Giving thanks

 After a stormy Wednesday and flickering power that eventually went out as heavy snow fell across the region we woke to lights. Thankful for a warm home, good food to eat and spending this day with the one person I love most.

 Making homemade cranberry sauce, trying to keep my darling Pixie out of the cranberries is not easy.  This year's sauce is made with two bags of local organic cranberries, the rind and juice of two tangerines, a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup, a pinch of cloves and a decent grating of nutmeg.  Cooking this down until it thickens and let cool. 

The aroma of the cranberries, tangerines and spices are tantalizing and the sound of the cranberries popping and bubbling is such a comforting sound.  Over the years my Pixie and I have resorted to standing at the oven picking turkey off and dipping it right in the cranberries, devouring half our meal before it even reaches the table.

Giving thanks this day for every blessing that I have, have had and will have.  For all the past pain and struggle I have had I have been blessed with a healthy, beautiful daughter and a wonderful family of friends who have always been there for us and that outweighs our past struggles.

So today is spent enjoying a wonderful meal with my girl, snuggling up with our cats and watching the parade, movies while knitting and having plenty of hot tea.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Two Broomsticks Photography

If I would get paid for taking photos of nature all day I would be so incredibly and blissfully happy.  The peacefulness of being out amongst the flora and fauna is so soothing and I find I lose hours when I get out with my camera. I've not sold any of my prints in several years due to many factors, one of which is finding a cost effective way to print them.  I once had access to a fantastic photo printer but that is no longer an option.  I've looked over websites and haven't found anything I like.  I basically don't want someone else making money off of my art.  I want to be able to offer it at a fair price that brings me income and compensation for my work but isn't exorbitant to cover other costs.  I've been working on my website (slowly), The Passionate Heart. The readings are up and running and I am getting clients ordering up (thank you!) their readings however I haven't done the Two Broomsticks section for my photos.  Whilst you can have a look at the photos there is no ordering option until I find a good printing resource that provides me with prints I love and would feel comfortable selling.  In the meantime, there is my Facebook page-Two Broomsticks Photography, stop by and say hi and enjoy the photos I share there.

as my heart weighs heavily tonight....

O Captain! My Captain!
by Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
                         But O heart! heart! heart!
                            O the bleeding drops of red,
                               Where on the deck my Captain lies,
                                  Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
                         Here Captain! dear father!
                            The arm beneath your head!
                               It is some dream that on the deck,
                                 You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
                         Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
                            But I with mournful tread,
                               Walk the deck my Captain lies,
                                  Fallen cold and dead.

Source: Leaves of Grass (David McKay, 1891)

sea-water in my veins

We are seafolk, long lost from the sea.

Though our feet may now trod and root into Earth

It is the briny liquid that courses through our veins

It is the siren song of the tides that makes our souls sing

We return to the sea each year, to Manannan mac Lir

We tempt the fierceness of the womb from which we sprung.

Our bodies cradle by ocean, warmed by the Sun and sung to by the wind

We rest our bodies to the gentle evening lullabye and are reborn on the new day.

We sit once again rooted, staring out over the undulating waves

At peace, connected and one with the Goddess.

~Stephanie Lowell-Libby, 2007

Wanted.....writers and contributors for new digital pagan magazine

September should be bringing the first issue of a new online magazine. This has been seven years in the making and I am VERY excited to see it materializing!

This is clearly a labor of love, for now there is no money made off of it.  Much like my old, rather neglected, site Hearth and Home Witchery, I love to share knowledge with the masses, and not profit off of it.  That being said I am a single mother whose child went through cancer treatment for 2 1/2 years and is in follow up for 5 years so that was a huge hit on my finances so if I can make a few bucks here and there, I won't say now.  However, as of right now this magazine will be an 8 issues a year publication, free for digital viewing.  I plan to purchase software to make magazine creation easier in the near future so I will consider ad space for sale to offset that cost.  But that is down the road and the purpose of this post is to put out feelers for any writers wanting to contribute.  This magazine is to reflect living an earth centred, magical life...not just practicing your path here and there but living it.  I am looking for pagans, heathens, etc of varied paths to write of their practices and how they incorporate it into every day life. Original craft ideas, recipes, writings of topics relevant to our paths...Also looking for teens who are interested in sharing their paths.

