Ostara, the New Year, and Food

 As I may have mentioned, I celebrate the new year at Ostara. I do this because a new year, to me, means new beginnings and new life. The calendar new year in January doesn’t really say new life to me. It says slushy, cold, gray days and long nights. Although I do end the year at Samhain, I view the time after it until the winter solstice as an “in-between time”. At Yule, the days start to get a little bit longer, but again, the timing just isn’t right to me. 

The Persian new year of Nowruz is also celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox. It’s the start of the Iranian calendar and lasts for thirteen days. There’s focus on family and friends, celebrations with fireworks or around bonfires, and, of course, food. 

I added kuku sabzi to my Ostara menu several years ago. It’s sort of a frittata but packed with fresh herbs, making it perfect for celebrations of spring and new life. My kitchen witch path is pretty eclectic when it comes to food. That leads me to the real topic of this post, and that is traditional new year dishes from different places and groups. What do people eat, and why? 

First, I’ll look at some dishes eaten in the US because that’s where I’m from. More specifically, I’m from the Appalachian region, with its mixture of Irish, German, and Italian ancestries, among many others. Some of Appalachia is in the south. These things all come together to influence the dishes consumed on New Year’s Day. The purpose of these foods is usually to bring good luck and abundance/money. This includes Hoppin’ John, with its combination of black eyed peas and rice. It’s often served with collard greens. All of these ingredients represent money. Dried beans, salt pork, and rice would be winter staples. 

In Japan, buckwheat soba noodles are eaten to represent longevity. Noodles are also eaten during the Chinese lunar new year, also for longevity. Dumplings are another traditional food. These represent wealth. Grains and meat are foods that symbolize wealth, abundance, and prosperity. 

In Germany, people eat a lot of pork to bring good luck in the coming year. My university German teacher said in his grandparents’ home, they ate pork and sauerkraut at midnight. The idea in their household was to fill up on good food to start the year right. “May you never hunger”, right? 

With most new year celebrations occurring in the winter months, preserved foods and dried foods made the most sense. A pig could be slaughtered for fresh meat if needed. Most of us aren’t so agrarian these days, but we tend to follow the traditions we know, and that includes eating a lot of the same foods every year even though we can now access pretty much anything at any time. (Yuck to produce out of season!)

While the dishes could be switched up for variety or due to availability, dietary restrictions, etc., the purposes remain the same. We want to welcome prosperity, abundance, wealth, health, and good luck into our lives in the new year. A magical diet can include these energies from a variety of ingredients, meaning you can consistently imbue your diet with properties of good luck, protection, prosperity, or anything else you choose, any goal. 

Two of the resources I started with and go back to most often are Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs and his Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen. The indices are great for quick searches. There are lots of great titles for the kitchen witch with recipes ready to go, too. Start by making something for a specific sabbat, such as the aforementioned kuku sabzi. And here’s to a happy new year and new beginnings.

Spring into Ostara!

Ostara is nearly here, and with it, the first official day of spring! I'm excited. I have found my mood improving as the weather gets nicer. I thought I'd take a moment to talk about Ostara and some recipe ideas.

First, Ostara is just one name given to the spring equinox. The Celts' celebrations of spring bore no resemblance to a modern neo-pagan observances, but some similarities exist. For instance, it was and still is a time to plant seeds. Some pagan folk start magical herb gardens at this time.

Speaking of sowing seeds and fertility and all that good stuff (which we'll get into more as Beltaine gets closer), now is a good time to start thinking about what talents you want to develop, or what you want to learn or how you want to grow. What do you want to harvest at Samhain? What do you want to take into the new year with you?

Even if you have a black thumb like I do, you can still plant seeds of spirituality, of love, of peace and harmony, etc. How you do this is your choice, but I would recommend symbolically burying something, even if it's egg shells. It increases the visualization, I believe.

Seeds are some of the traditional foods for Ostara, along with leafy greens such as chard and spinach, dairy foods, and egg dishes. I sometimes like to include something spicy as I do at Imbolc, to awaken the senses.

