Harvest time is a great opportunity to remind our children of how important it is to take care of the earth because she’s not only our home, but she also provides us with all our food. Therefore, fruit picking is a wonderful Lughnasa activity for you and your kids. And, there is a lot of bilberry and apple picking going on in my book. Here in Texas, where I live, apples are available for picking in August. You can also get them at all the grocery stores.
Here is a favorite recipe of mine for a yummy August or Lughnasa treat – Apple Crisp
Peel and chop or thinly slice 8 apples of your choice (Granny Smiths are recommended)
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Rub butter or use non-stick cooking spray on an 8” by 8” baking dish
Stir apples, a 3/4 tsp of cinnamon, Tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice together in a bowl and pour into the baking dish.
For the topping, dice 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter into small cubes. In another bowl whisk the butter cubes, with 3/4 cup old fashioned oats, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
With a whisk, two forks, pastry cutter, or your clean hands cut the butter into the mix until it resembles pea-size crumbs.
Spread this over the apple mixture in the baking dish, patting softly to even it out.
Let it bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown.
You can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whip cream and caramel sauce to each serving.
The
Lynx and the Druidess
The
Druidry and the Beast Series
Book
Five
Cornelia
Amiri
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: July 1, 2020
ASIN: B08BNNFWBF
Number of pages: 94
Word Count: 22,600
Cover Artist: Kyra Starr
Tagline: Loving a god has its advantages
Book Description:
Lleu, the radiant sun god,
crosses between worlds to the Silures village for the fierce and stunning
druidess, Wendolyn —a woman worth battling for. He longs to celebrate Lughnasa,
the festival that honors him, with her.
Wendolyn is captivated by the
striking stranger the moment he wanders into her village. Furthermore, she
wants him with a fervor, burning her from within. However, he’s hiding his true
identity. When he vows to save her tribe from the Romans marching toward them,
everyone, including her dead father in a dream, says he is a coward who has run
off.
Lleu is determined to win the
love of druidess Wendolyn even if it means fighting the Roman army singled
handed—by shapeshifting into in his lynx body.
Will her tribe survive the
Romans? And, can Wendolyn and Lleu’s relationship survive her tribe’s mistrust
of him?
Excerpt:
With her heart hammering,
Wyndolen stared with wonder at Lleu’s luscious nude body. She only glanced away
long enough to pull a white robe, speckled with gold, out of the chest in the
corner. She tugged it on, then fastened a plaid cloak over it with a round
silver broach and latched her gaze onto Lleu again while he slipped his clothes
back on.
They left the
roundhouse and walked hand in hand to Cynfor’s home.
She called out
to the woodmaker, “It is time.”
Cynfor stepped out, clutching an iron rod and
the wheel of the year coated with gooey tar.
As the three walked together to the center of the village, men, women,
and children gathered around the druidess, muttering, “Lleu,” and “coward.”
Scanning the
angry faces in the crowd, Wyndolen sighed. If only they knew the truth about
him. But she couldn’t blame them, she was as guilty as they were. She hadn’t
recognized he was a god, even after he’d told her. No, he had to show her his
magic spear and reveal his dazzling aura. Now the others needed to learn the
truth. Tonight, at his festival, she
would announce who he really was. But first she had to prepare her tribesmen
for the news, to lessen their shock.
She held her
palm upward toward the crowd and cleared her throat. “Hear me, I have a
surprise for all of you. The presence of the god Lleu is here. You do not see
him as he is in the guise of one of us. So, take care of how you treat each
other, lest you offend the deity.”
Their
expressions shifted from anger to shame as they were now all on their best
behavior.
Taking graceful
steps, she led all her tribesmen, chief, and Lleu to a cliff. Their chief
proudly carried a blazing firebrand, and Cynfor held the sacred wheel with
reverent hands. Everyone grew quiet and gazed down the mountain slope.
Wyndolen
announced, “We have gathered this Lughnasa to observe the Wheel of the Year as
it turns.” She raised her arms to the sky and smiled at Lleu as she chanted,
“The sun burns, yet winter nears. The season turns. Summer comes to an end. Sun
and earth, life to death the wheel turns, Lughnasa, Lughnasa.”
She took the
torqueh from Corio, handed it to Lleu, and he lit the wheel of year aflame.
Cynfor handed Wyndolen the iron rod. Then, the sun god, Lleu, ran beside her,
on the other side of the flaming wheel, as she used the rod to roll it down
that part of the mountain slope.
She chanted,
“God of the sun, the wheel has turned, the yearly end of your reign has come.”
Smoke rose, as
flames ate the wood. The wheel reached its end at the foot of the slope and
crumbled into ash and burning fragments. The crowd stopped in their tracks and
circled the symbol of the dying Lleu.
About
the Author:
The Celtic Warrior Queen
influenced Cornelia Amiri to write professionally. Cornelia loves history and
in reading a book about the dark ages, she came across the rebel queen, who
inspired her so much, she started jotting down notes. But they were fiction,
visions of her involved in the Boudica revolt. Before she knew it, Cornelia had
accidentally written a rough draft for a novel. And she’s been writing books on
purpose ever since. Drawing on her love of a happy ending she’s currently
penned 39 published romance books.
Now, for the more mundane stuff.
She and her muse, Severus the Cat, live amid the hustle and bustle of humid
Houston, Texas, as does her wonderful son and granddaughter. Cornelia’s
currently working on a sci-fi comedy romance series with a Celtic goddess as
the heroine.
Sign up for newsletter http://eepurl.com/U93Gz
a Rafflecopter giveaway
1 comment:
I enjoyed telling all the Creatively Green moms and readers about my new release, The Lynx and the Druidess, and sharing the apple crip recipe with you all. Thank you so much. I wish you all a Happy Lughnasa!
Post a Comment