• Reviews

    Deck Review – Kitchen Magick: A Recipe Deck for Witches by Carla Torrents Murcia

    Deck Review Kitchen Magick: A Recipe Deck for Witches by Carla Torrents Publisher: David & Charles 52 Cards Release Date: June 27, 2023       This a very pretty set of cards with lovely pictures. The little pamphlet inside gave a nice, simple explanation of the wheel of the year and a nice measurement conversion chart. They are not without their problems however. The print is very small. I had to wear readers and use a magnifying glass to read the recipes. On some of the cards, the background colours and the text is too similar in shade and that makes it even harder to read. The cards are…

  • Monthly Columns

    Learning Lunar

    The Full Moon     How exciting to be three issues into our Learning Lunar column and already able to wax lyrical (pun intended) about the full moon! Lúnasa 2023 falls on August 1st which, this year, is also a full moon. Lúnasa, or Lughnasadh, is an Irish festival co-opted by many Pagan traditions as a time of harvest celebration, games, competitions, and other summer festivities. Another popular celebration held at this time is Lammas, the Anglo-Saxon early Christian festival of blessing the first fruits and loaves of the seasons. Having the full moon to add to these blessings can only add to their fruitfulness!   What Does the Phrase…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch

    “Doctored-Up” Pizza Whenever my mother was in a hurry and wanted to cut corners in the kitchen, instead of making her own marinara (for instance), she would open a couple jars of Ragu and add a can of crushed tomatoes, chopped onions, mushrooms, herbs and spices, red wine, homemade meatballs or cooked Italian sausage. By the time it was ready for the table, you never knew that this sauce had started out as an ordinary jar of Ragu. My mother called this “doctoring up” the sauce. She did this to all kinds of store-bought items. She was Sandra Lee long before Food Network. I think this is definitely a kind…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch

    The Humble Boxty Many years ago, I went out with a guy named Tim. We were just kids; I was a little older than he was, but we were still kids, basically. I was twenty and he was eighteen. At that time, the drinking age was eighteen years old in New York State. We went to a lot of concerts and to clubs that featured live music. Tim was a major Deadhead and I loved anything I could dance to. But like so many young people, we drifted apart. I didn’t hear from Tim for many years – not until I reconnected with him on Facebook around 2007 or so.…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch

    Air-fryer Chicken Wings I am just about the last person I know to get an air-fryer. My sister has had one for several years now. At the last family gathering – which was before COVID – there was a spirited conversation about air fryers, which brands cooked better, the trading of recipes. Recently, I was on a bus and I heard some people behind me talking about air fryers and what they cooked in them. I thought, I have got to get one of these things! But I wasn’t in a real big hurry to purchase one – I’m never in a hurry for anything. The day I went out…

  • Crafting Articles,  This Month's Holiday

    Samhain Recipe: Phoenician Wheat Porridge

    Samhain Recipe: Phoenician Wheat Porridge This Phoenician wheat porridge is served in Lebanon on happy occasions, such as to celebrate baby’s first tooth,  when it is distributed to all friends, relatives and neighbors. It was also served for the New Year as wheat symbolizes prosperity and happiness, as well as for Samhain, at which people wear a disguise and go door to door. They are welcomed with a dish of wheat berries in a sweet anise-scented broth covered with a multitude of nuts. This dish was customary in any celebration; in my ancestor’s time, families would send the High Priest or High Priestess two large platters of this dish that…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch

    Blueberry Pie   Nothing says summer more than blueberry pie! Whether you’re using fresh blueberries picked from your own patch or from a blueberry farm or blueberries bought at a farmer’s market or blueberries frozen from an earlier picking session, this is probably one of the quintessential pies of summertime. Perfect with vanilla ice cream, it’s a treat that everyone loves. I have made blueberry pie several times in my life. Usually I just make my standard pie crust – the simple one I have memorized and have made hundreds of times – and simply mix fresh blueberries with sugar and flour and then bake until the crust is a…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Kitchen Witch

    Using Leftovers ~ Fried Rice We all have leftovers. I have lived with people – men, mostly – who have refused to eat leftovers. But I come from a family who don’t waste anything at all – not food, not clothes, not anything at all – and I am the same way. And honestly – if you throw away food – you’re throwing away money. That’s how I look at it. And I do not like to waste money. Of course – some people think I waste a lot of money – buying books the way I do – but we all have our addictions! I have a three-day rule…

  • Crafting Articles,  Monthly Columns

    Healing Oil Recipe

    Healing Oil Recipe for Humans & Pets When it comes to my remedies my witch side comes to life. I have quite a few wise women in my lineage and I like to channel them when I offer any healing assistance or create remedies. My healing oil gets special attention in this area. It cleans wounds, speeds up tissue growth, and helps with bites and stings. I make it in bulk once a year, this way I can spend the year collecting the ingredients as I travel and charging them properly. A lot of work and energy goes into my healing oil. This infusion can be used on its own…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Sacred Spoon

    Gut Healing Kombucha     Kombucha is a fermented tea that has been used for centuries to help aid digestion and alleviate ailments associated with the gut biome. Our gut biome is a major player in our bodies overall function. It controls many functions from simple digestion to our mood and immune system. It is vital that we keep our gut biome happy and healthy with probiotics, prebiotic, and a healthy diet. Kombucha’s astrological correspondence is Venus, as this heavenly body rules over the digestive system and its element is earth because of its influence over healing and life, and remember your brew is a living thing. The stones associated with…