kitchen witch – Moody Moons

Lammas with a Kitchen Witch: Blackberry Bruschetta

Not a fan of baking the lammas bread from scratch? There are still lots of creative ways to honor the holiday in your kitchen.

Lammas traditionally celebrates the grain harvest. Any bread-based meal captures this spirit nicely.

This year, my favorite idea is blackberry bruschetta.

It’s pretty simple.

Start with a nice, crusty loaf of french bread.

I like to get my french bread from a local bakery or the farmer’s market.

While you’re at the farmer’s market, pick up some big, juicy blackberries (or, even better, find a “pick your own” farm and gather them yourself!)

Because it ripens on the vine pretty close to Lammas in many growing regions in North America, blackberries associate with the holiday quite naturally.

More generally, use them in kitchen spells for prosperity and abundance—-the many tiny seeds on berries symbolize future growth.

I smashed one berry per slice a bread and rubbed it on the surface to go under the cheese, kind of like the same concept as pizza sauce. I enjoyed getting my hands sticky and making a mess like a little kid lol.

(Be warned: you will stain everything you touch. But for this reason, blackberries make a nice natural dye.)

You might not imagine blackberries work well in savory dishes, but the acidity blends nicely with Italian cheeses and herbs. Lucky for me, this time of year, my garden bursts with lush green, fresh herbs, so went out to grab some.

(Even the oppressive humidity in the part of the country comes with an upside—-gorgeous summer herbs!).

In particular, my basil came up nice this year.

Basil embodies some interesting symbolism in folklore around the world, but I especially adore Italy’s antiquitous custom of leaving a pot of fresh basil on the windowsill to signify the occupant’s “openness to romance.”

Dried basil often finds its way into traditional Lammas incense blends and makes a nice stand-in for fresh flowers on the altar. If you buy it at the market, put the left over stalks in the vase to fill the room with its fragrant, sunny aura.

I layered fresh graded cheese and garnished with a half blackberry per slice, popped it in the oven to broil lightly, and then finished it off with the basil leaves.

Yum.

Hope this gives you some inspiration for your own Lammas kitchen witch creations!

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Strawberry Passion Spell

Right about now, the ruby-colored jewel of the spring garden emerges: strawberries!

Yesterday, I tip-toed barefoot into the garden to find the vines heavy with gorgeous, juicy red fruit.

When I see them popping out, I automatically think, “Beltane is coming!”

I often think of Beltane as “our” Valentine’s Day, and an ideal time to cast beauty spells for attraction.

But this year, I decided to go with the closely related lust spell to enhance romantic feelings and encourage . . . recreational fun for lovers. *wink*

If you plan on celebrating Beltane “the old-fashioned way,” why not try enhancing your passion with a little kitchen magic?

For this spell, you will need:

*strawberries
*1 part cocoa powder
*1 part honey
*1 part water
*splash of vanilla extract
*pinch of cinnamon

Also:
*a small saucepan
*a whisk

In folk magic, the strawberry symbolizes passion, romance and fertility, making it the ideal ingredient for a love spell in the kitchen.

Grow your own strawberries for the best quality spell ingredient, but at least get your strawberries from a local farmer. Or, as a last resort, find organically grown strawberries in the supermarket.

Cocoa powder finds a place in traditional medicine almost anywhere it grows. Particularly, some indigenous healers use it as an aphrodisiac.

Its metaphysical properties share this energy. 🙂

Honey “sweetens” temperaments and softens hearts.

Okay! Let’s whip up a little passion potion to pair those little beauties with.

Combine cocoa powder, water and honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisking constantly for 2-3 minutes and stirring in a clockwise motion.

In kitchen magic, the spoon or whisk equates with the wand. Take this opportunity to raise power and infuse your ingredients with the energy of your intentions. Try a simple, cutesy chant or “draw” symbols in the chocolate with a spoon and watch them disappear.

That’s a lot of powerful love ingredients in one little potion, but let’s add a couple more.

A splash of vanilla extract adds warmth to the heart and dispels any lingering or hidden resentment.

Finally, add a dash of ground cinnamon to “heat up” passion.

Bring your chocolate and strawberries into the bedroom. Or wherever. (A naughty picnic somewhere secluded? *wink, wink*)

How you eat the magic is up to you.

