.   French Celtic tradition also uses the familiar séance for speaking with the dead, along with spirit spelling.  Numerous divinations, especially amongst the country folk, are both interesting and easy to perform. The custom of carving out lanterns from turnips on this night has a varied history, and in America, the people love to carve out faces in pumpkins as their lanterns, all over the land. There are many feasts of the dead the world over, including some that routinely exhume the bodies of their dead ancestors and include them in the feast, then bury them again in their tombs. We, as Wiccans, consider that practice macabre, but honor it as part of the culture from which it comes. Whatever your experience on the sacred night of the dead, we trust that you recognize that who and what you are today, you owe a great debt for, to generations upon generations, back to the beginning of time.  Here we offer you the feast, meant to take place at midnight, in silence, with an invitation to the dead to appear in your midst.

Irish Saint at this Sabbat:

Saint Winifred.

"Winifred was a niece of Saint Bueno. She was said to be a virgin and was pursued by a chieftain called Caradoc who wished to marry her. Upon her refusal he cut off her head in a fit of rage. Bueno is credited with restoring her to life. She lived to become an abbess. Where she was struck a spring burst from the ground and the place became known as Holywell, now Treffynon, in Clwyd. The legend was recorded by Robert, prior of the abbey at Shrewsbury. The relics of Winefride were said to have been taken there in 1138. A pleasing stained glass window of Winefride is found in Non's chapel near Saint Davids."http://www.celticmist.freeserve.co.uk/CelticSaints.htm

Hallowe'en Barmbrack

History: A seasonal favorite, the word barm comes from Old English - beorma, which means yeasty, fermented liquor. Brack comes from the Irish word which means speckled. This delicious bread is indeed speckled throughout with dried fruit and candied peel. What makes barmbrack so popular is that various small items or charms are wrapped up and hidden in the cake mixture - a wedding ring, a coin, a thimble or a pea. If someone gets the ring, they will be married within the year; a coin signifies wealth, the thimble foretells spinsterhood and the pea means poverty--.from The Lady Aaurianne

4 cups white flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/2 stick butter

2 teaspoons dried yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups luke-warm milk

1 egg, beaten

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup black raisins

1/4 cup mixed candied peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Sieve the flour, spices and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter.

2. Cream the yeast with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of the warm milk until it froths slightly.

3. Pour the rest of the warm milk and the egg into the yeast mixture and combine with the dry ingredients and the sugar. Beat well with a wooden spoon or knead until the batter is stiff but elastic.

4. Fold in the dried fruit and chopped peel. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled. Knead again for another 2 or 3 minutes and divide between two greased 1 1b loaf pans.

5. Wrap the charms in greaseproof paper and then hide them in the dough. Be sure they are well distributed. Cover again and leave to rise for about 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough comes up to the top of the pan.

6. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour. Test with a skewer before removing from oven.

7. Glaze the top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons of boiling water. Turn out to cool on a wire rack. When cold, cut into thick slices and slather on the butter.

Note: This is a good keeper, but even when it's stale, Barmbrack is delicious toasted and buttered.

(Note: a lovely Irish bread that is both yeasty and fruity - perfect for this time of year. Eaten as a main food bread, breakfast bread toasted with butter or as a dessert - it has many abilities and keeps well if wrapped tightly. http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/page1006.html)

Plaited Harvest Loaf

1lb/450g flour

1/2 tspn salt

1/4 pint/145ml milk

2oz/60g butter

1 beaten egg

1oz/30g fresh yeast

1oz/30g sugar

1 tblspn/15ml currants

pinch nutmeg

2 tspns grated lemon or orange zest

Place flour and salt in warm bowl. Warm milk to just warmer than tepid, add butter and stir to

melt. Allow to cool and stir in the egg. Mix the yeast with sugar and blend well till creamy, set

to let it froth. When bubbly add to the milk and mix. Add this to the flour. Stir gently adding

currants, nutmeg and zest. Leave in warm place to rise. When doubled, cut into three pieces,

knead and form into strips for plaiting. Plait and dampen the ends with milk to secure. Place on

lightly greased baking sheet and let rise 15-20 mins. Brush with egg/milk if wished and sprinkle

with heaps of seeds (poppy/sesame/pumpkin). Bake at 425F/220C for about 15mins. --from the Lady Aaurianne  (The Abbey's Choice)

Roast Shoulder of Pig

History: Considered to be the food of the Irish Otherworld, the pig was a magic animal that fed deserving men quite well.  Used as a feast food for warriors after successful battle, and revered for its connection to the myths of Cu' Chullain's journeys into the world of Faery, it is also traditionally served at modern Samhain feasts of the dead along with the mythical apples from the shores of Avalon.

