blue and white robes, looks on in statue form amid the kitchen garden of herbs that surrounds the patio.

The menu will feature barbecue but mindful of the ancient connection to the salty sea this day — pius legend says Mary’s tears as she rose to heaven on this day fell into the sea and that those who walk in the water are guaranteed good health for a year – I’ll be making the wonderful Ligurian fish stew I traditionally serve.

 Fish Stew Ala Maria

Ingredients: 3 garlic cloves, one cut in half, two minced; extra virgin olive oil to taste; 2-1/2 pounds of assorted sea food — I use scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams and monk fish filets — washed, patted dry and cut into pieces; sea salt or kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons butter; 6 slices stale Italian bread.

Directions — rub the sides of a large, heavy bottomed pot with the cut in half garlic clove; cover the bottom with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. lower the heat to medium-low and toss in the salt and pepper. Add the seafood. Cook the seafood, turning it occasionally so it cooks but does not brown. Then, remove it and transfer to a warm plate and cover. Add the onion to the pot and saute. After 1 minute, add the garlic. Dissolve the tomato paste in the vinegar and add to the pot. Keep cooking until the onion is soft.

Add two cups of boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes. Then return the fish to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the butter and minced garlic clove in a large skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the bread slices and fry on both sides until brown. Place a slice of bread in the middle of each serving bowl and top with stew. Serve immediately.

We hope to scoop up a lot of interesting ideas at the conference and its accompanying Catholic Trade Show to share with everyone. I’m especially interested in scoping out trends in merchandise and also in literature but my real focus of the conference will be meeting up with fellow Catholic bloggers.

I’m really anticipating a session called “Beyond the Blog — You Have a Blog. Now What?” It will be great to get to know them and hopefully share insights and ideas.

While in the area, I plan to seek out some local recipes to share on the blog. I was thinking maybe, something from George Washington’s time — but updated naturally.

Looking forward to posting upon our return.

Bridget, the patron saint of widows and founder of the Brigittines or Order of St. Savior, whose distinctive helmet style wimple captures my imagination every time (and it hasn’t happened often enough) I’ve caught a glimpse of one, was a loving wife, the mother of eight children, all of whom survived infancy — a remarkable thing in the plague ridden days of 14th century.

One of the children, by the way, is St. Catherine of Sweden.

Bridget’s saintly and charitable life was known far and wide in her own life time as was her great religious influence over her noble husband, one Ulf Gudmarsson of the family of Ulvasa, lord of Narke (don’t you love it!) In an age when traveling and danger rode arm-in-arm, the faithful couple dared the danger and made pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. He died upon their return in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra and she consecrated her life to Christ.

The visions which she believed herself to have had since early childhood became more frequent and she wrote down the revelations she is said to have from Jesus, himself. These revelations were held in great esteem in the Middle Ages. Those devoted to her today often pray as she did. Pray with her by going to http://www.miraclerosarymission.org/bridget.html

In her memory tomorrow at home, we’ll be dining on salmon — the king of all fish in Scandinavia as well as Ireland. Usually, I would poach the fillets with fennel, carrots and onions on the stove in a typical Swedish manner.

But since it’s so terribly hot, we’ll be grilling. This recipe was drawn from several on the internet and we hope you like it.

Grilled Salmon Fillet Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

Ingredients — 1/ cup Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons New Jersey honey, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish; 1 tablespoon fresh dill; 1 pound of salmon fillet cut into four pieces with the skin left on the bottom, 2 tablespoons of canola oil; 1 small red onion, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 3 cups mixed salad greens.

Preparation: whisk together the mustards, honey, horseradish, dill with kosher salt and pepper to taste and let the mixture sit for at least a half hour. Brush the salmon with 2 tbsp. of the mustard salad dressing and place on the grill skin side down and grill until brown and a bit charred. While the salmon is cooking, mix the salad greens in a medium bowl with the remaining dressing and transfer to a platter. When the salmon is nicely browned, transfer to the platter and drizzle with a bit of remaining dressing.

Now, I’m savoring the time to blog once again and there’s some catching up to do: a visit to a winery; joining some kids as they practiced the fine art of making pizza dough; preparing a menu for the moment when brother Pete and I finally get to meet our niece Sophia’s fiance Jason.

First the winery.

Brother Pete and I spontaneously joined some friends on a bus trip to Laurita Winery in New Egypt when the last big issue was finished. The short and pleasant journey to the frontier of the Garden State’s farm belt resulted in several pleasant surprises including: a new prayer to hang on my kitchen wall and an expanded sense of the “Jersey Fresh” vintages that are winning prizes and adulation around the nation.

For starters, we were amazed at the approach to the winery, positioned as it is in the middle of some of the best “u-pick” farms in Central Jersey. It was really like entering a different world as the landscape turned perfectly agrarian. A curving road led us up to a promontory where the winery, a rather grand building really, with great terraces for viewing the vineyards and interesting architectural elements, was the starting point of the tour.

While the winery is equipped for catering right now, lunch consisted of light sandwich fare available for purchase and as I settled for vegetables and cheese on an Italian roll my eyes wandered upwards from the counter to the wall above which was stenciled with a prayer by Gunilla Norris.

I’d never heard of Gunilla Norris before that moment but was taken with her sentiments about the sacred space that is the kitchen. I copied it to share it with readers and when I got back home, spent some time exploring Norris on the Internet. Her work is largely of a spiritual nature and are well reviewed by clergy of many faiths. Her books are available on a number of Catholic book sites.

