Below are some Summer Solstice, Litha, Mid Summer or St. John's Day recipes for you to enjoy on your Pagan holiday. These are great Wiccan recipes to add to your summer sabbatt!

Foods: Fresh vegetables of all kinds and fresh fruits such as lemons and oranges, summer squash and any yellow or orange colored foods. Flaming foods are also appropriate (barbecues represent the bonfires....) but especially chicken or pork.. Traditional drinks are ale, mead (since honey is now plentiful), and fresh fruit juice of any kind and herb teas. Pumpernickel bread is also appropriate. 

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 small boneless chicken breast halves

6 stalks asparagus

3 ounces Colby or Colby Jack cheese

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pignoli nuts -- finely chopped

3 eggs

salt and pepper -- to taste

6 ounces pesto sauce

1 Cup heavy cream

Directions:

Pound chicken breasts to a  1/4 inch thickness and set aside. Snap off tough bottoms of asparagus. Place in boiling water and cover for 1 minute. Drain, rinse with cold water; then pat dry. Cut asparagus from tip down stalk into 3 inch lengths. Cut cheese into sticks 1/2 inch high x 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long. Set aside. Combine bread crumbs, parmsean and pine nuts in a bowl. In another bowl beat eggs.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place a stick of cheese and an asparagus spear next to one long edge of each breast.

Roll breast around ingredients tucking in ends to form a neat package. Secure with a toothpick. Dip each piece in egg and then in breadcrumb mixture. Make a double coating by dipping again into egg then crumbs. Place packages in a baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 400F degrees. While the chicken is baking combine pesto and cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce 2 minutes until lightly thickened. Serve pesto cream sauce over chicken.

If you want you can make these ahead of time and freeze. These freeze very well.

HERBAL LEMON COOKIES
(Author Unknown)

1 cup Butter or margarine
2 cups Sugar, divided
2 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Lemon Grass, Lemon Balm or Lemon Basil  chopped

Cream the butter and 1-3/4 cups sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and herbs. Add to the creamed mixture and mix. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 3 inches apart, on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork or cup bottom. Sprinkle lightly with the remaining sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until barely browned. Cool slightly, then remove to a rack.

Lavender Cheesecake

Ingredient
1½ cup Total graham cracker and or gingersnap crumbs
½ cup Melted butter
24 ounces Cream cheese; softened
1½ cup Sugar
6  Eggs
2 cups Sour cream
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
8 ounces Sour cream
1½ tablespoon Sugar
¼ cup Sugar
½ cup Chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 tablespoon Crushed dried lavender flowers
1½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Whole dried lavender flowers
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract

CRUST FILLING TOPPING Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine crust ingredients and press firmly into the bottom and up 2" of the sides of a 9" spring form pan; chill. With mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. With mixer on low, add eggs, sour cream, cornstarch, lemon juice, lavender flowers and vanilla. Blend all ingredients on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour mixture into the chilled crust and bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the cake in for 30 minutes longer. Remove and let cool in pan. Chill. Mix sour cream with the remaining three ingredients and spread over the top of the cheesecake. Cover and refrigerate. To serve, remove the rim of the pan, loosen the cheesecake from the bottom, and slide it onto a plate. From Tom Bergey of Newalla, OK in Kitchen Table: Where Herbs and Spices Make a Difference column in the August/September 1994 Herb Companion. Vol. 6, No. 6. Pg. 22. Posted by Cathy Harned. Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-02-94 

Honey-Lavender Biscotti

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon dried lavender blossoms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Lightly grease three baking sheets (lining the baking sheet with parchment paper prevents sticking and makes cleanup much easier). In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs to a light lemon color; stir in honey, vanilla extract, orange zest, and lavender blossoms. Sprinkle dry ingredients over the egg mixture; fold in until the dough is just combines. To shape the dough into a log, lightly sprinkle flour on the work surface, on top of the dough, and on your hands. Use just enough flour to form the logs and to prevent sticking; you don't want the logs to be covered with flour. Divide dough into six equal pieces. With your hands, pat and shape each piece into a loaf approximately 3 inches wide, 7 inches long, and 3/4-inch high. Place two rolls onto each prepared baking sheet with 3 to 4 inches of space between them. Bake 25 minutes or until dough pops back up when lightly pressed with a finger. (After dough has baked 10 minutes, reverse cookie sheets from front to back and move from the top rack to the bottom one. Repeat this again after another 10 minutes). You can't judge the cooking by the color. The biscotti shouldn't change color during the second baking, so poke them to tell if they're done. They should feel dry and offer some resistance. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Reduce oven to 275 degrees F. Using a long serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Turn the slices over, onto their sides; return slices, on baking sheets, to oven. Bake another 15 minutes. NOTE:  Do not crowd the biscotti slices on the baking sheet for their second baking as they need the hot air to circulate to enable them to crisp up evenly. Remember biscotti will continue to crisp up, as they cool, so do not be tempted to over bake. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. Store biscotti in an airtight container. They will keep well for a few weeks. Yields about 54 biscotti.

