Rainbow Soups: Yellow -- Lentil and Turmeric Soup

We’re past the longest night and beginning to welcome back the sun. Some of us have begun spring cleaning with Imbolc just around the corner. Yellow welcomes in a refreshing happiness after the dark and turmeric specifically aids us in the cold and flu season of winter with its correspondence to health (although there are better ones for specifically the flu as turmeric is antibacterial not antiviral)

This soup is very turmeric forward but feel free to play around with it. If you find the taste too overpowering try adding a sweetener to offset the bitterness.


LENTIL AND TURMERIC SOUP

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
Oil or butter for saute
1 cup lentils, I used red
4 cups broth
1tbsp lemon juice 
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by dicing your carrot, onion and garlic. Keep in mind we won't be blending this soup so size and conformity are something to pay a little extra attention to. I cut the carrots and onion to about 1/2 inch pieces and minced the garlic and ginger. Heat up your fat (butter or oil) in the pot you will be using and toss in your diced veggies. 

Let those cook until the onions are translucent and the whole shebang is aromatic. Add in your spices and sauté for another minute or two.

Add in your broth and bring it up to a boil then reduce your heat. This isn't the usual way I cook lentils but I want to ensure the carrots are cooked. Let simmer for about 5 minutes then add your lentils. Simmer until the lentils are tender. This will depends on what type of lentils you are using. I have red on hand (and they are a good option for soup, I haven't tried any others yet myself) and they cook very quickly so I only have to simmer them for about 8 to 12 minutes.

Do a quick taste test and adjust your spices. Add salt and pepper if necessary and your soup is ready to go!

 
 

 

To the metaphysical!

As we emerge from our caves of hibernation (metaphorically of course) and self-reflection it is time to delve into the new. We ask for clarity in the upcoming year of growth. We have a new sense of self identity from our wintertime musings. A focus on health and fertility hangs in the air. Turmeric plays a role in each of these energies. It isn't quite spring yet but the mind can't help but think of the future. 

This soup has a great sense of abundance with all its little bits and bobs, lentils and diced vegetables. It's a great time to remember that abundance doesn't always mean prosperity or money but rather a lot of any energy you wish to manifest. This means that with this recipe you could attribute your abundance to health, happiness or fertility.

In addition to all of the metaphysical magic, turmeric is often touted as magic in the health and wellness community as well; mostly for its anti-inflammatory properties but also as an antibacterial, antiseptic, digestive, antioxidant and diuretic agent. While I knew this beforehand this research has led me to, perhaps, make turmeric more a part of my diet. So if you see a lot of turmeric based recipes in the near future you’ll know why.

 

 

Overall: Sun. Gentle starts, health, fertility.

Turmeric: Sun. Masculine. Leo. Fire. Many Hindu deities. Fertility, Health, Purification, Protection

Lentils: Moon. Water. Prosperity, abundance, circle of life.

Yellow: Sun. Happiness, gentle energy, refreshing, lightness, solar chakra (therefore self identity,) attractiveness, clarity, travel

 
 

Short and Gritty

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
Oil or butter for sauté
1 cup lentils, I used red
4 cups broth
1tbsp lemon juice 
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Dice carrot and onion. Mince garlic and ginger.
2. Sauté until onion is translucent and mixture is aromatic
3. Mix in spices and cook for another minute or two, waiting for the aroma to build
4. Add broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes
5. Add lentils and simmer until tender, red lentils take about 8 to 12 minutes
6 .Taste test and add salt and pepper as needed
7. Serve and enjoy

SABBAT SERIES: Imbolc -- Milkcake with Chamomile Candied Seeds

*I apologize in advance for the pic placement... the editor was not acting the same as usual and I wanted to make sure I go this out on time*

We draw near to another Sabbat of the Witch's Wheel of the Year: Imbolc. It's time to begin dusting off the equipment for another season of hard work. We've spent the dark half of the year reflecting and setting goals and now is the time to start the machine up again and get to making things happen.

From and agricultural standpoint, as we often first view for these holidays, it is time to dust off the tractors and pull the tools from the sheds. Animals are beginning to produce milk, specifically sheep from my research. It is time to bless our seeds and begin the manifestation of a bountiful crop. 

This of course is what leads us to milkcake with candied seeds.

For the modern, non-farming witch, we can put a metaphorical spin on this or take it down a notch from a giant farm with our green witchery. Which we can talk about more below so as not to bore our "muggle" friends. 

MILKCAKE w CHAMOMILE CANDIED SEEDS

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, room temp
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup AP flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup milk (the fattier the better)
10 tbsp (a little less than 2/3 cup) butter, cubed

Preheat your oven to 350.

Beat eggs on high for about 5 minutes. They should become thick and light in colour as you incorporate air. This works best with room temperature eggs.

Slowly add the sugar to your eggs and combine. The colour will lighten and the mixture should become fluffy. Add in the vanilla as well.

In a separate bowl combine baking powder and flour. Slowly add this mixture to your egg mixture beating on low speed until it is smooth.

In a small pot heat the milk and butter just until the butter has melted. We don't want to scorch our milk so use a low temperature. Add this mixture slowly to your batter mixing just until combined. 

Grease a 13 x 9 in pan. Pout your batter into it. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. When it's done allow to cool on a cooling rack.

While this is cooking we can move onto out seeds. This was an experiment for me but it turned out quite well if I do say so myself.

We're going to start by making a chamomile simple syrup. Brew a cup of chamomile tea according to instructions or preference. I brew mine for 5 minutes. When finished, place this in a pot and add an equal amount of sugar. Bring this mixture to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer. Stir regularly until the sugar is dissolved. This syrup is done, technically. If you want to keep some for another purpose like adding to cocktails remove some now. We only need 1/2 cup for the recipe. Continue simmering until the mixture thickens and resembles a honey-like consistency. Stir in your seeds. Turn this mixture out onto some wax paper in a thin layer and allow to set. In hindsight I should bake these too. I suggest the lowest heat setting and about 5 minutes. You want to keep a very close eye on them because they will burn fast.

When you are ready to serve crumble some of your seed mixture on top of your cake. For some added yum and dairy you can also top with whipped cream, best if hand made of course.

please ignore the checks... I pulled a noob move

On to the Metaphysical

So firstly, our discussion of Imbolc for the modern witch. Stepping outside the realm of the kitchen for a little bit but not too far away, we can talk about our gardens. The same as our ancestors would we can still bless our seeds. We don't necessarily have to bless them for a  bountiful harvest but we can. We can also bless them for a more metaphorical growth. We can use them as a manifestation of our goals and wishes and as the plant grows our manifestation grows with it. It can be a constant reminder of your goals for the coming season.

For those of you that don't have a garden of your own, don't fret. We can continue breaking this down into the realm of visualization. Instead of blessing physical seeds we can use the visualization of a growing plant in our meditation and spell work. Set your intentions for whatever goal and use your mind eye to watch it grow. Keep this practice as something you do regularly to focus your energy. The same way seeing a physical plant is a reminder.

Now we can get into the recipe and its ingredients. As with all the other holidays we've been through I generally pull on the traditional foods but anything that is seasonal to you is appropriate. Our climate has changed significantly and we all live in different areas of the world. My seasonal foods wont necessarily be the same as yours. 

For Imbolc, traditional foods include preserves, winter root veggies, dairy and lamb. Why? Because this is the end of winter. Our agricultural ancestors would be pulling on the last of their winter reserves and the few new food sources they have. Young sheep and the milk of their mothers. Now, I'm no expert in farming so I don't know if this is still the time that sheep begin to birth, looking out my window it feels early as we're just getting into the middle of winter here. My animal husbandry friends can let me know!

The biggest association I ever find with milk is that it is a great offering to the Fae and other trickster entities but not much beyond that. Personally I feel it has attachments with new growth as it remind me of a mother nursing her newborn. That fits very nicely with Imbolc as it is the earliest point that we begin to get ready for the coming growing season. Our goals are in their infancy and it is time to begin nursing them. Slowly but surely cleaning house and discarding the stagnant energy of being cooped up inside. (Again this feels early for me because Winter is kind of just getting underway, but tradition is tradition and we can all choose to celebrate this differently. In fact I did see something interesting in my research that some celebrate Imbolc on the 2nd full moon of the year which this year would be February 27th)

The second ingredient I want to look at is seeds. I think this one speaks for itself. Seeds are the beginning stage of plant's growth and we are beginning the manifestation of our goals for the year. I'm sounding very much like a broken record at this point so I will leave it at that.

The third is one that is less specific to this holiday and finds itself in the correspondences of many of the Sabbats, chamomile. I had to sit back and think about this one a little bit but I do think it is fitting. When I think about chamomile I immediately think about a good nights sleep and that didn't quite resonate until I thought about it a while because this is supposed to be when we start getting, "up and at 'em." Why should we have an herb here for rest? Well, how are we to get to work if we don't get a good nights sleep? If we don't recuperate from a days hard work we're not going to be able to perform well the next day. I think Chamomile is a great reminder to take care of ourselves. We need to remember that just because we are called to be active in the light half of the year doesn't mean there is zero time for rest; especially in our modern life when we don't actually have a season of rest.

Nobody like the Bread Ends!

What to do with those crunchy, all crust bits of bread that nobody wants? what to do? Fear not my waste conscious friend! I have the solution.

Traditionally croutons were made from stale bread so why not continue the tradition and keep from tossing perfectly good food? Whether its the end of the bread that nobody wants or that half loaf that's a been sitting just a little too long we can still turn it into something delicious. All were doing is pushing it's staleness to the max and ending up with fresh and crispy bread cubes!

This is going to be a little less of a recipe and a little more just directions to experiment with. The amounts will all depend on how much bread you have. So instead of trying to guess measurements that would be easy to use I'm going to give you directions and suggestions to play around with.

CROUTONS

Ingredients:

Stale bread (cubed, be careful when cutting especially if its on the hard side)
Oil ( I suggest olive but anything will work)
Herbs and Spices (Suggestions below, but go WILD)
Salt and Pepper

I'll give you an example by telling you the amounts I used but this will vary because you may be using half a loaf while I've been saving bread ends for months!

Probably about 4 cups of bread cubes, maybe more. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 cup oil. About 3 tsp dried herbs. about 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper.

Directions:

Cube your bread. Any size will do really. If you go small reduce you cooking time.

Mix together oil and spices, fresh garlic is also a nice addition. Feel free to experiment with fresh herbs but I think this is one case where dried is a better option.





** pro tip ** A super fun option here would also be to use an infused oil, I don't have a recipe for this posted yet but it will come

Toss your bread cubes in the oil mixture and spread in a single layer on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400 for 5 to 8 minutes, mix them around and pop them back in for 2 to 3 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown colour.

Let cool and use in salads and soups!

So the traditional herb mix for this would of course be French or Italian Herbs. Herb de Provence (marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lavender) is a great option. The herbs I went with in my correspondences below are oregano, marjoram, rosemary and thyme as these are traditionally french herbs BUT you could get extremely fun with this because you're making your own. That's got to be the best part about scratch cooking; you can make whatever your heart desires. Maybe you're making an Asian inspired salad and want to add a little crunch? Maybe you want a side salad to go with your tacos?

Here's some quick suggestions to get those creative juices flowing:

Sesame oil. Ground ginger, garlic and cloves. (Or Chinese 5 spice!)

Chili infused oil. Garlic, Oregano and cumin.

Olive oil. Lemon zest, thyme and dill.

Let me know what fun flavour combinations you try out!

To the metaphysical!

I don't have a whole lot to say about this recipe. To me this speaks more to the environmentally conscious part of me (which I think is pretty witchy on its own) but of course you can always use herbs and spices that correspond to what your intentions are.

The only thing that popped out to me that you could use croutons for specifically is reinvigorating the intention you placed in the loaf if it's your homemade bread. Think about it and let me know if you have an idea that pertains to baking croutons!

The more I research herbs the more I realize that they’re super good for you. Many of them have anti bacterial and/or anti fungal properties! I’m not going to list all of them below but I think it's worth looking into if it piques your interest.

Oregano - Venus. Air. Aphrodite. Feminine
Happiness, tranquility, luck, health, protection and letting go of a loved one. It can also be used in spells to deepen existing love.
Natural antihistamine. For those with hives, or other allergy problems, try drinking a cup of tea made from equal parts oregano, tarragon, basil, chamomile, and fennel daily. If you have hay fever, leave out the chamomile. Drink this with a meal.


Marjoram - there ends up being a lot of confusion between oregano and marjoram so pay close attention if you happen to do your own research
Mercury. Venus. Air. Feminine.
Love (specifically harmony and communication as well as divining your future spouse,) gaining knowledge, money, protection, health, soothing action on the nervous system.

Rosemary - the universal herb, can stand in for any intention
Sun. Fire. Air.
cleansing, strength, protection, invigoration, virtue, memory.
In hedge-witchery, Rosemary is used as a garden-friendly substitute for Frankincense.

Thyme -
Feminine. Water. Venus. Freya. Aphrodite. Ares.
Strength, courage, staying power and positivity, faerie offerings, spring festivals for beginning anew, achieving goals, keeping a positive attitude.

Short and Gritty

Ingredients:

Stale bread (cubed, be careful when cutting especially if its on the hard side)
Oil ( I suggest olive but anything will work)
Herbs and Spices (Suggestions above)Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cube your bread
2. Mix herbs and spices with oil
3. Toss cubes in oil mixture
4. Spread on lined baking sheet in one layer
5. Bale at 400 for about 8 minutes, keeping an eye on it
6. Flip and bake for another 2 to 3 minutes
7. you're looking for a golden brown colour

Traditional Tools in the Kitchen: Kitchen Witchery Basics Part 6

This might be the last of the Kitchen Witchery Basics Series! At least for a bit, I have a few more ideas brewing in my mental cauldron but they're not quite ready for the light of day. I may change my mind by the time next month's expository post is ready to be written. If you’re just finding this series definitely check out the rest of the posts in the series for a more complete “guide” starting here.

I wanted to bring together the general witch world and talk about tools in the smaller scope of the kitchen. There are a number of tools that get used in spell- or ritual work that don't necessarily look like they fit in the kitchen world but you can find kitchen versions of them. Or maybe they look the exact same but because you've been seeing through a mundane lens you didn't really notice they were witchy tools.

I want to quickly mention also that just because you can find these tools in your kitchen does not mean you have to use them as such and also if you’re looking to use tools, inside or outside your kitchen witchery, you absolutely do not need all of them (or any of them at all)! Many witches practice with just a few of these tools in their kit; it’s all up to what tools you feel will accentuate your inner power. Just like intuition over correspondence you are the strongest tool you can have. A fair amount of these can be replaced by your finger or your hands!

**Disclaimer, I don’t use all of these tools myself, in the kitchen or otherwise, so if I get something wrong please feel free to start a conversation below!**

For each of these I will give a quick description of the traditional tool and then the kitchen witch counterpart that I think fits its use. If you have another substitution that you use or one that you think of as you read through I would love to hear about it! Witchcraft is a journey not a destination and I am always looking to learn; and I know I have a lot to learn.

Starting with some obvious ones that everyone, even non-witches, know about...

Wand - A tool used to direct energy. Often made of wood.
A wooden spoon ( or any material of spoon for that matter.) You can do this different ways depending on your practice. I suggest having a spoon that is specifically used for this purpose rather than just using whatever spoon you come across in the kitchen. A wand is meant to be conditioned to be used as such. You can choose to use it to actually stir or you can have a decorative spoon that you use to direct energy from outside the bowl. Or perhaps you would like one of each. I chose a wooden spoon specifically because the majority of traditional wands are wooden and different woods (and therefore wands) have different correspondences. If that's something you're interested in I highly recommend looking into that for yourself.

Cauldron - a vessel used to contain physical aspects of a spell
A pot, a pan or a bowl. Pretty much any vessel you use to contain your spell will work. Of course the most appropriate would be an actual cauldron but I've heard kitchen witches refer to their crockpot as their “electric cauldron!” This is simply going to be anything you can put your spell ingredients in and infuse your intention. Again, you may want to have one pan or pot set aside for when you're doing spellwork but for many of us every time we enter the kitchen we’re doing at least a little magic, so this is completely up to you.

Besom - a ritual broom. mostly used for cleansing.
“A dirty station is a dirty mind,” is a phrase I heard a lot working in kitchens and i think it goes for magic too. If you are surrounded by unclean, negative or muddled energy your magic will not be as pure as it could be. This is where cleansing comes in. You should always work in a clean kitchen and not only for health reasons when it comes to being a kitchen witch. Clean doesn't ONLY mean physically. A besom is a great way to kick that unwanted energy out of your space. In most practices this should be a separate broom from the one you use to physically cleanse your space but it could just as easily be your regular kitchen broom. That is up to you.

Pentacle - a physical representation of the four elements and spirit
I want to talk about a pentacle in two different ways for the kitchen witch. One of which will tie into a possible upcoming installment of Kitchen Witchery Basics. The first is having a wall hanging. To make it extra kitchen witchy you could use kitchen utensils as the lines and/or use pictures of specific correspondences to represent the elements. The second way you could implement this is placing correspondences around your kitchen in the appropriate spots. Even better if you can manage to match up your stove with fire and/or your sink with water (but obviously home renovations aren't necessary to do this.) A little research will goa long way to find your personal correspondences for these but my first thoughts are: cinnamon for fire (perhaps a cinnamon besom,) your chalice for water, incense for air and a plant or mini herb garden for earth.

Moving on to some lesser knowns…

Robes - specific clothes you wear during ritual. Personal to each practitioner or coven.
This one’s pretty simple. An apron! Find an apron that makes you feel your best and put it one when you're planning to do some kitchen witchery. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to make you feel like the powerful witch you are.

Athame - a ritual knife used to cut incorporeal elements (like energy)
Choose a specific kitchen knife to be your athame. I’m not sure how many Kitchen Witches use an athame as its not used for physical butting but if you feel the need to use one pick a knife and set it aside. It could be a butter knife, a carving knife really whatever you feel fits your needs.

Boline - a ritual knife used to cut physical elements of a spell (like herbs)
Choose a specific kitchen knife to be your boline. Just like the athame simply choose a kitchen knife and set it aside for only spellwork. Use it to cut your herbs and other correspondences but only when doing spellwork.

Chalice - a vessel used to hold ritual wine or offerings
Choose a specific glass and set this aside for offerings. In this case I think you could also use a measuring cup. As with pretty much every other tool it's up to you if you want to set aside a specific one and use it only for spellwork or if you want to just view the measuring cup you require as your chalice at the time.

Book of Shadows/ Grimoire - (we can get deeper into this topic another time, perhaps on my incoming twitch stream?) a spellbook. A book of study and personal notes related to your practice
Your recipe book! Start writing down your recipes and make notes on what ingredients correspond to what. Start a running list of your favourite or most used correspondences. If you practice outside of kitchen witchery you can do this in whatever book you already use or you can have a special one just for the kitchen.

And finally, one just for the kitchen…

Kitchen Witch - a guardian for your kitchen with an historic background. 
The kitchen witch originally hails from Europe (some say from Germany and others from Norway) and is seen as a guardian of the kitchen. She is there to watch over you and your concoctions. She is said to prevent boiling over and burning and help you always have the best outcomes both safety, taste and magic. She’s seen as a guardian of the home in general as well. She makes a great gift for the budding (or experienced) kitchen witch. I plan on making my own one of these days.

If there are tools I missed that you use in your practice (or have heard about in your research or the community) and want to know my opinion on the best Kitchen Witch substitution ask me in the comments below!

Seasonal - Winter Warmth: Chili

I absolutely cannot get enough chili ever. This is one of those things I like to make a huge batch of and keep some in the freezer. It's relatively simple and can be made simpler by using canned everything. I usually have a fair amount of dried beans on hand so I used those most other ingredients are coming from cans for me. You mostly just throw everything in a pot and walk away. A few tiny steps before that.

Pair this with with some dinner rolls using my DOUGH recipe and your set for a delicious, warm meal.

CHILI RECIPE

Ingredients:

1lb beef
1 cup dried beans*, soaked over night and boiled until soft
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 can corn
1 onion
1-2 jalapenos
2-3 stalks celery
1 can crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
to taste, salt and pepper
to taste, cayenne or hot sauce, optional

* I used red kidney and black turtle but you could use one, the other and/or white kidney beans

 ** witchy tip** if youre using dried beans set your intentions before you begin the soaking process to allow that intention to really fuse into the beans.

** witchy tip ** if you're into divination check out favomancy. If you like podcasts I know The Witch Bitch Amateur Hour did an episode on this ;) Maybe there's a way to do some favomancy and then use that reading to add intention to what you cook with them later!?





Directions:

Start by dicing your onion, celery and peppers. Onion and celery I like pretty small but the peppers can be a little chunkier. Of course this is up to personal preference; if you're trying to hide your veggies cutting them small will hide them pretty well. It wont hurt to basically mince them, it'll just be different.

Saute those is a little bit of olive oil until translucent.

While those cook, brown your beef. Basically this is cooking your beef just until brown, be careful not to over cook. If you are health conscious drain your beef; if your flavour conscious don't!

**Pro Tip ** cook your beef first and saute your veggies in the beef drippings.





Once both of those are cooked you just throw everything else in your pot! Add also a half a tomato can of water to your pot. I like to keep my jalapenos out until I'm almost done to preserve their spiciness but if your going more for flavour you can add them now or, in fact, you can saute them in the beginning step.

Bring up to a simmer and allow to reduce until its the thickness you like. Taste often and adjust with more salt, chili or spiciness to your taste.

Feel free to play around with amounts and additions or subtractions and let me know how it goes!

To the Metaphysical!

I personally see this as a recipe for abundance. The same way we associate rice with abundance because its so many small parts I feel the same with the many beans. I think its important to remember that abundance can related to more that money and even more than the material. Sit down and think about what you could use more of in your life and see if you can find something else in this recipe that corresponds with that, which I'm sure you can because we got a whole lot going on! And even if not your intentions are what matter most.

If we choose to look only at beans the best choices for abundance will be knowledge (or divination power,) creativity or prosperity. However we can look at the colours and see green, red, and yellow. So anything you associate with those colours are easily added. Protection is always an option especially with the spicy additions and salt. Comfort and warmth in the literal and metaphorical sense would make this a good option for home magic as well as for guests, especially those that you plan on having for an extended stay.

Finally, I want to talk about an historical use. In ancient Rome, edible beans were distributed and eaten at funerals. Other cultures also see beans as a good offering to the dead. When I read this I immediately thought about how beans would be a perfect dish for a dumb supper. I may have to figure out an appropriate chili recipe for next Samhain! Or really any other time you choose to have dinner with the dead, perhaps while visiting the grave of a loved one.

Beans: Air, Mercury, Masculine. Wisdom, divination, prosperity, creativity and communication.
Black turtle: jump hurdles and make important decisions.
Red Kidney: wisdom, love and healing.

Short and Gritty

Ingredients:

1lb beef
1 cup dried beans*, soaked over night and boiled until soft
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 can corn
1 onion
1-2 jalapenos
2-3 stalks celery
1 can crushed tomatoes

11/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
to taste, salt and pepper
to taste, cayenne or hot sauce, optional

* I used red kidney and black turtle but you could use one, the other and/or white kidney beans

Directions:

1. Dice onion, celery, bell peppers and saute until translucent
2. Brown beef
3. Add everything to pot plus half a tomato can of water
4. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce to the thickness you'd like
5. Make sure to taste test and add salt, chili or spiciness to your taste