Your Local Grandpa

Last year, I posted a two-month series of recipes suitable for the autumn season, which everyone seemed to enjoy very much. I’ve been too busy this year to make up a new queue, so I thought I’d compile a big long list of links for anyone who’s looking for recipe ideas this fall.

Appetizers, Sides, & Snacks

A Pair of Stuffing Recipes

Asparagus Salad

Baked Apples

Beets with Cloves and Cinnamon

Bree’s Cheddar-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Bree’s Homemade Colcannon

Carrot Fritters

Cheese & Bacon Pinwheels

Cheese Toasties

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Fish Cakes

Irish Stout Apple Fritters

Oatmeal & Potato Bread

Parsnip & Apples

Pumpkin Seeds

Sprouts au Gratin

Soups

Butternut Squash and Pear Pottage

Cheese Soup & Dumplings

Chestnut Soup

Garlic Soup

Gingered Pumpkin Soup with Molasses Cream

King’s Arms Tavern Cream of Peanut Soup

Mashed Potato Soup

Mushroom Soup

Entrees

Acorn Squash with Cinnamon and Honey

Bree’s Baked Ziti

Bree’s Crockpot/One-pot Chili

Bree’s Fried Chicken Parmesan

Bree’s Honey Baked Salmon

Bree’s Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Bree’s Roast Chicken with Apples and Potatoes

Bree’s Sesame Ginger Chicken

Bree’s Turkey Hash Casserole

Dill-Crusted Salmon

Irish Stew

Meat Patties in Crust

Michaelmas Goose with Sage & Onion Stuffing

Pan Haggerty

Pumpkin Plenty

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Orange & Onion Sauce

Rosemary-Orange Beef

Spiced Pot Roast

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Braised Beef

Surry Sausage, Squash, & Apple Bake with Savory Streusel Topping

Welsh Potato Pie

Welsh Trout in Bacon

Baked Goods

Applesauce Buttermilk Biscuits

Barm Brack

Beer-Bacon-Onion Muffins

Caerphilly Scones

Christiana Campbell’s Tavern Sweet Potato Muffins

Drop Scones

Gingered Pumpkin Muffins

King’s Arms Tavern Apple Cheddar Muffins

Tea Table Goodies

Apple & Potato Cake

Apple Raisin Cider Teabread

Bree’s Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

Irish Apple Cake

Irish Apple Teabread

Irish Whiskey Cake

Isle of Wight Farmhouse Cake

Marmalade Loaf

Porter Cake

Seed Cake

Welsh Crumpets

Desserts

Bramble Dessert

Bree’s Easy-Peasy Molten Chocolate Cake

Bree’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Chocolate Liquer Glaze

Beverages, Jams, and Sauces

Mulled Cider

Samhain Wine Cup

Wassail

Blackberry & Apple Jam

Bree’s Dad’s Sauce Recipes

Delectable Dressings

Irish Whiskey Marmalade

Sources

Celtic Folklore Cooking (Asala)

A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook (Telesco)

A Witch’s Brew (Telesco)

Kitchen WItch’s Guide to Brews and Potions (Telesco)

The Kitchen Witch (Soraya)

Witch in the Kitchen (Johnson)

The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook (Gonzalez)

Favorite Meals from Williamsburg (Turgeon)

Holiday Fare: Favorite Williamsburg Meals (Gonzalez)

The Very Best of Irish Traditional Cooking (Lennon and Campbell)

there are plenty of ways to work to work a little magic into your day without doing a full on ritual, and your daily (hourly?) tea is one of them! here’s just a couple of suggestions with fruits and their correspondences.

raspberry - love, strength, endurance and reliability

black currant - for  abundance, lust, and fertility

rhubarb -  for fidelity and protection.

mango -  harmony, balance, contentment, fertility. 

strawberry -  for fortune, friendship, and love.

lemon -  for friendship, love, and purification.

cherry -  for divination and love.

blueberry -  for protection.

apple -  for banishment, fertility, healing, love, protection, and purification.

pear -  for wealth, love and lust.

orange -  for beauty, divination, fortune, love, purification, and wealth.

cranberry -  for protection, positive energy, courage, passion, determination, goals, and action

rose-hip - for luck, love, and spirituality. 

pomegranate - for divination, luck, wishes, wealth, and fertility

there are a number of combinations of fruit teas, with other types of fruit as well as spices, herbs, flowers and teas. teas can be simple, easy potions with a variety of brewed intents. 

Doorways are one of the first concepts we learn as we begin to explore our surroundings as infants. In those early memories doorways are magical passages dividing entire worlds in our perceptions. We pass through into new places with entirely different obstacles and experiences to encounter.

