Journey through Winter: December ~ Immerse

It’s December, and Emma and Sue are immersing themselves in winter. Listen to hear more about that, along with plenty of seasonal inspiration and this month’s tasks to help you to connect more deeply with the world as we approach the winter solstice

Show Notes:

Editing by Dan Lange

Music Credits: Purple Planet (Reiki Healing)

Opening Poem: Sue reads the poem Good Hours by Robert Frost

Sue is immersing herself in a Wintry Writing Retreat with Beth Kempton.  You can sign up at https://dowhatyouloveforlife.com and she mentions reading The Almanac by Lia Leendertz 

Lunar Living - Sue quotes from Yasmin Boland's Moonology (https://www.yasminboland.com)

Emma's Solstice Cacao Recipe - Per person, add: 1 cup of milk of your choice, 1 desert spoon of cacao powder and a pinch of your spices of choice (ginger/ cinnamon/ nutmeg for eg), plus a couple of cardamon pods and a star anise (you could add peppercorns and chilli flakes too if you like!) to a heavy bottomed pan.  Heat to high temperature just short of boiling and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 mins or so by which stage you should have a beautifully blended festive cacao.

Emma's Vegan Sausage roll recipe: Ingredients - 1 sheet pre-rolled jus-roll vegan puff pastry /1/3 pack Merchant Gourmet Glorious Grains/ ½ pack Merchant Gourmet vacuum packed chestnuts/ a large onion/ 2 cloves garlic/ Celeriac – about 1.5 * the quantity of onion/ 100g of mushrooms/ 30g pine nuts/ Thyme, rosemary and sage/ A tablespoon (or more) of quince/ redcurrant jelly/ Hoi-sin sauce/ Oil for frying/ A beaten egg (if eggs ok for consumer), or plant milk, to glaze.  Method: 1. Begin by toasting the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for 2-3 minutes.  Set them aside for later/ 2. Chop the onion, garlic, celeriac and mushrooms into very small pieces/ 3. Blitz the chestnuts very briefly in a food processor (or crumble very finely)/ 4. Chop the herbs finely/ 5. Heat your oil and add the onions and celeriac to the pan, fry gently for at least 15 minutes until both have softened./ 6. Add garlic, mushrooms and chopped herbs and continue to fry gently for a further 5 minutes or so, then add the crumbled chestnuts for 1 minute or so/ 7. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the grains, along with the pine nuts and jelly. Mix well to combine and season to taste/ 8. Divide your pastry sheet in two, lengthways/ 9. Spread the long edge of each rectangle with hoi-sin sauce / 10. About 1 cm in from the edge of the longside each rectangle, make a long “sausage” with your filling/ 11. Brush the 1cm edge with plant milk and fold over the pastry so the two long sides meet.  Press the seam well/ 12. Cut the long rectangles into 12 (or so) pieces)/13. With a sharp knife, slash the tops of the rolls a couple of times, then brush the tops with egg/ plant milk/ 14. Pop on a lined baking sheet and cook in a pre-heated hot (220c) oven for about 20 minutes (keep an eye on them) until golden.

Sue's Poetry Meditation is based on the poem Slip into Sleep by Mandy Coe

Wintry Words are taken from Mary Oliver's essay Winter Hours from her book of the same name

Festive Baking - Emma recommends frangipane and mincemeat squares: baking http://www.daffodilkitchen.com/christmas-frangipane-mincemeat-squares/recipes, festive tiffin: https://www.toa.st/blogs/magazine/christmas-at-river-cottage-with-lucy-brazier and recipes from Nigel Slater's Christmas Chronicles 

Candle meditation - Sue recommends https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OlrWyI0iSUo

Winter Solstice yoga Nidra meditation - Sue recommends https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MrGQUwHeFR0

Sue picks a card from Louise Hay's Wisdom Cards

Timings:

7.58 - Lunar Living/ 12.50 - Recipes/ 20.56 - Poetry Meditation/ 25.42 - Wintry Words/ 28.50 - This month's tasks/ 37.12 - Wisdom Card