July 2012 “Foods Reverence”

ISSN 2159-9939

Could you Please Pass the Love Climate Aware Living Freezer Papr Printing Grilled Vegatables and Tofu Tacos The Call by Ankolie Mindful Eating Book Reviews To the Heart of Spirit, Continued

“Food’s Reverence” July 2012 Volume 3 • Issue 7

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

Publisher and editor Eberhardt, Personal Visions

Contributors Ankolie Eberhardt Faelin Wolf jess*ca mae Maeve Gregory S. J. Drew Sister Nariel Stephanie Rose Bird Zedral Z

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Nina Pak, http://www.ninapak.com Eberhardt

Layout Refraction Design & Creative Services Website

Personal Visions Consulting/Photography

Advertising Eberhardt Our goal at Pagan Edge is to provide readers a high quality, timely magazine with content relevant to modern pagans’ lifestyle and passions.

Our publication is a lifestyle magazine so while we may publish spells, rituals, and some magick how-to; we aim to focus on ways that pagans, wiccans, earth-based-spiritualists, and those of like mind can incorporate their values and beliefs into their everyday living.

Pagan Edge Magazine & paganedge.com exist solely to offer information to our readers. The publisher, editor, and the entire personnel of Pagan Edge, Pagan Edge Magazine, Personal Visions, Refraction Design and paganedge.com cannot be held responsible for misuse of any information provided. The views expressed in the articles and ads are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Pagan Edge Magazine.

Product descriptions, recipes & any how-to information: While we, and our affiliates, attempt to provide accurate information in the magazine and on the site, we do not warrant that the content on this site will be accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free. It is your sole responsibility for the use of the content of this Magazine or web site. For additional details please see http://www.paganedge.com

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June 2012 • Volume 3 3

N ow o N l i N e !

S.J. Drew’s Newest Title

Available through: Smashwords, Sony, Barnes & Noble, Kobe, Apple, and Diesel

4

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

contents

6 Dream Weaving Food is the Root 7 Life’s Wit Earthly Delight

8 Feature Climate Aware Living

9 Foood of Gods Grilled Vegtable and Tofu Tacos

10 Divine Mind Could you Please Pass the Love

Photography by Nina Pak

13 Craft Corner Freezer Paper

Printing

CAFE: Model: Julia Scanlon Location: La Cuisson Cafe Make Up: Christine Jairamsingh Wardrobe stylist: Beautiful Creature

PERSEPHONE: Model: Mysti Moon

NUDE: Model: Alexia Make Up: Nightshade Beauty Hair: Dreamloka Style

11 Feature Summer Mediation

14 The Call by Ankolie 16 Finding the Edge Food Fantasy 18 Feature Mindful Eating

19 PE Book Review Brownies and Broomsticks

27 Divine Mind Cont. June Part 2 Volume 3 • Issue 7 • July 2012 “Foods Reverence” Pagan Edge™ is published monthly

by Personal Visions admin@paganedge.com

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June 2012 • Volume 3 5

Dream Weaving Food is the root word of life and can be distilled to the essential energy that all life needs to thrive.

Be it Sol or some other source this energy will keep flooding and driving forms of life until this planet ultimately completes its own life. As we feel the wider existence of life among the planets and work to find it life may be busy making order out of randomness all over this solar system and many of the other planetary families out there. Just imagine all the different forms “food” may take.

Fortunately we do not have to spend quite all of our imaginations in envisioning strange and novel foods for this issue but rather can focus on celebrating the foods we already have the common experience to enjoy. When we first talked about doing this issue we were concerned it not becomes just our “cookbook” edition.

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™•June 2012 • Volume 3

publisher speaks

We debated on giving our contributors specific assignments to avoid too many recipes or too much subject overlap. In the end, we left it to the muses that attend each of us and I think you will find an issue that is wealthy with its different views on the meanings, uses and practices of the culinary and spiritual arts.

As publisher of this grassroots Magazine that has been read in over 80 countries, (a statistic that happily still blows my mind) I want to use this opportunity and urge every one of you to take control of what you eat. Know as much as you can about everything you consume and regardless of the choices you make in the end do so with knowledge, wisdom, and open eyes.

