Nettle Soup

Using some of the nettles I gathered during yesterday's foraging expedition, I made this mineral-rich soup.

You only need a handful of simple ingredients, as follows:

1/2 a carrier bag of collected nettles (tops and young leaves only)
2 tbsp olive oil (alternatively use 50g butter or margerine)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped or crushed)
1 medium potato (chopped into small cubes)
1 1/2 pints vegetable stock
2 tbsp cream or creme fraiche (alternatively use a cupful of milk)
Salt and black pepper.

*  Wash the nettles thoroughly and discard any thick stems.
*  Heat the oil (or butter) in a large pan and sweat the onions and garlic until soft, but do not allow to brown.
*  Pile in the nettles and stir thoroughly. Leave to sweat for 2 minutes.
*  Add the potatoes and cover with stock.
*  Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until tender.
*  Season with salt and black pepper.
*  Blend the soup thoroughly and stir through cream, creme fraiche or milk.
*  Return to the heat but do not allow to boil.
*  Check seasoning and serve with a swirl of cream.

Enjoy - safe in the knowledge that those stinging hairs have miraculously disappeared!

Rune of the week

Odal - The Rune of Hearth and Home

This rune's name translates as 'home' or 'hereditary land' and so its meaning is focussed on the hearth, homestead, inheritance and familial possessions. Benefit through birthright or inheritance is the most obvious outcome this rune is suggesting if it falls like this one. It is worth remembering, however, that as well as fixed possessions one inherits characteristics from family and it may be a sign that a temperament or trait borne down through generations is due to surface.

With such focus on the family and inheritance, the rune also reminds the reader that these aspects of life for prior generations were the most valued. Loyalty to the ancestral line, the importance of the home and a united family's strength are all professed via this rune.

For the questions that the reader has, the rune could be suggesting that they should seek guidance from those they trust and re-evaluate their priorities by considering the importance of home and family. Before taking risks or making decisions, all these aspects must be taken into consideration and an objective must then be fixed firmly in mind.

If the rune has fallen in 'reverse' (upside down), it suggests a worthless inheritance or lack of forethought leading to costly consequences; if it falls 'converse' (face down) it suggests that an apparently worthless inheritance has hidden value or the honest and true path is being obscured.

Home

I'd been looking for it for years...

Finally found it, right here.

'A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.'

A love letter

Dearest B,

A small selection from the multitude of reasons why I love you...

Ahem.

One. You don’t think I’m insane for believing what I believe in. You understand what I mean when I say, ‘I’m a witch’.

Two. You nurture my creativity and inspire me to write. This blog would still be a zygote without your encouragement.

Three. You empathise with children.

Four. You take time out of your day to talk about my work with me.

Five. Your thoughtfulness and consideration: for me, for your family and friends and for the wonder of everyday things around you.

Thank you for my surprise treats today.  xx

A Taste of Elizabethan England

This fantastic recipe has supposedly been passed down from the fifteenth century and is the simplest of sweet-treats to make. To me, these honey-roasted almonds taste of Christmas markets in Prague, the warmth of the hearth and traditional sweet shops, all rolled into one deliciously sticky, nutty package.

You will need:
450g whole almonds (with the skin left on)
50g sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp Water
2 tsp almond oil
½ tsp salt

Spread the almonds in a single layer in a shallow ungreased baking tray and place in a cold oven.
Bake at 180°C (Gas mark 4) for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are light brown in colour.
Set aside the roasted almonds.
Thoroughly mix the sugar and salt in a bowl.
In a saucepan, mix the honey, water and oil and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
Add the roast almonds to the honey mixture and stir constantly on the heat until all of the liquid has been absorbed. This should take about five minutes.
Transfer the almonds to a medium-size bowl into which some sugar mixture has been sprinkled.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the almonds and toss until they are evenly coated.
Spread the almonds out onto baking paper to absorb any excess moisture.
When cool, store at room temperature, in an air-tight container.

These honey-roasted nuts should keep for up to two weeks but I can guarantee, if your friends and families are anything like mine, they won’t last that long!

Confusion and awe

Me:        I.JUST.DON’T.UNDERSTAND

Him:      Understand what?

Me:        How DO they make them smell so real?

Him:      What?

Me:        Yankee Candles.

Him:      Oh, well they will have specialists in perfumery who work out all  the elements that create the smell and simulate it.

Me:        But this smells like ACTUAL cut roses.

Him:      Right. Well that’s how they do it.

Me:        But it smells nothing like anything ‘rose’ I’ve ever smelt. It’s too                authentic. ACTUAL CUT ROSES.

Him:      It probably doesn’t have anything ‘rose’ in it. It’s a synthetic                      smell.

Me:        ACTUAL CUT ROSES!

(One of my work colleagues was today exclaiming the same surprise at this candle’s authenticity of aroma. As far as I’m concerned it must be voodoo trickery. And probably a whole host of flower-bearing sprites.) 

Going bananas!

I thought I would post a simple recipe for banana cake: the perfect way to use up overripe bananas that you wouldn’t otherwise eat. This quick and easy recipe makes a deliciously moist cake with next to no effort.

