Anna Sultana’s Halloween Barmbrack, The Orionid Meteor Shower & The Full Hunter’s Moon

Can you believe it? 

October is more than halfway gone.

That means it’s almost time for Halloween!

The holidays, especially the ones late in the year, were a hectic time for Ma.

Not only did she have a ton of Maltese recipes to prepare, but she also had to include recipes that we had learned from our neighbours and her co-workers, as well as those recipes that had become a part of Maltese traditions by way of Napoleon and the British navy.

Yes, Napoleon. 

Recipes used every way they could to find their way into Ma’s recipe files.

One such recipe, along with its Halloween traditions, is Barmbrack, an Irish tea bread filled with raisins and dried fruits.

It was a popular item to enjoy at 4 o’clock in Malta, where it was served as toasted slices with butter, along with a nice hot cup or two of tea.

Barmbrack also has a Halloween tradition attached - the loaf is baked with small items mixed into the batter, and they are supposed to foretell a person’s future:

• a bit of cloth meant bad luck or you would be poor
• the coin meant you would enjoy good fortune or be rich
• the ring meant you would marry within the year
• the pea meant you would not marry that year
• the stick meant you would have an unhappy marriage or be in disputes
• the medal, usually of the Virgin Mary, meant you would be going into the priesthood or convent (The medal isn’t usually included any more.)

Hopefully each person’s slice would have one of the items.

Of course there was always the risk that a nice thick slice could hold a weird combination - such as both the pea and the ring - or nothing at all.

Well, cooking and holiday customs are not exact sciences!

Hints:

You can use just raisins (your choice as to kind) or a mixture of raisins, currants, cherries and citrus peel. 

This is a great recipe for using up bits left over from baking a fruitcake. 

The dried fruit should marinate for 8 hours or longer.

You can prepare the fruit the day before and bake the next afternoon for your tea time.

Some dried fruits absorb more liquid than others so you might need to add more tea. 

To be ready, have some extra cold tea on hand.

It also works fine replacing the egg with a tablespoon of applesauce.

Barmrack is best served fresh and warm but will last for up to five days.

I remember noticing that the grownups would often brush their slices with a syrup that wasn’t offered to us kiddies.

Our parents would also add a drop or two of the syrup to their tea.

Well, they needed some fortification for the upcoming holidays!

         Whiskey Syrup

Place in a saucepan

1/4 Cup water

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)

Heat over a medium burner. Do not stir. 

Swirling the pot occasionally, boil the mixture until it’s a dark golden brown. 

When the mixture is dark, remove from heat and add 

1/2 cup cold water 

2 Tablespoons whiskey

Bring the mixture back to a boil. 

Cook for 1-2 minutes, until everything is combined. 

Lightly brush slices of bread with the syrup and add a nice spread of good butter.

It's also delicious in a cup of tea or coffee.

If there was time, Ma made this special butter for us kiddies.

         Honey Butter

Place in a small bowl 

3 Tablespoons salted butter at room temperature

1 Tablespoon liquid honey

Mash together until well combined.         

                                   Barmbrack

Place in a bowl

1 1/3 Cups dried fruit 

1 1/4 Cups cold strong black tea

Place the bowl in the fridge and let the raisins soak 8 hours or overnight.

After a few hours you could check to see if they need more liquid.

Grease well an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan

Preheat the oven to 350° F

Combine in a large bowl 

2 Cups flour

3/4 Cup brown sugar 

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 teaspoons baking powder

the cloth, coin, ring, pea, stick and medal (optional) 

Stir in

the marinated fruit

Add

the tea left from marinating the fruit

1 egg

Stir together. If the batter looks too dry add a bit more cold tea.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350º F for 1 hour. 

If the top is browning too quickly, place tin foil lightly over the top. 

It is ready when it’s golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped.

Serve warm with butter and/or jam.

Don’t forget to make a pot of your favourite tea or coffee.

About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

October 21 & 22 - The Orionid Meteor shower peaks! This shower is the cosmic dust from the most famous comet, Halley’s comet. The meteors appear to emanate from a point near the Orion-Gemini border in Orion’s upraised club, hence the name. View overhead from 1 to 2 a.m. local daylight time until dawn; you may see 20-25 meteors per hour. 

But the waxing gibbous Moon may interfere with viewing.

October 24 - The Hunter’s Moon will be astronomically full at 12:45 p.m. In this phase, the entire disc of the Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Though the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered “full” for the entire day of the event and appears full for three days so you can get out and enjoy it! Learn more about how this Moon got its name in our short video.

October 31 - The second of two Last Quarter Moon phases this month, at 12:40 p.m. In this phase, the Moon looks like a half-Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing, on its way to the New Moon (invisible) phase.

The Last Quarter Moon is at perigee (twice in one month!) at 4:22 p.m., meaning it’s at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. The reason we’re seeing the second Moon at perigee is that the lunar calendar is 29.5 days long, which is shorter than our Gregorian calendar.