As we age, we grow more accustomed to the idea of different rooms and separations of space. Even without a proper door separating them we define spaces by their function and even without a physical barrier between them we acknowledge them as separate and distinct. For an example, consider the layout of a studio apartment, the kitchen, dining room and living room are, functionally one room, and yet people gather in distinct groups in each section of the space, separating themselves into “rooms” with no actual barriers except those imagined by those present.

The Romans had a god, Janus, whose entire domain was doorways, the transition between spaces and spans of time. The first month of the year was named for him as it was the transition between years.

The most instinctive spatial transition is that between one’s home and the outside world. The territorial sanctity of home is a spiritually powerful concept. it protects us just as our homes do. The most direct manifestation of this power is the phenomena of thresholds.

Mythology is filled with creatures which cannot enter a person’s home without their express permission and invitation. From vampires, to demons, to fairies, everything needs permission from the homeowner to enter. in a more modern context, many practitioners report feeling weaker if they enter someone else’s home uninvited.

This is a threshold, a spiritual barrier between us and the outside world. Those who cross it uninvited leave a great deal of their power behind them, so much so that some creatures cannot survive the experience.

While thresholds fall under what would normally be considered “passive” of “innate” magic, there are ways to consciously strengthen, build off, or direct the energy of your threshold to better protect you and your family.

Strengthening:

A threshold can be strengthened in a number of ways. The simplest way is to enhance your sense of home, filling your home with things which are uniquely yours, which hold sentiment or meaning for you personally, and spending time getting your home comfortable and familiar will build up your threshold over time.

Another method is through active warding. Wreaths were an early form of warding charm hung in doorways to drive off evil and malicious spirits. Honeysuckle, St. John’s wart, Rowan, oak, Birch, and Yarrow hung above, in, or beside the doorway will add energies of purification and protection. an Iron nail driven into the door frame combines the warding power of iron, and the tranquil aspects of the rune Isa, which the nail resembles. Daggaz and ing, either painted, scratched or inscribed in a doorway bring luck and safety to those within.

Some witches like to seal their homes by painting pentacles above the major openings, including doors and windows, using either actual paint, or some variety of holy water/oil, or putting lines of salt or blessed sand along the doorways and window sills. This method has the disadvantage of being easily physically disrupted, although some industrious witches have been known to protect such lines by placing them under the metal strips which smooth the transition between the door frame and the floor.

Another method is to hang amulets in the door frame bearing symbols for protection. These can be as simple as a painted piece of paper, or as elaborate as a cast silver charm.  Another example is Amish Hex signs. A six petaled flower or 6 pointed star, represents preservation and continuity for the home, a rooster represents a watchful guardian, and a jagged circle represents the power of thurisaz to drive away evil and disruptive energies.

Building upon:

A threshold is a solid foundation for any magic which is intended to effect the home, or everyone who enters the home.  Such spells work based on the principal of the threshold as not being just a barrier, but a portal which must be passed through.

One use for magic of this kind is to ward against a particular person or type of entity. to do this it is useful to use materials and objects known to be harmful or hateful to that entity. (garlic for vampires, iron for fairies, things the person is allergic to, audio tape containing music they hate, etc.) As was mentioned before, placing these things in, on, or near the doorway is an effective method, but this may not always be convenient or practical. In this case, using them in a ritual to charge another object, such as a stone a piece of wood, or an ornament which can be attached less obtrusively is perfectly acceptable.

Another use is to place spells upon those who come and go through the door. Spells to encourage health, prosperity, peacefulness and joy are common choices. for these uses it’s best to use an object or material which is associated with your desired outcome, and place it in or above the door frame. Traditionally horseshoes were hung in this way to pour luck on those who entered. This is another situation where amulets hung in doorway can be useful, particularly if people are willing to touch or handle the objects as they come through.

A slightly sneakier method might be to paint or inscribe a spell into the door handle, so that a person HAS to handle it to enter, or building your spell to be charged and renewed by the act of using the knocker or doorbell, if it’s intended to drive off unwanted guests, or help visitors.

Directing the threshold:

The threshold, like any other magic, can be channeled and directed. The most common use would be directing the threshold’s protections to include or exclude a particular person, either helping guests feel comfortable and “at home” or making a resident feel unwelcome and vulnerable in their own home. This is most easily done by the homeowner, or head of household, The person with the most authority within the home, and is typically linked to their will, though an explicit statement of intent from this person goes a long way.

Aphid Spray and Pine Sugar

Yesterday I made up a batch of spray to try and get rid of the aphids that have started munching on one of my strawberry plants. The recipe I used is just dish soap and vegetable oil mixed into water; I had both of these on hand. I wanted to try a more organic blend that uses jalapenos and garlic, but I didn't have any jalapenos on hand, so I'll try that after I've used up all this insect spray.

