Tropical Fruit Pavlova + Our Lady of the Angels

Last week, as I participated in the rededication of the church at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels in West Humboldt Park, I was reminded that the Resurrection is not a one-time event. I didn’t even know that the mission existed until mid-March, when I went with a group from my church to help out with their monthly mobile food pantry. The story of this place takes my breath away.

Our Lady of the Angels used to be a thriving parish in a largely Italian-American neighborhood. In 1958, a devastating fire in the parish school killed 92 students and 3 nuns and injured many others. The school was rebuilt and reopened in 1960, but closed as a result of declining numbers in 1999. The parish closed in 1990. The demographics of the area have changed drastically since the time of the school fire; today it remains an area of poverty, gang activity, and violent crime. In 2006, the median household income in the area was $21,000, and 35 percent of adults did not have a high school diploma.

In 2004, Fr. Bob Lombardo answered Cardinal George's call to rebuild the church in this depressed Chicago neighborhood. When he arrived, many of the buildings were vacant or in disrepair. With virtually no budget to make repairs, Fr. Bob relied on the help of neighbors and friends to donate time, money, skills and prayer to rebuild this mission. The state of the mission today is a testament to Fr. Bob’s great faith and tireless work, and to the reviving power of God.

In 2006, the Franciscan mission opened in the completely renovated rectory. Kelly Hall, which had been the vacant and crumbling parish center, reopened in January 2009 as a fully renovated YMCA community center. The convent has been beautifully renovated, and now serves as a facility for retreats and other community gatherings. The Franciscans of the Eucharist, a fledgling religious community, began serving the mission in 2009. Today, the mission helps about 700 families each month to get good, healthy food. About 130 children participate in the after school program, and several hundred are involved in activities and programs at Kelly Hall.

The most recent project was the church, which completed renovations and was rededicated on April 14, 2012. The church was packed with people who had come to celebrate the remarkable resurrection story that has occurred in this place. There was such joy! And they didn’t pause their community outreach for the celebration, either: the day of the rededication, they held their monthly mobile food pantry, hosted a Daddy-Daughter Dance at Kelly Hall, and then served a fabulous dinner to all the guests at the Mass.

For more information about Fr. Bob and the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, visit their website, www.missionola.com, where you can learn about their many volunteer opportunities, donate money to support them, and view lots of pictures of volunteers and community members, and amazing before-and-afters of their ongoing renovations.

Tropical Fruit Pavlova

Pavlova is simple and elegant, and a perfect dessert for Easter, Mother's Day, or any other springtime gathering. Swap out the tropical fruit for berries in the summer. Also, I've heard it described as a symbol of the resurrection, since it spends 2 hours resting in the "tomb" (the oven that has been turned off) before it's done. A bit of a stretch, but kind of cute, right?

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Meringues and Fruit:
4 large egg whites
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 kiwis, peeled, quartered, and sliced thin
1 1/2 cups pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the meringues: adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip whites to soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute. Gradually add 1 cup sugar and whip until glossy, stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.

Scoop six 1/2-cup mounds of meringue onto prepared sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.  Gently make small indentations in each meringue using back of spoon. It will be really sticky, so just do the best you can.Bake until meringues have smooth, dry, and firm exteriors, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn oven off and leave meringues in oven until completely dry and hard, about 2 hours. (Meringue shells can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.)

For the fruit: Gently toss mango, kiwis, and pineapple with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let sit at room temperature until sugar has dissolved and fruit is juicy, about 30 minutes.

For the topping: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes.

To assemble, place meringue shells on individual plates and spoon about 1/3 whipped cream into each shell. top with about 1/2 cup fruit. Serve immediately.

Grapefruit-Ginger Curd

There is drama in this week. We start with a parade into Jerusalem, with palms and Hosannas. There is a feast. The king washes the feet of his friends, and then, even after that radical display of love and humility, one of the same friends betrays him. He is arrested, tortured. The people who hailed his entry into the City of David cry in a frenzy for his execution. And then the king, speaking not a word against those who mock him, beat him, and spit on him, is nailed to a cross. The sun refuses to shine, the curtain of the temple is torn asunder, and the king dies with forgiveness on his lips.

