Mayday Celebration 2008

Mayday is quickly approaching, and since I have not posted here in a while, I thought I would post a little about this holiday. Those who know me know I have a Mayday celebration in my back yard each year. It is a simple cookout followed by participating in some traditional mayday activities such as the ribbon dance around the maypole that is a permanent fixture in my back yard and leaping over the mayday fire.

Of all of the “rites of spring” the Maypole seems to be one of the most widely known. Trees represent the vitality and fertility of nature. What better symbol to represent the height of Spring and the bursting forth of new life in the world. The tradition of the maypole dates back to pre roman times in Europe. The tradition was to bring a young tree from the forest and remove all of the branches except those on the top. The adornment with flowers is a roman influence from the festival of Flora. The tradition of the maypole may have originally be a Germanic tradition, it spread to most of Europe by the late middle ages. By the 16th century the maypole was a community symbol in many towns in the British Isles. Many larger towns and cities began to erect permanent maypoles. Puritan influences attempted to wipe out the maypole tradition in England in the mid 1600’s, but the traditions flourished under the rule of the Stuarts. The traditional dance entails ribbons attached to the top of the maypole being held by two circles of dancers (one inside the other) going opposite directions and weaving the ribbons over and under each other as the two circles of dancers weave in between each other, wrapping the pole in colourful ribbons. The pole may also be adorned in flowers and greenery.

A slightly lesser known tradition associated with Mayday is the tradition of fire. In Celtic regions like Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Mann and even Wales the may fire was the central tradition. In old Irish Mayday was Beltene, which meant “bright fire” (now called Beltane). In these regions, the lighting of the community fire was the central tradition. They fire was the symbolic rekindling of the earth after the winter. In Highland areas, there was a tradition of eating custard made from eggs and milk and making cakes of oatmeal (bannoks) which were toasted in the embers of the fire (I have posted a recipe below you can make in the oven or on the griddle). There was also a tradition of leaping over the flame. This has emerged into a tradition of leaping over the Beltane fire to bring good fortune in the coming year. There is a very large festive held in Edinburgh, Scotland each year on the night of April 30th called the Beltane Fire Festival that draws about 12 thousand people.

Another minor tradition is May wine. This also was originally a German tradition. It is simply a sweet new white wine infused with sweet woodruff. The steeping of the woodruff in the wine creates an aromatized wine that celebrates the freshness of spring. In German, it is known as Maiwein. An adaptation of this is the Maibowle (May bowl) in which strawberries and other fruits, and perhaps some sparkling wine may be added to a bowl of the wine to create a punch. I should note here that in large doses Woodruff is toxic due to its coumarin content. It has been banned as an herbal remedy by the FDA, but is specifically cleared for use as an additive to wine when properly prepared (about 1 oz to 750ml of wine –strain it out before serving the wine).

Here is the bannoks recipe that I use. It is a slightly modified from the traditional version toasted in the mayday fire, but, I think, tastes just as good and honors the tradition.

1 cup all-purpose baking flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (I use raw sugar)
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal, uncooked
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup softened butter (the tradition is to use meat grease like bacon grease)
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 450F.
Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
Add butter. Mix with a spoon until mixture is blended and crumbly.
Slowly stir in enough milk to make smooth but firm dough.
Turn dough out on to lightly floured board and knead until dough hold together.
Roll dough 1/3" thick. Cut into 2-1/2" rounds and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light brown.

LUGHNASADH 2007-first fruits harvest festival and Crawfish boil

The big crawfish boil is this Sunday in in the Garden Avalon (AKA my back yard). I am very excited. The mudbugs will arrive tommorow from Natchitoches, Louisiana and the menu is set.
I thought as a preview to the boil, I would post my recipe for Red Beans.
The menu is as follows:
Crawfish, Corn on the Cob & red skin taters and onions, Andouille sausage, Red Beans & Rice, and a Three Cheese Lasagna for those who just can't do crawfish, etc...I also have a limited quantity of gator bites coming from Natchitoches for those who would like to give it a try,and some watermelon to cool it all down. Of course there will also be plenty of beer and other beverages.

