Samhuinn and Irish Colcannon

 

Happy Samhuinn! Happy Halloween!

 

Hallowe’en is one of my favorite holidays. I love the pumpkins, the history, the books (I start getting picture books from the library on October 1) and the sweets. As a kid it was such a treat to dress up, go trick or treating in my neighborhood, stay up past my bedtime, get to be outside - in the dark - and be kinda scared but safely. And get lots of candy! We didn’t get candy often, usually just for Halloween, Valentine’s and Easter. And my mom would store our stash and dole it out sparingly. So our Halloween candy usually lasted into spring.

Now that we are a family dealing with food allergies, Halloween candy is bittersweet. My son gets so excited over his collection, but so little can be safely eaten. One year he was really upfront and informed all the neighbors that he had an allergy and did they have any candy without peanuts or nuts? Some of them were quite accommodating and some were flustered. A few were apologetic, they had nothing else to offer. The next year he tried a different tack. He took whatever candy was offered, and then looked for kids around him who might be willing to swap with him. Many of the kids were accommodating, a couple were not receptive, and one stole the piece of candy he held out and ran off. There were some great social lessons that night, both positive and negative. This year my son accepted what was offered and asked me to swap him out from my safe stash. So I'll be researching candy brands on the internet over the next several days, prolly starting here for nut warnings and then calling manufacturers directly to ask about egg ingredients. (You would be absolutely amazed how many places egg whites turn up, including mixed cocktail drinks, popsicles and some candies, esp. marshmallow based in my experience.) And then I’ll swap out with treats like Surf Sweets gummies or YummyEarth lollipops. The unsafe or high risk candy will likely go to work with my hubby, where he tells me that he'll share it with co-workers. Hmmm...

Rituals have changed so much since I was a kid. My kids still go trick or treating, but our city picks the week-end before Halloween, for 3 hours in the middle of the afternoon. And not every house participates so sometimes there is a block of walking to get to the next house, instead of going door-to-door. Not scary, but still very social. Jack-o’-lanterns have been replaced by orange strung lights or electric decorations. One house this year had a large set up on their front lawn: an inflatable black horse with skeleton driver pulling an eerie wagon – complete with wicked giggling and neighing that had my youngest about leaping out of his skin. Other houses had stationary (quiet) tombstones set up with funny epitaphs.

My neighbors and kids have been very creative with decorations and costume choices. This year a boy wearing an “iPhone” costume got a lot of attention (it was just a sandwich board design, but accurate graphic print). There were several sleek ninjas complete with katanas. A few firefighters. I saw an adorable toddler in a chef’s costume complete with the tall white poofy hat. But the best, hands down costumes were a boy and his dad. They were both wearing dark suit jackets, dark slacks, white shirts & ties. The dad had mirror sunglasses, with a Bluetooth earpiece on. They looked quite distinctive. "Men in Black?" I guessed. Better! The boy was "a future president" and his dad was his Secret Service detail. Awesome.

Amazing bonfire photo from Celtic Mythology FaceBook Page, October 22, 2012

I never knew as a kid that Halloween is one of the oldest holidays and that our modern rituals are based quite closely on ancient practices. And I was delighted, when I started researching, to discover that the Celts played a huge role in how we celebrate Halloween. Basically, Samhuinn (gaelic for summer’s end) is a harvest festival. And more. For the Celts it signified a new year and incorporated the start of the dark days of winter along with an acknowledgement of death. There was a belief that on Samhuinn the doors to the otherworld opened and the spirits of those who had passed could move among the living again in this world, for a night. There were also superstitions around mischievous or malevolent spirits. Bonfires were burned - and still are today - to not only symbolize the sun, but also to purify and strengthen the people. It was an ancient practice for all the townsfolk gathered to light a torch from the central bonfire and carry that flame back to light their homes. The Beltane Fire Society, a Scottish community organisation and charity, puts on the Samhuin Fiore Festival on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh annually on October 31. They celebrate the old traditions in a parade featuring guises and fire, as well as fine arts & entertainment. Boy oh boy do I wish I could see this in person. Scotland is at the top of my vacation fantasies. (For more specific details on the history and traditions behind Halloween, check out this entertaining and informative website  http://www.chalicecentre.net/samhain.htm and don't miss the amazing art work and academic treasures on the Celtic Mythology FaceBook page.) 

