Pagan Blog Project 2013 - A is for Autumn Equinox

Autumn holds a very special place in my heart, as you can imagine. There is something about the crisp evenings, the bold colors of nature and the rich harvest foods that speak to me on an elemental level.

On the Autumn Equinox, also known as Mabon, that lovely day in September when the day and night are equal in length, I make a special fruit cobbler for my family and serve it with a yummy, chilled cider to wash it down.

This day is a day to celebrate balance and our preparations for the long winter ahead. This is also a time to balance yourself, to rid yourself of unwanted feelings, settle quarrels and release guilt.  The end of the harvest is at hand, we are canning foods, storing them away for the barren winter months to come.  I find that I bake a lot in the fall and as I do I honor the abundance of food that is available and give thanks for it.

Here is the recipe for the Berry Cobbler that I make. I prefer to use berries, blackberries and raspberries are available in abundance in late September and I like to take advantage of that whenever I can!

Fruit Cobbler

Makes 4 servings

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour  

3/4 cup sugar  

1 teaspoon baking powder  

1/4 teaspoon salt  

3/4 cup milk  

2 cups of sliced fresh peaches or nectarines, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries,   blackberries or a combination of fruits (or a 12-ounce package of frozen berries)  

1 tablespoon sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven.

3. Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into pan, then scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar.

4. Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Recipe is from All Recipes.com, a site that I use often when hunting for recipes for my ritual dinners. Here is the link to the cobbler recipe : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-batter-fruit-cobbler/

I like this served warm with some vanilla bean ice cream and chilled cider.

Thanks for stopping by my first Pagan Blog Project post of 2013!

Autumnwind