Summer Pudding
Recipe by Jan Brodie

1 lb. Mixed Red Soft Fruits
4 oz. Sugar
Enough White Bread to line a Pudding Basin
Whipped Cream for serving

Trim the crusts off the bread and line the pudding basin with it, cutting a circle for the base. Ensure that the basin is lined without any gaps. Cook the fruits and sugar, without adding extra water, for a few minutes until the juices run. Drain the fruits and retain the juices. Fill the lined bowl with fruit and place a circle of bread on top, enclosing the fruit. Then put a plate on top held down with a weight on top. Place in fridge overnight. When ready to serve, turn out onto a plate and pour the reserved juices over the top. Serve with whipped cream.
(The above recipe for "Summer Pudding" is from Jan Brodie's book "Earth Dance: A Year of Pagan Rituals", page 98-99, Capall Bann Publishing, 1995)

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup Mango
1/2 cup Pine Nuts (optional)
1 cup Pineapple, to be cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup Apple, to be cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup Peaches, to be cut into bite-size chunks
2 or 3 Bananas, to be sliced (depending on personal preference)
1 small jar Red Cherries
1/2 cup Coconut (if desired)

Take a 1/2 cup of Orange Juice and mix in 3 tbl. of pure maple syrup. Pour this over the fruit. This will keep the fruit from turning brown.

Midsummer Cookies
by Akasha Ap Emrys

3/4c softened butter
2c brown sugar
2 eggs
1T lemon juice
2T grated lemon rind
2c sifted flour
1c finely chopped pecans.

Cream butter in a large non-metallic  mixing bowl. Gradually add the brown sugar, mixing well. Add eggs, lemon  juice, and rind, then mix well until mixture is well blended. Cover the bowl with a white or yellow towel or cloth napkin, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, shape dough into 1" balls and place approx 3" apart on a greased  cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for abut 20 minutes. Cool on racks. Yields 36.

Faery Honeycakes

Recipe from Hearth and Home Witchery

1/2 cup sweet white wine
1 egg
2/3 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup of honey
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
Oil for frying

Beat the wine and egg in a medium bowl. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Let stand 30 minutes. Combine the honey and nutmeg in a small bowl. Heat 1/2 inch of the oil in a frying pan until hot but don't let it get so hot it smokes!! Drop the batter into the oil 1 tablespoon at a time and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip into honey. Makes 1 1/2 dozen

Green Garden Goddess Dip Recipe from Hearth and Home Witchery 

1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
8 oz. spinach, triple washed, patted dry, and de-stemmed
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 cup loose parsley, washed well
1/4 cup chives, sliced
1 T. freshly chopped dill
1 T. lime juice
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. hot sauce, of choice
1 - 8 oz. container plain vegan soy yogurt

In a non-stick skillet, saute the green onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2 minutes to soften. Add the spinach and continue to saute until the spinach just wilts. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Transfer the spinach mixture to a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, except the vegan yogurt, and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Add the vegan yogurt and process well to combine. Taste and add additional salt, hot sauce, or lime juice, to taste. Transfer the mixture to a glass bowl, cover, and chill for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve as an appetizer with raw vegetables, bread slices, crackers, or chips, or use as a condiment on sandwiches, cooked vegetables, or grains. Yield: 2 Cups

Sun's Up Cobbler  from Hearth & Home witchery

1-lb 14oz can (3 1/2 cups) halved peaches
3 slices slightly dry bread (toast on light)
1 tbs. cornstarch
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Drain peaches, reserving 1 cup syrup. In a pan, combine cornstarch and salt and slowly blend in reserved syrup. Over med-high heat, cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and cook and stir for 2minutes. Add lemon juice, butter or margarine and peaches. Heat JUST to bubbling. Pour into 10x6x11/2 inch baking dish.

