Traditional Samhain (Halloween) meals

Well after reading about the true origins of Halloween I decided that I will try and celebrate it in it's traditional way (as much as I can) this year. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I look forward to it like kids look forward to Xmas, which I absolutely despise anymore. Thats another holiday people seem to forget it's real meaning... Here are some recipes and links to a traditional Samhain (Halloween) dinner or feast.

[color=Magenta]Soul cakes
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a small round cake which is traditionally made for All Souls' Day to celebrate the dead. [1] The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would go from door to door on Hallowmas singing and saying prayers for the dead. Each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory.

The tradition of giving Soul Cakes originated in Ireland and Britain during the Middle Ages, [2] although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.[3]

The cakes were usually filled with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, or other sweet spices, raisins or currants, and later were topped with the mark of a cross.[4] They were traditionally set out with glasses of wine on All Hallows Eve, and on All Saints Day children would go "souling" by calling out:[5]

Soul, Soul, a soul cake!
I pray thee, good missus, a soul cake!
One for Peter, two for Paul,
three for Him what made us all!
Soul Cake, soul cake, please good missus, a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, anything good thing to make us all merry.
One for Peter, one for Paul, & three for Him who made us all.
soulcakes

recipe
soulcakesrecipe




[color=Magenta]Barmbrack Bread
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Barmbrack, or Bairin Breac, is a seasonal Celtic bread typically served during Samhain as the center of a divinatory ritual that revealed fortunes to its recipients for the coming year. To make a traditional Barmbrack, trinkets and charms are always added into the mixture. Upon cooling, pieces of the cake are carefully cut and eaten and the charms divined........Each charm should be wrapped carefully in parchment paper and placed in equal intervals through the bread before its final rise.

Placed in the barmbrack were: a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth and a ring. Whovever received in their slice the pea, would be unmarried; the stick, would be a fighter (or wife beater!); the cloth or rag, would be poor; and the ring, would be wed within the year.

WOW those are some interesting meanings. Personally I will use different items and medallions. The stick is probably the most mouth dropping for me I read this on a few other sites as well but they only have the wife beater part. Not sure I will be adding a stick.
source

Be sure to let guests know before they eat it! Saves a broken tooth

recipe
Barmbrack Bread




[color=Magenta]Colcannon
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a traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon.

**An old Irish Halloween tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with Christmas pudding. This is still done today and small amounts of money are placed in the potato

source

Colcannon used to be --and still is-- eaten in Ireland on Halloween night, and is one of the most traditional Halloween recipes there is. Colcannon is wonderfully flavorful, incredibly filling, and oh-so warming on a cool Autumn night. To make it even more traditional, make a well in the center and fill it with real butter. Dip each bite of colcannon in the butter before eating.

source

Ok this sounds really good I love potatoes and you add some butter, well I'm in!

Here is some additional reading on this dish and its traditions
colcannon

recipe
Colcannon





[color=Magenta]Samhain Meat Pie
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Since this time of the year means the ending of the planted harvest and beginning of the meat harvest, why not have a stew or meat pie?! From what I have read its a lot like Irish Sheppard's Pie or Sheppard's pie in general...You are able to substitute with your own choice of meat if you wish. I will probably add a few more veggies to the mix myself..

recipe
meat pie recipe





[color=Magenta]Samhain Cider
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recipe
Samhain Cider




These are just some of the foods one would have had at a Samhain meal. I will be making this for Halloween. I will post pics at a later date

Other foods that were indulged in as well during Samhain are:

Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Breads,

reply to post by mblahnikluver


OK, the meat pie, soul cakes, and the cider I can go with, and enjoy.

They really look good, and made me hungry.

However, not fussy on the barmbrack bread, and what in the hell is up with the colcannon???? That looks like something that I threw up a few years ago after eating god knows what. I'm not so hungry anymore after looking at that, but I can't seem to stop looking at it.

That dish would be better served in the aliens forum me thinks...

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Oh and by the way, great research on this thread. I have learned a lot about what most just take for granted.

