Tomato and Sweet Onion Strudel

I had some puff pastry in the freezer, so I decided to try my hand at a savory strudel for First Harvest. Here is the recipe because, as you know, I think it’s a dick move to make people wait till the end for recipes.

1 puff pastry – thawed
1 medium tomato
1 sweet onion – Walla Walla are superior to Vidalia in every way, but either will work.
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 sour cream
1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
1/2 tbsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tbsp dried basil

Preheat oven at 400f
Slice the tomato and onion into rings.
Mix together mayo, sour cream, cheese, and seasonings.
Spread 1/3 cheese mixture on the middle section of the puff pastry.
Add even layer of tomatoes.
Now add an even layer of onion.
Dollop 1/3 cheese mixture over onions and tomatoes.
Repeat the tomato/onion/cheese process.

Cut horizontal slices into the left and right sides of the puff pastry. Make sure not to remove them from or cut into the middle section. “Braid” the slices over the tomato/onion/cheese mixture.

Cook for 40 minutes.

Eat hot or let cool to room temperature and eat it that way. It’s tasty either way.

I will say that the onion was a bit crunchy for my liking, so next time I make it, I will grill them first. You do what works for you, though.

Alright, now that that is out of the way, lemme talk about myself for a bit.

The joy that comes with summer has always evaded me. I am a person who genuinely adores the rain and cold. Snow makes my soul soar. Rain makes me thrust open the windows and take deep, cleansing breaths.

But somehow, despite how elusive summer love has always been for me, I enjoy August. I think it’s because August 1st starts the countdown to fall. And, risk of sounding basic be damned, I fucking love fall.

I don’t want to talk about fall, though. Because today is August 1st and to get to fall, we have to honor the First Harvest.

Lammas. Lammastide. Lughnasadh. Loaf Mass Freyfaxi. First Harvest.

It doesn’t matter what you call it because, across the board, this celebration is about bounty and abundance. Often people focus on bread making and wheat-related things. I used puff pastry, a form of bread, in my meal tonight. It works for my family because we can all eat bread/wheat without discomfort.

But for a lot of people, that isn’t the case. Here are a few ideas of what you can do for First Harvest treats that will, hopefully, be kind to your stomach.

Have blackberries! They’re in season, and depending on where you live, they might be all over in your area, and you can go out and pick/harvest them fresh! I loved picking wild blackberries as a kid. We had a massive bush in our neighborhood, and my mom used to use the berries we harvested to make jams and pie.

If you can’t do wheat pie might be out, but hoo boy, you can still make that jam!

When my mom visited last year, we went to the store and got a few bags of frozen blackberries and made jam that I used all winter long. It felt good to open my pantry and use something I made with my mom and Haggis. I still feel pride at a job well done when I look back at the pictures from that day. Actually, when I am done with this post, I am going to check and see if I have any more of the jam we made left because it would be really nice to have for breakfast tomorrow.

If you don’t like or have blackberries, you can use any berry in season right now. Blueberries are great this time of year as well! A lemon blueberry jam would be the bee’s knees. Or blueberry syrup for over ice cream or cheesecake? Yes, please.

Cherries would work too!

Or watermelon. Never forget watermelon. Eat it as is or look up some recipes for watermelon salad.

You can also focus on savory foods! A salad of tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, chickpeas, and pesto would be great! Toss in some mozzarella if you want to get extra fancy!

Corn on the cob is always fun. Kids love making homemade popcorn, and you can make it salty or sweet. Heck, make popcorn as a family, and have a movie night. Have it as a snack while outside watching for lightning bugs!

You can also do none of these things and stick to foods you like because the focus of First Harvest isn’t bread. It’s us.

Yes, we should take this time to be grateful for our blessings. We should absolutely thank the earth, gods, ancestors, and home spirits for our abundance. But we should also reflect on where we were last year at this time. Or six months ago. Or yesterday.

What have you been manifesting in your life that you are harvesting right now? What have you been busting your ass for? What have you been doing that is making differences in your life right now?

Also, a quick side note for all of you who rolled your eyes when I used the word manifesting:

I get that it’s hip and trendy right now to talk about manifestation. I know that there are spiritualists out here trying to sell a low input version of manifestation to the same people who buy cleansing kits at Urban Outfitters.

That is not what I am pushing here. When I asked what you have been manifesting, I meant the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything you do has consequences. Even if all you do is opt for blackberries or tomatoes over bread.

Blessed and fruitful First Harvest to you and yours!