Handfasting

by Mary Neasham

  Goose This would most definitely have been a popular choice for feasting due to the sheer numbers of them kept by the ancestors, but not necessarily for hand-fasting unless held in winter months, the traditional time for eating goose.

  It is a fatty bird, though, and not considered suitable for those watching their weight. For this reason it requires very little additional fat to cook in.

  It’s not to everyone’s taste, though, so check first and provide an alternative dish for those not keen. As with any fowl, goose can be spit-roast, but you may require several for a large feast. I personally would avoid this method as goose is fatty and drips profusely, which smells unpleasant over an open fire.

  As a basic guide, cook it for the same time as you would turkey but use less fat. I would serve it either with a fresh spring salad or with roasted root vegetables, depending on the season. Younger birds only need fifteen minutes per pound plus an additional fifteen minutes, with older birds requiring slower roasting allowing one and a quarter hours for the first pound and twenty five minutes for each extra pound on a lower heat.

  Salmon and Pasta Fresh pasta

  Cooked salmon

  Pine nuts

  Dill

  Fresh garden peas

  Lemon

  Salt and pepper.

  Decide in advance how much pasta you will need. Simmer for three to five minutes in salted water then drain. Add chopped cooked salmon, pine nuts and peas. Garnish with dill and a squirt of lemon. Season to taste.

  This gives you a simple dish that you can prepare in advance and one that, with the exception of the pasta, is traditional for this country. Salmon was a common fish to use at feasts for the common folk, with pike being reserved for the rich. Personally I think the poor got the better deal but some would disagree.

  If you want to be more authentic then use a mixture of pulses, beans and nuts instead of the pasta.

  Cold Ham and Salad By purchasing a pre-cooked large leg of boiled or roasted ham you can save yourself many hours of cooking and preparation. This works well with all types of cooked meats and can be served with a variety of optional side dishes.

  I would try to make sure there was enough bread for everyone and add salad leaves and pre-cooked beans and pulses with mixed fresh herbs, oil and seasoning. By including locally found nuts and fruits you will be copying in essence the ancestors’ cooking methods without having to scour the countryside for ingredients not readily available.

  Vegetarian Feasting Many people these days are committed vegetarians and pagans are no exception. For the poorer of our pagan or heathen ancestors, who made up the majority of the population, meat was a luxury and many had to rely on vegetarian foods making up the bulk of their diet. Pottages of all sorts were the most popular, and these could range from a thin vegetable soup to a rich broth or stew of vegetables and pulses.

  Although it was unlikely that a feast would be exclusively vegetarian, that doesn’t mean we can’t use the methods employed to create a vegetarian dish suitable for your hand-fasting and your vegetarian guests.

  There is a running joke amongst friends of mine who have lived on protest sites and in communes that once you have one vegetarian in your midst then you all invariably end up eating vegetarian. This is because almost everyone will be prepared to eat tasty veggie meals but you will never get the vegetarian to eat meat.

  These days it makes sense to avoid much of the meat on the market, from a pagan perspective. If we are to revere mother earth and all her creatures how can we justify eating conventional factory-farmed hormone- and additive-ridden meat that comes from unhappy animals forced to live an unnatural life for our benefit? So without droning on about unethical meat production let’s look at a couple of vegetarian alternatives.

  Vegetable Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

  Although we do eat meat in our family this is one of our favourite vegetarian dishes. Allow about 1 lb of vegetables per person. Potatoes

  Swede

  Carrots

  Cauliflower

  Onions (one onion per 2 lb of vegetables)

  Garlic (one clove per 2 lb of vegetables)

  Oil or vegetarian butter (2 oz per 1 lb of vegetables) Seasoning (to taste)

  Vegetable stock (about 1 pint per 2 lb of vegetables) Vegetable bouillon (about one tablespoon per 1 lb of vegetables) Dumplings or crust (for quantities follow instructions on suet packet)

