BANISHMENT STIRRING SPELL
If you need to banish something from your life, prepare a pot of soup.
Draw a banishing pentagram in the soup, then stir nine times counterclockwise, saying:
“Blessed Lord, gracious Lady, hear my plea.
Remove (insert what needs removal) from me.
For the good of all, with harm to none;
once this is eaten, the spell is done!” Eat the soup.
Since today is ‘World Egg Day’ I thought I would offer a magically delicious egg recipe. Eggs have long been associated with mysticism and they have been revered as a receptacle that holds the essence of life. In fact, eggs have been intimately linked to the spiritual and the divine. According to one ancient belief, eggs are actually considered the perfect symbol of all creation as they not only produce life itself, but the shell represents the element of earth. This belief goes on to say that the membrane of the egg represents air while the yolk symbolizes fire and white water. Possessing all of these elements allows the egg to contain the potential of manifestation. So if you want to become a manifesting machine, start your day with some scrambled eggs in order to activate your personal power. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a shallow heavy pan and set over low heat. Break two medium eggs into a bowl and beat very lightly with a fork. Pour into the pan with the melted butter and lightly stir with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring gently while visualizing an intense creative power infusing the eggs. After a few minutes, while the eggs are just setting and still a bit creamy, add two teaspoons of a light cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve this magically manifesting dish immediately!
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
Items You Need:
3 Cloves of Garlic
Water
The Spell:
With water, grind the garlic into a paste. Rub the paste on the souls of the afflicted person’s shoes, and on the front step of his/her home. Create a blessing with the Sun retribution Symbol invoking enlightment and clarity. This will negate Earth Spells.
Items You Will Need:
The Spell:
Add the water to the pot and put it on the heat source until it comes to a boil. Add the piece of bark in the water and wait about five minutes. Next add the rose petals turn off the heat source. Let cool and drop in rock. Use the wooden spoon to stir it around for a while. Put the mixture through the strainer and have liquid land in the bowl. Take the potion and put it on your finger make a line on your forehead and down your arms. Sit and say
Spirits of Water hear my Plea Evil threatens me Belief of attacks surround me Protect me from the monstrosities Let them fall like the tide
Crone’s Corner – APPLE DIVINATION
If a girls peels an apple in one long piece at midnight on Halloween, and then tosses the peel over her left shoulder or into a bowl of water, she will be able to read the first initial of her future partner’s name in the shape assumed by the discarded peel.
* If a girl peels an apple at midnight on Halloween and hangs the peel on a nail by the front door, the initials of the first man to enter will be the same as those of her unknown lover.
* If a group of unmarried boys and girls each attach an apple to a string and twirl the apple over a fire, the order in which the apples fall off the string indicates the order in which they will all be married. The owner of the last apple to drop will remain unmarried.
* In a group of unmarried boys and girls, each person marks an apple and places it in a large bucket of water, along with unmarked apples. Without using their hands, the teens attempt to take bites out of the apples floating in the water. The teen is fated to marry the person whose apple they bite. Another variation of this custom consists of hanging the apples from strings tied to a tree.
GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast Archives
Lammas Bread
2 cups warm milk
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
Mix together in a large bowl, cover and set in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes).
Add the following:
3 Tbs softened butter
2 cups unbleached white flour
Stir until bubbly.
Mix in the following:
1 cup rye flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
With floured hands, turn the dough onto a floured surface and gradually knead in more white flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turning once so that the dough is greased, cover with a cloth and set in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).
Punch the dough down and divide in two. Shape into balls, flattened at the top and place on a cookie sheet. Cover and set in a warm place until doubled. (about 1 hour) When the final rising is almost complete, use your athame and carve a pentagram in the centre of the loaf as you recite a blessing of thanks to the Grain Goddess.
For variety, once the bread has been separated in two, shape the dough into figures symbolizing the God and Goddess of the Grain.
Cover and allow to rise until doubled.
