Tidbits in the Kitchen, Bath, Health and Garden

Cooking, Health, Bath and herbal tips.

Incense & Oil:

Spring Sabbat Incense

3 parts Frankincense
2 parts Sandalwood
1 part Benzoin
1 part Cinnamon
a few drops Patchouli oil

Burn during spring and summer Sabbat rituals.

Ostara Incense

2 Parts Frankincense
1 Part Benzoin
1 Part Dragon's Blood
1/2 Part Nutmeg
1/2 part Violet flowers (or few drops violet oil)
1/2 Part Orange peel
1/2 Part Rose petals

Burn during Ostara rituals.

Ostara Oil

2 parts frankincense
1 part benzoil
1 part dragon's blood
½ part nutmeg
½ part violet
½ part orange
½ part rose

Ostara Food:

Lavender Lemonade

Lavender adds a delightfully different dimension to this refreshing summer favorite.


4 cups water, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh lavender leaves
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
Lavender stems

Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Combine the boiling water and lavender in a medium bowl; cover and steep 30 minutes. Strain the lavender mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard lavender leaves.

Combine 3 cups water and sugar in saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook 1 minute or until sugar is dissolved. Combine lavender water, sugar syrup, and lemon juice in a pitcher. Cover and chill. Serve over ice. Garnish lemonade with lavender stems, if desired.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 115(0.0% from fat); FAT 0.0g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 0.2g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 4mg; SODIUM 1mg; FIBER 0.2g; IRON 0.0mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.9g
Cooking Light, JUNE 2000

Braided Ostara Bread

INGREDIENTS

2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 tsp. salt
5 cups all-purpose flour
7 eggs
1 tsp. water

Step 1
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk, and heat until just warm. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the yeast. Add the sugar, eggs, and salt and stir well.

Step 2
Mix in the flour, one cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, adding flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. Knead until it becomes elastic. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and set in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size (about one hour).

Step 3
Punch down the dough. Divide it into three equal parts and roll each piece into a 20-inch-long strand. Lay the strands side by side and gently braid them. (To avoid tearing the dough, braid from the middle out to an end; repeat with the other side). Place the woven dough in a wreath shape on a greased cookie sheet, tucking the ends under. Soft-boil and dye 6 eggs, using non-toxic dyes. Sink the dyed eggs into the dough. Cover and let rise until double in size.

Step 4
Beat one egg with 1 teaspoon water and brush the wash over the dough. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes one large loaf.

Ostara Spells

The Robin's Feather Spring-Cleaning Spell

from: Ostara--Edain McCoy

For this spell, any feather will do as long as it is not synthetic. These can usually be found in parks and wooded areas if you spend enough time there. It does not have to have belonged to a robin--that is just too much to ask. Instead, in our magical mind, we will view it as if really belongs to the robin. You will also need some light incense that contains purifying magickal properties, such as sandalwood. lavender, lemon, or cedar. On Ostara morning, begin your spring-cleaning with a psychic cleansing of your home. Light the incense in a container that is portable, either one on a chain or a heat-resistant bowl you can carry without being burned. Carry the incense in your no dominant hand, or the one you do not write with. In the dominant or right hand, carry the rather. Beginning at the center of your home, move outward in a counterclockwise motion while making sweeping motions with the feather. Visualize the incense purifying each room while the robin's feather sweeps out the winter's psychic stagnation, allowing for fresh magick to be made. As you walk room to room, chant something like the following:

"Incense, fill this dwelling for me,

clean and clear it now must be;

feather of robin, emissary of the sun,

banished be winter, my spell is done."

When your psychic spring-cleaning is complete, stand the feather in the ground near your door to bring the robin's spring blessings from the young God into your home.

Blessed Be

 

Ostara Passion Spell
Use this spell to increase your lustful feelings for your partner on this Sabbat, just as the young God and Goddess awaken to discover their own sexuality. Carve interlocking symbols representing your respective genders onto the candle’s side and anoint it with clove or cinnamon oil. Burn it in the bedroom when you want some passion play. Create a lust talisman by binding several lust-inducing herbs in a red cloth. Choose from the following: vanilla bean, ginger, bay leaf, ginseng, hibiscus, damiana, mint leaves, caraway seeds, garnets, and zircon. Place the bundle under your bed and say:

By talisman and candle, this spell I cast,
Now our loving spirit embrace with passion and lust.

by: Edain McCoy

Egg Divination Spell

Jack Lindsay writes in The Origins of Astrology: “Mother Earth lies in the world’s midst rounded like an egg, and all blessings are there inside her.�?The egg, as a symbol of creativity, fertility, and new beginnings, is a powerful tool for magic.

Egg magic is most potent through the month of March. For this divination spell prepare an altar with blue cloth, green candle, athame, egg, and cauldron filled with cold, pure water. Center, and light the candle. Prick the small end of an egg, and let three drops of egg white fall into the water. Stir the water three times with the athame. You can divine the seeker’s future from the shapes the egg white assumes.

By: Lily Gardner

 

Going All Natural:

Natural Dyes

To make your own natural dyes you will need a generous fistful of herbs or plants that produce colored stains, a small-to medium-sized saucepan, and a wooden spoon. Glass saucepans are best, as metal can become irrevocably stained by natural dyes. Place about three cups of water in the pan and allow it to come to a low boil; add the plant material and stir occasionally so that the water becomes a very deep version of your desired shade. The color the eggs take on will always be significantly paler and you may need to add, boil, strain, and repeat to get the darker shades you desire. When you have the water the shade you want, strain the plant material out of the water, return the water to the pan, and bring the water to a light simmer. Add it to a pinch of salt, a tablespoon or two of vinegar, and a couple tablespoons of cream of tartar. Mix these well. Remove from heat, and place eggs in the dye until they attain the desired hue.

Source Color

White grapes Pale Yellow

Carrot tops Yellow

Turmeric Yellow

Vanilla Extract Yellow Orange

Daffodil Blossoms Yellow Green

Dandelions Orange

Onions Orange

Orris Root Rusty Orange

Paprika Orange Brown

Heather Pink

Madder Root Red

Blackberries Red Violet

Bracken Green

Red Cabbage Robin's Egg Blue

Iris Blossoms Pinkish Blue

Beets Blue Violet

Mulberries Blue Violet

Cayenne Rust

 

Ostara Crafts

Floral Bookmarks:

Celebrate spring and make reading a joy with a bouquet of bookmarks.

You'll need:

heavy books
flowers
construction paper (or heavy paper stock)
glue
clear contact paper
hole punch
ribbon

Take a walk with your child and admire the spring flowers. If you are able to find an area where flowers grow wild or if you have some in your garden, carefully pick a few. If you do not have flowers in your immediate area, go to the store and purchase a few flowers. You are looking for flowers that are colorful but not bulky.

Take two pieces of paper and carefully lay the flowers between them, stem, leaves, and all.

Put the papers between two heavy books and leave them there for at least two weeks to dry.

After two weeks, remove the dried flowers.

Cut a piece of construction paper into a 2 ½" X 8" strip. Choose which side will be the front and which will be the back.

On the back of the bookmark, help your child print a personal message on the bottom.

For instance: Made with flowers on (date) by (name)" or "Made with flowers and love from�?

Have your child arrange 1 or 2 dried flowers on the front side of the construction paper strip, and then glue everything in place.

Take a piece of clear contact paper and place it over the entire bookmark.

Cut off excess contact paper.

Hole punch the top of the bookmark and add a ribbon.

You and your child will remember the spring walk each time you mark your place in a book.