Category Archives: Holiday

March 5, 2011 · 11:37 pm

More Ostara Recipes……..

Merry Meet!  Hope you all are having a great weekend so far!  It has rained here for 2 solid days!  I have been able to stay inside and out of the weather.  Hanging by the warm fire, crocheting, reading, house puttering.  I had the pleasure of watching my little granddaughter Lily last night while her Mommy and Daddy attended a special family event out of town.  Lily and I had alot of fun.  We read books, built castles and towers out of blocks, watched Care Bears and Cat in the Hat, and I listened to her talk non-stop and marvel at how brilliant she is! 🙂  I’m really not kidding..she is so smart, and adorable and I just love her!  Tonight my family all went to dinner at our favorite pizza place and celebrated my husband’s birthday which is tomorrow.  That was worth going out in the rain for!  Tomorrow I am going to buy my seeds, organic pots and soil so I can start my herbs to growing.  I’m also going to the craft and fabric shop to hunt for an Ostara cloth for my altar and maybe I’ll find some items worthy of my altar as well.  So fun looking! 🙂

I promised to write more recipes as soon as I got one I was looking for from a facebook friend.  I received it this morning so here it is along with a couple of others

Irish Stew …..from Nancy-ann Sorrell (thanks Nancy-ann Hugs!)

4 to 6 servings

1 1/2 lbs Lamb, cut into cubes

3/4 cup sliced onion

 2 sliced carrots 

2.5 Lbs potatoes … sliced or cubed

Put in bottom of a heavy pan a layer of potatoes , a layer of meat , and a few slices of onion …repeat twice , ending with potatoes on top …season each layer with salt and pepper … add to the pot … 1 bay leaf … pour over the layers : 2 cups boiling stock or water … and two tbs.  finely chopped parsley …

Bring to the boil… cover …. simmer gently for 2.5 hours or until meat is tender … Shake pot from time to time to keep potatoes from sticking to the bottom … when done moisture should have been absorbed by the potatoes.

You can also bake in a moderate oven…just watch it closely.
Nice served with fresh green beans / or frozen peas and squash .  Sounds delcious Nancy-ann..can’t wait to try it!

Fish is a perfect food to serve for Ostara to go with all those fresh fruits and veggies.  This is a favorite!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

*Feeds 2-3 double if necessary

3 -4 tilapia fillets, depending on size

1/4 cup breadcrumbs or 1/4 cup crushed Ritz cracker

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt

pepper

garlic powder

olive oil

 Thaw and wash tilapia fillets if frozen. Pat dry on paper towels. 
 Combine crumbs, parmesan, italian seasoning and garlic powder on a plate, mixing well.  On a different plate, pour 1 tbsp lemon juice.

 Working 1 at a time, place a fillet on the plate in the lemon juice, sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt (be careful about how much salt is in your parmesan, crumbs, and other seasonings), black pepper, and garlic powder. Turn the fillet over in the lemon juice and sprinkle seasoning on the other side.

Dredge fillet in the parmesan mixture patting it all over to coat.

 Place in an oiled baking dish, repeat with remaining fillets.

Sprinkle a little lemon juice over fillets and drizzle or spray them lightly with olive oil.  Bake at 425ºF for about 20 minutes or until they easily flake with a fork and edges are browning (you can sprinkle some more parmesan on top if desired).

This is so good with crusty bread and a salad.  Add a baked potato if you’d like! 🙂 

and now for dessert!

Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

1 Strawberry Cake Box Mix

2 (10oz) pkgs sweetened frozen sliced strawberries, thawed

1 pkg vanilla instant pudding and pie mix

1 cup milk

2 cups whipped topping

Fresh strawberries for garnish.

Preheat oven to 350*  Grease and flour 13″ x 9″ baking dish.  Prepare cake as directed, bake and cool.  After it is cool, poke holes in the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon about 1″ apart.

Puree thawed strawberries and their juice in a blender.  Pour evenly over top of the cake allowing the mixture to soak into the holes.

Prepare pudding mix following pkg directions using just 1 cup of milk.  Fold whipped topping into the pudding.  Spread over the cake.  Garnish with fresh strawberries.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before eating and keep refrigerated until gone.

This cake is really good!  It is very refreshing and light..you will love it!!  I’ll tell you a secret too.  If you want to really simplify it..after putting the strawberries in the holes, just put whipped topping on the cake!  Simple and easy and still delicious!