Pork is generally roasted in a large pan in the oven, with the fatty side up, so that the fat will melt down into the meat and keep it moist and full of flavor. Any cut will do, but if you would have a nice large piece of meat with a big bone left over for making a pot of tasty beans, a pork shoulder is what you need.  The average pork shoulder is at least 7 pounds.  Quite a bit of this weight is the bone, but you can still expect to feed an entire gathering with this pork.  If you can, get your meat at the butcher shop, and try to have it certified as having been corn and grain fed, and not having been given steroids or penicillin. An all-natural animal fed with good grain has compact meat that is tender with lots of flavor. Sure, you can roast something that is not of a good quality, but the result will be less satisfying, and will actually feed fewer people ounce for ounce!  If you cannot certify the meat as all-natural and fresh, then do the best that you can.

Rinse the shoulder and pat it dry with some paper towels. Rub it with salt and peppercorns, and well mortar'd spices: cumin seed, rosemary, sage, thyme, and place it carefully in a roasting pan, fat side up.  Put a bit of water in the bottom of the pan, and tent over the shoulder with a tent of foil. Braise it like this in a slow oven of about 375 degrees for about 2 hours.  Remove the tent and roast at a higher temperature of 425 degrees for another hour,  or until the meat gives no blood when cut through to the bone. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before slicing very thinly.  Serve with glazed apples, or apple dumplings, add some honey to the leftovers in the roasting pan, and drip over the slices of pork. Rule of thumb:  cook pork at approximately 20 minutes per pound. -- Sister Vivianne

Braised Greens with Lots of Garlic

http://www.healthwell.com/healthnotes/Recipe/Greens_Garlic.cfm

1 pound (455g) kale, mustard greens or chard , (about 8 cups)

1 Tbsp (15mL) extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic , minced

1/2 tsp (3g) salt (sea salt if on a corn-free diet*)

Lemon wedges

Wash greens thoroughly by soaking in lots of cold water. Drain. Chop greens

into about 3-inch (8cm)pieces.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté garlic for 2 minutes. Add greens to skillet. (They do not have to be dried off, as the water will evaporate during cooking.) Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while to coat all the greens with garlic and oil. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with lemon wedges.

(Note:  What better way to end the season than with some of the last of the greens all braised and flavorful to infuse our bodies and minds with the nutrients they contain, healthy too - I get in moods for these--from the Lady

Aaurianne)

Baked Apple Dumplings

History: Mystical food of the Faery Women of Avalon, and the food of the Immortals of Aasgard of the Northmen, there are hundreds of varieties of this fruit.  While the Avalonian women may have had a variety that is red, Iduna (Goddess who kept the apples of the Immortals) guarded golden-colored apples.  Cut any apple crosswise at Samhain, on the eve betwixt and between the sundown and the night, and you will find a star inside. Count the seeds by digging all of them out of the apple.  Uncut seeds are counted as a "yes" and cut seeds are counted as a "no."  The traditional divination asks this question:  shall you be married within the year?

