When the apostles opened the sepulchre for St. Thomas, tradition tells us that they were greeted by the fragrance of the flowers they saw there in place of the body of Our Lady. It only seems right that we use this floral theme with which to celebrate her bodily Assumption! As I promised, here are some ideas to make your After Divine Liturgy Luncheon a great success.
First of all, every good table needs an appropriate centerpiece. We will use the flowers that we brought to church to be blessed to dress up our table.
After lunch, we will place them before the icon of the Theotokos at our family icon corner. We dressed it up nicely in blue for her feast today!
Beverage: Hibiscus Tea
Flowers, in almost every culture, are used to symbolize various qualities. The hibiscus flower, for example, is thought to symbolize delicate beauty. In Korea, however, it symbolizes immortality. How fitting it is to use it to celebrate Our Lady's entrance, body and soul, into eternal life!
In addition to being rich in healthy vitamin C, the rich red color of this floral tea, whether hot or iced, is a fun addition to our party.
Steep a few heaping spoonfuls of dried hibiscus flowers ( or use 2-3 Red-Zinger tea bags!) in boiling hot water, along with the juice of one lime and your favorite sweetener, to taste. Serve hot, or over ice.
Sandwiches:
Hummus and Carrot Lilies
White calla lilies are used to symbolize purity and marriage, and for this reason, we often see them in bridal bouquets. On the other hand, they are often utilized in funeral arrangements as well, since they also represent resurrection. Since Our Blessed Mother is the immaculate bride who rose up to heaven today, this is a wonderful symbol of her!
These lily sandwiches can be made with your favorite brand of prepared hummus, or with some you make yourself. Here is the recipe my family enjoys: in a small blender, add one can of drained chick peas, the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of tahini ( or peanut butter), a clove of garlic and some salt and (maybe) cumin, to taste. Blend until smooth.
Now, take a slice of plain white bread ( unfortunately, the pastier the bread, the prettier the flower, in this case) and cut off the crusts...not something we usually permit in our house, mind you, but it IS a feast day. Spread the hummus rather thinly on the bread, staying away from the edges, and place a few VERY thin carrot sticks across it in a diagonal way, from corner to corner. Roll one edge of the bread toward the edge that lies right next to it, forming a lily flower. Press the edges together to seal. Serve on a platter of lettuce leaves.
Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sunflowers
Sunflowers are also known as Obedience Flowers since they always turn toward the sun. Similarly, our Blessed Mother always points us toward her Divine Son! What a great flower to help us commemorate her feast!
This sandwich requires the help of a flower-shaped cookie cutter and two types of bread. We like to use a light whole wheat and a pumpernickel. Use the cookie cutters to cut out a flower from each of the different breads you will use. Then use a small round cutter ( or shot glass) to cut a "center" from each one. Transfer the center of the white flower to the brown one, and the center of the brown flower to the white one, then make your sandwiches, filling them with thinly sliced cucumbers and cream cheese.
Tomato Rose Canapes
Roses are traditionally given as a gift of love. These roses symbolize the love we have for the Mother of God, and the love she has for us!
I made these based on the recipe I found on on a blog I've been following for quite some time called Catholic Cuisine. I'm providing the link because I couldn't explain it any better myself, and I'd like to give credit where it's due! Thanks to Catholic Cuisine!
http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2011/10/heavenly-rose-garden-tea-sandwiches.html
A pasta salad rounds out our meal today, with flower shaped pasta called "fiori" or a tulip shaped pasta called "campanelle", like we used here. You can dress it with your favorite salad dressing and add slices of pepper, carrot and zucchini which were cut into flower shapes as well.
Here is our finished buffet!
Now, for dessert! Cupcakes are a favorite here, any flavor will do. Traditionally, we use blue icing for Marian feasts, but these are pink today. In keeping with our theme, we have cut some marshmallows into four slices and have arranged them to look like flower petals, placing a mini marshmallow in the center.
This menu works very well for any Marian feast or Grandma's birthday, as well as any little girls tea party. It was a hit at our Little Flowers Tea Party a few years ago as well!
God bless your family and Happy Feast.
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