B is for Bees

Bees are crucial to our everyday life. Sure, they sting on occasion, but only when they feel threatened. They may seem like a sweet bug, flitting from flower to flower, but they are crucial to pollination and the production of our fruits and vegetables. I learned this lesson the hard way the past spring.


In the past, I’ve planted a few veggies, just for fun, but this past year, I went all out and planted a bunch of plants- 4 different tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, green beans, etc. A BUNCH of plants. They all sprouted beautifully, but it became very clear that there was a problem- especially with the cukes and zukes. My first few cucumbers were beautiful, but then they started looking very crooked and gourd-like. They still tasted fine, but man, they were UGLY. My zucchini gave me a few fine fruits, but then, I started having some issues with blossom end rot and stunted growth. Even my tomatoes took a little longer to bear fruit. I used the google machine and found that these problems are usually due to poor pollination. My little, fragrant flowers were dwarfed by the vegetables, and that seemed to be a leading cause of the problem.

Bees were honored in many cultures. The Greek goddess Aphrodite was honored in her temple at Eryx as “Melissa-” queen of the bees. Her priestesses were called Melissae. Honey is the only consumable food that is produced without harm to a living creature, and also is the only food that doesn’t spoil. I’ve always kind of wanted to keep bees (yum, honey!), but I haven’t been in a living situation conducive to it. When I was a really little girl, my grandmother had a beehive in her backyard, and I used to love playing with the bees. I would go out there and play for hours and hours, and never got stung. Not once. My mother and grandmother would beg me to come back, and when they would come through the bees to get me, they’d inevitably get stung. It was ironic, because one of my given names means honeybee. I really appreciate and honor the honeybees- even if I no longer want to play with them, and have to staunch the compulsion to run, as was taught to me in elementary school!


A few years back , the news ran many reports about how the number of honeybees were declining. My coven did a full moon ritual for the honeybees, and it seems as though they were everywhere after that, at least in my own personal bubble. I've made honey cakes for offerings when we honor the Greek gods, with much success.


I love the bees. I’m learning to not run from them, and to not be afraid of them, as they do their queenly job. They are very important to the cycle of life- without them, the plants wouldn’t get pollinated, and we’d have no food- even the animals we eat (if you are an omnivore), depend on them for their food.


A chant to NOT be stung by honeybees
(I think it’s by Trish Telesco- I’ve been using it for years)

Blessed be thy little wings,


Keep far from me your hurts and stings



The recipe I use for Greek Honey Cake (from Rumour at allrecipes.com)
I’m not linking, because the amount of calories per serving might put you off. ;)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange rind. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the walnuts.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cut into diamond shapes. Pour honey syrup over the cake.

4. For the Honey Syrup: In a saucepan, combine honey, 1 cup sugar and water. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.

"Sausage," Egg and Cheese Biscuits

So, my husband really likes the Morningstar Farms Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuits. They come three to a pack, and when they aren't on sale, they are $5.50. For three little biscuits? I'm not that great at math, but I can tell that that's kind of a bad deal. I think it comes out to around $1.80 per biscuit.

I decided to take it upon myself to see if I could make something similar that would cost a little less. I mean, I have to come up with the money to pay for my $9 bottle of Aveeno lotion, right?

So, here we go. Be jealous of my badass cell phone photography. I won't tell anyone.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Grands! Biscuits (I bought original, because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and figure you couldn't go wrong with original)- [$4 ~ $2 each]
• 2 MorningStar brand sausage patties- 6 come in a box (I guess sausage crumbles exist, but not at my market) [$1.66 ~ the box was $5]
• 4-5 eggs (depending on size) [approx $1.25]
• Whatever shredded cheese you have in your fridge [barely enough to count, but I'll say $.50]
• You'll also need Pam and a muffin tin

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Scramble eggs. I mix them up and add some milk, but you probably know how to do this part already. I let them be a little wet (not well done), because you are going to bake them anyway.

Cut up your sausage until it resembles crumbles.

Spray eight holes of your muffin tin with Pam or other cooking spray. Yep, we use our pans in this house!