One apple per person, preferably softer apples like MacIntosh

Extra moist baking raisins, or currants soaked in baking soda 'til soft

Raw sugar, grated or in crystal form

Chopped walnuts or pecans

Superfatted piecrust, Southern style

Powdered cinnamon bark (stick)

Grated nutmeg

Core the apples by scooping out the core and seeds, and some of the center of the apple to make room to stuff it full of raisins and nuts mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and raw sugar.  Approximately a teaspoon of each of the nuts, sugar and raisins should fill the center of the apple. If more will fit, put more in! Add a bit of spice and some butter, and if you love honey, you can pour it over the apple just before wrapping it up in the piecrust.  Cut the piecrust into squares large enough to bring up the sides to almost cover the entire apple, leaving it open at the top.  Crimp the edges if you wish.  Tarter and firmer apples other than MacIntosh are good, but they take forever to bake!  The piecrust will help the apple to maintain its shape while cooking, keep the honey and sugar from spilling out all over the baking pan, and looks quite elegant when done.  Southern pastry has more shortening in it than other pastry, and oftentimes an egg is added to help make it lighter and fluffier. Use about 4 cups of flour to make about 16 piecrust squares to cover apples. (I egg is enough for all 4 cups of flour, and add a tablespoon of cider vinegar, and a tablespoon of sugar to the dough. It will roll out easily.)--Sister Vivianne

Rice Pudding

4 cups of cooked sweet Jasmine Rice

¼ to ½ cup of coarsely chopped nuts of any variety

½ cup to ¾ cup of soft raisins

3 beaten eggs

½ cup to 1 whole cup of raw sugar

ground cinnamon bark to taste

grated nutmeg to taste

1 cup of soy milk or cow's milk/goat's milk

Mix all the ingredients quite well, and pour into a buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the pudding is set and a bit of a "crust" seems to form on the top, or that means that the rice on the top becomes slightly crunchy.  Serve hot with whipped cream.  To re-heat as a breakfast treat, wrap in foil and heat at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.--Sister Leslie

IRISH COFFEE

Original Version

1 C hot coffee

1 1/2 oz. Irish Mist liqueur

whipped cream for garnish

OR

Modern Version

1 C hot coffee

1 oz. Irish Whiskey

3 sugar cubes

whipped cream for garnish

(Note from Cheri:

Chef Joe Sheridan, of Foyne's Restaurant in County Clare, is credited with inventing Irish Coffee in the1940s. I was told the original version was made with Irish Mist liqueur, although Irish Whiskey is more commonly used today. Why not try it both ways anddo your own taste test?)--from The Lady Aaurianne

Pumpkin and Artichoke Risotto

( a lovely grain and pumpkin dish)

3 cups/750ml/1&1/4 pint vegetable stock

1 cup/250ml/8fl.oz white wine

1 tbspn/20ml olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tspn ground cumin

1/2 tspn ground nutmeg

185g/6oz pumpkin, chopped

1&1/2 cups/330g/10&1/2 oz Arborio or Risotto rice

440g/14oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

90g/3oz sun-dried tomates, chopped

2 tblspn/60ml fresh sage, chopped

freshly ground black pepper

3og/1oz grated parmesan cheese

Place stock and wine in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Heat oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add onion, cumin and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 3

mins or until onion is soft. Add pumpkin and cook, stirring, for 3 mins.

Add rice and cook, stirring, for 5 mins. Pour 1/3 of the hot stock mixture into rice and cook over a

medium heat, stirring, until stock is absorbed. Continue cooking in this way until all the stock is used and rice is tender.

Add artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, sage and black pepper to taste to rice mixture. Mix gently and cook for 2 mins or until heated through. Remove pan from heat, gently stir in parmesan cheese and serve.--from the Lady Aaurianne

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

1 qt/4L vanilla ice cream 

1 cup plain canned pumpkin 

1/4 cup sugar 

1/4 tspn cinnamon 

1/4 tspn ginger 

1 large or 8 small graham cracker crusts 

Take ice cream out of the freezer and let it become soupy. Put in a bowl with the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Stir, pour it into the crust and set it in a level place in the freezer to harden overnight.--from The Lady Aaurianne

Spiced WIne

Per 1 bottle sweet red wine add :

1 cinnamon stick

5 cloves

peel of one organic orange

Peel of organic lemon

3 peppercorns - whole

1 star anise

1/4-1/2 cup packed brown sugar - depending on your taste

nutmeg - pinch

Heat until sugar dissolved and hot throughout; serve hot or cool 

Better than Hot Cider !!!--from The Lady Aaurianne

BACK