I also attempted to make some pine sugar, but I don't have a food processor and I'm not great at cutting things up very finely, so the results are less than stellar.

Recipe 1: Mix 4 ounces of dishwashing liquid in 1 gallon of water. Spray plants with the mixture and follow with a spray of water. Wait 15 minutes and repeat.

Recipe 2 (the one I made): Mix 1 tablespoon liquid soap and 1 cup vegetable oil, then add 2 teaspoons of the blend to a gallon of water (don't use on squash, cauliflower, or cabbage, which can suffer leaf burn). Spray plants with the mixture and follow with a spray of water. Wait 15 minutes and repeat.

Recipe 3: Puree 3 or 4 jalapeno peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, and 1 quart of water: strain and use as a spray.

Recipe 4: Blend 1/2 cup of aphid bodies with 2 cups of water; strain and spray on plants.

mama dont make me put on the dress again - trixie mattel

a boy named sue - johnny cash

One of my favorite quotes about the magic of homemaking comes from Cory Hutcheson, host of the New World Witchery podcast. He says, “Home is a transformational act. It is the thing you do to turn a space into a space… that is full of ritual and significance and meaning. So there is sort of this ongoing relationship you have with the space that makes it a home.”

The act of creating a home, of making a space your own, is inherently magical. But if you want to make your space feel a little more witchy, here are some ideas to get you started.

Charms and Talismans

Making your own magical objects can be a powerful way to bring magic into your space. The best thing about making your own charms is that you can make them look however you want, so it’s easy to disguise them as ordinary household objects. You can make a charm for any intention by combining objects based on their magical correspondences.

I’ve talked about protective charms in previous posts, so I’m not gonna spend a lot of time on it here. The simplest protective charm is keeping a large piece of iron under your bed to keep away nightmares, evil spirits, and negative energy. You could also make your own protection charm, like a witch bottle.

You can create a “happy home” charm to bring peace, harmony, and happiness into your home. This charm could include herbs like basil, rosemary, lavender, peppermint, and/or bay leaves, as well as other items that you associate with peace and good fortune, like lucky coins, crystals, or black cat fur. Write your desires for a harmonious and happy home on a piece of paper, fold it up, and add it to the charm. You could store these items in a green bag, bury them in your backyard (in this case, make sure you’re only using biodegradable plant matter — leave out the coins and crystals), or place it inside a household object like a lamp or an end table.

If you suffer from insomnia or other sleep issues, try making a dream charm to help you sleep well and have sweet dreams. To make a simple dream charm, fill a blue or purple bag with lavender, chamomile, peppermint, and any other objects that you associate with peace, restfulness, and sleep. If you want to have lucid dreams or receive psychic messages in your dreams, include a bit of mugwort. Place the charm in your pillow or under your mattress. (I personally swear by this one, as it’s helped a lot with my insomnia.)

Charms are great for homemaking magic because you’re actually creating a magical object, which can then become a permanent fixture of the space.

Magical Decor

You can use magical items to decorate your home to bring certain qualities into that space.

Hanging or displaying a broom is said to bring good fortune, protection from evil, and good hospitality. Cauldrons are used to represent the Goddess, rebirth, and raw potential. Horseshoes hung above door frames bring safety and luck to all who cross under them, and keep unwanted guests away. If you can get them legally and ethically, animal bones, teeth, claws, and feathers can represent the spirit and energy of that animal. You can also put up images of spiritual and occult symbols — I have an image of the Sun tarot card hanging in my bedroom to promote positivity and growth.

If you need to be a little more subtle with your witchy decorations, working with the magic of color is a great way to do that. Gathering a lot of items of a single color in one room changes the energy of that room. Here’s a quick guide to give you some ideas:

Yellow is associated with divination, mental clarity, the element of air, success, communication, and inspiration.

Purple is associated with divine power, spiritual awareness, mystery, astral travel, magic, and authority.

Blue is associated with healing, psychic abilities, the element of water, peace, truth, and patience.

Red is associated with protection, the fire element, sex, power, vitality, and love.

Orange is associated with ambition, creativity, breaking through blockages, and career success.

Pink is associated with romantic love, friendship, self love, compassion, and emotional well-being.

Green is associated with nature, herbalism, the earth element, money, wealth, prosperity, and luck.

Brown is associated with grounding, animal magic, stability, and balance.

White is associated with purification, cleansing, the full moon, new beginnings, healing, and spiritual growth.

Black is associated with protection, truth, outer space, banishing, and transition.

