May Sallat

1/2 head lettuce, washed and shredded
1/2 pound spinach, washed and shredded
1 small bunch endive, cut into small pieces
4 stalks fennel, cut into small pieces
1 small bunch of parsley, cut into small pieces
7 green gage plums, pits removed and cut into slivers
1 cup green, seedless grapes, cut into quarters
1 cup fresh peas
1/2 head broccoli, washed and cut into small flowerettes
1 lage lime

2/3 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
2 tablespoons mustard, as spicy as you enjoy it
5 drops green food coloring (made with spinich, the Medieval way)

1. Place the shredded lettuce and spinich and cut endive, fennel, parsley, plums, and grapes in a large, decorative bowl.
2. Place the peas and broccoli flowerettes in a small pot with just enough water to cover them and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain the vegetables in a colander, discard the water, and when they are slightly cooled, add them to the salad.
4. Grate the lime rind finally and add it to the sald.
5. With two large spoons, or your hands, toss the salad to mix all the greens thoroughly.
6. In a mixing bowl, prepare the salad sauce. Mix the lime juice into the ricotta.
7. In a second bowl, thoroughly mix the mustard and basil into the sour cream or yogurt.
8. Combine the ricotta cheese and cream or yogurt mixtures. If the color is a pleasant, delicate green, fine. If it is not a strong enough hue, add the food coloring to make an attractive green sauce.
9. Before serving, pour the sauce over the salad and lightly toss it.

Comments:

This is an elaborate salad. Very tasty, but in truth I've never made it as written. Mostly, because I could never find all the ingredients when it was time to make this Mayday specialty. One year, I found lime yogurt, which made mixing up the sauce easy. Another year, I could not find green grapes anywhere and I've generally not been able to locate fresh peas. So I take nice, frozen baby peas and steam them just enough to thaw them. One year, I couldn't find green gage plums, so I purchased kiwis, peeled off their furry skins and sliced and put them in instead. I've not tried it, but I think fresh, sweet basil might be a nice variation from the dried basil. I never used green food coloring made with spinich, but I do recall once mixing in parsley Liquid Spice, which gave it a wonderful hue. Alas, I've never been able to find any of the brand Liquid Spice since then.

Dr. Cosman's book came out while I was in college and exploring Medieval culture and Neo-Paganism. I've used many interesting recipes out of this book over the years.

Dr. Cosman's book came out while I was in college and was inthe midst of studying Medieval/Renaissance culture, as well as privately exploring Neo-Paganism. I've used many interesting recipes out of this book for different events with different social groups over the past 30 years.

The Celtic festival of Beltane, Beltaine, Bealtaine, Bealltainn, and Boaltinn is the festival held on early in May and marked the beginning of summer. The name can also be used to designate the month of May. In the British Isles, there might have been some historical connection with the Celtic Beltane and the Medieval/Renaissance celebrations of "Mayday" or "May Day." It is also possible that some of the customs and practices associated with the pre-Christian Beltane were passed on into the Christian celebration of May Day. Some manner of early May celebrations do go back hundreds of years in agricultural areas of the British Isles. Certainly the customs such as "gathering the May" flowers, revelers adorned with crowns of flowers or green leaves, men dressed a green baldric and leaves like Jack-in-the-Green/Jack-in-the-Bush/Leaf Man/Green Man and the May Queen seem timeless. Unfortunately exactly how ancient these "old customs" are isn't known.

Fortunately, for purposes of enjoying May Sallat at either a "Medieval Recreationist May Day Feast" or a "Neo-Pagan Beltane Picnic" at the park, it doesn't matter whether the customs are truely ancient or not.

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