Baking A Brioche On A Stormy Afternoon. A Slow Living Approach.

Food menu for Beltane event

I’ve been planning all the food that I’ll be cooking and in spirit of the season I want to use a lot of spring and summer foods!

I’ve also kept in mind some of us are Vegetarian/vegan and have food allergies so all the food will be meat free and any food with tree nuts or onions will be properly labeled.

Here is the menu :

Foods

Deviled eggs (contains: eggs, mayonnaise, paprika, salt, black pepper)

Mama bear soup (contains: veggie sausage, thai ginger broth, sweet peppers, carrots) *Has coconut (which is considered a tree nut) and onions

Fruit salad (contains: watermelon, feta, balsamic, spinach) 

Tofu stir-fry (contains: white rice, tofu, mango, sweet peppers, olive oil, salt, chili powder, paprika powder)

Beverages

Iced green tea

Strawberry-Gin Cocktail

*To make it fair so I don’t have to buy all the food myself since I’ll already be cooking it all I think it’ll be easier for each of us to buy a few of the things. I got all the spices needed for the dishes, the sweet peppers, tofu, mayo, and thai ginger broth. I can pick up more tea if needed too. @ronniepotter @immaterialwitchgirl @angelsinthephonelines @lifeunderlamplight @cardasssian 

Which of you could get which things on this list?

Yesterday I made some bread. It’s one of my favorite things to do. To me, it is like alchemy. Four ingredients: salt, yeast, water, flour. An ancient food. I love kneading the dough, weaving my intention through it, folding love in. People think making bread is difficult but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy and so rewarding to make your own. I feel connected to the energies of the earth when I smell the warm yeast rising, when I feel the dough forming and becoming elastic under my hands. It’s like spinning gold from straw.

Kitchen Witch Recipes #2

Book: “Japanese Light: Heart-Friendly, Age-Defying Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Kimiko Barber”

Kyoto Bean Soup

👽1 tablespoon vegetable oil

👽1 red onion, finely chopped

👽4-6 pieces thick-sliced unsmoked bacon, chopped

👽1 carrot, coarsely chopped into chunks

👽4 ounces burdock root, peeled and coarsely chopped, soaked in water

👽4 cups (1 pound) Chinese cabbage, coarsely chopped

👽4 medium rutabagas, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

👽4 ¾ cups dashi broth (recipe here)

👽4 tablespoons sake

👽3-4 tablespoons light soy sauce

👽1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained

👽2 tablespoons medium-colored miso paste

👽salt to taste

👽2 scallions, finely chopped

👽2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

🌵This is a Japanese interpretation of Tuscan bean soup. Like its Italian counterpart, this soup is wholesome and nourishing. The addition of miso paste gives a hidden depth without changing the character of the soup. I use canned cannellini beans for convenience, but you can substitute any beans of your choice. If you are using dried beans, soak them with three times their volume of water overnight and cook slowly until soft.

🌙Step 1:Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat and saute the onion until softened but not browned. 

🌙Step 2: Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrot, burdock, cabbage,  and rutabagas. Saute until soft. 

🌙Step 3: Pour in the dashi broth and season with sake and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that floats to the surface. Reduce the heat to low/moderate and add the beans. Let simmer for 15 minutes. 

🌙Step 4: Stir in the miso paste gently and adjust the seasoning with salt. Ladle into warmed soup bowls. Garnish with the chopped scallions and sesame seeds and serve.

Let’s Talk Litha!: Celebrating the Summer Solstice

June 21st marks this year’s Summer Solstice - the Sabbat known as Litha (or Midsummer)! If you celebrate the Wheel of the Year, Litha is one of the key points in the calendar: The summer solstice marks the Sun’s peak of power, and also marks the longest day in the year!

Litha, or, The Summer Solstice

Litha marks the longest day of the calendar year - the Summer Solstice - and is positioned at the bottom, Southernmost quarter point in the Wheel of Year. Traditionally, this is a great time to commune and connect with the Sun, do solar magic, and use the Sun’s peak power to spellcast, charge, and cleanse.

Colors: Red, orange, and other fiery, bold tones

Incense & Scents: Dragon’s blood, orange, musks (personal correspondences here - use your own for max results!)

Altar Setup: Find stones and crystals that have washed up on the summer shore, local flowers, seasonal fruits, and plenty of candles. A bonfire is traditional (a red candle is practical!)

The Litha Feast: What would a Sabbat be without a feast? Litha is a perfect time to eat outdoors (if possible!). Traditional foods include herbed breads and pastries (baked!), desserts and dishes with summer fruits (try berries, stone fruits, or citrus, depending on what’s local to you!), cold cooked poultry for our omnivore witches, and flower or berry wines. More modern foods for Litha could include potato salads, dishes made with lavender or sorrel, peppery foods, or dandelion greens.