Cut bread lengthwise into 1 inch strips. Dip into 1/4 cup melted butter, then into mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Arrange over peaches. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until toasty. Serve with cream (optional) Makes 6 servings.

Lunchtime Cranberry Sun Mold

from Hearth & Home Witchery

2 -3oz packages orange flavored gelatin
2 7oz bottles ginger ale
1 1lb can whole cranberry sauce
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 83/4 oz crushed pineapple, un-drained
1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

In saucepan, combine gelatin and cranberry sauce. Heat and stir until almost boiling. Stir in undrained crushed pineapple and ginger ale. Remove from heat and stir until fizzing has stopped. Pour into round mold. Chill until set. Un-mold onto a serving dish with a layer of lettuce leaf bedding. Garnish with orange and grapefruit sections. Top with alternating orange and grapefruit sections in a "pinwheel" array. Serve as salad or dessert.

Midsummer Passion Punch from Hearth & Home Witchery

Leaves from 4 sprigs of mint
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups seltzer water
6 cups passion fruit juice
1 lime
ice cubes
6 passionflowers

Bruise the mint leaves with the sugar in a mortar and pestle. Transfer the mix to your punch bowl. Pour seltzer water and fruit juice over the leaves. Squeeze in the juice of the lime. Add ice cubes and garnish with passionflowers.
Substitute club soda or sparkling water for seltzer water if desired.

One note for serving: You should NEVER get passionflowers that have been grown non-organically, because they will almost definitely have chemicals on them that you do NOT want near your food! If you have no way to acquire passionflowers (or even if you do and you just like this idea), I might suggest investing in some rose-shaped cake pans--they're usually in a set of four or six and make cupcake-size cakes--and filling them with water and freezing to make big pretty flowery ice cubes. You can even sprinkle some mint leaves in there to freeze into the cubes. It looks beautiful, but believe me, it won't last long under the hot sun!

Fairy Nectar

2 cups milk per serving
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
cinnamon

Warm milk, be careful not to boil it. In each mug add your honey and vanilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Buttermilk Scones for Litha from Hearth & Home Witchery

3 cups Flour
1/3 cup Sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Buttermilk
3/4 cup Currants
1 teaspoon Grated Orange Rind
1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use an ungreased baking sheet. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir well with a fork to mix and fold air into batter. Add the butter and cut into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender or two knives, or work in, using your fingertips, until the mixture looks like fresh bread crumbs. Add the buttermilk, currants and orange rind. Mix only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Gather the
dough into a ball and press so it holds together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 12 times. Pat the dough into a circle 1/2-inch thick.

Glaze: In a small bowl combine the cream, cinnamon and sugar; stir to blend. Brush the dough with the glaze. Cut the dough into 18 pie-shaped pieces. Place the scones 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the tops are browned. Serve hot with Orange Honey Butter (recipe follows).

Orange Honey Butter for the Buttermilk Scones!

2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Rind
3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon honey

Combine the orange rind, powdered sugar, butter and honey in a small bowl and blend until well mixed. Chill slightly and serve with scones or biscuits.

Solstice Herb Bread

3 C. flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry active yeast
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 1/4 C. hot water
2 tbsp. Crisco

Mix 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add herbs, water, and Crisco. Beat slowly, stirring in remaining cup of flour until smooth. Scrape batter from sides of bowl and let rise in a warm place for 35 minutes or until it doubles in bulk. Punch down and beat with a spoon for about 15 seconds. Place dough in a greased loaf pan, patting down and forming a loaf shape with your hands. Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until it again
doubles in bulk. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Brush top with butter or margarine and remove from pan to cool.

Bright Memories Litha Parfait

from Hearth & Home Witchery

1 (2 3/4 ounce) package vanilla custard powder (no bake)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups milk
1 (21 ounce) can pineapple pie filling
2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

In sauce pan prepare custard according to the package directions using the milk. Remove from heat. Gradually stir cheese into hot mixture, mixing well. Stir in vanilla. Chill custard mixture and pie filling separately until ready to serve. When ready to serve, spoon alternate layers of mixture and pie filling into parfait or juice glasses. Top with some type of berries if desired.