  Vegetarian suet

  Flour

  Salt and pepper

  Finely chopped rosemary

  Water

  Wash, peel and chop all vegetables to roughly the same size, fairly small. Using a large cauldron or pot, add enough butter to saute them in and melt. Add salt and pepper. Add chopped onion and garlic. Soften until lightly golden. Add chopped vegetables. Allow them to saute´ in butter, adding more if required, keeping a close eye out to avoid burning, and turn occasionally for about twenty minutes over a low heat. Add stock and bouillon. Put on lid and allow to simmer gently for up to three quarters of an hour, making sure the vegetables stay firm. Make up dumplings or dough as per normal, adding the chopped rosemary to taste. Ideally you want to see a few flecks in each dumpling—not too much, as it can be over-powering. Remove cauldron or pot lid. Add dumplings to top of stew about twenty minutes before serving, or roll out to form a crusty lid. They are done once they go a golden brown on top and have a crusty outside with a light and fluffy inside.

  This can be served by ladle into bowls with hot crusty bread.

  Vegetarian Kebabs Shallots

  Courgettes

  Peppers

  Tofu pieces pre-marinaded in a mix of soy sauce or a rich vegetable stock.

  Vegetarian cheese

  Allow enough for one kebab per person. Wash all vegetables. Peel outer layers of shallots or small onions. Slice courgettes into chunks. Cut peppers (I like to use a mixture of red, yellow and green) into chunky pieces. Slide these alternately, including the tofu pieces, on to your kebab sticks. Cook over barbecue or fire, turning frequently until all the vegetables are cooked. It doesn’t matter if they become a little singed on the edges—it adds to the taste. Grate cheese and sprinkle a small amount over top of each kebab just before serving, so it just starts to melt. You need to be careful with this as if it melts too much it ruins the effect. Season and serve hot.

  A Herb Most Sacred

  Allium sativum or garlic, as it is more commonly known, is very much a food we either love or hate with equal passion. This most sacred of herbs was used by most of the ancestors for flavouring and medicinal uses. I make no apology for including it in some of the above recipes as it deserves to be there. In its freshest and purest form, garlic leaves no odour on the breath, so cooking it alone is often a good way of taking it. Our British ancestors would have used wild garlic with its spring onion type of bulb and pretty white star flowers. It makes a new and enlivening addition to any savoury dish. Whatever you do don’t go pulling up wild garlic from private land without permission.

  Although it is thought to have originated from Siberia, garlic can now be found growing over almost the entire globe, with the French being most famous for using it. Up until the fifteenth century it had humorous associations, being thought to promote laughter by its consumption. In ancient Egypt it was once used as a form of currency and many of the pyramid builders were fed large quantities due to its ability to fend off disease. Even the ancient gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome either loved it or loathed it: Circe feared it and Ulysses made use of this fear by waving it in her face to escape from her. Throughout history it has been used as both a love potion and as a means of warding off the evil eye. Hence the association with vampires!

  It strengthens our immune systems, thins the blood, wards off mosquitoes and gnats, is disputably an aphrodisiac and, most of all to those who love it, tastes sublime.

  So for all the above reasons it occurs in these recipes, but for those of you who loathe it then just substitute it for spring onions or s
trong shallots.

  Dairy Food Milk products were widely consumed by the ancestors with cows’ milk being most highly prized. Full-cream milk was rarely drunk, as it was considered too rich for human digestion and a waste.

  Semi- or fully-skimmed milk or whey was the most commonly consumed, with goats’ milk used for invalids and poorer people, and ewes’ milk in sheep country such as Wales.

  Butter was churned and salted heavily to preserve it, but was used sparingly as it was quite a luxury.

  Cheeses of all sorts were made but hard cheese was a favourite as it kept longer, with cream cheeses being eaten in early spring when there was a glut of milk available after calving and lambing.

