You can find the recipe here.
From the Grill tonight
Filed under: Food, General Stuff
Saturday Evening Recipe
Andouille Sausage was on sale the other day, so we picked up a few packages. I’ve never had it, nor cooked with it, so tonight was experimental. Dinner was pretty good, so I decided to share with you what I did:
Step 1:
1 c brown rice
2 c chicken stock
4-5 cloves of garlic
I hate cooking rice. I while ago, I started cooking it in the oven, to avoid scorched pans! Follow the recipe for rice, but stick it in the oven (I use a CorningWear pan) and bake at 350 for 1 hour or so. I check on it every half hour, to make sure it has enough water and to give it a stir. I had to add more water to it and baked for 1.5 hours. It turned out very creamy. (I also left to do some errands, so I did this before hand, and turned the oven off, leaving the rice in the oven.)
Step 2:
2 T olive oil
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 of an onion, diced
1 24 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 t celery seed
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil and add the peppers and onions, cook until soft. Add the tomatoes and the rest of the seasonings. Stir to heat through, then add the cooked rice, stir, reduce heat, then cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes (I guess you can go longer too.) Stir frequently.
Step 3:
Slice the sausage how you like it (we did it in half, then in 1/4 inch pieces.) and heat over med-high heat until heated through.
Step 4:
Assembly. Since we did a spicy sausage and a regular smoked sausage, we served the rice then topped it with the sausage. I also served them with baking powder drop biscuits.
More Papal Conclave News
Check back here for links and information about the Conclave!
I have posted a different article with the time tables for checking for White Smoke!
Yesterday Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, SJ released a schedule for the sessions of the conclave to elect a new pope, set to begin Tuesday, March 12, including a time-table for when the “fumata†(the black or white smoke indicating whether or not a new pontiff has been elected) can be expected from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
On Tuesday morning, a Mass “For the Election of the Roman Pontiff†will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, presiding. Later that day:
On Tuesday at 3:45pm, the cardinals will move from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace. At 4:30pm, the cardinals will process from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel and, after they have all taken the oath, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations will give the order “Extra omnes†for all those not taking part in the Conclave to leave the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals will listen to a meditation given by Cardinal Grech, concerning the grave duty incumbent on them and thus on the need to act with right intention for the good of the Universal Church, after which they will proceed to the first vote. At 7:00pm they will pray Vespers and, at 7:30pm, will return to the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
Beginning on Wednesday, 13 March, the cardinals will move from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Pauline Chapel at 7:45am where, at 8:15am, they will celebrate Mass. At 9:30am they will enter the Sistine Chapel, pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and proceed to the voting process. Around 12:00pm they will return to the Domus Sanctae Marthae and, after lunch there, will go back to the Sistine Chapel at 4:00pm where they will pray briefly and resume the voting procedure until 7:00pm.
Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden explains the “windows†during which smoke can be expected during the days of voting below; I’ve added the US Eastern times in brackets:
The first smoke signal can be expected about 7 p.m. [2 pm ET] Tuesday, after the first vote.
Beginning Wednesday, smoke would be expected at about noon [7 am ET] and again about 7 p.m [2 pm ET].
However, if a pope is elected on the first ballot of the morning, the white smoke would billow forth between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. [5:30 am and 6 am ET]. If he is elected on the first ballot of the afternoon, the white smoke would be seen between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. [12:30 pm and 1 pm ET].
After a white smoke signal, it takes about 40-45 minutes before the announcement of the name of the candidate who won. He must accept the office, change to white vestments and the cardinals pledge their obedience and pray again.
From Robert Moynihan comes a final detail; the words that will be proclaimed to the world following the election of a new pope:
Once a Pope is elected, and accepts his election, the senior Cardinal Deacon (the Cardinal Protodeacon, currently Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran) appears at the main balcony of the basilica’s façade to proclaim the new Pope with the Latin phrase (assuming the new Pope is a cardinal):
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam! Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum [forename], Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem [surname], qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name].
(“I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope! The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord,
Lord [forename], Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname], who takes to himself the name [papal name].â€)
I don’t seem to recall knowing this information in 2005, so I thought I’d share it with you all as well. This helps tremendously, as does the Pope Alarm website in knowing when to check the news!
A pretty cool graphic from Focus Ministries.
Pope Alarm
Those wonderful people over at Focus Ministries have set up the Pope Alarm. This is your answer to “what happens if the pope is elected in the morning??!!!” Â All you do is sign up, give your phone number for a text message or your email address to have an email sent when the white smoke starts to appear.
According to Fr. Lombardi, the official Vatican spokesman, the announcement of the new pope will be about 30-40 minutes after the smoke appears.
Also, here a link to the Vatican News with the time table for Tuesday and Wednesday.
7 Quick Takes – V
- Last night Joshua and I put together two lasagnas to bake and freeze. One has meat, the other doesn’t. I don’t know which one is which and you can’t tell from the outside. Oh well, I guess that we won’t be eating those on a Friday. Our noodles were homemade, as was the sauce. The filling is made up of ricotta cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, and spinach, with a layer of sauce and extra cheese. The meat in the one is Italian sausage, yum.Â
- Benedict slept last night in just potty pants. He woke up once at 1030 to go to the bathroom and around 20o as well and was dry both times as well as all night! Good job Benedict!
- I slept pretty well, without much hip pain! I still can’t roll over very well at all, but that might be due to the huge belly I have right now.