There Be Circles by Margaret Ullrich

I recently posted a story about Paul meeting the performer Geoffrey Holder.  
I had written it for when I was a co-host on ‘2000 & Counting’. 

Last week I got an email asking if I’d post the Halloween story I had also read on air in 2002.  

I had also read it on a few other pre-Halloween shows.

It had become one of our show's traditions.

For you, E., here's the story.  

Thank you for remembering.  

And Happy Halloween, everyone!!

     I don't know if you've ever noticed but there are an awful lot of cul-de-sacs in this city.  I've never understood why they're so popular, especially after a Winnipeg snow storm.  After the city plows all the snow into a small mountain on one curb and blocks the view, you have to take your life into your hands to drive out. 

     When we first moved to our present home neighbours told me about a cul-de-sac a few blocks north of us.  When kids have to sell candy in September they avoid going there.  It's not far but I don't walk our dogs near it.  Well, our neighbours had said to avoid it.  The people there have a reputation for being 'different'.  Nothing dangerous.  No, nothing like that.  It's just that they have a bit of history.   

     I've heard stories, but I'm sure there's no truth to them.  I mean, things like that don't happen.  It is the twenty-first century, right?  Still… better safe than sorry.  

     The interesting thing is that the families in this cul-de-sac are all descendants from some of the Selkirk settlers.  Imagine that.  A few families that have managed to stay near each other and to intermarry for almost two hundred years.  

     The Selkirk settlers faced hard times when they arrived in Winnipeg in 1815.  Cold weather and lack of food and housing to name just a few.  The Selkirk settlers were strong and brave and never complained about these physical hardships.  Some people find comfort in religion at times like that. 

      There again the Selkirk settlers, mostly Presbyterians, had a problem.  They had to wait until 1851 for a minister to be sent over from Europe.  Imagine that - 36 years without an ordained minister.  Two generations with no one to properly officiate at weddings, christenings or funerals.  In the spiritual void they had to take care of themselves.  If I were in their place, I don't know what I'd have done.  Do you?  Some continued as best they could with Bible readings and trying to observe the Christian calendar. 

      But, some of the settlers went further back, as if some primitive force was just waiting for them to need more than Bible stories.  Well, that's what some people say two or three of the settler families did.  That that's what their descendants were still doing.  It actually looks cheerful to drive by and see neighbours gather around and celebrate things like solstices and equinoxes.  That's all it is, right?  

      One story - oh, it couldn't be more than a local urban legend - is that Sally, a young woman new to the north end, met Bethany from the cul-de-sac, when they were both out walking their dogs.  The dogs, both healthy puppies, took to each other and started playing together.  Well, you know how it is.  The pups were on their leashes so while the dogs played, the women chatted.  They were both about the same age, so they had a few things in common.  They'd walk and chat about work, husbands, kids, the usual stuff.  

     Well, as sometimes happens, the economy took a downturn and Sally's husband lost his job.  Bethany offered Sally the usual tea and sympathy and said she'd pray for them.  Sally didn't think the prayers would make much difference but she thanked Bethany and didn't give it another thought.  Within a few days Sally's husband got a job at twice his former pay.  Well, Sally was thrilled and phoned Bethany to tell her the good news.  

    Now, here's where the story gets a bit hazy.  It seems Bethany told Sally that she had to do certain things.  Sally was a Catholic and she was used to things like saying a rosary or publishing a notice of thanksgiving to St. Jude.  But, what Bethany said struck Sally as being, well, a little odd.  Sally said sure, no problem, she'd do them.  But she didn't.  Sally couldn't take what Bethany said - things like retribution - seriously.

     A month went by.  Sally felt a little funny when she bumped into Bethany.  She had the oddest feeling that Bethany knew she hadn't done any of those things.  Well, Sally couldn't really trust her feelings.  She'd just found out she was pregnant and you know what that can do to a woman's perceptions. 

     Then things started going wrong.  First Sally's freezer went off.  It was the strangest thing.  Sally opened the lid and the stench nearly knocked her out.  All the meat had gone bad.  Yet the other food was fine and the freezer  was cold.  None of the clocks were flashing 12, so Sally knew it wasn't a blackout.  The repairman said there was nothing wrong.  Sally figured it was just one of those things and bought fresh meat.

     A few days later, Sally's husband was downsized out his job.  Well, the economy was a roller coaster.  Then Sally's puppy was found dead under a bush.  The vet couldn't explain how a healthy puppy could die like that.  No poison, it hadn't been sick, no explanation.  Then Sally miscarried.  The doctor reassured her.  It happens all the time, probably for the best, Sally was still young, nothing's wrong, probably stress.

     Sally was distracted and almost didn't recognize Bethany when she bumped into her on the way to the market.  Sally told her about how things had taken a turn for the worst.  

     Bethany listened without comment.  After a long pause, Bethany gave Sally a cold stare and said, "What did you expect?  You didn't do as you were told."  And with that Bethany just walked away.