Decorating your home with colors that are meaningful to you can create a powerful magical space. You may also have your own color associations (for example, yellow is a very “happy” color for me), so feel free to incorporate those into your decor as well!

Growing Magical Houseplants

Most witches feel a very deep connection to nature and draw power from the natural world, but we can’t all live in a cottage in the heart of the forest. Even if you live in a tiny apartment in the city, you can still bring nature into your space by keeping houseplants. Many popular houseplants have magical uses, and many popular magic herbs can be grown inside. Here are a few to get you started.

Aloe. This is one of my favorite plants. Aloe brings luck and protection, especially protection on an energetic/spiritual level. I like to keep aloe in my bedroom to protect me while I sleep, as well as to bring luck and inspiration while I’m working at my desk.

Basil. Basil is very popular in money spells, and will attract prosperity and luck to your home. However, it also has protective properties — both spiritual protection and protection from bugs, since basil is a natural insect repellent! Basil can also be used in love spells, and is just generally a good plant to have around for good vibes.

African Violet. This flowering plant attracts positive spiritual energy into your space. It has associations with the moon and the water element, and is very good for promoting spirituality and psychic power.

Rosemary. Rosemary is one of those herbs that every witch should have on hand. It’s so darn versatile, it can be used as a substitute for virtually any other herb, and can be used for almost any intention. Some of the most common magical associations for rosemary include: cleansing, purification, protection, healing, mental activity, and enhancing memory. According to author Deborah J. Martin, there’s an old English saying that, “Where rosemary grows, the woman rules the house.” Like basil, rosemary is a natural insect repellent.

Lavender. Lavender brings peace, love, and gentleness, which makes it a perfect addition to any home. It can be used in spells for cleansing and purification, enhancing psychic abilities, and stress relief. Lavender is also a powerful addition to love spells. Keeping lavender in the bedroom can aid in restful sleep, while lavender in the kitchen will bring harmony to the home.

Sage. Sage is the most talked about cleansing herb, and with good reason. Unfortunately, a lot of the sage bundles you can buy at metaphysical stores are made with white sage (Salvia apiana), which is sacred to Native American peoples and is endangered due to overharvesting. Instead of buying those, why not grow your own garden sage (Salvia officinalis), which has a lot of the same magical properties? Growing sage in your home will purify the space and protect those who live there. Sage also has an association with wisdom and mental prowess.

Hoya. Hoya is a common houseplant that you’ve probably seen even if you don’t know it by name. It has a distinctive appearance with waxy, dark green leaves and clusters of white, star-shaped flowers. Hoya aligns and balances the energy centers within your body, as well as in the surrounding space. It’s associated both with grounding and with spiritual openness, so it can be great for balancing the two.

Peppermint. Peppermint has a variety of magical uses, but my favorite way to use it is for gently opening up blockages and getting things moving. It’s great for cleansing, but is more gentle than rosemary or sage. Place it in any room where you tend to do a lot of healing work, or where you could use some peace and love. Peppermint is also used in dream magic, so growing it in the bedroom may bring on vivid or lucid dreams.

Orchid. Orchids are used in magic for love and lust. Historically, orchid has been used in folk medicine to promote male virility and “Jezebel root,” used in American folk magic to attract wealthy male lovers, is a type of orchid root. If you live with a significant other, try growing an orchid in the bedroom to promote passion in your sex life. Otherwise, grow orchids in your home to promote love or to attract romance.

Catnip. If you have cats, they’ll love this one. Catnip is actually a type of mint, and has strong lunar associations. It’s said to make one more charming and attractive, and is especially useful for attracting women. At the same time, catnip promotes courage and fierceness. It is also, of course, associated with cats and feline deities, so this is definitely a plant you’ll want to keep around if the cat is one of your animal guides.

If you have a yard space that you can turn into an outdoor garden, your magical plant options are limited only by your local ecosystem. Some outdoor plants that have magical uses include roses, sunflowers, rue, lemon balm, and strawberries.

Creating an Altar

Altars are focal points of magical and spiritual energy. Many people, both witches and non-witches, find that having a designated space for their spiritual practice creates a deeper sense of sacredness and purpose.

An altar can serve lots of different purposes. Many witches use their altar as a magical work space to prepare spells, meditate, and do divination. You may choose to dedicate your altar to a deity, your ancestors, or some other spirit(s) you work with. You can also build altars for specific intentions, such as a money altar or a love altar — performing rituals at this altar everyday is a powerful method for manifestation. You altar may be some or all of these things, or it may just be a place to sit and connect with the spiritual.

