Self-Encouragement Spell

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! It’s been a while since I last posted something, but something interesting happened to me for the last few days and I want some input about it. As you may know, I live on a large plot of land in my neighborhood and we tend to get a lot of animals crossing(heh) into my yard. A few days ago, we have been getting a lot of hawks, circling around in the back. I thought nothing of it at first, but the next day, there was a hawk on my bench. I didn’t notice it at first because I was getting a package until I looked over. It didn’t seem to be threatening or defensive, just curious and stared at me, even after I went back inside.

I’m hoping to get an answer to what this means

Made some cheesy egg toast for brunch... sooo...good

How I Dry Herbs and Flowers

I was asked recently how to I like to dry my flowers, and my explanation just got longer and longer, so I decided to make it a post. These are my personal methods, but they’re certainly not unique to me!

Hanging

Hanging is one of my favorite methods, especially for full-bodied flowers that won’t press well, like roses or baby’s breath. Hanging works with nearly everything I’ve done it with! Example: roses, lavender, basil.

It’s super easy! Take your flowers or stems of leafy herbs and cut them so they’re about the same length. I usually do about a foot, but if you have at least 8-ish inches, it should be good! When cutting from a larger plant, cut diagonally to protect the original plant. If drying flowers, strip off any excess leaves. 

Then get some twine or rubber bands and bundle them together, like max 7 per bundle, less if you want to play it safe, but it really depends on what you’re drying. Wrap the twine / rubber band once or twice around the end of the bundle that doesn’t have the flowers on it, then once or twice around each individual stem. 

Hang upside-down in a cool, dry place with decent air circulation. If you care about keeping the colors, hang them in a place away from sunlight, which will bleach out the colors. Check back once every week or so until dry, usually 2-3 weeks.

Pressing

Pressing is better for flat flowers or individual petals. This is a little too tedious for herbs. If using full flowers, cut as much of the stem off as possible unless it’s really thin. If drying individual petals, just pluck them off the flower. 

You’ll need a large book or two flat surfaces and something very heavy. Place a few layers of paper towel (preferably without pattern) on one flat surface (or one side of an open book), lay out your flowers / petals in a single later on the paper towel, making sure they don’t overlap, and cover with more paper towel. Then place the other flat surface on top (or close the book). Put some heavy stuff on top. This takes about 2-3 weeks as well. Be careful when opening to check on them as the petals might move around. 

Oven

This is best for herbs that you need soon. You can also do with flower petals, though I don’t like doing it with full-body flowers because they can become flat on whatever side is pressed against the oven tray. 

Preheat your oven to it’s lowest temperature, usually 250 degrees F. Get an oven tray and cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Strip your herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, basil) from the stems and lay them out in one layer. Place in the oven for about 30-40 minutes then take them out and give them a stir / flip. Bake for another 30 minutes, or until dry. Leave the oven door cracked open while drying to release moisture. 

What to do with your new dry stuff?

I like to use hung flowers for decorations… like wall hangings. You can also make potpourri, or burn them as an offering. There’s tons of other decorative uses! With flattened ones, I love gluing them into my notebook with a very, very thin layer of Mod Podge applied on the paper and on top of the petals / flowers. I’ve always wanted to put some in snail mail, but I never send mail. You could also frame them! Oven dried herbs are great for spells, cooking, etc. 

Make sure to store your dry herbs in an airtight container. 

🍯 Honey Varieties 🍯

A short list of honey varieties in case you want to experiment with your recipes. Some have herbal remedy hints, and pairing ideas.

Acacia :Very popular with a mild flavor. The color is usually light yellow, but can range to brown or purple. Goes well with toast or tea. Medicinally, it is used to calm anxiety or help sleep.

Avacado :A warm, dark brown honey that is excellent for recipes that call for brown sugar. It doesnt actually taste like avocados, but mollasses or burned sugar.

Blueberry :Medium amber color with a medium aroma, blueberry honey tastes slightly buttery, with toasted almonds. Great for fruit pastries, it’s usually not difficult to find this variety.

Buckwheat :Dark brown, with a strong, distinct flavor of mollasses. A staple in southern BBQ recipes or other meats. Also used for coughs and sore throats.

Chesnut :This honey is usually too strong for recipes. It is very dark, with a slightly pungent smell and sweet, almost musty taste. It’s quite unpopular, so it isn’t easy to find.

Clover :Very common, known as “table honey”, clover honey is a light, sweet honey that can be used universally.

Cranberry :Medium-red colored and fruity, it tastes like figs or dates. Use cranberry honey for fall fruit dishes.

Eucalptus :Suprisingly, eucalptus honey tastes sweet, with notes of rose petals. It smells strong, almost smokey, and is very dark in color. Goes well with meats or potatoes.

Forest :Also known as Honeydew honey, it is produced by aphid excretion from trees in the area, such as pine. It tastes woody and sweet, and pairs with just about anything.

Hawthorn :Hawthorn honey has a natural calming effect, so it’s usually stirred into chamomile tea. The flavor is strong so it doesnt take too much to sweeten.

