🍰🍯Beltane Recipes Part 1🍋🍓 (Patreon)

Hi everybody! Let’s talk about Beltane recipes! Here are some more recipes that sound really good and fairly simple to make. Have you made any of these before? Would you try any of these recipes?

May Wine (from Autumn Earth Song)

*Woodruff is easy to grow in a shady spot in a garden or in a container. It is good ground cover and a pretty plant.

2 fifths semisweet white wine (such as sauterne)

1 cup woodruff leaves and blossoms, washed and stems removed

Early in the day the May wine is to be served, place the woodruff leaves and flowers in a container large enough to hold all the wine, then add the wine. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 fifth of extra dry Champagne

Just before serving, place a block of ice and the fruits in a punch bowl. Strain the white wine as you pour it over the ice and fruits. Add the Champagne. Decorate with woodruff leaves and white flowers that have been rinsed off. You can also make the punch without the fruit, and just pour it from a nice pitcher.  Sounds yummy doesn’t it!

Dandelion Fritters (from Longest Acres)

Did you know that every part of a dandelion is edible? Now I know a dandelion may be easy to identify, however if you are too quick you may mistake one for a look alike! Always consult at least two guides before eating anything edible. When picking dandelions, try to do so on a clear, sunny day. Like most flowers the dandelion will close up and look rather angry on rainy, cloudy days. You want a nice open, calm flower to fry. My caveat to this recipe would be to make just a small handful. or, make for a group of friends. You do not want to be left, alone, with a whole bowl of fried dandelions. You will make yourself quite ill.

Dandelion Fritters (as found in the Burlington Free Press)

You will need:

2-3 cups of dandelion flowers

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 c all-purpose flower

1 c cornmeal

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 c veggie oil

Directions:

1. Collect your dandelions from a nice clean pasture with no pesticides and wash them.

2. Mix up your batter including all the ingredients save the oil and the flowers.

3. Put your oil in pan and heat. You want about a 1/4 in of oil. CAREFUL. Hot oil has a very unpleasant reaction when contacted with the skin.

4. When the oil is hot dip the flowers into the batter while holding onto the stem and then drop them flower side down in the hot bubbling oil. Again, careful.

5. Cook until golden brown. fork or spoon them out of the oil and serve warm with the sauce of your choosing.

6. For sauce, use a horseradish or a yogurt based dip!

Honestly, anything fried is delicious, but the dandelion does have a bite to it that adds to the enjoyment of the fry.

Strawberry Maypole Cupcakes (from Tea Time Magazine)

Yield: 9 large cupcakes or 24 regular cupcakes • Preparation: 45 minutes • Bake: 19 to 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour, such as Swans Down

1¼ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup salted butter, softened

1¼ cups sugar

½ cup seedless strawberry jam

Red paste food coloring, such as Wilton

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons whole milk

2 teaspoons strawberry extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

Garnish: 1 Mini Maypole per cupcake (instructions follow)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place decorative baking cups* on a rimmed baking sheet. [If using regular baking cups, line wells of 2 (12-well) muffin pans.] Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, whisking well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat at high speed with a mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add jam, beating until incorporated. Add red paste food coloring until desired shade of pink is achieved. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Set aside.

In a liquid-measuring cup, combine sour cream, milk, and extracts, stirring until blended. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among baking cups (approximately 7 tablespoons per large baking cup; 3 tablespoons per regular baking cup). Tap baking sheet on countertop to level batter and reduce air bubbles.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes (19 to 20 minutes for regular cupcakes). Let cool completely.

Place Vanilla Buttercream Frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a very large open-star tip. Pipe a frosting rosette onto each cupcake.

Garnish each cupcake with a Mini Maypole, if desired.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a covered container until serving time.

Notes:

*We used large baking cups from Simply Baked.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 3½ cups • Preparation: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter, softened

5 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beginning at low speed and gradually increasing to high speed, beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy.

Use immediately, or refrigerate in a covered container until needed. Let frosting come to room temperature before piping.

Mini Maypoles

Items Needed:

3 (18-inch) lengths narrow ribbon

1 decorative pick*

1 decorative drinking straw*

Step 1

Place lengths of ribbon together. Using an overhand knot, tie lengths together approximately 1 inch from one end.

Step 2

Using decorative pick, poke knotted end of ribbon lengths into drinking-straw hole. (If desired, glue decorative end of pick to straw.)

Step 3

Trim straw and ribbons to desired length.

Faerie Cakes With Candied Violets (from Moody Moons)

Spending Beltane in the kitchen this year? Make it magical with these charming little faerie cakes. Whimsical yet elegant, candied violets make a striking addition to love spells, wishing magic and faerie rituals. Use candied violets in faerie cakes for a spring ritual, a “dressed up” cakes and ale or to serve at any spring gathering — especially Beltane!