You will need the following ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas

4 oz butter or margarine

6 oz sugar (most sugars will do, I use unrefined caster sugar)

8 oz self-raising flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp honey

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚c (gas mark 4)

Grease a 2lb loaf tin.

Mash the banana in a bowl and keep to one side.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Break the eggs and beat into the mix.

Add the vanilla essence, cinnamon, honey and mashed banana.

Fold in the flour gently.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Enjoy with a cup of cinnamon tea or a mug of hot chocolate. Perfect for a Saturday afternoon!

Brightening my desktop today...

...are these glorious tulips. B surprised me with them a couple of days ago and they add a cheery spot of colour to my workspace.

What a treat to look up amidst the flurry of coursework marking to see these gems blooming. 

Smiles all round. Note to self: must take care not to be over-generous with grades!

Make do and mend

Recycling is so much more enjoyable when you get the second use out of something. I take my cans, bottles, plastic, paper and card down to the local recycling centre; I take old clothes to charity shops and pass books along to friends. However, knowing I have got as much use out of something as I possibly can, rather than discarding it because it is getting worn or tatty gives me real pleasure.

My parents and grandparents' generations embraced this ‘make do and mend’ attitude wholeheartedly, yet it is something that a lot of people today have little concept of. It seems to me that many are too eager to have the next model, the newest piece of technology, the latest design and simply throw away those which no longer fit with their forward-thinking aesthetic. As a country we waste so much and it is rapidly becoming a real bug-bear of mine.

This week’s small step towards wasting less was inspired by the growing collection of empty jars in my kitchen cupboards. These come in handy for mixing salad dressings in, storing pins and buttons or adding a sweet shabby-chic touch to the house, dotted about with tea-lights in. Taking this one step further, I thought I could make them into longer-lasting lanterns, by melting down some old candles and a little wax I had spare in my craft box.

I simply melted the wax into a liquid, using a glass measuring jug sitting in a heated water-bath on the hob. The wicks were taken out of the old candles carefully (you can buy full lengths of wick from any good craft shop if you prefer) and tied in place within the jar. The melted wax was then poured in and left to cool until set.

Et voila! Recycled candles in recycled jars. 

Imbolc

It has been a funny old week. Change is afoot in my department at school, with new appointments being made and colleagues moving on. Unsettling as this may be, I have found myself taking a strange kind of reassurance from it; ironically it has reminded me that one thing we can be sure of is change itself.

At exactly this time last year, I took a giant leap towards changing my own life.  It was at the beginning of February that I applied for and was given my current job. Having begun planting and putting down the roots of my teacher training during the previous autumn, it was with the first signs of spring that I began to see the results and the pathway I was about to take began unravelling before me.

It comes as little surprise to me now that this time of year often brings new growth and development. As the seasons change, the light increases and the earth warms, we find ourselves waking up and taking our first steps towards the year’s goals.

It is this awakening that I celebrate at Imbolc – the midpoint between winter and spring. ‘Imbolc’ originates from the Celtic ‘Oimelc’ (‘ewe’s milk’); the festival which falls on February 1^st or 2^nd is so named because the life-giving flow of milk heralds the return of spring. This sabbat is in honour of Brigid, goddess of the hearth and bringer of fire to warm the frozen earth. 

Having no open fire in my cottage, this year I saw fit to create a symbolic hearth to which I could invite Brigid. This was a simple ritual, using materials I could gather from around the home and hedgerow.

Firstly, I chose the point in my home which I feel is its centre. The living area downstairs is actually the lowest point in the cottage and feels closest to the earth; this is where we naturally gravitate towards for comfort and relaxation.

I then filled the space with white candles, to represent the coming light. On a small table in the space, I placed a red pillar candle, which would represent the flames of fire and surrounded it with stones gathered over the years, to represent the hearth.

Now, I rarely cast a formal circle but as this was the first time I had called upon Brigid and the first time I had used this particular space for magick, I thought it would be appropriate. Previously I had used the wind vane in the farmyard to check my directions, however we have since discovered it is out of sync so my partner insists on checking North on his iPhone compass. Granted, this is not the most traditional method but it definitely comes under the heading of ‘practical magick’.

In spite of this preparation, however, my first attempt to cast a circle in a long while was not without its hiccups.  I really hope I’m not alone in being over the age of eight and still having to think hard about which is East and which is West. Not the best trait in a witch.  Having apologised to the elemental guardians and rearranged my incense and my water goblet, we could finally begin.

The ritual was a simple one; I asked Brigid to bless our home and hearth with her warmth and light and thanked her for the return of Spring. I then cast a small spell for a positive attitude and the creation of happy memories as the year unfolds. Finally, we gathered around our ‘hearth’ and ate a traditional Imbolc feast of roast lamb.

Later in the evening, long after it had gone dark, we used our hearth flame to light the candle of our lantern, which we took for a walk down to the nearby river. Placing an incense stick in the earth on the riverbank and with our lantern aglow, we had the four elements surrounding us once more. As cold as the night was, there was a warmth in that moment: one beautiful memory already created.