My Red bean recipe is as follows:

2 pound red kidney beans, dry 1 large onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 3 ribs celery, chopped garlic minced (4 o4 5 cloves)
2-3 bay leaves
1 TBL spoon fresh or dry thyme
1-2 Tbl spoons Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce
1-2 Tbl spoons Louisiana Cajun Seasoning or Tony Chachere's Seasoning or Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
For extra flavor:
An Andouille sausage or two
4 oz of smoked ham hock or bacon
Vegetarian alternative:
A few slices of Morningstar farms bacon strips for the smoky flavor

Soak the beans overnight. Drain and use fresh water. Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water. Boil the beans for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain. (My alternative is to cook them in a presser cooker for 35 minutes after it begins to jiggle.)

While the beans are boiling, finely chop and sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) in a small amount of olive oil until the onions turn clear. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes more stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled, add the sautéed mixture to the beans, then add the meats or meat alternatives and other spices listed (to taste)

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2-3 hours until it gets creamy. Adjust seasonings as it cooks. Stir occasionally to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the pot. If you have the option to cook the beans a day or two ahead of time, then refrigerate and heat up later, the flavor will be better. You may need to add a little water when you reheat. Some people like a little vinegar in there beans. You can use pepper vinegar, pickled onions, or just plain white vinegar to taste.

---- Serve over rice-----

Mayday and Gooey brownies.

Those of you that joined us in the cookout and dance around the Maypole on Sunday, May 6th had the oportunity to try Cindy's Gooey Brownies. If you did not, you missed a lot of fun and some really good food. By popular request and with Cindy's consent, I am posting the recipe for the brownies. Enjoy!

Gooey Brownie Recipe

3.9 oz pkg. of Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 12 oz bag Nestle Toll House Morsels

Make pudding according to box. Mix in cake mix and morsels. Pour into 12x9 baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Crawfish Gravy for Biscuits (or Crawfish Dip)

12 to 16 oz package of frozen crawfish tails. (You can use fresh boiled if you want)
1 – 8 oz pack of Cream cheese
1 green onion or a few chives
¼ teaspoon of paprika and ¼-teaspoon red pepper or a dash of hot sauce (to taste)

I use a small crock-pot. A medium fondue pot also works or a regular crock-pot and you can double the recipe.

Melt Cream cheese on low add crawfish tails (defrosted), onions or chives and paprika / pepper. Cook to all ingredients blend and it bubbles a little then keep it on warm/ low for serving. You can use this as a dip or serve it over bread or biscuits. I really like it best served over biscuits like you would sausage gravy. If it is too thick for you, a large heaping spoon of sour cream can be added to the mix.

GUINNESS Irish (Lamb) Stew

I thought for my first post, I would share my Irish stew receipe, featuring one of my favorite drinks, Guinness. So here goes:

Ingredients:
2+ pounds lamb (I get bonless leg of lame and cut it into 1" cubes)
4 large potatoes (unpealed and chunked)
3 large onions (quartered)
4 large carrots (cut into thick slices)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter (I use Kerry Irish Gold)
2 cups vegatable broth
1 1/2 cups Guinness (1 bottle will do)
1 larg sprigs of fresh tyme
salt and pepper to tast
1 to 2 tablespoons Browning sauce ( such as Kitchen Bouquet)
3 tablespoons flower or cornstarch

Cube the leg of lamb, removing all fat. Sear/ brown meat in pan with oil and add browning sauce.
Remove meat from pan and brown onions. Put meat and onions in a pot. Use some of the vegitable broth in the pan with the remaining sauce in the browning pan and pore this into the pot. Add carrots, the rest of the broth and the Guinness to the pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add potatos and tyme and simmer for another hour and a half. Use about 1/4 cup of the broth from the mixture to disolve the flower or cornstarch. Pour the liquid into the stew to thicken it. Ejoy as it is or serve laddled over mashed potatoes.