food Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

Tarot Recipe: The Sloppy Knight

It may come across as harsh, but I find the Knight of Cups to be a bit sloppy. They are a dreamer who often appears to not really care about what direction they are headed as long as they are following their heart. While I am all for following one’s heart, I can’t help but think “if only they had a destination in mind.”

Have you ever been loved by a Knight of Cups? Been in a Knight of Cups-style relationship? Been the Knight of Cups? They are the original knight-errant ever in search of romance. This is that person who is in love with being in love.

Because of their sloppiness, I am dedicating this recipe to them.

The Knight of Cups Sloppy Joes (low-sodium version)

Ingredients

1.5 lb turkey
4 tbsp low sodium tomato paste
1/2 large onion diced
1/2 large green bell pepper diced
2 C cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Brown Mustard
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp ketchup
1/3 cup water

Instructions

Saute onions BRIEFLY then add turkey and brown it up.
Add cherry tomatoes (we had some that we needed to use up…you can skip if you like.) Smash them up as they cook. Watch for the squirters!
Add onion, green pepper and garlic. Continue to cook 3-5 minutes until vegetables are slightly softened.
Add tomato paste. Mix in well.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes.

If you want to do this in a crockpot:

Cook meat,onions, bell pepper and tomatoes. Drain. Put in crockpot. Add seasonings et al. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Tarot Recipe: ACE OF SWORDS MIND-SHARPENING CRUSTLESS MINI-QUICHE

They tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I have to wonder if they didn’t really mean coffee. Still, I do know that it’s been proven we are mentally sharper with some food in our belly. So we should all be making yummy morning meals before starting our days.

Like we have all the time in the world, oh arbitrators of what we should eat in the morning!! Like we have all the time in the world.

I don’t know about you, but my mornings are more like a battle to get the dogs walked, the cat fed, my husband fed with lunch in hand, my teeth brushed and my keys found with enough time left over to also get dressed and fight traffic so I can be at work thirty seconds before I have to clock in. (Wellll, this was when I was working a corporate job. Now I am working full-time as a psychic medium, but I still have to do all the things!)

You?

Yeah, so about that most important meal of the day? It’s either an expensive drive-through meal or nothing. So how do we solve that conundrum?

Me? I make these tasty mini-quiches (and they are crustless so you can skip the gluten if you like). They freeze very well. I can pop two in the microwave then grab some berries to eat with them on my way to work.

The Tarot card that works with this recipe is the Ace of Swords. Not only is it a card about mental freshness, clean thinking, and an active mind, but it is also a good card for a recipe that does require quite a bit of chopping. We all know you must stay alert when using sharp objects.

ACE OF SWORDS MIND-SHARPENING CRUSTLESS MINI-QUICHE

14 eggs
1 lb of spinach
4 slices of turkey (large slices from deli) probably around 1/2 a cup or so
8oz of sliced swiss cheese
pint of milk
salt/pepper to taste
green onions
2 Serrano peppers
12 grape tomatoes

This is all by taste and guesstimation. I didn’t measure anything.

Preheat oven to 375.

I used this brownie pan because I like the square shape. Easier to stack in the freezer. Everything I’ve ever cooked in this pan has come out so easy. I love it! This mix makes enough for about 18 quiches.

Break all the eggs into a large mixing bowl. I used this one because I love the ability to see the measurements so easily. TIP! If you get shells in the mix, wet your finger before going fishing. 😀

Add a cup of milk. Add salt/pepper. I probably used a tablespoon of pepper and salt (Himalayan to be specific). Whisk and set aside.

I used my manual food processor to dice the onions, peppers, and tomatoes up. This way I didn’t have to worry about getting pepper juice in my eyes. And it’s super fast. I must admit to using it more than the big, bulky processor that I have to plug in after I’ve dug it out. And track down the blades. This little one is perfect for me because it doesn’t take all the effort. The chopping does count as swords since there are blades!

I rinsed the spinach and chopped off the stem. Then I rough-cut the spinach with a Santoku blade. I sauteed it in olive oil (about 2 TBS and I used garlic-jalapeno olive oil). I cut it more in the pan after it cooked down. P.S. I use a local brand garlic-jalapeno oil…you can search locally too.

Add the veggies (including the spinach) to the eggs mix and whisk some more.

Chop the cheese and meat into small pieces (I was going for very small because I like it better when it’s mixed all through the quiche.) Add to egg mixture.

