Day 137: Drinking With the Saints

Chatting Books Online Day 137. Today's recommended book is a year-round favorite: Drinking with The Saints by Michael P. Foley. This fun and informative book celebrates the lives of many Saints of Christianity by pairing Saints with their feast days or birth days throughout the year. As you look up a date it will tell you a bit of history about any saint who happens to be associated with that date. After learning a bit about the Saint the book then gives a cocktail and possibly also a wine or beer that in some way pays tribute to that Saint. It gives the recipe for the cocktail and an explanation of the connection - however ethereal (pun intended) that connection may be. The book will also often list a "Last Call", sort of a "why don't you do this today to honor this Saint" . It may be a toast or a thought , or even in the case of today the suggestion that you "Take the Better Part" like Mary rather than Martha (more on that next). As an example today (July 29) is the feast of St. Martha. You remember Martha. She was the sister of Jesus' friends Mary and Lazarus and always seemed to be working to serve her guests and upset that her sister Mary was instead enjoying the party. Jesus explained that in this case Mary had chosen "the better part" as she was spending time with her guest Jesus. AND, Martha is also purported to have slayed a dragon according to "the Golden Legend". I had never heard this legend before but an interesting little factoid. The book goes on to give us a cocktail recipe for the "Martha" and then to suggest several wines from Spain, Tuscany and France all From vineyards named "Martha" or "Marta" .Interestingly the next entry is for St. Ignatius of Loyola on July 31 (there is not necessarily a saint feted every single day). Having grown up surrounded by Jesuits in New Orleans I found it interesting that the drink they pair with St. Ignatius is the Pat O'Brien's Hurricane (and yes, Pat O's actual recipe is included). They chose this drink because it uses passionfruit syrup which is apparently a discovery of Jesuit missionaries in Mexico. Who Knew ?This hardcover book makes a fun book for yourself, a useful book for quarantining fun , and a fantastic gift for your cocktail loving friends who may also be Christian - or not, interesting either way. 487 pages. $ 29.99 a copy.