Two days pass in darkness and despair and then, a miracle. Bearing the marks of his crucifixion on his body, the king walks again among the living. The world as we've known it is changed.

Drama.



Grapefruit-Ginger Curd
adapted from 101 cookbooks

This would make a fantastic accompaniment to Easter brunch. Serve it at home, or give it as a hostess gift. They'll be glad they invited you. This can be safely canned in a hot-water bath, too. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. After canning, it will remain fresh at room temperature for two months. After opening, refrigerate and use within a week.

2 cups freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
10 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks, room temperature
4 whole eggs, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
2 tablespoons ginger juice (press grated ginger through a fine-mesh sieve)

Simmer the grapefruit juice in a small saucepan until reduced by half. I couldn't tell by eyeballing it, so I just poured it back into the Pyrex measuring cup a couple of times until I had a cup. Allow to cool slightly.

Cream the butter in a medium stainless bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), and then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the salt, and then the grapefruit, lemon, and ginger juices, working them in gradually.

Set the bowl over a saucepan (you can use the same one you simmered the grapefruit juice in) of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is about 166 degrees F and coats the spoon, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to jars. Process in a hot water bath if desired.

Yield: about 4 cups (2 pints). Recipe can easily be cut in half.

Seven Quick Takes: Valentine's Day Edition

There is so much adorable pink stuff floating around the internet this week! I thought I'd use today's post to round up a few of my V-day favorites in a linky list for you, in seven categories! (Visit Hallie for many, many more quick takes.)

1. Treats:
- Hot pink glazed doughnuts? Yes please.
- Lavender buttermilk pancakes (use heart-shaped molds for an adorable V-day breakfast)
- Chocolate covered rice krispie hearts
- Want to make someone fall in love with you? Make them this chocolate cake.
- Heart-glazed cornmeal cookies.

2. Romantic Dinners:
- Roast chicken with (magic) dijon sauce.
- Crab cakes!
- Baked pasta: do-ahead = more time for romance.
- Braised short ribs and parsnip latkes.

3. Libations:
- Nothing says "I love you" like oranges and bourbon.
- ...except maybe blood oranges and gin.
- Special juice, perfect for brunch.

4. Gifts:
- Loving the new album by Audrey Assad. Also loving her dress in this video!
- Adorable custom journals from Minted. I won one from Tracy (thanks!), and am still thinking about which one I want - there are so many great ones!
- Joy the Baker cookbook! Available for pre-order (it comes out on Feb. 28).
- A new book by your favorite Catholic women writers, which comes out on March 2.
- How about a donation to a great cause?
- This deal has actually ended, but would be easy to recreate for an intimate at-home wine tasting.
- Some people might be excited that he went to Jared, but I'd rather he went to Etsy.

5. Fun stuff happening this weekend:
- Logan Square Pastry Market, if you're not into baking your own (or even if you are).
- Dose Market, this Sunday: food, fashion, and an incredibly beautiful venue. Win.
- Traverse City Microbrew and Music Festival. Sad that I can't go!

6. I would love to make some of these.

7. Romance on another level.

I'm not entirely faithful in my daily prayer and devotions, but recently a friend shared something that she had heard, and it really stuck: ingesting Scripture daily is as important as ingesting food. I've felt the ripples of that thought radiating through my life this week, and morning prayer today (for the feast of St. Scholastica) is full of the imagery of God as a lover. Reading this scripture, I felt comforted and loved and filled with hope, and I'd like to share it with you, too.

My lover speaks; he says to me,

"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

O my dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret recesses of the cliff,

Let me see you,

let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet,

and you are lovely."

-Song of Songs 2:10-14

Good morning, Lord.