Honey-Lavender Biscotti  from Hearth & Home Witchery
 
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon dried lavender blossoms
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Lightly grease three baking sheets (lining the baking sheet with parchment paper prevents sticking and makes cleanup much easier). In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs to a light lemon color; stir in honey, vanilla extract, orange zest, and lavender blossoms. Sprinkle dry ingredients over the egg mixture; fold in until the dough is just combines. To shape the dough into a log, lightly sprinkle flour on the work surface, on top of the dough, and on your hands. Use just enough flour to form the logs and to prevent sticking; you don't want the logs to be covered with flour. Divide dough into six equal pieces. With your hands, pat and shape each piece into a loaf approximately 3 inches wide, 7 inches long, and 3/4-inch high. Place two rolls onto each prepared baking sheet with 3 to 4 inches of space between them. Bake 25 minutes or until dough pops back up when lightly pressed with a finger. (After dough has baked 10 minutes, reverse cookie sheets from front to back and move from the top rack to the bottom one. Repeat this again after another 10 minutes). You can't judge the cooking by the color. The biscotti shouldn't change color during the second baking, so poke them to tell if they're done. They should feel dry and offer some resistance. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Reduce oven to 275 degrees F. Using a long serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Turn the slices over, onto their sides; return slices, on baking sheets, to oven. Bake another 15 minutes. NOTE:  Do not crowd the biscotti slices on the baking sheet for their second baking as they need the hot air to circulate to enable them to crisp up evenly. Remember biscotti will continue to crisp up, as they cool, so do not be tempted to over bake. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. Store biscotti in an airtight container. They will keep well for a few weeks. Yields about 54 biscotti.

This is one of my favorite pies. Since blueberries and rhubarb are not is season at the same time one or the other fruit will have to be frozen. It's awesome with vanilla ice cream.

BlueBarb Pie

9 inch  double pie crust
¼ tsp. salt
1 c sugar
¼ c flour
2 c fresh rhubarb or frozen
2 c blueberries
1 TB butter

Mix salt, sugar and flour. Add fruit and stir well. Heat over to 450. Pour filling into bottom crust and dot with butter. Add top crust and seal, cut vent holes. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower temp to 400 and bake until crust is brown and filling bubbly; about 30 minutes.

Lemon Chess Pie  Edain McCoy

Pie shell, but don't bake it yet
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cornmeal
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup grated lemon peel
Optional:
Second pie shell for covering
Orange slices for garnish at serving time

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Put the pie shell in a deep-dish pan. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the eggs, milk, butter, juice, and lemon peel. Beat until smooth. (You might need an electric mixer, but possibly not.) Pour into the pie shell and bake about 40 minutes until golden brown. Make sure that if you decide to use a
second pie shell over the top, you seal it well around the edges (crimping the sides if desired!) and that you cut steam holes in the top layer so it doesn't explode! Top with orange slices for an added solar touch.

Sunny Soltice Peach Pie

You will need:
1 pie crust (unbaked)
4 cups slice peaches fresh
2 tsp. unbleached flour
1/4 cup peach preserves, with no added sugar in them.
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg
dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400. In the unbaked crust of your choice arrange the peach slices in overlapping circles. Sprinkle the peaches with the flour Combine the peace preserves, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and dash of sea salt in saucepan and heat until hot while stirring. Pour this glaze over the peaches and bake for 10 minutes then turn the heat down to 375 and continue baking for an additional 30-35 minutes. May be served warm, at room temp or cold the decision is yours.

Summer Solstice Cobbler
1-1lb 14oz can (3 1/2 cups) halved peaches
3 slices slightly dry bread (toast on light)
1 tbs. cornstarch
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Drain peaches, reserving 1 cup syrup. In a pan, combine cornstarch and salt and slowly blend in reserved syrup. Over med-high heat, cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and cook and stir for 2minutes. Add lemon juice, butter or margarine and peaches. Heat JUST to bubbling. Pour into 10 x 6x 1 1/2 inch baking dish.Cut bread lengthwise into 1 inch strips. Dip into 1/4 cup melted butter, then into mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Arrange over peaches. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until toasty. Serve with cream (optional) Makes 6 servings.

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