Strawberry Cinnamon Butter- Ascension Picnic- May 13

A little butter loving is going on in my kitchen as I prepare a picnic for the Solemnity of the Ascension today. I’ll explain the importance of this feast day, why we do picnics, and some liturgical living tidbits at the end. I use butter with almost everything, like it’s going out of style. There isn’t one frying pan in this house that’s gone unnoticed by a stick of butter. So, I've got a little extra of the main ingredient as you can gather, its FINALLY summer break, and this is a Solemnity of the Lord in the Easter Season! It's going down!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 1/2 cup

(Double if you just can't get enough.)

Here’s the band of misfits.

Ingredients 1. One dash of salt - 1/16 to be exact but who has a measuring spoon that says that?!

2. 2 tbsp Strawberry Preserves

3. 1 stick of Butter

4. 1/4 tsp CinnamonThis makes about half a cup, double if you can’t get enough of it.

Put one stick of butter in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on.

Beat the butter on high for about 4-5 minutes or until it’s fluffy.

After about 5 minutes on high turn the mixer to low and spoon 2 tablespoons of the strawberry preserves into the butter. Yum! Note: you can really do this with any flavor preserves that you fancy.

Make sure it’s nicely blended, you may have to stir a bit with your baking spatula.

Sprinkle in a dash of salt like so!

Add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, you can add more if you want the taste to be a bit stronger.

Beat again on high for about 2 minutes.

While that is going grab a little jar or container to spoon your butter into.

Nicely blended and ready for canning.

Pack the butter in tightly, seal, and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

Ascension Thursday is a holy day of obligation, which in this state of quarantine has been lifted. Today marks forty days after Easter Sunday and exactly ten days before Pentecost! It's an important feast day in the Church because it shows that Jesus' salvific mission and acts of redemption are complete! Our place in Heaven is prepared and we can now partake in sharing in Christ's glory. It's so difficult to wrap my temporally bound mind around the fact that my destiny, my salvation has been completely changed because Jesus conquered death.

The Gospel for the Ascension of the Lord

Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,

to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

Then Jesus approached and said to them,

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.