Beat together:
1 egg
1 Tbs water
Brush the loaves and bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
Share this blessing of the Goddess during your Lammas Feast.
Lammas Yummies For Your Tummies
By Dame Niamh
Lammas (Lughnasad) is the time when the God is mourned, having died in ecstasy at his mating with the Goddess on the Summer Solstice (Litha).
Far from being sad, Lammas is the beginning of the Wheel’s turning again, as death is followed by rebirth, and so we recognize that the sacrifice of the God (the cutting of the summer harvest) nourishes us and begins his journey to rebirth at Yule.
Corn is often considered the symbol of Lughnasad; the first ears are ripe at this time. I make a Lughnasad Corn Pudding, and put little things into it (tiny figurines of animals and tiny baby dolls) to remind us: “Corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls shall rise again.” Warn people not to gobble the pudding or they will swallow their little treasures!
1 box Flako corn muffin mix (it contains the largest amount)
1 large can creamed corn
1 large container sour cream
1/2 large onion,or scallions, green and white parts, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Grease a metal baking pan, about 8×8 or 9×9 if you want it to come out thinner. Pour the batter into the pan, add little tiny toy figures, and bake at 350 till it’s springy. I stick a toothpick into it; a few crumbs may cling, but that’s all right. You don’t want it too dry.
If you don’t like to use commercial corn muffin mix, use your own recipe to make 8 corn muffins. You’ll need corn meal, unbleached flour and some baking powder. A friend puts 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers into hers. Hot! Hot!
By Ana
This recipe is for the garden that’s overflowing with produce! Use whatever you have on hand! And, it’s a no mess dinner, nice on the moms and dads cleaning up:)
Ingredients:
Whatever you’ve got growing:) Sliced up
Potatoes (a few, this is your base)
Pepper (I like green, but any will do)
Greens (kale, collards, chard- what you have on hand)
Onion
Couple of Carrots
Zucchini or Yellow squash or both
Fresh herbs
Few tablespoons of butter and canola oil (I like having the flavor of both, but you could use only one of these).
Take everything you’re harvesting from your garden this Lammas. Freshly dug up potatoes (yum!!!), a pepper, some yellow squash or zucchini, an onion, couple of carrots, and greens. Cut it all up and place it with a little butter and canola oil on a large sheet of tin foil. Add salt and pepper (I usually add a bit of nutritional yeast as well) and fresh garden herbs. Dill is my favorite, along with chives and thyme or rosemary. Wrap it up. Then take a second sheet of foil and cover the package again for added protection. Put on a low grill for about 40 minutes- it depends on how small the vegetable pieces are. When it’s done, scoop onto a plate and serve with baked beans and some local corn on the cob! Yum yum!!! And nothing to clean up:)
By Ana
Using your slow cooker! That’s right ladies, pull out your slow cooker and let the yummy smells of apples and squashes fill the air for the day… or come home to a nice cooked meal all ready for you:) I’m a big fan of using my slow cooker- it’s not just for soups and stews (although that’s enough reason to use it!). This is a sweet flavorful fall dish- and if it’s still hot in your area, it’s nice to not use the oven and heat up the house! I came up with this based on a slow cooker recipe I found (although I didn’t exactly follow the recipe as usual:)- my family all loved it, so I thought I’d pass it on!