Photo credit: Wikipedia; Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833; inspired by a Halloween party he attended in Blarney, Ireland

Colcannon
I’ve chosen to share a dish that is associated with Halloween in Ireland and parts of Scotland. Colcannon is a blend of boiled potatoes and cabbage. Every recipe also includes onions, butter and milk. Then there are a slew of variations done to personal tastes. Some cooks add a parsnip into the mix, some use kale, some use scallions, some use cream, some add bacon, some season with mace or parsley and others with just salt and pepper. I’ve perused many recipes to combine ideas and ingredients into my version.  At the end of my recipe, I have suggestions if you’d prefer vegetarian, vegan or dairy-free options.

My version uses cabbage and I boil with my potatoes. I have tried sautéing the shredded cabbage with the onions, but I wasn’t wild about the still very crunchy texture of the cabbage. It wasn’t bad, but there was a definite difference between the smooth & creamy potatoes and the slightly jarring crunch of the cabbage. I prefer the overall effect to be smooth and creamy. Using kale will provide a stark and lovely color contrast, as kale holds a deep green color even after cooking. However, I’ve also found kale to retain its crunch even after long cooking times, so I’d suggest cutting the kale into small pieces and cooking separately, as it will likely take longer to soften than the potatoes. My version also adds a bit of mace, an unusual spice which is the outer coating of nutmeg, ground-up. I find it a bit exotic and like the taste. Be aware that it is a unique taste and a little goes a long way.

There is a very old Irish tradition to hide coins or trinkets in the mash for divination. The person whose serving includes a ring will marry within the year. The person whose serving contains a coin will find wealth. The girl who finds a thimble will remain a spinster, while the boy who finds a button will remain a bachelor. Another serving tradition is to mound the mash on the plate and make a little hollow in the center, deep enough to hold a generous portion of melted butter. The eater than took little forkfuls from the outer edges and dipped each mouthful. If you’d like to try this style, perhaps cut the butter in the mash? That sounds very rich for my tastes! But anyway you try colcannon, do enjoy. 

photo credit: Wikipedia; not all versions have this high contrast of color, but all are creamy

Cathi’s Version of Colcannon

Ingredients:

5-6 potatoes, depending on size, large dice

1 parsnip, peeled and diced (optional)

1/3 head of small cabbage, shredded (Savoy recommended)

3 strips bacon

½ red onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick butter

¼ tsp mace (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Up to ½ cup milk (add just enough for smooth consistency)

Fresh or dried parsely

Directions:

1. Fill large pot with water and a pinch of coarse salt. Bring to boiling. Drop in potatoes, parsnips, and cabbage. Cook for ~15-20 minutes, until veggies are fork tender.

2. While veggies cook, heat up a fry pan. Fry bacon to render fat, then remove crispy bacon onto plate lined with paper towels. Chop when cooled enough to handle.

3. Sauté onions in bacon fat (or use 2 Tbsp olive oil) until translucent. Add in garlic and give a stir, then remove from heat.

4. Drain water carefully from pot or use a metal sieve. On top of hot veggies in pot, pop in butter. It should start melting. Now mash until smooth.

5. Season with mace, salt & pepper. Add in just enough milk to get a smooth and thick mash consistency. Cabbage should still be visible and mixed uniformly throughout the pot.

6. Fold bacon mixture into mash.

Serve with a parsley garnish.

FOR VEGETARIAN VERSION: leave out bacon entirely; can use smoked paprika if desired for smoky flavor. Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil.

FOR VEGAN VERSION: leave out bacon entirely; sauté onions & garlic in olive oil; and use vegetable broth or soy/rice milk for liquid.

ALLERGEN INFO: contains dairy (butter, milk)

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATION: To replace butter use a dairy-free solid fat (like margarine). To replace milk use soy or rice milk, or use a bit of broth (vegetable if you’d like vegetarian, chicken if you’d like meat).

