Follow Gather Victoria, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/gather-victoria Wed, 06 Dec 2023 13:32:24 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50inVLFQ9VvL_8qq6eZJzUh9 A berry, a berry, a red rowan berry,  A red rowan berry brought me beauty and love. The Story of the Fairy Rowan Tree Samhain is right around the corner so it’s time to post the recipe I promised for Rowan Berry Caramels. These lucky charms will not only dispel evil spirits and satiate hungry [...]]]> Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:22:11 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50inVLFQ9VvL_8qq6eZJzUh9 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jNmA9LfChsqAC0qH-r7xlT I bet you didn’t know that today is the birthday of the Rowan Tree or Mountain Ash. In Russia, Ryabinnik, September 23rd was the day the rowan berries were considered sweet enough for harvest, and harvest they did. Baskets of rowan berries were cooked into jam, jelly, confiture, kissel, wine, kvass, bread, pies, and candy [...]]]> Sat, 23 Sep 2023 21:30:26 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jNmA9LfChsqAC0qH-r7xlT https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jVh8D3y8mlzEGT5aWO9DEx One of the most abundant, nutrient-dense, healing, and beautiful foods of autumn, is the wild rosehip. Why is why over at Gather Victoria Patreon I’ve devoted an entire mini cookbook to the ruby red fruit of the family “pomme’.  Once a staple in cuisines around the world, I find many people today aren’t quite sure [...]]]> Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:45:06 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jVh8D3y8mlzEGT5aWO9DEx https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50i1qpY614oC6EQqW5gBv7mX It’s the time of the year when the sun’s powers are at their height and plants are brimming with life-force energy. This is why I’m sharing this very special libation from the Gather Victoria ECookbook, Black Balsam. Inspired by my Latvian ancestry, Black Balsam is hailed “true taste of a Baltic Summer” and is the [...]]]> Wed, 21 Jun 2023 06:13:12 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50i1qpY614oC6EQqW5gBv7mX https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jvIJIxXhsooYIAmcWJ0TmB Round and golden as the sun, filled with lush plump strawberries and perfumed with rose petals, this cake is inspired by Goddess Cusine. I created it last year for Gather Victoria Patreon in honor of the Green Holyday (known today as Trinity Sunday). Its motifs mirror the sacred embroidered textiles known in Russia and Ukraine as [...]]]> Thu, 01 Jun 2023 22:56:38 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jvIJIxXhsooYIAmcWJ0TmB https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50iygXU4izb163CrAHWlao0B Ah, deviled eggs. For me, the snow white beds filled with mounds of rich whipped golden yolks are not only a thing of voluptuous beauty –but possibly a perfect mouthful. So imagine my delight last year when I discovered Chef Jacques Pepin technique of browning them to caramelize and crisp their fillings. Pure culinary genius. [...]]]> Tue, 21 Mar 2023 22:47:35 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50iygXU4izb163CrAHWlao0B https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jSPA3RYnd5Ewm0QkxGtqLL I am passionate about ancestral foods and none are more ancient than the wild greens known today as weeds. So in honor of International Women’s Day, I’ve decided to share these spring recipes from Gather Victoria Patreon, Wild Green “Ebbazone” Pies and Wild Green Panocotto Soup. What, you may ask,  do wild weedy greens such [...]]]> Wed, 08 Mar 2023 09:45:28 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jSPA3RYnd5Ewm0QkxGtqLL https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50g5c4F6-_1Mpu-bbeigX9oC “Spring has arrived, we will survive!”  Old Romanian Saying Banish winter, bless the coming of spring, and ensure your face remains beautiful all year with these Rosehip & Raspberry Jam Spirals! They are my edible cookie version of the red and white magical talismans woven by Babas (old women or grandmothers) each March in Eastern [...]]]> Sun, 05 Mar 2023 23:55:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50g5c4F6-_1Mpu-bbeigX9oC https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50h-u3wQNPCNREGT5aWO9DEx I’ve been celebrating Imbolc for over a decade and each year I discover more layers to its mythology and food lore. Last year over at Gather Victoria Patreon, I created a Cailleach Ale Cake (the oldest spirit in the world) in honor of the dark counterpart of Brigid,  the Gaelic Cailleach, one of the oldest [...]]]