The Gods put us on this earth to enjoy life to its fullest with the conviction that we will take care of ourselves and this world.

“Think global, act local”, as the saying goes. We have full control over what we consume, and the more sustainably and positively we do this the better off we all are. One final thought as you delve into this issue; with 7 billion mouths to feed what is in your weekly table?

Life’s Wit by S.J. Drew

Earthly Delight Carol was working hard in her garden, as usual, when she heard her friend Kal come through the back door.

“Every time I see you these days you’re up to your knees in dirt,” Kal said.

“Gardening is hard work,” Carol replied, standing up and dusting off her pants. “It’s not just about having fresh veggies either.”

“Then what’s it all about?” Kal asked, trailing Carol to another part of her garden. “You’ve got more garden these days than lawn.”

“I found this has brought me closer to my gods,” she said, pulling out some weeds.

“Really? How so?”

“Well, I never really appreciated how much of the ancient religions, what we know of them anyway, were dedicated to food.”

“Beltane is a fertility festival. It’s

obvious,” Kal said.

“Yes, but I think it means more to me now that I have this garden. I know how much work goes into making my food grow and I’ve been saying a lot more prayers than I used too.” She examined a plant critically. “And the rabbits still get into my lettuces.”

Kal chuckled.

“I know that, but I didn’t really appreciate it until I started trying to grow my own food.

I really started to understand why people were so concerned with the coming of spring and the rites of fertility. To me, it’s a hobby, but to them, it was their livelihood.”

“This garden has really been a learning experience. I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but it works for me,” Carol said.

“I never thought about it like that.”

“There are so many gods of food and seasons and wine,” Carol said, gathering up some fresh herbs.

“I think I understand your obsession better, but I think it’s not for me. I am, however, happy to help you eat the fruits of your labors,” Kal replied with a smile.

“And of course the other side of planting is harvest, which was probably even more important to the ancient people. At Samhein, that’s why you give an offering to the gods, to thank them for a good harvest and ask for their blessings for the following year.”

“I know that part,” Kal replied a touch irritably.

Carol laughed. “That’s fine by me.”

J

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June 2012 • Volume 3 7

Climate Aware Eating

E

very Saturday morning I get up and go to our local farmers market and purchase the fruits and vegetables for the next week’s dinner table. A trip like this has been part of a weekly ritual for many years now and started back in California where the Megachain supermarket reigned supreme. For me, it started out as a way to bypass the corporate infrastructure and give my money to farmers that would again spend locally and keep the cash in our own local cycle. By keeping corporations out of my food chain, I lessen the chance for human mistakes (contamination) and for increased nutrition (less processing).

From a spiritual stand point, it is much easier for me to be in touch with the local energy and land/climate that I live in. The impact is much greater if I can interact, visit, or even participate in blessing the lands where my food is produced. A first step for me was to join a Community Supported Agricultural business (CSA). The best CSA in my area also happens to be organic, and heirloom because finding

Continued on Page 20 8

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

Food of

By Zedral Z

Gods

Grilled Vegetable and Tofu Tacos ithAvocado Spread and Black Beans W The simple act of grilling the food reminds us of the heat of summer (not that we need any reminders by July!). Because the weather is hot, this dish is light and vegetarian. It uses the bounty of your garden or the farmers market, keeping us in tune with the turning of the wheel.

This is my idea of simple kitchen witchery – simple, seasonal meals that are prepared with the thought of the season and/ or sabbat involved. Ingredients are chosen not only for flavor, but also because of their symbolism. Corn for fertility, spices and colors that represent the colors and heat of the summer sun, and so on.

Black Bean Spread

With a little thought and creativity, you can easily turn meals into simple, everyday rituals by researching the symbolism of the ingredients and coming up with delicious creations that honor each season.