Lavender :Ranging from bright to dark colors, the smell is intense just like the flowers. However one spoonful can help with seasonal allergies, and it’s a good source of calcium.

Mountain :Bees collect pollen from wild herbs and flowers in non-polluted mountain areas so the flavor and color can vary. Excellent for coughs and flu.

Orange Blossom :Light yellow with a mild floral smell, it is readily avalable in early spring when orange trees bloom. It has a sour citrus flavor, so it is best used in citrus recipes.

Rasberry :Rasberry honey is slightly bitter, but still tastes like brown sugar or toffee. It smells almost woodsy, and pairs well with fruits or especially coffee.

Sage :Sage honey tastes sweet with hints of rose petals. The color can be light yellow to purple, and it smells mildly floral. It also has a light violet aftertaste. It has so much body it is one of my favorites!

Sourwood :Slightly rare, it’s only available in June or July before its all bought up. It tastes a bit like cloves or nutmeg and smells like cinnamon.

Sunflower :As yellow as it’s petals and smells just as exceptional. It can crystallize easily, if that happens just heat up the jar in some hot water. It can help with sinus problems and allergies.

Tulip Poplar :Tulip Polar honey can be used for almost any dish. It is dark orange, and smells like cooked fruits. It tastes buttery like toffee and a bit like caramel.

Tupelo :Comes from the ogeechee tree in Florida and Georgia. It is slightly rare, and doesn’t crystalize easily. Tastes light buttery and sweet, use with vegetable or chicken recipes.

Since the weather is getting frightful, I thought making some soup would be delightful. I’ll let you know how it comes out

Edit: the soup turned out great and tasted great too

Scones

this is the recipe that I make most often! it’s from martha stewart’s cookbook because she is a freaking cooking genius and I aspire to be like her one day

ingredients:

- four cups (480 grams) flour

- one cup (225 grams) cold butter

- one and a fourth cup (250 ml) milk

- two tablespoons sugar + (optionally) extra for sprinkling

- packet of backing powder (or one-two tablespoons)

- one teaspoon salt

- egg (optional)

steps:

1) preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and assemble your ingredients

2) in a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar (you can sift the ingredients if you like but it’s optional!) and mix

3) add cubes of cold butter into the flour mixture—cold butter, not melted or it won’t work—and break up the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal (it should look a bit like sand)

4) add in the milk—this is quite a dry dough, so don’t add too much!

5) this step is optional, but you can add in dried cranberries, apricots, blueberries—or go down the sweet road and pour in chocolate chips. or just keep the scones plain, this part really depends on your taste palate

6) use some kind of circular thing to cut out the scones—I use a small drinking glass

7) brush the tops of the scones with egg wash (I consider this step optional but it does elevate the taste) and sprinkle on sugar

8) bake in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes or until they’re golden brown on the top and enjoy!

Notes:

- I put the egg as optional because while it does elevate the taste, it feels kind of useless since you can only use so much egg wash :( however you could put in some of the egg mixture (like, three-ish tablespoons??) into the dough since you can’t really taste is anyway

- continuing on the first note, it’s fine to just leave it out. I’ve replaced the egg wash with milk before and it turned out just fine :)

- for vegans: using vegan butter and plant milk should work (milks that don’t have a predominant taste work best here) I’ve never veganized the recipe though so please tell me how it goes if you do!!

- try not to overwork your dough since this causes the dough to become dense and chewy

An Emoji Spell For All of Us

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I pray and wish deeply upon the brightest and furthest stars, that this January, 2021, will be the start of an amazing and prosperous year for us all. A year of abundance! An emoji spell to attract not only prosperity, monetary comfort, love you most definitely deserve, but also, many more bountiful opportunities!

You ARE luck. You ARE opulent. You ARE where you need to be on this journey. You ARE loved. You ARE the universe. All that you ask for, when sincere, when effort is placed alongside it, may all those things that you speak and desire, come into the world, come to you, just as you have manifested!

🕯️✨🌱💖🌟🔮 💍💐 🍯🍂🦋 🍀 💰💵 🕯️✨

Open up your mind to the possibilities. Magic needs a little push to work.  

Will you help?

Likes•Charge |Reblogs•Cast

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CALL TO ACTION: Black urban farmer Jeffery Webb has been repeatedly harassed in his town, and as a result both his livelihood and life are at risk. We need to be supporting black farmers now more than ever, as key members of the community providing an essential service to it!

Since Tumblr hates links, I’ll reblog this post with the gofundme link. I’ve also attached an image of his farms Facebook page - even if you can’t donate, give them support. Let the town know there’s eyes on them, and let the Webb’s know that they are seen and supported.

Little blessings

May you find exactly what you’re looking for. May you find $20 of the ground today. May you have enough money to treat yourself. May you be in good health. May whatever aliment that is afflicting you clear up. May your day go easy. May your day go without stress. May your pets be extra cuddly. May you find $10 where you least expect it. May your customers be kind. May you deal with only nice customers today. May your pets be in good health. May your bills be paid on time. May you have enough money to pay your bills. May you find companionship soon. May your partner kiss/hug you today. May your partner compliment you today.