August Harvest Pasta to Observe Lammas, Lughnasadh, and the Feast of the Assumption | Sara's Kitchen Witchcraft
- Sara Raztresen
- Aug 8
- 7 min read
Corn was on sale for 25 cents an ear. You bet your ass we're getting some for this meal.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL: SUMMER PRODUCE IS STUPIDLY CHEAP RIGHT NOW.
So obviously, we're going to use some to make today's meal.
Now, here's the thing: when people think of the harvest season, they usually think of things like Mabon (the autumn equinox) or Samhain (that end-of-October/Halloween situation): that's the time when the weather's getting colder and crops are slowing down, and when all the autumn goodies, like squashes, nuts, mushrooms, and cozy stew herbs like rosemary and thyme are making a comeback. However, that is actually the middle to end of the harvest season, not the beginning. No, it's August 1st (or, for central and southern Europe, August 15th) that marks the beginning of the harvest with the festivals of Lammas, Lughnasadh, and the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.
And contrary to popular belief, Lammas is actually a Christian festival! The name comes from the eventual dialectic warping of the words Loaf Mass, as in, the time folks would take their wheat and first loaves of bread with said wheat, bring them to church, and have them blessed by a priest to signify their gratitude to God for this early season bounty and their hopes for continuous blessing for the rest of the season.
However, this festival is primarily up in the Isles (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales), where especially around the Celts, a pre-Christian festival Lughnasadh had the same function. Lughnasadh (Loo-nah-sah) is centered around the Celtic god Lugh and the story of his designating the first of August as a festival and tournament day honoring his foster mother, Tailtiu, who spent her life clearing the fields for people to use and gave up her body to make the fields fertile. The first harvests of wheat are offered up to Lugh, a symbol of the sun itself, as both honor to Lugh and in remembrance of Tailtiu.
Again, though, this is a very Isles-centric version of the harvest festival. Down in central and southern Europe, another feast takes place in mid-August that serves as the main harvest festival and town blessing: the feast of the assumption of the Virgin Mary. This is the day dedicated to honoring Mary, who had Jesus come back down from heaven to take her body up to be with him forever. There's some debate as to whether or not she rose up there like Enoch and Elijah, still alive, or whether she'd already died and Jesus was taking her body up, but either way, this festival will have villages parading statues of Mary around on roads laden with herbs and flowers, asking Mary's intercession for blessings and protection on the town and having feasts with the fresh harvest foods.
And those harvest foods are abundant! I thought about what foods would be in season right now, and when I went to the store to look for goodies to put in this pasta, I found that corn was on sale for 25 cents an ear! That's even cheaper than buying corn in a can, given I bought three ears for 75 cents and still had some left over! And the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and eggplants were all either on sale or just very cheap, too, and from local farms in my area, which made it even better. Buying in season produce is a great way to save on food, and to stay more connected with the natural rhythms of the harvest cycle. (It also helped comp some of the costs of the fancier things I bought at the farmer's market, like fresh local chanterelle mushrooms. Not all mushrooms come out in autumn!)
So, in this meal, we're going to look at exactly those bits of August produce for our magic: things like corn, tomato, pepper, basil, and wheat from the pasta itself, whichever pasta you choose. (Though if you're gluten free and need something else, there's still plenty other stuff to make magic with in here, like oregano, thyme, rosemary, or allspice!)
Magic in August Harvest Pasta
What can I say that doesn't center on the very themes of harvest here? We have to remember that these moments are ingrained not only in us spiritually, but anthropologically as a species that's figured out agriculture. Our very existence revolves around the abundance of the earth; without the soil and the plants that grow our fruits, we cannot eat, and we cannot survive. The way the world bursts back to life in the spring and makes the first fresh greens in months, the way the early crops like radishes and the crops of the past autumn like garlic are now ready, the way the streams unfreeze and give us access to river fish again and the snowmelt from the mountains brings fresh, mineral-rich water for our crops and livestock and ourselves, and then the way the sprouts and herbs and such begin leafing and blooming throughout summer—it's all a sign of joy and goodness and life, all to end with our (hopefully abundant) harvests being preserved for the winter, to hold us over until it all begins again. Our survival is locked to the seasons of the earth, wherever we may live, and that still lives deep in our bones.
