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    Enchanting Eats

    Sunflower Sunburst Cookies Photo by Kazuhiko Teramoto, used with Creative Commons license Link to photo Now is the time to hit your farmer’s market to enjoy the Sun’s hard work! We are coming into summer squashes, corn, tomatoes, lettuces, cucumbers, peppers, as well as berries, citrus fruits, and melons. This is also a great time to indulge in some local wine or any frilly, fruity drinks. To honor the Sun, you can choose foods that are the colors of the sun–yellow, white, orange, and red. Cooking over an open fire or grilling tap into the Sun’s heat energy. Sun-dried foods also work in the same way. Spicy foods are also…

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    Enchanting Eats

    Beltane, or May Day, is the time to release your inner Pan. Cut loose! Revel in your innocent gaiety. Take pleasure in the senses. Fertility and the Great Rite are the focus here. The God and Goddess join together, as well as many of our animal brothers and sisters. We can honor this union through foods that resemble the phallus and vulva. Try items such as bread and pretzel sticks, bagels, doughnuts, rigatoni, tortellini, etc. Cookies, breads, and crackers can be shaped into representations as realistic as you deem appropriate, although simple ovals and rectangles will suffice. Nature also provides symbols through bananas, peaches, asparagus, oysters, walnut halves, zucchini, and…

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    Enchanting Eats

    Bean & Corn Salad You were probably expecting something with eggs, right? We all know eggs have long stood as the symbol for fertility and of spring. This refreshing salad combines three symbosl we may have overlooked. Beans have been known to spure desire, the required action prior to fertilization. In this recipe, you will find three varieties: kidney, garbanzo, and pinto. Corn is another symbol of fertility, as it is one of our main food sources across the globe. Its bright yellow color is a nod to the Sun, as well as the daffodils and chrysanthemums that are in bloom all over my region. Onions have also been associated…

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    Enchanting Eats

    Ostara is approaching. I can already feel the winds of March, blowing out the winter, blowing in the spring. During this time of year, I dwell on sprouts and spring lettuces, green onions, and tender herbs. Other foods associated with the early spring are eggs, seeds, edible flowers, honey, carrots, rabbit, hot cross buns and other sweet baked goods. Again, find what is in season for your region and what “rings true with you.” Last year I became fascinated with bento boxes and funneled that inspiration into our Ostara meal. There is a lot of prep work, but I think it engages you, reconnecting you with the food. This is…

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    Enchanting Eats

    Bringing Imbolc to the Table In February, we celebrate Midwinter. It is the time that we see the first hints of spring as Old Man Winter says farewell. The snow is melting, and birds are returning. Some like to focus on fire and candles during this time, as it is a symbol of the sun. Spicy hot foods are entirely appropriate as are foods that are cooked by fire–baked, roasted, or even flambed. In the same nature, sun-dried fruits and vegetables honor the sun. Others find themselves honing in on the physical signs of spring through seeds, sprouts, early spring vegetables, and dairy products. It is also common to use…