7 weeks to go

Ok I know we have Ostara/Eostre first yet to come but for this house there are two main events in our nearby community in the year which are very important to us.

The first is Beltane/ Jack in the Green. In 7 weeks we will have the busiest weekend of fun, music and laughter. It’s a great time for friends to catch up, for new friends to join in and for the community as a whole.

The gowns and robes from last years have come back out and alterations are on the way. Littleun is prone to this irritating habit of growing out of things! I am on the hunt for new shoes (well perfect reason to buy some) but seem to be having no luck so far. They need to be green and suitable for dancing as well as long term wear. Fingers crossed something will pop up soon.

This year is promising to have a fantastic lineup with the programme to be found here. Looking forward to the Ceilidh and hoping to get the Fella along to it (He foolishly said He could dance!).

The ivy for our decorations has started is re-growth with vigour recently, so that is looking like a good crop can be had without damaging the main plant. We also planted some wild flowers in a section at the allotment so that I can use them in the head-dresses and there are shoots sprouting through the earth already.

But first there is as said above Ostara/Eostre to come and as that is only around the corner I had better get going with those plans, egg blowing and chocolate making at the ready.

My, what a weekend

Well I had a post all ready to welcome Eostre, wrote it up nicely and explained we’d be away so hope you all had a good one. Unfortunately being a bit on the tired side on Friday I sent it to drafts instead of scheduled! So, belated happy Eostre!

And I’ve got to give a big wave to everyone who has wandered over, I should go away more often, 16 new followers, wow, Merry Meet to you all!

As for what we actually got up to on this lovely Equinox, well Museums, more museums and um just in case you didn’t get it, mus...Legoland! Yep before you say it we are bonkers. We thought (oh ok I thought) it would be nice to take Littleun up town (London) to visit the Science Museum and then the next door Natural History. And it was great. Loads of hands on things for Littleun to try, ranging from games to practical science.

The Natural History had the Dinosaurs but we didn’t join the immense queue to see them, opting rather for the Earth section. Showing the history of our planet and the universe. How it is formed geologically wise and the natural treasures given up in its process.

As for Legoland, well what to say, great fun, tiring but fun. We have been before but normally in September when it’s a bit warmer, also when it’s a bit busier. So it was nice to have the time this end of the year to visit it and not to worry about mad queues that are 1hour long for a ride that lasts 5 mins if you are lucky! Got soaked on the Viking ride, got spun by the Spiders and watched the Pirates steal the treasure.

All in, what with the beautiful weather and lovely company, a great Eostre.

Eostre Chocolate Eggs

It just wouldn’t be the same for Littleun without them would it?! Well that’s my excuse for having some and I’m sticking to it. We thought it would be nice to make our eggs this year to give to our friends. It was very messy and the best bit must have been licking the spoons when we had finished.

To make our eggs we used:

Two large egg moulds
Small egg moulds
Glass bowl
Pan with hot water
Pastry brush
Yummy scrummy (Cadburys in our case) chocolate about 250gm for small eggs, 500gms for larger
Patience

Break the chocolate into the bowl and then put the bowl in the pan so the already heated water is gently simmering till the chocolate is melted

Don’t let the water get into the chocolate as this will make it all mucky and no good to use. When melted gently fill the small egg half moulds, level off and pop into fridge to set

With the large halves lightly brush a thin layer on the inside and leave in fridge to set.

Remove after 15ish mins and add another layer, repeating until you have built up a thickness which is stable. Whilst waiting for the bigger halves to set, remove the smaller ones, tip out of mould and tidy any messy edges up. Splodge on a small bit of melted choc and push two halves together. Put back in fridge to reset.

When ours were finished we put them in cellophane bags and decorated with tags and ties. Hope you have fun and actually manage to give them away before eating them yourselves!

Eostre and the Easter Bunny

Whilst trawling the Internet to find an Eostre story for Littleun I came upon this different version at Dreamland Magic: Littleun enjoyed it, hope you do too.

Many many years ago, during the time of dragons and castles, there was a beautiful Goddess named Eostre (pronounced Ee-ost-ray). The Goddess had long thick hair the colour of golden wheat, and her eyes were as blue as the sky above. Eostre was the Goddess of Spring, and it was her job to make sure that the Earth awakened from its winter sleep.

During Spring the world came alive. birds would chirp from the trees as they built nests for the little eggs that would soon hatch into baby birds. Butterflies came out of their cocoons wearing wings of gorgeous colours. All the animals of the world gave birth to babies, and beautiful flowers opened their petals. Spring was a time of new beginnings. It was a time to celebrate.

