A lovely feast is coming up this weekend, one that occasionally is overtaken by Thanksgiving depending on how the month falls - Saint Cecilia's Day! I've got a few plans in the works that I'd thought I'd share with you. :)

Elena Maria Vidal has a delightful recipe for Saint Cecilia's Punch posted at Tea at Trianon. I've tried reworking it to bring it down from 70 servings to, say, two or maybe 4.

The original ingredients:
6 lemons
1 quart brandy
1 pineapple
1-1/2 pounds sugar
1 quart green tea
1 pint heavy rum
1 quart peach brandy
1 gallon champagne
2 quarts carbonated water

I think I'll take 1/2 a lemon and soak it in 1/2 cup of brandy for 24 hours in a mason jar. The morning of the 22nd, I'll add in some fresh pineapple, just a few slices. 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of green tea, one shot of rum, and 1/2 cup of peach brandy. This mix will keep in the fridge nicely in the mason jar. One cheap bottle of champagne and a bottle of sparkling water to top up the glasses should complete the recipe and keep us and any guests happy for the entire weekend!

I didn't manage to bring it down to two servings but storing the mix in the fridge in your mason jar is a great solution especially with a lovely feast like Christ the King coming so closely behind! Any smaller of proportions and I'm afraid the fruit would not be covered for the soaking and besides, it just gets fiddly messing with smaller and smaller measures. So be happy! Plan a Sunday Brunch for Christ the King and polish off the rest of that bottle of champagne - mimosas are delightful too!

Since this is the feast of the patroness of music, I'm determined to download Kathryn's suggestions of music for Saint Cecilia's Day:
Purcell - Ode for St. Cecilia's Day
Britten - Hymn to St. Cecilia
Herbert Howells - A Hymn for St. Cecilia

The gorgeous painting is by JW Waterhouse, I found it here with a great write up on Saint Cecilia.

Finally, a well-known invocation by W. H. Auden that focuses on St. Cecilia as Muse.
Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions
To all musicians, appear and inspire:
Translated Daughter, come down and startle
Composing mortals with immortal fire.

Happy Feast Day!