Litha Traditions:

Light a bonfire and jump over it (if it’s small enough!) to cleanse yourself of past ills.

Stay up on Midsummer Eve to wait for the rising sun.

Dispose of old amulets in the Litha fire.

Work magic with stone circles.

Make speeches to Fortuna, the lady of Fortune (is my Hellenic Revivalism showing?).

Phone past friends and invite them over.

Honor the Oak tree by paying one a visit in your local neighborhood.

Lead the way to your Litha celebration with a torchlit procession (or lantern or sparkler-lit, as it were!).

Magic for Litha: Healing, purification, cleansing, fire, protection, rebirth, power, sun magic, magic with stones and crystals, reaffirmations, and oaths.

Have at it, witches! (and link me to your Litha altars/plans/feasts! I’m a sucker for peeking on all your aesthetics & magics :>)

Odin’s Day Wisdom - Hávamál, st. 36 (from The Northern Herbalist)

I used to do magic when shit hit the fan in my mundane life. Now I do regular magic to ensure shit never hits the fan. Doesn’t even come close.

Something it took me a long time to learn: wealth magic for financial stability is not born out of greed and is very necessary to the contemporary magician/witch. Don’t neglect it.

Lammas

Here’s a brief overview of the holiday Lammas. [LAH-mahs] Some people use the name Lughnasadh. [LOO-nah-sah] They are both names for the same holiday–the celebration of the first harvest–, however they are not necessarily interchangeable. 

Lughnasadh is the Gaelic name for this occasion. It celebrates the waning of the sun god Lugh as the summer gives way to fall. The year’s crop is ready for harvesting. Lammas is the modern name. It has minimal connection to the Gaelic sun God, so if you don’t believe in the God, you would use the term Lammas. Both terms recognize the power of the sun God infusing his blessings into the first year’s harvest, however Lughnasadh credits a Gaelic God while Lammas credits a more general sun God. Lughnasadh is the more traditional name, so you can choose to use that term if you want without having any affiliation to Lugh. 

Lammas is celebrated on August 1st (Northern hemisphere) or February 1st (Southern hemisphere). 

Spellwork

Lammas is a time of giving thanks, so be sure to leave offerings to your deities. It’s custom to use something from your harvest (if you harvested anything) as your offering. Spells involving blessings or guidance are going to fare well during this day. 

Correspondences 

Symbols: Sunflower, Wheat, Baskets, Creative Tools (pen, paintbrush, microphone)

Colors: Deep green, orange, burgundy deep reds

Herbs: Vervain, Sunflower, Rosemary

Food/Drink: Grain, Honey, Nuts, Berries, Beer, Cider

Incense: Frankincense, Rosemary

Crystals: Tiger’s Eye, Obsidian

Ways to Celebrate!

Use this holiday to celebrate the things in life granted to you. Share your talents with others. Go for a walk in nature. Have a feast. 

Hazelnut coffee cake - Your source of sweet inspirations! || GET AWESOME DESSERT MERCH HERE!

🎄Yule Mulled Wine🎄

This time of year is the perfect excuse to inject a little magick into the dark evenings and some steaming Mulled Wine is a delicious addition to a cosy night-in of Yule preparations :)

This recipe is scaled so it works for one 750ml bottle of red wine.

YOU WILL  NEED:

1 teaspoon crushed cinnamon sticks (warmth and protection)

1 teaspoon nutmeg (love, luck and warmth)

1 teaspoon slightly crushed allspice (fire and healing)

½ teaspoon cloves (fire, love and purification)

½ teaspoon ginger (fire, energy and passion)

1 ½ teaspoon orange peel (uplifting, the sun)

1 ½ teaspoon lemon peel (purification, the moon)

Orange & Lemon slices

5 teaspoons honey (sweetness, stability and good health)

A clean pair of old tights that you no longer need

Take the dry ingredients and the peel, combine them all and give them a little mix to start releasing those flavours! 

Take the tights and chop the feet off them - we’ll be using these as our bag to keep all the ingredients in. Cut them long enough so that you can tie the top off easily to stop everything falling out.

Add all the mixed ingredients into our newly chopped bag and give it a little squeeze.

Grab a saucepan and decant your bottle of wine into it, also adding your orange and lemon slices and your honey.

Keep on a low heat for 25-40 minutes (do not let it boil).

For that extra witchy goodness, be sure to stir some strong intent into the mixture. While I made it last night I focused on the joy, love and togetherness of this sabbat and tried injecting all those feelings into the wine ❤ 

Voila! Festive goodness for everyone :)

Enjoy, my pagan witchy babes xxxx