Also book reviews!  With so many pagan-targeted books out there we need honest feedback!  Have books you love or hate?  please consider reviewing them for the magazine!

If you are interested please email me at mutableblue(at)yahoo(dot)com and we can talk it over

Faery Messages

So much has changed since I last wrote, I've moved back to an area I adore.  I am rebuilding my magical life with my beautiful girl Pixie alongside.  The creative process is churning and swirling and I have so many ideas I am trying organize and implement; it's rather like herding cats!  This evening as I sat in a swirling of creative brainstorming I happened to look up and glance out the window and across the backyard was the most beautiful doe peeking back at me.  It was such an exhilarating and magical moment for me, I was so happy and excited.  I have been looking out the windows along the back of the house for the last month since we moved, expecting to see a deer out there because I could *feel* the deer energy.

Deer, for me, speak to my Celtic soul (and ancestry).  When I see them an electric charge of excitement surges through me, it is such a profound and magical moment for me.  I find them to vibe strongly with faery energy and magic, I love it.

Seeing this beautiful girl has given me the energetic shove to move forward in the creative pursuits I have been thinking a lot about this year.  The first project has been the creation of my new photography page, Two Broomsticks Photography, on FB.  I am returning once again to my photography and selling some of my prints.  The next project is currently in the early stages, I am hoping to reveal it by the Autumn Equinox, so stay tuned! ;)

oh dear blog,

How I miss my time to write and ponder publicly....

Hello old friend

Ahh, dear journal we meet again.  It's been so hectic to gather a thought, much less try and put it down in printed words.  I have to thank my BSM sisters for steering me back to writing, I hope to see them returning to their blogs with more regularity so we can share our creative hearts together.

Two jobs, school (for a degree in psychology), reconnecting with energy via my work as a massage therapist and energy worker over the last four months has been very helpful in getting me back into the land of the living.  My girl is healthy, still cancer-free and growing like a weed again.  Thank heavens!

Messages of late have been guiding me back to spirit.  I've maintained a connection with my guides and Archangel Michael through these last several months however now the mother earth energy is calling to me.  Water, earth and spirit singing a siren song to woo my soul back on path.

Creative endeavors for the weeks ahead: planting a wee garden of our own. Moving my plants to a new home, hoping they take so that I can have access to some of the herbs to harvest.  I have lovely comfrey plants I see making into healing balms.  I have my collection of yarn, beckoning me to knit and soothe my soul.

Hoping the poke the embers of my creative flame and bring it here to reconnect with fellow bloggers I have long since lost touch with.

Pagan Living, Winter 2012

So, yours truly has another article in Pagan Living's newest issue.  I am including it here in it's entirety because there was some sourcing left out.  I feel that Eliz Kirkland Sickles must be acknowledged for her amazing contribution to the article with her Earl Grey infused pound cake, a devout and experienced pound cake baker, I knew she would not disappoint. Thank you Eliz!!

There is nothing quite as comforting as a steaming mug of freshly brewed tea on a cold Winter's day.  The pleasing scent and flavor pulled from brewed tea leaves has been a mainstay of western culture for about four hundred years.  In that time, not only have we found a variety of ways to expand the flavors of tea leaves, we have also found creative ways to incorporate it into our meals.  Tea covers a wide range of brews, technically tea involves brewing tea leaves and "tisanes" are the result of brewing various herbs and plant parts in hot water.  For the sake of this article, the term "tea" shall encompass both.

Black tea was first documented in 10th century BC China, where it is said the leaves of the tea plant were blown into a hot cup of water.    The Camelliasinesis, or tea plant, is the source of the widely popular black, white and green teas. Black, white, green and Oolong teas all come from the same plant.  Their color, flavor, caffeine and antioxidant contents all result from their varying duration of oxidation before being processed.  White and green teas both have minimal "curing" or oxidation process before they are dried while black tea has the longest. Oolong is processed in a midway point between the green and black teas, which gives it a milder flavor than the black but a bit more of a flavor than the green tea.  Black tea varieties have expanded throughout China, Japan and India especially and are also now grown in many other parts of the world where the climates that support the growth of the tea plant. By the 17th century tea had made it's way across Europe and the United Kingdom to Colonial America.

