Buhtle od ricotte

Kao i većina hrane za Imbolc, i ove buhtle su mliječne i mekane. Pojele su se jako brzo pa ih nisam stigla fotografirati. Zato sam iskoristila fotografiju sa stranice na kojoj sam naišla na ovaj fini recept. Svakako, Imbolc mi je donio jaku želju za kuhanjem (djelomično zato što je tako hladno vanka, a pored pećnice tako toplo). Ako se vi nađete u takvom raspoloženju, savjetujem vam da probate napraviti ove buhtle!

Potrebno je:

• 125 g otopljenog maslaca
• 1 čaša smjese od mlijeka i limuna (zamjena za ono što se na engleskom zove buttermilk - kasnije ću napisati kako se radi)
• 250 g ricotta sira
• 4 čaše glatkog brašna
• 4 žlice šećera
• 2 čajne žličice soli
• 1-2 vrećice instant kvasca
• otopljeni maslac za premazivanje

Napomena: Ako pratite recept i radite buhtle promjera cca. 5cm, dobit ćete 80-90 malih buhtlica od ove količine sastojaka.

Priprema:

1. Pripremite smjesu od mlijeka i limuna tako na 230ml mlijeka dodate jednu žlicu soka od limuna (možete i malo više). Ostavite smjesu da odstoji 5 minuta.
2. Otopite maslac i kuhačom ga izmiješajte sa smjesom od mlijeka i limuna te dodajte ricotta sir.
3. Dodajte šećer, sol i kvasac te pomalo dodajite brašno (preporučam da sve miješate kuhačom). Znati ćete da je tijesto dobro spremljeno kada je kompaktno, mekano i kada se odljepljuje do rubova posude.
4. Prekrijte prozirnom folijom i ostavite da se diže na toplom mjestu otprilike sat vremena (treba se udvostručiti).
5. Izvadite tijesto na pobrašnjenu podlogu i izvaljajte da bude 1-2cm debljine (uzmite u obzir da će se tijesto dignuti u pečenju dosta). Režite tijesto koristeći okrugli kalup za kekse promjera cca. 5cm.
6. Slažite buhtle na lim za pečenje kojeg ste prethodno prekrili papirom za pečenje. Prekrijte buhtle krpon i ostavite da se dižu na toplom mjestu još 30-60 minuta.
7. Pecite na 175°C otprilike 25 minuta (tj. dok buhtle ne postanu rumene s gornje strane).
8. Dok su još tople, premažite ih otopljenim maslacem.

Ricotta Buns

As with most Imbolc food, these buns are milky and soft. They got eaten way too fast so I didn't get the chance to take a photo of them. So I used a photo from the page on which I found this fine recipe. Anyhow, Imbolc made me feel inspired to bake (partly because it's so cold outside and it's so warm next to the oven). If you find yourself in this mood, I recommend you try out this recipe!

You Will Need:

• 125g melted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk (or simply make your own by mixing milk and lemon; I will explain how later)
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 packets instant dry yeast
• melted butter for brushing over the buns

Note: if you decide to follow the recipe and make rolls about 5cm in diameter, this amount of material will yield about 80-90 small buns.

How To Prepare:

1. If you don't have any buttermilk you can prepare your own. In order to make buttermilk, get 230ml of milk and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to it (a bit more won't hurt). Leave the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Melt 125g of butter and mix it with the buttermilk/milk-lemon mixture using a wooden spoon. Add in the ricotta cheese.
3. Add the sugar, salt and yeast and slowly add the flour (I recommend you mix it all using a wooden spoon).
4. Cover the dough with cling film and leave it to rise in a warm place for about an hour (it should double in size).
5. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to about 1-2cm thickness (take into consideration that it will more than double in size in the oven). Cut the dough using a circular cookie cutter about 5cm in diameter.
6. Line your baking tray with baking paper and put the dough on the tray. Cover the buns with a dishtowel and leave them to rise in a warm place for another 30-60 minutes.
7. Bake them at 175°C about 25 minutes (or until the buns turn golden-brown).
8. While they are still warm, brush them with butter.

Peciva sv. Lucije

Tražila sam recepte koji su prikladni za Imbolc i naišla na ova dražesna malena peciva! Prikladni su jer sadrže dosta mliječnih proizvoda u sebi (a poznato je da je Imbolc vrijeme janjenja i laktacije ovaca pa su ljudi od davnina ovo slavili tako da su pripremali hranu i piće od mlijeka), a dodatak šafrana ih čini baš posebnima.