- Tonight is Mass, Stations, Adoration, and Confession. I am thankful for these opportunities during Lent. And no, we don’t stay long during Adoration, maybe 5-10 minutes.
- Â Afterward, I am hoping to stop and get my hair trimmed and maybe my eyebrows done. All for post birth pictures, gotta protect my vanity. I had my eyebrows done back in December, when I went to Iowa and they stayed nice and “clean” until about two weeks ago, now they are just a big mess.
- A date for the Papal Conclave has been set! Deo Gratias! March 12th, after lunch, they will be locked into the Sistine Chapel to vote. How exciting. We should know who our new Holy Father will be before the end of next week. (I’ve got Day 3 picked for the day we find out.)
- Pray for our Cardinals!
For more 7 Quick Takes, check out Jennifer’s blog.
We have a Conclave Date!
According to Vatican Radio, the Conclave will begin on March 12th!
Hanging in There
The baby has not arrived yet, but I am not close to my due date yet. I had a midwife appointment today and that went pretty well. My blood pressure is nice and low, but not too low. I asked for an internal exam, partly because I wanted to know where I was, but also because my midwife lives 45 minutes away and I tend to have fast labors (Benedict excluded), so if I’m hanging out at 4 cm, that could me a labor sans the midwife.
I am not 4 cm but I am at 2 cm, nothing big, but 75% effaced, so making progress. She could feel the baby’s head but is pretty sure the baby is sitting like this:
So I’ve spent a lot of time today hanging out on my hands and knees as well as my birthing ball. I will tell you the excruciating hip pain I’ve had for a few weeks now is pretty much gone now. I think that means I’ve shifted the baby just enough to set her/him the right way. I’ve decided to avoid the couch for the rest of my pregnancy and will be relaxing in my rocker or on the birthing ball. Sleeping might be another issue, but I’m thinking now that I know how to make my hip not hurt as much, sleeping won’t be a big issue.
Oh, and did I mention I’ve been having leg cramps at night? This is the first time in a long time that I’ve woken up with charlie-horses, or the beginning of one. I actually woke Joshua up screaming the other night. (Hey, in my defense, it hurt and woke me up out of almost sound sleep.) We were out of bananas and I guess my cal-mag wasn’t doing it’s job, so I had Joshua buy two bunches of bananas at the grocery yesterday. I feel a lot better now too. (Bananas are high in potassium helps with leg cramps, in case you didn’t know.)
So here we are, I am 38 +3 weeks pregnant and ready to go. The biggest question around the house is “New baby or new Pope first?”
Baby Baby Baby
Wow, just thinking about when the other babies arrived, I could have a new babe in arms in just over a week.
Margaret and Benedict both arrived one week before their estimated due dates, while Karol was a bit late and Caecilia was four days late. My estimated due date with this baby is the Feast of St. Joseph (on the 19th).
Karol woke me up this morning with the question of “guess what’s in four days??!” and when I said what, he said the baby was going to be born. Hmmmm. Maybe he knows something?
Either way, I should have a new wee babe in arms by the end of the month.
Something that Bugs Me
The Church, in her Wisdom has given us the Ordinary Form of the Mass. We, as a Church, are currently blessed with the option (in most places) to attend Mass using the Ordinary Form or the Extraordinary Form. Both are valid in the eyes of the Church and both have beauty and both can be done well or done horribly.
I’ve been to both forms and to be honest, I prefer the Ordinary Form, when celebrated reverently. I have been blessed to see the Ordinary Form celebrated with great reverence and love. I’ve seen it celebrated ad orientem, with many of the parts in Latin, and all the focus on Love Himself.
That is not to say that I do not love the Extraordinary Form, I also an very drawn to it as well. However, if I had the option here, where we are, I’d still pick a reverently done Ordinary Form Mass.
That being said:Â It pains me when I see/read fellow Catholics who do not see the beauty and/or the validity of the Ordinary Form. On a discussion group I belong to, members make it sound like the most horrible place in the world is a Ordinary Form Mass. There is talk about how glad they are for being able to escape the Ordinary Form for the Latin Mass. (Note: the OF is the Latin Mass as well.)
Sometimes I feel as though a wedge is being driven between those of us who are faithful Catholics because of the Mass we attend. Many times I feel as though I am judged to be less faithful because I prefer the Ordinary Form. I’ve actually been pondering this for a few weeks now.
Yes, both forms are valid, and yes, abuses can happen in both forms. However, both forms bring us the Source and Summit of our faith, Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus, Love Himself. God made flesh, come to Earth to die on the Cross for our Salvation. He is present in both forms! He comes to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity at each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We, as Catholics, need to realize that even if the priest celebrating Mass seems to want to be anywhere but there, if the people in the pews around us seem more interested in chatting that praying, or (and this is one I struggle with) if the hymn choices are suspect at best, heretical at worst, the Mass is still the Mass and Jesus has come to us in the Blessed Sacrament.
So please, let us put aside the judging over what form is attended and look to see the beauty that is present in both!
Cake Save
I managed to save the cake!
I decided to just make the cake a trifle and set about putting it together. I managed to put too much milk in the frosting and ran out of powdered sugar, so I added cocoa powder and turned it into chocolate mint frosting. I then whipped up some cream, without sugar, to help cut  the sweetness of the icing and the ganache, and it helped a bit.
In the end, I put a layered the bowl with cake, Â frosting, crushed mint candies, whipped cream, ganache, then I repeated the steps another time to fill the bowl.
The cake was a big hit and very tasty, someone I am married two may or may not have had two helpings.