Volume III, Issue 1, January 4 ,2002 Hello all, I've been thinking a lot about food these last few weeks. This is the time of year, in the Northern Hemisphere, where good food seems all around us. It's the time of year where having the oven on to do tons of baking isn't going to give you heat stroke and our bodies actually need the extra calories to help us keep warm. So this issue is dedicated to food, cooking and kitchen witches everywhere. I will admit I'm not an expert on kitchen witchery but I do incorporate some techniques into my own food preparation and I'm trying to instill them into my daughters. My oldest has loved cooking from the time she was small. As a two-year-old, she would sit and watch cooking shows on television and even now will watch one instead of some cartoons. She's already stated she wants to be a chief when she grows up and she's starting to cook without Mom looking over her shoulders as she does so. Also in this issue, I begged a semi local pagan into giving me a couple of his recipes. Sings with Coyotes is a wonderful cook. If your ever at a Pagan gathering in the central Iowa area you can find him by just following your nose. Until next time, Sheila K. Watkins ~*~*~*~ The Magical Kitchen By Sheila K. Watkins It's late at night on a cold winter's evening. A woman stands dressed only in a robe, In her hand is a knife which she is using to cut up some fresh herbs from pots in her window sill. She adds a dash of oil to a cast iron pot and gently heats it over a low flame. She reaches over and starts mincing garlic and several red ripe tomatoes and adds them as well. Tomatoes? You mean she isn't making a potion? When we think of magic we usually don't think of food. What's so magical about food anyway? For the most part it's all around us. You can get a burger just down the street so why worry about making your own. Why make bread the old fashion way when it's easier to buy a loaf at the store or to use a bread machine? Why can when you can buy a can of the same thing in the store? Because the process of making food edible is inherently magical and there have been certain techniques that over the years have added to the effectiveness of the magic. One such technique is how you stir. I've had those, who practice kitchen witchery a bit more then myself, tell me that you stir clockwise to stir the love in. Personally I like to add a bit more focus. I concentrate on how good the food will taste, how much I love the people I'm cooking for and how healthy the food will be when I'm finished. When kneading bread, I'll think about the same things. Another piece of folklore, which might be used, is tossing salt over your left shoulder if it's invariably spilled to keep away malignant spirits. You might consider placing a vanilla bean in a container of sugar (Which already has loving energies) to infuse it with (even more) loving energies. It's also wonderful for baking. You can use various spices and culinary herbs to add various energies to what you are preparing. (If you're not sure you can ingest an herb then don't until you can research it.) Heat adds more energy. The possibilities are limited only by the witch doing the cooking. So how would something as ordinary as chocolate chip cookies be considered witchy? Well why don't we see? For those readers not from the United States, I apologize in advance for the measurements being in non-metric Sheila's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Note: this makes a LOT of cookies but they freeze well. The dough also freezes well.) 2 cups butter, softened 2 teaspoons baking soda 4 eggs 3 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups sugar (or vanilla sugar) 1 teaspoon hot water 4-˝ cups flour (can add more if mixture isn't thick enough) 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder 1 12 oz package chocolate chips 1 cup broken up walnuts 1 cup coconut Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together focusing on how wonderful these cookies are going to taste and make sure you stir clockwise as you do. Know that loving energies are flowing from you and the ingredients you using. Add the eggs and beat well. If you accidentally drop one on the floor well you know good news is coming your way. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. (Or you can do like I do add the baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in. Mix those ingredients in well then add the flour.) Slowly start adding to the creamed mixture, stirring clockwise as you do. Feel the energy, the goodness flow from you and into your food. Add the chocolate chips, the coconut and the walnuts into the dough still stirring in a clockwise motion. After the dough is thoroughly mixed. Drop by teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Note: do not add any ingredient from which you might suffer an allergic reaction. Happy magical cooking! ~*~*~*~ Cool Link(s) of the week: Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/ A collection of links about food. Spice and Herb Encyclopedia - http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/ Created by the Culinary Café, this site offers general descriptions, geographical sources, traditional ethnic uses, taste and aroma, history and region of origin, and creative uses of over forty spices and herbs. ~*~*~*~ Wok Soup By Sings With Coyotes /Kevin Romaine 1 zucchini 1 eggplant 1 onion several ribs of celery Several fresh tomatoes can of bean sprouts, drained can water chestnuts, sliced can of bamboo shoots 1 tbsp. minced garlic 1/4-cup soy sauce 1/2-cup chunky peanut butter fresh parsley, chopped or dried parsley 1/2-tsp. allspice 2 cups precooked chicken or beef, or any canned seafood, drained 2 cups long grain rice, uncooked 1/2 cup peanut oil 6 cups water or veggie broth Chop all vegetables into bite-sized pieces, Heat the oil (1/2 cup or so) throw the garlic and onion in first, then the celery, then the other vegetables, including fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks. Sauté in wok in hot peanut oil, just enough to lightly coat. Add salt & pepper to taste. When vegetables are crisp-tender, stir in the soy sauce, chunky peanut butter, parsley and allspice. Make a well in the center, add six cups of water or veggie broth, the two cups of rice, and arrange the meat around the edge. Cover and let rice cook until done Campfire Chili By Sings With Coyotes /Kevin Romaine 1 lb. thawed ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 tbsp. minced garlic four 15-oz. cans or one large can of chili beans 1 jar of mixed beans 1 large can of crushed tomatoes 1 large can tomatoes with chili peppers 1 tbsp. paprika salt, pepper and chili powder to taste Cook ground beef, onion and garlic in 6-quart pot over campfire. When meat is cooked and crumbled and onion is done, add tomatoes, chili powder and paprika; stir until mixed in thoroughly. Add chili beans and mixed beans, simmer until desired thickness. Serve with cheddar cheese and crackers ~*~*~*~ Announcement(s): this place reserved for announcements and press releases I find of interest. I'm pretty lenient about what I place in here but please no Spam that's been around the world so many times everyone has it memorized. I will consider books release announcements, local and national event announcements, and noteworthy news applicable to those in the pagan community among other things. Thank you. Sheila ~*~*~*~ Writer's Biographies: Sings With Coyotes /Kevin Romaine lives in rural Iowa. He is a well- regarded reader of the Tarot and crystal ball. He likes cooking for Pagans, sews his own and others' ritual garb, and is the newly minted organizer of BBMMDM for 2002. Sheila K. Watkins knew from the time she was 15 that she wanted to be a writer but did not really start writing until she entered college where she worked on her college newspaper and also worked as the editor of the feature section for one semester. She was also introduced to the love of writing poetry at this time. Fortunately for all of us most of the poems have been lost to the world of men. After college she worked several jobs during the next few years but none included writing. It wasn't until after both of her children had started school in 1998 that she went back to her love of putting words on a computer screen. Her first submission was accepted by publication by the IOWAN newsletter and it started her on the path of truly honing her work. In October of 2000, she founded and became editor of Whispers of a Stone Circle. ~*~*~*~ Submissions are always welcomed and can be made to: Zeliziw@n... In submitting materials writers are agreeing that if accepted I may post them in the newsletter and on the web page (whenever I finally get back to work on it.) Works submitted must be the writer's own work and they must still retain the copyright OR it must be verifiably public domain. Works can have been published before but please nothing that has been around over and over again. Copyright remains in the author's possession. The Author also realizes that they will not be paid. (If I had money I would be hosting this on something other then Yahoo.) If a submission is accepted, I will check for punctuation, capitalization and spelling in submitted articles. I will fix minor errors if they are present. I will NOT reword things (except for an occasional "an" for "a" and vice versa.) Poems are published as submitted. All articles, poems, etc, except where noted are copyrighted by the writers of said items and are used with permission. They are not to be republished without the express permission of the writers. Contact information may be obtained by contacting the editor of Whispers of A Stone Circle at Zeliziw@n... Copyright (c) 2002 Sheila K. Watkins All Rights Reserved.