Sometimes it feels like there are just too many saints, too many feast days, and too much to celebrate to keep up. And it’s true! The Catholic Church is filled with sinners turned saints who help us along our spiritual journeys–– and that’s a great gift.
But sometimes finding that special patron, or remembering to celebrate someone special, or even figuring out a way to celebrate a beloved patron can be hard.
Cooking with the Saints by Alexandra Greeley and Fernando Flores is so much more than just a cookbook; it is an invitation to get to know many different saints and their cultures. Going month by month, Greeley and Flores choose some saints with feast days in each month and connect a recipe, either from their culture or a traditional one used to celebrate that saint, with that saint. Each recipe is given a short explanation, too.
Something that’s supremely awesome about this book is that each month, the authors choose a different culture to highlight by including recipes for a whole meal based in that culture and centered around a saint from that culture. You’ll travel to the Middle East with St. Anthony the Abbot and savor fattoush, marshy, koronb, koshari, and kunafa. You’ll nosh on a vegetarian Lebanese lunch with St. Mark the Evanglist. Travel to the New World and try a Native American lunch alongside St. Kateri Tekakwitha. You’ll even get to savor dishes from Ethiopia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and more! If you’ve ever wanted to travel but haven’t had the time or money, now you can.
A special bonus in this book, after the twelve months of recipes, is a special section of celebratory cookies. YEET! Maybe baking is more your speed than cooking (raising my hand at this one!). Well, perfect! Greeley and Flores still have you covered. From St. Agnes Cookies to Turkish Semolina Cookies to Greek Lavender Cookies (hello, St. Lydia Purpuraria!) to Swedish Vanilla Cookies and more, you’ll never be without a treat and a saint to celebrate!
With this book, you’ll be able to pilgrimage year-round and travel across the globe. What better way to get to know some of the holy people of our Faith than by eating what they ate? Or at least celebrating them by eating food from their cultures! And, what a better way to become acquainted with a new saintly friend than by sharing a meal? Just as Jesus broke bread with the disciples and with us at every mass, this book helps us break bread with the saints and become intimate with them in a new way.
Don’t pass on this book! Pick up a copy of Cooking with the Saints by Alexandra Greeley and Fernando Flores today! Which saint will you celebrate first?
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