Ingredients:
One Butternut Squash (cut in half, or in quarters, depending on it’s size and how you can fit it in the cooker- if it’s lopsided, trim a piece off the bottom so it lies flat)
One Small Onion
One Clove Garlic
2 Tb Olive or other Oil
1/2 Cup Quinoa (or cous cous, or millet, or other grain)
1 1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (or so) of water
1/2 cup of nuts- I use cashews, or you could use pistachios, walnuts, etc. (I’m a cook that goes with what I’ve got)
Rinse quinoa and place in boiling apple juice. (if using cous cous or another grain, just follow the instructions on how much water to use per cup of grain- make about a half cup and use apple juice instead of water). Add in your cinnamon and allspice, and once it is back to a boil, turn on low and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes or so, until cooked and water is absorbed. While that’s cooking, cut and scoop center out of squash and place in slow cooker bottom (this doesn’t have to be perfect- I have had them slightly sideways, but you need to be able to have the filling stay mostly in place:). Then take a small pan and cook your sliced onion and minced garlic in the oil til the onions are translucent. When your quinoa is done add in your crushed nuts, and onion mixture, and stir. Then stuff the squash with it. If you have left overs, you can save it for lunch or give it to the kids- mine love it because it’s sweet from the applesauce). Being careful not to pour it on the squash, then put the cup of water slowly into the bottom of slow cooker pot. Cover, and put on low for about 6 hours or so. If you like your nuts crunchy, add them last, sprinkled on top (they will get pretty soft in the slow cooker, which is good for smaller kids, but usually not as good for the rest of us:).
When it’s done, be careful pulling it out (I use two spatulas and an extra person to hold a plate close- they cook really well. Also be careful with the outer peel- it will be very soft, so with kids, I make sure to peel it off so they don’t eat it.
Serve with a plate of cooked greens. I like a bunch of chopped collards, green beans, or zucchini- chop about a half of onion, add in some oil and soy sauce, and it’s a perfect compliment to this dish. Other ideas would be a green bean casserole, or a light salad and roll. It’s a pretty filling main course, and is very healthy- lots of vitamins, and quinoa is a great protein source (especially mixed with nuts) and has calcium (great with collards for this too).
By Ana
I’m a huge fan of no fuss no muss cooking! I don’t like to waste my time following most recipes- so here’s a general guide for you:) Do this with your kids and get messy:)
Cut up a few apples (4 at most), but if you have a pear or two, or a peach or two, substitute them for an apple or two. You can also add raspberries (yum! see activities!) or other berries. If you aren’t doing any other fruit besides apples, I’d through in some raisins for some sweet flavoring.
Place in a bowl with some lemon juice and cinnamon (sprinkle on to your taste- I like a lot)
Next, take about 2 cups (ok, I’m making this up- I never follow a recipe- but it’s something about that much- enough to cover the apples) of rolled oats, and mix with a small amount of flower (few tablespoons) and some apple juice (if you’re one that has it around, apple concentrate is better, but I never have that and just use the apple juice- taking 2 kids to a grocery store on a trip for that would never be worth the effort when the juice seems to work). Just pour enough in to mix it a bit- maybe a few tablespoons. I also add more cinnamon, but that’s up to you. Now add a bunch of fresh honey (again, see activities!). Mix it up – use your hands here, this is fun! This is where the kids can help. Now that it’s all mixed up (you probably need to wash your hands here!), put it in a baking dish- a square one is nice, but you could even use a pie pan. Then put the ‘crumble’ mix on top. If you are a sweet tooth, put a little sugar on top of that:) Bake in your oven at about 350 degrees (or up to 375 if you like it a little crispier on top) for about a half hour. If the top seems to get too brown, cover with foil. That’s it!
By Ana
I am not much of a baker (requires too much of following a recipe:), but I have loved this bread recipe and use it often. It is especially wonderful because it only requires one rise, making it a quicker bread to cook. It will make 2 small loaves, which I like, because you can give one away, or have it for the next nights meal as well. It is especially good for Lammas. In the morning I get a handful of my favorite herbs- rosemary, chives, and thyme usually- and then I wash them, and pick off the leaves, dry them on a paper towel, and place them on a cookie sheet in a low oven to dry. You must watch them so that they don’t burn. If you have the herbs dried already (store bought or dried from earlier this summer), skip this step and just use those. I really enjoy the act of picking the herbs for my bread that day, but it is a little more time consuming. Then I follow this recipe, taken from “The Whole Soy Cookbook, by Patricia Greenberg”.
Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 package fast-acting dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp thyme, 2tbsp dried oregano, 2 tbsp dried rosemary (this as I said before, can be from your own garden, or the herbs changed to your taste. I also find this to be too much herbs for my families taste, and use about half this much, or 3 or 4 tablespoons total herbs).
Combine in a large bowl the water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Then add the soy milk and oil and mix. Slowly stir in the flour and salt, mixing until combined. Place the dough on a floured surface, add the herbs on top and knead for 4 minutes or so, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap- let rise. The recipe says it will double in bulk in 1.5 hours, but I find it takes more like 2.5 hours for me. Just keep an eye on it. Once doubled, divide the dough in half and form each into a ball. Place the loaves on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 35 or 40 minutes, until golden brown.
300 gramms of flour
2 teaspoones of baking powder
a bit of salt
30-50 gramms of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)
now mix this and add
100 gramms of soft butter
mix this with your hands to flakes
Take two eggs, seperate one of them and keep the white egg seperate. Add 100 ml of milk to the eggs and mix this very good until its foamy. Now add this to the flakes and make it a mass you easily can roll out.keep it about 0,5 cm thick take a glass and take out some small moons – half ones, full ones, as you like.put the moons on a baking sheet and coat the white egg on them.
Bake them for 6 to 10 Minutes with top and down heat in the middle rail of the oven that you preheat at 200°C.
Hot, sultry, sensuous and sexy, and I’m not just taking about the weather! If you want to be absolutely irresistible then give this spicy bath a try: Pour two cups boiling water over a cup or bowl holding a pinch of powdered cinnamon, three whole cloves, and a teaspoon each of cardamom seeds and coriander seeds. Let this mix steep before straining and then allow it to cool. Add this blend to a bath filled with warm water and soak up. Let yourself air dry as your romantic apprehensions now flow down the drain. You have now successfully bathed away the beliefs that you are not the single hottest thing around during these hot summer months!
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
9 Ways to Cancer-Proof Your Next Barbecue
by Michelle Schoffro Cook
There is a link between barbecued foods and an increased risk of cancer. Basically, when foods like meat or oils are heated over high temperatures or come in contact with flames, certain compounds can form. These compounds are called: Heterocyclic Amines (HCA) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). These compounds are known carcinogens. But, you don’t need to remember their names to lessen your risk of exposure to them. Here are some simple ways to lessen your cancer risk and still enjoy your next barbecue.
1. Choose foods that are low in fat like vegetables, lean cuts of meat, poultry or fish. Heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are primarily formed when fats are heated to high temperatures or fall into the flames and create smoke. By choosing lean cuts of meat and of course vegetables which are naturally low in fat, you reduce the chance of these compounds forming at all.
2. Trim excess fat from meat prior to cooking it.
3. Pay attention while you’re barbecuing. This helps to lessen the likelihood of flare-ups, intense smoking, and charring, thereby resulting in healthier meals.
4. Avoid charring food excessively and, of course, avoid eating burnt parts of food as much as possible.
Keep reading to discover the marinades that reduce cancer-causing compounds by up to 99 percent…
5. Marinate foods like meat in olive oil and lemon juice-based marinades. Research shows that these two items can reduce the formation of the cancer-causing compounds by up to 99 percent while cooking. Not to mention that they tenderize the meat, add great flavor, and help keep it moist during cooking.
6. Use fresh herbs for your next barbecue. Scientists at the Food Safety Consortium project at Kansas State University have discovered that herbs in a particular family used in marinades drastically reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines. These herbs include: basil, mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage. Simply use one or more of these herbs, preferably fresh, in a marinade prior to and during cooking. Fortunately, they add tremendous flavor so most people won’t even know you’re making they’re barbecued food healthier.
7. One of the easiest ways to make barbecuing healthier is to add as many vegetables as possible. Making kebabs is a great way to do this. By alternating lean meat and vegetables, the veggies will not only add flavor, they’ll also help to keep the meat moist and add fiber and nutrients.
