Beltane Eats!

Friday, May 1 was Beltane, the start of the Celtic summer! This ancient Celtic festival is all about love, the Earth's fertility, bonfires, and the faeries. They say the veil between our world and the faery world is thinnest at this time, so I started my day by blending some homemade oat milk and leaving a small bowl for the faeries at the base of my backyard tree. A more traditional offering is milk and honey, but the faeries at my house will only get vegan offerings. Sorry faeries!

Later in the evening, I worked up some intentions for the warm months ahead, and then I enjoyed a lovely Beltane dinner on my back porch. For the main, I made Pasta Puttanesca with capers, olives, and fresh tomato, and on the side, I had Asparagus with Lemon Capers. Both recipes were from the Llewelyn 2020 Sabbats Almanac, which has vegan options for every recipe (YAY!).

Capers are said to bring luck and passion, so here's hoping the rest of 2020 looks up a bit! I washed my meal down with a glass (or two) of chilled rosé, which is a traditional wine for Beltane. Maybe it's the romantic pink color?

Since strawberries are in-season, I made a mini Strawberry Tart for dessert. The Llewelyn book included a strawberry pie recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients on-hand, so I googled and found this vegan mini strawberry pie recipe. It's super-easy and uses agar to create a firm filling.

I whipped up some coconut cream with a little added soy creamer for the topping. I had just opened a can of coconut milk to make curry the night before and made sure to skim off the coconut fat to save for coco whip!

While summer won't officially start here until June 21, it's already pretty warm with temps in the high 70s and low 80s. Summer/late spring is my favorite time of year, so while I'm still "staying home" during the pandemic, most of the time, you'll find me outside taking work calls on the back porch, running, biking, or taking Maynard on walks.