I have given you enough recipes now to choose something delicious to make for your family for Ostara!  All easy, wonderful recipes.  Set a pretty table. Use pastel colors with white dishes or pastel dishes with a nice white tablecloth.  Make a centerpiece of a basket filled with eggs and bright colored “grass”.  Or fill a vase with daffodils or tulips.  Something I love to do is to put a thin clear glass vase inside of a larger clear glass vase.  Then fill the space between the vases with jelly beans!  Put flowers and water in the inside vase.  It is so cute and will draw rave reviews!

Next time I write about Ostara, I will be posting a ritual and pics and ideas for Ostara altars!  Blessings of Love and Light until then.  Oh, I am most grateful to those of you who not only come and read my blog, but who leave me lovely comments and come back again 🙂 

Blessed Be, Autumn 

 

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February 24, 2011 · 12:07 am

Ostara Recipes…………

Merry Meet friends.  Hope you are having a good week so far.  After warm Spring-like weather, the rains came in! It rained ALL day on Monday…dark and gloomy and wet!  Then it turned cold, the rain  turned to sleet and ice and then  to snow.  Luckily the snow wasnt’ heavy and went away quickly. However,  winter is most definitely back but it is still February after all.  Here in Ohio winter lingers long indeed.  LOL.  So I’m sitting by my fire again tonight, candles lit, incense burning, and I’m crocheting a shawl for a friend and relaxing after a busy day.

Ostara is coming before we know it so my thoughts are turning towards the celebration.  I thought I’d post some recipes here….both for magick and for your dinner table.  First, I have a recipe for an Ostara oil blend and an Ostara loose incense blend.

Ostara Oil

 1 drop Almond

   1 drop Patchouli

   1 drop Elder

     1 drop Lavender

     1 drop Violet

Ostara Loose Incense Recipe

2 parts frankincense

2 parts sandalwood

1 part lemongrass

1 part patchouli

1 part lavender

Both of these magickal scents smell so great..you’ll love them!

Now for your dinner table…if you read my previous post about Ostara correspondences, you’ll see that these recipes are perfect for the day or the week of this beautiful Sabbat.  Eggs of course are a must!  Here is a couple of my own recipes I think you’ll like.  “Deviled Eggs” are always on our holiday table and mine get rave reviews and a “must bring” so here is the recipe..kind of.  I am one of those people who just throw things together until it tastes right..but I’ll get as close as I can.

Autumn’s Ostara Eggs

12 large eggs

1/2 cup Miracle Whip

1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Paprika to garnish if you like

*Now this is really just a guess….you may need to add more Miracle Whip or more sugar or salt..you want it kind of creamy and kind of sweet 🙂

 Place eggs in a saucepan with COLD water to cover plus 1 inch. On medium-high heat, bring the eggs to a low boil. Turn off heat and cover.  Let stand for 20 minutes.  Then drain off hot water and immerse in ice cold water to cool.  This cold water method makes perfect boiled eggs.  Also, a little hint.  You want your eggs to be a few days old.  The newer the egg, the harder it is to remove the peel.  

 Halve the eggs lengthwise. Remove the yolks, place them in a small bowl, and mash them with a fork. Add all ingredients except paprika.  Mix well. Now to make really pretty eggs, I use a frosting bag with a tip to put the yolk mixture into the whites.  Or you can cut a little hole in the corner of a plastic bag and pipe in the mixture that way.  Very pretty and neat.  Sprinkle with paprika if desired.  Makes 24 appetizers.

Another egg recipe I make often is my overnight breakfast casserole.  It is easy and yummy and so nice to not have to work so hard in the morning when you get up.  Just pop it in the oven and enjoy your coffee 🙂

Autumn’s Overnight Breakfast Strata

1 lb ground sausage, browned & drained

6 slices of day old bread, cubed

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups milk

6 eggs

½ tsp salt

Pepper to taste.

Place ½ of the bread cubes in a greased 13” x 9” baking dish.  Top with ½ cheese.  Then all the sausage, then the rest of the bread and top with remaining cheese.

Blend the rest of the ingredients well.  Pour over casserole.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, Bake uncovered at 350* for 1 hour or until top is brown and bubbly.

*I serve this with a fresh fruit salad and warm muffins and the Applewood Julep…YUMMY!!

Ok..as I said here…this goes great with an Applewood Julep.  The Applewood Restaurant in Sevierville, TN is a favorite restaurant of ours for down home cookin.  When  you go there, you get a glass of this delcious refreshing juice with apple fritters and apple butter!  Divine!!  You will need to make a double batch of this juice..guarenteed!

