Lammas is the first of the three harvests. This is the time of year for gathering in the grains, and giving thanks for abundance. It also reminds us that the hot days of summer will soon be coming to an end. Celebrating this holiday can be an easy celebration. You can host a simple afternoon affair of a cook out using lots of fresh vegetables such as corn and tomatoes. Simple ways to decorate for Lammas is by using wheat sheaves, corn stalks, and harvest braids (braided ropes and garlands of autumn crops of grains, onions, miniature ears of corns and such). For you table setting, you can use jardinieres (glass vases, usually with straight sides) filled with dried corn kernels and/or dried beans of various colors with a candle set into the center. You can decorate with fall flowers such as chrysanthemums in shades of yellows, oranges and whites. A simple activity for children is to have them make corn dollies with dried corn husks that can be used as decorations.
There are a wealth of harvest recipes for this time of year. You can celebrate with just one meal, or you can celebrate all day long. Here are menu suggestions for which ever meal you may wish to choose:
Meal Plan Suggestions
Breakfast
Eye Opening Cornmeal Mush (serve with butter and/or syrup)
Fresh Fruit
Orange Juice
Lunch
Crunchy Summer Salad
Picnic Loaf
Tomato Venus Soup
Dinner
Option #1
Crunchy Summer Salad
Sweetcorn Chowder
Cornish Style Pasties
Sunny Peach Pie
Option #2
Crunchy Summer Salad
Cornish Pasties
Colcannon
Bread and Rice Pudding with Wild Blackberry Sauce
Recipes
Chips & Salsa
Salsa
3 medium tomatoes, finely diced
½ medium onion, finely diced
½ green pepper, finely diced
2 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
⅛ tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs lime juice
½ tsp grated lemon zest
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate at least two hours. If you like a chunky sauce, chop vegetables by hand - a blender or food processor may turn the tomatoes and green peppers to mush. If you like a really hot salsa, use 2 jalapenos. This recipe is perfect for when that fertility spell works a little too well on your tomatoes, and you need to find new ways to eat them.
Chips
8 to 10 small corn tortillas
olive oil, for baking
lime juice, for sprinkilng
salt, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tortillas into 8 wedges per tortilla, and place on a cookie sheet. Lightly brush the tortillas with olive oil. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crispy. While the chips are still hot, sprinkle lightly with the lime juice and salt. Store in an airtight container.
Braided Egg Bread
1 ⅓ cup milk
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs butter
1 package rapid yeast
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 - 4 cups all purpose flour
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk, butter, sugar and salt to a boil and remove. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and eggs. Slowly stir in milk mixture. Add flour until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until elastic, adding flour as needed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place in a floured bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn out dough , punch down and knead. Divide dough into half, and place both halves into 2 floured bowls, let rise for another 10 to 15 minutes. One at a time, turn out the dough, punch down and knead. Divide dough into 3 equal parts, roll into long strands and braid from the center out on each end. You can brush the bread with an egg wash, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Yield: 2 loaves
Eye Openeing Corn Meal Mush
1 cup coarse corn meal
1 cup cold water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 ¾ cup boiling water
Bring 2 ¾ cups of water to boil. In a bowl, mix cornmeal, salt, sugar and cold water. Slowly add mixture to boiling water and mix well. Turn heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a bread loaf pan, let cool, then refrigerate overnight. When ready to use, turn out on to a flat surface, cut into half inch thick fry in bacon grease, lard, butter or a little vegetable oil.
Serves 6
Celebrations: Lammas, Samhain
Crunchy Summer Salad
Late summer is a good time for seeds of all kinds. Mother Earth has sent her energies into making everything grow, and now is the time we get to benefit from all of Her efforts. To make this salad, you simply make a tossed salad of your favorite garden greens and vegetables. To this you can simply add any or the following seeds:
pumpkin seeds, raw or toasted with tamari and cayenne
shelled sunflower seeds
sesame seeds
poppy seeds
dock seeds
Tomato Venus Soup
1 quart canned crushed tomato
3 to 4 ripe, large tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
¼ cup red onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbs chopped fresh basil, or 1 tbs dried
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea Salt or tamari
Freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 tbs melted butter (optional)
Sour cream as topping (optional)
4 to 6 fresh basil leaves, for garnish
In a bowl, if serving chilled, or in a saucepan, if you plan to serve warm, combine the crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, and sundried tomatoes, red onion, garlic, basil, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt (or tamari) and black pepper to taste. If you’re serving warm, you may want to add 1 or 2 tbs of melted butter. Warm or cold, it’s delicious with a dollop of sour cream and a small basil leaf for each serving.
