Challenge Accepted (Ms. Dirty’s Holy Supper Challenge)

Note: this post was originally posted at my old pagan-tumblr. I decided to put it here as well, in the interest of having all my things at my main blog.

I’ve decided to accept this challenge. One of my quests is to find family and create new traditions; I have very little to cling to from my upbringing. I still wish to connect to my ancestors, however, and so when I read Ms. Dirty’s Holy Supper Challenge (aka Midwinter Magic) I felt I had to participate.

My agnostic/non-religious/non-spiritual/fuckin’ pain-in-the-ass to the god-bothered partner seems on board, too, so that’s a bonus, seeing as he’s my family now and I want to start building traditions with him. Not sure if it’s going to happen at my house or his; that should be determined in the next few days.

So. My own personal heilig avondmaal (Dutch for holy supper, or so babel fish tells me – I’ll have to double-check with mom when it’s not three in the fucking morning; see beginning of post for Cherokee translation of holy supper) will include Dutch (me), Irish (both of us), Scottish (both of us), Welsh (me), Cherokee (me) and Choctaw (me) recipes. (I’m actually not sure if I’m Cherokee or Choctaw at this point, so I’m just including both to be safe until I can finish my genealogy work. I’ll also have to double-check with my bonus mom to see what their ancestors are.)

There’s a lot of overlap with dishes here; potatoes are common to just about all my backgrounds. (I do realize that potatoes were introduced from the New World to the Old, but it’s been a few centuries now and the potato has become a very large part of, at least, Irish cuisine so I think it counts as a traditional food.)

There are not many options when it comes to my Dutch – or, more accurately, Friesan – background. Friesland is in the North-eastern area of the Netherlands, and it is the historically least-populated and least-developed part of the country. So…sausage is the main dealio there, and I’m really not a fan of sausage. However, pastries and such are also a big deal there, and I am a fan of those. So I’m looking at making a koek (type of dense cake) for our holy supper to fulfill the Dutch component. I may also make a hutspot or stamppot, which is basically mashed potatoes or parsnips, the potato’s predecessor + whatever the fuck is around. (Generally vegetables like kale, turnip, carrots, etc, and bacon. Which is totally a vegetable.) Hutspot is generally very popular during the winter, as it is more of a hearty meal than a side dish. So it’s perfect for this time of year. I will also probably try to include andijvie, or endives, in our meal. And, of course, motherfucking apple sauce. My Oma made this all the time and it was fucking delicious.

As for the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry: lots of overlap here. Seafood is very popular in all three traditional cuisines, but I fucking hate seafood of most kinds and sooooo that will probably not be included. I am thinking of Tatws Pum Munud, or five-minute potatoes – it’s a Welsh stew that consists of potatoes, vegetables like onions, peas, and carrots, and smoked bacon or minced beef. The ingredients are sliced flat and it’s cooked in a large frying pan and served on a plate. Leeks are also figuring high on the list, because they’re delicious and the national vegetable of Wales. Faggots look intriguing to me as well. They’re a type of meatball. And I’ve found a recipe for Welsh Cawl which says one can substitute beef for the traditional lamb, so that’s also a possibility.

Irish and Scottish cuisine contain a lot of options, and I haven’t succeeded in narrowing them down yet. I’ve linked various pages below as a sort of bookmark for myself so I can find these things back. I may ask my partner to choose the Irish and Scottish recipes we do, as that’s his heritage as well.

Now, as for my American Indian side: fuckin’ fry bread, man. Seriously. It’s a must. It’s so damn tasty. Also common was bear and deer meat, which I may actually be able to get a hold of – in which case I am definitely cooking the fuck out of that. Lots of potatoes, so that’s happening. Corn pones look intriguing; bread pudding I’d like to attempt; soup you can never go wrong with; grape dumplings what is this I don’teven.

Yeah. Seems like a pretty good selection. I’m going to have trouble containing it all to one meal. (Also going to have trouble not repeating similar dishes. Lots of starch here.)

One reply on “Challenge Accepted (Ms. Dirty’s Holy Supper Challenge)”