Eating More Healthy

Besides growing my own vegetables, I really realize that I have to eat more healthy. I found an online site that has a list of healthy foods that one should eat. Here is a link to the article.

Imbolc

This is the time of season that is celebrated around February 1st or 2nd of each year and is associated with "beginning growth".

Here we plant the "seeds" of our hopes and dreams for the coming summer months.

I believe that this is the current season that we are in now. There is still the hint of winter in the air but there have been moments of warmer weather where we can feel a change of seasons coming on.

I am most interested in the food correspondences that are linked with this holiday which include: Foods: Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Muffins, Dairy Products, Peppers, Onions, Raisons, Garlic, Poppy Seed Bread and Cakes, Herbal Teas, Spiced Wines, Potatoes, and Turnips. I'm particularly interested in the muffins, breads and cakes because I'm very interesting in cooking and baking and would like to try and bake some of these to celebrate this sabbath. I also love different herbal teas and I believe them to be quite soothing and theraputic as well!

Candles: Brown, Pink, and Red

Deities: Bridget, Aradia, Gaia, Dagda, Pan, and Herne

Onions And Garlic

As I was preparing my turkey earlier this morning I got to thinking about the onions and garlic that I was going to add to the turkey and came to realize just how many things that onions and garlic can be used for!

I mean it can be used for a lot of things when I'm cooking and I use them in my stews and soups and salads!

I also want to be able to grow them in my garden but so far I have only successfully managed to grow garlic chives (but don't worry, I'm going to try again next year!)

It also reminded me that I am also a kitchen (as well as green) witch and I felt exactly like this when I was preparing my turkey! All the spices and other ingredients that I was adding to the turkey, chopping and cutting and peeling in my nice warm kitchen on a gorgeous (though chilly) sunny day!

All I need now is a warm, open hearth!

I Have Plans For Thanksgiving - for sure!

The time is flying by so fast!

There are so many things that I want and so many things that I want to do!

Thanksgiving is next week! And I plan on making a turkey! I enjoyed doing this so much last year that I can't wait to do it again this year!

But making the turkey did wear me out last year because of all of the preparation that I did to make the turkey. I was going to do it all in one day - make the turkey, make the stuffing from scratch and also bake a pie - all at the same time!

Well suffice it to say I go through making the turkey and by then I was just too tired to even consider baking a pie!

But it was still fun and I plan on doing it again this year!

Onions! And It's Many, Many Uses!

Oh the many, many uses of onions!

I took this picture with my cellphone camera when I was making some stew (that I soon hope to create a recipie and call it "Witch's Stew" A nice and simple stew recipie for when you don't have a lot of ingredients. I love slow-cooking my stew all day long so that I can smell it cooking all through the house! And now since the weather is turning chillier (if not down-right cold!) having a good hearty stew really helps to hit the spot!

But looking at this picture has reminded me of the many uses of onions! Since I am part kitchen-witch, I can really appreciate the fact that you can use onions for many different things and some of the things don't even involve cooking!

I also know that there are some spells that use onions.

I think that it's the strong scent of onions that makes it a popular choice for many, many things!

Also on a side note - its another thing that I want to try to grow in my garden too as I have had great success with growing onion-garlic!

Herb - Mint

Mint can be used in spells to help your prosperity, healing and creativity.

I have grown this in my garden before but never knew of all the things that it can be used for!

Herbs - Lemon Grass

Lemon grass is an herb that can be purchased but you can also grow it on your own. I found out that you can take the stalks that you buy from the store and put them in water and when the roots start to grow (about 2 weeks) you can then plant them in the ground.

I have not grown any of this yet but I plan to! (Hopefully I will be putting pictures of my garden here)

It can also be used in teas and is known to help one's psychic abilities.

It can also be used in spells as well!

Of course I have a garden and I just can't wait to start to grow this herb.

Related Links:

• Herb Lemon Grass

Making Stew!

I was in the kitchen making stew and it dawned on me about the many times it has been suggested that I put pictures in my blog, so I took this picture with my cameraphone:

Here you see the remnants of some onions that I was cutting to add to my stew. Sometimes I think I make the stew more to relax than to just eat the stew. I know lots of people who don't have the patience to cut vegetables but I kind of welcome it. And since I have started my garden I look forward to it!

I like to keep the stew simmering all day so that I can smell it throughout the house.

It also tastes like its good for the soul - at least that is how I feel when I'm eating it. Of course I intend to get a lot more creative cooking my stew - just like I see the people doing on those cooking shows.

My Garden!

Well I checked over the weekend and I'm starting to see some of them sprout up! I'm so excited because it has been a long time since I have had a chance to start, much less tend my garden!

So far I have managed to plant some beans, peas, corn, peanuts and I have planted a couple of herbs as well. I have also noticed that my rosebush has sprouted and I have these lovely dark roses! I think I'm going to save some of the petals and use them for something!

I was reading someone else's post about how their life had become so busy and that they didn't have time to do any spells or rituals lately but they did find time to bake some bread - from scratch! Something about kneading the dough made them feel very relaxed and how they felt that they were putting a part of themself into the baking. That's something that I would love to get back into doing - baking from scratch! Besides making the house smell so yummy baking is a very good relief.

I probably sound old-fashioned and since I have bought my baked goods already made from the store it has been a long time since I have baked anything from scratch - but I'm thinking about it!

I Started My Garden!

I was looking at my gardening notes (yes I keep notes (-: and saw that I haven't had a garden since 2003! 4 years! A lot has gone on in my life in those 4 years and I can see why I wasn't doing any gardening. But to turn this into a happy post I started planting my first seeds in the past few days!

This is quite an accomplishment for me and I'm very excited to have started my garden again! It gives me more meaning now since I have taken the path of a hedge/green/kitchen witch. I mean really - shouldn't a hedge/green/kitchen witch have a garden!!!!!!

My first planted seeds are just a few vegetables but I plan on planting something like every two weeks. (Hopefully I'll post some pictures here of my garden). Excited as I am I just want to plant everything but my past experience with gardening has shown me that having patience is the best thing.

I'm thinking of having a true witch's garden which just means that besides having a lot of different things planted, the things that I plant I will use also in my cooking and my spellwork which brings me to the subject of herbs.

I can just imagine harvesting my herbs! Gathering the harvest and wrapping them together with string.......................

I have a good sized area for my garden and have a section for herbs and a section for vegetables and I'll plant flowers and the like at different corners or areas. But one of the most important things that I have learned about gardening is that it takes patience. There will be a lot of maintenance but there will also be a lot of fun times watching them grow, picking and harvesting them.

I don't know how many of you out there have gardens or are thinking about starting a garden but I would highly recommend it! Not only is it relaxing it also teaches one patience and gives you more appreciation for nature and what goes on with nature. When I'm out in my garden I like feeling the breeze and looking at the trees and just hearing the sounds of the neighborhood. All of this does wonders for your soul. And when your soul is at peace so are you.

Tea Fan?

I have become quite fond of having a cup of tea. This started right after I decided to become a witch. I think it has to do with the soothiness of having a cup of tea. (I'm having one now (-:

Of course I still do drink coffee but not as much.

There's just something soothing about having a cup of tea. It's relaxing and gives me a chance to think about things.

On a related note I hope that I can incorporate this with my gardening as well using things like mint sprigs and other kinds of herbs in my own tea.

Made Another Stew.....

Even at my relatively older age I'm still learning how to cook. I made another stew today and I think that I do it more for the preparation than for the actual stew itself - although it does taste yummy!

First for all of those that are interested my stews are relatively simple. I'll use either chicken or other meats as the foundation and I'll chop up what vegatable I have and add them to the stew. I'll put the meat in a big pot and fill it halfway with water and I'll add salt and pepper and let that cook while I cut the vegatables - always onions and garlic and potatoes and this time I had a pepper so I added that. I also have some sphagetti and I added that. I'll let it cook at a low flame for the rest of the day - always checking on it. And by dinnertime I'll have a nice hot stew to warm my belly!

I know that this is part of what being a kitchen witch is - using the kitchen and its contents. You don't have to get fancy - the main purpose of the stew is to fill you up plus with all the added things in it you'll be healthier. But I think its the process that bears mentioning. All that chopping and cutting should be relaxing. You shouldn't think of it as something to be done and over with but you should think of it as a process. The ingredients go into the stew making it part of the stew itself and you let it simmer and the smell fills up your home while you merrily do something else, the smell is a reminder that you have a stew cooking. Once your stew is ready to eat it fills you up making you feel good for the next thing that you have do. It fills your belly.

I know that there are all sorts of stew receipes online and I'd like to try some of them but I don't want to discount my creations at all. If you're curious you too should experiment. Have I burned anything yet? No, not yet - LOL! But its the process that's fun. And it should also be relaxing for you as well.

Of course I'm going to experiment with different spices and different vegetables. I even want to use stuff from my own garden! Have fun!