In Favor of Imbolc

 Let me start by saying that I do not dislike Yule. It’s really not very stressful for me. I have very few people to shop for, and our holiday dinner here will be for the two of us. I’m actually looking forward to the long weekend over which I will observe Yule this year. 

No, I’m not trying to say anything negative about Yule.The solstice time is warm, bright, and cheerful. Yule is very, very necessary for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, it celebrates the birth of the sun/god, the slow return of light and warmth.The winter solstice is the longest night; therefore the extra brightness reminds us of the light half of the year. In addition, in my wheel of the year, the new year is Yule (I’ve written about my reasons for this). By Imbolc, though, the goddess has also recovered much of her strength. 

Depending on your hemisphere and region, this time of year can be cold, gray, and wet or snowy. I, however, live in a place that isn’t usually that cold in December. Snow, when it happens, is more of a January-February thing. This past February was unprecedented and horrific, as many of you may know, but it’s typically just dark, cold, and depressing. 

The post-Yule period feels like a huge letdown after such a big buildup. The calendar rolls over and January is gray and slushy. It drags on. February may be the shortest month, but it has a way of feeling like the longest. February, rather than making us anticipate March and Ostara, heralding spring, we instead feel as though winter will never end.

It’s at this time we most need the reminder that the sun is growing stronger day by day. The days themselves are lengthening a little at a time. Imbolc, also known as Candelmas, is also about flame because of its connection to Brigid. Imbolc is also related to the pregnant ewes and the milk their bodies were starting to make. I guess you could also look at a cozy, glowing celebration as a way of cheering up a new or soon-to-be mother, in a way. 

Light lots of candles. Build a fire if possible. Decorate with dried orange slices and red chilies. Eat spicy food and traditional (and cooling) dairy dishes. Have a warm drink. Put some brandy in it. Get warm. Bask in the light. If there is snow outside, bring in a bowl of it and cheer as it melts. Help usher winter back to its slumber for a few months. Acknowledge the Cailleach and thank her for her gifts of winter solitude, silence, and rest. Remind Persephone it’s nearly time to return to her mother. Dance in a spiral to honor the sun and know that the earth will spring to life again soon. Carry an ember (figuratively) with you. Ostara will be there soon. 

Like a Phoenix from the Ashes, I Rise...

Or something...I dunno. Hi!

I've been extremely depressed and discouraged lately, but I am working on ways around it. I have squandered all of this precious free time by allowing that black dog to sit on my chest and prevent me from being able to do things that interest me. I'm climbing my way back out of the pit for now, though.

I've been unemployed since July 1, 2016. Unemployment is gone, and I haven't found so much as a temporary job around here in the meantime. I discovered what my biggest obstacle was, and it shall be seen to in good time...

How the heck are ya? Does anybody come back here anymore? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I have been the queen of the lazy shits, I swear. I haven't blogged, the house is a mess, and my cooking is nothing special most of the time. I can brainstorm all I want, but recipe testing and writing will have to happen after I get a job or whatever.

In the meantime, I took a comment from an old blog post and decided to turn my Samhain-Yule vegetarian recipe booklet into something to list on Etsy. You can find the link here: Feasting When the Veil is Thin .

At first, yeah, I felt like a turd for taking down the free copy and listing it on Etsy, but as I mentioned before, I am j-o-b-l-e-s-s right now. My boyfriend is still working, thankfully, but I've had to rely on contributions from the First Bank of Mom to help us pay bills until something comes along. I have been burning a St. Jude candle, even. I may end up going back to school, instead. Bah. Again: we'll see.

Anyhell, if you would like 29 vegetarian recipes for $3.99, follow the link above. I'd appreciate it. I'm working on some other short projects in the meantime.

Catch y'all later.

Dreaming of October...

Don't I always wish it were fall? It's not that I'm not enjoying the summer. It's just that I long for the season of the witch, all year long.

We're almost ready for Midsummer! Well, y'all might be, but it's crept up on me again and I don't know if I'm going to have the time and energy to get prepared. I don't even have a menu planned. Can you believe that??

What I DO have, however, is a menu plan for every other sabbat through Yule. Yeah, yeah, I know...Priorities.

As usual, I will share the menus now and promise recipes later. I truly am terrible, aren't I? I will even attempt to get some decent photos. I'm just so ashamed to let anyone see how cluttered this tiny space is!