  Simple custards were popular and would have probably formed part of the feast dessert created from curds and whey with egg and spices. They differed slightly from those of today, but having custard tart for pudding would be most appropriate for a Beltane hand-fasting.

  A Lammas or summer hand-fasting could use seasonally available fruits such as apples, blackcurrants and blueberries, with a soft sponge summer pudding and cold egg custard being very in keeping with days of old.

  To make a simple egg custard for four people (you can multiply the ingredients for larger numbers or make several custards) you need two large free-range organic eggs, one tablespoon of caster sugar, three quarters of a pint of fresh semiskimmed milk and a nutmeg to grate over.

  Beat the eggs and add the sugar and pre-warmed milk. Stir for a few minutes to allow the sugar to melt, but don’t let the milk get too hot or boil—the eggs will curdle if you do. Pour into a pre-greased dish and grate some nutmeg on top. Stand the custard dish in another slightly larger one half filled with water, and bake in the centre of a low oven (275–3008F or gas mark 1–2) and cook for one and a quarter hours.

  An alternative to this dish is an egg custard tart where you place the custard in a dish containing pre-cooked shortcrust pastry.

  Simnel Cake

  Warning this is a very nutty cake. For those allergic to nuts choose a rich fruit cake without them instead. 8 oz almond paste

  6 oz butter

  6 oz honey

  grated rind of half a lemon

  1 oz ground almonds

  7 oz plain flour

  1 oz cornflour

  1 level teaspoon of mixed spice

  3 eggs

  1 tablespoon brandy (optional)

  12 oz currants

  2 oz candied peel

  1 egg white

  Roll out half the marzipan to 7 inches diameter.

  Mix butter and honey, add lemon rind and ground almonds. Sift plain flour, cornflour and spice, and add to creamed mixture. Add fruit and candied peel.

  Put half mixture into pre-greased 7 inch tin.

  Lay rolled marzipan on top.

  Add rest of mixture.

  Bake in centre of moderate oven (3258F, gas mark 3) for 2–3 hours.

  When cool, smear with honey, add other half of rolled marzipan, and brown under a grill.

  Dust with icing sugar and sprinkling of cinnamon.

  Serving dishes and implements Even by the bronze and iron ages, wood was the most readily available material for cups, platters and dishes for the poor, unless they lived in a clay area and had access to cheap pottery.

  Pewter became more popular and readily available by medieval times. I wouldn’t advise you to use old pewter as it contains high quantities of lead, so use modern pewter—it’s much safer and if kept clean can shine as well as silver, hence it’s previous reputation as the poor man’s silver.

  If authenticity concerns you, then using wood, pottery, bronze, iron or pewter would be totally in keeping.

  Forks are a relatively modern invention. Our ancestors just used a knife and fingers to eat, so you can follow this tradition if you wish. But bear in mind some people might have difficulty with it, and have a few forks handy just in case.

  For those on a northern path, drinking horns are entirely appropriate and can be for individual use, or communal use if you have one large enough to pass around. The rest of us can use wooden cups (without handles—they were more like little bowls), pewter or ceramic, as glass didn’t make its appearance in everyday use until much later in our history. If you have a large enough goblet it can be used as a loving cup for the couple to drink from first, whilst it is then passed ceremonially around your congregation. You can use glass, though, as it might be your only option, especially if you are dealing with large numbers, and many companies rent them out for special occasions.

  Traditionally a man would prepare the feast, with women being responsible for the beverages, which you can also emulate if you wish and probably do already without realising it every time you have a barbecue!

  Drink If you already indulge in home brewing of any type, whether of wine or ale, then I expect you will be creating your own special hand-fasting brew.

  But if not brewing specialists in your own right, then enlist the use of someone you know or can be recommended to you for the occasion.

  I am not going to attempt to give anyone instant brewing lessons, as I wouldn’t really know where to start and there are a great number of books available for you to read already on the market, but I have included a mead recipe at the end of this chapter. What I will say is drink whatever you like, but if your hand-fasting is to be of the spiritual type then showing reverence to mother earth by only buying organically produced beverages will show the greatest respect—and they taste better, too.