The best part is, they’re practically free! If you’re in the Eastern US and you haven’t put down pesticide this year on your lawn, there’s a good chance your yard or a nearby one has wild violets in abundance.

Go spend some time outdoors, bring a basket and gather those little beauties up for a Beltane with a splash of purple.

- Gather a clean, washed, dry paintbrush with a fine tip, an egg white, and some sugar.

- Start by gently washing the violet blooms. A spray bottle and a strainer work well for this, but be careful! Even for flowers, wild violets are delicate!

- Allow them to dry on a paper towel.

- Dip the paintbrush in egg whites, and paint each blossom.

- Then sprinkle sugar on the violets. Most recipes call for powdered sugar, but I use granulated because it reminds me of late frost.

- Finally, bake some cupcakes!

Any vanilla cupcake recipe will do, but make it from scratch. The more you put into your ritual food, the more “fragrant” the magic of it. Be connected to the process.

Bonus points for making the vanilla extract yourself. Vanilla inspires passion in kitchen spells. Here, we use it to wink and nod at Beltane’s celebration of “spring romance.”

Pipe on some cream cheese frosting and arrange violets in tiny “bouquets.

Serve and enjoy!

Candied Flower Petals (from Learn Religions)

Nothing says the Beltane season has arrived quite like flower blossoms—and what many people don't realize is that not only are they lovely to look at, they can taste good too. With a few fresh flowers, you can create a tasty treat. Use nasturtium, roses, pansies, lilac blossoms, violets, or any other edible flower for this recipe. Be warned, though—this is a bit time consuming, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients

Flower petals or blossoms, rinsed and dried

Water

1 egg white, beaten

Sugar

Directions

Combine a few drops of water with the egg white in a small bowl, and whisk them together. Hold the flower petal gently between two fingers and dip into the water mixture. Shake off excess water, and then sprinkle sugar on the petal. If your petals seem too soggy, use a paintbrush to brush the water mixture onto the petals instead.

As you complete each petal, place it on a sheet of wax paper to dry.

Drying time is anywhere from 12 hours to two days, depending on the humidity level in your home. If your flower petals aren't drying fast enough for you, place them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 degrees for a few hours.

Store your flower petals in an airtight container until it's time to use them. Use to decorate cakes and cookies, add to salads, or just to eat as a snack.

Dandelion Salad (from Raven and Crone)

1 Dishpan full of young dandelion leaves

4 Strips of bacon

1/2 c Sugar

2 T Flour

1 ea Egg beaten

1 t Salt

1/2 c Vinegar

1 1/2 c Water

3 ea Eggs, hard boiled, diced

Wash, drain, and cut up tender dandelion leaves. Brown bacon; remove drippings and crumble Combine sugar and flour. Add egg, salt, vinegar, and water and mix until smooth. Pour into bacon drippings and heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Pour warm dressing over dandelion. add crumbled bacon and hard boiled eggs. Toss lightly and serve immediately.

Strawberry Crisp (from Raven and Crone)

1 c Uncooked Oatmeal

1 c All purpose Flour

1 c Brown Sugar

1/4 c Chopped Walnuts

1/2 c Butter or margarine

1/2 c Sugar

3 c Sliced fresh or frozen Strawberry

Mix together oatmeal, flour and brown sugar. Add nuts. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. In another bowl, mix strawberries and white sugar together. Grease an 8" square pan. Spread half the crumb mixture on bottom. Cover with strawberries. Spread remaining crumb mixture over top. Bake at 350 deg F oven for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or topping.

May Wine (from Raven and Crone)

*Woodruff is easy to grow in a shady spot in a garden or in a container. It is good ground cover and a pretty plant.

2 fifths semisweet white wine (such as sauterne)

1 cup woodruff leaves and blossoms, washed and stems removed

Early in the day the May wine is to be served, place the woodruff leaves and flowers in a container large enough to hold all the wine, then add the wine. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 fifth of extra dry Champagne

Just before serving, place a block of ice and the fruits in a punch bowl. Strain the white wine as you pour it over the ice and fruits. Add the Champagne. Decorate with woodruff leaves and white flowers that have been rinsed off. You can also make the punch without the fruit, and just pour it from a nice pitcher. Sounds yummy doesn’t it! 🙂

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche (from Learn Religions)

Asparagus is a tasty spring veggie, one of the first to peek out of the ground each year. Although asparagus crops appear as early as the Ostara sabbat, in many areas you can still find it fresh when Beltane rolls around. The trick to making a great asparagus dish is to not overcook it – if you do, it ends up mushy. This quiche is quick and easy to make and cooks just long enough that your asparagus should be nice and firm when you bite into it.

