What Should Religion Remind Us Of?

So I decided I would share a recipe post. Luckily I have an index of them. I also have an index for my Tarot poetry project. This recipe has a lot of sentimental energy for me. Enjoy!

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For today’s Magic Up Your Blog challenge, our leader, Amethyst, has asked us to recycle an old blog post. This was harder for me than you might think. I am pretty vain about my writing if the truth be told. Writing as Marilu Mann or writing as Arwen, I put a lot of work into things.

So I decided I would share a recipe post. Luckily I have an index of them. I also have an index for my Tarot poetry project. This recipe has a lot of sentimental energy for me. Enjoy!

“Our religion keeps reminding us that we aren’t just will and thoughts. We are also sand and wind and thunder. Rain. The seasons. You learn to respect everything because you are everything.” ~ William Least Heat Moon 1939-

I was blessed with a mother who wasn’t overly religious although she was a faithful woman. She grew up Catholic, then raised my sister and I in the Episcopal faith. She attended the Methodist church with her second husband while beginning her drift back to her childhood faith of Catholicism. She allowed me, albeit regretfully, to leave the Christian path without making it hard on me.

She didn’t like it. I know this. I also know that she wanted me to be happy and secure. So she didn’t make my religious choice a bone of contention. And she certainly could have. She was a strong woman from some very strong women. In my family, the matriarchs have always stood out.

Chrysalis_13SwordsSpirals — Chrysalis Tarot

My Mama had a German-Scot Mama and a Scot-Irish Papa. While her mama, my Grannilu, was not someone I remember as a good cook, Mama said there were good cooks in her family. She passed her love of starchy potatoes and stinky cabbage on to me with this dish. It’s one she found later in life.

Like her, I’m a collector or recipes. I even cook some of them. 😀 She made this for me for one of my homecoming meals and I loved it then as I love it now. Even die-hard cabbage haters will fall for this treat!

Because it’s something I closely identify with Mama, I knew this one had to be a Queen (the Empress was already taken, sorry Mama!). The Queen of Cups might seem like the perfect choice but my Mama was a sharp edged Scorpio. She was funny–brilliantly so at times and almost always pointed and sharp insightful humor. I knew her as a widow most of my life (she remarried when I was in my early 20’s).

Her friends were classy, stylish women (when they weren’t being redneck haints). She was a a classy, stylish woman and I adored her. She wasn’t the cookie-baking, soccer mom but she was the take-you-to-the-library, defend-you-tooth-and-nail mom. I’m lucky to have had the time I did with her. So she is the Queen of Swords to me.

World Spirit Tarot Sibyl of Swords — World Spirit Tarot

Queen of Swords Cabbage Au Gratin

1 head cabbage, shredded
4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (divided)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 beaten egg
1-1/2 cup grated cheese (divided)
1-1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 pound bacon

Brown bacon, set aside

Cook cabbage in water 10 minutes. Drain.

Beat egg, cream and seasonings together.

Layer cabbage in casserole pan with egg mixture and remaining ingredients,except bacon. Reserve some of the bread crumbs and cheese for topping.

Place chopped bacon on top of casserole, dot with butter and bake in a preheated 350° F. oven for 30 minutes.

6 servings

Arwen says: Mama didn’t do the bacon and I don’t either. Just a sodium overload!

I hope you will let me know if you try this. I think I’ll make some this week. If you are Catholic, maybe you’d like to light a candle at Mary’s altar for my mama. Her name was Marilu. I’ll light a candle on my own altar. Don’t let religion come between you and those you love. It’s really not worth it. Instead, share a meal and a blessing that you have friends and family who care about you enough to worry about you.

Here’s to all of us. We are blessed to have the ability to choose who we call family. “You learn to respect everything because you are everything.” Thanks to William Least Heat Moon for that.

Today’s affirmation:

Today I understand my self. I accept me for all of who I am, past, present and future. I celebrate the tears, the laughter, the good times, the bad times. I acknowledge how my family forged me. Loved and loving, I love each of you. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Decks used:

World Spirit Tarot (OOP) Llewellyn

Chrysalis Tarot, US Games Systems Inc.

Speaking of writing, my alter-ego Marilu Mann is launching a book 8/22. Want to help out? Check out how.

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Revisiting: Gravy and Love Letters

Do you ever write yourself love letters? I’m serious. Just consider it for a moment. Who better to tell you how marvelous you are than the person who spends the most time with you. YOU!

Day six of my wedding trip…tomorrow we head home.

I’m sharing some favorite posts from my Tarot & Food entries.

Revisiting: Gravy and Love Letters

Do you ever write yourself love letters? I’m serious. Just consider it for a moment. Who better to tell you how marvelous you are than the person who spends the most time with you. YOU! more…

Get a free three card reading via email when you buy the download version of this workbook. Offer expires 1/30/204. All readings must be claimed by 2/7/2014.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

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Revisiting: Squashed Chicken

Do a little jig in the middle of the market because HEY you got such a deal! Accept all the knowing nods from those others who are smart enough to join you at the market

Day four of my wedding trip…wedding bells are definitely ringing this morning.

