Plow Monday

Daffodils showing in the mud of January.

The first Monday after Epiphany is the traditional day in Europe for men to restart their farm work. (Notice that farm work starts nearly a full week later than “women’s work”, on Distaff Day!)  

Before work can start, though, a ceremonial plow is blessed at church, then paraded through the streets to collect money for the parish.

Our garden isn't large, but I think of it as my miniature farm. I haven't done a thing out there for weeks, except dump compost and rake leaves. Of course, it's really too early in the Pacific Northwest to do any digging because the soil is too wet, but other tasks are possible, and it's good motivation for me to have this set date each year to start my “farm work”. 

Agenda for today & this week: 

A jumble of garden tools, sprinklers, gloves, and a birdfeeder...
waiting to be blessed.

1. Tool Blessing Ceremony:

Today I clean and sharpen my garden tools and oil the wooden handles. While I work, I focus on the purpose and history of these tools: All the planting of food that they have helped with, and the pruning of trees, and the trimming of grass. I clean the dirt out of my storage basket, and put everything away again in better order. 

I make the act of cleaning into a blessing: “Bless these tools to do their work”.

2. Journal:

Today I also like to fantasize and plan changes in my garden. I map out the rotation of my vegetable beds for this year, look through my Garden Journal notes from last year, and make a list of ideas- new garden projects, and new things to plant. My query:

How can I make my garden a better sanctuary for my family, more comfortable for friends, a greater learning-experience for my art class kids, more mysterious and secluded, more of a visual treat, AND easier to keep up with? 

3. Seeds:

Sometime this week I will pull my seeds out of the refrigerator, and go through the seed catalog to make a list of new seeds to buy (some before February 1 for the seed-blessing ceremony on Imbalc).

4. Daily Garden Visits:
In January, our garden is so wet and cold! It’s hard to get motivated to visit it. But the winter garden offers me connections with the earth and sky, the seasons, and the Spirit of God. My heart fills when I visit my garden even for a few minutes each day, to see the buds poking up and watch the changes in the trees. 

Here are the tasks that inspire me to step out into my garden this week:

Junco in our apple tree, against the gray sky of January.

• Tour the garden and make note of things to do this week and this year. 
• Visit a different garden bed each day and pull just a few weeds or dead plants. 
• Take my camera out into the garden to collect images. 
• Check the buds on the apple tree each week. 
• Check the bird feeders and refill them. 
• On sunny days, drop everything and go outside to prune: This is a good time to prune the apple, grape, and summer flowering bushes like the lilac and hydrangea.
• Another sunny day job: Rake up the last of the Hawthorn leaves and berries, and move them to the side path.

5. Make Plough Pudding:

This is a steamed meat pudding traditionally made in Britain on Plow Monday- very rich and yummy. 

I added some kale, because I could.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. all-purpose flour 
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp.)
• 8 slices bacon (I used 4 thick slices)
• 1 small onion
• 6 sage leaves
• 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 lb. pork sausage (not in casings)
• scant 1/2-c. vegetable stock

Yield: 4-6 servings-

I used a Pyrex mixing bowl.

1- Butter a 1-quart pudding basin (or heat-proof bowl with a bit of a rim) and set it aside.

2- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add shortening and rub together until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add cold water and stir with a fork until the dough comes together. 

3- Take out 2/3 of the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until 1/4-inch thick. Use this to line the pudding basin, using cold water and extra dough to fill any gaps. Roll the remaining dough for the lid. 

4- Chop the bacon and the onion, and slice the sage into thin ribbons. Mix with the sausage and brown sugar in a bowl. Fill the pudding basin and top off with vegetable stock.

5- Place the dough lid on top. Trim, and press edges firmly together, using a bit of cold water. 

6- Cover the basin with a circle of parchment and 2 layers of aluminum foil (you are supposed to pleat the foil so it can expand, but I forgot and it was okay.) Tie tightly with string, making a handle to lower it into the water.

(This video shows how to wrap and tie a steamed pudding.) 

7- Place the pudding basin into a large pot of boiling water so that the water comes up to about three-quarters of the basin. Place the lid of the pot on and steam for 4 hours. The water should remain at a constant lightly rolling boil. 

8- Check the water level every half hour to ensure it remains at three-quarters full and top up with boiling water from a kettle as required. 

9- Remove foil, invert on a plate, and serve hot.