Now where's them pictures of the pumpkins you are carving...huh?..huh??

Originally posted by tribewilder
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

OK, the meat pie, soul cakes, and the cider I can go with, and enjoy.

They really look good, and made me hungry.

However, not fussy on the barmbrack bread, and what in the hell is up with the colcannon???? That looks like something that I threw up a few years ago after eating god knows what. I'm not so hungry anymore after looking at that, but I can't seem to stop looking at it.

That dish would be better served in the aliens forum me thinks...

Thanks Tribe!!! lol Yeah it looks like Barmbrack Bread is a lot like fruit loaf bread we have here or get around Xmas. I cant for the life of me figure what its called but every year someone gives it to you, it comes in a box and for some reason lasts forever...oh and nobody eats it..lol I think though by making my own this year I will rather enjoy it. I might change a few ingredients but it will basically be the same as the BB. As for colcannon it doesnt look good but damn the ingredients sound yummy and anything with buttery fat center sounds delicious!! I think it sounds better than lol I would make all of this right now if I didnt have to go out to the store in the rain..lol I am hungry now!

reply to post by tribewilder


I'm glad someone learned some things on this! I have learned more about Halloween than I ever knew and it realy makes me look at it differently...It is my favorite holiday and after reading so much I am able to see why I am so drawn to it.

No pumpkin carving yet, too early. I will show you when I do it

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I cant for the life of me figure what its called

I believe the technical term is "fruitcake" but be careful saying it around here. Especially when prefaced with "nuttier than a..." Oh, and that barakobama bread or whatever it is, looks pretty good.

reply to post by yeahright


That's it!! lol I usually block it out since a friend of mine always gives me and everyone else these...Now I dont mind home made ones like the ones my mom makes but the boxed ones that last months are just freaky..lol cake shouldnt be in a box like that and it shouldnt last months..lol

Thank you M- I just gained ten pounds reading this thread...
*sigh.
off to exercise it off-

(Burp!) Thank you for that.
Great thread Mblah, I had no idea about these meals.
I'm gonna tempt my family with some of this.

I swear, I had to come back to this thread to stare at the colcannon once more.

SOMETHING MOVED!!!!!

I saw it sure as I'm sitting here, that stuff began to move in a "breathing" motion.

Who are you really Mblah? And why do you want us to eat alien vomit??

Methinks that an investigation into your bloodline might just be in order.....

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Those recipes look so delicious and perfect for the Holiday! Yum, now what am I going to make for dinner? I may just try the meatpie, minus the meatyness.

And btw LOVE your green fiestaware plate, I too have a set given from my Mom. I have the green, yellow, pink, purple and some of the cobalt blue but not all.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Wow, thanks for making this post.

I'm thinking that I'll try making these dishes on halloween, to celebrate it.

They look pretty good.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Mmmmmm soul cakes and meat pie!!! Food for the chronically evil!

Bah, my Halloween food usually consists of eating all of the candy and then having to give trick or treaters money instead of candy because I feel guilty!

Happy Halloween, Hallows Eve, Samhain to all!

~Heff

My favorite is what my wife calls "dirt pudding". It's basically layers of chocolate cake, pudding, and then smashed up Oreo cookies to resemble the color and texture of potting soil. We typically make a rectangular cake of it, and then decorate with headstones (there's a Pepperidge Farm cookie that has a good shape for it), and those Bonez candies that are bone shaped, and make little skeletons on it.

For a drink, we do an orange punch, but then freeze some red punch in a fun Jello mold (skull, brain, hand, etc.), and put the frozen piece in the center. As it melts, it "bleeds" into the orange, and looks cool (and keeps the punch cold, without watering it down). If you don't have a mold, you can use a latex glove to make an ice hand....(careful not to break the fingers when pulling it off though).

I also love candy pretzel fingers. We have these chocolate finger molds, you put the melted chocolate in the mold, press in a pretzel stick, chill, and nice chocolaty crunchy pretzel fingers (we use green chocolate from Michaels, the Wilton kind)