Open up a can of biscuits. I had never done this before, but I smacked it on the counter and it practically exploded. It's entertaining! Do this- it's more fun than using the spoon.

Take a biscuit and separate it half, into two layers. Place them in the muffin tin, and work them up the side a little bit.

Do this for all eight (you should have 4 biscuits left). Then add your sausage, egg, and cheese.

Once this has been done, again, slice the biscuit in half, lengthwise and then place over your yummy stuffing, working it down the sides until it touches the bottom layer of the biscuit.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and pretty. Do that again with the other can of biscuits. Voila!

All together, my ingredients for 16 biscuits came to $7.41, which makes each biscuit only $0.46! Much better than the $1.80 cost of Morningstar. For 16 Morningstar biscuits, it'd cost over $28. Plus, these are larger, and my husband says they're better tasting than the Morningstar biscuits. I plan on freezing most of them.

Southwestern Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

Southwestern Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:
5 bell peppers
1 can of black beans
2 cups of rice (I used brown rice)
1 little can of tomato sauce
1 can rotel (diced tomatoes and chiles)
3/4 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup onion, chopped
Chili powder
1 tsp garlic, minced
Shredded cheese

Directions:

Get your peppers ready- cut off the top, and then remove the core, seeds and membranes. Put them in a glass baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350.

In a saucepan or deep skillet, throw a little olive oil down, and turn on your stove. Put your onion and celery in the oil, and saute until onions are translucent and soft. Add garlic. Sprinkle some chili powder on it. It's not pretty, but that's okay.


Add the rice, tomato sauce, rotel and beans. Mix it all up. At this point, I added a handful of cheese, because hey- cheese can't hurt, right? Mix it up and let it cook for awhile, stirring occasionally. When you get sick of stirring, turn off the heat. Spoon into the peppers, then cover the tops with shredded cheese.



Place in 350 degree oven for around 30 minutes. Then top with sour cream, if you want to. Yours should look like the two cheesey peppers. I had a few, um, mishaps. But they tasted good. I made this with four peppers and had leftover mixture that I froze for next time I had a random pepper, ready to get squishy. :)

Roasted Vegetables for Samhain

I made this super simple recipe for the coven's Samhain ritual this year.

Preheat your oven to 350%.

Cut up any sort of solid veggies:

• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash
• Onions
• Red Potatoes
• Russet Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Garlic Cloves
• Bell Pepper

Spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray and layout all of your veggies. You'll want them spread out, and not on top of each other.

Put in the oven for 45 minutes. If you aren't vegan, you can take out your tray at 35 minutes, and sprinkle parmesean cheese over it, then put it back in for 10 minutes. Then, eat!

Baking Bread!

This past weekend I made bread- no breadmaker or stand mixer... all me! I used the bread recipe on the back of the whole wheat flour package, but below is the recipe I used for my french bread (found on cooks.com)


1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. soft shortening
4 c. flour

Sprinkle yeast into 1/2 cup of water and stir until dissolved. In large bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in 1 cup of water; add shortening and yeast; mix well. Add flour; mix. Work with a spoon 5 times at 10 minute intervals. Divide in half and shape in 2 balls. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll into 12 x 9 inch roll, as for jelly roll; seal edges. Place on baking sheet, score top by snipping at one inch intervals with scissors. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Brush with melted butter while warm.

Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Onion
2 Green Bell Peppers
A pk Mushrooms
1 can Black Beans
14 oz cheese
Corn tortillas
Big can of enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put some olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Once those are cooking, add a can of black beans (even the liquid). Let that simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat. In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Place the corn tortillas in the dish, making a layer of corn tortillas. Try to cover the whole bottom of the dish. Add a layer of enchilada sauce, then the pepper/onion/bean mixture, then cover that with cheese. Add a layer of corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, pepper mixture, then cheese. Keep layering until you finish with a layer of cheese. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. I served with sour cream and tortilla chips.

Make this with whatever veggies you like. It's a yummy way to get your veggie and protein on!

Tomato Basil Pasta

Serves 4 with some left over.
Inspired by CharmingPixieFlora on Youtube.