•

• • • • •

Sour cream

• • •

½ cup canola oil Juice of 1 lime 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder 2 teaspoons Smoked paprika 2 teaspoons Cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander Salt and pepper to tast

For the Tacos

For the Avocado Spread • • • •

•

•

Marinade •

•

•

Ingredients List • • •

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 clove garlic Salt and pepper to taste ½ cup Queso fresco, crumbled or grated Cheddar cheese Salsa or Pico de Gallo

• 6 hard taco shells or soft corn or flour tortillas • 1 zucchini, cut into half moons • 3 green onions, sliced • 2 ears of corn • 1 red pepper, chunked

1 avocado Juice of ¼ lime 1 clove garlic ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Continued on Page 22

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June 2012 • Volume 3 9

Making the Divine Mind, Mine

by Sister Nariel, Fiach Dair Contemplative Order of Anam Cara

Could You Please Pass the Love?

M

ore than one of us has eaten far too much potato salad already, not to mention the beer consumed in the name of togetherness. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it, right?

The summer in full swing, we move between watermelon wrangling and the desire to create the perfect summer dessert for the barbecue or festival that we’re attending next week. Good times, good times. Feasts and gatherings are the pinnacle of a schedule filled with dog day afternoons, made better by the rousing smells of mesquite charcoal and chlorinated water.

There is something about sharing a meal with others that makes the drinks sweeter and the food more satisfying and from what history and myth shows, this has always been the case.

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Love continued on page 23

Meditation can be a funny thing.

Some say it has to be done under specific conditions, others say it has to be done with a specific unvarying ritual; my experience is that it can be done any place and by any means that works for you. Do not start by placing limits on the thing that is meant to take those limits away. Read the meditation below, then find your place and your method and relive your own version change it as your mind leads you and discover what is out there to discover.

I am lying on the ground, the warm sun shining on my upturned face. I lay awhile, with my eyes closed, feeling the warmth on my skin and smelling the warm scent of the earth and grass around me. Nearby, I can hear the birds singing, and there is a running stream just within earshot. Can you hear it? Listen carefully. Can you hear the running water? Can you hear the birdsong? Can you feel and smell the good Earth under your body, the warm sun upon your face? Lie very still and breathe slowly and deeply. I would like to take you on a walk with me this summer’s day…

Slowly with peace open your eyes and stand up. Around you is a meadow, near to a wild patch of blackberries partly sheltered by a wood grove. The first ber-

ries you see are light green still young but as you watch them slowly changing before your eyes through shades of red into black, the first fruits of High Summer.

Awareness comes to you that your feet are bare; the grass underneath them warm, humid a n d just a

Summer Mediation bit ticklish. Brushing your face a light breeze brings the lazy bleat of herd of sheep, their presence noted in the grass cropped short by numerous mouths. You can scent the warmth of the grass, the dark earth, the dung of the sheep, and the richness of the foliage near and far. With easy steps you begin to walk alongside the grove sun warmed until you can hear the tinkling of a stream not far away. The air and the light caress your skin,

holding your body in the kind of cocoon only summer can offer as you continue on. A gentle incline leads you to a lovely vista. An endless meadow, green grass spotted with daisies and clover with a stream flowing just at the base of the slope in front you.

The sun is striking on the water thousands of gems all dancing to the tuneless melody of birdsong and water; with a deep lasting breath the tranquility of this place lets you feel good just being here.

Walk slowly over to the stream and look into it.

The running water is clear and you can see shining pebbles on the bottom, the occasional minnow whipping its tail between the rocks. Sit down, it is warm enough, you can dabble your toes in the stream. At first it is icy cold, and in a moment your toes are numb.

Concentrate on the warm sun on your back; you will not get cold here. Breathe deeply of Mother Earth’s goodness. The ground is solid under you, the water running free around your toes, the air clean and warm as you deeply breathe it in. Let yourself tilt back to lie on the earth, with your toes still in the waters and take in more even measured breaths.

What have you done this season?

Continued on Page 21

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June 2012 • Volume 3 11

Pagan Edge Books for Wisdom

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Pagan Polyamory: Becoming a Tribe of Hearts

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Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse...

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Exploring the Northern Tradition:

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The Study of Witchcraft:

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Growing Up Pagan:

by Raine Hill $13.58

Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic

by Edred Thorsson $11.53

Pagan Spain

by Richard Wright $20.00

Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves:

by Sarah M. Pike $28.95

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

New Age and Neopagan Religions in America

by Sarah M. Pike $28.00

Passages Handfasting:

by Rev. Dr. Kendra Vaughan Hovey $10.07

Craft Corner Freezer Paper Printing The need to make patterns is deeply ingrained in our collective memory as humans and closely associated with that I think is the desire to enhance the things we wear. It gives us the opportunity to express ourselves with out words or in ways that we may not always be ready to say out loud in the middle of a crowd. Whatever the designs meaning, decorating our clothing has been around for as long as our clothing has. So why not join in the fun?

