Lammas (or “Loaf Mass”) is the first of the fall harvest festivals and celebrates the grain harvest. Also known as Lughnasadh it falls halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. Ancient customs became passed down and Christianized through the centuries, but the focus remains the same: a celebration of the first harvest and the abundance of the season. This is also an auspicious time for hand-fasting, second only to Beltane, and gathering of family and friends for feasting is a time-honored way to celebrate the turning of the Wheel.

Traditional foods of the season include barley, berries, bread, corn, fresh fruits and vegetables, grapes, jam, pies and cobblers, and potatoes. Drinks include ale, beer, cider, mead, whisky & wine.

Vegan Kitchen Witch

This is such a wonderful time of the year for finding seasonal foods! If you grow your own food, the garden should be bursting with goodness right now and the stalls at your local farmers market will boast a colorful array of all the freshest ingredients. Lammas is centered around grains, so be sure to make up a batch of your favorite bread or muffins.

Reminder: The key to kitchen witchery is keeping your pantry stocked with the fundamental basics. If you’re not familiar with what you should keep on hand, check out My Vegan Pantry list by Oh She Glows! (there is even a 4-page PDF you can print out to take to the store)

Main Dishes

These are some of my favorite recipes for this time of year:

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats from Georgie Eats blog is a simple and delicious start to your morning. Made with 7 simple ingredients, you can mix up a batch the night before and be ready to go on Lammas morning. Pair it with a Berry Smoothie for a well-balanced breakfast.

An easy and versatile salad is this Black Bean Corn Avocado Salad that is both refreshing and filling. Double the recipe if you are feeding a crowd and check out some of the suggestions on Nora Cooks for additional ways to serve this.

In my part of the world, we usually experience “June gloom” that runs right through August so turning on the oven isn’t a deal-breaker. Hannah of The Domestic Gothess has a recipe for a Vegan Chili Cornbread Pie that will quickly become one of your favorite comfort foods. It cooks up in one pan and tastes even better the next day!

If you want to keep the oven off during the day, try this Grilled Fruit Vegetable Charcuterie Board from the Reluctant Entertainer. Although this particular “recipe” isn’t all vegan, just swap out any cheeses for your favorite alternatives and ditch the meat suggestions. It’s still loaded with all of the summer fruits and veg you could want.

Desserts

Satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth with one of these tasty cakes:

The Baking Fairy’s simple Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake is topped with a zesty lemon glaze that is easy to bake up with ingredients you have on hand. You can also swap out the zucchini with other summer squash or switch the lemon with different citrus.

A 1-bowl Vegan Carrot Cake that can be made in just 35 minutes? Yes, please! Kate from Veggie Desserts gives us a recipe for a cake that is so moist and flavorful nobody will ever even guess that it’s vegan.

If you want to get extra fancy this Lammas, try the Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake with Blackberry Jam recipe over at Rainbow Plant Life. It is a show stopper that will take center stage at your celebration!

Drinks

Lughnasadh is the time of year to get your craft on and start making those DIY gifts everyone loves for Yule. Why not try mixing up your own batch of mead this year? Fermentools has a great post on How to Make Small Batch Wines and Mead. Take a look and get inspired for some epic gift-giving!

If you or your loved ones don’t drink alcohol, try this fun Non-Alcoholic Sangria Recipe from Unicorns in the Kitchen. It’s simple to make and packed with flavor for a mocktail everyone can enjoy.

Be sure to share with us some of your favorite holiday recipes in the comments! Blessed Be!