Box of whole wheat spaghetti
4 cans of diced tomatoes
2 small or 1 large bunch of fresh basil
Bunch of green onions
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil

Start your water in a big pasta pot on to boil.

Heat olive oil in skillet on low heat. Dice green onions, and put in skillet. Chop basil and add to onion, adding olive oil, if you feel it needs it. Add cans of diced tomatoes, and turn heat up to simmer. Add Italian Seasoning to taste (I added probably about 1 tablespoon or so). Let simmer.

Once water comes to a boil in your pasta pot, cook your spaghetti. Once it's done, strain, and then you are good to make your dishes!

I like to buy frozen garlic bread.Preheat the oven when you start your pasta water, and then put the bread in halfway through your pasta cooking, this way it will all be done at the same time.

Vegetarian Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2- packages of Smart Ground (faux ground beef)
1- packet of Lipton's Onion Soup
1/3- cup of ketchup
3/4- cup of breadcrumbs
3/4- cup of water
1- egg

Combine all together, and form into loaf on baking pan. Grease your pan- I found that it stuck to my foil. Cook for 55 minutes at 350. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans!

Black Bean Quesadillas

Makes two 8" quesadillas

1- can black beans
1- yellow onion
4- 8" tortillas
shredded cheese
garlic salt

Slice onion however you like (I like 1.5" strips). Warm a little olive oil in a skillet, and place onion in the skillet. Saute until the onions are clear, and a little brown. Remove from skillet and set aside. Open the can of beans and drain most of the liquid out. Dump into the skillet, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Heat the beans up over medium heat until they are a little soft- and easily squished with a fork (think about what texture you'd want in your quesadilla).

For the quesadillas, butter or oil one side of a torilla and place butter side down in a skillet. layer a bit of shredded chesse, then spread half of the beans out over the cheese. Add half of the grilled onions, and follow that up with more cheese. I like to make sure the cheese reaches the outer rim of the tortilla to make it stick better. Butter/oil one side of another tortilla and place that butter side up atop the quesadilla innards. Let cheese melt and then flip over (I am unskilled and need two spatulas, because it's the middle is full of yummy stuff). Continue cooking until the other side is cooked through. If your tortilla is mushy/oily, just turn up the fire and keep an eye on it to make the tortilla crunchy.

Repeat process with the remaining two tortillas.

My plan is to serve this with a sante fe style salad (lettuces + green onions + corn + tortilla strips and possibly red bell pepper) for dinner. Vegetarian yumminess.

Edit: I added bell peppers and made this spread out into 4 total quesadillas (8 tortillas). It's possible. :)

Croissant Calzones

Had an idea for an easy lunch recipe, and tried it out. It was good, so here it is.

Croissant Calzones
Makes 8 small Calzones (serves 4)

Ingredients
1 roll of croissants (garlic butter is best, but use whatever you've got)
Pizza sauce or marinara sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Whatever pizza toppings you like (I went with pepperoni)

Preheat open according to packaging. Unroll and separate croissants. Spread out pizza sauce on an unrolled croissant, then add cheese and your toppings. Roll up your croissant and place on baking sheet- cheese, etc. will be hanging out of the sides of the croissant. Bake as directed on package.

If you want to make smaller/appetizer sized rolls, in the beginning, cut each of the croissants in half.

Imbolc Recipe: Roasted Red Potatoes

I made this recipe for Imbolc, instead of potato soup, as Aislin was making vegan beef stew. They turned out rather well.


Roasted Red Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking sheet with aluminun foil.

9 red potatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons (to taste) minced garlic (mine is in a jar)
2 teaspoons dried rosemary (I used 4 long fresh sprigs, minced)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Wash red potates and cut them into quarters. I ended up cutting the larger quarters in half to make smaller pieces. Place potatoes in bowl and add everything else. Toss in the bowl until everything is coated evenly. Lay out on the baking sheet and put into the oven for 35 minutes. Eat.

Samhain!

Samhain night was wonderful! Here are a few photos of our altar!

And what Sabbat blog post would be complete without a recipe! And as Samhain is the third harvest festival, the meat harvest, a traditional food to eat is pork. Below is my recipe for Pork pastries.

