Edible St. Agnes Lambs

St. Agnes' feast day is today, January 21st! She was a young Roman girl who promised her life to God. Because of her beauty many men wanted to marry her, but she always refused, saying "Jesus Christ is my only Spouse." One of them became so angry when she refused him, he turned her in for being a Christian. She was then tortured and killed for refusing to deny her faith. She was only thirteen years old when she was martyred. She is the patron of young girls, (among other things.) Learn more about St. Agnes here.

In art she is often pictured holding a lamb, as her name is very similar to the Latin word "Agnus" which means lamb.






So today I decided to make a healthy snack of vegetable lambs in honor of St. Agnes. For each lamb you will need:
3 toothpicks cut in half (kitchen shears work well for this)
1 white mushroom cap or 1 cauliflower floret
1 large black olive

Stick four of the toothpick halves into the bottom of the mushroom or cauliflower. These are the legs. Then stick one toothpick half in the top to hold the head. The black olives already have a hole in the middle so you can just slide them on! Serve them as is or with a dip. You could even give them a meadow of salad to frolic on.

While we were making the lambs I read a short bio of St. Agnes, and then afterwards we said a St. Agnes prayer.

Prayer to Saint Agnes
St. Agnes, although you were only a child, you believed that Jesus was always with you; help us to remember that he is also with us, and to remain true to his presence.

 St. Agnes, you refused to give up your faith; help us to be proud of our faith, to love it, to be strong in it, and to give witness to it daily. 

St. Agnes, patron saint of children, watch over the children of the world; keep them safe from harm; be with them in their hour of need; and always pray for them

Amen