8. Avoid overcooking vegetables. Their natural antioxidants help destroy free radicals that may be caused from barbecuing. The longer they cook the more certain vitamins like vitamin C and B-complex vitamins break down. So don’t overcook them.
9. Keep your grill clean prior to every use. Not only is it more appetizing to eat food that’s been cooked on a clean grill, but you’ll be lessening the amount of char that you’ll be eating.
Adapted from the book Cancer-Proof by Michelle Schoffro Cook. Subscribe to my free e-newsletter World’s Healthiest News to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more. Follow me on Twitter @mschoffrocook and Facebook.
Aries
(March 21 – April 19)
A tomato features in todays cuisine. Sadly, that’s going to be your pinacle of excitement for today.
Taurus
(April 20 – May 20)
Excellent day to crouch behind furniture, and peer over the top. If you can do that while wearing one of those Groucho Marx noses, so much the better.
Gemini
(May 21 – June 20)
Excellent day to study gastroenterology, or possibly to go bowling.
Cancer
(June 21 – July 22)
Today you will receive a gift horse. Unfortunately, it will have a really horrendous case of gingivitis.
Leo
(July 23 – August 22)
You will attain your dream of having your own cooking show, but it will become tiresome when you have to battle your way past people dressed as chickens to get into the studio each day.
Virgo
(August 23 – September 22)
It’s about time you learned some more recipes dealing with zucchini. Lots and lots of zucchini. You’ll need one of those new Martha Stewart “Kitchen Shovels”, I’m afraid. The good news is, you’ll find several nice zucchini recipes in my new cookbook “Recipes For Disaster” (the sequel to “Another Fine Mess”).
Libra
(September 23 – October 22)
Despite having a brilliant mind and a lot of terrific friends, you find yourself stagnating in a quiet backwater, with financial success nowhere in sight. You will go into business for yourself, however, making frozen Piroshki based on your grandmother’s recipe, and will become rich and famous. Your grandmother will thwap you with her umbrella.
Scorpio
(October 23 – November 21)
You will get a new job, soon, in which your most important activity will be to periodically “jiggle a little thingy”. While it will pay well, this will prove to be somewhat awkward to explain at parties. Eventually you will hit on the ploy of saying you sell insurance…
Sagittarius
(November 22 – December 21)
Today, someone named “Svlad” will appear at your door, carrying a large inflatable penguin and a bag of pistachio nuts. Despite your better judgement, you will let him in.
Capricorn
(December 22 – January 20)
You will contemplate nothingness today, but somethingness will keep intruding upon your thoughts.
Aquarius
(January 21 – February 18)
You will discover an odd amulet in an old curio shop, which is made entirely of holmium and yttrium, and which strongly interferes with the normal functioning of electronics. Best not to play with things like that.
Pisces
(February 19 – March 20)
Someone will ask you for your advice. Don’t give it! Or if they insist, simply shake your head solemnly, and mutter “Much bad juju”, and refuse to clarify. They only want a scapegoat.
As unlikely as it seems at times, there is always a way – even a better way. If we can keep on working and using our vision, there will be solutions and they will not fail. Our limited view can make us believe answers must come through certain channels. It is hard to stop thinking that one particular way is all there is, that we have no choice. It makes us rely on a crust of bread when we could have a feast. If we want a breakthrough, we need to take off our blinders – stop pressing our minds into tiny molds that have no room to expand. Allow, even encourage, the mind and spirit to use the gift of a go wa dv di, vision – extraordinary ability to see beyond ordinary sight, to a better way.
~ There was a time….our wants were within our control….we saw nothing we could not get. ~
SHARITARISH
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Independence Day is just around the corner. And, if you’re like millions of Americans, you’ll spend your day grilling up some tasty foods with friends and family. It’s certainly a fun time, but it’s also important to recognize the possible dangers that exist in outdoor barbecues. Indeed, food safety is even more important in the summer, when hot temperatures foster an ideal environment for bacteria to grow at a faster rate.