Every year, on the first day of the Spring Equinox, Eostre held a huge Spring Festival in the meadow. Animals and children from all over the world would attend and bring gifts for the Goddess of Spring to show how happy they were with the fresh new season.
One year, on the day before the festival, the hare wanted to give Eostre a gift. But the hare had nothing that would be fit for a Goddess. The hare was very poor and he had a hard enough time feeding himself, never mind giving a gift to someone.

That day while searching through the forest for some food, the hare found a fresh egg in the grass. He was very hungry and sat down to enjoy his found lunch. He was about to crack open the egg when he suddenly stopped.
"This egg would make a nice gift for Eostre," he thought to himself. "An egg symbolizes birth and Spring. Yes, a very nice gift indeed." So the hare hopped home to decorate the egg.

The next day the hare went to the meadow and hopped up to the Goddess. He shyly presented her with his gift. Eostre took one look at the egg and gave the hare a huge smile. It was a beautiful egg. The hare had painted the egg with lovely designs coloured from the dyes of roses, buttercups and other plants. He had then sealed the egg with beeswax so that it would be shiny.
The Goddess was so happy with the gift that she wanted everyone to have one and share her joy. Eostre knew that the hare was very poor and to give her the egg was a very unselfish act. He could have eaten it and had his belly filled. Eostre decided to reward the hare.

That day, the Goddess of Spring told the hare that he could come and live in her castle. He would have only one job, and that would be to deliver a decorated egg to children around the world, for Eostre loved children. Children symbolized birth and innocence. The eggs would be delivered on the eve of the Spring Festival, so that the children would wake up and find them in the morning.

© 2003, Sonia Jensen

We made Eostre Eggs

I saw in a local shop some lovely little Eostre decorations, Hares, mini eggs etc. Littleun jumped on them with a wicked little smile and asked if we could do the eggs again this year. So if like us you want to make the biggest mess you possibly can, whilst having a laugh you will need the following:

Eggs, blown (or make a small hole then cover with ribbon)
Ribbons
Paints
Decorating bits, sequins, mini hares
Newspaper

Blow the eggs to remove the yolk and white (have scrambled egg for breakie)
Choose what paint colours you’d like and paint on first layer, then second
When dry stick on decorations
Thread through the ribbons and hang.

Simple really, though why it means I’ll have to clean up half the front room

of paint I’m not sure, also hand print on newly decorated wall!

Attempting an egg wreath tomorrow....

ps sorry about the awful layout on this post, blogger seems to be having a mind of its own today!

Eostre; Hot cross Buns

Well February went quickly! Happy St Davids day to the Welsh.

Right onto Hot Cross Buns. Whether the origin of these buns is Christian or Pagan doesn’t change the fact that they are rather scrummy and good fun to make with your Littleuns. The local supermarkets and bakers will have them if you really don’t want to make them but if like us you like a challenge and getting a little mucky then here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

For the ferment starter
1 large free-range egg, beaten

215ml/7½fl oz warm water
15g/½oz fresh yeast1 tsp sugar
55g/2oz strong white flour


For the dough

450g/1lb strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground mixed spice
85g/3oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
85g/3oz sugar
1 lemon, zest only
170g/6oz mixed dried fruit


For the topping

2 tbsp plain flour
vegetable oil, for greasing
1 tbsp golden syrup, gently heated, for glazing

Method
1. For the ferment starter, mix the beaten egg with enough warm water to make up approximately 290ml/½ pint of liquid.

2. Whisk in the yeast, sugar and flour until the mixture is smooth and well combined, then cover and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3. For the dough, sieve the flour, salt and ground mixed spice into a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and lemon zest to the well and pour in the ferment starter.

4. With your hands, gradually draw the flour at the edges of the bowl into the well in the centre, mixing well with the ferment starter, until the mixture comes together as a dough.

5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth and elastic.

6. Carefully work the mixed dried fruit into the dough until well combined.

7. Grease a large, warm mixing bowl with butter. Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the prepared bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to prove.

8. Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knock back the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise.

9. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. Cover the buns again with the tea towel and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.

10. Grease a baking tray with butter and transfer the buns to the tray. Cut a cross in each bun, almost cutting all the way through the dough, so that each bun is almost cut into quarters.

11. Wrap the tray with the buns on it loosely in greaseproof paper, then place inside a large polythene bag. Tie the end of the bag tightly so that no air can get in and set aside in a warm place for a further 40 minutes to rise.

12. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8.

13. Meanwhile, for the topping, mix the plain flour to a smooth paste with two tablespoons of cold water.

14. When the buns have risen, remove the polythene bag and the greaseproof paper. Spoon the flour mixture into a piping bag and pipe a cross over the cuts in each bun.

15. Transfer the buns to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until risen and pale golden-brown. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the hot golden syrup, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!