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Faerie Cakes with Candied Violets

Spending Beltane in the kitchen this year? Make it magical with these charming little faerie cakes.

Whimsical yet elegant, candied violets make a striking addition to love spells, wishing magic and faerie rituals.

Use candied violets in faerie cakes for a spring ritual, a “dressed up” cakes and ale or to serve at any spring gathering — especially Beltane!

The best part is, they’re practically free! If you’re in the Eastern US and you haven’t put down pesticide this year on your lawn, there’s a good chance your yard or a nearby one has wild violets in abundance.

Go spend some time outdoors, bring a basket and gather those little beauties up for a Beltane with a splash of purple.

Gather a clean, washed, dry paintbrush with a fine tip, an egg white, and some sugar.

Start by gently washing the violet blooms. A spray bottle and a strainer work well for this, but be careful! Even for flowers, wild violets are delicate!

Allow them to dry on a paper towel.

Dip the paintbrush in egg whites, and paint each blossom.

Then sprinkle sugar on the violets. Most recipes call for powdered sugar, but I use granulated because it reminds me of late frost.

Finally, bake some cupcakes!

Any vanilla cupcake recipe will do, but make it from scratch. The more you put into your ritual food, the more “fragrant” the magic of it. Be connected to the process.

Bonus points for making the vanilla extract yourself. Vanilla inspires passion in kitchen spells. Here, we use it to wink and nod at Beltane’s celebration of “spring romance.”

Pipe on some cream cheese frosting and arrange violets in tiny “bouquets.”

Serve and enjoy!

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Ostara with a Kitchen Witch: Cabbage Dyed Ostara Eggs

Every year, I try to do something inspired and kitchen witchy for this most decidedly food-friendly holiday.

Perhaps you’ve noticed the concept of naturally dyed Easter eggs floating around Pinterest the last few years.

I thought this made for a perfect Ostara activity.

I tried tumeric, spinach and cabbage.

Spinach was a dud. I boiled and boiled, but the dye wasn’t strong enough.

Tumeric worked okay, but it stained everything! I can see why they use this in India to dye cloth!

But the humble cabbage, at 79 cents, proved to be both the cheapest and most effective option.

The idea is pretty basic. Start with a base for extraction. In this case, we have our head of red cabbage.

Shred it and place it in a pot with a 1 to 1 ratio of water. I did 4 cups shredded cabbage with 4 cups of water.

Meanwhile, make your hard boiled eggs. Some recipes call for boiling the eggs with the dye, but I like my eggs cooked a certain way, so I did them separately. (Place eggs in pot with cold water, bring to boil, turn off heat, let them sit for 10 minutes in a covered pot, then rinse with cold water—perfect every time!)

Once your dye is done, allow it to cool and add 1 tablespoon white vinegar per cup of liquid dye.

Then submerge the eggs in the dye for 24-28 hours in the refrigerator.

But before you do that, there are some creative options that I didn’t try. The internet rumor is that if you write or draw on the eggs with crayon, it won’t dye there. You can imagine all the possibilities for spell work there!

I wanted to keep my eggs as natural as possible, so I skipped this, but I might try using beeswax in the future for a similar effect.

I really loved the way the dye turned out. It felt so earthy and wholesome. I see myself using this for a lot of things, maybe even cloth.

And there you have it! Charming, naturally dyed eggs for your Ostara ritual. Use them on the altar as an offering, or for your Ostara meal as a beautiful table decoration.

With eggs on sale at my market for 28 cents a dozen, my total cost for this project was a mere $1.08.

Fall Gardening with a Green Witch

A bittersweet time for the gardener, we usually think of autumn as the harvest season.

But a few duties remain.

First, it’s bulb planting time!

My husband gifted me an amazing raised bed for our anniversary that I plan to turn into a vegetable garden in the spring.

For now, I decided to sew some garlic, which needs a long time in the ground before harvesting.

I got these garlic bulbs from a talented herb gardener in West Virginia. I’ve never truly tasted garlic until I tasted hers. Expertly knowledgeable, she recommended to me the spiciest hard-neck variety. Here’s hoping it takes!

