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| Samhain Recipes In the time of Pagan celebrations of Samhain, before it was called Halloween, traditional recipes were made with vegetables and rarely contained sugar. It was the Feast of All Saints, the observance of a feast in honor of all the saints, an early fourth-century commemoration of "all the martyrs." It was traditionally a dark and festive night where autumn harvest foods were eaten. Sorry, mostly all vegetables, it was the last harvest and that was the food that was served. They considered themselves lucky if they had a bounty at hand. Apples, if they had trees producing like mine last year, were a staple of their recipes. I have 2 apple trees that produced over 12 bushels of apples last year! I guess they had to rest this year because I got 1, yes, 1 lone apple was my harvest for 2011. It was so sweet and juicy and I didn't share it with anyone! The following are some traditional recipes for the last harvest of the year and the celebration of Samhain. Enjoy! |
BeWitching Apple Pancakes 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 tbs. sugar 4 tsp. baking powder 1tsp. salt 2 well beaten egg yolks 2 cups milk 2 tbs. butter/margarine, melted 1 cup finely chopped apple, peeled and cored 2 stiffly beaten egg whites. In a large non-metal bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine the milk and egg yolks. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and stir well. Stir in the butter/margarine and apple. . Fold in the egg whites. Let the batter set up for a few minutes. Cook on a hot griddle or in a large frying pan, using 1/3 cup of batter per pancake. Use a spatula or spoon to spread batter evenly. Cook on both sides until browned and cooked all the way through. Remove from heat, dot with butter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and roll up into log. Top with slightly heated applesauce and a dash of cinnamon. Makes 12 pancakes. Baked Apples Preheat oven to 375. Core apples. Do not peel. Keep whole or half or quarter. Arrange in baking dish. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and white or brown sugar or honey. Dot with butter if you like. Pour apple juice or cider in to cover bottom third of dish. Bake 40 minutes for quartered apples; an hour for whole. Serve warm or cold; whipped cream is a nice accompaniment. (Optional: sprinkle apples with raisins, currants, or almonds before baking; baste with pan juices. Substitute cardamon for cinnamon; sprinkle with vanilla or almond extract. ) Legendary Oven Hash 1 cup coarsely ground beef (for vegetarians substitute veggie crumbles) 1 cup coarsely ground potatoes 1/4 cup coarsely ground onion 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1- 6oz can evaporated milk 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs 1 tbs. butter/margarine melted In frying pan, combine and cook beef, potatoes, onion, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce, and evaporated milk. Remove from heat and turn out into a 1 qt casserole dish. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter/margarine and sprinkle on top. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings. Candied Squash Ring Cut 2 acorn squashes crosswise in 1 inch slices. Discard seeds and ends. Arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Combine 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup soft butter, spread over squash. Bake, uncovered for another 15-20 minutes, basting occasionally. Makes 6 servings. How To Make a Soul Cake for Samhain Soul cakes were traditionally baked as a gift for the spirits of the dead. The cakes took many different names and shapes -- in some areas, they were simple shortbread, and in others they were baked as fruit-filled tarts. Still other regions made them of rice flour. Generally, a soul cake was made with whatever grain the community had available. You can make your own with one of these four simple recipes. Pie Crust Soul Cakes A refrigerated roll-out pie crust (or you can make your own if you want to be original!) 