Commemorating Perham’s St. Stanislaus Parish

The parishioners of St. Stanislaus Parish, Perham, Minn., celebrated the first service in their new church on Thanksgiving Day 1922, with their pastor Father Stanislaus Kuzniak presiding at the Mass. Long before that special day, the Polish Catholic population of that area, desiring their own place of worship, founded the St. Stanislaus Society. That was in 1876 under the leadership of John Karsnia. In 1881 the group decided to erect a frame church and saw their dream come true in 1883 — that building served their needs for nearly 40 years.

St. Stanislaus Parish closed its doors Oct. 4, 2009, after celebrating the final Mass with Bishop John Kinney and its current pastor, Father Joseph Herzing, concelebrating. A time capsule, placed in the church’s cornerstone in 1922, which included newspapers, medals and photographs, was opened in honor of the occasion. About 150 households belonged to St. Stan’s at the time; most of them have now joined St. Henry Parish in Perham or other neighboring churches.

St. Stan’s parishioners Fran Johnson and Jean Falk republished the parish’s 1985 Centennial Cookbook to commemorate the closing of the church. A limited number of the cookbooks are still available for $11 plus shipping and handling. To obtain a copy, call Fran Johnson at 218-346-4466.

I’m sharing two recipes from that cookbook today that might help readers use some of their Thanksgiving leftovers. Former St. Stan’s parishioners — now members of St. Henry’s — Verna Dulski and Donna Scheidecker — submitted their recipes for Butternut Squash Bread and Cranberry Bread for the original 1985 cookbook. Consider giving them a try! CJK

Butternut Squash Bread

(Verna Dulski)

2/3 shortening

2 1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 cups butternut squash, baked and mashed

2/3 cups water

3 1/3 cup flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

2/3 cup nuts, chopped

2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9 x 5 x 3-inch or three 8 1/2  x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans.

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy, stir in eggs, squash and water. Sift dry ingredients together. Blend into squash mixture. Add nuts and raisins.

Pour mixture into pans and bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove to a rack, cool completely.

Cranberry Bread

(Donna Scheidecker)

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup orange juice

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. grated orange peel

1 cup fresh cranberries, ground

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy, stir in egg and orange juice. Sift dry ingredients together. Blend into creamed mixture. Add cranberries and nuts, if desired.

Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350°F for 1hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove to a rack, cool completely.

BeadforLife: Ending poverty in Uganda

Yesterday I shared information about BeadforLife, a program near and dear to my heart. BeadforLife is part of an international grassroots movement working to end extreme poverty in Uganda. 

According to their website, since September of 2004, when BeadforLife was founded, the organization has trained 883 beaders to make beads and earn regular income; built a village on 18 acres of land with 132 homes, two wells and abundant gardens; launched a vocational education program for impoverished youth and developed a grant program to fund other organizations working in poverty eradication.

BeadforLife has graduated 621 members from its program into self-sufficiency and reached an estimated 10,000 people who were living in poverty. Women, who lived on less than $1 per day, are now earning almost $7 a day, or over $2,400 a year. BeadforLife paid nearly $1 million to the jewelry makers last year, resulting in a total community development expenditure of 1.4 million dollars.

Volunteers around the world who wanted to make a difference have held over 6,500 bead parties — an estimated 90,000 people attended those parties and are now proudly wearing paper beads. The beads that were rolled out of trash paper have now become income and hope for a better life.

Consider hosting a bead party yourself — the program could be as simple or elaborate as you choose. As I mentioned yesterday, Nikki and I served sugar peanuts, Ugandan kabobs with yogurt dipping sauce and Ugandan plantain cake at our event. As promised, here are the other two recipes. CJK

Ugandan Kabobs with Yogurt Dipping Sauce
(Bead for Life)

Dipping Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

4 tsp. salt

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Kabobs

3 slices whole wheat bread

3 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs

1 cup French fried onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander seed, coarsely crushed

4 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced  

2 lbs. ground beef

3 cups vegetable oil for frying

Toothpicks

Dipping Sauce

Mix ingredients together and set dipping sauce aside.