Na žalost, svi su se pojeli u jako kratkom roku. Kažem "na žalost" jer to znači da ih nisam uspjela fotografirati dok su bili svježi i dok ih je bilo. Stoga je pecivo koje vidite na slici posljednje koje je ostalo (ali sam dodala drugi fotografiju koju sam našla na internetu da vidite kako zapravo lijepo izgledaju iako primjerak na mojoj fotografiji nije baš reprezentativan). No, ovo možete shvatiti kao znak njihove slasnosti. ;)

Kako biste ih napravili,

Potrebno je:

Za tijesto:

• 2 paketa instant kvasca
• 1/2 čaše tople vode
• 1/2 čaše šećera 
• 125 g otopljenog maslaca
• _{1/2 čaše milerama}
• _{1/2 čaše mlijeka}
• _{1/4 čajne žličice šafrana}
• _{1/2 čajne žličice soli}
• 2 jaja
• _{4 1/2 čaše glatkog brašna}

Za glazuru:

• 1 jaje
• 2 žlice mlijeka
• kristal šećer

Priprema:

1. U zdjelu dodajte vodu i kvasac te lagano izmiješajte viljuškom. Dodajte 1 žlicu šećera i ponovno izmiješajte. Pustite mješavinu da stoji dok se ne počne  pjeniti (cca. 5 minuta).
2. Dodajte ostatak šećera, maslac, mileram, mlijeko, šafran, sol i jaja te miješajte električnim mikserom.
3. Dodajite čašu po čašu brašna i miješajte kuhačom dok tijesto ne postane mekano i kompaktno (očekujte da će i dalje biti ljepljivo).
4. Prekrijte zdjelu s tijestom prozirnom folijom i ostavite u hladnjaku minimalno 2 sata (po mogućnosti i preko noći).
5. Izvadite tijesto na lagano pobrašnjenu podlogu i kidajte na manje komade (ja sam dobila 32 komada).
6. Obložite lim za pečenje papirom za pečenje i ugrijte pećnicu na 175°C.
7. Svaki komad izvaljajte u "konop". Oblikujte peciva tako da krajeve konopa spiralno savijete u suprotne strane. Dobit ćete nešto nalik obrnutom slovu S.
8. Pripremite glazuru tako da izmiješate jaje i mlijeko.
9. Premažite peciva glazurom (idealno koristeći kist) i pospite šećerom u prahu.
10. Ostavite ih da se dižu na toplom mjestu još 30-45 minuta.
11. Pecite 15ak minuta (pripazite da peciva budu rumena ali ne pretaman s donje strane) i izvadite ih vani da se ohlade.

St. Lucia Buns

I was looking for recipes that are appropriate for Imbolc and came across these adorable little buns! They are suitable because they contain quite a bit of dairy products (it's well known that Imbolc is the time of lambing as well as the lactation of ewes and people used to celebrate this by preparing food and drinks made of milk) and the addition of saffron makes them particularly special.

Unfortunately, everyone ate them in a very short time. I say "unfortunately" because that means I wasn't able to take a photo of them while they were still fresh or while there were any at all. So the bun you see on the second photograph is the last bun that was left (but I added another photo that I found on the internet so you can see how beautiful they actually looked even though the bun on my photo isn't really representative). But, you can choose to see this as a sing of their deliciousness. :)

In order to make them, 

You Will Need:

For the dough:

• 2 packets dry yeast
• cup warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 125g unsalted melted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• _{2 eggs}
• 4 1/2 all-purpose flour

For the glaze:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• sugar
• 1/2 

How To Prepare:

1. Add water and yeast in a bowl and mix with a fork. Add 1 spoon of sugar and continue mixing. Leave the mixture to stand until it starts foaming (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the rest of the sugar, butter, heavy cream, milk, saffron, salt and eggs and mix using an electric mixer.
3. Add cup by cup of the flour and mix using a wooden spoon until the dough becomes soft and compact (but expect that it will still be sticky).
4. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and leave it in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
5. Get the dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into smaller pieces (I got 32 altogether).
6. Cover your baking tray with baking paper and heat the oven up to 175°C.
7. Roll each piece of dough into a rope. Form the buns by rolling the ends of the rope in opposite directions to form a reverse S shape.
8. Prepare the glaze by mixing the egg and milk.
9. Glaze the buns (preferably using a brush) and sprinkle with sugar.
10. Leave them to rise in a warm place an additional 30-45 minutes.
11. Bake for about 15 minutes (let the buns turn golden-brown but not too dark on the bottom) and leave them out to cool down.

