Tag: Salt

Heirloom Tomato Toss

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Tomatoes are the epitome of summer. They reach their peak in the long hours of the sun. Thse sweet, juicy vegetables are best enjoyed fresh right now. Unlike modern hybrids, “heirloom” or “antique” cultivars are open-pollinated and selected for intense flavor rather than shipping convenience. They come in many fascinating sizes, shapes, and colors. Red, orange, yellow, and pink symbolize the sun but there are also green, purple, brown, white, and almost black ones! 

Prep time:  15-20 minutes
Servings:  6 (1 cup) or 12 (1/2 cup)
  • 4 lbs of heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 bunch of Italian sweet basil
  • 6 Tbsp full-flavor evoo
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 Tbsp sweet marjoram
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp sage
  • 1/2 tsp cracked green pepper
  • 1/2 tsp fleur de sel or sea salt

Rinse and pat dry 4 lbs of heirloom tomatoes. Remove the stems and cores. Grape tomatoes and small cherry tomatoes shoul dbe cut in half. Larger cherry tomatoes may need to be cut in quarters. Beefsteaks and other full-size tomatoes should be diced. First slice them, then cut the slices into strips, then cut the strips into cubes. Just roughly chopping them won’t make a tidy salad. If some of the tomatoes have large amounts of slime inside, remove it and use the firm parts. Put the tomato bits into a big salad bowl.

Rinse and pat dry 1 bunch of Italian sweet basil. Remove the stems and large veins by tearing the leaf sides away from the middle. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces; you should have about a cup. Put the torn basil in a bowl.

Make the dressing in a clean jar with a lid. First, pour in 6 Tbsp full-flavor evoo. (If you have olive oil infused with any of the herbs in this recipe, you can use that.) Add 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

Peel and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Add them to the jar of dressing. Add 1 Tbsp sweet marjoram, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp sage, adn 1/2 tsp cracked green pepper.

Put the lid on the jar snugly. Shake briefly to cobine all the ingredients. This is not an emulsified vinaigrette, so you’re not trying to make a smooth blend, just distribute the ingredients equally.

Add the basil leaves to the tomato bits in the salad bowl and toss to combine. Shake hte dressing one last time and pour it slowly over the salad, tossing as you go. Finally, sprinkle 1/2 tsp fleur de sel over the salad.

Serve immediately. This recipe makes about 6 (1-cup) servings as a bowl or salad or (12 1/2-cup) servings as a side dish.

Note: In addition to standing on its own as a sald, the Heirloom Tomato Toss also makes an excellent topping for sandwiches, baked potatoes, tacos, chili, and so on. Use it for extra flavor anywhere that you would use diced tomatoes. If you like a leafier salad, put a scoop of this on top of Romaine lettuce of baby spinach.

A Threshold Spell

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For this spell you’ll need:

  • some salt
  • a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar
  • one clove of crushed garlic

Begin by sprinkling some salt along your threshold. In a small dish, mix together a few grains of salt, the lemon juice or vinegar, and the crushed garlic. Now, bury the garlic near your front door. Next, with a broom, sweep the salt you’ve sprinkled along your threshold away from your door. Continue sweeping the salt away from your home and off your porch or steps if you have them. As you sweep, say this charm: 

Spirits dark and spirits that I dread,  
Leave this threshold where I tread.

Repeat this spell once a year, or more if you feel it’s necessary.

A Self-Dedication Rite

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Prepare yourself by drawing a bath of warm water. Add a tablespoon or so of salt and a few drops of a scented oil such as sandalwood.

If you have no bath, use a shower. Fill a washcloth with salt, add a few drops of essential oil, and rub your body. If you’re performing the ritual at the sea or a river, bathe there if you so desire.

As you bathe, prepare for the coming rite. Open your consciousness to higher levels of awareness. Deep breathe. Cleanse your mind as well as your body.

After bathing, dry and dress for the journey. Go to a place in the wild where you feel safe. It should be a comfortable spot where you won’t be disturbed by others, an area where the powers of the Earth and the elements are evident. It may be a mountain top, a desert canyon or cave, perhaps a dense forest, a rocky outcropping over the sea, a quiet island in the center of a lake. Even a lonely part of a park or a garden can be used. draw on your imagination to find the place.

You need take nothing with you but a vial of richly scented oil. Sandalwood, frankincense, cinnamon or any other scent is fine. When you arrive at the place of dedication, remove your shoes and sit quietly for a few moments. Calm your heart if you’ve exerted yourself during your travel. Breathe deeply to return to normal, and keep your mind free of cluttered thoughts. Open yourself to the natural energies around you.

When you’re calm, rise and pivot slowly on one foot, surveying the land around you. You’re seeking the ideal spot. Don’t try to find it; open your awareness to the place. When you’ve discovered it (and you’ll know when), sit, kneel or lie flat on your back. Place the oil on the Earth beside you. Don’t stand – contact the Earth.

Continue deep breathing. Feel the energies around you. Call the Goddess and God in any words you like, or use the following invocation. Memorize these words before the rite so that they’ll spill effortlessly from you, or improvise: 

O Mother Goddess, 
O Father God, 
Answers to all mysteries and yet mysteries unanswered; 
In this place of power I open myself
to Your Essence.  
In this place and in this time I am changed; 
From henceforth I walk the Wiccan path.  
I dedicate myself to you, Mother Goddess and Father God.

(rest for a moment, silent, still. Then continue:)

I breathe your energies into my body, commingling, blending, 
mixing them with mine, 
that I may see the divine in nature, 
nature in the divine, 
and divinity within myself and all else.  
O Great Goddess, 
O Great God, 
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence.

You may feel bursting with power and energy, or calm and at peace. Your mind might be in a whirl. The Earth beneath you may throb and undulate with energy. Wild animals, attracted by the psychic occurrence, might grace you with their presence.

Whatever occurs, know that you have opened yourself and that the Goddess and God have heard you. You should feel different inside, at peace or simply powerful.

After the invocation, wet a finger with the oil and mark these two symbols somewhere on your body. It doesn’t matter where; you can do this on your chest, forehead, arms, legs, anywhere. As you anoint, visualize these symbols sinking into your flesh, glowing as they enter your body and then dispersing into millions of tiny points of light.

The formal self-dedication is ended. Thank the Goddess and God for their attention. Sit and meditate before leaving the place of dedication.

Once home, celebrate in some special way.