My God greets me in the morning
with a cool breeze
and a cloud-dappled blue sky
              good morning, Lord.

The city snuggles deeper
under covers of pink fog,
and the sun bursts through, melts it away
              good morning, Lord.

The sun rises over the lake.
I drink hot coffee high above the city,
I am blessed.
            good morning, Lord.

Apricot-Pecan Oatmeal

I am a morning person.  Really, truly, down to my toes.  I love mornings.

Summer mornings that start around 5 am, even.  I love 'em.  They make me want to wake up earlier so that I can soak them in.

I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that if I'm going to work out, it's going to have to be in the morning.  Working out at night is bad for me.  It wakes me up so that I end up staying up later than I should.  It takes up time that would otherwise be used for cooking and eating and hanging out with my husband.  That is not something I can handle.  Getting up a little earlier?  Now that's something I can wrap my mind around.

This morning, my alarm woke me up at 5:15.  I checked my phone and found a really sweet text from my sister-in-law, who is working at a summer camp in Texas (yowza) right now, and had finally gotten the chance to try on her b-day presents.  That was enough to make me smile and not get back in bed (thanks C!).  I laced up my running shoes and headed out into the cool blue morning.  I haven't been running lately, and I tend to get wicked shin splints, so I had decided to take it easy - a little walking, some stretching, more walking to a park nearby, a 1/2 mile run around the track there, and a walk back home.  It was so refreshing, and felt like giving a gift to myself. 

As I walked along the tree-lined boulevard, looking at the cloudless summer-blue sky, and listening to Audrey Assad, I felt so close to God.  It's always been that way with me - God shows up in blue skies, in thunderstorms, in the Rocky Mountains, or Lake Michigan; in a bouquet of fresh peonies or a thousand-color sunset.  And those are the times when prayer feels the most natural, the most genuine to me.  Because I feel like those moments of great natural beauty were created just for me, out of God's love for me.  And I feel so blessed, and so thankful that I got out of bed to receive that gift.

After a shower, I got down to breakfast.  I cut some apricots in half, dipped them in raw sugar, and broiled them until they were soft and caramelized.  Meanwhile, I toasted some pecans, and made some oatmeal.  I cut 3 of the apricot halves into bite-size pieces, chopped the pecans, and stirred everything into the oatmeal with a little more brown sugar and a little drizzle of cream.  I didn't have enough time to give my breakfast the attention it deserved (so tomorrow I'll get up at 5 instead of 5:15), but it was delicious.  I wolfed it down, grabbed my keys, kissed my husband, and ran out the door to work.  It's great to feel like you've already accomplished so much before you've even gone to work!  I look forward to further honing my morning routine.

Do you have a morning routine?  When do you exercise?

Apricot-Pecan Oatmeal

What can't you put in oatmeal?  I've been experimenting with different combinations, and this one is a winner.  The apricots are sweet-tart and juicy, with a burnt-sugar crust on them.  The pecans add the perfect amount of crunch.  You may think that this sounds a little labor-intensive for a weekday morning, but if you roast the apricots the night before (and eat some for dessert), it comes together in a snap!  If you haven't pre-roasted them, do it anyway - you only get to live this day once, and this day deserves a delicious breakfast.

1/2 cup old-fashioned (not quick-cook) oats
1/4 cup pecan halves
1-2 apricots
2 T raw (turbinado) sugar for dipping, plus more to sweeten oatmeal, if desired
1 T heavy cream (or milk or half-and-half)

Preheat your oven's broiler.  Cut apricots in half, dip the cut side in raw sugar, and line them up on a pan.  Broil for 3-6 minutes, until they are bubbling and browned on top.  Meanwhile, toast the pecans until fragrant in a dry saute pan over medium heat.  Cook the oatmeal in 1 cup of water for 3-5 minutes.  Combine everything, drizzle with cream, and eat.  Preferably with a cup of great coffee and a little extra time for sitting to enjoy.