Imbolc - slavlje svjetla

Imbolc (također poznat u staroirskome kao imbolg) je jedan od četiri keltska vatrena blagdana koji se slave unutar neopaganskog Kola godine. Ovi blagdani se nazivaju vatrenima jer je dio njihove tradicije paljenje krijesa koji simbolizira određeni aspekt festivala koji se tada slavi. Vatra u slučaju Imbolca ne simbolizira toplinu već svjetlo koje nam ona pruža. Mnogi danas o tome ne vode računa, ali našim precima je vatra predstavljala život i bila je manifestacija Sunca na zemlji. Stoga vatra predstavlja i Sunčevu svjetlost koja nam istinski nedostaje u ovom zimskom periodu. Dovoljno nam je bilo dugih, zimskih noći, dosta nam je bilo tmurnih oblaka. Paljenjem vatre prizivamo svjetlost da se vrati u naše živote.

Tradicionalno, Imbolc se slavi 1. veljače. No, pošto on predstavlja i sredinu zime, njegov datum se može odrediti i astrološki po dolasku Sunca na 15° Vodenjaka (što označava upravo tu središnju točku zime). Tako smo ove godine slavili Imbolc 4. veljače.

Samim time što je Imbolc usred zime, on nagovještava i dolazak proljeća za koje se valja pripremiti. On stoga označava i početak razdoblja sjetve i nužne pripreme zemlje. Također je sada vrijeme janjenja, a time i vrijeme kada ovce počinju davati mlijeko. Našim precima su ovo bili prvi znakovi dolaska ljepših, toplijih dana koji su ujedno predstavljali period rada (daljnje sjetve, njege usjeva i u konačnici berbe). Danas se više svi ne bave poljoprivredom, ali se ovaj rad onda manifestira na druge načine. Kako god bilo, svi se kad-tad trebamo razbuditi nakon zimskog sna i početi aktivno raditi. Zanimljivo je da i samo ime blagdana, Imbolc, se može prevesti kao „u utrobi“ čime se aludira na grijanje zemlje, otapanje snijega i buđenje zemlje u svakom pogledu.

Koristeći se analogijom sjetve, možemo reći da je prije svakog sijanja, bez obzira bila sjemenka stvarna, idejna, emocionalna ili druge vrste, potrebna priprema zemlje. Potrebno je zemlju prozračiti, odnosno na neki način je pročistiti (rahljenje) ali i dohraniti kako bi bila što plodnija. Kako se većina sadnji obavlja na proljeće, ove posljednje zimske dane treba iskoristiti za pripreme. Ako planiramo krenuti u novi projekt, ući u novu vezu (prijateljsku/ljubavnu), ili bilo kakvo drugo sjeme posijati, trebamo odbaciti sve ono što nas koči i što nam je suvišno; trebamo se osloboditi tereta kako bismo nastavili kročiti po svom putu mirni, staloženi i optimistični.

Kelti su u ovo vrijeme posebno slavili božicu Brigit koja je poznata kao božica plodnosti (pogotovo plodnosti usjeva), vatre (vjerovalo se da otapa snijeg svojim vatrenim štapom i time gura Kolo godine prema proljeću), inspiracije, mudrosti, znanja i iscjeljivanja. Jedan od njezinih glavnih simbola jest Brigitin križ koje je poznat kao solarni simbol (Sunčev kotač), ali i jedan od mogućih prikaza Kola godine. Naglasak je svakako na ubrzavanju okretaja kola kako bi što prije došli topliji, proljetni dani.

Ipak, ove godine, barem meni, najviše dolazi do izražaja svjetlosni aspekt ovog blagdana. Svjetlo može predstavljati puno toga – nadahnuće, čistoću, nevinost (što nas podsjeća da je Božica u ovo doba godine u aspektu Djeve, a Bog još malo dijete kojega čeka razdoblje sazrijevanja prije nego dostigne svoju punu snagu), nove prilike, razboritost i tako dalje. Naravno, svatko će ovaj blagdan doživjeti na drukčiji način.

