Baked Polenta with Sausage and Mushrooms
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Corn is abundant during this time of year and to celebrate the harvest I like to make polenta. Polenta is a traditional Italian dish made with cornmeal. It can be a bit tricky sometimes but after playing with the cornmeal a bit, you will get the hang of it.

Recipe submitted by Katie Hodges

1 tb olive oil
1 sm Yellow onion; chopped
2 lg Garlic cloves; minced
1 md Red sweet pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1/2 lb Mild Italian sausage, loose
1/2 lb Fresh mushrooms, (white or brown), trimmed and thinly sliced
2 1/2 c Milk, broth or water
3/4 c Yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1 tb Chopped fresh sage
1 tb Chopped Italian parsley
1/4 ts Ground cayenne pepper
1 c Ricotta cheese
1/2 c gruyere or swiss cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tb Butter or margarine; melted
4 tb Grated parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Sauté onion, garlic, and sweet pepper until hot through. Add crumbled sausage and continue cooking just until meat changes color. Stir in mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid. Drain excess fat and set mixture aside.

Place milk or other liquid in a large, heavy saucepan over moderately high heat. Slowly add cornmeal, stirring briskly with a wire whisk to prevent lumping. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes or until mixture is very thick and smooth while stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove pan from heat and stir in herbs, cayenne pepper, and ricotta and gruyere cheeses. Add sausage and sweet pepper mixture. Combine all parts well and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into two 9-inch pie plates lined with plastic wrap. Cool on a wire rack, then cover and refrigerate at least an hour, or as long as three days.

When ready to serve dish, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut polenta in wedges and place on an oiled shallow baking pan large enough to hold polenta in one layer without crowding. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until polenta is lightly browned and very hot when tested with a small knife in center of wedge. Serve with a topping of Tomato Sauce and sprinked with more parmesan cheese.






Katie's Famous Succotash
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The bright vegetables coming into season this time of year always leave me craving succotash. Succotash is an ingidenous dish to our land, originally introduced to white settlers by the Algonkian and Powhatan tribes of the Southern United States. The recipe was adopted by African slaves who were brought to the area and is still a staple of traditional soul food cooking. It is a versatile dish and can include a variety of different vegetables (though it just doesn't seem right without corn).

Recipe submitted by Katie Hodges

2 cloves garlic - minced or pressed
˝ medium yellow onion, diced
2 tb olive oil
3-4 ears of corn for fresh kernels
1 1/2 lbs green beans, cut into corn kernal size
3-4 green onions with tops, chopped
1-2 cups lima beans or fava beans fresh or frozen - cooked
2 medium tomatoes -- peeled, seeded, chopped
6 oz. Water
12 oz. can of tomato paste
4-5 tb fresh herbs like Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary and Parsley, chopped
Salt, Pepper, Cayenne to taste

How to cut fresh kernels
Stand ear of corn on it's end. While holding the ear at a diagonal, use a sharp, unserrated knife to cut down the edge of the corn, freeing the corn from the ear. The kernels will fall to the bottom (so do this on a cutting board). Turn the corn a bit and repeat. Free all the kernels from the corn before starting this recipe.

Sauté onions and garlic in oil until transparent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add fresh corn kernels, green and lima beans and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Now add tomatoes and onion and cook an additional five minutes or so. Add herbs, tomato puree and water. Simmer lightly for 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Serve it hot.






Freckled Sourcream Sourdough Loaves
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This sourdough recipe has a number of different types of grain, creating it's freckled appearance. The grains that are being harvested at this time of year are a wonderful gift from the earth and this bread makes an appropriate ritual food for Lammas.

Recipe submitted by Lady Pinehawk

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups filtered water
1 tbsp. Sugar
1 pkg. yeast (not quick-rise)

Use a ceramic, glass or plastic container (not metal) to make the starter. Blend the flour, water, sugar and yeast with a wooden spoon till smooth like a pancake batter. Drape a cotton towel over the container and set in a warm place free from drafts(no higher than 95 degrees). Uncover it every 24 hours and stir with a wooden spoon for four days. On day five make your bread.

