Stuffed Grape Leaves

This appetizer takes a while to prepare, but it's well worth it. Use fresh grape leaves off the vine if you have them, or buy a jar of marinated leaves in the grocery store. Either way, it's a delicious accompaniment to your Mabon feasting, and embodies the god of the vine by using both the grape leaves and raisins, which are just dried-up grapes.

Prep Time: 1 hours, 00 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 jar grape leaves
• 2 Cups white or brown rice, cooked about halfway
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 Cup golden raisins
• 1 granny smith apple, chopped
• 1/2 Cup loose fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/3 Cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are perfect, but pine nuts work too)
• 2 Tbs. curry powder (or more, depending on how much you like curry)
• 4 Cups vegetable broth
• Lemon wedges

Preparation:

First, if you're using commercially prepared grape leaves, remove them from their jar and rinse them in cold water for about five minutes. They're pickled in a brine solution, so you'll want to separate them gently and let them soak for a while. If you're using fresh leaves off the vine, soak them until they're nice and pliable.

Meanwhile, combine the rice, onion, egg, raisins, apple, mint, nuts and curry powder together in a bowl, mixing well.

Lay a few grape leaves out on a cutting board, shiny side down, and remove their stems. Place a small, compact scoop of the rice mixture in the middle of each leaf - about a tablespoon should do it, although you could use more if you have really big grape leaves. Fold the grape leaves over each other, like you're wrapping a burrito. Be sure to roll them as tightly as possible. Repeat until you've used up all your rice mixture, or run out of grape leaves.

Place all your rolled leaves in the bottom of a large pot. You can pack them in pretty tightly, which will help keep them from unrolling as they cook -- you can even stack them in layers, if you need to. Pour the broth in on top, covering the rolled leaves just barely to the top. Cover the pot and bring to a rolling boil, and then decrease heat and simmer for about 25 minutes.

When the rolled leaves are done simmering, the rice will be cooked all the way. Remove the leaves from the pot and allow to cool. Squeeze lemon wedges over the tops. These are really nice served with chilled yogurt and pita bread as a light meal, or they can be a side dish to a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern-style dinner.

Renaissance Faire Turkey Leg

Every year in the fall, countless numbers of Wiccans and Pagans attend Renaissance Festivals and Faires across the world. It's a great way to get that old-world feeling, and get in touch with days gone by, although with better hygiene and plumbing improvements. Along with the bountiful blessings of Lady Visa and Master Card, one of the high points of any Renaissance Festival is the food. If you're a fan of Renaissance Festival cuisine, you'll really enjoy this. The smoked turkey leg is a staple of most Ren Faires, so why not take the time to whip a few together for your Mabon celebration?

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• A turkey leg for each person you're feeding
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• --
• **Brine**
• 4 quarts of water
• 1/2 C kosher salt or sea salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• --
• **Basting Sauce**
• Honey
• Your favorite barbeque sauce
• Red wine vinegar

Preparation:

Combine the water, kosher salt and sugar and mix well. Place the turkey drumsticks in the brine so they're completely covered -- if you're making a lot of turkey legs, you may need to double the amount of brine.

Refrigerate your turkey legs, in the brine solution, over night. Remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking, so they can reach room temperature.

When you're ready to cook, remove the turkey legs from the brine and pat them dry. Brush each turkey leg lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat your grill.

Combine the honey, barbeque sauce and red wine vinegar to taste. Some people like sweeter, so if that's you, use more honey. If you like your sauce tangier, use more vinegar.

Place the turkey legs on the grill over low heat. Brush them with the sauce periodically, and turn them so they can grill evenly all over. Keep the lid closed as much as possible.

Keep grilling the turkey legs for about 30 minutes, turning and basting them occasionally, until done. When finished, remove them from the grill and wrap them in aluminum foil for about fifteen minutes to finish cooking. Enjoy your turkey legs with a big drumstick in one hand, and a tankard of ale in the other!