Beltane 2026

The Friday before last (1st May) it was Beltane. (Some people celebrate from sundown on 30th April to sundown on 1st May.) I usually make guacamole or salad for this sabbat. In recent years I've tended to make a salad and buy guacamole) most often kachumbari (Kenyan tomato and onion salad). But in 2019 I made both.

Tis uear I decided to make an avocado salad, which I've made a couple of times before.The recipe is from Precious Core (whose recipe for kchumari I also use): https://www.preciouscore.com/simple-healthy-avocado-salad/  

It's similar to kachumbari (I shared both of them in my Salads for Beltane + Extra Ideas! post in 2024). I had it for my lunch with some ciabatta rolls, savoury eggs, feta parcels, chicken sausages, sea salt and vinegar crisps, and onion and garlic dip. 

Here's a pic: 

The cutlery got in the salad a bit!

 

Winter-Spring Update (2026) + Happy Beltane!

We've just passed the first quarter of the year, so it's time for the first seasonal update of 2026 (winter-spring)! For the past few years I've written quarterly updates (from "season to season"). I previously wrote monthly updates in 2019 and then "two monthly" (two months at a time) ones in 2020, but found that quarterly was better for me. So I'm going to carry that on this year. :)

You can see my autumn-winter 2025 update here if you like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/01/christmas-spiced-gingerbread-cake.html

 

As with last year, I didn't really do much during January. At the beginning of February I celebrated Imbolg/Imbolc. You can read my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/02/imbolg-2026.html

At the beginning of March it was my birthday. I got a few presents and a red velvet cake from Marks & Spencer. I also had takeaway from Nando's. 

Then in mid-late March it was Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox. You can read my post about my celebrations here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2026/03/oestara-2026.html

I went to the park as part of my celebrations for Oestara (see the post above) and I also went to another park the following week. I went around sunset but ended up getting there later, so it was going by the time I got to the park. It was still quite a nice evening though.

Here are a couple of photos:

View by Hove Park.

Oestara 2026

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but I was later with a post on my entertainment blog Star Sparkle Blog, so got behind in general. So today's post is on a Tuesday. :) 

The Friday before last (20th March) it was Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara) aka the Spring Equinox. I usually celebrate by baking. The past couple of years I made carrot cake cupcakes.

This year I baked chocolate carrot cupcakes. The recipe is from Mix and Match Mama: https://mixandmatchmama.com/2016/02/chocolate-carrot-cupcakes/ 

They were nice. Chocolate cake is one of my favourite type of cakes, so it was good to have chocolate carrot cakes! They have a cream cheese frosting and I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top to fit the Oestara theme. Here's a pic:  

 

Imbolg 2026

Last Monday (2nd February) I celebrated Imbolg (more commonly known as Imbolc). I normally celebrate on the 2nd but some people celebrate on 1st Feb (or from sundown on the 1st to sundown on the 2nd). And others may hold their celebrations on 31st January.

I usually make pancakes for this sabbat. They are a good fit for Imbolg. This year I made oatmeal pancakes (American style) again, using this recipe from Don't Waste the Crumbs: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oatmeal-pancakes/

I really had trouble getting the mix to come together this year! It was similar last year but I did get a couple more solid pancakes then. I was happiest with the pancakes the first year I made them (2021) and on Imbolg 2022.

They tasted quite nice though, except I put too much cinnamon in the mix! I used little pots of instant oatmeal like other years rather than buying a bag of porridge oats and plain flour instead of oat flour. Maybe they'd hold better with oat flour but I don't have a mixer or blender, so it would be difficult to make.

I had them with butter and golden syrup. Here's a pic:

Doesn't look very neat but never mind! lol.

Christmas Spiced Gingerbread Cake + Autumn-Winter Update (2025)

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this finished yesterday, so am posting today instead. :)

As with previous years, I'm doing a double post, sharing what I baked for Christmas and my last quarterly update of the year (autumn-winter). (Last year I didn't bake anything for Christmas, so shared what I baked for New Year instead). Scroll down if you just want to read the update. :)

 

Christmas Spiced Gingerbread Cake

For Christmas (2025) I baked a spiced gingerbread cake. The recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/gingerbread-cake-recipe/

It can be made as a single layer cake or a 3 layer cake and in various sizes. I made the single version. I used treacle instead of molasses, which I often do with ginger things, since it's more accessible in the UK. I also used mixed spice instead of cloves because I didn't have any and mixed spice has cloves in it.

The recipe has a cream cheese frosting which is one of my favourite icings/frostings, especially with ginger cakes! This frosting has spices in it, so I used ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice again. 

The cake was quite nice. It goes well with evaporated milk too. One of the suggestions for decorating it is festive Christmas sprinkles. I couldn't get any red and green sprinkles, so I used some multicoloured ones instead. Here's a pic:  

Yule 2025

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this finished yesterday. So I'm posting on a Tuesday instead. :)

The Sunday before last (21st December) it was Yule/the Winter Solstice. I celebrated by having a chocolate Yule log from Tesco, a Finest red velvet white chocolate one this year, for a change. While I occasionally make my own, I most often buy them, especially since it's so close to Christmas!

The Yule log was quite nice and it was good to have red velvet, since I like the cake. Here's a pic:

 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2025

The Friday before last (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin, putting up some decorations and making some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons, made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya and my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, and dyed green). The drink recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin: