Madron 2025

Two weeks ago (Monday 22nd September) it was Madron, also known as Mabon/the Autumn Equinox. I normally bake for this sabbat as my main celebration. For the past few years I've made some form of ginger cake (although in 2022 I baked pumpkin spice bars) but this year I decided to go for something differrent, a buttermilk spice cake. The recipe is from Mix and Match Mama: https://mixandmatchmama.com/2018/09/buttermilk-spice-cake/

I thought it fit the theme because it has spices in (also any type of baked goods are suitable for Madron because it's a harvest festival). I didn't use nutmeg because I didn't have any and don't use it much, but I used some mixed spice instead. 

The cake was quite nice. I liked the cream cheese frosting too. (I like it in general but don't normally put maple syrup in it). You can bake it as a sheet cake or a layer cake and I chose to do a sheet cake. Here's a pic: 

Lammas 2025

The Friday before last it was Lammas (1st August). Although some people may celebrate on 31st July or 2nd August. My usual celebration for this sabbat is baking. This year I made gingerbread and also bread (using a mix).

The gingerbread recipe is the BBC Good Food one that I've used for the past several years: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096

This Lammas I made standard "men" shapes and a couple of other ones. Last year I used ready made icing but this year I made up my own again (icing sugar mixed with water). I iced some of them completely. lol. Here's a pic: 

 

Summer Salads + Happy Lammas!

Back in April, I wrote a post sharing some salads to make during mid-late spring. I also did two posts last year featuring salads to make for the seasonal festivals of Beltane and Litha (and summer in general). 

The Spring Salads post was also a double post for this year's Beltane, sharing some ideas for celebrating. You can see it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-salads-happy-beltane.html

 

Since we're now in summer, I'm sharing some more salads to make during the rest of the season. Plus, Lammas is coming up this week (Friday 1st August or around the 1st, depending on when you celebrate). So, while I'm no longer writing more in-depth posts with ideas for celebrating the sabbats, I thought I'd include a few links with some info and inspiration (like the Spring Salads + Happy Beltane! post).

 

Summer Salads

Winter-Spring Update (2025) + Easter Baking

We've just passed the first quarter of the year, so it's time for my first update of 2025! Also, since Easter is coming up next weekend, I've added a section with some Easter recipes (scroll down for that). :)

Winter-Spring Update (2025)

For the past few years I've written quarterly updates (from "season to season"). I started out writing 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 in 2025. :)

You can see my autumn-winter 2024 update here if you like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-year-gingerbread-cookies-autumn.html

I didn't do much during January really. I had a bit of a stressful start to the year, due to personal circumstances. 

At the beginning of February I celebrated Imbolg. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/02/imbolg-2025.html

Also during February, I went to Popeyes and got some food. Similarly to Slim Chickens, I'd had milkshakes from there before but not a meal. I tried Slim Chickens' food for the first time in December. I like them both, but like Popeyes' chicken a bit more and  prefer Slim Chickens' milkshakes! 

At the beginning of March I celebrated my birthday. I got a few presents and had a red velvet cake from Marks & Spencer (a small one because they didn't have the bigger one I usually get) and some food at home. I also got takeaway from Nando's. 

In mid-late March it was Ostara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox. You can read my post about my celebration here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/03/oestara-2025.html

Later in March I met up with my dance friends at a pub in Hangleton (Hove). It was nice to see them.

While I'm not currently going on regular park walks , I went to the park a few times during February and March. I had planned to go to Hove Park for Oestara but ended up going to a nearer one instead, because it was quite a busy day. However, I went to Hove a couple of weeks later, around sunset. I also went to Burger King and got a double bacon cheeseburger, a mocha latte and a Coke, then went and sat in the park for a bit.

Here are a couple of photos:

View from by Hove Park.

Oestara 2025

Last Thursday (20th March) it was Oestara, (more commonly known as Ostara), aka the Spring Equinox. My main celebration for this sabbat is baking and this year I made carrot cake bars with vanilla cream cheese frosting. The recipe is from Simply Taralynn: https://simplytaralynn.com/2025/02/12/carrot-cake-bars-with-vanilla-cream-cheese-frosting/

They were quite nice. Here's a pic:

Taken before I cut them into bars!

 

New Year Gingerbread Cookies + Autumn-Winter Update (2024)

As with previous years, I'm doing a double post about what I baked for Christmas/New Year and my last seasonal update (autumn-winter) of the year (2024). Scroll down if you just want to read the update. :)

New Year Gingerbread Cookies

I'd planned to bake something for Christmas but I was going through a bit of a stressful time and also had problems with my cooker. So, I ended up buying a Christmas fruitcake. However, I was able to bake for New Year. I made gingerbread cookies (or biscuits as we call them in the UK).  The recipe is from Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons: https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/gingerbread-cookies/

They have a cream cheese frosting and sprinkles on top. I used rainbow sprinkles from Tesco. They were quite nice. Here's a pic: 

 

Madron 2024

Last weekend (Sunday 22nd September) it was Madron, also known as Mabon and the Autumn Equinox. My main celebration for this sabbat is baking and this year I made a gingerbread traybake. The recipe is from The Baking Explorer: https://thebakingexplorer.com/gingerbread-traybake/

When I've baked gingerbread cakes or muffins in the past, I've often made a cream cheese frosting (one of my favourites is from the James Martin white chocolate Easter cake I've made several times). But this time I made the buttercream icing that goes with the recipe. It's a simple one made out of butter, icing sugar, ground ginger and vanilla extract.

The traybake itself was quite nice. Here's a picture:

Pic taken before I cut it!

 

Lammas 2024

The other week it was Lammas (Thursday 1st August). Although some people may celebrate on 31st July or 2nd August. My main celebration was baking, I made gingerbread and also some bread (using a mix).

The gingerbread recipe is the BBC Good Food one that I've used for the past few years: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096

This Lammas I made bear and cat shapes as well as the "men"! I used cookie bear and cat cutters that my friend gave me for my birthday. :) I used ready made icing this year. Here's a pic:

Spring-Summer Update (2024) + Happy Lammas!

I planned to write this post last weekend but had internet problems. So I'm doing it this weekend instead. :) 

We're now more than halfway through the year, so it's time for my 2nd quarterly update of 2024! I write them in April, July, October and January (covering the previous 3 months), so technically they're not all in the same year, but never mind! lol. Anyway, here is my spring-summer update. :) 

You can see my winter-spring (2024) update here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/winter-spring-update-2024.html

 

I wasn't really up to a lot during April, apart from a Happy Café (Action for Happiness) meetup and walking in the park.

At the end of the month I went to Lancing Beach as part of my Beltane celebrations and then had my main celebration on 1st May. You can read my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/05/beltane-2024.html

 

Here are a couple of pictures I took during April and May:  

Churchill Square, Brighton- April.

Oestara 2024

Last Wednesday (20th March) it was Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara)/the Spring Equinox. (Or Tuesday the 19th depending on your time zone.) I normally bake for this sabbat and this year I made some carrot cake cupcakes. I used this recipe from Love Lemons: https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/

They have cream cheese icing/frosting and are similar to the spicy carrot cake cupcakes I made last Oestara. You can also make a carrot cake version of these (big cake). They were quite nice. I didn't use any nutmeg because I didn't have any. I was going to use mixed spice instead but realised it was out of date! lol.

The cream cheese icing was nice and I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top to fit the Oestara/spring theme. Here's a pic:

 

Christmas Funfetti Sheet Cake + Autumn-Winter Update (2023)

I was planning to do a post about the cake I made for Christmas and since I haven't done my autumn-winter update yet, I decided to do a double post (like previous years). I started it last week, but I was also working on a post on my entertainment blog Star Sparkle Blog that took  lot of time. So I'm posting today instead.

Scroll down to read the update. :)

Christmas Funfetti Sheet Cake

For Christmas (2023) I baked a Christmas funfetti sheet cake. The recipe is from Handle the Heat: https://handletheheat.com/christmas-funfetti-sheet-cake/

This type of cake is called funfetti because of the sprinkles that go in the batter on top and is also called a confetti cake. In 2014 I made some funfetti cake batter "no-churn" ice cream, which I had for Litha that year.

I couldn't get any red and green sprinkles, so used the usual multicoloured ones instead. It would have been nice to have "Christmas themed" ones but never mind! When I first made a Christmas vanilla roll cake in 2013,  I used Sainsbury's Festive sprinkles, which were red, white and green. (Also put them on top of Easter biscuits the following April.) If I make this again, I'll try to get something similar.

I also just used plain flour because I didn't get round to getting cake flour as well. (Plain flour is the nearest equivalent to all-purpose flour in the UK, although they seem to be a bit different.) I couldn't get buttermilk so just used whole milk. Tessa (the recipe creator) suggests using whole milk instead of a buttermilk substitute. 

The cake was quite nice, although a bit dense. I think this is due to not using buttermilk (as Tessa noted, it changes the texture) so if I were to make it again, I'd do it with buttermilk. Overall though, I liked it. Here's a picture:

 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2023

Last Tuesday (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and having some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. It requires rosemary and garlic, but I used chives and spring onion instead of rosemary because I prefer them.

