new community
Greetings, fellow Kitchen Witches!

I went looking for a gardening community dedicated just to edible plants but I couldn't find one, so I created one! If you are interested in the the cultivation and application (magical or otherwise) of culinary and medicinal plants, please join me at kitchen_gardens.


(cross-pollinatedposted)

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Menstruation and Parsley
Now, I have used parsley tea to bring on my period a few times in my life. For those of you who have also used this method to regulate your period, terminate unwanted pregnancy etc, parsley 'tea' is well, for lack of a better word' disgusting. I have never been able to drink it without gagging and I've always wanted to find a way to make it taste better.

A few days ago I began experimenting. I tried a savory route first. Fresh minced garlic did not make the tea more palatable, nor did French Gray Sea Salt or Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Fresh lime juice did mask the flavor of the parsley, but I found replaced it with an all together too sour taste.

What I have found that works well is honey and raw blue agave nectar.

-Ashlyn-

Current Mood: accomplished

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a yule story...

someday i'll have this all memorized and tell it at an appropriate gather...


( how Yule got its name...Collapse )

Current Mood: content

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cooking/tool/x-mas psa

thing i just ran across, and is even small enough for use a a 'stocking stuffer' for some is the ~$10, ~3"-ceramic-blade paring knife from http://www.harborfreight.com

- http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98183


also apparently a ~$15/5" utility - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=98184

and a $20/6" chef's - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=98186.

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Looking for silverware in all the wrong places--
Just hoping someone here has an answer for this one, since there tends to be a high overlap between "Pagan" and "Fond of halloween decorating motifes".

One of my little household whimsies is that my dining room is set up with a Halloween theme. Nothing special, I've just been slowly accumulating nice napkins, placemats, candelabras, that sort of thing, with a bats, cobwebs, ghosts, etc...look.

My family has decided to come to our house for Thanksgiving. Eeek! That's like 12 people, and this'll be our first big, "formal" dinner (inasmuch as you can have a formal dinner on a placemat with BOOOO! on it).

Has anyone ever seen any silverware with a Halloween/Pagan theme? Anything--cobwebs, bats, moons, stars, pumpkins, or just a strange look to them...there's a "Ditch Witch" set on Ebay right now, but it's kind of tacky...I can find a lot of things with plastic handles, but those wear out after a while, so I'd like to go with stainless, but I just can't locate something.

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Setting down a hearth...
(x-posted to nonwiccanwitch)

My husband and I are seeking a house, as we are both sick and tired of having no room to move or unpack our things. We may have found one, in a nice neighborhood, with plenty of room and a big yard, for a fantastic price, but I'm afraid that it, like so many other awesome houses, will slip away.

My first question is one of ethics. Would it be unethical to try and place a magical mark on a home that we've fallen in love with?

My second question is, does anyone know of any spices, herbs or crystals that I could carry on the home hunt to help find or mark "my territory"?

Thanks in advance.

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Mabon etc
Happy Equinox, you all!

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Sharing a kitchen
Hi all, I'm kinda new (I lurked a while back).
( intro post, cut to keep it shortCollapse )

So, my question for you is...
I'm in-between places to live. I'm spending about 5 days a week with my boyfriend and his roommate and 2 days at home with mom and dad (unemployed liberal arts major, woo!). Because of this arrangement, I don't really have any place that is mine (my bedroom at my parent's house is kind of mine, but they store stuff there too). And, I'm constantly sharing a kitchen with 1 to 4 people at any given time. I want to start adding some ritual to the food I make, some intentional magic into my recipes, but there isn't any space to store my special items (like blessed herbs). Any suggestions for sharing kitchens? And, keeping 2 kitchens free of bad vibes (I would normally burn rosemary or frankincense because they're powerful cleansers, but it would be a little suspicious, and I'm not sure how everyone would react!).

Thank you all!

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Sugar
why sugar is bad for you...

http://www.organicnutrition.co.uk/articles/is-sugar-bad-for-you.htm

so i went into a tim hortons the other day and asked for a cup of coffee w/ of brown sugar and apparently they dont carry any brown sugar at all.  this is sad considering how many businesses they own.

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herb etiquette?
When you cut herbs or plants for kitcheny use, do you say or think anything at the plant in terms of "thanks" or "sorry" or "you may feel a slight pinch now?"

I do believe in the concept of showing gratitude to the plant for its gifts (because I know plants are responsive to thought and intent), but to date I have yet to compose anything that feels right. Cutting herbs is not the same as plucking flowers or fruit - the act is essentially killing, so any "gee, you're swell" platitudes just seem, well, lame.

How do ye other witches approach this?

Current Mood: curious

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Just wanted to say Thank You
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your kind words and helpful suggestions about the miscarriage. I did do the parsley tea and it worked like a charm. Its very handy knowledge to have up my sleeve.

Thats all really. Thank you. :)

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herbal remedies for miscarriage?
Hi there.

I recently found out that my pregnancy did not turn out as planned. I have miscarried, but my body has not been passing the remains very quickly at all. Does anyone know of a natural way to help spur this along? If it does not pass within a week, I have to schedule a D & C to have it surgically removed, and I'd like to avoid it if possible.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and researched.

thank you. :)

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Greetings!
Real/Given Name: Courtney
Craft Name (Optional): Don't use one at the moment.
The World You Live in: Michigan, United States.
Specific Path: Solitary
Patron Deity (if any): The Brigit
Religious/Spiritual Background: Baptized Missouri Synod Lutheran, Confirmed Episcopalian, but always with interest and an instinctive sort of knowledge about Other Things - I avoided it for a long time, and fairly recently, it's gotten to a point where I can't.
Type of Pagan Practice: Solitary study, at the moment, at least more than anything else.
Types of Divination Practiced: Runes, tarot
Element:: Earth/Water: I need both to flourish
Sacred Tree(s): Birch
Sacred Stone(s): Sodalite, Tiger's Eye
Spirit Animal(s)/Familiar(s): None

(Cross posted to lots of places, so many apologies if you get this more than once.)