The variety of teas also come from where the tea is grown and to what the leaves are exposed to while growing as well as after harvesting.  The much-loved Earl Grey tea is the result of black tea leaves being combined with the essential oil of the bergamot orange, giving it a unique scent and flavor that tends to be an acquired taste. Jasmine tea comes from exposing tea leaves to the heavy scent of blooming Jasmine. Store shelves carry a very large amount of varieties to choose from, breakfast tea varieties are a stronger blend of black teas from different regions throughout the Far East.  Black teas are also infused with a variety of spices or fruit flavors, these teas are useful in adding variety and dimension to food recipes.  The tannins in black teas are wonderful for tenderizing meats or adding contrasting astringency to sweet dishes. When using tea in your culinary repertoire, consider how the tea will compliment or enhance the dish you are preparing.  Sweet dishes work well using spicy or fruity blends, the popular Chai blend of tea brings a punch of flavor to many winter dishes as well as being an ideal warming beverage during the darkest and coldest part of the year.  Teas also work well when added to the hot liquid used in cooking rice, quinoa, amaranth, and oats or poaching meats.  

Teas are also an ancient resource of healing.  "Tisanes", or herbal teas, are a more ancient source of beverage brewed for either culinary or medicinal purposes.  Tisanes are infusions made from flowers, seeds, leaves, bark and/or roots of plants.  For example, herbs like catnip, rosemary or peppermint are brewed and served hot to relieve symptoms from colds or stomach upset.

Teas are also utilized in magical practices, various herbs, flowers, plant parts are added to a base of black tea leaves for use in rituals or spell workings.  It is highly recommended to research the herbs you wish to use to be sure they are not toxic.  Also look for possible allergies as well as drug interactions with any medications you may be taking, because even something as seemingly harmless as lavender or lemon balm make react badly with medications.  Please do your research!

Once your research is complete, there are combinations with a wide variety of roots, leaves and blossoms of flowers and herbs that can be combine with black tea for delightful infusions to help bring love, joy, peace, purification into your everyday life.  To learn more of this practice, there are a variety of websites across the internet and countless books-one of my favorite resources for information about magical workings using teas is Ann Moura (Aoumiel)'s book Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft. 

Tea is also used in divination, not only are there a variety of blends used to enhance receptivity the tea leaves are also used in the art of 'fortune telling'.  Tasseography, or tea leaf reading, typically uses loose leaf tea from the Camellia sinesis, brewed and poured for the drinker.  After drinking most of the liquid, the cup of tea is then used to read patterns in the tea leaves to tell the fortune of the person who drank the tea. It is uncertain as to where the practice originated, however it is said to have followed the path of tea from China to the west and has spread across Europe and has been found to be quite prevalent throughout Ireland, Scotland and England especially.

However you prefer your cup of tea, it is a versatile beverage with ancient roots and a devout following throughout history to modern day where it is now a multi-billion dollar business. Loose leaf or bagged, tea enthusiasts take great delight in the wide array of teas now available (as well as tea accessories!).  Whether you take yours black, with milk or with lemon and sugar, as a tea lover's know that there is nothing like a hot cuppa to warm the bones and soothe the soul. 

Cranberry Spice Tea

1 orange

12 whole cloves

2 inch long cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

4 black tea bags, your choice

4 cups boiling water

1 cup cranberry juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Stud the orange with the cloves and cut into 6 or 8 sections. Place them in the teapot, squeezing each slightly as you do so. Add the cinnamon, tea and boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes and strain. Stir in cranberry juice and sugar.  4-6 servings.

Source: unknown

There is nothing more inviting than a hot breakfast waiting on those chilly winter mornings!  When incorporating tea into the oatmeal-making process, the possibilities are endless! Fruit flavored teas, spicy teas in addition to your favorite oatmeal add ins-dried or fresh fruits.The key is to substitute brewed tea for the water before making your oatmeal to bring it added flavor. Be sure to bring the water to a boil and then pour the boiling water into your mug or measuring cup that contains the tea.  Cover the mug (or saucepan if you wish to make larger batches) and allow to steep at least 5-10 minutes.  Then use tea in place of the water when preparing your oatmeal.  This recipe uses the longer cooking oats-steel cut Irish oats result in a less gluey end result. If you are feeling really adventurous try toasting the oats lightly in a dry pan over medium to medium-high heat until slightly tan before adding to the slow cooker, the toasting gives added flavor to the dish.

