For those witches who have to remain completely closeted, or simply are very busy on Imbolc, this meal is easily foraged from spring greens and grocery foods, and can be made for a solitary lunch or family meal.
This meal actually featured heavily in the French family with whom I lived when I studied abroad in northern France. If they were busy or feeling lazy. This was one of their go-to meals.
The main portion of the meal features dairy/homemade bread which celebrates the saint/goddess Brigid. She who stirs nature, helps bring forth birth, nursing, and the awakening of lifeâdomesticity, fertility, and the sacred hearth are very important for this Sabbath, thus milk, honey, grain stores and spring greens are traditional foods to celebrate Imbolc or Candalmasârepresenting the first beginnings of spring.
Fresh, homemade bread is easy to make, I use this recipe here, especially if using a bread machine!
Working with yeasts, and other natural rising agents in food, are a great way to connect with elemental air, especially for a kitchen or hearth witch. I make bread every other day and greatly enjoy baking, so this is actually a frequent meal we eat in our house!
The other three ingredients of goat Brie (or cow Brie), fresh rosemary, and honey exchange tasty molecules while under heat in an oven to provide an unexpectedly rich main course that is well balanced by fresh greens.
If youâre in an apartment or do not own your land, be careful when foraging native greens that they are not growing near road or sewage run-offs, but if you are growing in containers or have your own wild space, it may be easier to forage non-grocery store greens.
The earliest edible spring greens that sprout in my region involve Japanese Hawkeye, Chickweed, Dandelion, and my container-grown red leaf kale and nasturtium. The tomatoes in my photo are also from my garden, and are only possible because of my sub-tropical region. They are the last of my Fall tomatoes to survive and ripen indoors before the entire plant froze last weekđ¤Śââď¸
For this recipe youâll need:
Bread slices (preferably homemade, it just tastes SO much better)
Brie-style cheese (goat, cow, or sheep)
Fresh spring greens (earliest spring greens can be: chickweed, chicory, wood Sorel, French Sorel, wild onion leaves, dandelions, Japanese Hawkeye, etc. Domestic greens can be: kale, spinach, lettuce, nasturtium, and baby arugula)
Other local fixings like early berries, tomatoes, squash blossoms, violets, etc.
If youâre a REAL cheese hound, a sprinkle of feta on your salad is tasty
Toast your bread slices with a few wedges of Brie cheese and drizzle of honey for 3 minutes, then add sprigs of rosemary in each wedge for another 7-10 minutes depending on whether youâre cooking in a toaster or conventional oven.
Gather and shred your salad in the mean time.
Easiest meal ever, yet it symbolizes early spring perfectly đżđŻđ§đĽđĽŹ
If anyone asks, itâs a popular French lunch!