Happy (upcoming) Imbolc

Hi All! With Imbolc just a week away, we had our Kitchen Witchery class last evening at the shop.

We had a lovely evening. We started by making some fresh butter, using the old spaghetti jar method, and then blended up some flavored butter. I had a variety of dried and fresh herbs to use, along with some honey and cinnamon. I even baked a couple of loaves of Irish soda bread for us to use for taste testing. There were some really yummy blends to try. Be sure to check out the Imbolc page for all the recipes I've put together for this holiday. If you try making your own butter, please be sure to comment and let me know how it turned out, and if you make any flavored butters, please comment with you flavor blend. I'm always looking for new flavors to try. Also, don't forget to check out my Imbolc board on Pinterest for other recipes ideas, along with decorating ideas, tarot spreads and altar layouts.

After making fresh butter this evening, it's made me miss making my own butter. So, I think I'll be going back to make my own fresh better. This will also give me the butter milk I need to make the Irish soda bread that my husband loves so much.

Until next time... Blessed Be!

Merry Yule!

Merry Yule to everyone! I have posted up the latest from my Kitchen Witchery class on Yule. We had a very small class, but at this time of year, that's not surprising. We had some yummy treats to eat, and we discussed everything Yule. You can check into the Yule page for the recipes and decorating hints and tips. I had meant to post it before today. Sorry about that. :)

Taken at Dickens of a Christmas at Ohio Village

Until next time..... Merry Yule and Blessed Be!

A way late Samhain post

Wow! I am really late getting Samhain posted up. lol. There has been a lot going on in the past couple of months. But, I know have the Samhain page updated. Just in time, too. My Yule class is tomorrow night. Yikes! Nothing like the last minute, huh? But, the Samhain class was awesome. We had way more people show up. We even had a little one that attended with her mommy, but I guess I'm just not as popular with the wee ones as I used to be, since she fell asleep shortly after I started.

Luckily, everyone else stayed awake. lol. In this class, I made a pumpkin cornbread. It came out great, but I have decided that I am not making anymore cornbreads in my Nuwave oven, they just don't seem to cook completely. The center bottom always comes out just a little under cooked. But, here was my set up:

It was still a great class, despite the slightly under cooked cornbread. I even made sure to grab a gallon of apple cider to share. I just love doing these classes. I excited about tomorrow's class, but I'll get to that in a minute.

The day before Samhain, we had an open circle at the shop. As always, it was wonderful. We had a very large group, and the energy was great. We had several new people join us. Here is a peek at the altar we set up in the grassy area next to the shop:

Afterward, we gathered in the shop to sit around spend a little quality witchy time together. Here's a pic of me and Miss E, sitting and enjoying the company:

Left to right: Miss E and myself

On Samhain, I spent the better part of the day baking cookies and getting ready for the festivities that were planned. I made about 8 dozen Rune cookies (basic sugar cookies with Runes drawn on them):

I used the smallest, round cookie cutter I had, baked them up, and just a bit of glitter gel icing for the Runes. They were a hit. Later in the afternoon, we attended the closed circle at Miss L's house, and then headed back to Miss P's for our usual dinner and Midnight Margaritas. 

My personal altar looked great for Samhain. Here, have a peek:

I just had to watch for little Miss Onnie, as she would run off with a few of the flowers to play with.

Well, now that the wheel has turned, and we are starting into the winter season, I have changed up the altar, and decorated my broom that hangs on the wall behind it. Here it is:

I also got the Christmas tree up. My mom gave me her tree, as she says she's hit the "old lady" phase, and only wants a 2 foot tree. lol. This one is much smaller that the tree I normally put up. And, thank the Heavens, as it's saved a lot of space in my small great room. Here it is:

In the spirit of the season, I figured I would get the gifts I had wrapped and under the tree. Well, that just invited trouble, in the form of a little black cat:

It never fails. Where ever I am working, little Miss Onnie Moon must present herself to help. And by help, I mean batting things off the table, chewing on pens when you are trying to write, walking on wrapping paper as you're laying it, and other such fun things. But, I love her so much.

As for tomorrow's class, I will be doing things a little differently. And, that's only because of how many people already have their family favorite recipes for this time of year. I just want to suggest a few new ideas, and the in class demo will not involve any cooking. I will be making a cold dish. I will be baking cookies tonight, however, to share with everyone. So, let's see how it goes. If you are local to the Columbus and Grove City area, you can attend the class. There is a $5 fee to help cover supplies, but you get to take home lots of recipes, and a dry mix to try at home for yourself. Stop by at visit us at Blessed Be Spiritual Shop in Grove City, Ohio.

I wanted to announce that I now have an Etsy shop up and running. Currently, I only have a few things in there, but I will be posting up more toward the end of the week. Right now I have several styles of Pagan Prayer Beads/Witches' Ladders available, and the new postings will have several styles of pendulums. I also offer replacement pendulum chains that have semi-precious gemstone beads and alloy charms on them. You can find my shop under the name of RosieGypsy Designs. Stop by and have a peek, see if there is anything to your liking. Also, some of my items are sold at Blessed Be. You can stop by there and get some instant shopping gratification.

Well, off to get some things done. Hopefully, in the next few days, I will update the Yule page, and I will post photos from tomorrow night's class. Until next time..... Blessed Be!

Fall is on the way!

