This week on ‘The Rambling Rose’ vlog I began my Ostara celebrations by baking up some scrumptious lemon and thyme tea cakes and a sweet violet lemonade made with magical herbs and edible flowers from my garden. I also try my hand at one of my favourite crafts for this sabbath – pretty painted eggs in a traditional floral folk style! So, be sure to watch the video here, and don’t forget to like and subscribe if you’d like to see more.
Here in the Southern Hemisphere, we celebrate the pagan sabbath Ostara – otherwise known as the Spring Equinox – on or around September 21st, while our friends in the north are celebrating Mabon. The turning of the Wheel of the Year, has been recognised by rural agrarian peoples for centuries so it is not just witches and faeries who celebrate these special days, but farmers and gardeners and anyone who simply loves being in nature... and of course, the plants and animals.
Perhaps it could be said that they celebrate more than anyone! Especially when it comes to Ostara! I see daffodils nodding their heads, as if wearing ruffled Elizabethan collars of pure sunshine, masses of cherry blossoms, blue hyacinths, fluffy camellia and the scent of sweet magnolia on the breeze.
Moving from the city to lead a slower, simpler life in the countryside, and settling in this place with a Victorian-esque climate, I have fallen in love with the changing seasons and felt more connected than ever to the earth and her magical rhythms and cycles. The pagan festivals and their crafty, colourful rituals captured my imagination, and I feel like this is what led me to the green witch path. If nothing else, celebrating the changes we see in our gardens every six weeks or so, is just a fun way to make life more enchanted. And I just love any excuse to bake, craft and celebrate... and let my inner child enjoy some whimsy and wonder. So, this year, I decided on a beautiful picnic among the blossom trees, fancying myself like Anne of Green Gables just revelling in the Spring sunshine. She always used to say ‘it provides so much scope for the imagination’ and I adore that.
So, my lovely wildflowers, here are the recipes for you to enjoy:
Violet Lemonade
Ingredients
1 cup of violet flowers
2 cups of boiling water
2 tbsp of raw honey
1 cup lemon juice
Method
Simply add the violets to a teapot and pour over the boiling water. Add a generous helping of raw honey and stir until thoroughly combined. Place the teapot in the refrigerator to cool for a spell. When cool, add to a stoppered bottle and pour over the lemon juice. Give it a little shake. If the lemonade has not turned the violet colour you desire, a few butterfly pea flowers will do the trick nicely!
Lemon & Thyme Mini Bundt Cakes
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
a handful of freshly picked thyme leaves
2 lemons, zested
115g unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp Greek yogurt
60 ml fresh lemon juice
for the lemon glaze
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
a handful of freshly picked pansies
Method
Prepare the bundt pan and pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). With room temperature butter, brush the moulds of your mini bundt tin.
Add the thyme and lemon zest into the bowl of sugar and rub it between your finger tips for one minute until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Next, in a large bowl, add the butter and sugar with the thyme and lemon zest, and cream them together with an electric hand-held mixer fitted with the beaters on medium-high speed, for 5 minutes until pale.
Reduce the speed to low and add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until well incorporated. Scrape down the base and sides of the bowl. Sift into the mixing bowl half of the flour and baking powder and mix on low speed until just combined. Add into the bowl the yogurt and lemon juice and mix again. Lastly, sift in the remaining flour and using a rubber spatula, fold through until a few flour streaks remain.
Either scoop the batter into the prepared bundt moulds or fill a piping bag with the batter and pipe into the moulds until they are two-thirds full. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for ten minutes before turning out the bundt pan onto the wire rack. Give the pan a slight tap and the bundt cakes should drop out. Let the cakes cool completely and then decorate with the lemon glaze and pansies. The perfect faerie picnic awaits!
I so hope you enjoy these recipes and, if you’d like to see the full recipe, picnic, and crafting the painted eggs for my Ostara altar, please head over to my YouTube channel ‘The Rambling Rose’. I appreciate every comment and would love to hear how you went with the recipes and your own Ostara crafts. Blessed be, sweet souls and a very happy Spring Equinox.
All my love, Nancy xx