2 Tbs. melted butter 1 Cup mixed dried fruit 2 Tbs honey Roll out the pie crust and cut it into circles. Use the circles to line a tin of muffin cups. Mix the butter, fruit and honey together. Scoop the fruit mixture into the pastry shells, and then bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Allow to cool for about ten minutes before eating. If you have a star shaped cookie cutter, you can top each muffin filling with a star. With the circle of crust around the muffin cup, it will look like a pentacle. Quickie Shortbread Soul Cakes 1 stick of butter, softened 4 Tbs sugar 1-1/2 Cups flour Cream together the butter and sugar. Use a flour sifter to add the flour to the bowl, and mix until it's smooth. Divide the dough into two parts, and shape each half into a flat circle about half an inch thick. Put them on an ungreased baking sheet (baking stones are really nice for this) and poke lines with the tines of a fork, making eight separate wedges in each cake. Bake for 25 minutes or until light brown at 350 degrees. Buttery Soul Cakes Two sticks butter, softened 3-1/2 Cups flour, sifted 1 Cup sugar 1/2 tsp. each nutmeg & saffron 1 tsp each cinnamon & allspice 2 eggs 2 tsp malt vinegar Powdered sugar Cut the butter into the flour with a large fork. Mix in the sugar, nutmeg, saffron, cinammon and allspice. Lightly beat eggs, and add to flour mixture. Add malt vinegar. Mix until you have a stiff dough. Knead for a while, then roll out until 1/4" thick. Use a floured glass to cut out 3" circles. Place on greased baking sheet and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while the cakes are still warm. Irish Cakes 4 Cup flour 1 pkt active dry yeast 1 Cup milk 2 Tbs butter 1/2 tsp each cinnamon & salt 3/4 Cup sugar 1/2 Cup lemon zest 1 1/4 Cup golden raisins Cream yeast with 1 tsp sugar & 1 tsp milk, let it get frothy. Blend flour, spices, & salt together, then cut in butter. Add the rest of the sugar to the flour mix and blend. Add milk & beaten egg onto the yeast mixture; combine with flour mixture. Beat until stiff. Fold in raisins and zest, cover with a damp cloth and let rise. Divide in two, place each half in greased 7" round pan. Cover, let rise again for 30 minutes. Bake 1 hour at 400 degrees. Mulled Wine Recipe for Halloween One bottle of red wine (suggestions: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot or a Spanish red) One peeled and sliced orange (keep peel to add zest to taste into cooking pot) One peeled and sliced lemon (keep peel to add zest to taste in cooking pot) 1 tsp ground nutmeg 2 tsp ground ginger 5 whole cloves 3 cinnamon sticks 1/2 cup sugar (or honey can be substituted) 2/3 cup brandy or cognac 1/2 cup water Combine all ingredients in either a large pot or a slow cooker. Gently warm the ingredients on low to medium heat (avoid boiling), for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that the honey or sugar has completely dissolved. When the wine is steaming and the ingredients have blended well it is ready to serve. Ladle into mugs (leaving seasonings behind), garnish with a blood orange segment and perhaps black plastic, Halloween spiders and enjoy! Sour Cream and Garlic Roast Potatoes As soon as potatoes were found in the New World, starving Europeans of every religion embraced them. A good potato harvest was cause for celebration and a staple for many Samhain recipes. 4 teaspoons ground garlic 4 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 finely chopped onion 4 tablespoons oatmeal 4 lb Potatoes cut in half 1 tablespoons sour cream per half salt to taste Par boil the potatoes, then remove from heat when they are beginning to soften. Drain. Place on baking tray and rub the coating all over them; roast in a hot oven until nice and crispy (30 minutes-plus). Spoon sour cream on top of each half before serving. Pumpkin Soup 2 cups chicken stock or broth or vegetable stock or broth (there are several options for vegetarian stock that taste like chicken, try one of those if your have given up consuming animal products) 2 cups canned pumpkin Juice and zest of 2 freshly squeezed oranges 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 finely chopped onion 1 clove garlic, sauteed Salt and (coarsely ground) pepper to taste Heat all ingredients together gently. Serve plain, or ladle into bowls and add a swirl of heavy cream or sour cream to each. Sprinkle with zest or nutmeg. American Traditional Pumpkin Pie 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 cups pumpkin mush* 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. salt 1- 12oz can evaporated milk 1 pie shell Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large non-metal bowl combine sugars and eggs. Add in the pumpkin mush, the spices, salt, and evaporated milk. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 50 minutes, or until pie sets. Makes 6-8 servings. *Pumpkin mush: cut a medium pumpkin in half. Prick the skin several times with a fork, and place on a cookie sheet, cut-side up. Bake for 50 minutes or until very soft when poked with a fork. Let the pumpkin cool, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Scoop out the pumpkin meat, and throw away the skin. Mash the pumpkin meat with a potato masher or puree in a blender/food processor. Makes about 4 cups. OR-You can buy a can of pumpkin pie filling and put it in a ready made crust and bake according to the instructions on the can label! |