Sabbats Almanac: Samhain to Mabon - Kristoffer Hughes 2018

Feasts and Treats by Blake Octavian Blair
Mabon

Blake Octavian Blair

MABON, THE AUTUMN EQUINOX, is now upon us! This second of the three harvest festivals usually arrives to us along with the first visible signs of autumn. Many areas of the country are starting to see sporadic cooler days, signs of summer heat and humidity breaking slowly, and the bright crisp blue autumn sky and the occasional bit of foliage beginning to show sneak previews of small patches of golden oranges and yellows mixed with fiery reds. Along with those changes come tasty treats of the harvest such as squashes, root veggies, and a bounty of apples! Sweet, tart, bright crisp, red, green, yellow, and oh so delicious apples! Here is a menu to take full advantage of the culinary delights presented to us at Mabon! Be sure to bedeck your feast table with the colors of this autumnal harvest with ornamental squashes, beautiful apples, and accent touches of that deep vibrant hue of blue so commonly seen in the sky on crisp sunny autumn days.

Roasted Root Vegetable Medley with Tempeh

Autumn is the perfect season for integrating root vegetables into your menus, and this dish is always an autumnal favorite in our house. It lends a hearty robust flavor sure to bring it to comfort food status on crisp autumn days making it the perfect entrée for an Autumn Equinox feast. The best part is that it is adaptable to whatever vegetables you can find available seasonally in your local grocery store and neighborhood farmers markets.

Prep time:15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves: 3—4

1 lb multi colored carrots (or regular if not available), peeled

1 large bunch broccoli

2 medium parsnips, peeled

1 lb cremini mushrooms, quartered

1 lb butternut squash

4 tbsp canola oil, divided

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp all-purpose seasoning

1 cup rice medley

1 lb tempeh, crumbled

Begin by peeling the carrots and parsnips. Then proceed to chop vegetables into roughly uniform pieces.

Placed chopped vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil, salt, and all-purpose seasoning to taste. Toss all ingredients until the vegetables are well coated in oil.

Spread vegetables into an even single layer on a large baking sheet.

Cook in a 425 degree F preheated oven for 45—50 minutes until vegetables achieve a golden color.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook the rice medley. I choose a brown rice medley, however, you can substitute the rice of your choice. As the cooking time and instructions for different kinds and mixtures of rice vary, be sure to consult the package instructions of the rice for cooking times and ratios. However, for planning, a general rule of thumb is that most brown rice mixtures will have a cooking time ranging from 35—40 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, add the remaining olive oil and the crumbled tempeh in a medium skillet on medium heat. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes, then stir, then let sit to sauté for an additional five minutes or until golden brown color is achieved. Then remove from heat.

The rice and the vegetables should be finished cooking at approximately the same time. Serve the vegetables over a bed of the rice medley and then top with the sautéed tempeh.

Slow Cooker Chili Mac

One of my favorite things about the start of autumn is the promise of beautiful crisp autumn days. Nothing is better on a crisp autumn day than the alluring smell of dinner in a slow cooker wafting through your home all day as you enjoy the autumn air with your windows open. This recipe is perfect because the cooking of it is mostly inactive, allowing you to do minimal prep and spend the rest of your equinox enjoying the things we are celebrating our gratitude for at Mabon.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 3.5 hours (mostly inactive)

Serves: 4—6

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

½ tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

½ large sweet onion, chopped

1 15.5-ounce can black beans

1 15.5-ounce can seasoned chili beans

1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans

1 11-ounce can Mexican corn

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes

2 tbsp brown sugar, packed

¼ cup barbecue sauce

Hot sauce (to taste)

Water (optional as desired for consistency)

1 lb pasta

Salt (to taste)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add canola oil to a medium skillet and heat on medium high heat. To the heated skillet add the cumin, chili powder, crushed garlic, and cayenne pepper. Allow to toast for one minute and then add in the chopped onion and stir to coat with the spices. Allow the onion to cook, stirring occasionally, for five to seven minutes, or until translucent.

Now, into a five-quart slow cooker, add the onions, black beans, seasoned chili beans, kidney beans, Mexican corn, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, and hot sauce. Stir and mix thoroughly until all ingredients seem evenly distributed. You can adjust the consistency of the chili by adding a small amount of water as desired. This is not required nor always needed. Set crockpot to high and cook for a minimum of three hours, stirring occasionally. You can allow this to cook and simmer several more hours if you like, as the longer it simmers the more the flavors will meld together. Once chili is hot all the way through, you can turn to low or warm setting to maintain heat until serving.

Twenty minutes or so prior to serving, you can begin to prepare the pasta. Put a few pinches of salt into a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 9—12 minutes until pasta is al dente. Drain.

To serve, fill bowls with pasta, top with heaping scoops of chili, and add shredded cheese to the top.