29/09/2009

Michaelmas Day 29th September

Michaelmas Day is a mostly forgotten feast of St Michael and All Angels, But with resonance here in Hawkshead as our village church is St Michael and All Angels and sits on a hill above the village watching the proceedings of daily life occur below. 

 St Michael was revered for having defeated Lucifer in the battle for the heavens and this feast day celebrates the changing of the seasons in the northern hemisphere, now is the time for harvest festivals and our Michaelmas Relish is made with this in mind using a myriad of vegetables, a small amount of chilli - as a nod to lucifer (but only a little, after all he was defeated).

We are making this relish today (29th September) as we speak I can smell the fragrant scent of vegetables cooking in the pots in the kitchen upstairs. In three months time this batch will be perfect to accompany all those Christmas favourites such as Turkey and Goose - the latter of which was traditionally eaten at the Michaelmas Day feast.

 So try a pot of your own Michaelmas Relish, it is a limited edition made on this day to mark the celebration of the seasons and the passing of the summer into Autumn.