
Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
August 25
Saint of the day:
Saints Louis
Patron Saint of third Order of St. Francis, France, French monarchy; hairdressers
Saint Louis of France’s Story
At his coronation as king of France, Louis IX bound himself by oath to behave as God’s anointed, as the father of his people and feudal lord of the King of Peace. Other kings had done the same, of course. Louis was different in that he actually interpreted his kingly duties in the light of faith. After the violence of two previous reigns, he brought peace and justice.
Louis “took the cross” for a Crusade when he was 30. His army seized Damietta in Egypt but not long after, weakened by dysentery and without support, they were surrounded and captured. Louis obtained the release of the army by giving up the city of Damietta in addition to paying a ransom. He stayed in Syria four years.
Louis deserves credit for extending justice in civil administration. His regulations for royal officials became the first of a series of reform laws. He replaced trial by battle with a form of examination of witnesses and encouraged the use of written records in court.
Louis was always respectful of the papacy, but defended royal interests against the popes, and refused to acknowledge Innocent IV’s sentence against Emperor Frederick II.
Louis was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick, and like his patron Saint Francis, caring even for people with leprosy. He is one of the patrons of the Secular Franciscan Order. Louis united France—lords and townsfolk, peasants and priests and knights—by the force of his personality and holiness. For many years the nation was at peace.
Every day, Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved, in every province of his dominion.
Disturbed by new Muslim advances in Syria, he led another crusade in 1267, at the age of 41. His crusade was diverted to Tunis for his brother’s sake. The army was decimated by disease within a month, and Louis himself died on foreign soil at the age of 56. He was canonized 27 years later.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-louis-of-france/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=470
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-IX

Prayer:


Visit:
St Louis
(d. 1270, Tunis, Tunisia) (Relics: Monreale, Sicily; Saint-Denis, France)
In 1270 St Louis set out across the Mediterranean to begin the Eighth Crusade.
Upon reaching the shores of Tunis his group met a number of setbacks.
As they waited for reinforcements to fortify their position many within the group including St Louis caught dysentery and died.
As the defeated crusaders returned to Europe they brought the remains of St Louis through Italy and France
attracting many crowds of mourners along the way. His remains were then buried in Saint-Denis Cathedral in Paris, France.
The Sicilian city of Monreale also continues to claim to have some of his relics.
Cattedrale di Monreale (Cathedral of Monreale)
Piazza Guglielmo II 1
90046 Monreale, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
*The innards of St Louis rest within an urn in the left transept of this church.
These relics were acquired during the transfer of St Louis’ body from Tunis to Paris.
Cathédrale de Saint-Denis (Cathedral of Saint Denis)
1 Place de la Legion d’Honneur
93200 Saint-Denis, France
*For centuries the remains of St Louis rested in this church.
However, during the French Revolution these remains were destroyed.
Only a finger, now kept within this church, was preserved.
*Tradition also claims that this church was erected over the tomb of St Denis.
http://www.saint-denis-basilique.fr/en/





Tradition:
Boats & Jousting






Recipe:
We are celebrating with a French recipe because our Saint was from France.
Summer French Peach Tart
Ingredients
Ingredients for Custard:
-
1 tablespoon vanilla paste of 1 vanilla pod
-
500 g milk
-
2 egg yolks or 1 egg
-
50 g sugar
-
1 pinch salt
-
20-30 g cornstarch
Ingredients for Tart:
-
2-3 medium ripe peaches , pitted and thickly sliced (about 1/2-inch wide)
-
one disc Pâte Brisée
-
50 g raspberry jelly
Directions:
Instructions for Pâte Brisée:
-
Follow instructions Pâte Brisée (*See Below)
-
Fully blind bake tart shell as illustrated on Pâte Brisée recipe page (360°F for 22 to 25 minutes)
-
Cool completely
Instructions for Custard in the Thermomix TM5:
-
Scale all ingredients directly into the TM bowl; turn the Selector Dial; custard will be prepared in 8 minutes
-
Pour immediately into prepared tart shell; pour remainder into a small bowl
Instructions for Custard without a Thermomix:
-
Blend all ingredients in blender; heat slowly over medium heat, stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes, until mixture thickens
-
Stir constantly for 1 more minutes; remove from heat and pour into tart shell
-
Pour remainder into a small bowl
Instructions for Putting it all Together:
-
Decoratively arrange the peach slices on top of the custard
-
Gently heat the raspberry jelly until melted; brush over surface of tart, sparingly
-
Chill for 2 hours, or until service
-
Will keep for a day or two, but best eaten right away
*Pâte Brisée or Cookie Dough Pastry
Ingredients
-
11/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
-
3/4 cup (170g) cold butter, cut into pieces
-
1/4 cup (65g) granulated sugar
-
2 egg yolks
-
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla (optional)
-
Dried beans or rice (for blind baking)
Directions:
Directions for Pastry adapted by me for use with the Thermomix:
-
Scale the flour and butter into the TM bowl; cut butter into the flour for 5 seconds on Turbo (will be fine crumbs)
-
Scale the sugar into the TM bowl for 5 seconds on Turbo (see above photo)
-
Add the egg yolks and for 3-5 seconds on speed 4-5 just long enough for the mixture to come together into a ball
-
Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 30 min before lining tart pan, or refrigerate overnight
-
Roll out and line tart pan (thickness of 1/4 inch and lip of 1/2 inch); chill again for 30 min before baking
-
Pre-heat oven to 375°F; place tart shell on a baking sheet and blind bake the pastry by lining it with a generous piece of parchment filled with dried beans to the very top to give the sides support so they won’t shrink (this also ensures a crisper crust)
-
Blind bake for 12 min.; remove to a heatproof surface and take away parchment and beans (preserve beans for future use); prick crust bottom all over with a fork and replace in the oven, turning the heat down to 325°F and bake for 13-15 more minutes
Directions for Pastry:
-
Mix the flour and butter with your fingers until they turn into fine crumbs; mix in the sugar
-
Add the egg yolks and mix with your fingers just long enough for the mixture to come together into a ball
-
Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 30 min before lining tart pan, or refrigerate overnight
-
Roll out and line tart pan (thickness of 1/4 inch and lip of 1/2 inch); chill again for 30 min before baking
-
Pre-heat oven to 375°F; place tart shell on a baking sheet and blind bake the pastry by lining it with a generous piece of parchment filled with dried beans to the very top to give the sides support so they won’t shrink (this also ensures a crisper crust)
-
Blind bake for 12 min; remove to a heatproof surface and take away parchment and beans (preserve beans for future use); prick crust bottom all over with a fork and replace in the oven, turning the heat down to 325°F and bake for 13-15 more minutes
-
If pre-baking a shell that will be filled, then baked, blind bake filled with beans for 15-18 minutes, until a tender brown; remove from oven to completely cool before filling and baking

