Imbolc and Ostara 2019

As I've posted before, I've been trying to mark the sabbats but making some appropriate food. If you are wondering why I am doing this, check out this post for their significance to me.

Imbolc (1st August, 2019)

Imbolc is a sabbat that celebrates the end of winter (or whatever winter you might have, not much here in Brisbane). It has also been associated with the Celtic goddess Brigid. While I don't believe in gods and goddesses, I have always been very drawn to the symbolism of Brigid, so this sabbat always has a special place in my heart.

Linguine with Purple Cabbage from Colour Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick Goudreau: I needed something quick and easy to make, using what I had on hand. Despite my best efforts, Imbolc snuck up on me this year. Colcannon is a traditional dish associated with Imbolc, and as you can see I didn't make that. But I did take the winter vegetables cabbage and onion to make this pretty purple dish. It was very simple to make. It tastes lovely, but is definitely best to eat ASAP. I freeze leftover for lunches or dinners on work days, and this did not do well being frozen and reheated.
Rating: :)



Pomegranate Granola from Vegan Desserts: The colours red and white are associated with Imbolc, as are seeds. This granola seemed perfect to make, with a mix of nuts and seeds as well as oats. This has three types of pomegranate in it - juice, molasses, and dried arils. I couldn't find dried arils, so I subbed them for dried cranberries. I also realised when I was making it that I was out of pistachios, so I used pepitas. Same colour, close enough! This recipe is, not surprisingly, quite tart, which I enjoyed, Great served over some plain yoghurt (bringing in the colour white).
Rating: :)



Ostara aka Spring Equinox (September 23rd, 2019)

While all my northern hemisphere buds are celebrating the start of autumn, we are in spring here in Australia. Spring officially starts here on the 1st of September, so the equinox means nothing in terms of the calendar seasons here. Many aspects of Ostara have been incorporated into the holiday of Easter (which in Australia is in Autumn).

Tofu Scramble from Just Add: Eggs are a bit part of the spring festivals, but as a vegan I don't want to eat or support that! Why hurt chickens when you can have tofu instead? This scramble seasoning was another tester for the Just Add Vegan Products brand, which has a few new products in the works! I loaded mine up with spinach, cheese sauce, ketchup, tomato, and avocado.



Carrot Cashew Loaf from Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes: Spring, bunnies, carrots, carrot cake. Rather than a traditional carrot cake, I made this lovely carrot quick bread. The liquid comes from a blend of cashews, orange juice, raisins, and milk (I used cashew to continue the theme) all blended up (plus some other stuff), and it is a mix of oat, barley, and whole wheat pastry flour. Of course with lots of shredded carrot mixed in. I didn't have any orange zest (I was using some of my frozen stash of OJ), so I added a bit of orange extract in with the liquid. This loaf was lovely, not too sweet, and made a great snack. Excellent with some Nuttelex, peanut butter, or strawberry jam spread on it. There was the option to either dust with icing sugar, or drizzle with a lemon glaze, but I like my stuff nekkid.
Rating: :)



Speaking of Brigid, here is a little photo of my altar. I use this more as a calming and meditative area, rather than for any sort of ritual use. The candle in the middle is a Brigid candle (meant it was lit from a candle that was lit from the Brigid flame in Ireland), and there is a Brigid cross there as well. The wooden box has some crystals in it, and there are some cute pins on there as well. The coloured tea candle holders represent the four colours of the directions/elements. I like it. It is pretty and very me, and something nice to look at to clear my mind.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Of course, my familiar. I know I mentioned previously that black cats are still considered spooky by some people, and they have lower adoption rates in shelters. But with October 31st coming up, black cats will become a theme. Black cats are not just for the holidays, black cats are forever! Also, if you do have cats that go outside please keep them in around Halloween because some people are terrible. Keep those black babies safe!