Some suggestions would be a frittata with greens and cheese of your choice, a leafy green salad, or seeded rolls. I would use my Harvest Home Rolls recipe and add poppy seeds to the dough. You could also use sunflower seeds or put pumpkin seeds on top.

I hope those of you who are celebrating have a blessed Ostara, and I hope that whatever you plant flourishes.

Blessed Ostara and happy first day of spring! I see some of you poor souls have snow today. Ugh. May it melt quickly.  

If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, a blessed Mabon and welcome, autumn!

The time has come to start thinking about what we want to plant for ourselves for the coming year. What do you want to realize by Samhain? What goals do you want to accomplish? 

For me, I want to plant some self-acceptance. I've struggled with it for years, but it's high time I start liking myself for who I am. I plan to work on the physical body a bit, though. It's time to at least attempt another overhaul. Basically, I want to harvest myself this year. Who I really am, perfectly imperfect, worthy of love and blessings, and a woman of wisdom and talent. 

Leave me a comment and let me know your plans. We'll probably have a spring brunch this weekend, plus I have a cake to assemble. 

SPRING BREAK!

Thank the gods for this glorious weather! Winter did not hit us until February, but it hit with a vengeance! We were buried under many inches of snow and ice, although not as much as other parts of the U.S. I am so incredibly excited to see and feel the sunshine and not to see any snow in sight!  I pray that it stays that way. 

I am on spring break. We had SIX snow days over the last few weeks. This is completely unheard of at a university, but they were necessary. It was simply too cold and treacherous to have classes. I wouldn't have been able to make it to campus from where I live, anyway. I'm glad I didn't have to use any personal days. I'm using them for spring break instead. 

My plans for this break include trying to declutter and straighten up a bit. Right now, I am working on laundry and setting aside a pile of clothes for the thrift store. With Ostara coming, I'd like a tidier home. I'd also like to start some seeds for herbs, but I will most likely end up buying those already started. If I try to start anything in the house, one of the cats will just fuck everything up. That's her job, and I love her for it. 

Speaking of Ostara, I know that a lot of people like to do their various rituals in the evenings, but I actually prefer to welcome the day in the morning. I don't do a formal ritual, but I do like to have a few moments with the Divine, and of course, I like to cook.  My Ostara brunch menu is below: 

Ostara

Smoked salmon spread with Crostini

Savory spinach custard

Ham-Potato Frittata

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothies

Iced Mint Tea

The strawberry cheesecake smoothies are something I started making last summer. I like to use a mixture of cream cheese and ricotta cheese, and I throw in some graham cracker crumbs for good measure. Delicious! I'll try to get my shit together to post actual recipes soon.  For now, though, it's back to laundry land!

Happy Spring! (Gods, I hope I didn't just jinx us all!)

A Soup for Ostara

I've been busy-busy lately, working on grades for my students and trying to get recipes organized for my cookbook projects.

I figure the brunch cookbook will end up being published through Create Space, but I'm fine with that. I can't wait to finish it! I'm so excited about it, I'll most likely share some menus and probably a recipe or two with you all.

Today I'm going to share a recipe from the spring cookbook that I'm currently working on. This soup is (another) curry. Yes, you know I love curry! :) It's reminiscent of my curried peanut soup, but it uses almond butter instead of peanut butter. It also features finely shredded carrot and chicken. I served it last weekend to many "Mmmmmmms".

I recommend this gentle curry for Ostara. Serve it with a scoop of basmati rice for a satisfying meal. This Ostara will hopefully be spent coloring eggs with a friend and her young daughter, and then holding an informal ritual.

Now, on to the recipe:


Coconut curried chicken soup

2 chicken breasts
1 1” piece of ginger, sliced in half
5-6 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Water to cover

1 medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1” fresh ginger, grated
2 Serrano chilies, minced
5-6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup unsweetened almond butter
Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked Basmati rice, to serve
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Slivered almonds for garnish

Place the chicken breasts, bay leaves, ginger, and peppercorns in a sauce pan.
Cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then drop the heat, partially cover, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 10 minutes.
Skim the foam off the surface during the cooking process.
After 10 minutes, cover the chicken completely, remove from the heat, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the liquid and allow it to cool completely.
Shred or chop finely.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
Add the onions and carrots and cook for about 7 minutes, or until onions are translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook another 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle over the spices and stir to coat.
Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
Take a ladleful of the broth and mix it with the almond butter.
Lower the heat. Stir in the almond butter mixture and coconut milk.
Add the finely chopped chicken to the pot.
Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a scoop of Basmati rice on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and slivered almonds.