Spoon egg mixture into pan. If you don’t mind a bit of mess, fill them all the way. If you prefer them to cook without overflow, fill them to about 1/8 of an inch from the lip.

Now this is the tricky part. I would cook them for about 13 minutes then check them. You want them a bit brown on the top and just about set. There can be a bit of shake but not a lot.

Let them cool for five minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Then remove from pan. Let them cool completely on the wire rack if you are planning on freezing them.

Or serve them with fresh fruit. You can put some salsa out if you like but these are quite spicy with the two Serrano peppers. If you aren’t a spicy fan, substitute a bell pepper for these. Make sure you core that bell pepper before you chop it.

Let the magic of the Ace of Swords get you started in the morning. See how much better you do at your day.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Check out my Tarot&Food Index to see other recipes. I’ve been at this for a few years. I love to cook. I love Tarot. It seemed like a natural combination.

Ace of Swords, Faerie Tarot,(aff link) U.S. Games Systems Inc. Used with permission. No further rights given.

Chickens, Mama + Joy

When I came in, I’d decided that I wanted eggs but I wanted them a specific way. I wanted them the way Mama made them.

Today’s card is because of my breakfast. Strange, I know, but oh so true. I have today off due to swapping shifts with someone at work. Instead of my mad dash out the door, I made myself breakfast after walking the dogs and after a soak in the hot tub.

I know, right? Decadent.

When I came in, I’d decided that I wanted eggs but I wanted them a specific way. I wanted them the way Mama made them.

Now, I have to confess that my mother was no amazing cook when I was growing up. She was a single mother who worked her ass off so breakfast was haphazard some days. I tended to want rice and soy sauce for breakfast.

I’ll pause while you mull that one over.

Done?

But on those rare days when the three of us didn’t have to dashing off hither and yon, she might ask if we wanted hens in a basket. That was pretty much always a yes from me.

I’ve found myself missing my mama lately. Strange since she’s been gone 11.5 years. I’ll always know how long she’s been gone since my niece was nine months old when she passed. I’m happy she got to have those precious few months with AM.

So I decided to indulge my nostalgia and my belly by making hens in a basket. This is such an easy dish and has many different names. But because it is tied so tightly to a memory of my mama, I’m assigning it to the nostalgic Six of Cups.

I should also point out that this was my first working deck. The first one that I truly studied. Did my first paid for reading with this deck. So yeah, nostalgia all around.

Six of Cups Hens In A Basket

1 Sandwich Round
2 Eggs
2 TBS butter
salt
pepper

Take a wine glass and cut out the center of each side of the sandwich round. If you like more bread, use regular slices.

Melt the butter in a skillet. I prefer cast iron. Just make sure you don’t burn the butter.

Put the bread in the skillet. Don’t forget the centers you cut out. What do you mean you already ate one? LOL

Let that cook just a minute or so–not too long. Then crack an egg into the center of each piece of bread.

Salt/pepper to taste.

When the edges of the eggs start curling up a bit, carefully turn the egg and bread over. Let it cook to your preference. I’m an over-easy gal (HEY! I heard that snicker. RUDE!) so I don’t let it sit for very long.

Serve it up and dig in!

I told you it was super easy. And there are dozens if not hundreds of variations on this one.

Six of Cups, Herbal Tarot, U.S. Games

Your journal prompt today is, “What food makes me nostalgic? Who does it make me nostalgic for? How can I best remember them today?”

See the index for this ongoing Tarot&Food project here.

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Tarot+Food: King of Wands Spicy Jumbled Unstuffed Cabbage Stuff

So today’s card is a discussion on why I think the King of Wands likes spicy food. He’s the king of the fire suit for one but he’s also the passionate man who would be willing to wing it when he had to. Not the steady King of Pentacles or the dreamy King of Cups or even the logical King of Swords.

No, this is our guy who is into innovation and isn’t upset when things don’t go as planned. And that’s pretty much what happened with my dinner the other night.

Let me set the stage. I saw this recipe on Facebook that sounded divine. It had everything I liked in it–meat, tomatoes and cabbage. As I’ve pointed out before, I’ve got enough German in me to consider cabbage one of the four food groups. In fact, my Queen of Swords recipe is my mother’s cabbage Au Gratin.