You can set up an altar on any flat surface, like a shelf or table, or inside a container like a jewelry box. Your setup can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. An altar can be huge and complex, with statues and candles and flowers, or it can be as simple as a tealight and an incense burner. It’s all about what appeals to you.

Resources:

New World Witchery pocast, “Episode 143 — The Magical Home”

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

“Candle colors and their meanings” by Michelle Gruben on the Grove and Grotto blog

Green Witchcraft by Paige Vanderbeck

A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin

cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other 🤠💘

Kitchen witches believe that the kitchen is a sacred place where all of the magick happens. They focus on the use of edible ingredients and kitchen tools.  A cottage witch is a witch that brings magick into the house and are protectors of the hearth and home. They bring cheer and warmth to every room they enter. Their focuses are on the family, home, and daily needs. Both the cottage and Kitchen witch believe that by honoring the home it honors the Gods and Goddesses. They bring magick into everyday life and daily chores.

Ways a Kitchen and Cottage witch can bring magick into a home:

Create a kitchen altar

Stock your shelves with herbs and spices

Bring maximum feng-shui to your home

Keep the home physically and spiritually clean

Paint the house walls in colours that bring happiness, warmth, and coziness

When making a sandwich put mustard or mayo sigils on it

When making meals add herbs that correspond to your magickal needs

Decorate the home according to the sabbats

Brew some special teas

Make your own candles, salves, and tinctures.

Make offerings to Gods and Goddesses of hearth and home.  

Ask your deities to keep your house safe and healthy.

Create your own recipes and add your own touch of magick to them

Put intent into everything you cook and clean

Make an incantation or short song to sing while you stir.

Inscribe your wooden spoons with sigils  

Carve your wooden shelves with sigils - carve them at the bottom of the cupboard to remain discreet

Craft oils, incense, soaps, potions, and salves.

Make herbal remedies

Chant while cleaning or preparing a meal

Use numerology in their practices by the number of times they stir or the number of times they knead dough.

During the mead moon, brew mead with magickal intent.

Decorate the home with your own art or art done by your children, poems, knits, woodcraft’s, paintings, quilts, diy’s, or tapestries.

Enchant your crafts.

Use weather magick, candle magick, ribbon charms, and anything else used to add magick to your home.

Honour the ancestors.

Bless the home.

Start a garden and will it with organic and in season fruits and vegetables.

Charge herbal oils by moonlight or candlelight to heal, bless the home or to clean and protect the woodwork she polishes with it.

Scatter charm bags, witches ladders, chimes, and bells around the home.

Grow an indoor jungle

Learn herbal remedies to treat MINOR injuries

If you work with meat make sure to thank and honour the animal it came from.

Sing or play music to raise good vibrations

Bake and cut cookies in shapes to match your intentions

Provide someone in need with a free meal

Volunteer at a local soup kitchen to bring magick into it

What their altar may display:

Candles

Tools used for sacred use

Four elements

Statues of the honoured deities

A doll weaved of corn

A kitchen witch’s altar is often displayed in the corner of the kitchen and is not permanent

Food made by the witch left as an offering

Some beliefs followed:

Magick is not used to inflict pain on others or block anyone’s free will

Believe in living simple lives

Believe in using organic items, products that aren’t animal tested, recycling, and composting.

Creativity is a form of devotion

Keep peace in the household

May the home always contain good food, good talk, and good company

Welcome guests into the home with open arms

Cottage and Kitchen witch superstitions/wives tales:

Stir clockwise to bring good luck

Never stir with a knife as it is considered bad luck

Place a piece of amethyst near the stove top to make the food cooked there tastes better

If an apple bursts in the oven while baking it means good luck is on its way for the cook

Eggs that are cracked while they boil is a sign that visitors are on their way

Dropping silverware means that company is coming

Spilling water on the table cloth means that rain is on its way

Seeing a spider in the house is good luck, killing it is bad luck

Wild animal tracks in the snow encircling your house is a sign of good luck and protection

When your cupboard doors are left opens it means that people are gossiping about you

If a broom drops across the doorway it means that you will soon head off on a journey

If you spill salt throw it over your left shoulder to undo any bad luck

To keep evil spirits away chop an onion in half and place it on the window sill

Chosen tools:

Wooden spoons

Knife

Bowls

Cooking pot or cauldron

A ritual knife used to only cut spiritual ties

A Fire place

Broom

Mortar and pestle

Kettle

Jars and bottles

Sewing kit

Cook books

Spells are cast to bring:

Healing

Prosperity

Protection

Abundance

Happiness

Fertility

Harmony

Peace

Deities worked with:

Hestia

Frigga

Brighid

Demeter

May your house stay warm and full of magick!