Pork Empanada/Pasty Things
Makes 16-20

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
pork chop seasoning packet
small can of sliced new potatos
dried chopped onions
garlic powder
salt/ pepper to taste
olive oil
Package of 2 refrigerated pie shells

Directions:
1. Take out the pie shells to thaw a bit.

2. Get out a medium sized skillet with raised sides. Drizzle the bottom with olive oil, and turn the burner on medium heat. Put the ground pork in the skillet, and break up with a spoon or spatula. Brown the pork, about halfway through sprinkle half the seasoning packet over the meat, as well as some of the dried chopped onion (to your taste).

3. Open the can of potatoes and dice them. Once the pork is pretty much cooked through, add the potatoes, and shake some garlic powder over the whole pan, stir lightly to get everything seasoned. If it looks a little dry, add more olive oil. Turn off heat.

4. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

5. Roll out a pie crust on parchment paper. Use a wide mouth glass or circle cookie cutter to cut circles (at least 4") out of the pie crust. Repeat with other pie crust. Ball up the rest of it, and roll out to get as many circles as you can.

6. Take each circle and use a rolling pin to flatten into an oval. Spoon a bit of the pork mixture onto the pastry and fold over. Crimp edges with a fork.

7. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

This is good for potlucks, just refridgerate afterwards, and then warm up in an oven before serving.

Recipes for Litha/ Midsummer/ Summer Solstice

These are two recipes for the potluck items I brought to circle this past weekend. Thought I'd share. :)

Ivy’s “Bomb-Ass” Midsummer Salad
One package of romaine salad
One package of spinach salad
One package of blueberries
One package of blackberries
One package of candied pecans
Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing
One package of Feta or Bleu cheese
2 cups of chopped chicken breast

Rinse, drain and then mix all salad and berries together in a large bowl.
Add chicken and pecans. Dress with the raspberry vinaigrette. Sprinkle with cheese to taste.
I like to serve this with pieces of baguette.


Ivy’s Solstice Sangria
One package of raspberries
One package of blackberries
One apple
One package of strawberries
Four bottles of Rose’ wine

Rinse all berries. Take the raspberries, and blackberries, and drop them into a large “sun tea” type jar. Chop up half of the apple, and add to the jar, along with chopped strawberries. Add the Rose wine, seal and refrigerate overnight. The “Sun Tea” type jar is great because it already has a spigot- making it easy for party guests to help themselves!

Imbolc 2 (@ Home)

Tonight is actually Imbolc, Brighid's feast day. So after a tough and tiring day at work I came home and made one of my favorite Irishy dishes, Potato Soup!



So, it looks kinda gross in the pot, but it looks pretty yummy once you pretty it up with sour cream, bacon and cheese!



Then I put together my altar to Brighid (and Imbolc). I know I might have work people who read this on FB, and hopefully you won't be judgy, but I'm a Wiccan-flavored Pagan. And Brighid is very important to me. So, here are a few photos of my Imbolc Altar. I have a one of a kind hearth goddess statue patterned after Hestia, but tonight I'm using it to represent Brighid, the Irish goddess of the hearth, as well as the fire, forge, inspiration, childbirth, marriage, fertility and more! Two candles represent balance and polarity. The candle on the left represents Her fire, and the small cauldron on the right represents her well at Kildare. The clear sparkly gems represent snow and the concept that although it might feel like spring today, but we still have some winter left. :)





This month's focus of my group is Brighid, and I have a few things I need to do tonight to facilitate that. I'm posting a bunch of activities one might do to get in touch and connect with the goddess Brighid. I'll post them here, as I need to post in our forum anyway. :)

~Fire scrying
~Create a safe childbirth charm for a pregnant friend or family member
~Create something using metal, like jewelry or a decor item
~Write poetry
~Meditate on Brid and how she might influence your life this year
~Make candles
~Create a shrine to Brighid and pray/light candles to Her
~Create a well dressing or other work of art like a mosaic
~Dedicate a candle to Brighid and decorate it with her picture or other Brid-like ephemera

Stay tuned for Imbolc, part 3- our Coven ritual. I'll post a few pictures, while I won't be able to give details. But I love photos, so you'll see a few from me!