Since I am hosting Imbolc this year at Sycamore Hill, I decided that for our “cakes and ale” part of the ritual to make bannocks, which are a traditional oat cake served at this time of year. These yummy, magickal bannocks will contain minced fresh rosemary and grated orange zest. Rosemary is sacred to Brighid or Brighde as we like to call her, and Imbolc is about honoring Brighde.
In kitchen witchery it’s nice to consider the magickal properties of ingredients in your food. After all, cooking is a form of alchemy! You transform ingredients into something entirely different. Magick!
In these bannocks I figure that the oats are for grounding and stability, the rosemary could be for protection, the orange zest for strength and a positive attitude and then the small bit of sugar adds some sweetness and love!
So here is the recipe:
Rosemary Bannocks
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet or large iron skillet.
Ingredients:
1cup of oat flour (You can make your own by grinding rolled oats in a food processor.)
1cup of old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt
3Tb sugar
2Tb minced rosemary
Grated zest of a medium orange
6Tb cold Earth Balance or other plant based butter
1/2 cup of soy milk
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Cut the Earth Balance into smaller chunks and then mix them into the dry mixture with a pastry blender.
3. Then add the soy milk.
4. Mix the ingredients until you have a dough. Turn the dough onto a surface that has been sprinkled with more oat flour and knead the dough for just about a minute. If the dough seems sticky add more oat flour.
5. You can form the dough into small cakes or divide the dough in half and make two medium sized cakes that you cut into quarters. The idea is to expose enough edges to make a brown and crispy cake.
6. Brush the tops of the bannocks with melted Earth Balance and sprinkle them with sugar.
7. Place the cakes on a greased baking sheet and bake them in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are brown and crispy.
So there you have it! And as an added bonus, these bannocks are vegan and gluten free!
Enjoy!
Savory Blessings
Sarina
The Magickal Cottage 