The ruminations of an artist on art & life...art quilts, beading, knitting, drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking are all my passions, I love to explore creating....

Monday, February 01, 2010

Saint Brigid Day


Today is St. Brigid's Day in Ireland. As she is the patroness of cattle, dairy work, and ale, her day is also New Year's Day for Farmers and the first day of Spring or Imbolc, a pagan celebration associated with fertility and weather divination.

The word, Imbolc [the season of light] is Gaelic, the language of the Celts. There is a strong association between Imbolc and Brigid, a Celtic fertility goddess also associated with fire, healing, and holy wells. When the pagan holidays were transformed into Christian equivalents, February 1st became St. Brigid's Day in honor of the Irish saint (named after the Celtic goddess) who was a contemporary of Saint Patrick's.
I plan to make some oatcakes to celebrate Imbolic....in honor of the Celtic Goddess Brigid....and the coming of spring...

Scottish Oat Cakes (Gluten Free)

  • 8 oz. rolled oats, plus extra for dusting
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 Tblsp butter
  • 5 oz. water
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Put the oatmeal, soda and salt into a bowl and mix well. Heat the butter 5 oz water in a small pan until the butter melts.
  3. Make a well in the centre of the oatmeal mix, pour in the liquid and use a rubber spatula to mix everything together. The mixture will initially seem a bit wet, but the oatmeal will gradually absorb all the liquid to give a soft dough.
  4. Lightly dust a clean work surface with oatmeal. Tip out the dough, then roll out to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Use a small round cutter to stamp out the oatcakes or use your favorite shapes. Re-roll any trimmings and continue to cut out the "biscuits". (Cut art cakes can be frozen uncooked, for up to a month. Freeze flat before packing into bags or boxes.)
  5. Brush off any excess oatmeal, then space the oatcakes over 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes, carefully turning the oatcakes every 5 minutes or so to stop them from steaming and going stodgy. When cooked they should be crisp and lightly golden. Lift onto a wire rack and leave to cool. (Will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.)
yummy with apple butter or homemade jam---or with a nice goat cheese...and fruit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post! thank you for sharing all this wonderful information and a recipe to boot!
Peace~
Dawn

dandelionlady said...

Wow! Thanks for the gluten free recipe! I'm always looking for new ones. I hope you had a nice Imbolc, here in wintery Michigan we're usually shivering while we light our Imbolc candle and dreaming of a spring still far away :)