I also made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice), which is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. I had the potato salad and drink with some buffet type food from the supermarket.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin: 

 

Madron 2023

Last weekend (Saturday 23rd September) it was Madron, also known as Mabon and the Autumn Equinox. My main celebration for this sabbat is baking and I usually make something ginger themed. This year I baked these frosted gingerbread muffins: https://simplytaralynn.com/2021/12/02/frosted-gingerbread-muffins-so-easy-to-make/

The recipe is from Simply Taralynn. I've previously made her pumpkin spice bars for Madron last year and her gingerbread cookie bars in January.

The muffins were quite nice. The recipe requires molasses but I used treacle, which I tend to use as a substitution because it's easier to get in the UK and is similar. Sometimes the treacle can be a bit strong but these were fine. I last made gingerbread muffins for Madron 2021 and those were kind of like ones I made in 2019, since both have banana in. I used applesace for those though, because I don't like banana!

These muffins don't have any banana in, so I didn't make any other substitutions apart from using mixed spice instead of allspice. They aren't the same but mixed spice seems to be more common over here, so I usually use it in ginger recipes. It already has nutmeg and cloves in it, so it's good if you don't have those individual spices (which I didn't). Mixed spice is similar to pumpkin spice though and I used it for the pumpkin spice bars I baked last year.

If you're looking for a substitute that is similar to allspice, here is a useful post: https://thekitchencommunity.org/substitute-for-allspice/

And if you want to make your own mixed spice, visit this post: https://fromthelarder.co.uk/mixed-spice/

The gingerbread muffin recipe has a frosting recipe made with powdered sugar (icing sugar), vanilla and milk but I decided to use my favourite cream cheese frosting from the James Martin white chocolate Easter cake I like to make. It goes well with ginger things. 

Here's a direct link to the cake and frosting recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/frosted-white-chocolate-easter-cake

So, although the muffins would taste a bit different to the original recipe, I still liked them. Here's a picture:  

 

Lammas 2023

Last Tuesday (1st August) it was Lammas, my favourite sabbat apart from Samhain! Some people may celebrate on 31st July or 2nd August though. My main celebration for this festival is baking (usually gingerbread) and this year I made Cornish style pasties as well. (You're not supposed to call it a Cornish pasty unless you're from Cornwall!)

Although I made a pasty the first time I celebrated Lammas, I don't make them that often. The last time was in 2020. The recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. I can't post it online but I did link to a couple of similar recipes in my first Lammas post on the blog: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2014/08/lammas.html

I used Jus Roll pastry which makes it a bit easier, lol. The pasties (I made one for myself and one for my mum) ended up being a bit hard and the carrots could have been cooked more, but apart from that they were ok, lol. Here's a picture of one of them: 

Spring-Summer Update (2023)

We're already more than halfway through the year, so it's time for my spring-summer update! You can see my first update of the year (winter-spring) here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/04/winter-spring-update-2023-happy-beltane.html

Easter Sunday was 8th April this year. I baked the frosted white Easter chocolate cake (James Martin recipe) that I've made quite a few times. I also had a meal at home and got a couple of chocolate eggs, lol. 

At the beginning of May I celebrated Beltane. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/05/beltane-2023.html

In mid-June I went to Nando's for a (very) belated birthday meal! (I wasn't able to go around my birthday in March due to various circumstances.) I had my usual chicken butterfly (plain-ish) and chips (fries). I had peri-salted chips for a change. Also some garlic bread. I normally have coleslaw but they didn't have any. And I had strawberry frozen yoghurt for pudding (dessert).

The food was nice. Here's a picture: 

Winter-Spring Update (2023) + Happy Beltane!

For the past couple of years, I've written quarterly updates (from "season to season"). I found it a bit easier than the monthly and "two monthly" (every couple of months) ones that I wrote in previous years. So I'm doing the same for 2023. :)

Note: I'm later posting this than I planned because I'm currently having computer problems. I am able to still blog on my phone which I'm grateful for, but it is a bit harder to do it on here.

You can see my autumn to winter 2022 update here if you like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/01/autumn-winter-update-2022.html

I went through a bit of a difficult time at the beginning of the year, due to personal issues. I didn't really do much in the first couple of months but I did go to Starbucks in Hove in late January. 

At the beginning of February, I celebrated Imbolg. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/02/imbolg-2023.html

I also went to a belly dance workshop with Lianna Greene in February and to Starbucks again afterwards!

At the beginning of March, it was my birthday. I celebrated at home on the day and got some nice presents. I'd planned to go to Nando's but wasn't able to get there due to certain circumstances. I hope to go soon for a belated birthday meal though! 

Later in March it was Oestara/the Spring Equinox. You can read about my celebration in this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/03/oestara-2023.html

Easter was in early-mid April (Easter Sunday was the 9th). I'll cover it in the spring-summer update, like I have the last few years. :)

Last autumn I started going to Action for Happiness Happy Café meetups again (I used to go before the pandemic) and I carried on going this winter. I went to Creams Café in Brighton afterwards a couple of times too, since it's in the same area as the meetups.  The meetups moved to a pub over the winter.

