Spring is coming
It’s still Winter and very cold outside.
But I can feel the first light of Spring in the air.
Days are getting longer. Some flowers and bulbs are beginning to bloom, snowdrops, garlic (the wild one and the one I planted during Winter), cyclamen, daffodils, daisies, violets, kōwhai…
As we slowly emerge from Winter, the weather often begins to be more chaotic, with rain showers and wind for example. But Earth is going to warm up.
It’s a time of big cleaning and renewal.
Ideas to decor my home
Colours: mainly white, but also pink, yellow, red, baby blue, turquoise and light green.
A wreath made with evergreens like pine tree, cedar or spruce, and fairy lights.
A witch broom at the entrance.
Artworks and pictures of white and yellow flowers. Symbols of snow. Paper snowflakes.
Candles everywhere, especially by the windows.
To celebrate we can
Prepare the garden for Spring.
Sow seeds.
Offer seeds to the birds.
Buy or take care of indoor green plants.
Do a spring cleaning and decluttering, then donate and replace the old things if necessary.
Make a witch broom with old branches.
Make candles.
Read and write poetry.
Fast.
Prepare our costumes for the incoming carnival’ season.
Light bonfires.
Ideas to have a feast
French crêpes, “galettes” and pancakes.
Vegan milk products.
Spices.
Onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, chive.
With her broom,
the witch is sweeping away the past
and is purifying the place.
Some traditional landmarks
Candlemas and/or Imbolc
pronounced “eemolg” or “eemo’g”
Halfway between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox.
This year, in the North hemisphere (Western Europe) :
the 4th of February 2023.
In the South hemisphere (Aotearoa) :
the 8th of August 2022.
French crêpes are round and golden
like the Sun, coming back
after the long Winter night.
Vegan French crêpes
You need a special pan, large and super flat with almost no edge.
Flour(s) (I often mix different flours and a part of cornstarch): 500g.
Sugar: 2 tbs (optional).
Salt: 2 pinches.
Vegan butter, melted: 4 tbs.
Vegan milk: about 1 to 1,5 L.
Cider or beer (optional).
Coco oil, melted.
You can add a flavour of your choice, like orange flower water, rum, maple syrup, vanilla.
In a large bowl, mix the flour(s) with salt and sugar.
Then slowly add the milk (or milk + cider or beer) while whisking.
The dough must be just a little bit thick, but not like the pancakes’ dough, it must remain very liquid.
If there are lumps you can use a hand-held blender to mix a bit more.
You can let the dough stand for a while at room temperature with a clean tea towel to cover the bowl (or into the fridge if it’s too warm into the house).
Use the dough as you do for pancakes.
Before cooking, heat the pan well on medium fire.
If the dough became too thick, add a bit of liquid (milk, cider, beer, water).
Oil the pan. I use the half of a potato partly stuck on a fork and dipped in neutral oil (I use coco oil, it’s melting when I dip the hot potato on it), to oil my pan.
Use a little ladle of dough for a crêpe. Pour it into the pan then move the pan to spread the dough and let bake for a couple of minutes. It should come off the pan by itself but you can help it a bit and flip the crêpe with a spatula. Or if you want to honour the tradition, flip it in the air!
Spread what you like on your crêpe: sugar, maple syrup, fruits, chocolate spread, peanut butter, butter, lemon juice, ice cream…
Enjoy!
Galettes bretonnes
buckwheat crêpes from Brittany, France
This is the same thing, but with a more rustic flavour, and often used for savory crêpes in France.
You need the same kind of pan and same cooking method.
Buckwheat flour: 500g
Cider: 300ml
Water: about 1 L, more or less.
Vegan salted butter, melted: 100g (or oil)
Salt: a couple of pinches.
Pour slowly the cider and the water in the flour while whisking, until a smooth, slurry but not liquid dough (a bit more like pancakes but just a bit less thick).
Stir in the melted butter and salt according to taste.
Let stand a couple of hours at room temperature with a clean tea towel to cover the bowl (or in the fridge if it’s too warm into the house).
Use like for the crêpes recipe.
You can put a lot of things inside. Simply butter, or ratatouille, leek fondue with pepper and lemon, tomato sauce, mushrooms, vegan cheese, vegan ham… Enjoy!
You need a tiny pan for pancakes.
Flour(s): 3 cups (I’m used to mix the flours I have, with cornstarch or arrowroot).
Sugar: 3 tbs.
Baking powder: 2 tbs.Salt: 3 pinches.
Vegan milk: 2 or 3 cups.
Apple vinegar: 4ts (teaspoon!).
Vegan butter, melted: about 6 tbs.
Vanilla: about 1 ts.
Vegan pancakes
Mix all the dry ingredients then pour the liquid ingredients while whisking.
Use a hand-held blender if there are lumps.
The dough is still a little bit slurry but thick.
No real need to let stand but you can if you like.
Use the dough like for crêpes.
You need just a very little ladle per pancake.
The dough will spread by itself in the hot pan.
When it is full of bubbles, it’s time to flip it and let cook on the second side for a couple of minutes.