Applewood Julep

1 quart unsweetened apple juice

1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Fresh mint sprigs

Combine ingredients..Serve chilled.  Garnish with mint.  Great over ice as well.

Sweet breads was on the list of foods that correspond to Ostara.  There is nothing more traditional for this time of year then Honey Cakes and Hot Cross Buns.  The Hot Cross Buns are started out in your bread machine..easy peasy and the Honey Cakes are easy and sweet as well!

Hot Cross Buns for Bread Machine

Ingredients

2 eggs plus enough water to equal 1 1/3 cups

½ cup butter

4 cups bread flour

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons bread machine or quick active dry yeast

½ cup raisins

½ cup golden raisins

1 egg

2 tablespoons cold water

White Icing (below)

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except raisins, the 1 egg, the cold water and the white icing in bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.  Add raisins at the raisin/nut signal.

Select Dough/Manual cycle.  Do not use delay cycles.

Remove dough from pan, using lightly floured hands. Cover and let rest 10 minutes on lightly floured surface.

Grease cookie sheet or 2 round pans, 9 x 1 ½ inches.  Divide dough in half. Divide each half into 8 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a smooth ball.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet or 1 inch apart in pans.  Snip a cross shape in top of each ball, using scissors.  Cover and let rise in warm place about 40 minutes or until double.

Heat oven to 375*.  Beat egg and cold water slightly; brush on buns.  Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet to rack.  Cool slightly.  Make a cross on bun with White Icing.

White Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk or water

½ teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable

Honey Cake

1 cup honey

1 cup applesauce

3 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup strong brewed decaffeinated coffee (can be made from instant)

  In a large bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices and baking soda.  Add the flour mixture to the wet stuff, alternating with the coffee; beat well.

Pour into a greased 9″x13″ pan (or, alternatively, three 8″ square pans).

 Bake at 325*F for 60-90 minutes* for the large pan, 60 minutes for the three smaller pans

*Just watch for it to be spongy and golden brown.

 Ok…now Ostara is all about Spring and longer days and our thoughts turn to our gardens and fresh fruit and vegetables.  This salad is exactly what you need to serve.  It has all the good stuff!  Use the berries that are in season for the best flavor.

Bountiful Garden Salad with Raspberry Vinagarette

6 cups spinach, torn                                                       

1 lb romaine lettuce, torn                                            

1 stalk celery, chopped                                                 

1 tomato, chopped                                                        

½ cucumber chopped                                                   

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

½ orange, peeled and sectioned

¾ cup blackberries, raspberries and/or blueberries

¼ cup strawberries, hulled and sliced

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

Garnish: croutons

Place all of the ingredients except croutons into a large salad bowl and toss to mix.  Drizzle with Raspberry Dressing; garnish with croutons. Serves 6-8

Raspberry Dressing

¾ cup to 1 cup raspberries, crushed

1 cup oil

¼ cup raspberry vinegar

1 TB sugar

2 TB lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper; whish well.  Add salt and pepper to taste

I’m going to stop there for now.  I have a friend who is passing on a lamb recipe and I have a delcious parmesan whitefish recipe I want to share, and a great strawberry cake recipe!  You will then have all you need to have give your family and friends a lovely Spring meal on Ostara.  Have your family over for a delicious brunch while you color eggs and have an egg hunt with the kids.  It’ll hardly be any work at all as you can make the juice and the breakfast casserole the day before.  To really celebrate the day, after breakfast, go for a walk on a nature trail.  Collect stones and look for flowers starting to bloom and see what birds you can identify and see if the trees are budding yet?  After the family is gone, enjoy a glass of wine and pull out your seed and garden catalogs and magazines.  Dream of being outdoors feeling the warmth of the Sun, the blue skies, the taste of fresh veggies and herbs from your garden.  Ostara is the promise of Spring…so Enjoy!

Love and Blessings, Autumn

*Sources- Applewood restaurant, Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, and my own recipe box.  None of the pictures are mine..one thing I’ve learned from having a blog…take pictures of my food, beverages etc!!  For future blogs 🙂

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February 13, 2011 · 10:41 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day…………

Merry Meet friends and Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope that you all have had a lovely weekend!  I know I did…lovely and busy.  One of the things I did this weekend was to do a bit of Valentine’s Day shopping for my family…just small gifts..tokens of my love.  Breakfast out this morning with hubby and daughter Sara was nice as well.  Hubby was sweet and brought me a box of chocolate’s from my favorite local choclatier and a beautiful Gerbera Daisy plant..dark purple.  So sweet. 

