Beltane ~ May Day ~ Rice Custard

 

Beltane/Beltain is a Celtic festival celebrated on May 1st, May Day, with some celebrations beginning on the night of April 30th, May Eve, in the Northern Hemisphere and November 1st in the Southern Hemisphere. Beltane is a fire festival and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the sun and the Celtic Sun God, Bel (Beltane, Belen or Belenos), whom is associated with healing, light and fire. 

Lighting bonfires wasn't the only way to celebrate, visiting wells, feasting and making May bushes were considered other activities. The maypole is a familiar image of May Day and Beltane, and tying colourful ribbons to trees and branches is another popular activity. Beltane marks the peak of Spring and signifies the beginning of Summer... think renewal, growth and abundance. Daylight continues to lengthen and strengthen as we move towards Summer and there is a return of vitality to both the earth and sun, with the May King, the Green Man, and the May Queen, Flora Goddess of Spring, symbolizing the union of earth and sky. 

Other celebrated festivals/holidays during this month are: May Day (English/British, May 1st), Calan Mai (Welsh), Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night, German), Roodmas (Scottish) and Cétshamhain (Irish), International Workers Day (Global, May 1st), Yom HaShoah (Judaism), Lag BaOmer/Lag B'Omer/Lag LaOmer (Jewish), Shavuot/Shavuos or known as the Feast of Weeks (Jewish & Samaritan, usually in May but sometimes in June), Vesak/Buddha Day (Buddhist in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet and Mongolia), Star Wars Day (Global, May 4th), Cinco de Mayo (Mexican, May 5th), Matariki/Maori New Year (Maori & New Zealanders, late May, sometimes June or July) and Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day (Israelis, late April or early to mid May, based on lyar, Hebrew calendar).

With plenty to celebrate, this rice custard is a sweet and comforting way to honour Beltane. Happy Beltane... May Day to all!  

Rice Custard

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serves 4

1 cup uncooked rice 

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

dash of cinnamon 

freshly grated nutmeg

Soak rice in water overnight. Drain and place in a baking pie dish. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). 

Combine milk and sugar in a sauce pan; heat to near boiling, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, add vanilla and salt; pour over rice. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes or until a light crust forms on surface. Serve warm with brown sugar and cream. 

Notes: ovens vary, so check the custard as it bakes. The one I made, pictured above, baked in about 50 minutes.

 

Cottage Cheese ~ No Salt Added

Cottage cheese was one of those dairy products I ate on occasion due to the bitter salty taste. Some say, that is what makes cottage cheese... cottage cheese however the salty overload doesn't do anyone any favours. So when I was at the local shop picking up a few things and got a craving for cottage cheese I found this... No salt added, 2%M.F., low in fat, 15g of protein and only 6 grams of sugar... I was relieved! This is fantastic for those watching their salt intake. If you are are not watching your salt intake I suggest you switch or try this one; just keep in mind that it may take you a few mouthfuls to get over the taste because the salt content in regular cottage cheese is high, 18%! When you compare that to the 2% salt content of this cottage cheese it's a healthier option. 

Hope everyone has had a good start to their week. It's Wednesday... middle of the week. The weekend is almost here. - JD  

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes were a dish that my mum made very often and quite possibly because it was one of her favourite dishes. I believe her recipe was a simple no fuss one. A layer of thinly sliced potatoes, then a sprinkle of diced onion, add some milk, sprinkle a bit of flour, dot with butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Repeat until all the potatoes and onion were used up. Bake in the oven until tender. Plain jane and simple. Which is the jest... or gist of the recipe, depends on how you look at it. 

The scalloped potatoes I make do have a bit more going for them. Which is fine because quite honestly one does feel the need to conjure up something once in awhile. This recipe is still easy. Just a bit of slicing and dicing which is always therapeutic. Having a food processor makes this even more easy and then you can just watch it all unfold before your eyes. Which can be therapeutic as well.  

Scalloped Potatoes

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1 small onion, finely diced

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 tablespoon of fresh chives

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper

2 1/2 cups milk

6 - 11 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (approx 6 cups)

some butter for dabbing

Heat oven to 350ºF. Then grease the bottom and sides of a 2 quart casserole baking dish. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the flour, paprika, chives, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium large saucepan over medium heat. once melted add the onion and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Stirring occasionally, until tender.

Stir in the flour mixture (flour, paprika, chives, salt and pepper) Cook stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly, remove from heat.

Stir in the milk. Place the saucepan back on the heat and heat until boiling, again stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. 

Spread the potatoes into the prepared casserole dish. Pour sauce over the potatoes. Cut a few small pieces of butter to sprinkle over the potatoes. Shake a bit more paprika, if you like,  over the top. 

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for about an hour or until potatoes are tender. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving as to allow the sauce to thicken.

In total I baked the potatoes for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

*Notes: You may add whatever seasonings you would like. Try adding curry powder to the flour mixture for something completely different. Fresh garlic and cheese. Add ham or bacon. 

Very tender melt in your mouth savoury side dish that is a perfect however if served with a salad could easily pass as the main.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We did! - JD 

Savoury Bread Pudding

This week I made savoury bread pudding. I made a huge pan so there would be plenty of leftovers. Although I see bread pudding as being a dish one would snuggle up to during the coldest months of the year, I can also see this fluffy seasoned dish making an appearance or two during the warmer months as well. 

To make this Savoury Bread Pudding you will need the following:

1 red onion, diced

approximately 10 mushrooms, sliced

small pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a bunch of spinach or kale or swiss chard, chopped

olive oil

balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

thyme

tarragon

rosemary

summer savoury

smoky paprika

1 loaf of day old bread

8 eggs

2 cups of milk

salt and pepper  

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. 

Prepare all the vegetables. In a pan add some olive oil. Turn the element on to medium high heat. Once the oil has warmed up, add the onion. Stir. When the onion has soften a bit, add the mushrooms. Stir. Add the tomatoes. Stir again and let those vegetables simmer for a bit. When the mushrooms and tomatoes have soften a bit add the greens of your choice. Now the pan may look like it's going to overflow. Do not worry everything will simmer down. You made need to add some more olive oil and at this time you can add the balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar. Stir to make sure everything is not sticking and gets coated with the oil and vinegar. Now it's time to add the herbs and seasoning. I didn't give exact measurements on the herbs and seasonings because you can adjust those to your liking. Once everything has simmered and looks like this...

  

I must say at this point the aroma was very inviting. Everything in the pan had come together nicely. Remove from heat and now it's time to prepare the bread. The day old loaf you use doesn't have to be pre sliced. Since mine was, I cut each slice in half making two triangle pieces. Once all the slices have been cut, butter the bottom of the baking dish. 

Arrange half the bread slices on the bottom of the pan. Take some of those lovely simmered down veggies and spread over the slices of bread. Then placing the remaining slices of bread on top of that and using the remaining veggie mixture on top. Now there is no rhyme or reason to placing the bread. Just place them as you see fit. Trust me when  all is said and done nobody is going to notice how the slices of bread were or weren't arranged. That is the pure charm of this dish. 

Break the eggs in a large bowl and add the milk, salt and pepper. Mix together. Then pour over top of the bread layered with the veggie mixture. Making sure everything gets coated. Pop in a preheated, 375ºF oven for about 40 minutes or until everything is puffy, golden and the eggs have set. Serve immediately with grated cheese on top. 

You can always change the order of the prep work by slicing the bread first, buttering the pan then chopping the veggies and continuing from there. Bread pudding whether sweet or savoury is such a labour of delightful comfort. - JW