This technique is one that can either be simple or complex, you can also be stencil free if you like,

*It is important that you have real freezer paper to work with.

Wax paper and freezer paper are NOT the same. If your product is waxy on BOTH sides, you’ve got the wrong item.

TIMEFRAME: 1-2 hours are needed to complete this project.

Next, you will need to find an image or design to work with. When you are starting out, it helps to select images that have bold lines and chunky shapes. As you get more skilled, you can choose more sophisticated and detailed images.

Once you have decided on the image you want to use, you will need to transfer it onto the freezer

but I do recommend starting with a stencil until you understand your colorant and the fabric.

Remember, each to make multiple copies of your stencil because each is only useable once.

Supplies: • • • • • • • • •

Plastic coated freezer paper* Printed pattern X-acto knife Cutting mat or table surface protection iron T-shirt printing ink, fabric ink, or acrylic paint Foam or stiff bristle brush A design or image to work with T-shirt or (other item) to print onto

Continued on 16

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June 2012 • Volume 3 13

Continued from 11

paper. Cut a piece of freezer paper that is large enough to cover the entire area of the t-shirt you are printing. Since the freezer paper acts as a stencil that masks the ink from the shirt, a larger piece will help to protect it from unwanted ink smears.

Once you have your image, you transfer it directly onto the freezer paper. Make sure that you transfer your image onto the DULL side of the paper. The freezer paper is translucent enough to trace images placed directly underneath it. If you are having trouble seeing the image through the paper, you can use a window as a light table.

Next with a crafting knife cut out your stencil on a cutting mat or thick box board. Remember to use, a fresh blade so the blunt edge will not “skip” and give you a poke.

Next, slip in some old newspaper or other fabric between the front and back of your shirt, it will protect you from bleed through. Then iron your shirt so that it is smooth to allow for complete contact and seal with the freezer paper.

Place the shiny side of the freezer paper down so it is against the fabric. Now make sure the iron is medium to high heat and briskly iron down the inner edges and work outward until your stencil is firmly attached. Never let your iron sit, or you will scorch the paper.

Now it is time to start painting in your stencil.

For most applications start with the light colors first and then do any dark shades over the top to 16

™••June June 2012 • Volume 3

prevent darker colors from showing through the light. It also can add a bit of “depth” to the darker colors. With your brush, apply a small amount of ink to your stencil. The technique that you will be using to paint on the stencil is called ‘dry brush’.

This simply means that you will be adding a light coat of color to the stencil at first. If you glob on the color, it could ruin your design and the stencil preventing the edges from being defined clearly.

If you find that the initial coat of ink is too light or

transparent, you can add a second coat after the first is dry. When dry brushing use vertical motions (up and down, side to side) to get the ink worked into the weave of the shirt and ensure consistent coverage.

Now comes the hard part, letting the ink dry completely. This could take up to an hour or more depending on the type of color that you used, and how thick it was applied.

Once the color is dry you can peel off the stencil. If any smaller paper pieces are stuck to the fabric use the tip of a craft knife to help peel them up.

Enjoy ✪

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June 2012 • Volume 3 17

Mindful Eating Mindful Eating has its roots in Buddhist practice where it is used to help train the mind to be focused on the moment. In Western Culture, we see mindful eating entering mainstream and secular thinking and living along with other more well-known forms of mediation.

Many meditation techniques instruct a meditator to focus on something specific: the breath, the third eye, burning incense, bodily sensations, and so forth.

Mindful eating can be viewed as a meditation technique which uses food and its consumption as a focal point. While food is often seen as part of a celebratory and communal activity, here it is reins the practitioners mind in to focus on themselves and what they are consuming and that experience alone. It may be practiced in a communal environment in some instances, but it is solitary in nature.

