Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
June 16
Saint of the day:
Saint Cyricus and Julitta
Patron Saint of family happiness,
and the restoring to health of sick children.
Saint Cyricus and Julitta's Story
Julitta was a noble lady of Icona, who was Catholic. She also had a son named Cyricus. In order to escape persecution by Emperor Diocletian, she took her son and found refuge at Tarsus. She eventually was recognized as being Catholic, and was report to authorities. She was brought back to Rome, and was presented before the tribunal of Alexander. Because her two servants took flight, she had to bring her small son Cyricus with her.
When Julitta refused to pray to the idols, the prefect Alexander took the child from her arms and ordered her to be whipped with raw thongs. At the sight of his mother’s tortures, Cyricus began to cry out and shed tears. Alexander, who was holding the child in his lap, tried to quiet him with caresses and kind words. But the small child repulsed these blandishments with honor and scratched Alexander’s face with his nails, crying out, “I am a Christian!” In astonishment, the prefect asked him who had taught him to speak. And the child answered, “Thy lack of wit is a wonder to me, that, seeing my age, you need ask who instructed me in the knowledge of the true God!” And he repeated the words, “I am a Christian!”
Enraged, Alexander raised the child and hurled him down, dashing his head on the steps of the tribunal. Julitta, filled with joy, gave thanks to God that her son had gone before her into the heavenly realm. She herself was then flayed, plunged in boiling pitch, and at last beheaded. To prevent them from being buried by the Catholics, the prefect ordered their bodies to be cut in pieces and scattered in different places. But an Angel collected the members and the Catholics under the cover of the night buried them. Later, when peace was restored to the Church, an aged serving woman made known the resting place of the two bodies. Devotion to the mother-son martyrs grew, especially in France, after Bishop Saint Amator of Auxerre brought some relics to the monastery of Saint-Armand in the Tournai in the 4th century. Many churches in Europe are named after these saints today, and devotion is popular.
http://newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/saint-cyricus-and-julitta
Prayer:
Visit:
Relics at Nevers, and in the monastery of Saint-Amand, Tournai, France
Recipe:
Turkish Yogurt Soup Yayla Corbasi
Turkish yogurt soup is the perfect option for a light meal.
This warm yogurt soup is simple, healthy, and naturally vegetarian.
Ingredients
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1/2 cup white rice washed and rinsed
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5 cups water see notes
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1.5 cup plain Greek yogurt room temperature
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1 egg room temperature
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1 tbsp all purpose flour
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1 tsp salt more if needed
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2 tbsp unsalted butter see notes
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2 tbsp dried mint see notes
Directions
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Place the rice and 3 cups of water in a large pot and bring to simmer. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes until the rice is fully cooked and has fallen apart. If after 40 minutes, the rice hasn't fallen apart, add one more cup of water and cook for 15 more minutes.
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In a large bowl, mix yogurt, egg, flour and salt.
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Once the rice is cooked and has broken into very small pieces, turn the heat off.
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using ladle, slowly add about 1 ½ cup of the rice and water to the yogurt and egg mixture and stir well after each addition.
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Add the yogurt and egg mixture back into the pot. Stir well, turn the heat on to medium and bring to a low simmer.
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Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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In a small pan, melt the butter and saute dried mint for about 30 seconds.
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Add sauteed mint and butter to the simmering soup. Stir well.
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Serve Turkish yogurt soup warm.
Notes
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The amount of rice for this recipe is ½ cup which might not seem enough. However, since the rice will be over cooked and would completely fall apart, it will multiply in size and would be enough for 4-6 servings.
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It's best if you have the egg and yogurt at room temperature before you start cooking.
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Use a large bowl to mix the yogurt and the egg because you'll need more space to stir in the water from the pot.
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Dried mint burns easily therefore make sure not to sauté it more than a minute. You can also use olive oil instead of butter.
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You can use long grain or short grain white rice for this recipe. Either basmati or jasmine rice would work.
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You may need to add more water depending on the rice and how thick you would like the soup to be.