Luckily, the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) has you covered, with their helpful guide to preventing foodborne illnesses this 4th of July holiday. Click through to check out their 4 basic tips for safer grilling. For even more information on food safety, you can download the USDA’s Ask Karen mobile phone app or check out the web version. You can also call the USDA hotline at 1-888-MPHotline.
1. Keep It Clean
Just because you’re cooking outdoors doesn’t mean you have to forgo the cleaning you would do inside the house. If you don’t have access to clean water during your barbecue, you can either bring some with you or use moist towelettes and clean cloths to keep surfaces and utensils clean. Keep your hands clean with hand sanitizer.
2. Keep Everything Separate
Have plenty of clean plates, utensils and platters on hand. Don’t ever reuse platters or cutting boards that have been exposed to raw meat and poultry — if there’s harmful bacteria present, it can contaminate even safely-cooked food.
3. Make Sure Food is Cooked Thoroughly
Meat and poultry can look perfectly done and safe to eat from the outside, when, internally, that’s not the case. Use a food thermometer to make sure your food is cooked to a safe temperature. The USDA suggests the following internal temperatures:
You’ll also want to make sure that your hot food stays hot. Someone not ready for that burger? Well, you can keep it hot by placing them on the side of the grill and away from the coals.
4. Keep Food Chilled
Packing food into a cooler is the last thing you should do before leaving your home for a barbecue. Have a thermometer in your cooler, and make sure the temperature is always below 40°F. If you can, try to use one cooler for food and one cooler for drinks. That way, you’ll be able to open up your drink cooler as often as you like without exposing the food to warmer temperatures.
If it’s hot outside, make sure to keep your food in the cooler. Keep your food out of the cooler for an hour at most. If you’re not sure how long a food item has been sitting out in the sun, don’t take the risk. As the USDA says, “when in doubt, throw it out!”
9 Huath/Thargelion
Thargelia Day III: Eireisione
Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set a cut branch of some food-giving tree, such as olive or apple. Each member of the community should bring some small thing to tie to it, for it shall be a charm to hang over the door for good luck. Its name is Eireisione. Also set out a cup of wine, a cup of milk with honey in it, a wreath of flowers, and a small bowl of barley.
Offering: Good wishes for the House and its members.
Daily Meal: Vegan. Thargelos, which is a soup of barley, corn, and fruit, sacred to Apollo.
Eireisione Invocation
As we cast up our barley in little showers,
A little grace from the birds is ours.
(The officiant throws a handful of barley into the air.)
A holy heifer’s milk, white and fair to drink,
Bright honey drops from flowers, bee-distilled,
With draughts of water from a virgin fount
And from the ancient vine its mother wild
An unmixed draught this gladness and fair fruit
Of gleaming olive, ever-blooming
And woven flowers, children of Mother Earth.
(The milk and honey is poured out as a libation.)
Eireisione brings all good things,
Figs and fat cakes to eat,
Soft oil and honey sweet,
The brimming wine-cup deep
That she may eat and sleep.
(All approach the altar with their items. Traditional items are dried barley cookies, sacred wool from first-shorn sheep, small corked bottles of wine, figs and dates, and small bags of grain. Anything will do, however. Each ties their offering on and speaks its meaning. The wreath of flowers is ceremonially added last by the officiant, and then Eireisione is carried in procession to the front of the House, where she is hung over the door with great ceremony. She is taken down on Puanepsia and burned in the fire.)
Take a fresh banana, red ribbon and a piece of parchment, and reflect upon that which you seek the truth about.
Light a white candle, and clear your mind. Then, on the parchment, write that which you want to know. Fold the paper towards you three times. Then, slice the banana open near the middle, and push the paper into it. Tie the ribbon around the banana to seal it up, and make sure to have a longer strand attached, so you can hang the banana. Say out loud:
“The truth will be shown to me, as I will – So mote it be!”
Hang the banana outside, on a tree – or on a nail outside your front door. When the banana has spoiled, you will know the truth in any matter.
