Summer Solstice

Posted by fredlet

June 21 – June Solstice. The June solstice occurs at 05:04 UTC. The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.

June 23 – Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 11:32 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Strawberry Moon because it signaled the time of year to gather ripening fruit. It also coincides with the peak of the strawberry harvesting season. This moon has also been known as the Full Rose Moon and the Full Honey Moon.

Seasky.org

Litha is usually celebrated on June 21st, but varies somewhat from the 20th to the 23rd, dependent upon the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. According to the old folklore calendar, Summer begins on Beltane (May 1st) and ends on Lughnassadh (August 1st), with the Summer Solstice midway between the two, marking MID-Summer. This makes more logical sense than suggesting that Summer begins on the day when the Sun’s power begins to wane and the days grow shorter. The most common other names for this holiday are the Summer Solstice or Midsummer, and it celebrates the arrival of Summer, when the hours of daylight are longest. The Sun is now at the highest point before beginning its slide into darkness.

TwoPagans.com

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash Recipe for Mabon

Posted by fredlet

Happy Mabon, y'all!
In honor of the harvest festival on the Autumnal Equinox, I made a harvest-y dinner last night.

Here is the original recipe that showed up in my Google Reader from 101Cookbooks yesterday:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/roasted-corn-pudding-in-acorn-squash-recipe.html

original photo by Heidi Swanson 101Cookbooks.com

Isn't that beautiful?

I edit things to my tastes, primarily to remove things I know I don't like (star anise) or to remove things that would kind of kill me (scallions, still…sigh)…though I would love to have had scallions in mine.

Here is my version:

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash Recipe for Mabon

2 acorn squashes, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup half & half
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
2 ears fresh corn kernels
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup grated 2yr Black Wax Cabot cheddar cheese
1 sliced apple ( I used Honeycrisp because the name reminded me of autumn. Any tart apple will do.)

1. Turn on your oven to 350 F
2. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon
3. Drizzle olive oil and salt on the squash
4. Cook acorn squash until fork tender (~50 minutes)

5. Mix 1 egg plus 2 egg whites, 1 cup half & half, 2 ears fresh corn kernels, 1/4 teaspoon garlic, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese in a bowl (I suppose you could mix it on the counter instead of in a bowl, but it might get very messy.)

6. To keep the mixture from running out of the squash, I took a pair of tongs, turned over the squash and sliced a bit off the bottom to make a flat surface. Then set it back onto the roasting plate, filled them 3/4 full with the mixture and put them back into the oven.

I lowered the temperature to 325F at this point so that I didn't scald the mix.
It will set up in about 30-40 minutes. Test them for consistency around this point; you can pull them out earlier if you wanted more of a soup consistency or longer for a more firmly set pudding.

There was extra mix just as Ms. Swanson mentioned in her version, so I put it in a small oven safe bowl and baked it along with the rest of the squash.

7. Place on serving dish and grate white cheddar over the squash. I used a 2yr Black Wax Cabot cheddar cheese recommended to me by Jennifer… and it was spectacular in combination with the slightly sweet pudding and acorn squash mix. (I didn't brown the cheese in the broiler, but you can if that makes you happy.)

A tart white wine (not too sweet) or even a apple cider reduction drizzled on top would be really good with this… or go simply with the sliced apples that we had on the side.