This recipe is prepared the night before, turning the slow cooker on before you go to bed.  Please keep in mind that all slow cookers run differently which will result in varying cooking times. Mine has the oatmeal cooked in 7 hours, after that there is a risk of burning.  If I think I'll be sleeping longer I'll add an extra cup of liquid. Upon waking I add the spices of my choice, you can add the spices the night before but the slow cooking tends to cook out most of the flavors they impart to the oats.

Slow Cooker Tea-infused Oatmeal

4-5 cups of water

4 tablespoons of loose tea of your choice (or 4 tea bags) (this time of year I favor warming, spicy teas)

1 cup steel-cut Irish oats

2 TB butter

1-2 TB sweetener of your choice (brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, no sugar added preserves (like the Polaner All-fruit), agave nectar)

1 cup milk (your choice, I prefer almond)

spices of choice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, allspice or clove)

Depending on your tea choice you can add 1/2 cup of various nuts or dried fruits and/or 1 cup of fresh fruit. If the fresh fruit is more watery and prone to mushiness you may wish to add it before serving. 

In a saucepan, bring the 4 cups of water to a boil, add the tea and cover. Allow to steep for 5-10 minutes.  Strain, let cool and pour liquid into slow cooker. Before bed, add the oats, butter, sweetener. Cover and turn on low.  Allow to cook at least 5 hours.

Milk may be added when you serve the oatmeal, or add it as the extra cup of liquid if your slow cooker runs hot.  The milk makes the oatmeal more creamy, if you prefer to add it the night before.

Spiced Baked Apples

4 firm baking apples, peeled and cores scooped out until about 1/4 inch from bottom.

1/4 cup demarera sugar, plus 2 TB

4 TB butter, softened

1 cup of brewed Bengal Spice tea (I brew 2-3 bags of Bengal Spice tea in 1 cup of boiling water)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated allspice

pinch of ground cloves.

Preheat oven to 350*. Place apples in an 8x8" baking dish. In a small bowl, mix spices and butter.  Split butter/sugar mixture into fourths and fill each hollowed out apple. Add the sugar to hot tea, mix well and pour brewed tea over apples.  Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook an additional 5 min.  Serve immediately.

Smoky Orange-marinated Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

5 cups water

3-4 TB loose tea Lapsang Souchong (depending on your brand of tea and your preference for level of smoky flavor)

2 TB sea salt

1 orange, grated and juiced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 shallots, sliced into thin rings

1 TB tamari

1 TB honey

1/4 tsp ground cayenne

1 TB black peppercorns

Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and add the Lapsang Souchong.  Allow to steep for 5 minutes and then strain leaves from liquid.  Allow tea to cool to room temperature, set aside one cup for later use in the recipe. 

In a non-reactive container add 4 cups of the tea, 2 TB of sea salt, the garlic, peppercorns and the peel and juice of one orange.  Add chicken breasts and allow to marinate for at least one day (two days is better if you want that really smoky flavor). When ready to bake, remove breasts from marinade and discard the marinade.

Preheat oven to 350*  Transfer chicken to baking dish.  In a small non-reactive mixing bowl mix remaining 1 cup of tea, shallots, tamari, honey, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.  Mix and pour over chicken breasts.  Bake chicken for 20-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165*.

Serves 4

Earl Grey Pound Cake with White Chocolate Glaze

2.5 sticks unsalted butter

8 Tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea (this does not mean emptying out tea bags. This is buying the loose tea)

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups flour

1 cup milk (you can substitute soy milk)

Heat the butter until it is just melted. Turn the stove down to low and stir the loose tea into the butter. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove butter from stove and let sit for 5 minutes before pouring the mixture thru a fine sieve. You will have to press on the tea leaves to get as much butter out as possible. The goal is to end up with 1 cup of butter. Allow the butter to cool down to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325*. Butter and flour a bundt pan and set aside.

Combine butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after adding each egg. Add in vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the salt, baking powder and flour.

Add milk in thirds, alternating with flour mixture, to the butter mixture.

Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test cake for doneness. When the cake is done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting the cake onto a cake plate.

