Friends, the flowers in my life

Bailey's Irish Cream Truffels

BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM TRUFFLES

1/4 cup 1 Tablespoon Butter
12 oz semisweet chocolate pieces
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup Heavy Cream


Melt chocolate pieces, Bailey's and heavy cream together over very low heat. Whisk in yolks, one at a time, mixture will thicken. Whisk in butter. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight until firm. Make small balls with a teaspoon. Roll in powdered sugar or cocoa.

Imbolc recipes

IMBOLC:

Braided Almond Coffee Cake:

* 1 loaf [1 pound] frozen bread dough, thawed
* Filling Recipe: 1 package [8 ounces] cream cheese, softened; 1/4 Cup sugar; 1 egg; 1/2 teaspoon almond extract [you can probably substitute pure vanilla extract]; 3/4 Cup vanilla or white chips; 1 Tble milk.
* Glaze Recipe: 1 Cup confectioners [icing] sugar; 1/4 teaspoon almond [or pure vanilla] extract; 1-2 Tablespoons milk; 1/2 Cup slivered almonds, toasted.

1.) Roll dough into 15-inch X 9-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheet.
2.) Combine ingredients for filling [except chips!] until smooth. Mixture will be soft!
3.) Spread mixture down center of rectangle; sprinkle with chips.
4.) On each long side of the rectangle cut 1-inch wide strips about 1/2-inch from the filling.
5.) Starting at one end, fold over alternating strips of dough at an angle across filling. Seal ends.
6.) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled--about 1 hour.
7.) Brush with milk. Bake at 350-degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire wrack.

Glaze: add powdered sugar, extract, and enough milk into a bowl to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over finished coffee cake. Sprinkle with almonds.

Brighid Cakes: Many of these recipes were given to me by my friend, and British High Priestess [as well as Pagan author], Anna Franklin:

* 1 lb. plain flour
* 4 oz margarine
* 4oz sugar
* 2 oz chopped peel
* ¾ pint milk
* Pinch of salt
* 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda [aka. baking soda]
* 1 tsp. cream of tartar
* 4 oz sultanas

Method: Sieve the flour and salt, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Rub in the margarine, then add the sugar, peel and sultana. Add the milk and knead into a dough. Place in a greased 7" tin and bake in a hot oven at 200oC/400oF/gas mark 6 for 60 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180oC/350oF/gas mark 4 and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn out and cut into smaller pieces to serve.

Make your own Bath salts

Herbal Bath Salts

Epsom Salts
Sea Salt
zip-type bags to mix the salts and oils in
Essential oil (not flavoring oils -- but "real"
essential oil)
Potpourri herbs of choice
Food coloring (optional)
Glycerin (optional)
Pretty bottles (optional)
1 Rib bon to decorate bottles (optional)



Using approx. 2-to-1 proportions Epsom Salt and sea salt, mix in a big
pan. This is your bath salt "base". Measure about 1 cup of the salt
mixture int o each zippy bag. Place about 4 drops of essential oil
into the salt mixture in each bag. Zip the bag closed and mix the salt
and oil.
Tear potpourri herbs into tiny pieces and add to the bags (We used
lemon verbena, rose petals, lavender. I don' t know why we tore them
except that they did look nicer all mixed with the salts. And,
obviously, we didn' t tear the lavender; because it's already tiny! I
suppose that larger pieces could clog up your bath drain, too.) Zip
the bag closed and mix until you are happy with the proportions.
Here is where I stopped adding things ... but others added a drop or
two of glycerin to the salts to soften your skin. However, we were
told that anyone who might be using the salts with a Jacuzzi should
not use glycerin in the mixture because it would be bad for the
Jacuzzi. Others added the food coloring to the salts and they turned
out pretty, too. I didn't care for the red colored salts, personally,
because the color didn't come out quite pink or red either. The
glycerin and the food coloring will also give the salts a "wet look."
We were told to keep the salt mixture in the zippy bag and to mix it
around once a day for 2 weeks. Then, we could pour it into the
decorated bottles!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

It means so much throughout the year
To have a Husband like you,
You’re thoughtful, warm and caring,
And understanding too,
That’s why this Birthday message
Comes with thanks and special love,
To wish you all the happiness
You’re deserving of.

Love, Light and Much Happpiness

Darlene

Chef Meg's Roasted Chicken with Herb Oil

Roasted chicken is a simple and versatile protein. Use it in soups, throw it on pasta or pair it with a simple salad. Tip: Save time and energy by roasting two chickens at once and freezing one (carve it first).
NOTE: Serving sizes will vary. Feel free to calculate using the amount and type of chicken you eat. Save about 125 calories and 11 g fat per serving by removing the skin.

INGREDIENTS
1 T rosemary, chopped
1/3 t black pepper
1 t kosher or sea salt
1 T butter, softened
1 T olive oil
1 lemon, cut into quarters
1 3 pound chicken


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix oil and butter together in a small bowl. Gently lift up chicken skin from the breast and rub oil and butter mixture between the flesh and skin.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Place chicken in roasting pan on a roasting rack or bed of vegetables. Place lemon inside the cavity of the chicken. Tie legs together with cotton string.

Roast chicken 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roast chicken until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of inner thigh registers 180 -185 degrees Fahrenheit, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Lift chicken and tilt slightly, emptying juices from cavity into pan. Juices should be clear. Transfer chicken to cutting board.

Cover chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm and wait 10 minutes before carving.

NOTE: Save about 125 calories and 11 g fat per serving by removing the skin.

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHEF_MEG.