Serves 4 - 6

Spring, the Introduction

Well, part of it, anyway. I'm not good at this, so I need feedback, constructive criticism, what have you.

Spring is a time of new beginnings. We stand facing East, the direction of the rising sun. Our eyes shine with hope and the promise of things to come. The earth is awakening. Early spring flowers push their way through the cold ground and turn their purple and yellow faces to the light. We are ready to emerge from our warm nests and regain our strength by eating warming foods and fresh new vegetables.

Spring is when we start planning our gardens and starting seeds indoors. Bless your seeds with what you wish to grow and nurture during the coming year, into the harvest.

Fresh asparagus, eggs, milk, goat cheese and seeds are appropriate foods for this season and the sabbat of Imbolc, as are fiery foods such as curries spiced with garlic, ginger and chiles. Decorate your table with crocuses and daffodils and purple, yellow and white candles. Honor gods of fertility and creativity and nurture your own creativity

At Beltane, the Maiden dances around the May Pole, gleefully combining masculine and feminine energies. Carry this passion into the kitchen with more dairy, more spice, oats and maybe even a glass of May Wine. Light candles of pink and green to celebrate love and fertility.

Earth Day Recipes

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by eating locally? Here are some recipes for side dishes to serve this Earth Day or any spring day.

Peas with Mushrooms

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1/4 cup butter
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk (or half and half)
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated nutmeg

Cook the frozen peas according to package directions or steam the fresh peas until tender. In a skillet heat the butter and cook the green onions 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add the sliced button mushrooms and cook until tender.
Stir in the flour and cook 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the milk until there are no lumps in the mixture. Simmer until thick. Add the seasonings. Add a bit of freshly grated nutmeg. Stir in the peas and serve.


Asparagus with Garlic and Chili Flake

1 large bundle asparagus, cleaned and trimmed (just snap the spears)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Red chili flake, salt and pepper to taste

This recipe couldn’t be simpler. Lightly steam or blanch the asparagus until just tender. Drain. In a skillet, heat the oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant – 3-4 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t brown. Add the chili flake. Toss in the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Serve with buttered noodles and a spoonful of Parmesan cheese, if desired.


Blueberry Lemon Loaf

• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. (7 mL) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 lemon (peel grated, juice squeezed)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
• 1 cup 250 (mL) blueberries, fresh or frozen (don't thaw if using frozen)
Lemon glaze:
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
• juice from one lemon (above)
Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F (180 degree C). Grease a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, the baking powder and the salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and the butter for a few minutes until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel. Add the flour mixture in two or three portions, alternately with the milk, beating just until the batter is smooth. Quickly fold in the blueberries, just until they're evenly distributed. If you're using frozen berries, the batter will turn blue -- don't panic, it will look fine when it's baked.
4. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick poked into the middle comes out clean. Leave it in the pan while you prepare the lemon syrup.
5. In a small microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, combine the 1/4 cup (50 mL) of granulated sugar with the lemon juice. Microwave on high power for 30 to 45 seconds -- just until the mixture boils. Remove from microwave and give it a stir. With a toothpick, poke holes all over the top of the Blueberry Loaf. Using a wide pastry brush, brush the top of the hot loaf with the hot syrup. Let cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack and cool completely.
Servings: 8

How kids can help

Stir together the dry ingredients.
Older children (10 and up) can use electric mixer (with adult supervision) to help beat the batter.
Spread batter in prepared pan.
Brush baked loaf with lemon syrup.

• Recipe courtesy of http://recipes.kaboose.com/blueberry-lemon-loaf.html