Good Shepherd's Garden Party ~ Week 7

The Heavenly Zoo

This Week’s Good Shepherd’s 
Garden Party Menu

Water
Deer Cupcakes
Lucky Lion Lemonade
Beehive Baked Pears
Pelican Toasties
Phoenix-Tail Shrimp

Decorating Ideas

Peacock Feathers
Water Fountain Centerpiece

By Jessica at Shower of Roses and Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

Recipes and Suggestions
*Please feel free to modify and be creative with these plans to suit your family!

43. The Water   Revelation 7: 13-17
A pitcher of water would be simple and work just fine, but since we do have another drink suggestion, you could also decorate the center of the table with a small water fountain.

Water Fountain Centerpiece
and/or Pitcher of Water 

44. The Deer  Psalm 42: 1-5

Deer Cupcakes

Cupcakes

Chocolate Frosting
(I mixed Milk Chocolate with White for a lighter brown)

White frosting for eyes

Chocolate chips, for the eyes 
and nose

Pretzels for the antlers


45. The Lion   Daniel 6: 14-23

Our first thought was to make Lion cupcakes, but since we already have deer cupcakes, we decided to go with this fun sounding drink that we found from the San Diego Zoo. 

Lucky Lion Lemonade

3 to 4 scoops frozen vanilla yogurt
1 can frozen lemonade
5 to 6 ice cubes
1 cup lemon-lime soda
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Sprinkles

Fill a blender with frozen yogurt, add frozen lemonade, ice cubes, and soda.
Hold lid TIGHT! Blend together. Pour into cups and top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, to make your lion's mane.

46. The Beehive   Judges 14: 5-9

Here is another unique idea Jessica and I found online, from The Feast Within, to symbolize the Beehive! 

Beehive Baked Pears

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
2 large Comice or other pears, firm ripe, washed unpeeled
1/2 cup Walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup Pistachios, toasted
1/4 Honey
2 Tbs. of vanilla scented granulated sugar (put your rinsed and dried vanilla beans -or a fresh one-in a canister of granulated sugar after other uses)
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Allspice, Cloves, and Cinnamon
Zest from a Small Lemon
4 Tbs. Cream Cheese

Directions:

Toast the nuts. Wash and dry the lemon and zest it. Place the honey in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it boils. Add the nuts and stir to coat. Add the zest and salt and spices and cook until the honey is thickly coating the nuts. Wash and dry the pears. Using a melon baller, remove the blossom end and make a small cavity by removing the core of the pears. Spoon the nut mixture in and then plug the bottom with about 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese- depending on the size of your pears. Set aside. Roll your pastry dough out to a rectangle about the height of your pears and 2 x the circumference. Cut into strips about 1/2″ wide. Wrap the pastry around the pear starting from the bottom side and slightly overlapping each go round. Use a little water join pieces as needed. Wrap all the way to the top and place strips on the bottom to cover. Completely encase the pears in the pastry. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about an hour or until the pastry is golden and the pear is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Cool slightly, cut open and serve with vanilla bean ice cream, a caramel sauce or creme anglaise as desired. Serves 2-8 depending on your appetite!

47. The Peacock  1 Kings 10: 21-25

You can find peacock feathers, to decorate the table, at the craft store. 

Peacock Feathers

48. The Pelican   Genesis 1: 20-23
We had a hard time coming up with something, other than Pelican Shaped Cookies, until I was inspired by a loaf of French bread  and came up with these Pelican Beak Toasties!

Pelican Toasties

French Bread

Cheddar Cheese

Gold fish (optional)

Directions:  Cut a slice of french bread as shown.  Top with Cheddar Cheese. Toast in oven.

49. The Phoenix   Job 29: 14-20

An easy alternative to the recipe below would be to just pick up a shrimp cocktail platter from your local grocery store. 

Phoenix-Tail Shrimp

1 pound medium-size or large raw shrimp
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash white pepper
1 cup water
Salad oil
Dipping sauces: catsup and hot mustard or sweet and sour kumquat sauce

Salt-pepper mix

Shell shrimp, but leave the tail sections on for handles. Devein, wash, and pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Add water and stir until batter is smooth. 

In a deep pan, pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches and heat to 375 F on a deep-frying thermometer. Holding shrimp by the tail, dip into batter so it covers shrimp but not the tail, then lower into hot oil. Cook several pieces at a time without crowding, turning occasionally, until crisp and light golden (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

50. The Dove Song of Songs 2: 8-17

We decided to include a menu suggestion for Day 50, Pentecost Sunday, to this final Garden Party. You can find additional ideas and recipes for celebrating Pentecost Sunday over at Catholic Cuisine.

Dove Chocolates

You can download and print all of these ideas and recipes with a shopping list here.

A Mr. Linky will be posted at Catholic Cuisine on May 24th, for anyone who would like to share the pictures from your own Good Shepherd’s Garden Party!