So I read the recipe, write down what I need. I go to the grocery store. The HEB I go to is GINORMOUS, y’all. As in freaking huge. And my back was already hurting when I go there.

So now you have some clues as to what happens next. I get everything I need then realize I didn’t get the tomato sauce that was in the orginal recipe. I decide that I probably had tomato sauce. Yes, I firmly nodded in the aisle. I was certain to have sauce.

Cut to my kitchen where I basically UNLOAD an entire cabinet to discover I have tomato paste but no sauce. My stepson valiantly restocked and looked again. No sauce. SAD FACE?

NO! Not for the intrepid cook that I am. Most recipes end up being bones that I build on anyway. So I winged it. Along the way I also added some Siracha, more garlic, a completely different kind of tomato and extra water.

Oh, I also switched up the meat to a slightly healthier version that used half beef and half turkey. It turned out delicious! I had plenty to put away for leftovers too.

So here is my version of this Facebook recipe. I’ve renamed it in honor of the King of Wands who would have been right there beside me–improvising.

The King of Swords Spicy Jumbled Unstuffed Cabbage Stuff

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 T oil (I used a pepper flavored olive oil)
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T siracha sauce
1 small cabbage, chopped
3 cans (10.5 oz) tomatoes with green chiles
1 can (8 ounces) tomato paste
2.5 cans water (tomato cans)
1 T ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and turkey and onion and cook, stirring, until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in the siracha and cook one more minute

Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

I hope you try this out. If you aren’t a spicy fan, you can leave out the siracha, cut back on the garlic and use 2 14.5 cans of tomatoes. 😀

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

King of Swords, Mary El Tarot, Schiffer Books

Food pic by Arwen. 😀

Weary, Wands + Enchiladas

Since it went together in a hurry and was ready in a hurry, it made me think of the Knights of the Tarot. Always on the move, that suit is generally the age of the single man or woman in my eyes. So this could be a late night meal–what I used to call bar’thirty.

Today’s card is just so I can share a recipe I shared on my blog in 2010. That’s all…just a yummy, recipe. Well, and a gorgeous card from the Efflorescent Tarot by Katie Rose Pipkin. He looks so focused and a bit weary to me. Maybe he needs a brain break. How about you? Let’s talk about food!

Food. I love food. I like food I cook. I like food other people cook. I like uncooked food. I just love food. I have an ongoing series of matching recipes to Tarot cards. I wanted this recipe to go in the Air/Swords category because it was a quick no-brainer kind of meal. The kind you throw together with whatever you have on hand. Since it went together in a hurry and was ready in a hurry, it made me think of the Knights of the Tarot. Always on the move, that suit is generally the age of the single man or woman in my eyes. So this could be a late night meal–what I used to call bar’thirty.

I thought about making it a Wands recipe since it is definitely spicy, but kept coming back to just how easily it went together. Here’s the story of how this casserole came to be. You see, I was hungry. I did not have money to indulge in a dinner out. Then I remembered. I had a can of enchilada sauce and some tortillas. HEY! I could have enchiladas.

I don’t know about you, but once I set my heart on a specific food, that’s what I want. I wanted enchiladas. Turns out, I only had three tortillas. So I improvised. I decided to layer those tortillas with all the yummy goodness of enchilada stuff. If it didn’t work, the only thing I would be was still hungry, right?

Without further ado, here’s my recipe.

Arwen’s Knight of Wands Enchilada Improvisational Casserole (I like to call it YUM for short)

You can improvise on the ingredients. I know I did!

3 flour tortillas
1 Cn green enchilada sauce
1/2 a big bag of Mexican Mix cheese
1/2 an onion, diced and fried in olive oil
10-15 jalapeno slices
2 tsp jalapeno juice
1 md chicken breast, cooked, slided or shredded
2 TBS cream cheese

I layered the following ingredients into an 8×8 square glass pan.

First layer:

Tortilla
Green Enchilada Sauce
Mexican Mix Cheese
Fried onions
Jalapenos
1 tsp Jalapeno juice
Half a cooked chicken breast
More cheese
More sauceSecond Layer
Tortilla
Green Enchilada Sauce
Mexican Mix Cheese
Fried onions
Jalapenos
1 tsp Jalapeno juice
Half a cooked chicken breast
More cheese
Cream Cheese on this layer
More sauceThird Layer
Tortilla
Cheese
Last of the sauceBake for 35 at 350 or until bubbling.This casserole turned out lovely. I did not need to add sour cream or salsa as I thought I might. It was flavorful and super simple to make. The leftovers had a better flavor but then that’s pretty par for the course. You want to let things sit a bit to really get that blended effect.So there you are. If you try this, do let me know what you think!