Pumpkin White Chocolate Muffins

A small, sweet, dense & moist muffin that tastes a lot like pumpkin pie

My oldest son is a wicked picky eater, but he really likes these muffins. Pumpkin in a muffin counts as a vegetable serving, right? Ditto for zucchini muffins - right? Ah well, these are quite tasty and a healthier snack than some other options. They are also great for breakfast. And they will have your kitchen smelling so inviting and holiday-spicy.

A note about baking egg-free

These muffins rise without eggs due to a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the buttermilk. If you don’t use buttermilk, or need to avoid dairy, experiment with using vinegar to create the same reaction. I haven’t tried this yet in this recipe, but I use 1 Tbsp of vinegar in my wacky cake recipes, which call for 1½ cups of flour. The oil and the pumpkin puree help to add binding and moisture.

A note about chocolates and baking chips

For these muffins, I use white chocolate chips made by the Vermont Nut-free ChocolateCompany. (Check out their website here for complete disclosures and ingredient lists.) They are a nut-free/peanut-free designated company & processing facility. However, they do use dairy in their white and milk chocolate varieties and the dairy poses a cross-contamination risk in all products, due to shared processing equipment. Additionally, they make truffles and fudge products that contain eggs. However, their solid chocolate products, including their baking chips, are not processed on the same equipment with eggs. So I feel safe using them for my son, with his peanut, treenut & egg allergies. Every family has different sensitivities and different comfort levels, so please use your own judgment or check in with your allergist if you have questions or concerns.

If you need to avoid additional allergens, try the Enjoy Life brand for chocolate chips – they avoid the top 8 allergens and are gluten-free. (See their website here) Or look for a vegan variety of white chips. There are several brands on the market which offer vegan white chocolate chips; however, I wasn’t able to find one that didn’t have cross-contamination warnings for other major allergens. We don’t use any products that pose cross-contamination on peanuts or treenuts; so “processed on shared equipment” or “processed in same facility” are off limits for my family. Read labels carefully.

 A note about something entirely different – the legend of the jack o’lantern

Photo from MarthaStewart.com; Turnip Lanterns, 2007.

 The tradition of carving a jack o’lantern originated with the Celtic peoples. The folks over at Education.com posted this educational article sharing an Irish folktale, about stingy Jack trying to outwit the devil - and getting burned in the deal - along with some history and details of how the vegetable lantern morphed over time. Based on the ancient folktale, Irish and Scottish folks carved out vegetables like turnips, beets, rutabagas, potatoes or cabbage cores, with enough space to drop in a glowing coal ember for a portable lantern. When the Irish and Scots immigrants came over to America, they brought their jack o’lantern tradition with them, but discovered the native pumpkin squashes much easier to carve. I have many fond childhood memories of carving jack o’lanterns, especially to set out on the porch on Halloween night. With real wax candles and spooky flickering faces lit up. Didn’t appreciate the seeds and goopy, stringy pulp so much, but always found it worth digging out to get the final product. 

I also highly recommend reading the children’s book The Night of the Pumpkinheads by Michael Rosen and illustrated by master carver Hugh McMahon. The humorous story features line drawings and photos of  artistically thrilling jack o'lantern creations using orange, green & white pumpkins, along with a variety of vegetables. (One illustration can be previewed here). Not only does the author get really creative with the jack o’lantern names, but you just won’t think about vegetables the same way!

Now on to celebrating pumpkins and spice and Halloween:

Recipe adapted from Isa Chandra at Post Punk Kitchen Blog - originally posted on November 8, 2009.

Makes 12-14 small muffins.

 

Pumpkin & White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups wholewheat pastry flour

3/4 cups demerara sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 pinches coarse or kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 cup pureed pumpkin (canned or fresh)

2 Tsp molasses

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Put in paper liners or lightly grease muffin tin/s.
 
