It’s Mabon, the fall equinox, and I can certainly tell that the days are starting to wind down into longer nights.

Today, the day and night are equal and everything is in balance.  It’s a wonderful time to reflect on the concept of balance in your own life.  What can you do to find peace between the light and dark parts of yourself?  One thing we can do on this day in particular is focus on what we’ve harvested (or will soon be harvesting) in our lives – both physically and spiritually.

At this time, the Earth overflows with bounty for which we can be thankful.  Similarly, in the light half of the year, we plant the seeds for change, growth, and gifts in our own life that we can then “harvest” as the nights grow longer in this season.  Did you nurture and manifest anything this spring and summer season that you can now gather?

This Mabon is particularly interesting for me because I have been growing in so many ways – not only am I deepening within and learning to embrace the transition toward motherhood, but my belly has been growing, too! This season, I will really be harvesting quite an amazing gift as the nights grow longer.

As we hiked today, I listened to the crickets and tried to embrace the last sounds of so much life stirring.  Woodpeckers called raucously, chipmunks scurried around gathering food, and fall wildflowers were still blooming proudly.  There is so much to enjoy before silence comes to the forest and little color is left.

We also celebrated with a seasonally inspired feast.  This year’s winter squash is coming in particularly well so I decided that would be the center of my attention.  We also used up some of the garden’s kale in a Tuscan Kale Salad and used a variety of vegetables in a rice and lentil pilaf.  The house smelled great all day!

Here’s the recipe for the Maple-Glazed Winter Squash – you’ll need a 3.4 – 4 quart slow cooker that can be set on low for 6 hours.

Maple-Glazed Winter Squash with Garlic and Ginger

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs. water
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 large butternut squash (or I used a smallish butternut squash and an acorn squash) cut into chunks (check out this tip for peeling an acorn squash)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tbs. light brown sugar or other natural sweetner
• Salt and black pepper

1. Place the oil in the bottom of the slow cooker and arrange the onion slices over the oil.  Follow with the garlic and ginger.  Mix the water and soy sauce together and add to the vegetables.

2. Arrange the squash on top of onions and pour the maple syrup over the squash.  Sprinkle brown sugar, salt, and pepper on top.

3.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until the squash is softened.

I love eating with the seasons!

Also…the kitten we found mewing behind my parents’ house a few months ago, Lucky, wishes you a Happy Mabon, too!

You can find last year’s Mabon post here.  It’s so interesting to see how much growth happens in a year!

What are you harvesting with this transition of the seasons?

 

Shared on: Backyard Farming Connection