White Chocolate Glaze

3 bags of Earl Grey tea

1/2 cup cream, heated

4 oz white chocolate

Put tea bags into heated cream and steep until cream has cooled to room temp. Finely chop the white chocolate and place in small bowl. Remove and discard the tea bags. Reheat cream in microwave and pour over the white chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir until creamy. Drizzle over warm pound cake.

Source: Eliz Kirkland Sickles

Copyright © 2012 Stephanie Libby

Blissed the eff out!

Still on a bit of a high from our amazing holiday in Scotland.  Things are so wonderful and amazing right now, thrilling even!

The girlie and I leave for a long weekend with other families whose kids were diagnosed with cancer, it's a fun filled weekend yearly that we love.  Canoeing, swimming, hiking, archery, and so much more. Because I'll be offline for the weekend I wanted to share the exciting release of Pagan Living's Autumn 2012 issue.  It's a lovely mag and I was quite honored to be asked if Id be interested in writing an article for it.  So, persimmon-y love shall be found somewhere within the pages of the magazine.  I'll be back writing a new foody article for their Winter issue later this year!  Such fun!

Scotland was a dream, we are definitely going back and really want to move there.  I have loads of photos I am still working through to resize and some to clean up a bit (lots of photos taken from trains and cars as the country sped by).  The most boggling thing that happened there was silence.  Silence!  My intuitive self found peace for the first time in my life, it was BLISS!  No chatter, no spirit, no emotions coming off everything, just stillness and I was so happy to experience it.

Since our return it has kicked in on overdrive through, in fact it started on the flight from Amsterdam to Boston with a small something bumping at my hip in the aisle. No child there.  Since home I've been getting back into intuitive readings and am finding it's really fine tuned a lot of the melee that flows in my head.  I have a new found, much needed, confidence that now has me moving forward to do readings in person for people. I have two events this Autumn that I'll be reading at.  One is in another week in Manchester, NH for Pagan Pride and the second is in Laconia, NH at Wild Woman's Studio's Witch's Tea Party at the end of October (dates and times to come).  The Pagan Pride event isn't  anything huge for me, I'll actually be doing more chair massage for people with hopefully some readings in between when my hands need a rest.  So if you are around, come see us at Veteran's Park in Manchester.  $10-$15 chair massage for 10-15 minutes of massage.

on Isle of Harris, that purple blip at the bottom is a mystery, I took this photo in a burst of three images and this was the middle photo.

Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous in the Harry Potter movie

A fisherman in Mallaig Harbour

spectacular view from Portree, Isle of Skye

at Òb nan Ròn

 — Staffin, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Creag An Fèilidh aka "Kilt Rock" 

The Peace Hour with Birkan Tore - ''Going Pro'' 08/28 by Birkan Tore | Blog Talk Radio

The Peace Hour with Birkan Tore - ''Going Pro'' 08/28 by Birkan Tore | Blog Talk Radio

I've watched my friend Birkan grow as a healer these last 5-6 years.  The man knows his stuff!

Endings and New Beginnings

I shared the news yesterday on Facebook, this photo is an *outtake* and I wanted to use it in some way as well to share the Pixie in those eyes. I haven't seen that mischief, humor and light in those eyes in a very long time.  So today and for all tomorrows I celebrate it.

Yesterday my beloved girlie ended her cancer treatment. The news has been spread far and wide (and continues to spread) and, as with her treatment and bringing us prayers and healing energies on her behalf, we had countless strangers celebrating her victory with us.

Tomorrow we leave for Scotland, with a layover in Amsterdam.  She is so incredibly excited!  This is her Make a Wish *wish* (well, the Scotland part, the Amsterdam visit is bonus thanks to the long layover).

We'll be back in ten days, with loads of photos!

on this First Harvest...

A new month and Full Moon brings the opportunity for a fresh start. August, the month marked with such intense solar energy as my neck of the woods begins to become blanketed in various shades of yellows and oranges along with the end of summer heat before we see the tangible seasonal shift.  This Summer has been very odd indeed, a very hot, very humid yet very dry (on the rainfall front) start before we saw a few days of respite and then back to the heat for a bit.  My garden is confused, burnt and very sad looking.  My herbs are thriving though!  I have been enjoying a peaceful summer with my sweet girlie as she nears the end of her cancer treatment.  This is our first big "HOORAY!" for the month, her last in treatment clinic appointment is in one week and then four days after that she has her LAST dose of chemo EVER!  I am so happy and thankful for her healing, she is beautiful, vibrant, healthy and happy!  This mama couldn't ask for anything more!