Kabobs

Moisten bread slices with water. Crumble bread into a large bowl and mix in eggs and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in dried breadcrumbs, fried onions, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander seed, parsley, and jalapeno. Add ground beef, and work in with hands until well mixed.

Roll mixture into meatballs the size of walnuts.

Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan until hot, about 375° F. Cook meatballs a few at a time in hot oil until brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon, and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

Insert a toothpick into each meatball for serving. Serve hot or cold with dipping sauce.

Notes from Carol:

I used a small ice cream scoop to measure the amount for each meatball and then formed them by hand. I did not “deep fry” them in three cups of oil, but probably used about one-half inch of oil in a large frying pan.

The next time I make them I would try baking them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease the foil. Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven until they are no longer pink in the center — probably about 30 minutes. (An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160°F.)

The wide range of ingredients in these meatballs provides a perky, unique flavor. I think they would also be great with spaghetti or in other dishes that utilize meatballs.

Ugandan Plantain Cake

(Bead for Life)

This recipe is traditionally used as an accompaniment to meat dishes.

2 ripe plantains, peeled, halved and cut into strips

2 tbsp. oil

1 cup cottage cheese

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 tbsp. dry breadcrumbs

 4 tbsp. olive oil

Fry the plantain strips in oil until they are well browned on both sides.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix cottage cheese, cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl.

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold the egg whites into the egg yolks.

Grease a baking dish and sprinkle the base with the breadcrumbs. Add a quarter of the egg mixture into the dish, and then add a layer of plantains. Cover with a third of the cottage cheese mixture and a little olive oil. Repeat layers until all ingredients have been used. You will finish with the egg mixture.

Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes.

Notes from Carol:

I baked this plantain cake in a 2-quart casserole and used a large spoon to serve it. It could also be baked in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish and cut into squares to serve. The finished product is more like a coffeecake than a cake that would be served for dessert.

Eradicating poverty — one bead at a time

In October Nikki Rajala, a colleague of mine, and I hosted a BeadforLife party for an organization we belong to. Not only did we have a lot of fun planning and preparing for the evening but also it truly was a privilege for us to share the BeadforLife story with members of the group.

BeadforLife is a non-profit organization providing destitute Ugandan women an opportunity to lift their families out of poverty by making beautiful beaded jewelry — necklaces, bracelets and earrings — out of recycled paper from calendars, posters or print overruns. The women, who roll each bead with their own hands, are able to turn their beads into income, education, and even bricks to build a home.

In the program’s latest initiative, at least 500 women in Northern Uganda gather shea nuts and press them into shea butter for cosmetics and soaps. In addition to selling the fair trade beaded jewelry, BeadforLife now offers organic shea butter soap, created with lavender and lemongrass, and peppermint lip balm.

The program’s goal is that members are independent of BeadforLife within 18 months and able to support themselves within the Ugandan economy.  To assist members in launching their own small businesses BeadforLife provides entrepreneurial training, facilitates savings accounts, and makes business funds available. In rural areas their program focuses on agricultural development.

Additionally, BeadforLife sponsors community development projects in health, affordable housing, business development and vocational training for impoverished youth. These projects are financed with the net profits from the sale of the beads and shea butter products and support not only BeadforLife members, but also other poverty-stricken people living in Uganda.

Hosting a “party” is easy. Register online to host an event (you’ll need to give a credit card number for the package that you select), invite people to attend and plan what you want to do at your party.

Your bead party package will include approximately 275 jewelry items, an inspirational DVD about the BeadforLife program and the beaders themselves, a CD with original Ugandan songs and music, educational materials and biographies of some of the beaders, African recipes and a pre-paid return label (so you can return — free of charge — what you don’t sell).

Nikki and I served sugar peanuts, Ugandan kabobs with yogurt dipping sauce, Ugandan plantain cake and ginger iced tea at our party. Here’s the recipe for the sugar peanuts. (Please check in tomorrow for the recipes for Ugandan kabobs and plantain cake.)

