Welcome to our last podcast of 2020, thank you for continuing to join us. We will return after the calendar new year. In the meantime, we’re cackling our way through the holidaze and hope that you’ll appreciate our list here. You can find deep details for it here. As usual we talk about What’s in the Sky; Witches Brew; Divination via Tarot and Runes; Heal the Earth; Witchy Self Care; and our Spell of the Week.
Thanks for being here with us and we wish you a Bright Solstice and Blessed New Year. ~MareLin & Runa
Mason Fermenting Kit, or a plate and something to weigh the kimchi down, like another mason jar filled with water
Colander
Clean 1-quart jar with canning lid or plastic lid
Bowl or plate to place under jar during fermentation
Ingredients:
1 medium head napa cabbage (about 2 pounds)
1/4 cup iodine-free sea salt or kosher salt
Water, preferably distilled or filtered (this is important!)
1 tablespoon grated garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablepoons fish sauce or salted shrimp paste, or 3 tablespoons water
1 to 5 tablespoons Korean gochugaru sauce or red pepper flakes (note: the more you add, the spicier it is)
8 ounces Korean radish or daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 medium scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions:
Cut the cabbage. Cut the cabbage lengthwise through the stem into quarters. Cut the cores from each piece. Cut each quarter crosswise into 2-inch-wide strips. You will likely need more cabbage than you think, so get the biggest head of Napa Cabbage you can find.
Salt the cabbage. Place the cabbage in a large mixing bowl (non metal — plastic or glass is best) and sprinkle with the salt. Using your hands, (you don’t need the gloves yet here) massage the salt into the cabbage until it starts to soften a bit. Add enough water to cover the cabbage. Put a plate on top of the cabbage and weigh it down with something heavy, like a jar or can of beans. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours.
Rinse and drain the cabbage. Rinse the cabbage under cold water 3 times. You know us witches love the number three. Seriously, get as much of the salt out as you can. If you have one of those lovely salad spinners, those work well here, but aren’t necessary. Set aside to drain in a colander for 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the spice paste.
Make the spice paste. Rinse and dry the bowl you used for salting. Add the garlic, ginger, sugar, and fish sauce, shrimp paste, or water and stir into a smooth paste. Stir in the gochugaru sauce, using 1 tablespoon for mild and up to 5 tablespoons for spicy (I like about 3.3 tablespoons – there’s that magic number again); set aside until the cabbage is ready.
Combine the vegetables and spice paste. This is where you’ll want those gloves. Gently squeeze any remaining water from the cabbage and add it to the spice paste. Add the radish and scallions. Mix thoroughly. Using your hands, gently work the paste into the vegetables until they are thoroughly coated.
Pack the kimchi into the jar. Put the kimchi into a 1-quart jar. Press down on the kimchi until the brine (the liquid that comes out) rises to cover the vegetables, leaving at least 1 inch of space at the top. Runa uses a muller to get this done, but you can use a smaller jar filled with water of the back of a large spoon. Seal the jar.
Let it ferment for 1 to 5 days. Place a bowl or plate under the jar to help catch any overflow. Let the jar stand at cool room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 1 to 5 days. You may see bubbles inside the jar and brine may seep out of the lid. Runa ferments her for the full 5 days because The Viking and she love those probiotics to be very active!
Check it daily and refrigerate when ready. Check the kimchi once a day, opening the jar and pressing down on the vegetables with a clean muller or spoon to keep them submerged under the brine. (This also releases gases produced during fermentation.) Taste a little at this point, too! When the kimchi tastes ripe enough for your liking, transfer the jar to the refrigerator. You may eat it right away, but it’s best after another week or two.
We keep a jar in the fridge all the time; it works as a nice side dish at lunch to get some veggies in and keep that gut healthy.
Happy Holidays Everyone. Sending you all Vibrations of Love and Togetherness!!! In this episode we do some magic towards easy Gratitude to get us through the Pandemic Holidaze, to include our typical sections on Self-Care, Heal the Earth, Witches Brew (Pumpkin Seeds), Yoga Focus, and In the Sky. As always we leave you with a Spell of the Week.
Whether you grow your own pumpkins or pick one up at the local farm stand or grocery store, you get two bits of goodness out of it, not only the pulp as in our featured Roasted Pumpkin Soup, but also the seeds.
If you have enough seeds saved for your garden next year, then roast those babies up and have yourself a yummy and healthy treat.
Pumpkin seeds have a good amount of fiber in them, are a great low-carb treat, and pack a protein punch. They also are a good source of Omega-6s and Vitamin K. Careful of how much salt you put on them and you’ve got yourself a guilt-free munchie!
