There are lots of things to get into for the Imbolc celebrations. Here are just a few things recipes that look like fun!
Honey Cake
Faery Wine
Wise and Creamy Salmon Soup
Brigit Soup
Brigit Serpents
Bananas a la Brigit
SWEDISH WAFFLES
As told by Edain McCoy
The traditional foods of Imbolg comes to us from the Celts, the French, and the Swedes. Many of them are round in shape, or contain the traditional foods of spring Sabbats such as honey and milk. No doubt this was another form of sympathetic magick to wish back warmer weather.
You Will Need:
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk or cream
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter (not margarine)
1 1/2 + cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
******
Prepare and preheat waffle iron. Mix all ingredients until the mixture takes on a slightly fluffy appearance. Pour the batter into a hot waffle iron and bake until done (about 3 minutes). In Sweden it is traditional to use preserves or honey to top off the waffles.
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HONEY CAKE
As told by Edain McCoy
| 2 1/2 cups flour | 4 eggs beaten |
| 1/2 teaspoon baking soda | 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar |
| 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder | 1/2 safflower oil |
| 1 heaping teaspoon allspice | 1 cup raw honey |
| 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon | *1 1/4 cups unsweetened orange juice |
| 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg | *1 tablespoon milk |
| 1 teaspoon ground ginger | * 2 cups confectioners' sugar |
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FAERY WINE
As told by Laurie Cabot
You will need:
1 1/2 cups milk per serving
1 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
cinnamon
Warm milk, being careful not to boil. To each glass or mug add honey and vanilla. Fill with milk and sprinkle tops with cinnamon.
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WISE AND CREAMY SALMON SOUP
As told by Laurie Cabot
The salmon is the wisest and most ancient of living animals. Brid is guardian of All Knowledge and Keeper of all Memory
| 1 pkg. cream cheese cut into cubes | 2 green onions with tops sliced (for purity) |
| 1 cup milk | 1 can chicken broth |
| 2 tsp dijon mustard (to bring wealth) | 12 oz. smoked salmon, flaked, OR 1 can, drained and flaked. |
| 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh dill OR 1/2 tsp. dried dill (for protection of home and job) |
Heat cream cheese, milk, mustard, dill, onions, and chicken broth in a saucepan over medium heat until cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in salmon and heat until hot and ready to serve.
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BRIGIT SOUP
As told by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill
You will need:
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped or grated
1/2 to 3/4 Cup finely chopped red pepper
6 cups broth (beef or chicken, or vegetable for a meatless soup)
2 cups (3/4 lb) red lentils or yellow split peas
1 x 16oz can of chopped tomatoes, juice included
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
We use the colour red to honour the returning light, and the promise of warmth to come. This unfussy pot of soup needs only a few minutes of chopping to prepare. All the ingredients are either red, orange or yellow, for the colours of fire that warm out eyes, hearts and stomachs.
In a large pot, heat the oil an add the onion, garlic, carrot and red pepper until they are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, skimming any brown foam that may have formed. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
NOTE: A really easy, and quick substitute for this recipe that I discovered would be to buy 1 (regular sized) tin of Dinty Moore's Turkey Stew for each person you are going to be serving. Mix all together in a large pot and heat on medium until hot. The Turkey Stew (as compared to the Beef or Chicken) has a distinct red colouring to it because of the vegetables used, so it keeps with the red theme, and it tastes good too! - Aerin Danann.
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BRIGIT'S SERPENT: A baking meditation
As told by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill
You will need:
4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
4 tablespoons butter or margarine at room temperature
1 1/2 cups of milk
Jam
Dried Fruit (cranberries, apricots, raisins, currants or cherries)
Set aside 6 raisins or cranberries. Chop the remaining dried fruit until you have a cup and place it in a bowl. Cover it with water and let it soak.
Put the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a sifter. As you sift them together, say thank you for the different kinds of grains and foods that grow out of the earth.
Cut the butter into small pieces, add to dry ingredients and mix, using your fingers. Say thank you for any of the extra good things in your life - the things that you don't need but that make life more fun or richer, like butter on bread. The butter should end up so well mixed in that you can hardly see it, the flour just looks a bit grainier than before.
Make a well in the center of the mixture. Think about the well you have inside you, and what you need right now to fill it up. Pour the milk into the well, remembering that the Goddess always does fill our well of love and joy and ideas, and thanking her. Mix everything together, kneading it with your hands just enough to make it stick together. Don't knead it too much or it will get tough.
Divide the dough into three parts. On a floured pastry board, roll and pull one section of the dough until it make a long, thin cylinder. Then roll it lengthwise with a floured rolling pin until it is even longer and thinner. If you don't have room on the board, use the table. The dough should end up about 1/4 inch thick or slightly less.
Spread jam on the dough, not quite to the edge. Make a line of the dried fruit all along the jam covered dough. Think about what in your life you would like to see bear fruit, what poems you'd like to write, what pictures you'd like to paint, what creative things you'd like to do, and ask Brigit's blessing. Fold the dough up and over the fruit, so that you make a long tube. Pinch the seams shut.
Grease and oil a cookie sheet. Place the tube on the cookie sheet and form it into a loose, open spiral. Form one end into a triangular serpent's head and place raisins or cranberries for eyes.
Repeat with the other two sections of dough.
Bake at 450F for 20 to 25 minutes. Baking temperature is important. If your oven is not reliable, take special care.
Before serving, say: Brigit, we offer you this serpent, made of grain and milk, with thanks for the food that feeds our bodies, the fire that feeds our spirit, and the waters of healing. Break off pieces and feed each other, saying: May Brigit's serpent bring you inspiration.
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BANANAS A LA BRIGIT
As told by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill
You will need:
2 bananas
2 Tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 oz rum or brandy
ice cream
Imbolc, being a fire holiday, presents a fine opportunity to bring some drama to our celebration meal. This dish, known commonly as Bananas Foster, tempers the fireworks with vanilla ice cream. The flames burn away the alcohol.
Cut bananas in half crosswise, then again lengthwise. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the sugar, and let it bubble briefly. Add the bananas and cook over a low heat until lightly browned, about five minutes. Warm the liquor in a small pan, gently pour it over the bananas in the skillet, then light it with a match, being sure your arm is out of the way. The alcohol flares up dramatically. Let the flame burn out, then spoon over scoops of ice cream. Serves 4.
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