> Sat, 21 Jan 2023 07:31:13 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50h-u3wQNPCNREGT5aWO9DEx https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50hdpyNB9F1gUe9WSSr4-0sP Happy St. Barbara’s Day!  It never ceases to amaze that if you scratch the surface of any holiday dish you’ll find a goddess history thousands of years old. Take this German Lemon Loaf Cake baked by my Oma for as long as I can remember. Its intensely lemony glaze soaks into the cake making it [...]]]> Mon, 05 Dec 2022 03:20:41 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50hdpyNB9F1gUe9WSSr4-0sP https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50gS3WxBovZz_wVLTsI7B9NX From quince, medlar to barberry, I love to forage for strange fruits which abound this time of year. The following recipe for this intensely moist almost pudding-like bundt, however,  is filled with two strange fruits I’ve not cooked much with before. It’s adapted from the Chocolate Cherry Samhain Bundt I just posted on Gather Patreon [...]]]> Sat, 22 Oct 2022 02:21:12 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50gS3WxBovZz_wVLTsI7B9NX https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50ix0R0JVG0b796jHbRcHw3s OH, MY GODDESS – you’ve got to make these Wild Chamomile/ Pineapple Weed muffins! Their unique aromatic flavor ( a cross between zingy pineapple and soothing chamomile) just permeates these moist fragrant muffins which are made doubly scrumptious by the cream cheese filling. These are one of my favorite summer treats and my poor pre-diabetic [...]]]> Sat, 09 Jul 2022 21:45:56 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50ix0R0JVG0b796jHbRcHw3s https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jk48sRVWy6-ovmyuk5fxzE I am enamored of lilac. Her scent on warm spring evenings evokes the happiest of memories. Every year I attempt to capture her glorious scent in baking and every year I learn yet another lesson about her culinary intricacies.  Through trial and error, I discovered what perfumers knew long ago, lilac’s intoxicating fragrance is notoriously [...]]]> Sun, 15 May 2022 06:24:03 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jk48sRVWy6-ovmyuk5fxzE https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50gU1xtmaoc4HJONpYks2fGs I thought I’d share this recipe from Gather Victoria Patreon for two reasons. May is the sacred month of the Blessed Virgin Mary and in Roman Catholic tradition, roses are the emblematic flower of the Blessed Virgin Mary – and roses will be blooming shortly!  On May 31st  a “crown cake”  is typically baked “affirming [...]]]> Thu, 12 May 2022 00:55:57 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50gU1xtmaoc4HJONpYks2fGs https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50ioPQQEHZojWABC78OgjhDM What more appropriate treat could there be for an occasion of the heart like Valentines Day? After all, many herbalists consider hawthorn berries the ultimate heart tonic and every kitchen witch knows that bewitching hawthorn opens the heart to love.  Heart-warming.& heart-strengthening, hawthorn heals, protects and uplifts heavy hearts, supporting us physically, emotionally and spiritually.  [...]]]> Thu, 10 Feb 2022 06:27:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50ioPQQEHZojWABC78OgjhDM https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50iC32WIF5XeWe4DA87rvhPr I shared this lovely healthy Uzvar recipe with my Gather patrons last year, but I’m sharing it tonight in honor of Ukrainian Christmas and my beloved mother-in-law Rosie who passed away late November 2021.  For the many, many years I’ve been married, I loved hearing her remembrances of this holiday, how the house was full [...]]]> Fri, 07 Jan 2022 05:27:02 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50iC32WIF5XeWe4DA87rvhPr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jZDvIA1p2eT_9M7fKGWt0o In old Germanic folklore, ​Mother Holle or Frau Holle brings on winter when she shakes out her goose-down mattresses from her home in the clouds and the falling feathers turn into snow. Hence this Mother Holle Tart featuring little oatmeal dumpling “clouds” sprinkled with powdered sugar “snow” set in a rich and tangy wild cranberry [...]]]> Wed, 22 Dec 2021 07:15:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/FiWdbJCJ50jZDvIA1p2eT_9M7fKGWt0o