This version is made with no crust, for a gluten-free quiche. If you like pie crusts under your quiche, simply add the crust into the pie plate before pouring in the rest of the ingredients. If you don’t like goat cheese, you can substitute a cup of your favorite shredded cheese instead.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

6 eggs

½ cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 lb fresh asparagus spears, chopped into 1” pieces

Optional add-ins: half a cup of ham or cooked bacon

Directions

Prepare a pie plate with non-stick cooking spray, and preheat your oven to 350. If you’re using a pie crust in your quiche, place it in the pie plate.

Melt the butter on low heat in a skillet, and sauté the garlic and onion until transparent. Add in the chopped asparagus, and sauté for about five minutes, just enough to tenderize the asparagus stalks.

While it’s heating up, combine the eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper, and goat cheese in a large bowl. Add the sautéed onion, garlic and asparagus to the eggs, and mix well.

If you're adding in bacon or ham, add it in now. Pour mixture into the pie plate.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for five to ten minutes before slicing and serving.

Note: this is a super-easy dish to prepare in advance – mix the ingredients ahead of time and refrigerate, and then just pour into your pie plate when you’re ready to cook it. Or, if you bake it in advance, store in the fridge for up to three days, slice, and reheat, covered in aluminum foil, for about fifteen minutes in the oven.

Peppery Green Beans (from Learn Religions)

Beltane is all about fire and heat, so it's a good time to cook up something peppery. This green bean recipe is adapted from traditional Southern-style cooking. For a lower-fat alternative, substitute turkey bacon for the pork bacon.

Ingredients

1 lb bacon

1/2 cup butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb green beans

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Pepper (or more, if you like some zing!)

Directions

Cook the bacon until it's crispy, and then crumble it into small pieces. In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the butter until they begin to brown. Add the green beans and the water, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Drain the water from the beans, add salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Tip: If you'd like to make these in your slow cooker, use 2 Cups of water instead, and let the beans simmer for about three hours in the cooker.

Pansy Shortbread Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 TBS dried egg whites

2TBS water

Pesticide free Pansies or violas

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pick flowers, rinse and pat dry. Put on paper towel to finish air drying.

Put flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix together. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter and vanilla until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together.

Gather up crumbs into a ball and kneed together until smooth.

Roll out dough just scant of 1/4″ thick. Cut with cookie cutter. I used a fluted 2 1/2″cookie cutter.

Put cookies 2″ apart on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until the bottom and sides are just starting to slightly brown and center of top is firm.

Take out of oven and cool on baking sheet.

Combine dried egg whites and water in small bowl. When cookies are cooled brush egg white mixture on one cookie at a time and top with pansey. Use your fingers to press the pansy down in the middle and smooth out all petals so they are firmly stuck to the cookie. Put a thin layer of egg white mixtrue on top of the pansy and smooth. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Return to parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. With your finger smooth out any petals that have shrivelled up. Set out on a cooling rack until the top of the cookie is completely dry.

More food correspondences

Let’s tackle the matter of Aphrodisiacs. There are several foods that people regard as a helpmate to passion, and there is even some science that backs up that idea. Some of the foods in this category include Asparagus, Avocado, Banana, Fig, Olive oil, Oysters, Peaches, Pineapple and Strawberries. The term Aphrodisiac is a derivative of the name Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love.

Bannocks: A traditional Scottish bread made with wheat flour at the hearth. It was simple, traveled well, and ties into the Beltane theme in its use of grain.

Berries: These give us vigor. Strawberries, in particular, are sacred to Freyr, the Scandinavian fertility God. Dip them in chocolate and feed them to each other.

Cherries: Cherries represent the feminine energies. People around the world use them for attracting suitable mates.

Dairy: Dairy products are another Goddess component that represents new life.

Grain Food: (Bread, cereal, oatmeal): Grains nurture us and open our Heart Chakra.

Honey: An ancient food sacred to Demeter in Greece and Ra in Egypt. Honey brings fulfilment and overall satisfaction.

Hot flavors (Curry, hot sauce, garlic, etc.): Hot spices increase our metabolism and are said to induce lust or promote growth.

Paprica (Smoked): Smoky Paprika tastes a bit of the Fire Element. It boosts energy and inspires love.

Radish: Ramps up energy through the Sacral Chakra for sexual prowess.

Rhubarb: Giving your lover Rhubarb places him or her under a captivating spell.

Wine (May Bowl): Typically a mead infused with berries or sweet woodruff specifically for Beltane.

Sources:

https://www.moodymoons.com/2017/04/18/faerie-cakes-with-candied-violets/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.teatimemagazine.com/strawberry-maypole-cupcakes-recipe/amp/

http://longestacres.blogspot.com/2012/05/dandelion-fritters.html?m=1

https://www.ravenandcrone.com/catalog/a2/Beltane,-May-Day,-Food-Recipes/article_info.html

https://www.learnreligions.com/recipes-for-the-beltane-sabbat-4126076

https://autumnearthsong.com/2011/04/05/beltane-recipes/