I’m sharing some favorite posts from my Tarot & Food entries.

Revisiting: Squashed Chicken

Go to the Farmer’s Market and be seduced by the lovely sunny yellowness that is summer squash. Buy some garlic because it’s 2 for a buck! Get three lovely sunny yellow summer squash for a buck. Do a little jig in the middle of the market because HEY you got such a deal! Accept all the knowing nods from those others who are smart enough to join you at the market. more…

Get a free three card reading via email when you buy the download version of this workbook. Offer expires 1/30/204. All readings must be claimed by 2/7/2014.

Ace of Coins, Tarot of St. Petersburg, U.S. Games

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Revisiting: Cabbage, Mama and the Queen of Swords

She wasn’t the cookie-baking, soccer mom but…

Day three of my wedding trip…not married yet! 😀

I’m sharing some favorite posts from my Tarot & Food entries.

Revisiting: Cabbage, Mama And the Queen of Swords

She wasn’t the cookie-baking, soccer mom but she was the take-you-to-the-library, defend-you-tooth-and-nail mom. I’m lucky to have had the time I did with her. So she is the Queen of Swords to me. more…

Get a free three card reading via email when you buy the download version of this workbook. Offer expires 1/30/204. All readings must be claimed by 2/7/2014.

Queen of Swords, Crystal Visions Tarot, USGames

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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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Retro Saturday!

It’s retro Saturday meaning today I’m throwing you back in time to learn what recipe the Four of Cups is associated with!

Got your bellbottoms on? Click 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. 😀

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Love Letter To Who?

So today’s card is one that reminds me of things even a child could do. The Page of Cups is that emotional young person who is all about hearts and flowers and youthful emotional expression. A traditional meaning is that someone is going to send you a love letter.

Do you ever write yourself love letters? I’m serious. Just consider it for a moment. Who better to tell you how marvelous you are than the person who spends the most time with you. YOU!

For today’s 180 second challenge, can you commit to dashing off a quick love letter? Maybe just a memo? A post-it note? How about just three words?

I love you.

Some of us will jump right in.
Some of us will drag our heels.
Some of us will refuse because it seems silly.
Some of us will refuse because it hurts to be the only one writing a love letter to ourselves.

And it’s okay. Just face your fears. No one else has to see this love letter. No one else has to know. This is some simple self-care you can do today.

C’mon, darlings! What’s 180 seconds out of your day? Just try it. That’s all I’m asking.

I cooked myself a love letter the other day. Yes, I can see you smiling. I can hear you giggling. But I did.

I had what you might term a trying day at work. My team was recalcitrant. They pushed back at every possible moment it seemed. Customers were particularly difficult with one even exerting the effort to yell at me for three minutes. So I needed some self-love. I needed some me time.

Food is one of my comforts. I was trying to decide if I was going to go to my favorite sushi show when it hit me.

Hamburger gravy over rice.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I had that but it has to have been five to seven years easily. So I went to the grocery store and picked up what I needed. It was so yummy that I wanted to add it to my Tarot recipes collection.

Page of Cups Hamburger Gravy Love Letter

1 lb hamburger
1/2 lg onion (white sweet is my choice), chopped
2 TB garlic (I use the jarred stuff so I can get some oil too)
2-3 TB olive oil
1 TB pepper
1 TB Salt (I use sea salt)
3 TB Worcestershire Sauce
1 Family-Sized can cream of mushroom soup (or 3 regular)
Cooked rice to serve it over (I am a brown rice fan)

In a large cast iron skillet, heat up 2-3 TB of olive oil. Sauté` the onions until gold (I let mine go a bit brown on the edges.) As you stir this, think about all the love and joy and happiness in your world.

Be happy.

Add the hamburger and brown thoroughly. Sometime in the middle of cooking the beef, add the garlic. Please note that I adore garlic and you may want to back off a titch. Do spoon in some of that yummy oil if you used the jarred variety. As the meat cooks and you stir it, open your soul to the unknown blessings already on their way.

Be joyful.

Add the salt and pepper and stir in well. Now add soup and Worcestershire sauce. Let it come to a simmer. This is a very thick dish so you can add a bit of milk here if you prefer it soupier. As it simmers, speak words of love to you.

Remember that you are a fabulous human being.

Oh! Don’t forget to cook the rice. 😀 I generally start it just after I start browning the hamburger so everything is done about the same time.

I know here is where I should say that I serve this with a green salad or some deliciously nutritious vegetable.

I didn’t. I ate two bowls of this and nothing else. HA! Oh, I do add soy sauce to the dish after serving. That’s me. You may just want to experiment with how much salt you like.

I hope you remember to write (or cook) yourself a love letter. You deserve love. You are loveable. I love you. Want some help finding your joy? Contact me. I can help.

Page of Cups, Cat’s Eye Tarot, U.S. Games
Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on!

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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 snag the workbook while I’m still giving away my Fairy Tales Tarot Spreads eBook.

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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.

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Tag: Recipes