So I hope you enjoyed this. What’s a favorite food of yours? Wanna swap recipes? Feel free to pin this or share it on your Facebook or Twitter feed if you like

Knight of Wands, Efflorescent Tarot, Katie Rose Pipkin, self-published (There were 6 left but now there’s only 5. I’m grabbing a second copy so that makes 4. 😀 There’s a color version too.)

Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on!

Pssst! Only 23 days left to while I’m still giving away my Fairy Tales Tarot Spreads eBook.

Sticky, Icky & Gooey

Today’s card reminds me not to chase my tail so much. It also demonstrates how to make good where you expect bad.

One thing I’ve been doing over the years is assigning recipes to Tarot cards. Now this isn’t new. The Epicurean Tarot did this. Others have done or are doing this. This is simply my attempt to connect two of my loves. but I have to confess something here. I have an addiction.

It’s true. I collect recipes almost obsessively. I rarely actually cook them. More often I eat them in my head. 😀 But this one looked really fabulous and I wanted to make something for my co-workers. So I made this. Wrong. I made it all wrong. This had another name but it ended up the Sticky Gooey Sweet Treat. Part of that is because, did I mention, I made it WRONG.

Because I made it wrong and it still turned out okay despite my anxiety about it, I’ve assigned it to the card of nightmares and tail-chasing. This is the card that reminds me when I’m over-analyzing things and causing my brain to go into “oh shit oh shit oh shit” mode. And usually, “oh shit oh shit oh shit” mode only needs to be “oops, that’s going to be different” mode. My clients will hear me ask them what molehill they are making a mountain out of when the 9 of Swords surfaces.

Swords are the mental suit. The 9 is what happens when you lose your focus. There are always things to be genuinely concerned about, but too often we find ourselves doing what my Grannilu called “borrowing trouble.” That’s where you worry about things you can’t control or things that haven’t even happened yet. We build up something in our minds until we are so afraid by what might happen that we don’t even initiate the beginning.

“If I tell Boy X that I like him, he will laugh.”
“All of my friends will hear him laugh and know.”
“I won’t have any friends because they will all be laughing at me.”
etc.

We imagine the worse scenario possible. Every time. 😐 So that’s what happened to me with this dessert. I screwed it up so badly and it turned out okay. Nothing like the original recipe, mind you, but still it was all gone by the time I left work. So my imagined scenario of co-workers throwing up as they ran to the bathroom never panned out. (Still trying to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…hee).

Nine of Swords Sticky Gooey Sweet Treat

1 box (16.5 oz. size) Yellow Cake Mix, Divided
1 whole Egg, Lightly Beaten
1/2 cups Butter, Melted
1 cup Sugar, Divided
3 teaspoons Cinnamon, Divided
1/2 teaspoons Ginger
1/4 teaspoons Ground Cloves
1/4 teaspoons Salt
1 cup Canned Sweet Potatoes (not drained)
3/4 cups Evaporated Milk
2 whole Eggs
1/4 cups Cold Butter, Diced

Cook Time 60-80 Minutes (yes, I mean that)

Preheat oven to 350. Get out an 8×8 pan. Expect the pan to get sticky and gooey. This is where I first went wrong. It called for a 13×9 but I thought, oh no! I can do it in an 8×8. I was right but it wasn’t what I expected.

Crust Step:

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix for the topping. Pour remaining cake mix into a bowl, then stir in the one beaten egg and the 1/2 cup of melted butter until the mixture is combined. Smoosh it down on the bottom of the pan.

Filling Step:

Combine 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, the ginger, cloves, salt, sweet potato, evaporated milk and 2 eggs together. Using a whisk, stir until smooth. Pause to place 8×8 pan with smooshed crust on cookie sheet. Pour over the crust. Watch in horror as it climbs up, up, up the sides of the pan. Grin because you have learned from my mistakes and put the pan on the cookie sheet already. You did put the pan on the cookie sheet, right?