Sweet Corn Chowder
2 potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can of sweetcorn, drained
1 can of tomatoes
2 pints of water
1 tbs cornstarch
½ pint of milk
In a pan, combine potatoes, onion, sweetcorn, tomatoes and water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cornstarch to the milk, blend well and add to soup. Warm through until cornstarch has thickened and serve.
Picnic Loaf
1 loaf unsliced Italian Bread
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped and drained
¼ cup sliced black olives
1 medium onion, finely chopped
¼ green pepper, chopped
1 tbs minced chives
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp basil
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp garlic
Dash of red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Cut off one end of the bread. Carefully hallow out the loaf, tearing the bread in small pieces. Mix the tomatoes, olives, onion, green pepper, chives, parmesan cheese, oil, basil, thyme, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Thoroughly mix in half of the bread crumbs. If the mixture is soggy, add more breadcrumbs. Spoon the mixture inside the hollowed-out loaf. Chill overnight. Slice to serve. The leftover crumbs can be retained for other baking needs or as a gift to the birds.
Yields: 4 servings
Variations: Substitute mozzarella cheese for the parmesan and heat the loaf for a warm, stuffed pizza-like treat that is food for peacefulness. For a more Greek flavor, substitute feta cheese for the parmesan and add ½ cup of shredded lettuce and 1 cup cooked, marinated beef or lamb. Serve warm.
Magical attributes: Kinship, awareness, festive spirits
Celebrations: Any harvest or fire festival, especially Lammas.
Note: I found this recipe in A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook by Patricia Telesco. If you don't already have this book, I highly recommend it.
Note: I found this recipe in A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook by Patricia Telesco. If you don't already have this book, I highly recommend it.
Cornish Style Pasties
12 oz finely cut steak
4 oz peeled diced potato
1 finely chopped onion
pinch of salt
black pepper
12 oz shortcrust pastry
Mix the steak, potato and onion well. Season really well with salt and pepper, and blend together. take the shortcrust pastry and divide into four. Roll out the rounds about 8 inches across. Divide your meat mixture between the four rounds and fold the pastry in half over them. Flute the edges together with your fingers to make a really strong seal, either at the side or top. Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes to brown and them 325 degrees for a further hour. If the pasties start to get too brown, cover them with aluminium foil “hats” until 15 minutes before the end of cooking.
Variations: Carrots and squash can replace some of the potato. Finely cut lamb can replace the steak. You can use mutton and chestnuts to replace the steak, adding breadcrumbs to absorb the fat from the mutton). A vegetarian option can be potato, onion, carrot, broccoli, sweetcorn and coarsely grated cheese, in which case reduce the cook time to a total of 45 minutes.
Colcannon
3 lbs potatoes, washed and peeled
1 small head of cabbage
2 sticks of butter (not margarine)
1 ½ cups of cream or milk
½ lb of bacon, cooked and diced
4 leeks, chopped
Salt and pepper
Steam the potatoes until they are soft, and then drain and rinse. Place them back in the pot and mash thoroughly, so you remove all the lumpy bits. Gradually add one stick butter, in small pieces, stirring into the potatoes so that it melts. Add the milk in and mix. While you're working with the potatoes, boil the cabbage. Some people like to use the potato water, and that's fine. Once it's soft, about 8 minutes, drain and add into the potatoes. Add the second stick of butter -- again, put it in using small pieces so that it melts and coats all the cabbage. Add bacon and leeks. Simmer for about half an hour, and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hearty bread.
Sunny Peach Pie
1 unbaked pie crust, or graham cracker crust
3 to 4 cups sliced fresh peaches
2 tsp unbleached flour
¼ cup peach preserves (the kind with no added sugar)
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg
Dash of sea salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the unbaked crust of your choice, arrange the peach slices, in overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle the peaches with the flour. Combine the peach preserves, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of sea salt in a saucepan and heat until hot while stirring. Pour the glaze over the peaches and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and continue baking for an additional 30 to 35 minutes. May be served warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Bread and Rice Pudding with Wild Blackberry Sauce
3 cups fresh bread, cut into cubes
1 cup cooked white rice, preferably basmati
½ cup raisins
1 ½ cups milk
3 eggs, beaten
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
Whipped cream
For sauce:
2 cups blackberries
1 cup honey
Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the bread with the rice and raisins until blended, then evenly distribute the mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour this mixture over the bread mixture in the pan, teasing it with a fork to ensure that the milk mixture penetrates the contents of the pan. Bake the pudding for 45 minutes or until the center tests done with a wooden toothpick. While the pudding is baking, prepare the sauce. Mash the berries and press through a wire sieve to remove most of the seeds. Pour the berry mush into a medium pan and add the honey. Heat over medium-high until boiling, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 15-20 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and reduced. Serve the pudding with the blackberry sauce drizzled over the top and whipped cream on the side.
Yields: 10-12 servings
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