Witch in the Kitchen

WICCA / COOKING The beliefs of Wicca are rooted firmly in the Earth--in the gradual circling of her seasons and the bounty and blessings she provides. In Witch in the Kitchen: Magical Cooking for All Seasons practicing witch Cait Johnson celebrates the sacred in each season with more than eighty soul-satisfying and appetizing recipes for bringing to your hearth and table the magic in each turn of the year's wheel. In engaging and inviting prose, the author provides rituals, spells, and meditations for the eight pagan holidays, inspirations for creating a kitchen altar, and ways to prepare for each season. She offers ideas for decorating your kitchen with objects of power and magic--eggs symbolizing fertility in spring, dried orange slices as reminders of the sun in midwinter--to align our bodies, spirits, and senses to the pace and mood of Earth's changes. Above all are the recipes for delicious, sensuous salads, soups, main dishes, and desserts made from ingredients in tune with Earth's seasonal gifts. Serve Stuffed Acorn Squash and Fig-Apple Crumble at a Samhain gathering; celebrate Winter Solstice with Pomander Salad and Savory Yuletide Pie; welcome Imbolc with Sprouted Spring Salad and Magic Isle Pasties; or share the harvest at Lughnasad with Spicy Stir-Fried Greens and Sunny Peach Pie. With its recipes, rituals, and reminders of our ancient connections to the seasons, Witch in the Kitchen invites you to honor yourself and the Earth and delight in the magic that comes from sharing good food with good company. CAIT JOHNSON, an artist and writer who leads workshops on tarot, dreaming, and ritual-making, is coauthor of Celebrating the Great Mother. She lives with her family in New York's Hudson Valley.