Two weeks from today we leave for Scotland!  Very exciting!  For any remaining readers here, I'll be flooding this site with photos, hundreds of them at the very least. Since November, when I did my reading for the year, this month has been coming up as being a month of HUGE happy changes for me, Scotland seems to play a part in that so it will be interesting to see how everything plays out. We'll be spending 8-9 days touristing around, seeing all sorts of wonderful sights.  We'll be visiting Callanish Stone circle, which has been on Pixie's wishlist long before the movie Brave came out. I dread the ferry rides, as I am horridly motion sick on water especially, but it will be worth seeing that amazing place.

I've recently added pages to this site with some of my old Seasonal Kitchen columns from Pagan Activist. As always with this time of  year, as the season shifts I'll be sharing more recipes because my culinary urges intensify between the equinox and the winter solstice.  Hoping that getting back to work next month will open up an influx of +++ finances and allow me to enjoy myself more in the kitchen.  I've a gluten-free diet to play about with and two somewhat different dietary needs to accommodate.  Should be fun!

Sending out Lunasda and Full Moon blessings, I close this entry with some recipes fit for the celebrations.



Pear Bread
almanac.com

A lovely tea bread that is special enough to be dessert for a picnic. It freezes well so keep an extra loaf on hand for unexpected guests. The Governor's Inn, Ludlow, Vermont

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

    * 1/2 cup sweet butter (1 stick), room temperature
    * 1 cup sugar
    * 2 large eggs
    * 2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * Pinch nutmeg
    * 1/4 cup buttermilk
    * 1 cup coarsely chopped cored pears (or pureed in food processor or blender)
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla
    * 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter, gradually beat in sugar, and add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine dry ingredients and add to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in pears, vanilla, and nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Cool. Slice and serve plain, with Quick Apple Butter (recipe follows), or with cream cheese.
Quick Apple Butter

    * 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
    * 1/2 cup sugar
    * 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
    * Pinch each of ginger and cloves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer 30 minutes. Cool and spread on Pear Bread (or toast). Makes 1-1/2 cups.

Spiced Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Hoummus

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (or other white beans)

1 (4 ounce) jar roasted red peppers 

3 tablespoons lemon juice 

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini 

1 clove garlic, minced 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 

In an electric blender or food processor, puree the chickpeas, red peppers, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Process, using long pulses, until the mixture is fairly smooth, and slightly fluffy. Make sure to scrape the mixture off the sides of the food processor or blender in between pulses. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The hummus can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before serving.) 

Sprinkle the hummus with the chopped parsley before serving. 

Zucchini Salsa

10 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded

4 onions, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1/4 cup pickling salt

1 tablespoon pickling salt

2 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cumin

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon black pepper

5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cans tomato paste

In a large bowl combine; Zucchini, onions, green pepper, red pepper and the salt Mix together cover and let stand over night.

Next day rinse, drain well and put into a large pot then add mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, cornstarch, nutmeg, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Water bath jars if they have not sealed properly.

Note: If you want it "HOT" just add a dozen finely chopped jalapenos 

Source: unknown

Gram's Sweet Relish

3qt green tomatoes

3 large ripe tomatoes

4 onions

5 sweet red peppers

4 sweet green peppers

1/2c. salt

Set overnight.  drain

5c. sugar

1 cinnamon stick (remove before canning)

3pts apple cider vinegar

Cooking: 1 hour and then can

Confetti Corn and Bulgur Salad

Pillsbury Best of the Bakeoff 

1c. uncooked bulgur wheat

1 garlic clove, minced (I added more)

1c. boiling water

1/4c. olive oil

In a large bowl combine above four ingredients, mix well and let stand 30 min.