Topping Step:

Stir together the 1 cup of reserved cake mix, and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut in the 1/4 cup of butter dice using a pastry blender or a fork. Sprinkle evenly over the filling.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Try to remove. Realize filling is not set. Bake for another 20-30 checking periodically. If the top jiggles only a little, call it good.

This received rave reviews from my co-workers.

Original recipe can be found (and made properly) here.

Nine of Swords, Rainbow Travellers, Carmen Waterhouse 2012

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

See the whole recipe index here.

Potatoes, Hops & Lammas

<– previous Hop post –>Master List<– –>next Hop post

Welcome to the Lammas Tarot Blog Hop. This is the fifth one so far. I’m excited to be sharing space with thirty six other bloggers all sharing thoughts on this subject –‘’Pentacles : The Fruits of Harvest’’. If you are hopping from Sandie Worthy’s page, welcome! You can find your next hop at the end of my blog. You can also find my monthly Tarotscopes podcast here if that’s what you’re looking for. I know! 2 things at once. 😀 How bountiful.

This one was easy for me because I’m a mad fan of Pentacles. I adore the community aspect of them. My clients learn that I see the Earth suit (aka Coins, Stones, Plates, Discs, etc) as wealth in terms of what we have rather than money in the bank. It’s not about cold, hard cash to me. Pentacles are earth so they are about the steadfast, nurturing aspect of community. Wealth, in my worldview, is your family, your pets, your friends, your possessions, your health. It’s so much more than green folding stuff.

But Kareena, this hop’s wrangler, asked us to write a blog post on a specific card in this suit. That was a bit more difficult since there are so many cards that I love. I narrowed it down to my top six from my favorite reading deck (Elder of Earth, Guardian of Earth, Nine of Earth, Six of Earth, Three of Earth, Ace of Earth), then my top three (Elder of Earth, Six of Earth, Three of Earth). I did this by flipping through them super fast. My decision was based on nothing more than “yes” or “no”. I didn’t have any set thought in my head. Just let Spirit guide me. Then I used that same gut instinct to choose the Six of Earth from those last three. Interestingly enough, I thought I would end up with the Guardian or Queen of Earth.

This Six of Earth makes me happy. Two women exchange goods. One receives the beautiful sunflowers she wants while the other gets the cash she deserves. I’m very fond of farmer’s markets even though I haven’t been to one in Texas in nearly three years. I KNOW!

But today marks Lammas for me which is the first of the three harvest festivals. I am Wiccan and do celebrate the Wheel of the Year, but this blog hop is not pagan-based. Today is also the gateway between summer and fall. There is an emphasis on starting to put things up, put things back, store up the good. I have a friend who refers to her canned tomatoes as “saving summer.” I always liked that phrase even if I am more of a fall kind of girl.

I love to cook and have the body to prove it. One feature on this blog is my Tarot&Food series. One of my earliest offerings in this series was a How To Make Bread recipe.

But I wanted to share a new recipe here (I know…not totally Tarot, but you’ll have to forgive me). Not so strangely, the Pentacles is the suit with the most recipes so far. A perennial favorite has been my recipe titled The King of Swords’ Balls. I can’t imagine why so many search engine results keep hitting that page. But I digress.

The Six of Coins, for me is about generosity. One way I spread the wealth of Tarot is by giving away a free book on how to read Tarot intuitively. It’s on this page. Hint! Over to the right ( –>) towards the top.

Now about this recipe I wanted to share. This makes a generous amount of food and my sister is the one who generously shared her secret with me. I always loved her mashed potatoes. I had to ask her what she did that I wasn’t doing. And she taught me a trick for making mashed potatoes. I added her trick to my own secret ingredient and came up with a dish that people always ask for seconds on! If you combine this with a good milk gravy, you are set!

Six of Coins: Arwen’s AskForMore Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
Water
1 sm onion, thinly sliced
2 sticks butter
1 C heavy whipping cream
1/2 C sour cream
Salt
Pepper

Boil potatoes and onion slices until potatoes are soft. TIP: The thinner you slice them, the faster they cook.

Remove onions and pour off water leaving only potatoes behind. You can mince the onions and throw them in the gravy or just throw them away.

Add one stick of butter and begin mashing the potatoes. Start with a hand masher! As the potatoes work down, add half the cream. Keep mashing! Add the other stick of butter and the rest of the cream. Now add the sour cream. You may need to move to an electric mixer at this point, but keep mashing. Add salt and pepper to taste!