Bez obzira kako ga odlučili slaviti ili kako ga doživjeli, predlažem vam da se pitate dva pitanja. Prije nego uperite pogled unaprijed, u budućnost. Usmjerite pogled unutar sebe i pitajte se što želite postići u sljedećim mjesecima i na koji način to možete ostvariti. Proljetno doba donosi plodnost, uspjehe, nove ideje, izvore snage i motivacije. Potrudite se uskladiti s ovim vibracijama i dovesti plodnost u svoj život.

Za kraj bih vam zaželjela (s malim zakašnjenjem) sretan i blagoslovljen Imbolc. Neka vas ispune svjetlost i čistoća!

Vaša Witch's Cat

Imbolc - the Celebration of Light

Imbolc (also known as Imbolc in Old Irish) is one of the four Celtic fire festivals which are celebrated in the Neopagan Wheel of the Year. The festivals are called fire festivals because a part of their tradition is lighting up bonfires which symbolize a certain aspect of the festival being celebrated. During Imbolc, fire doesn't represent warmth but light which fire gives us. Many don't take this into account, but for our ancestors, fire symbolized life and was the manifestation of the Sun on Earth. Therefore, fire also represents the Sun's light which we truly miss during these winter months. We have had enough of long winter nights and somber skies. By lighting a fire we evoke light to return into our lives.

Traditionally, Imbolc is celebrated on February 1. But, since this festival represents winter's midpoint, its date can be determined by the astrological arrival of the Sun at 15°of Aquarius (which in itself represents the midpoint of winter). This is why we celebrated Imbolc on February 4 this year.

Since Imbolc marks the midpoint of winter, it announces the imminent arrival of spring for which we should now prepare. Therefore, it also marks the beginning of the sowing season and the necessary preparation of earth. It is also the time of lambing and thus the time when ewes begin to lactate. To our ancestors, these were the first signs of oncoming warmer and more pleasant days which brought with them a time for work (further sowing, taking care of the crops and harvesting them). Nowadays, not everyone practices farming, but this is why work manifests itself in other ways. Either way, we all have to wake up from our winter sleep sooner or later and begin to actively work. It's interesting that the very name Imbolc can be translated as "in the womb" which alludes to the warming of the earth, melting of snow and the awakening of the  earth in every respect.

Using the analogy of sowing, we can say that before every planting, regardless of whether the seed is real, conceptual, emotional or of another sort, it is necessary to prepare the land for this. We have to plow the field and somehow cleanse it (i.e. loosen it up) and enrich it so it is as fertile as possible. Since most planting is done in spring, we have to use these last winter days for preparations. If we plan to start off a new project, get into a new relationship (friendly/romantic), or plant any other type of seed, we have to cast away anything that inhibits us and anything that is superfluous. It is best to free ourselves from any baggage so that we may continue to walk along our path calm, poised and optimistic.

This time of year, the Celts especially celebrated the goddess Brigit which is known as the goddess of fertility (especially that of the crops), fire (it was believed that she melted snow with her fiery staff and thus pushes on the Wheel of the Year towards spring), inspiration, wisdom, knowledge and healing. One of her main symbols is Brigit's cross which is known as a solar symbol (the Sun wheel) but also as one of the possible representations of the Wheel of the Year. The emphasis is most definitely on the hastening of the wheel's rotation so that the warm spring days awaiting us may come as soon as possible.

Still, this year, at least for me, the light aspect of this festival is most prominent. Light can represent many things - inspiration, purity, innocence (which reminds us of the Goddess this time of year who is in her Maiden aspect as well as the God who is still a young child awaiting his time of ripening before he reaches his full potential and strength), new opportunities, rationality and so on. But of course, everyone will experience this festival in a different way.

Regardless of how you decide to celebrate it or how you experience it, I suggest you ask yourselves two questions. Before you look ahead to your future, steer your vision inwards and ask yourselves what you want to achieve in the months to come and how you can make this happen. Springtime brings fertility, accomplishments, new ideas, sources of energy and inspiration. Try to harmonize yourselves with these vibrations and bring fertility into your lives.

Finally (and with a small delay), I would like to wish you all a happy and blessed Imbolc! May you be filled with light and purity!

Yours,

Witch's Cat