Imbolc Customs & Lore

by Selena Fox

Other Festival Names:Candlemas, Oimlec, Brigid's Day, Groundhog's Day; merged with Lupercalia/Valentines Day
Festival Dates: January 31, February 1, February 2, February 6, February 7.
Multicultural Parallels: Ground Hog's Day (USA); Aztec New Year; Chinese New Year; Roman Lupercalia; Valentine's Day (USA); Armenian Candlemas.
Flames: Sacred Fire

• torchlit processions circling fields to purify & invigorate for the coming growing season (old Pagan)
• lighting & blessing of candles (11th century, Christian)
• sacred fire of Brigid (Celtic Pagan)
• torchlit procession to honor Juno Februata/Regina (Pagan Rome; Christianized, 7th century)

Brigid:Celtic Goddess
Triple Aspects

• Goddess of Inspiration - poets, poetry, creativity, prophecy, arts
• Goddess of Smithcraft - blacksmiths, goldsmiths, household crafts
• Goddess of Healing - healers, medicine, spiritual healing, fertility (crops, land, cattle)

• Fire - flames, candle crown, hearth
• Water - cauldron, springs, wells
• Grain - Brigid wheels, corn/oat sheaf Goddess effigy, Brigid's Bed
• Creatures - white cow with red ears, wolf, snake, swan and vulture
• Talismans - Shining Mirror to Otherworld, Spinning Wheel and Holy Grail

Name variations: Brighid; Bride (Scotland), Brid, Brigit, Bridget, Briganta (England), Brigan, Brigindo (Gaul), Berecyntia, Brigandu (France)
Name means Bright One, High One, Bright Arrow, Power.
Christianized forms: St. Brigit (Irish), St. Ffraid (Welsh), St. Bridget (Swedish), Queen of Heaven, Prophetess of Christ, Mary.
Pictish Pagan Roots
Bruide, the Pictish royal throne name, is said to derived from the Pagan Goddess Brigid. The Bruide name was given to each Pagan Pictish king who was viewed as the male manifestation of the spirit of the Goddess. The most sacred place of the Picts was Abernethy in Fife. It was dedicated to Brigid, in Pagan times, and to St. Brigid, in Christian times. Columban monks tended a Celtic abbey there and hereditary abbots were of the Earl of Fife branch of the Clan MacDuff, which survived to the present day as Clan Wemyss (Weems).
Irish Transitions and Traditions
When Ireland was Christianized, veneration of the Pagan Goddess Brigid was transformed into that of St. Brigit, said to be the human daughter of a Druid. St. Brigit became a saint after her "death" and was supposedly converted and baptized by St. Patrick. Pagan lore was incorporated into the Christian traditions and legends associated with Her as a saint. For example, as St. Brigit, She had the power to appoint bishops and they had to be goldsmiths. She was associated with miracles and fertility. Into the 18th century a women's only shrine was kept to her in Kildare (meaning Church of the Oak) in Ireland. There, nineteen nuns tended Her continually burning sacred flame. An ancient song was sung to Her: "Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom." Brigid/St. Brigit was said to be the inventor of whistling and of keening.
Customs

• Blessing rushes/straw and making Brigid wheels
• Putting out food and drink for Brigid on Her eve (such as buttered bread, milk, grains, seeds)
• Chair by hearth decorated by women; young woman carries in first flowers & greens, candle.
• Opening the door and welcoming Her into the home. "Bride! Come in, they bed is made! Preserve the House for the Triple Goddess!" Scottish Gaelic Invocation: "May Brigit give blessing to the house that is here; Brigit, the fair and tender,Her hue like the cotton-grass, Rich-tressed maiden of ringlets of gold."
• Brigid's Bed (Scotland): Putting grain effigy and a phallic wand in a basket next to the hearth/candles at night and chanting three times: "Brigid is Come! Brigid is Welcome!"

Purification

• removing Yuletide greens from home & burning them (Celtic)
• cleaning up fields and home (old Roman, Februa "to cleanse" month)
• Mary purification festival (Christian, Western church)
• burning old Brigid's wheels and making new ones (some parts of Ireland)
• placing Brigid's wheel above/on door to bless home (Celtic, Wiccan)

Signs of Spring: Ground Hog's Day

• seeds as a symbols of new life to come
• first greens and flowers as offerings
• weather - bright or grey
• hibernating animals - groundhog, bear, badger

If Candlemas day be sunny and bright, Winter again will show its might.
If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey, Winter soon will pass away. (Fox version)
If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day be shower and rain, Winter is gone and will not come again. (Traditional)

Spiritual Awakening: Spirit Within

• initiations - self, group (Dianic & Faery Wiccan); Christchild in temple (Christian, Eastern church)
• dedication - shrines, temples (contemporary Pagan)
• self blessing and spiritual dedication
• inner journey for Divine inspiration
• affirming the artist/innovator within; energizing creative work.

References

• Farrar, Janet & Stewart (1987). The Witches Goddess. Custer, WA: Phoenix. Chapter 14 & page 206.
• Fox, Selena (1996). Weems-Wemyss-MacDuff Family History. work in progress. ancestral lineage chart.
• Green, Miranda (1995). Celtic Goddesses. London: British Museum Press. Chapter 9.
• Jones, Kathy (1991). The Ancient British Goddess. Glastonbury: Ariadne. pages 23-38. Monaghan, Patricia (1990). The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. St. Paul: Llewellyn. pages 59-60.
• Moncreiffe, Sir Ian (1977). The Highland Clans. Bramhall House edition. pages 46, 101.
• Walker, Barbara (1983). The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper. pages 166-118

Symbols