Equipment:
Baking sheet pan
Parchment paper or cooking spray
Oven
Mixing Bowl
Ingredients:
Fresh pumpkin seeds (**)
Oil of choice
Salt
Spices of choice(***)
Instructions:
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Line your baking sheet pan with parchment paper, otherwise you may want to do a light coating of cooking spray. Put the seeds in a bowl, Add about 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tsp of salt per 1 cup of seeds. Mix thoroughly. Put the oiled and salted seeds in a single layer on the prepared roasting tray. Make sure they aren’t too crowded. The more space between them the better. Feel free to roast your seeds in batches if you have carved up a larger pumpkin. Roast for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them, because they can go from perfect to perfectly burnt quickly. When a light golden brown (a bit darker if you’ve put spice on them), remove from oven. Cool for about 5 to 10 minutes on the pan and then enjoy. Keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days; however, they never last that long in Runa’s house.
(**) You can wash your seeds until they are clean like the above photo, just be sure they aren’t soaking wet when you go to roast them, ensure they are as dry as possible or they won’t roast properly. Otherwise, you can just get the big chunks of pumpkin off and roast them as is. Runa likes to do the later and the bit of pumpkin that remains on the seeds, cooks off in the oven and adds an extra bit of flavor to them.
(***) Runa makes hers with paprika and black pepper; but you can experiment — you could even do a little nutmeg and cinnamon to echo a pumpkin pie. Your call. But salt is a best partner regardless.)
In this episode we talk about Apotropaic Magic and what that means. We teach you a tea-time self-care ritual, brew up some pumpkin soup, give you tips on healing the earth, and divine tarot and runes. As always we leave you with a spell for the week. Next episode we’ll be talking about Gratitude. Have questions for us? Please leave a comment below.
Runa makes this for the Night of Hecate, but it’s easy to make any time during pumpkin season. Runa grows her own pumpkins, but you can procure any kind of pie pumpkin for this recipe.
Fresh foraged mushrooms are a thing this time of year, too. If Runa has chanterelles or Oyster mushrooms on hand she uses those. But some nice cremini mushrooms work, too.
Runa also brews up her own stock to use in this recipe. But you can use store bought, or simply water.
If you’re lucky enough to have a larder with homemade apple sauce, use that in this as well — but only if it’s an unsweetened variety. Otherwise use a fresh apple.
Runa loves to serve this with a swirl of sour cream accompanied by hunks of farmer’s cheese and sourdough biscuits. But you do you, witch.
The roasted goodness is so nutritious and yummy that you’ll want to make it all through the year! Don’t forget to either save the seeds for planting next year or roast them up as a great autumn treat!
Equipment:
Roasting Sheet Pan
Cauldron
Immersion blender, or heavy-duty blender, or food processor
Ingredients:
1 pie pumpkin (about 4 lbs.), de-seeded and quartered
13 fresh foraged mushrooms of choice or cremini mushrooms (you can use any mushroom of your choice)
6 whole, peeled garlic cloves (up to 13 can be used if you like things more garlicky)
7 mini sweet peppers, topped and de-seeded (leave as whole as possible)
1 large sweet onion, peeled
1 half-pint of unsweetened apple sauce or one large fresh apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
3-4 cups of stock of your choice (Runa used vegetable broth) or water
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt (with more to taste)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Grated Cheese of choice (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Put pumpkin quarters, garlic, peppers, onions, and mushrooms on pan and roast for 40 minutes. Let cool until you can touch the pumpkin without burning your hand (about an hour).
Peel the pumpkin and put the roasted pulp into a greased cauldron (cooking spray or a splash of your favorite oil is fine), put all the rest of the roasted veggies in with the pumpkin, add the cut up apple, and about 1 cup of your stock (or water). Immersion blend. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, put all the veggies in a food processor or blender and puree). Add the spices and the rest of the broth and simmer on stove until slightly thickened. Serve with a dollop of cream or shredded cheese and a good hunk of bread.
Heritage Day. What is it & where can you find out more about it?! Take a Listen! A Huge Shout out to a Special Lady!! And as always we talk self care, R3, Witches Brew, Tarot for the Collective, and leave you with a Spell. Special recognition of paintedgoddess.com
The season is very heavy and self-care is a priority. Join MareLin and Runa for our Samhain Episode… Not too late. With the election coming up, things are heavy and election protection spells are on many a mind of the pagan community. We talk about Time and how its passage affects our magic, especially where Ancestors are concerned. We talk about the start of Scorpio season. We talk about self-care focuses, R3, a spell of the day and a tarot reading for the collective.
Join MareLin and Runa as they discuss the Lifting of the Veil, The Turning of the Wheel into Crone and The Celebration of Dedicants into Initiates on The Path of the Moon. In this episode we talk about the journey for new witches to old crones. We continue our preparations for Samhain. We brew some Fire Cider and how washing in cold water can save not only the planet but is easier on your wallet. As always we give you a tarot reading and leave you with a spell for the day. Are you a new witch or an old one?
In this episode we talk about the reality of Shadow work and it’s not necessarily what every witch thinks. Canceling things in life as we’re just barely out of New Moon is well, the angst of the times is thick and brutal. We’re all burning sage like banshees. But it’s the season of the witch and all the planetary influences are all about transitions. We brew up some detox and talk about buying nothing so we’re reducing our impact on the planet. We pull a tarot card for the collective and leave you with a healing spell. Tell us about your transformations for this time of year.
Runa Troy on 
