Hello September

 

September — The “Seventh” Month

September marks the beginning of autumn, but its name carries a reminder of a much older calendar.

The word September comes from the Latin septem, meaning “seven.” That makes perfect sense when we look back to the ancient Roman Republican calendar, which originally had only ten months. September was the seventh month, following Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, and Sextilis, and was followed by October, November, and December.

Then, in 45 BCE, the Julian calendar was introduced. January and February were added to the beginning of the year, shifting September from the seventh position to the ninth.

The Romans eventually renamed Quintilis and Sextilis, too. Quintilis became July, in honor of Julius Caesar, while Sextilis became August, honoring Augustus Caesar.

There were also attempts to rename September, October, November, and December to better reflect their new positions in the calendar—but none of those changes stuck. Their original names survived and, over time, spread into many other languages.

The Old English speakers apparently weren’t too bothered by the oddity of calling the ninth month “Seventh Month.” The name September eventually entered Old English through Old French, replacing the earlier Old English names Hāligmōnað and Hærfestmōnað.

Both names were associated with the season we now call autumn, with Hærfestmōnað meaning “harvest month.”

So every September, when we welcome the changing leaves and the approach of autumn, we’re also carrying forward a little piece of an ancient Roman calendar—one where September really was the seventh month.

Autumn Apple Pie

This is a great recipe for Autumn, well, for anytime actually.

Hope you try it and like it as much as we do.

For the crust:

Please note: One factor that helps pie crusts is using the right kind of flour. You should use pastry flour rather than all purpose flour, if you can find it. 

If not, use half all-purpose flour and half cake flour, well sifted together. 

That’s what we will do with this recipe.

The key is to handle and knead the dough as little as possible and to make sure the fats stay firm and cold. 

Use as little water as possible to get the mixture to form clumps and take the time to chill the pie dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. 

Rolling and re-rolling can make a tough pie crust, you don't want that.

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 oz.) unsalted butter

10 tablespoons solid shortening

2 large egg yolks

4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

6 ice cubes

1 cup cold water, but remember, it could be about 1/2 cup, but could be more or less depending on the weather. 1 full cup would simply make a dough that's too wet. 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk throughly. Set aside in the freezer.

Slice the cold butter into 1/4" in. thick slices. 

Then cut each slice in half. 

Place the pieces of butter into a small bowl and set aside in the freezer.

Measure out 1 cup COLD water. 

Place egg yolks and vinegar into the same measuring cup with the cold water. 

Use a small whisk or fork to stir the ingredients. 

Place ice cubes into the measuring cup of blended ingredients. Set aside and allow ingredients to get colder.

Retrieve the chilled flour mixture from the freezer. 

Using a pastry blender, or 2 knives, or your clean fingertips, cut in the shortening into the chilled flour mixture until all pieces are pea-sized or smaller. 

Keep the shortening at rooom temp for easier and more thorough cutting into the flour.

Next, retrieve the chilled butter from the freezer. 

Cut in the cold butter all throughout the flour until most but not all of the pieces are about the size of peas or larger.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the water mixture into the flour mixture and use a fork to gently mix and try to moisten most of the flour. Drizzle in a little bit of water at a time- while thoroughly but gently mixing with a fork. 

Stop adding water when large pieces of dough start to clump together. 

Test the dough by grabbing a portion about the size of a tennis ball and squeezing it.

As you release your grip, if the dough holds together and doesn’t crumble, it’s ready.

If it does crumble and doesn't hold together, just keep adding a tbs. of water at a time.

Half the dough into 2 portions. Form into discs and wrap each portion with plastic wrap. 

Chill for at least 30 minutes to give it time for the glutens to relax.

When you are ready to roll it out, give the disc(s) a good pounding with a rolling pin or heavy cast iron skillet before attempting to roll out. 

If you chill it overnight, you may want to let it sit out for 10-15 min. to make it easier to roll out.

Of course you could always use a pre-made pie shell if necessary.

Here's the filling:

9 cups thinly sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples (9 medium)

 Jonathan Apples are nice too.

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4teaspoon salt

1/8teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

• Heat oven to 425°F. 
• Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. 
• Press firmly against side and bottom.
• In large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. 
• Top with second crust. 
• Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal; flute. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust.
• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. 
• Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. 
• Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.

Detachment

Calling The Corners

 

East (Air): Represents the mind, breath, intellect, and new beginnings.

South (Fire): Represents energy, passion, action, and transformation.

West (Water): Represents emotion, intuition, healing, and the subconscious.

North (Earth): Represents stability, grounding, physical body, and abundance.

Let’s go through the ritual together!

First, let’s set up our space: Stand in the middle, take a deep breath, and imagine or physically mark the edge of your circle.

Now, let’s start in the East: Face East (that’s air, new starts, and our minds). Light your incense or hold your symbol, and say a little prayer to welcome the East’s protectors or energies.

Next, we’ll move to the South: Turn around and face South (that’s fire, passion, and energy). Show your candle or fire symbol and call on the guardians of the South.

Then, let’s head to the West: Turn around again and face West (that’s water, feelings, and our gut). Offer your bowl of water and ask the western powers to join us.

Finally, let’s finish in the North: Turn around one last time and face North (that’s earth, stability, and grounding). Put your salt or earth symbol down and call on the northern guardians.

Now, let’s come back to the center: Give the circle a little nod, and then you can start your meditation or spellwork.

When you’re done, take a moment to thank each direction in reverse order (or clockwise starting from North/East if that’s how you do it). Imagine the space closing gently around you.