And, more importantly, please visit the links I’ve provided to BeadforLife and consider hosting a party. I guarantee you’ll like the affordable jewelry and shea butter items. But, far beyond that, I can guarantee you’ll love the connection you’ve made with Ugandan women to help lift them out of poverty — literally one bead at a time! CJK

Sugar Peanuts
(Bead for Life)

Nuts are popular in many countries in Western and Central Africa. Any town large enough to have bars, cafes, and restaurants will also likely have vendors selling roasted nuts and sugared peanuts. Often the vendor is a girl or woman, balancing her wares in a tray on her head.

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

4 cups raw peanuts, shells removed (skins can be removed or left on as desired)

Preheat oven to 300° F.

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved to make clear syrup. Add the peanuts. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring regularly until the peanuts are evenly coated and most of the syrup is absorbed. 

Pour contents of the saucepan onto a baking sheet. Bake at 300°F between 30 minutes to 1 hour. Gently stir the peanuts a few times while baking. Remove from the oven once the syrup is almost dried and place peanuts on paper towels. Let cool, and store in airtight containers.

Notes from Nikki:

Grease the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Scrape as little of the sugar syrup as possible onto the baking sheet with the nuts. It only took 30 minutes for the peanuts to roast.

  

Harvesting a Heritage of Charity: St. Hedwig’s celebrates 100 years

St. Hedwig Parish in Holdingford celebrated its centennial “Harvesting a Heritage of Charity” Sept. 12. The parish — named after a Bavarian princess, married to a Polish prince, who dedicated her life to charity — was founded in 1910 to minister to Polish immigrants in a German-speaking community.

A rendition of traditional hymns preceded the Mass celebrated by Bishop John Kinney. A chicken and ham dinner was served and the event included live music, a silent auction, bingo, rides and games for children, crafts, quilts and tours of the church. Polish specialty foods and refreshments were on sale throughout the day.

Debbie Binsfeld, Rene Harlander, Patty Kotzer and Lois Schmit, the centennial book committee, compiled and published a 257-page hardcover, spiral bound book, illustrated throughout with several photos. It features a number of historical articles, Polish prayers, priest biographies and 80 pages of recipes. Parishioner John Binsfeld painted the book’s front and back cover illustrations of the church and an angel from the parish’s shrine built in 1942 to honor soldiers. It even comes with a laminated bookmark featuring a prayer to St. Hedwig.

The centennial book titled “Harvesting a Heritage of Charity” is available for $18.95. Call Debbie Binsfeld at 320-746-2426 to order a copy.

Of course, one chapter of the cookbook section is dedicated to Polish recipes. Today I’m sharing Art Harlander’s recipe for Polish Mushroom and Potato Soup from those pages and Debbie Binsfeld’s Dutch Apple Bread from the Breads, Rolls and Muffins category. Enjoy! CJK

Polish Mushroom and Potato Soup

(Art Harlander, Jr.)

5 tbsp. butter, divided                                   

2 leeks, chopped                                   

2 large carrots, sliced                                   

6 cups chicken broth                                   

2 tsp. dried dill weed

2 tsp. salt                                                                                   

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced                       

1 cup half and half

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Fresh dill weed for garnish (optional)

Melt 3 tbsp. butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill weed, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add to soup. In a small bowl, mix the half and half and flour until smooth. Stir into soup to thicken. Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh dill weed before serving.

A note from Art: After a cold winter’s day of chores, this excellent soup will take away the chill. It should be served hot and steamy with a side of your favorite wild game sausage and red wine. (Don’t forget to pray!)

Dutch Apple Bread

(Debbie Binsfeld)

Bread:

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup baking apples, chopped

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. sour milk or buttermilk

Topping:

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease loaf pan.

Cream margarine or butter with sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add apples, flour and salt and mix well. Combine baking soda with sour milk or buttermilk and add to mixture. Place in loaf pan. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over bread mixture. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350°F.

