10 Healing Mabon Recipes Inspired by Hildegard of Bingen
10 Healing Mabon Recipes Inspired by Hildegard of Bingen
When the autumn equinox arrives — Mabon, September 21st or 22nd — day and night balance once more. But unlike spring's equinox which tips toward light, autumn tips toward darkness. This is the second harvest, when apples hang heavy on trees, when grapes ripen for wine, when the last vegetables are gathered, when nuts fall, when mushrooms appear in damp forests. This is the moment of balance before the slide into winter.
Hildegard of Bingen understood this pivotal season deeply. By late September at her Rupertsberg monastery, the main grain harvest was complete, but autumn's second harvest was at its peak. Apple trees bent with fruit. Pear trees offered their last bounty. Grapes hung purple and sweet. The final vegetables ripened. Walnuts and hazelnuts littered the ground. Mushrooms appeared after autumn rains. The last fresh herbs flowered before frost.
In her Physica, Hildegard valued autumn's gifts: apples "grow from dew when it is strong," pears should be cooked, grapes for wine, mushrooms for healing, nuts for strength. She wrote that "the he-goat is good to eat in August" — extending into early autumn.
For Hildegard, Mabon called for thanksgiving for the year's bounty, honoring balance before imbalance, and celebrating autumn's unique treasures while preparing for winter's approach.
🍎 10 Mabon Recipes from Hildegard's Autumn Harvest
These recipes celebrate September's second harvest — fruits, nuts, mushrooms, and late vegetables.
1. Roasted Goat with Apples
Historical note: Hildegard wrote "the he-goat is good to eat in August." September continues this season. Apples at peak. Perfect pairing.
Ingredients
2 lbs goat meat (or lamb)
4 apples, quartered
3 tbsp butter
2 onions, quartered
2 tbsp fresh rosemary
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1 cup wine or broth
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Brown goat meat in butter.
Add apples, onions, herbs.
Add wine, cover, simmer 1.5 hours until tender.
Season with salt and pepper.
✨ Autumn goat, peak apples — September's meat meets September's fruit.
2. Venison with Grape Sauce
Historical note: Fall hunting season. Grapes at peak. Hildegard valued both. Medieval luxury — game with fruit.
Ingredients
2 lbs venison loin
2 cups fresh grapes, halved
3 tbsp butter
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup red wine
2 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Season venison, sear in butter.
Remove, rest.
Sauté shallots, add grapes, wine, honey.
Cook until grapes soften.
Slice venison, pour sauce over.
✨ Forest venison, vineyard grapes — autumn's wild and cultivated united.
3. Mushroom & Walnut Soup
Historical note: September mushrooms appear after rain. Fresh walnuts just fallen. Hildegard wrote about healing mushrooms from certain trees.
Ingredients
1 lb fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh walnuts, chopped
3 tbsp butter
2 onions, diced
4 cups broth
1 cup cream
2 tbsp fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Sauté onions and mushrooms in butter.
Add broth and thyme, simmer 20 minutes.
Purée half the soup, return to pot.
Stir in cream and walnuts.
Season with salt and pepper.
✨ Forest mushrooms, newly fallen walnuts — autumn's earth and tree gifts.
4. Grilled Perch with Herbs
Historical note: Hildegard: perch "flesh is sound and good for healthy and sick people." Autumn fish, last fresh herbs.
Ingredients
4 perch fillets (or other white fish)
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp fresh sage
2 tbsp fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix melted butter, herbs, garlic.
Brush over fish.
Grill or broil 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve with remaining herb butter.
✨ Autumn fish, last sage before frost — river meets garden one final time.
5. Apple & Walnut Bread
Historical note: Peak apples, fresh walnuts. Autumn abundance baked into bread.
Ingredients
3 cups spelt flour
2 apples, diced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 packet yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp honey.
Mix flour, cinnamon, salt.
Add yeast mixture, remaining honey, butter, apples, walnuts.
Knead 10 minutes, rise 1 hour.
Shape, rise 30 minutes.
Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes.
✨ Bread studded with apples and walnuts — autumn baked into every slice.
6. Grape & Cheese Tart
Historical note: September grapes at peak. Fresh cheese. Simple autumn perfection.
Ingredients
1 spelt pastry crust
2 cups fresh grapes, halved and seeded
1 cup fresh cheese (ricotta-style)
3 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Beat cheese, eggs, honey, cinnamon, salt.
Pour into crust.
Arrange grapes on top.
Bake 35-40 minutes until set.
✨ Purple grapes in sweet cheese — harvest fruit baked into rich custard.
7. Baked Pears with Honey
Historical note: Hildegard: pears should be cooked. September pears at their sweetest. Honey from summer's bees.
Ingredients
6 pears
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup wine or water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Halve and core pears.
Mix honey, walnuts, cinnamon.
Fill pear centers.
Dot with butter, pour wine around.
Bake 35 minutes until tender.
✨ Pears roasted golden, filled with honey and walnuts — September's sweetness intensified by fire.
8. Autumn Root & Mushroom Stew
Historical note: Late roots ready for digging, mushrooms appearing. Last vegetables before storage.
Ingredients
2 cups turnips, cubed
2 cups carrots, cubed
2 cups parsnips, cubed
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp butter
2 onions, chopped
4 cups broth
2 tbsp fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Sauté onions and mushrooms in butter.
Add all roots and broth.
Add thyme, simmer 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
✨ Roots and mushrooms — earth's last vegetables, forest's autumn gift.
9. Walnut & Honey Cakes
Historical note: Fresh walnuts, stored honey. Autumn cakes for the equinox.
Ingredients
2 cups spelt flour
1 cup fresh walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Cream butter and honey.
Beat in eggs.
Mix flour, walnuts, cinnamon, baking powder.
Fold dry into wet.
Drop spoonfuls onto sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
✨ Cakes studded with fresh walnuts — nuts just fallen, honey from summer, autumn's sweetness.
10. Harvest Balance Tea
Historical note: Last fresh herbs, autumn fruits. A tea for the equinox balance.
Ingredients
1 tbsp fresh sage
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp dried rose petals
1 tsp dried chamomile
Thin apple slices
3 cups boiling water
Honey to taste
Instructions
Mix herbs.
Add apple slices.
Pour boiling water over.
Steep 10 minutes.
Strain, sweeten.
✨ Fresh and dried, fruit and herb, balance in a cup — autumn's threshold.
✨ Closing Blessing
Mabon teaches us about balance and gratitude. Day equals night one last time before darkness grows. The year has been generous — grain harvested, vegetables gathered, fruits abundant. But winter approaches. Everything that can be must be preserved.
Hildegard understood this pivot. By late September, work was intense. Apples gathered, grapes harvested for wine, late vegetables dug, nuts collected, mushrooms gathered, herbs cut and dried. Everything that wouldn't survive winter had to be dealt with now.
But Mabon was also thanksgiving. The year had provided. The harvests were good. The storerooms were filling. Survival looked possible.
Her recipes for Mabon celebrate autumn's unique abundance — apples, grapes, mushrooms, nuts, late vegetables, goat in its proper season, venison from fall hunting. These are foods that belong specifically to autumn.
As you cook these recipes, imagine Hildegard on the autumn equinox. Apple trees bend with fruit. Walnuts crunch underfoot. Day and night are equal. Summer is gone. Winter is coming. But for this one perfect moment, there is balance.
This is Mabon. This is the second harvest. This is autumn.
Note: When foraging for mushrooms, ensure expert identification — many poisonous varieties exist.