Also on the list, tulips and hyacinthus, my two favorite spring flowers. I love bulbs because they encourage us to look forward to the future, they come back every year, and they keep doubling, so you can dig them up and give them away to friends. I always smile in the spring when these pop out of the ground, and thank myself for taking the time to plant them in the fall.

This marks my first year as a window gardener.

Pinching off some tender herbs right from the plant in December sounds like a spectacular natural luxury to me!

I decided to focus on basil, which makes all the difference in winter batches of spicy sausage Italian red sauce.

It was with some skepticism that I tried propagating herbs. I put little stock in internet gardening advice. I never believe it until I see it with my own eyes. It sounded too easy.

Just clip beneath the nodes, and stick in water.

Wait for the roots to grow. (Pardon the unfortunate state of my cuticles—no point in doing your nails before you work in the garden.)

Plant in soil. I put landscaping rocks at the bottom for drainage.

It’s really that easy! I’m amazed!

10 Ways to Use Oranges in Wicca

Pile them on the Litha altar. Valencia oranges in particular are associated with the high midsummer season, when they commonly come into harvest. Place a few on the Midsummer altar for a bright, natural adornment.

Include in creativity magic. I love creativity spells, and there really aren’t enough of them. Dried orange peel is a perfect addition to a creativity sachet.

Use as a sun symbol. Oranges are an obvious sun symbol. Use them in sun magick and solar rites.

Leave dried orange peel by the bathroom sink. Or wherever you get ready in the morning. Oranges have an energizing effect. The bright hue and citrus flavor awaken the senses.

Use in spells for prosperity. Associated with abundance, oranges make the perfect addition spells of monetary success.

Blend dried orange into ritual incenses. Oranges can be combined with a variety of other scents, particularly spicy ones like cinnamon, allspice and ginger, or florals like lavender. Decide on a theme for your sachet or incense, and experiment with one of orange’s compatible fragrances.

During the solar holidays, use orange as libation or as a substitute for ale. Fill your chalice with orange juice to welcome the sun back at Yule, or bid him farewell on Midsummer.

Use for ritual cleansing. Combine a few drops of orange essential oil with a natural alcohol base like vodka, put it in a spray bottle, and spritz it over the altar for a lovely energy cleansing.

Make orange marmalade from scratch. For the kitchen witch, make some orange marmalade from scratch and bless it for joy. Orange’s mood-lifting properties make it a natural anti-depressant. Makes a perfect gift for a friend in need of a pick-me-up after a rough time.

Carve it like a Jack-O-Lantern and use it as a natural candle holder for the altar. A lot of people do this for Samhain, but I like to carve sun symbols and use for the summer holidays. This tutorial shows you how.

Ostara with a Kitchen Witch: Haitian French Toast

At least a few times a year, I try to feature a Sabbat recipe for the kitchen witch.

This year, I chose to feature this recipe for Haitian french toast. We’re going to go through it to talk about the meaning of each key ingredient and how it relates to Ostara.

(Haiti, by the way, has a long, rich tradition of Afro-Caribbean witchcraft, but that’s another post for another day.)

The recipe calls for French bread, but I chose to use some of my own homemade bread instead.

On the practical side, if you make you’re own bread, you probably know that while it’s delicious and much healthier than store-bought versions, the downside is that it goes stale fast, so I’m always looking for ways to use stale bread. Since French toast ideally is made from stale bread, it’s a go-to of mine.

This unique recipe is sweetened with orange juice. I decided to fresh squeeze mine for a bright flavor. Oranges are a perfect sun symbol in wicca, making them an ideal ingredient in an Ostara recipe. Ostara is a time to celebrate the glowing of the sun’s life-giving light, which will become stronger from now until the Summer Solstice.

Of course, no Ostara recipe would be complete without the inclusion of some eggs.

If you’ve made even a cursory study of this Sabbat, you know that eggs are the classic symbol of fertility for Ostara. The origins of the Easter egg are tied in with this Old World tradition.

Fresh cream is also a fantastic addition to a Spring Equinox meal. Cream symbolizes the newly born spring livestock, which live exclusively on mother’s milk for the first weeks and months of life.

This recipe also calls for cinnamon, the spiritual properties of which we have already discussed at length in this post.

And there you have it. A delicious morning meal to celebrate the first spring holiday.

Optional additions include high-seed content fruit garnishes, like strawberries or raspberries. Enjoy!

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