A note from Debbie: I got this recipe from dear friends about 25 years ago. Both early fall apples or those that taste better after a frost work well for the recipe. Our kitchen smells so good while this bread is baking — the cinnamon and apples are a wonderful combination. The bread freezes well, too.

A Tradition of Good Taste and Grace

Immaculate Conception Parish in Rice marked its century-and-a-quarter anniversary Sept. 26 with a Mass concelebrated by Bishop John Kinney, Father Timothy Wenzel, pastor, and others. After the Mass, Bishop Kinney blessed the church addition — the Fellowship Hall and new kitchen, built in 2005, and 11 classrooms completed this past year. Then, everyone feasted at a hog roast with all the trimmings.

To further commemorate the occasion, Patti Krystosek, parish secretary and bookkeeper, and parish members Colleen Burton, Peggy Kubat, Diane Wojtanowicz and Pat Spence, compiled a cookbook titled “A Tradition of Good Taste and Grace.” Interspersed in the great collection of recipes, provided by many of the 465 families who are currently members, are favorites from the parish’s “Centennial Cookbook” published in 1985.

Pat Spence, parish faith formation director and liturgy coordinator, summarized the church’s first 100 years and wrote the narrative of the last 25 for the history portion of the book.

The books can be ordered from the parish office (320-393-2725) for $15, plus $5 shipping and handling. Or they can be purchased at the Catholic Credit Union, 300 23rd Ave. N, St. Cloud. (320-251-3971)

I truly enjoyed paging through this cookbook — so many of the recipes would be fun to try! I’ve chosen two to share with you today — “Wild Rice Quiche” submitted by Father Wenzel and his brother, Tony, and Erin Kelash’s “Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie.” Bon appétit! CJK

Wild Rice Quiche

(Father Timothy Wenzel and Tony Wenzel)

9-inch unbaked pie shell

1/3 cup chopped Canadian bacon or fully cooked ham

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp. butter

1 cup cooked wild rice

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup light cream

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450°F. Prick bottom of pie shell with a fork and bake for 7 minutes at 450°F. Remove from oven and cool. Reset oven temperature to 325°F.

Fry bacon (or ham) and onion in butter. Mix in the wild rice and spoon into the crust. Sprinkle on the cheese.

Beat the eggs, cream and salt and pour the mixture over the top. Bake an additional 40 minutes at 325°F or until the center is done.

Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie

(Erin Kelash)

9-inch unbaked pie shell

Filling:           

2 eggs, slightly beaten

15 oz. can pumpkin

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp. flour           

1 tsp. lemon peel, finely shredded

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

Topping:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans

3 tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together eggs, pumpkin and milk. Stir in sugar, flour, lemon peel, vanilla, salt and spices. Pour into pie shell. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent over browning. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, pecans and butter. Remove foil from crust and immediately sprinkle mixture over top of pie. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Onamia’s Holy Cross Parish commemorates centennial with cookbook

Holy Cross Church in Onamia marks 100 years Oct. 10 starting with a 9:30 a.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop John Kinney and Crosier Provincial Father Tom Carkhuff. The parish’s anniversary takes place in the same year that the Crosiers are observing 100 years presence in the United States and 800 years as an order.

The parish’s first church building was made from an old schoolhouse and the dedication Mass was said on the first Sunday of Advent in 1910.  Crosier Father Van Dinter was named the first pastor of Holy Cross Parish.

Crosier Father Jerry Schik is the current pastor. Crosier Fathers Jude Verley and Greg Poser are the associate pastors.

Sunday’s event includes a pictorial directory and memorabilia display. And, a special cookbook created to commemorate the centennial will be available for sale. Holy Cross parishioners Marilyn Hoheisel and Marilyn Rhode coordinated the cookbook project. Gail Pete and Amber Presland helped to type the 400 recipes from current and former parishioners. 

Cookbooks may be purchased at the church after the weekend masses for $12.50 each or may be ordered by calling the parish office at 320-532-3122 or sending an e-mail to hconamiaparishoffice@yahoo.com. (An additional $4.95 shipping and handling will be added to mail the cookbooks.)

