Thursday, October 29, 2009

Samhain week - Baba Yaga

This picture is by Ivan Bilibin, a wonderful Russian Art Nouveau illustrator.
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First, to me Baba Yaga ("Granny Bones") was not a Goddess, but just a witch from an old Russian fairytale, riding in her house on chicken feet. But then I read some articles, and was reminded of the sad fact, that most of the witches, female monsters and saints are modeled after a Goddess.

Read this interesting and long article on Baba Yaga

Love the Goddess "papers" of the Order of the White Moon
Here's their Baba Yaga



""Come, fetch and put on the table at once everything that is in the oven. I am hungry." So Vasilissa ran and lighted a splinter of wood from one of the skulls on the wall and took the food from the oven and set it before her. There was enough cooked meat for three strong men. She brought also from the cellar kvass, honey, and red wine, and the Baba Yaga ate and drank the whole, leaving the girl only a little cabbage soup, a crust of bread and a morsel of suckling pig."
from Sur la lune fairytales

So - for a Baba Yaga dinner: cabbage soup, cooked meat, crusty bread, kvass, honey and red wine.

How to make kvass
Finnish sima (mead)
Finnish kotikalja (home ale)
Several recipes for ginger beer
brewing root beer

Russian black sourdough rye bread

"Russian" cabbage soup with tomatoes
"Full Schi" - REAL Russian cabbage soup (no tomatoes)

Russian stuffed suckling pig

You can really use any meat recipes you like, for example brisket, but pork would be the best choice. It goes well with the dark bread and cabbage soup :-)

As dessert, I suggest Charlotte Russe (of raspberry jam swiss rolls, not with ladyfingers) or Aeblekage (it should be black rye bread crumbs, not just any old bread crumbs! If you add a couple of gingerbread, it won't be bad.)

How to make Charlotte Russe with swiss rolls:

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