Imbolc Recipes……

Good Evening friends!  Hope you are all having a great weekend so far.  I am having a good one despite the fact that my husband is pretty ill with pneumonia!  Not fun at all for him and I’m hoping that all of us around him are able to keep from getting it too.  We are taking good care of him both medically and magickally so he will hopefully get over it sooner rather than later.

I was sitting by the fire this evening and decided to pull out my recipe box and start looking for recipes for Imbolc.  As I posted in an earlier writing, the foods for Imbolc are seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, flax, sesame. Also raisins, dairy foods, spicy foods, pork, lamb, spiced wines, breads, cakes, muffins, pancakes, scones etc.  I tried to find recipes that combined some of these foods and was quite successful!  I thought I would share them with you so here we go……

This is top of my list that I’ll be making!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Glaze

Yield 2 – 8×4 inch loaf pans

 Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix

1 cup water

1/4 cup poppy seeds

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 – 8×4 inch loaf pans.

-In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil, pudding mix, water, and poppy seeds. Spread batter into two greased 8×4 inch loaf pans.

-Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Lemon Glaze

4 TB sugar

4 Tsp Lemon juice

Just mix sugar and juice well and pour over cake after allowing cake to cool for 10 minutes.

This recipe is classic for using milk…pudding.  Remember that Imbolc is the festival of the lactating sheep.  It is derived from the Gaelic word “oimelc” which means “ewes milk”.   So a recipe using milk is most appropriate for this Sabbat.  Now I don’t know about your but my pudding must be chocolate! Yummy!  This is a great recipe!

Chocolate Cream Pudding

 Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1.In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in milk and chocolate. Cook, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in egg yolks. Return to heat and cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Chill before serving.

Now, I was looking at the list and there are two things I love on the list…scones and raisins!  So here is a recipe for just that!

Walnut Raisin Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons buttermilk

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions

-In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel.

-With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in all but 2 tablespoons of the nuts and the raisins. Mix in buttermilk with fork.

-Gather the dough into a ball and knead for about 2 minutes on lightly floured board.

-Roll or pat out 3/4 inch thick. With a chef’s knife cut into 3 inch triangles. Place, spaced 1inch apart, on a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk; sprinkle with the remaining sugar and the nuts.

-Bake in center of 425 degree F (220 degrees C) oven about 15 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve warm with butter or jam.

Both the Lemon Bread and these delicious scones would work great for a Cakes and Ale ritual at your altar.  Speaking of ale, a spiced wine is perfect for Imbolc and this is a yummy recipe..make this and serve to your family and friends and have it at your altar as well!

Spiced Wine

 1 cup water

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

6 whole cloves

3 whole allspice berries

2 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups red wine

2 oranges

8 cinnamon sticks, garnish

Directions

-In a large non-aluminum saucepan, combine water, brown sugar, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Season with cloves, allspice, 2 cinnamon sticks and salt. Cut the rind of 2 oranges into strips and stir into the mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

-Pour in the wine. Heat to just boiling and remove from heat. Serve hot with a cinnamon stick for garnish.

Sitting here by the fire tonight, I’m wishing I had some of this to savor right now! 🙂

Pork is appropriate for this Winter sabbat as well.  This recipe is delicious and sooo easy..you’ll love it!

Simply Delicious Pork

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin, cut into 6 pieces (trimmed)

4 medium yellow delcious apples, sliced

3 TB brown sugar

1 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 Tsp salt

Place pork in slow cooker.  Cover with apples. 

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in small bowl.  Sprinkle over apples.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

Thats it.  Easy Peasy.  You can shred it and put it on sandwiches or slice it and serve it with mashed potatoes and green beans or other veggies that you like.  You can also double this to feed more then 3-4 people. 

Another great recipe which would go great with the pork is this fresh salad…uses sesame seeds,  so again, you would be incorporating one of the foods that pertain to Imbolc.  I LOVE this salad!

Bok Choy Salad

In a large salad bowl, place….

1 Large head of romaine lettuce, chopped

1 Large bok choy, ends cut off and chopped

2 pkgs crumbled ramen noodles (noodles only)

Brown in a saute pan:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 TB butter

Pour over salad.  Top with 2 cans drained mandarin oranges.

Dressing:

1/2 cup sunflower oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 TB soy sauce.

Mix well and toss into salad right before serving!

All of these recipes are simple and will make your Imbolc celebration even better!  So after you have done your house cleaning and cleansing, throw some of these recipes in the oven or in the slow cooker and enjoy the good smells coming from your kitchen as you are enjoying your great smelling, great feeling home!  Then have some spiced wine and put your feet up for a bit after all your hard work!  Take a look around at what you have accomplished and know that you are just about ready for Spring!

Blessings and Love, Autumn