Anyhell, here are some sabbat menus:

LAMMAS

·         Pork chops (grilled) with orange, cumin, chipotle glaze

·         corn pancakes with whole corn

·         toppings: avocado, green onions, sour cream, shredded cheese

·         frijoles rancheros – pintos with bacon, onion, and jalapeño

·         garden salad with Green Goddess dressing: salad mix, spinach, red onion, orange bell pepper, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage, sugar snap peas, broccoli florets

·         cherries jubilee with vanilla ice cream  (cherries done outside)

MABON

·         Baked vegetarian kibbeh  (potato, onion, and bulgar with chickpea-pine nut filling)

·         Yogurt sauce

·         Lemon-herb roast chicken

·         Persephone’s salad

·         Ginger pear upside down cake

SAMHAIN

·         Cornmeal-dredged fried catfish with tartar sauce

·         Hoppin’ John

·         Cornbread

·         Apple crisp

·         Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tea

YULE

First course:

·         Buckwheat blinis with with duck, red cabbage, parsnip, ginger-cranberry-orange sauce  - lightly sauté cabbage and parsnips

Main course:

·         Maple-mustard glazed pork tenderloin with fruit stuffing

·         Duchess sweet potatoes with garam masala

·         Stuffed onions

·         Swiss chard with curry powder and hazelnuts

·         Persephone’s Salad

·         Butternut Squash Flan

A Winter Dish for Prosperity

Y'all know I love Indian food.  I curry anything that can't escape my clutches.  I think winter is a great time to eat the warm flavors of sunnier climes, and this recipe is serves up those flavors with a side of pork for prosperity in the new year.

Pork and Fruit Curry

2 lbs pork roast, cut into 1-inch chunks

2-3 tablespoons oil

1 16-oz bag cranberries

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

1 medium onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, grated, or 1 tablespoon ginger paste

2-3 chilies, minced

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons garam masala

½ cup brown packed dark brown sugar

½  cup apple juice or apple cider

½ cup chicken broth or stock

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat.  Pat the pieces of meat dry and place in the skillet.  Brown the meat for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.  Add more oil to the skillet if necessary.

Cook the onion for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the spices over this mixture and stir to coat. 

Add the pork back to the skillet along with the sugar, broth, juice or cider, apples, and cranberries.

Cover the skillet. Simmer  on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the pork has cooked through.  

Remove the lid and let the sauce simmer a few more minutes to thicken.   Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with Basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Ain't Got No Meat? Whatcha Gonna Eat?

Just because I consider this a bit of a fast (a Pagan Lent? *L*) doesn't meant I can't still eat delicious, nourishing food.  Now, because I have a gastric band, I will have to drink at least one protein shake a day.  There is a lot of protein to be found in vegetarian substitutes, but I have some special dietary needs, so it will be whey protein to the rescue.  I'll be consuming some eggs and dairy as well.

I have sort of started developing recipes, but the real testing and development will happen in the moment, when the produce I want to use is actually in season.  For now, though, I have a list that I am working on.  Here are some of the dishes that I will be experimenting with during the period between the old and new year:

Linguine frittata with greens - chard, etc.
Lentil burgers - I'll experiment with different spices
Majahdra - lentils and rice flavored with fried onions
Tofu scramble - That recipe is posted on here somewhere
Butternut squash lasagna - Another recipe that is on this blog somewhere
Tofu stir-fry with veggies and probably a peanut sauce
Stuffed cabbage - Using my lentil-walnut loaf mixture as a stuffing
Stuffed mushrooms
Roasted vegetable enchiladas
Roasted carrot and parsnip soup
Wild mushroom soup
Mushroom and polenta pie

I'm also working on a grain or rice salad that features the colors of Samhain.  I will probably have some of that on Samhain to mark my transition.  

Those are just a few of the ideas I have. I'm sure I'll feel creative enough once the produce is in season and the stores are decorated with squash and other autumn goodies.   Stay tuned, as always, for recipes.

Green Beans with Cranberries and Walnuts

I've had this in my head for a while and decided this weekend would be a good time to experiment. I must say, it turned out really well! This is a delicious, festive-looking recipe to grace your Thanksgiving and Yule tables.

1 bag frozen green beans, cooked according to package directions
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces

Dressing
1 small shallot, finely minced
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the green beans, drain and rinse with cool water. Toss in a bowl with toasted walnut pieces and dried cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Whisk in the olive oil last, until well combined. Pour over green beans.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Simple and delicious.

Winter's Bounty

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter is upon us. Many places are still enjoying mild or warm temperatures, while others are experiencing cold, rain or even snow. Long gone are the fresh, fragrant herbs of summer, the plump juicy fruits and crisp colorful vegetables. What’s a person to do? Surely we can’t be expected to sit in our homes eating uninspiring, lifeless junk food!