Her sense of kitchen as a place where “we cook – actually and spiritually” and the “heart of the house” really touched a place in my own heart. I hope you enjoy “The Kitchen” by Gunilla Norris

The kitchen is a holy place -

alive with possibility

A place for the elements

Water in the tap,

fire in the stove,

earth in the food,

air – between, around, above & below.

Behind the cupboard doors

are the pots and the pans,

the bowls and the dishes,

the measuring cups

and the measuring spoons

holy things

that lie ready for use,

much like our dreams

that lie waiting behind our eyelids

The kitchen is alchemical

a place where we cook – actually

and spiritually. We come to it for nourishment and ease

We come to it as center -

the Heart of the house,

the heart of dwelling.

In the ktichen we are one,

linked by hunger -

actual hunger and spiritual hunger

We go to the kitchen to be

noursihed and revealed

It is a holy place.

After dining on the terrace, we went a tour by Jan Mac Dougal who considers herself the ambassador for the vineyard. She’s been filling that role for 12 or 13 years, she said, filling us in on the fact that it’s a fine place to stop by any time of the year. This weekend, for instance, if the temperature cools down, we’ll be attending the annual “Cool Jazz and Blues Fest” which is free and runs from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 23 and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 24.

Mac Dougal noted that the winery, located in the heart of Assumption Parish, one of the oldest parishes in our diocese, expects to have its annual fall harvest blessing of the grapes. She filled us in on an old tradition that the vines go dormant for three days at the New Year and it’s traditional to have Father Joseph J. Farrell return again to bless them as they come back to life.

I’m looking forward to both of these occasions and will fill you in on the dates as soon as I learn them.

But the best of intentions got swept away by a fierce storm that blew through our Ocean County neighborhood with a rare fury that day, swirled around and came back a few hours later to rampage through the Monmouth County town where we planned to celebrate with friends.

As you can imagine, the outdoor meal in St. John’s honor was postponned ’til next year.

Over the weekend though, we learned of another reason to celebrate when we got word that The Monitor had won seven awards at the Catholic Press Association’s Media Convention in Pittsburgh. Among those awards was a third place prize for the way ‘Keeping the Feast’ brings faith into the kitchen.

This is the second year in a row that ‘Keeping the Feast’ been recognized by the Catholic Press Association and we’re very thrilled. It’s been a great team effort from the Faithful Foodies — Scott Alessi, who designed the blog for the second year in a row and shot so many of the pictures — and graphic designers Jeanne Kysela and Valerie DiGiacomo who contributed artistic touches, photos, recipes and insights.

In March of this year, Scott was named managing editor and Jeanne took over his duties as web developer and created the current delightful web design.

We all hope you’ll enjoy this recipe and many more to come created with love in kitchens where faith is a key ingredient!

This recipe takes its name — Mary’s Garden Pasta — and inspiration from the Mary Garden just outside my kitchen door where summer herbs proliferate all summer long and into the fall.

Mary’s Garden Pasta

Ingredients: 1 pound campanelle (corkscsrew) pasta (my new favorite!); 1 cup ricotta cheese (regular, skim or low fat as you prefer); 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese; salt and pepper to taste; 1/2 cup chopped parsley (I like curley Italian parsley); 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves; 1/2 cup chopped basil; two large, skinless chicken breasts poached in chicken or vegetable broth and cut into thin slices.

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over very low heat, combine sliced chicken, cheeses and salt and pepper. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Stir the pasta water into the cheese mixture, toss in the herbs and then the pasta to coat. Turn into a large pasta bowl, sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

We’ve decided, after years of clinging to the parish church we grew up in, to finally make the move to St. Mary of the Lake – Holy Family Parish in Lakewood, where we’ve lived for the last several years.

I always like to time special personal occasions to special feast days in the Church and this being the case, we’ve chosen Pentecost as the official start of our new parish membership.

Now, according to pious legend, King Arthur (a family hero of long standing) always kept Pentecost in a big way. It is written of him that he gathered all his knights at the round table on this day for a feast and a quest. With him in mind, we’ll be gathering around Mom’s round table on the porch-dining room with a circle of good friends to celebrate the day.

Perhaps it will be cool enough to go “questing” around the lake for which the town is named later in the afternoon.

The entree for the day will be chicken, grilled on our old backyard barbecue so as to enjoy some actual flames, though culinary ones, not those of the Holy Spirit. The special dessert will be Pentecost Cake, a treasure from Helen McLoughlin’s venerable, 1956 treasure trove: “Family Customs: Easter to Pentecost.”

Pentecost Cake

Ingredients: 2/3 cup scalded milk; 1 cup sugar; 1 – 1/3 cups flour sifted; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 2 egg whites; 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla frosting; 15 large strawberries; 1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar; 2 tablespoons soft butter. Sugar to taste.

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Scald the milk and allow it to cool. Sift sugar, flour and baking powder together three times. Add scalded milk gradually, beating constantly. In a separate bowl, blend egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla and beat until egg whites refuse to slip when the bowl is tipped and fold into the floured mixture. Bake in a greased seven-inch tube pan for forty-five minutes or until the cake is golden brown and firm to the touch. Invert the cake on a rack and cool.

Meanwhile, hull and clean the strawberries. Crush 8 with a fork and sweeten to taste. Make a frosting of 1-1/2 cups of confectionary sugar, 2 tablespoons of soft butter and 2 tablespoons of crushed strawberries in their juice. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl, add the rest of the crushed berries and juice beating well with a fork. Add only enough to make a mixture that spreads easily. Frost the cake and top with seven whole strawberries as a reminder of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.