So of course, the magic of the beginning of the harvest season is magic of gratitude, of love and joy and strength, of celebrating the beginning of a beautiful payoff for all our summer work. It's the magic of slowing down, appreciating what we have, and steeling ourselves to continue going as we venture back towards the colder, darker months.
When we look at a planetary blend of Venus and Mars, as well as an elementary blend of earth, fire, and a touch of water, we have the magical cocktail to create an environment of satisfaction, love, beauty, and strength. The fighting spirit of Mars present in things like the pepper and the basil, along with the beautiful, balanced, romantic, yet firm nature of Venus makes for a dish that allows us to look with joy and happiness on the abundance around us, celebrating a job well done, as well as feed us to continue working towards our long term goals with confidence. Earth and fire together make for stable, well drawn out plans and creativity, while water reminds us to stay intuitive, open, and supportive of ourselves and others. All together, in this meal is the energy of life well lived, and so much to be thankful for.
(And remember: the oregano, thyme, and rosemary can be invoked to add even more joy and spiritual boosts!)
August Harvest Pasta
Prep time: 20min
Cook time: 45-60min
Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb pork sausage (like kielbasa)
1 lb pasta of choice
1 lb chanterelle and/or oyster mushrooms
2 bell peppers, diced
(Optional) 3-4 hot peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 lb of cherry or other tomatoes, halved
1 cup of fresh corn
8oz melty cheese of choice
A bundle of fresh oregano, rosemary, & thyme for stewing in the sauce
½ tsp allspice
3 bay leaves
1 cube or Tbsp of chicken bouillon
Fresh basil and parsley for garnish/adding in at the very end
Notes:
When I say melty cheese, I mean something that melts and distributes well. Mozzarella can be used, but add it to your own dish instead of to the pot, as it’s a cheese known for pulling and stretching rather than melting uniformly!
If you don’t have pork sausage or don’t eat pork, you definitely want to get some kind of smoky fat base; the fat that comes out of pork/beef sausage or bacon is what gives the onions & mushrooms a killer flavor that the dish needs!
Directions:
Slice your sausage into ¼ inch thick pieces and fry in a pot on both sides until browned and fat has released on the bottom. Set aside on paper towel lined bowl or plate.
Add diced onions and cook in sausage fat until transluscent.
Add minced garlic, and once fragrant, add your washed mushrooms. Chop up the mushrooms beforehand or in the pot if they’re big chunks.
After 5-10min, add the rest of your vegetables and cook until tomatoes begin releasing their water.
Add your bundle of fresh herbs, bay leaves, allspice, and chicken bouillon, then stir and add your sausage back to the pot. Make sure your herb bundle is submerged in the liquid!
After the mixture has been stewing for 30min, boil and salt your pasta water.
Uncover and raise heat to medium-low or medium on your mixture so it reduces into more of a paste or thick veggie slurry. Stir often to keep it from burning.
When your pasta is done, drain it, add it to the pot, then cut the heat.
Add your cheese, parsley, and basil, and stir everything together until the cheese melts.
Serve! ♥
Summer's already fading; you can hear it in the cries of the cicadas and the early morning chill that's suddenly beginning to settle on us before melting back into the summer heat. So while the sunshine is still strong, and the plants are still green and healthy in your gardens, go on and enjoy their bounty outside, with the sun on your face. Make this recipe on a weeknight wher you're feeling extra grateful for what you have, and enjoy. ♥
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Sara Raztresen is a Slovene-American writer, screenwriter, and Christian witch. Her fantasy works draw heavily on the wisdom she gathers from her own personal and spiritual experience, and her spiritual practice borrows much of the whimsy and wonder that modern society has relegated to fairy-and-folktale. Her goal is to help people regain their spiritual footing and discover God through a new (yet old) lens of mysticism.
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