Currabinny Cooks: Stews to make today and eat tomorrow
Cassoulet. Photo: Bríd O'Donovan.
We are heading towards 'mid-winter' already — there are six weeks or so until the year turns again and we can hopefully look forward to brighter times.
In this Celtic land, about 2,000 years ago, Samhain marked the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). It was a significant festival, followed shortly after by the Winter solstice celebrations which eventually became the festive season as we know it. The brightness of that festival is all the more apparent for the otherwise bleakness of the time of year. It is poignant to think of this year in terms of light and dark, life and loss, things ending and things beginning. We have lost a lot this year and it might seem like nothing will ever be the same again.