I advocate for tasting while you mash. You may need to add more seasoning or more milk (sour cream if you love rich, creamy potatoes). From the professional chefs among us, please use a clean spoon every time you taste. Thanks!

When the potatoes are whipped up creamy and smooth, slide the bowl into the oven on warm until ready to eat. Sometimes, I’ll put a bit of shredded cheddar (New York Sharp is my preference) on the top and let that melt all over the top. Oh yeah, I just made myself hungry. How about you?

Thanks for stopping by so I could chat with you a bit about Pentacles as well as share a recipe with you. I’m so delighted to send you on your way to J Jordan Hoggard’s place. Don’t forget to please, please, please take a moment to leave a comment for all the bloggers. It’s the only way we know you were here. And, grin, who doesn’t like a little acknowledgement. Want to see the Master List? It’s useful in case you stumble across a page that’s not up just yet.

Interested in the history of the Tarot Blog Hop? Read this write-up.

6 of Earth, Gaian Tarot, Llewellyn

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Tarot&Food: Taco Rice for the 2 of Coins

When you are in that mode, cooking can, by necessity, be a last minute, throw it together affair. So you need fast and easy meals that don’t make your budget scream bloody murder.

Yes, yes, I’m on a recipe kick these days. My recipe list, the Pagan Table, has risen from the ashes so cooking is on my mind again. 😀 Today’s recipe is a super-easy, very budget-friendly recipe. Because of that budget-friendly piece, I’m pairing it with the Two of Pentacles.

Why? Well I’m glad you asked! I’ll tell you why now. The Two of Pentacles can be a card that indicates having to juggle personal and professional as well. When you are in that mode, cooking can, Continue reading “Tarot&Food: Taco Rice for the 2 of Coins”

Tarot&Food: Arwen’s Oeufs à la Diable

“It’s that ole devil called love again
Gets behind me and keeps giving me that shove again
Putting rain in my eyes
tears in my dreams
and rocks in my heart.”

Now that song’s been sung by some of the greatest singers ever to grace our world — Ella Fitzgerald and Miss Billie Holliday just to name two.

Then we have the Rolling Stones and Guns-n-Roses chiming in with

“Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith

Yeah, the Devil even went down to Georgia according to Charlie Daniels. So what recipe could this Tarot card be paired with? Let’s explore the Devil card a bit first, shall we? Continue reading “Tarot&Food: Arwen’s Oeufs à la Diable”

Tarot&Food: King of Swords’ Balls

I’m green. No, really. Cut me and I bleed green just like a Vulcan. Or more correctly, just like a Girl Scout. We turned 100 this year. Happy birthday, us! The Girl Scouts have been fundamental in my life. They gave me extra time with my mama (she was my leader for years). They gave me my best friend forever AND ever (we met at a Girl Scout canoe clinic in 1977). They gave me two unbeatable life experiences (riding in a wagon train across North Dakota was one of those. Move Em’ Out 76). They gave me confidence and helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin.

In a word, they gave me balls.

Well, sort of.

They gave me porcupine balls to be exact. When we would go camping, we always looked for yummy things we could cook over the fire. Did you know I am an excellent cook even over a stone pit and an open flame? The things I can do! I can even bury a dutch oven and serve you apple pie later. Oh yes I can. But we aren’t at dessert yet. First we need to discuss the King of Swords’ balls.

I paired this with the King of Swords because he is a man of many swords. Like this recipe, he can be a bit prickly at times. This is a yummy (and super easy) entree. You can have your kids help you. They will enjoy the results.

VictorianRomantic_14Swords — King of Swords, Victorian Romantic Tarot

King of Swords’ Balls

1 Lb ground beef, lean (you can also use ground turkey)
1/3 C uncooked long-grain rice
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 C water
1 tsp Tabasco, optional

Combine the ground beef, rice, onion, 1/4 cup of the water, salt, and pepper. Now for the fun part. Roll this up into walnut-sized balls. You can get 12-15 for a lb of meat. Set them aside for a bit.

Combine the soup, chili powder, and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add meatballs; reduce heat, cover, and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour. Stir occasionally and be careful. You don’t want to beat the poor King’s balls to hard.

Serves 4 and just has to have some good bread and a salad to balance it all out.

Let me know if you try the King’s balls. I’d love to know what you think.

For the record? I really wanted to name this “Vulcans, Balls & Girl Scouts.”