“Love doesn’t make the world go round,
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
– Elizabeth Browning

Valentine’s Day is all about love tokens….be it flowers, candy, cards, dinner out..and if you’re really lucky..jewelry! LOL The History of Valentine’s Day is a little sketchy but most seem to agree that it’s named after a Christian martyr..a Roman priest named Valentine.  Claudius II, Roman Emperor in the third century, outlawed marriage for his soldiers.  He believed that marriage and children made them weaker as soldiers.  Valentine disagreed with this and secretly continued to marry young lovers.  When Claudius discovered this, he jailed Valentine.  Now the story is that Valentine fell in love with his jailers daughter who came to visit him.  Claudius eventually ordered Valentine’s execution.  Before he was, he asked for pen and paper to  write her a letter….signing it..From your Valentine.  How romantic.  The date that Valentine was executed?  Yes, Feb 14.  But it wasn’t until Geoffrey Chaucer, an English  poet and author, in the Middle ages, that romance was added to the day. 

For Pagans in ancient Rome,  February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Feb. 14 was a day to honor Juno, the goddess of Women and marriage. The next day, Feb. 15, was  Lupercalia, a festival honoring the birth of Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of the city. As Lupercalia evolved and time went on, it became a festival honoring fertility and the coming of spring. To begin the festival,  all the available women of the city would have their name put in an urn. The bachelors would chose a name out of the urn and be paired for the year with the name selected. This act was later outlawed by the clergy and deemed un-Christian. So to put a positive perspective over a bad tradition in 498 A.D. Pope Gelasius officially declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day

In the 18th century, Valentine cards first appeared according to Victorian Treasury.  Needless to say, printing companies saw this as profitable, and the Valentine card took off.  Now those of a romantic nature will most likely give roses with their card and candy.  Many may not give a thought to what color roses they give their beloved.  But in the language of flowers, the color is very significant.  Here is a list of some colors and their meanings:

Lavender — Enchantment and Uniqueness
Orange — Fascination
Pink (Dark) — Thankfulness, Friendship and Admiration
Red — Love, Respect and Courage
Peach — Modesty, Gratitude, Admiration and Sympathy
Pink (Pale) — Grace, Joy and Happiness
Deep Red — Beauty and Passion
White — Innocence, Purity, Secrecy, Silence, Reverence, Humility and (according to some sources) True Love
Yellow — Joy, Friendship, Jealousy, Hope and Freedom
Black — Farewell
Red/White — Unity or Engagement
Yellow/Orange — Passionate Thoughts
Peach — Modesty, Gratitude, Admiration and Sympathy
Pink (Pale) — Grace, Joy and Happiness
Yellow/Red — Congratulations
Rosebud — Beauty, Youth and a Heart Innocent of Love
Red Rosebud — Purity and Loveliness
White Rosebud — Girlhood
One Dozen Red Roses — “I Love You”
Single Red Rose in Full Bloom — “I Love You”
Tea Roses — “I’ll Remember Always”

Now while men are often the giver of the roses, women, like me, go to the kitchen and bake up something…something that looks fantastic and shows that time and effort and love was put into the mix.  For me, Red Velvet Cake is probably the perfect cake to make for Valentine’s Day.  Now I am a huge fan of Food Network and Paula Deen…and this recipe is hers…and perfect!  Give it a try..your significant other and your whole family will love it!  Oh and this recipe is for cupcakes…but you could make it into a two layer cake.

Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 pound cream cheese, softened
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

Now this recipe is the RIGHT way to make REAL red velvet cake….the southern way! 🙂

Now I know many of you are single or unattached and Valentine’s Day may not have as much significance to you right now.  But I say that if you have a child in your life, or a grandparent, or a lovely neighbor or friend…Valentine’s Day can still be a beautiful day.  Show your token of love to them.  Also, you can make the day about You!  Treat yourself to a box of candy, a bouquet of flowers, a pedicure or a bottle of wine.  Love yourself..because after all, loving ourselves first is what makes it possible for us to give our love to others.  Ultimately, Valentine’s Day is about Love!  So Have a beautiful Valentine’s day my friends and may you have the love of family, friends, furbabies, and your Goddess/God on this day and everyday. 

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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