  Most off-licences and supermarkets sell organic wine and beer that can be used, and is not that different in price from the alternatives more commonly bought these days. It is nice to find what is available on your doorstep and searching out smaller breweries can be very worthwhile, as can attending any of the many real-ale festivals held around the country. These can be useful sources, often allowing you a taste of what’s on offer before you buy.

  Spirits and all their many derivatives are fairly modern inventions and not really suitable at hand-fastings, but often find their way in, frequently in someone’s pocket! I wouldn’t worry too much about this. It’s not worth getting sanctimonious about.

  I personally would opt for copious quantities of honey mead and a good quality red organic wine, with non-alcoholic organic fruit juices and fresh mineral water as alternatives for those who want them.

  Simple Recipe for Traditional Honey Mead 4 lb of honey (can be purchased from local beekeeper or commercially)

  Champagne yeast

  1 gallon of spring water

  Dissolve honey in 4 pints of water and bring to boil for fifteen minutes.

  Skim off white surface scum.

  Add rest of spring water and pitch at room temperature. Rack off when fermentation slows down.

  Bottle once settled and clear.

  Age up to three years but can be drunk earlier.

  Remember to use sterilised containers to avoid contamination. Serve as it is or add freshly cut slices of orange for a particularly

  luxurious taste.

  Another traditional inclusion at any hand-fasting would be a

  large bowl of clean fresh water for guests to wash their hands in

  prior to eating. Our ancestors did this, and it makes perfect sense,

  so give people the opportunity to do so before eating and it will become a part of the ritual of the day. This can be romanced for the occasion by the addition of suitable aromatic flower petals in the water, and don’t forget to have a couple of hand towels ready for people to use afterwards.

  6

  Preparation

  Try to account for everything before sending out invitations, and adjust as required. You might find the day you would like is not the day you can afford and need to compromise in some way. It is possible that you already have a good idea about how much you have to spend on your day, so stick to this and, whatever you do, don’t allow yourselves to get into debt with it. By running through this check list well in advance you will
be able to get a picture of how much your day will cost before spending a penny. If compromises have to be made don’t despair, as a hand-fasting really shouldn’t cost the earth. You can cut corners by emphasising the spiritual aspect, and be cheeky by asking everyone to bring their own picnic, and just provide the drink yourself. I know a couple who opted for this route and no-one thought any the less of them for doing so. We all had fun sharing each other’s food and ate very well, with them providing a barrel of ale to keep our spirits up. There are always ways to economise and the more you can make or prepare yourself the cheaper it can be. For example, don’t go to expensive lengths over flowers. Just cut some of your own from your garden or a friend’s. I won’t advise you to deliberately desecrate our hedgerows since this is illegal, as is the picking of many of our wild flowers, so unless you know for sure the difference between those you can pick and those you cannot then leave well alone. Obviously the more time you have to prepare, the longer you have to make things for yourselves, so try to be patient and not rush into it. This very special day is about the joining in love (and spirit) of two souls, not about showing off to friends and outdoing so and so’s hand-fasting. In essence it’s your hand-fasting, not anyone else’s. Try to remember this if things start to balloon out of control, giving yourselves reality checks as required. It’s often the little things that make a day special, so pay attention to the details. Your truly loving friends and family won’t care if it ends up a meagre affair, as the spirit of the day is about love and sharing.

  Hand-Fasting Planner The following pages have been left blank for you to use as your own personal planner, with key words to help you. Where the word budget appears it offers you a reality check and encourages you to compromise if needed financially on the less important details.

  Spiritual Path/paths

  Priestess or priest or celebrant Telephone numbers and addresses Traditions

  Customs and practices to be included Ceremony format

  Order of service

  Helpers and their roles

  Telephone numbers and addresses Gods or Goddesses