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Shut up and eat your weeds--
Reading up on (and planting) purslane (or purselane) now. A really neat herb. Apparently, it repels evil and is recommended to protect against magic and evil spirits. It might be good for shape-changing or building a new identity, as Thespis used it to make his mask originally (well...the tragedy mask, anyway).

Beyond that, it sounds like a fun plant to cultivate anyway. It's weirdly high in Vitamin C and fatty omega-3 amino acids (the highest concentration on land for the omega-3 stuff). It's nearly impossible to kill (tear it up, throw it in the compost heap, it STILL produces seeds, and now it's growing in your compost heap), and is one of the top ten weeds in the united states.

It has a tart flavor, is quite edible, and with its thick leaves (it's a sort of succulent), it can be used to thicken soups and stews.

*paces until my weed-seeds arrive...*

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Most entertaining onion ever--
I just read up on the egyptian onion. It sounds completely charming--it's called the "walking onion," and does well in warm climates, but can grow in zone 3 areas. It starts as a standard onion does, with a medium-sized bulb that can be used as a (strongly-flavored) onion. Then it sends up a stalk (which can be used as a chive, again, strong flavor, a little garlicky). Eventually, the stalk grows a little bulb (can be used in the place of scallions). Over time, the stalk droops to the ground...planting the little bulb!

I'm not sure how useful this is for the general "kitchen witchery" field, but it's an entertaining plant, every part of it is useful, and quirks are fun. No-one knows if it's actually from Egypt, but they did love their onions in ancient Egypt.

Bulbs are cheap on e-bay, and you shouldn't need more than a few!

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Yucca Root and Stem
So, my partner dug up a large yucca plant from our yard, and it occurred to me to save the roots. I've also ended up with stems. Right now they are in a basin in the sun. What are your suggestions for preparing them for culinary/medicinal/cosmetic uses? (It appears to be Yucca filamentosa.)

I have heard of using it as a shampoo, and externally and internally for arthritis and pain-- but searches tend to yield ads to buy prepared capsules or products. I have loads of root and some stem, and I'm willing to prepare it-- how?

Also, is this type of yucca good for eating at all?

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I  really need some help.

I have a very small kitchen in a very, very old house.  The kitchen counter/sink is made completely of wood, the floor is old linoleum, you get the idea. 

Due to water damage, the floor around the sink slopes, and I'm pretty sure it's rotting :(  It squeaks when you walk around that area, and there are soft spots.  We're SO strapped for cash that we can't  get it fixed...

Needless to say, this puts such a damper on how I feel towards my kitchen.  Even though the floor doesn't interfere with function (or looks, even....), I *know* what's going on and not being able to do anything about it right now makes me not even want to be in there :(

I want to love my kitchen;  I feel (felt) most at home in that room.  I love to cook, to grow thing in the windowsill.....I've just been feeling a little discouraged lately and I've been letting the kitchen go...no decorating, no blessings, I just spend what time it takes to cook and I get out. 

Please, help me!  What CAN I do to make my kitchen feel like home again, to bring it happiness and good vibes? 

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not sure if this is on topic or not
IF it isn't I apologise. However, I just created a new community. dot_cooksnark . Thought it would be appropriate for my flop ups when I experiment.

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Shared space
Good morning everyone,

I have enjoyed reading about your kitchens and practices. At one time I considered myself a kitchen witch / hedgewitch and life drew me away from it. I'm drawing myself back now.

Many of you have mentioned making your kitchen your own, taking back your kitchen, things like that.  I share my kitchen with my partner.  Actually, that's not quite true. Due to our schedules and responsibilities, right now she does most of the cooking and almost all of the shopping, and it is largely 'her' kitchen.  We are very well tuned to each other, and there's no negative energy or anything like that, but she's not in the kitchen witch tradition.

Like many homes, the kitchen is also a common area - and common dumping area.  Mail, checkbooks, odds and ends show up on the counters and seem to live there.  There just never seems to be enough counter space to contain our randomness.  We both are aware of our messy tendencies and do our best to keep on top of things, but we have a long way to go.

Do any of you share your kitchen with a non-witch, or a temporarily-lapsed witch?  Does it hinder you, or are you able to find your space in it?  Or do you really need to have full charge of a kitchen to make it yours?  Should I give up and focus on other traditions for now?

Thank you.

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Candles in the Kitchen
My name is Ashlyn and my home is a 3 bR/2ba ranch about a mile back into the woods of east georgia. My house is called "The Glen Hallow", for it sits in a huge glen. In my kitchen, my peaceful hour is at dusk, when I light all the candles in my kitchen.

Currently, I have red apple for fire, passion and fertility, vanilla cream for air, serenity and calm, and tan hazelnut for earth, heart and stability. I'll have a picture of my favorite spot in my kitchen soon, where I have windchimes and silk butterflies hanging.

My future garden is located right outside my kitchen, where I plan to plant catmint, spearmint, lavender and parsley.

Current Mood: content

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