Lammas Eats!

Yesterday was Lammas, the pagan celebration of the First Harvest. There are three harvest holidays — Lammas (or Lughnasadh), Mabon (the Autumn Equinox), and Samhain (or Halloween).

On Lammas, we give thanks for summer’s bounty. It’s the time when ALL the amazing produce is ripe for the pickin’. Summer tomatoes are at their juiciest. Watermelon are at their sweetest. And cucumbers are at their crispest. Traditionally, people baked bread at Lammas as a way to use grain from the harvest. These days, while I do buy most of my produce at farmer’s markets, my grains still come from Kroger. And they’re probably not as fresh as they could be. But I’m all about symbolism, so I bake bread at Lammas anyway.

Last night, I made a Rosemary Focaccia from Cooking By the Seasons. It’s a recipe I’ve made for Lammas in the past, and it makes the softest, most delicious herbed bread. Some folks bake their loaves into the shape of Lugh, the Celtic god of the harvest. I’m no bread artisan though, so I just do the best I can. Here’s my sad little bread man!

He may not have looked so pretty, but he tasted amazing! I served the hot bread with a schmear of homemade cashew camembert. More on this cheese soon in a coming review!

Because the produce is so fresh right now, I typically serve my Lammas loaf with a raw salad or raw soup. This year, I opted for the Classic Kale Salad from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook.

It’s a low-oil kale salad that’s loaded with crunchy veggies (beets, carrots, celery, and bell pepper), dried fruit (I used dried cranberries), and seeds (I went with sunflower). Such a nice complement to the bread and cheese. Of course, I enjoyed this with a nice cabernet sauvignon.

I also made a summery, fun dessert! BUT I’m saving that recipe for tomorrow’s post, so you’ll have to wait and see.