Brandi, selected from Diets in Review
What’s red and white and blue all over? We hope it’s your diet this weekend!
Let the patriotic theme of summer commence as we unofficially kick-off the season this weekend. Memorial Day means the kids are out of school, the pool is full, and the grills are firing up. And when the grills fire up, the mayonnaise-laden salads make their debut, too.
Stop.
You don’t have to overdo it to enjoy your holiday weekend. You don’t even have to under do it to avoid any post-weekend regret. Just enjoy a little bit of everything, serve healthier sides and dishes, and get up and move when the pool, volleyball or bocce starts.
If you’ll fill your table with red, white, and blue foods, you’ll be on the right track. Plus, it will match your T-shirt. Or your aunt’s flip flops.
Start with the red foods. These are one of the brightest colors in the food rainbow and provide a laundry list of vitamins, minerals and even fiber. Bell peppers roasted for sandwiches, juicy tomatoes sliced for sandwiches and watermelon diced for easy snacking are just a few of the red foods we insist you eat this weekend!
We also think strawberries and raspberries are pretty darn good for you (and tasty) and you’ll love them in our Red, White, and Blue Sangria. Berries, white wine, and a little fruit juice concentrate is all you need for this refreshing, healthier cocktail.
Next, focus on the white foods. These are not breads, crackers and pasta. Instead find the white foods that actually boast a lot of nutritional value. Like the other white meat, and the other, and the other. Grill white fish, lean cuts of pork, ground turkey or even chicken breasts for a high-protein, low-calorie cookout that can still include burgers and sandwiches.
As well, we’ll argue for the whiteness in a big portobello mushroom cap. Grill these and dress them like any other burger for a meatless cookout meal that’s a winner. Or, try this Raw Portobello Mushroom Stuffed with Basil Pesto.
Finally, fill up on the blue foods. These foods are a rich source of antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals.
The obvious choice is blueberries, one of the sweetest tastes of summer. We used them to a make a blueberry balsamic reduction and then topped our Red, White, and Blueberry Turkey Burger Sliders made with roasted , bell peppers and feta cheese.
Blue corn tortilla chips are slightly healthier than the regular varieties. They are usually baked and made with little-to-no added sodium, and even seem a little sturdier when scooping homemade guacamole.
Money Simmering Potpourri
Combine all ingredients, empowering them one by one by stating aloud the specific function of each. Bless the ingredients on your altar. Put the mixture in a dark area for a week. Take it out once a day, shake the mixture, bless it and then put it back. It would be best, if at all possible, to bless this mixture under the Full Moon. After a week, you can add the mixture to a bucket of warm water.
The mixture smells fantastic, so be prepared for a very pleasant cleaning experience.
APHRODISIA: A Passion Drink
1 pinch Rosemary
2 pinches Thyme
2 tsp. Black Tea
1 pinch Coriander
3 fresh Mint leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
5 fresh Rosebud petals (or 1 tsp. dried)
5 fresh Lemon tree leaves (1 tsp. dried lemon peel)
3 pinches Nutmeg
3 pieces Orange peel
Place all ingredients into teapot. Boil three cups or so of water & add to the pot.
Sweeten with honey, if desired. Serve hot.
Business Success Infusion
Use this infusion either as a soak added to your bath, or soak a washcloth with it and lay it across your forehead while you meditate on being successful in your work life. Try to focus on a specific event or project instead of on a general feeling.
If possible, use this infusion at your work, Try wiping down your desk with it, sprinkle droplets on the floor, or water plants in your work area with it–as they grown they will release the magic into the air.
1 cup magnolia blossoms
1 cup chamomile blossoms
½ cup Balm of Gilead
1 cup bergamot leaves
½ cup tangerine peel
½ cup sage leaves
¼ cup peeled ginger root
3 cinnamon sticks
½ cup basil leaves
1 TB. Juniper berries
Witches Of The Craft® 
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