I haven't been doing my weekly park walks due to having family car problems, but I did go to the park a few times, mainly for Imbolg and Oestara. I miss seeing the blossom trees in my favourite Hove Park (it's a bit of a hassle getting there by bus), but here's a pic of some local daffodils that I took in early April: 

Daffodils outside the Co-op, Shoreham.

 

 

 

Oestara 2023

Last Monday (20th March) it was Oestara (more commonly called Ostara) aka the Spring Equinox. As I said in my Celebrating Oestara! post, I usually bake for this sabbat (or "no-bake" sometimes!). This year I made spicy carrot cake cupcakes using this recipe from Natalie Mason: https://natalie-mason.com/spicy-carrot-cake-cupcakes/

They have a cream cheese icing. You can make a big cake or cupcakes, and I decided to go with the cupcakes. They were quite nice. I've made carrot, zucchini and apple muffins before (Don't Waste the Crumbs recipe) and they didn't come out that well, but the carrot blended in nicely with these cakes. I've also made chocolate zucchini (courgette) cupcakes several times and really like those.

I'd planned to put Cadbury Mini Eggs on the top to fit the spring theme, but they were sold out in the supermarket, so I got Smarties Mini Eggs instead. Here's a pic:

 

 

Celebrating Oestara!

It's almost time for Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara) aka the Spring Equinox! This year it's on Monday 20th March. 

Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly time for Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox. You might like these posts:

Madron Round-up + Autumn Baking: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/09/madron-round-up-autumn-baking.html

Celebrating Madron!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/09/happy-madron.html

 

For the past few years, I've written posts sharing celebration ideas for the sabbats and last year I did a post rounding them up. During 2022 I also started writing a series of posts sharing some ideas and inspiration for celebrating and links to other sites, rather than in-depth posts and have continued that into 2023. As I said in my Yule 2022 one, I feel that I've pretty much covered them all now, since each festival has several posts. 

This Oestara post completes my current round of sabbat ones (which I started last Beltane), so going forward I will probably just write about my celebrations and maybe write short posts before the sabbats. I do appreciate everyone who has read them and plan to continue blogging about seasonal festivals here. I just don't want to keep rehashing the same thing. :) (As with my most recent Madron post, I've previously written a post called Happy Oestara!, so that's why this title is a bit different.)

Oestara (often spelt as "Ostara" but I first heard about it with the alternative spelling) is the 2nd of 3 spring festivals on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Imbolg/Imbolc (which marks the transition from winter to spring) at the start of February and before Beltane (mid-spring) in late April/early May. It's also the Spring Equinox, which is often seen as the "official" start of spring. 

The Spring Equinox is an astrological event where day and night are fairly equal, due to the position of the Earth moving around the sun. It's the opposite to the Autumn Equinox (also known as Madron/Mabon) in September. After this time the days will continue to get longer until the Summer Solstice (known as Litha to some pagans). I wrote a bit about it in my 2019 Oestara Celebration Ideas post.

Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays, but I wasn't able to get this finished yesterday, so I'm posting today instead. :) 

 

Samhain (my favourite sabbat apart from Lammas) is coming up! This year it's on a Monday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en, which is thought to have originated from Samhain customs. In the past I've written several posts with ideas for celebrating and last year I did a round-up post linking to them all. During 2022 I've been writing posts sharing some links and ideas for the sabbats, rather than an in-depth post, so here is Samhain's. :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! You might like my Happy Beltane! post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/happy-beltane.html

 

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Lammas in late July/early August and Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox in September. It marks the end of summer and the start of the winter season. Madron is the official start of autumn, but I think in the past summer and winter were seen as the bigger seasonal shifts. It is also thought to be one of the times of year (along with Beltane) when the veil between the worlds is thin. It is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival, and takes places on 31st October, although some people may celebrate from 31st Oct to 1st November (sundown to sundown).

Summer-Autumn Update (2022)

It's already October, so it's time for my 3rd quarterly update- summer to autumn! You can see my previous updates at the links below:

Winter-Spring Update (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/winter-spring-update-2022.html

Spring-Summer Update (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/07/spring-summer-update-2022.html

 

In early July I went to a metal fusion belly dance workshop in Portslade with Lianna Greene, which was fun. It's been good to get back into dancing again this year (after the lockdowns and uncertainty due to the pandemic) although I'm not currently attending regular classes.   

I also went to Lancing Beach at sunset during July. It was more of a "gentle" sunset but still nice. Here's a photo:

 

Sunset at Lancing Beach.