Fortunately we have the gift of agriculture to help sustain us, unlike our earlier ancestors, who had to live on preserved foods throughout the long winter months. We know have access to a huge variety of produce all year round. What could be wrong with this? Well, one issue is the fact that certain things just aren’t in season this time of year. Using hothouses to forcibly grow out-of-season produce wields tasteless, inferior products that are nowhere near as lovely or tasty as the fresh, seasonal foods.

Yes, we can go to the freezer section of the grocery store and buy lovely frozen spinach, raspberries, tender peas, and even asparagus. These fruits and veggies were picked at their peak and frozen to preserve their flavor and vitamins. Canned produce is okay too, but the quality isn’t quite as good as frozen. The taste, too can be a bit off-putting. I’ve found that beets, corn and beans are the only veggies that taste okay out of a can. Everything else, to me, tastes like, well, the can.

Happily we can still find fresh fruits and vegetables growing even in winter. Some things may still need to be shipped from one part of the country to the next, or from another country, but at least these things are being harvested while they are in season, as opposed to being grown in a greenhouse somewhere.

What can we eat at Yule? What about at Imbolc? Yule is right around the corner and some of you may already be planning your winter solstice meals. At Yule we celebrate the sun’s returning, This is the longest night of the year, and in some places it is very cold, so we need hearty, satisfying food to give us energy and to ground us after a ritual.

Let us first take a look at what the season offers us in the way of fruits and vegetables. Then we can begin discussing properties of those foods, and ways to prepare them.

Some of the vegetables available in winter include Brussels sprouts, leeks, cabbages, parsnips, sprouting broccoli, and kale. These vegetables pack a nutritional punch, contribute their green hues to the season, and are all protective foods! How nice that so many protective foods are available to us during this dark half of the year. We can begin adding these foods to our diet to fill ourselves and our homes with protective energy.

We also have turnips, rutabagas (I’ve never eaten one of these. Has anyone?), bok choy, artichokes, celery root, sweet potatoes, and chestnuts. Artichokes are also protective. Chestnuts and sweet potatoes are love foods.

Fruits of the season include citrus fruits such as clementines, oranges, blood oranges and grapefruits, as well as kumquats, pears, persimmons (another food I’ve never tried but have seen at the markets here in Istanbul), kiwi, bananas, red grapes, pomegranates, and cranberries.

Citrus fruits are good for purification. Many of the fruits available in the winter are a deep red or orange, the color of the sun we are welcome into our lives again. These fruits make lovely decorations for the altar or the table, as well as a tasty addition to your Sabbat feast.

As you can see, we do not have to have a boring diet in the winter. Even though our bodies crave heavier comfort foods such as thick stews and holiday sweets, we can still incorporate fresh produce as well. The next few posts will discuss ways of using some of winter’s bounty for food, magic, and decoration. We will also continue exploring dark goddesses. Keep reading!

The Yule Feast, Part I

IT's almost that time of year again! Actually, it *is* that time of year again - time to start preparing ourselves for the rebirth of the Sun.



Winter is a time of turning inwards, of taking stock of our gifts, and ridding ourselves of things, such as excess negativity, prejudices, regret for things we did not accomplish or things we should have done differently.



This is the time of the Crone, She who awaits us at the end of our journey through our present lives. She is the granter of wisdom, the one who helps us realize our potential, and the mother of the Sun King. We await his rebirth, lighting candles, burning a Yule log, decorating our homes with boughs of evergreen, blood-red holly, and golden-orange suns. The time of darkness is upon us, but it grows shorter every day. We await this joyous occasion.



There are many Yule tales out there. I invite you to read a few and share them with your coven, your family, whomever.



Now it is dark, it is cold, and perhaps snow covers the ground where you live. In the past, fresh food was scarce, if available at all, and people lived on the foods they preserved especially for this time of year. Dried fruits, cured meats, pickled vegetables, and grains made up the diet. For some, even the meat was a luxury. If the harvest was small, many people went hungry. Some starved.



These days we have supermarkets in many places, and many people have access to abundant sources of food. Sadly, however, some do not. One of the ways we can celebrate this time of year is by donating food to local food pantries, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. Visit this site for more information on how you can help hungry people in your area (in the US): http://feedingamerica.org/default.aspx?show_shov=1



Also consider visiting http://www.thehungersite.com/ or http://www.care2.com/, where daily clicks generate donations to help the needy. It can't hurt, and it may help.



This is also a time to feed our feathered friends. Hang a bird feeder filled with various seeds and nuts. There are many websites which provide information on the types of birds in your area, as well as what to feed them, and where to place feeding tables and houses.



Wherever you are, I hope your table will be filled with Mother Earth's bounty. Be thankful for it. Share what you can, and stay tuned for some recipes and ideas.