Beer, Dionysos and Christmas

Every post I've put here lately has begun with apologies for not being around much lately.  I have to say I am still processing many things that have happened to me recently and am also processing some of the things I am about to do. I am about to jump headfirst into what looks like a shallow pool and all I can hope for is that I won't break my neck.

But no matter what scary things lie before me, I always love to celebrate the winter holidays with my friends and family and knowing they are around and support me means everything to me. 

Even though Persephone is very close to me all year long I can't help but honor Dionysos this time of year. One of the many divine births to happen around this time of year was Dionysos himself. Also, the very essence of him is celebratory.

I don't make wine, but I do brew beer and I do find that a contemplative and celebratory way to honor my gods. This year, I made a Yule Gingerbread Porter to share with our friends and family. I'm pleased with it - a hearty brown porter made with ginger, allspice, clove and cinnamon to make it taste like gingerbread. I hope they like it but most of all I hope they know that I made it to celebrate them and to celebrate life and love and happiness. 

Dionysos and my Yule Gingerbread Porter

Easter Beltane?

As you know, I love a good holiday.  I love them so much I will gladly celebrate secular versions of any of the major religious observances.  Easter is an interesting problem this year.  Normally, it is so much closer to the Spring Equinox.  Since the typical symbols of Easter are actually more appropriate for the Spring Equinox it was always such an easy fit.  But this year, with Easter on April 24th, it is actually much closer to Beltane. I have written about Persephone's Beltane before.

I decided with Easter and Beltane just around the corner, it was time again to consult the Hellenic Cuisine Cookbook and find and appropriate offering for the holiday feast. 

The cookbook conveniently references May Day or Protomayia in Greek.  They suggest that it is "traditionally a day for an outing for which we suggest the following menu:"

Lamb Cooked in Foil

Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni)

Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

Vegetable Platter

Greek Cheese Pie

Greek Bread

Coffee or Cool Drinks

Pasta Flora

Fresh Fruit

In only the way that this cookbook can do, it doesn't provide any information on some of these recipes.  I couldn't find the "Pasta Flora" at all so I had to google it. It also seems that Pastitsio is a staple and since it is one of my favorites I have posted the recipe here before.  I love the lushness of this menu, too.  The foods seem so sensual and rich, which is perfect.  I decided to share a Dolmathes recipe here, which not only would honor Persephone this Beltane but also her brother, Dionysos who embodies much of what Beltane means. 

And, true to form, the cookbook doesn't offer just a regular Dolmathes recipe.  But I did fine one titled "Vine Leaves Stuffed With Rice".  I present it to you unedited for your reading and cooking pleasure.  I can never get enough of the way these old recipes are written even if it means I go "huh?" when I try to cook one. 

Needed:

50 Vine Leaves, Fresh or Canned

2 cups Rice

3 Medium Onions, Chopped

1.5 cups olive oil

1 lemon

1 cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons pignolia nuts (pine nuts) and currants (optional)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Prepare as follows: fry the chopped onions in oil until golden brown.  Add the washed rice and rest of ingredients and about 1 cup of water.  Cover and let simmer for a few minutes.  Let mixture cool.  Rinse and drain vine leaves.  Fill each leaf carefully, using one large or two small leaves for each dolma, making sure that the shiny side of the leaves remain on outside.  A teaspoon of the filling is sufficient and do not roll too tightly to allow room for rice to expand.  Place a few coarse leaves on bottom of pot, and arrange domathes side by side and layer upon layer until all leaves and filling are used.  Add three cups of water, a little salt, oil and the juice of one lemon.  Cover with a heavy plate and let simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the rice is cooked.  Serve cold. 

Praise to Mother Demeter, Goddess of Grains

I am starting a new project this year.  I am excited about it so I wanted to share it here.  The other day I launched a new blog.  This year, 2011, I will be learning the art of brewing beer.  I have long enjoyed beer, and now I feel the next step in my life is to make it myself.  While the blog itself isn't devotional in nature, the act of brewing beer for me is a spiritual practice.  So I dedicate this project to Demeter, the mother of Persephone and Dionysos, her brother and sometimes son.   

Praise Demeter, giver of the barley which brings us the malt
Praise Dionysos, lord of the vine and the green hops flower
May I honor you by chemistry and design
May I offer you the taste of the beer I make.

Demeter, may you bless the porters,
the wheats, the browns and the ambers

Dionysos may you bless the pale ales,
the bitters, the stouts, and the pilsners.

Thinking of Dionysos

At the very least, he is Persephone's brother.  Some traditions say he is her son.  For some reason I have always linked the feeling of Chrsitmastime to the energy of Dionysos.  And even though this is a blog about Persephone, I wanted to take this little detour into his mythology.

Sure, sure...you might say it is all about the wine.  But that isn't exactly it.  I think it is that feeling of perpetual celebration.  About giving yourself over to feeling good. 

I have a habit of feeling "stressy" during the holidays.  I do it to myself.  I have a problem with not knowing how to react when too many things are coming at me all at once.  The Holidays tend to do that to you.  We travel during the holidays, so I always feel like I need to get things done super early to allow myself enough time to be prepared.  I am a planner by nature anyway.  When it starts to feel like I can't finish all of these things on time, I start to freak out.  Truth is, they always work out in the end.  The energy of Dionysos is like that - give yourself over to him 100 % and things will work out in the end.  It might be a wild and out of control ride, but it'll work out. 

One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Muppet Christmas Carol.  I love the way they handled the Ghost of Christmas Present.  I think there is something about his image - the giant, jolly ghost sitting among all the symbols of a great and prosporous feast - that is very Dionysian.  "Come and know me better, Man!" he says to Michael Cain's Scrooge.  That is exactly what everyone should do with a god like Dionysos.