The cookbook is dedicated to the Crosiers for their service to the parish. Two recipes from the cookbook shared by Crosier priests — German Wiener Schnitzel with German Spaetzle from Father Edward Greiwe and Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Father Jude Verley — are a gift to you today. Father Verley concludes his recipe with “Serve, eat and enjoy!” I second that! CJK 

German Wiener Schnitzel 
with German Spaetzle

(Crosier Father Edward Greiwe)

Wiener Schnitzel

Boneless pork chops

Salt and pepper

2 eggs

Flour

Bread crumbs

Shortening or cooking oil

Spaetzle

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash of pepper

1 tbsp. butter or margarine

Wiener Schnitzel

Pound boneless pork chops to about 1/4 inch thickness. Remove fat. Salt and pepper both sides. Beat eggs with small amount of water. Lightly flour pork chops. Dip them into egg mixture holding with fork until nothing more drips off. Lightly dust both sides of pork chops with fine bread crumbs. Heat about 1/2-inch shortening (or cooking oil) in frying pan. Fry them until both sides are nicely light brown. Place on paper-toweled cookie sheet and put in 250°F oven to keep warm. Serve with German spaetzle noodles.

Spaetzle

Mix eggs, milk, flour, salt and pepper together. Fill a saucepan half full of water, heat to boiling. Drop dough into boiling water by tablespoons [or by pushing it through the holes of a colander]. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking. Cook about 5 minutes or until spaetzle rise to surface. Drain and toss with butter or margarine to serve.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

(Crosier Father Jude Verley)

1 1/2 sticks butter

brown sugar

pineapple rings

maraschino cherries

1 white or yellow cake mix

Melt butter and pour into the bottom of a 9 x13-inch baking pan. Spread a layer of brown sugar over the top of the melted butter. Arrange pineapple rings over brown sugar layer. Place a maraschino cherry in each center of pineapple ring.

Mix cake according to package directions, pour over ingredients in pan. Bake at 350° F for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick near center comes out clean. Let cool five minutes before turning cake over onto serving dish.

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

Diocesan employees who work at the Pastoral Center and Chancery celebrated the coming of fall with a potluck this Thursday. Of course there were numerous delicious dishes and a full table of desserts to sample. What can I say? Potlucks are always fun!

I brought a romaine salad with an apple, pears, dried cranberries and cashews. A number of people asked for the recipe so I'm considering it a hit! If you’re looking for a healthy, unique salad to serve at this time of year, consider giving this one a try.

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

(Adapted from “Festive Foods to Make & Take”)

Dressing

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp. finely chopped onion

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2/3 cup oil

1 tbsp. poppy seed

Salad

2-3 heads romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces (about 10 cups)

4 oz. (1 cup) shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup cashews, roughly chopped (some of the nuts should remain whole)

1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 apple, cubed*

2 pears, cubed*

In blender combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard and salt. Cover; process until blended. With machine running, add oil in slow steady stream, processing until thick and smooth. Add poppy seeds; process a few seconds to mix.

*Do not cut up fruit until right before serving.

In large serving bowl, gently combine all salad ingredients. Pour dressing over salad immediately before serving; toss to coat.

Yield: 12 (1 cup) servings

Notes from Carol:

This is a wonderful salad to serve in the fall or winter! I usually make a double batch of the salad dressing in the blender and store it in a quart jar. This double recipe can be used for three or more salads. (I like to add only a light coating of the dressing instead of using a full batch for one salad.)

*I used one Honeycrisp apple and two ripe Bartlett pears in the salad served at the Pastoral Center Sept. 30, 2010. I mixed in all of the shredded cheese but reserved some of the dried cranberries and cashews to decorate the top.

The original recipe suggested Anjou or Bosc pears as they are available in the fall and throughout the winter months. Both varieties are sweet — Bosc pears have a slightly spicy flavor. CJK