Fall is my favorite season. I love the cool, crisp weather, the colors of the turning leaves, the chilly weekend nights around a fire. I am definitely a fall weather person. I love to wear jeans and sweaters, with boots and scarves. Or, for just doing stuff around the house, a pair of sweats. lol. I also love to cook, can and bake. And, even though fall hasn't officially started, I started feeling the urge for fall foods a couple of weeks ago. So, my Mabon class (held last night at the shop) was right up my alley.

For class, I made a Quick Mabon Cake, and served apple cider (my favorite). I would've liked to have done more, but I was unable to get the day off, as I usually do. If I would've had the time, I would've made some Cheesy Potato Soup and Mabon Cider. So, I guess I'll just have to settle for making it this weekend, along with some fresh bread. If anyone is interested, I have updated the Mabon page with the recipes from the class. I will probably use pull out a couple of these recipes to make my dishes for the Mabon picnic we have planned for Sunday the 20th. We have decided to have a community picnic to celebrate in a fashion similar to the old ways. We are doing an old fashioned potluck, taking donations of canned goods for the local food bank, and just plan on enjoying the day together. We will even be holding an open circle just past noon. I can't wait. I'll be sure to post photos.

Until next time.... Blessed Be!

Laptops, books and kitties! Oh my!

A few months back, my trusty laptop took a nose dive. The fan died. I ordered a new one, and tried to fix it, but that was all for not, as the new fan didn't work either. So, for the past couple of months I have been borrowing the youngest daughter's laptop to post, and to make the lesson plans for my Kitchen Witchery classes. I decided last week that I just couldn't take it any longer and I had to find something new. So, I started searching, and finally decided that I wanted something small, versatile, and able to function in any manner I needed. So, I decided that I wanted a Microsoft Surface 3.

It arrived yesterday, and so far I am loving it. I made sure to get the keyboard and the pen. The only issue I have had is that the bluetooth portion of the pen isn't syncing with the tablet. However, I did contact Microsoft, and they will be sending me a new one. But, I did place my order on Amazon, and decided that while I was placing a new order that I might as well add to my book collection. So, I ordered the new Lughnasadh book from their new Sabbats series.

Image courtesy of Llewellyn

It never hurts to have another book, right? ;) I can't wait to dive into this one over the next week, before my next class. I really loved their first series, and this one is shaping up to be just as good. This is my third book from the new series, and I definitely plan on collecting all of them.

Speaking of my next class, I have the lesson plan in the bag, and will be adding the recipes to the Lammas/Lughnasadh tab before the class. I have some very yummy things planned, and lots of suggestions for everyone. Keep an eye open for that.

Now, for the third part of my title: Kitties! What would a post be without a photo of my little hellion familiar? Little Miss Onnie is such a little joy. She is still coming out of her shell, but she's made big progress since coming home. She has developed a fondness for attacking my pant legs and biting them while I am trying to prepare her food. Just take a look at this little cutie:

Well, until next time.... Blessed Be!

My Kitchen Witchery

Happy Late Mid-Summer! It's been a couple of busy weeks, so I am very late in writing this post. I have a bit of exciting news. As I mentioned previously, I have been attending fellowship at a pagan/spiritual shop near home called Blessed Be (Facebook link on the sidebar), for over a year now, and when the owner that conducts the fellowships asked for volunteers to help host some, I jumped right in. As I am a solitary kitchen witch, it was only natural that my fellowships/classes be on cooking and kitchen witchery. We have started arranging the classes so that I can focus on the Sabbats. My first class was on my birthday last week, and focused on Litha/Mid-Summer/Summer Solstice. Granted, my birthday is a few days after, but it still worked out great. In the class I made Fried Honey Cakes (aka: Fairy Cakes), and before the class I made Serendipity Cookies and fresh Lavender-Honey Lemonade. It was fun and yummy. I also put together a hand out for everyone that included the recipes, a menu planning suggestion, and some decorating/tablescaping ideas. Here are a few pics from the event:

As I had to use a small deep fryer, the Fairy Cakes came out more like funnel cake (but who doesn't like funnel cake, right?), and we had the honey-nutmeg dipping sauce for them. The Serendipity Cookies were awesome, as usual. I will be posting the recipes for these items on my new pages (listed above, directly below the header).

This Lavender-Honey Lemonade was absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making more of it, that's for sure. If anyone is interested in a copy of my hand out, you can email me here, and I will be more than happy to send you back a copy. I am also available for any questions or needed suggestions. You can either email me, or leave a comment, and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.

During the class, I placed out part of my pagan cookbook collection, along with my personal cookbook. Also, during the class, we touched on how to incorporate herbs with magical properties into your cooking to help weave magic into your everyday life, and mundane activities. I am really looking forward to the next class, which will be July 28th. For this class, I will be covering Lammas, and the Full Moon. I am still in the process of putting together everything for the class, but after the class I will post an update, the recipes on the companion blog, and have the hand out available for anyone interested.

In other news, my newest familiar has finally come home. However, she has brought a companion with her. Her mommy:

We have welcomed Miss Sophie Anne into our home. My best friend was having problems trying find a home for her, partly because she was a stray, and because she wasn't a kitten. I talked it over with the hubby, and it only made sense that since I had put money and time into making sure she was healthy, along with all of her babies, that we might as well take her in and love her. So, here she is, and here she will stay. She is such a quiet and loving thing, she is hardly any trouble. Well, except when she is chasing the dogs through the house to protect her baby. lol. But, we are working with her to get her to stop, and understand that the dogs really just aren't interested in eating her offspring. lol. But, we are getting there.

Until next time..... Blessed Be!