1 medium red apple, chopped

1/2c. golden raisins

2 TB fresh lemon juice

1 (15.25oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

4 Italian plum tomatoes, chopped

4 scallions or green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

In a medium bowl, combine apple, raisins and lemon juice; mix well.  Fluff bulgur with fork.  Add apple mixture and remaining ingredients; mix well.  If desired line serving bowl with kale or lettuce leaves.  spoon salad into a bowl

YIELDS: 8 1c servings

per serving: 190 calories; 4g protein; 32g carbohydrate; 8g fat; 180mg sodium

Birdy love

We had a run of bad luck with computers earlier this year, and during that time I thought I had lost years worth of photos that I hadn't backed up.  Happily, I was able to retrieve all those photos and now try to upload them in various places online so I will always have them. One of my greatest joys is photographing birds.  We have feeders and now my grandmother's birdbath (at least I think it's hers, if not it's the spitting image if it) and our oasis in urban sprawl brings us countless varieties of birds visiting. So, without further ado-birds of the Concord Heights:

Lazy, hazy, summer days

I always have the best intentions to post regularly here, but the days, and my thoughts often run away with me. I am happy to notice that my thoughts are happier and more positive each passing day, much of my reticence in writing here was to avoid wallowing in the negative.

So this summer has been glorious, we have so much to be thankful for with a healthy Pixie whose cancer treatment is finished in 21 days!  It has been a long 2 year and nearly four months and her health having returned is the light of my life.  She is in flux, as her 13th birthday nears this fall we have the oh.so.lovely hormonal mood swings starting.  I have begun thinking of her moon time, when it finally starts, and what can I do to make it a celebration. We are blessed to have a lovely circle of magical folk around us to help celebrate with us.  She is one day lamenting that her Hogwarts acceptance letter didn't arrive (the explanation I offered was that she was in cancer treatment at 11 so perhaps at 13 something will arrive) and the next she is oogling and sighing over shirtless, well muscled men as we drive.  Oh the joys of nearly teenaged girlies!

She got to enjoy a few hours of fishing last month, she delighted in finding a snail (above) and sung "shellicky shellicky bookey" quietly trying to entice it from it's shell. No such luck, so she spent the remaining time trying to catch bass. Her reconnecting to nature and the magical part of herself has been moving forward quite solidly.  A few days after her treatment ends next month we will be in Scotland for her Make A Wish trip, the itinerary is amazing-we'll tour a few islands, ride the Jacobite Steam train, see Loch Ness and spend several days in Edinburgh having some haunted fun.  We will also be visiting The Wyrd Shop, a lovely looking witchy shop in Edinburgh that she is anxious to shop at.  I'll spend the weeks following resizing and uploading the photos of our adventures there, so keep an eye out. 

So we are hoping for cooler summer weather in order to spend more time outside.  The horrid heat and humidity has kept us inside far too much.  Our container garden is suffering no matter how much we water, not sure we'll have anything to harvest this year, nothing is doing well.  The weeks have been sent cleaning the house after my mother moved away and sorting through all of our things, to downsize and make moving next year an easier task for us. 

To beat the heat we have been crafting indoors in cooler weather, lots of knitting and jewelry making.  I was asked if I would write a food article for the online magazine Pagan Living, so I'll be sure to link to the autumn issue when it's out!  So this article found us experimenting with persimmons and creating various recipes and hopefully everyone enjoys them as much as Pixie and I did!

I've also been continuing with my intuitive readings, mostly via email but I think skype is my next step to ease me to face to face readings I plan to do in September and October especially.  I've been debating offering short reads for $15 so I can make some spending case for our trip.  I was told by the NH office that we'll get money for souvenirs in the amount of $50 each, which is more like £30.  To be honest other families we have met who had wishes granted mentioned receiving A LOT more spending money so I was shocked and now I'm at a panic.  Pixie is working for her grandfather doing odd jobs to make money, my brother and I will give her our $50 so she has money, of course that leaves me with a shortage and I'd like to be able to get some gifts for people, fiber for me and souvenirs as well.  September brings a driver's license renewal, car inspection and registration (and if it needs work to pass inspection that will be more money) so I have to have a few hundred dollars to get that done and I'll also be job searching too.  (some serious, kickass "get the perfect job for Steph and Pixie" vibes are VERY welcomed).

So, if you know anyone looking for an intuitive reading, be sure to send them my way.  Every little bit will help!  In the meantime, cleaning, sorting, knitting and staying happy and positive.  It's a lovely summer, hopefully I'll write here more frequently!