2. Whisk together dry ingredients, including spices in medium to large mixing bowl.
 
3. In a second bowl, pour in wet ingredients. Whisk together to smoothly incorporate.
 
4. Turn out the wet ingredients into the dry mix bowl. Use spatula to mix and combine to form a batter.
 
5. Fold in white chocolate chips, using spatula.
 
6. Fill the muffin cups pretty much full. My muffins did not rise much.
 
7. Put muffin tin in oven, close door, turn down the temp to 400° for baking.
 
8. Bake for ~20 minutes, until they’ve risen and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

ALLERGEN INFO: contains wheat and milk – both the buttermilk and the chips.

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: The original recipe called for soy milk; I haven’t tried it, but rice or coconut milk may work as well. To replace wheat use a gluten-free baking mix. To replace chips - there are some vegan white chocolate chips on the market, but I wasn’t able to find one that didn’t have cross-contamination warnings for other major allergens. Read labels carefully. Or use a milk-free version of chocolate chips, like Enjoy Life brand.

Pumpkin Vegetable Soup

An earthy & hearty meal in a bowl, with a zing of ginger  

I bought a cute little pumpkin from a local farmer (see photo above) and then picked up 3 more at my sons’ school fall festival. Now I need to figure out how best to use them... I’m reminded of one of my family’s favorite books about Halloween – The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis. Two brothers find and loose a HUGE pumpkin from its vine on a steep, steep hill. It proceeds to roll and bump (and mow down) a couple family members who are too slow to get out of the way, distracted as they are by thoughts of what Granny will make out of the pumpkin – pie, soup, or bread? The rhyming story has a melodic, repeating refrain that is so very fun to read aloud: “…came that thumpety, bumpety, thumpin’, bumpin’, round and roll-y runaway pumpkin!” Irresistable.

So, I’m going to make soup first. Since my pumpkins are still on display, I’m going to cheat and use canned puree. But you can use fresh if you have it. I’ll experiment with roasting and pureeing later in the season.

Before my sister introduced me to this vegetable soup, a decade ago, I really only thought about pumpkin for Thanksgiving pie. And the occasional seasonal muffin. But after opening the door to savory possibilities, now I really enjoy experimenting with different spices and flavors and using pumpkin in its veggy, squash state.

For this particular soup, I do use some pie spices, however I don’t sweeten the pumpkin. I find the sweetness of the carrots, corn, and sweet potatoes are a great complement to the earthiness of the squash. And the distinct color of the pumpkin really comes through in the broth. This is a chunky, hearty soup that easily shines as the main course. Feel free to complement it with a salad and/or cornbread. I did serve it once as a starter on Thanksgiving Day and found it to be a bit too filling, since we had turkey and all the fixings. It could be a great addition if you’re planning on a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast. I like making it to go with Thanksgiving leftovers instead – serve it with a turkey sandwich or throw some chopped turkey and celery slices into the broth.

(Adapted from a recipe for Harvest Pumpkin Soup, given me by my sister - Thanks, Beth!)

 

Pumpkin Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

½ red onion, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1-15oz can

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground allspice

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 cups broth*

2 yukon gold potatoes, finely diced

1 sweet potato, finely diced

~1/2 lb of baby carrots, sliced

1 14oz can of kernel corn (or 2 cups frozen)

Several cranks of black peppermill

*NOTES: For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth. I use Celefibr™ bouillon cubes, which are both vegetarian and gluten-free; either the chicken flavor or the vegetable medley works well for this soup. For a non-vegetarian version, use chicken broth.*

Directions:

1. Saute onion in olive oil. Add pumpkin, garlic, and spices. Stir with wooden spoon.
2. Dilute pumpkin mixture with the broth. Stir until smooth.
3. Bring up to boil, then add in potatoes and carrots.
4. Add in corn (with liquid if using canned corn.) Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until veggies are fork tender. Add salt/pepper to taste, if desired. Black pepper recommended.

Optional Creamy Variation – my sister Beth sautés her onion in butter and adds 1 Tbsp of sugar to the pumpkin puree and only a ½ tsp of paprika. She leaves out the sweet potato. She adds in ½ cup of cream at the very end, right before serving.

ALLERGEN INFO: contains corn; creamy variation contains dairy

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: omit corn, could replace with finely diced parsnip or other sweet vegetable; omit dairy, can leave out entirely or replace butter with margarine and cream with coconut milk