2 cups starter (above recipe)
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. white sugar
1 cup warm water (no higher than 95 degrees)
1/2 cup sour cream (warmed)
1 Tbsp. Vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup graham flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. crushed and dissolved rock or sea salt
3-4 cups unbleached white bread flour

In one bowl, mix starter and both sugars. In another bowl, combine the salt, sourcream and water together. Allow the sourcream mixture to sit until the salt dissolves (about 10 minutes). Add sourcream bowl to starter bowl and mix.

Stir in the wheat gluten, the graham flour, the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour. Continue adding white flour one cup at a time and mix thoroughly after each addition until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic - about 10 - 15 minutes.

Wash a bowl in very warm water (to warm it) and then dry it well. Coat it in about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and let it rise until it had doubled in bulk (about an hour). Once it has doubled, punch the dough down. Divide the dough into two or three equal pieces (depending on how big you want your loaves to be). Oil your baking sheet or bread pans and dust them with cornmeal. Shape your loaves as desired. Let them rise for 1-2 hours as needed. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the loaves from their pans immediately and tap them on the bottom. If they sound hollow, the bread is done. Serve with softened butter and enjoy!






Summer Veggie Goulash
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As fresh veggies come into season, this recipe always comes to mind. It is a variation of the poor food of my childhood, and with the addition of fresh seasonal food it feels like summer to me. You can also add other canned food from the cupboard. Get creative with it!

Recipes submitted by Tami Cheshire

1 lb of hamburger
3-5 lbs of potatoes, diced (my mom always liked potatoes)
3-4 ears of corn for fresh kernels
2-3 green bell peppers, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 lbs of green beans, diced
1-2 cans of tomato sauce
1/2 c. Heinz Ketchup (or more - mom liked ketchup too)
Garlic Salt
Water
Fresh or dried herbs: I like rosemary, thyme, dill and/or basil

How to cut fresh kernels
Stand ear of corn on it's end. While holding the ear at a diagonal, use a sharp, unserrated knife to cut down the edge of the corn, freeing the corn from the ear. The kernels will fall to the bottom (so do this on a cutting board). Turn the corn a bit and repeat. Free all the kernels from the corn before starting this recipe.

In a large pot, brown the hamburger. As it browns, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. You can add other spices at this stage. Once the meat is cooked, drain it and remove the hamburger. In the same pot, saute the onion in a bit of oil. After the onion has cooked for a bit, add the green peppers and saute both until they are about 3/4 cooked. Add the hamburger back as well as the potatoes, corn, and green beans. Give this all a nice good stir and add the cans of tomato sauce and ketchup. Add water until the veggies and meat are just submerged. Add the rest of the herbs and boil on medium-high, stirring occasionally. Once the potatoes are soft, it is done. This goulash is well served with....

Mom's Corn Bread
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Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg (per box directions)
1/3 cup milk (per box directions)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar

Combine all of the ingrediants together and mix well.
Place in greased oven safe dish and bake at 350 for
about 20 minutes. Serve hot with butter.

Swiss Roll with Lemon Curd Filling
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The lemon is highly featured in pagan traditions both medicinally and magickally. Lemons come into season during the summer and it's tart flavor is wonderfully accented by the sweetness of sugar. Try this lovely swiss roll recipe that highlights the lemon curd recipe on our lemon article this issue.

Recipe submitted by Fiona Brigit

2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
2 tbs all-purpose flour
6 tbs sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-rising flour
2 tbs spoons superfine sugar
1-2 cups of lemon curd (recipe here)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of an 11' X 17" jelly roll pan with one tablespoon of butter. Line pan with a 22" long strip of waxed paper, letting the paper extend the ends of the pan. Brush the remaining butter over the paper and sprinkle it with 2 tbs of flour, tipping the pan to distribute the flour evenly.

With a whisk or electric beater, beat the regular sugar and eggs together until the mix is light and fluffy. Sift the flour over the eggs a little at a time, folding the mixture together gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the jelly-roll pan and spread it evenly. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and dust the top evenly with the super-fine sugar. Then turn it out on a sheet of wax paper and gently peel off the paper on the top of the cake. Spread the top of the cake evenly with the lemon curd and starting with the long end, roll the cake into a cylinder. Cool to room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve.