Herbal Witch-Crafting, Beeswax and lessons from my neck!

These past few weeks have brought with them the flutter of fire in the belly inspiration, and I knew I had to go where the muse called.

You see this was not an easy task at first, because I have been riding a month long writing phase, full of divine inspiration and the excitement that a new project brings, and it was this, that had to be set down to let other things to flow through. 

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Harvesting Nettles

We drove for over an hour deep into the mountains and into the wild beauty of  Squamish, then it was down an old roads, on which we got stuck, but us gals managed just fine and with a few pushes Zahra and Shanti had us out!

The forest is alive and bursting with growth this time of year, moss is vibrant and dripping off of the trees and the local salmonberry bushes are bursting with deep pink flowers, and of course the nettle patches are lush and full, it truly was magical!

First we gave offerings and prayers to the land asking for permission to harvest the nettles and other sweet pickings, tossing sweet pollen from my bee hives laced with lavender and big pinches of sage and tobacco.

Then of course nettles sting so we had to don our gloves for the task, somehow I still managed to come home with tender arms and legs, but it was well worth it!

Nettles are high in Iron, calcium, magnesium, iron, B complex A and D, potassium, zinc, copper and many other nourishing vitamins. Nettles are great for a myriad of things, but mostly they serve as a nourishing tonic, especially for  us woman. Nettles are great for menstrual cramps, anemia and serves as a deeply a fortifying tonic for anyone who is pregnant or lactating.

Most years I can get my hands on a small amount of these from the farmers market, but this year I was able to harvest a large basket full which is a true blessing!

Once we got back home I excitedly began making nettle vinegar which I have always wanted to make but never had enough to really get a good batch or more more then a tincture or some nettle chips which I blogged about last year.

I was also able to get several bunches together for drying, and these will be made into teas and nettle salt.

The rest I have cut up for making Nettle soup{Next time it will be nettle gnocchi!} with the leftover stems and other bits boiled into a broth that will go into the garden as a tonic give back to the land, the flowers love the extra nutrients!

Yes today we all were truly nourished, full of offerings from the land and giving a little back for out part in taking.

I feel truly grateful, and blessed to be living so close to such abundance.

Nettle Soup:

Ingredients:

3-4 large potatoes

1 med sized onion

½ lb- young nettles-approx 8 cups

7-8 basil leaves

2 tbsp butter

4 cups chicken or veg stock

sea salt & black pepper

4 tablespoons sour cream

Method:

Peel, chop the potatoes and boil for 10 min’s in salted water. Drain.

Wash & chop coarsely the nettles and basil

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the nettles, onions and basil and stir cooing the onions until tender. Add the potatoes and  stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

When all is cooked and soft, cool slightly & purée in a blender, adding salt, pepper and the sour cream.

Kitchen Witchery

I have heard it said that just simply cooking in the kitchen does not make a kitchen witch.

Now I wonder, if someone is already a witch, and magic is “the ability to change consciousness at will”, then is not the alchemy of cooking, or better yet baking, pure magic? and the woman doing it, practicing kitchen witchery?

Now I am the first to admit that the lazy Wednesday night of cooking spaghetti for the family is not very magical, or the practise of kitchen witchery, this is because when I am working my spells in the kitchen there is always an “intent” and this is where the magic happens, or rather the changing of consciousness, and this does not happen everyday.

I can create a warm and comforting feelings simply by baking something that invokes smells and tastes that awaken safe and homey memories, along with cravings for whatever is in the oven. This is turn pulls everyone from their corners of the house to gather in the kitchen, and this is where the best conversations happen, not easy to do as kids get older!  I can also energize the family into a Sunday morning hike by whipping up a serious smoothie with spirulia and other magical ingredients that get everyone feeling full of energy and open to the idea of getting outside–sneaky you say?

Yes I reply, for this is the magic and mystery of being the divine feminine force that inspires my family–this is what I am passing along to my kids, and what my daughter watches me do everyday.

In fact this is what cooking women everywhere do, and often not even realize it. So imagine what a little more intent put into that food, a sprinkle of love and a pinch of respect, with some magic stirred in, could do for those eating it, ourselves included!

This week everyone in my family came home with a case of the sniffles,  so my plans for whipping up some rosehip cordial/syrup were set in motion……

We have a wild rosebush in our back-yard, that this year decided that it liked our old apple tree and so it grew all over it and made a beautiful little cave for my outdoor shrine, bit it also had more rosehips this year then ever before, so it made good common sense that they go to some use!

My intent with this cordial was health and love, and this is what I stirred into it as I worked-kitchen witch style!

Here is my morphed recipe that I tweaked to suit my needs, I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of water
• 5 cups of rosehips
• 3 cups of white granulated sugar

The How to:

Tail the rosehips, this means take a pair if scissors and chop the furry end off of each one–kids love this job!

Bring your water to a boil, and while you wait for that..

Take the rosehips and chop them roughly in a food processor, or blender–they should look like this…..

Transfer the fruit into your by now, fast boiling water and bring it back up to a boil again.

Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to chill if you are using a jelly bag. If you have a really good metal sifter you can get to the next step right away.{see photo below for what I mean by metal sifter/sieve/colander.}

Pour through a sterilized jelly bag{you can sterilize by either ironing it or scalding it in boiling water.}/or muslin square, or your metal sieve, over a bowl to save the water–it should be a lovely bright color by now!

Return the pulp to your now empty pot and add 2.5 cups of fresh water and bring it back to a boil- At this point I totally cheated and threw in a bag of organic rosehip, raspberry tea, the color was great and the flavor of the raspberries made the whole thing come together–well worth the cheat!

Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to cool if using a jelly bag.

Strain through the jelly bag/metal sieve again squeezing out all access liquid. You can now compost the pulp.

Pour your precious cordial into a clean saucepan and boil to reduce the liquid to 1.5 pts-this takes some time approx 15-20 min’s

Lastly add the sugar and boil rapidly for another 5-6 minutes, you want to see the sugar gets a little thick, but ultimately it will still be quite liquidity and that is ok.

Pour into hot sterile bottles, seal immediately and enjoy!

The cordial takes yummy by the spoonful, but is also great on plain yoghurt, in tea or just about anywhere you want a hit of sour and sweet yumminess!

In my last post I also promised the recipe for Red Pear and Lavender Jam, but everyone over here was feeling so lousy yesterday so I made this cordial and some soup and skipped the Jam. However the pears are calling to me as I write this so perhaps it will be sooner rather then later!

 

 

A flower remedy and a girl…..

A few years ago a dear friend of mine got deeply into making flower essences in her garden. Now if you were to see her garden you would know that it is enchanted, and chock FULL of devic and fairy beings–of this I have no doubt!

Upon entering her overgrown front garden, especially at the full height of summer, you can’t help but feel drunk on the smells from her peppermint patch, and nibble on the large fennel plant as you pass into her second garden in the back, where bees buzz, sunflowers doze and veggies grow in abundance…..

It was in this garden that we made a special flower essence for Zahra’s Birthday coming up on Oct 30th

This is a time when the veils are very thin, and Zahra was born at home, in water, and as she slowly decided if she was going to join us here on this side{she was not breathing for quite a long time after she was born} a large spirit bird flew over our heads and left the room as she took her first breath.

There is a wonderfully special bond between Zahra and my friend, as she was my doula at Zahra’s birth and one of the first of our loved ones to hold her as she adjusted to being earth side….

And so every year on Zahra’s birthday or near it, a special gift is presented to her from her special “Fairy Godmother”{so to speak}

This year it was to be a special flower essence!

Because the details of Zahra’s special ritual are hers only, I have left those details out, but added some beautiful images and small details from our day of making Zahra her flower essence.{With full permission of course!}

The flower must be alive, the stem can be bent, but not broken.

Once the water has been poured we sit, and quietly and listen for messages from the flower, we have asked it for qualities that can support Zahra in what she needs at this time for her higher good.

This flower was specifically chosen for Zahra and if you look at it’s color and beauty it is easy to see why!

We each shared a small taste before making the final tincture.

Zahra tasting her essence for the first time.

And in between we had lots of  snuggles–mostly to keep warm!

I can’t believe she is going to be 8 already!

Happy Birthday sweet one!

Spice Bottles, Passports and Summer Solstice

These past 2 months have been insanely busy and I have to say that it is not slowing down for one minute over here!

Between beading projects, my schoolwork,  the kids end of year concerts and projects, meetings for our book–ohhh dear friends we are SO close now, and preparing for our trip: passports, suitcases, planning and- oh right–we leave in 2 weeks!

I am downright exhausted–happy, but a little tired to say the least!

So today my big plan has been to do nothing–well, nothing that is not fun…

You see, a few weeks ago I decided that my spice cupboard needed a little spring cleaning and then I realized that spring was practically over and the summer solstice was on my heels, so I decided a little summer solstice treat was in order and ordered some amazing recycled glass spice bottles from my favorite herbal supplier Rose Mountain Herbs, and these cute labels from another Etsy favorite For Strange women–this is the outcome!

Ohh this needs a good cleaning!

So clean it I did–such a good feeling….

And then to place my new spice jars inside–heavenly!

Nothing like a kitchen Witches Magical cupboard to inspire…

Oh and…thanks to Tara Lee’s comment I am happy to share that the old bottles were scooped up by Zahra before I had barely cleaned them out for her sparkles and treasures–happy Girl!

Making a Medicine Wheel garden

A few years ago, in 2007 I was inspired to make a medicine wheel garden in our back-yard.

Part of the inspiration came from the rocks that I had saved from our wedding day.

The other part was that our year had been taken over by bamboo and my large veggie patch had a bulldozer go through it to get at the bamboo ridden soil!

The process was hard work, I  will admit to that, but the pay off was more then worth it!

That and help from Veit a dad from our kids school and a landscaper who helped us get rid of the bamboo and lay the foundation for  the wheel.

Then we poured bags and bags of small stones to make 4 pathways into the center..

The kids helped out which was great

I had the idea for a peace Pole in the the middle-so we added it too…

Slowly, we added herbs and flowers and….

A Fairy Garden, and some Strawberries.

Lots of them!!

Then it was the little extras, a Buddha,

and loads of flowers, and slowly, slowly over the years it has started to fill out.

Last year we added a Japanese maple that Sohrab bought me for Mothers Day.

And this year we have honey bees!!

Yes as the years go by and the wheel spins, I think of it more and more in the Celtic way of my ancestors and my spiritual path as it is unfolding…and as I learn the lesson over and over that nothing is static!