Happy Lughnasadh & Recipe!

Happy Lughnasadh Everyone!

 Also known as Lammastide in England, Lùnastal in Scotland, or Calan Awst in Wales, (now all of GB gets it off for bank holiday anyway ;) it's the yearly celebration of the summer harvest! Yay! Fun with summery food! Think the first corn and barley harvest, lots of bilberries, bonfires, hand marriages, (Lasted a year and a day. Can we bring those back please?), & feasting :) Not an abundance of bilberries to be found in Brooklyn, but seemingly the blueberry has been named honorary berry for the N. Eastern US, while the blackberry is celebrated over on the Pacific Northwest. (I bought some of each. I have a hard time saying NO to berries...) I also read that my ancestors over in Scotland baked something called a lunastain bannock, which was a cake (well sort of...) A lot of the super old school recipes seemed to

be oaten griddle cakes made with lard...But the newer interpretations were just shortbread recipes with candied fruit and nuts added... So I attempted to harmonize the two opposing ideas with an oaten loaf. Made with fresh fruit and spices. Don't expect a cake cake. Much like an old school griddle cake or a short bread it doesn't rise significantly, is denser, and isn't particularly sweet. Hence I imagine why more recent bakers put in all the candied substances. But it seemed unlikely that a version so sweetened would be any kind of historical representation. So, I stuck to a non sweet oat cake and ate paired with the fresh berries and some whipped coconut cream, (1 can coconut cream, solids only. I added a spoonful of yogurt, a pinch of cardamom, and 1/2 tsp honey for a creme fresh consistency.)  It's meant to be broken rather than sliced :) The one note I have is that if you're starting with dry oats, use oat bran or old fashioned oats or quick oats. You could use steel cut, but might want to cook the oatmeal first and cool it, then start mixing in your dry goods to your oatmeal mush. Not sure raw steel cut oats would bake properly as they need quite a bit of water. You can also try this with corn flour or barley flour if you want as some sources I read referred to grinding freshly harvested corn or barley by hand and then forming into the loaf for the holiday.

Lunastain Bannock 

1 1/2 cup oats 1/2 cup flour (I used brown rice flour)

1/4 cup ghee/butter/coconut oil + 1/2 cup hot water

2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (I used 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1/2 tsp monk fruit "in the raw".)

handful chopped nuts

I small chopped fruit (about 1/3 cup I used a fresh apricot from market)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

pinch of salt

large pinch of soda

spice blend: 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp cloves.

Set oven to 325F Grease a baking sheet. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the wets and rub in to form a dough. Add the nuts and fruit, making sure they are evenly distributed. Form into a 6" round on a lightly floured surface and prick all over with a fork. Place on the sheet and bake for about 40-45 min. Allow to cool before breaking and eating :)

BKBTY