Some traditions of mindful eating require focusing on three raisins or a tangerine or a bowl of rice. Recently similar mindful eating techniques are being taught for use on full but understated meals. The food and the technique have adapted to more modern sensibilities, but the goal remains the same: to be "mindful" of the different aspects and details of the food.

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A simple way to try out mindful eating is to find a simple food, let's say a piece of fruit, and a few minutes in a quiet place with as few distractions as possible. No TV or radio, no computer, no reading, and no chatting with companions.

Now look at the fruit...Really look at it. Take notice of the texture, color, brightness or dullness of the skin, any reminder of the plant the fruit came from. Note the fragrance and feel of it in the hand.

Take a small bite. What is the texture on the lips, tongue,

and teeth? Concentrate on the flavor and how it changes on the tongue as it's chewed. Chew the bite, until the flavor is gone and as it is swallowed. Feel the morsel as it slips down the throat.

Allow any sensations that remain to subside before taking another bite and repeating the process. If doing this with a larger meal, put down the utensils between bites so the food itself can be more

By Maeve Gregory fully focused on.

Not everyone is interested in training for mindfulness, but this technique can still be valuable for exercising gratitude to the power that provided the food. It can also serve as a way to ground and soothe the spirit when stress or imbalance threatens.

When eating fruit, remember who planted the tree; when drinking clear water, remember who dug the well. ~Vietnamese proverb.

J

The Pagan Edge

Book Review

by Faelin Wolf Katie Lightfoot needs a change—she has just gotten out of a difficult and painful engagement and has found herself not feeling challenged at the bakery where she works.

Her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben offer her the opportunity of a lifetime. She joins them as a partner in their small bakery, in Savannah Georgia. Unfortunately, the grand opening of the Honeybee Bakery is not smooth, despite Katie’s excitement. A mean, yet influential, woman is murdered right outside with Uncle Ben as the primary suspect. Katie comes to learn of her aunt’s magical heritage and the spells she uses within the bakery as they and their “book club” begin to investigate the murder.

Brownies and Broomsticks

This is a delightful first book to start the series!

The characters are interesting and slowly unfold throughout the book. Katie discovers her own magical abilities and how deeply magic is connected to her family. It is fun to follow that discovery with her. There’s a little bit of romance thrown in too! Definitely a fun read with a bonus of delicious magical recipes in the back of the book

by Bailey Cates, 2012, ISBN: 978-0451236630

I’m still new to the mystery genre. I find myself drawn to mysteries with supernatural themes, as you may have noticed in my reviews over the past couple years. I was excited to find this just published book that fits so well with our theme this month!

Book Review continued on page 25

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June 2012 • Volume 3 19

Continued from Page 8 vegetable varieties being grown that where developed for my local climate has been delightful.

I have a greater likelihood of getting food that has more nutrition per serving and as I get older and more carry a bit more weight this has become a significant consideration.

Many ideas I have fortunately do not occur in a vacuum. My closest friends influenced me first followed by literature, podcasts, and finally “formal” movements. However, I was influenced by those same friends in both positive and negative ways. The positive is the subject of this article and the negative is that many of my fellow Pagans eat a lot of snacks and fast food.

The current American processed food diet has left a many people I care about with health problems or at least increased risk. If you have not read “Fast Food Nation”,

by Eric Schlosser then you should make that one of your starting points in understanding just what kind of barrel pagans are spiritually put over.

In the web article “Eating Local: A Matter of Integrity”, John Ikerd gives a good overall cultural perspective of the reasons for the new buzz word “Locavore”. I believe it is essential to put any movement in context and to think about the complete plan you have for eating what you do. Just eating local does not mean you’re doing all that you can do to eat within your climate or to do what has the biggest impact to help live with our Mother. Christopher Weber & Scott Matthews of Carnegie 20

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

Mellon University pointed out in the study published in “Environmental Science & Technology” the type of local food you choose can have a greater impact than the distance it has traveled to your table from a climate stand point. “Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more greenhouse gas reduction than buying all locally sourced food,” Weber and Matthews wrote. Keep this in mind when you plan your diet or join a challenge like the “100 Mile Diet”. Of course if your vegetarian or vegan then the steps to managing your food within your local climate may have a head start and we can all further that start with growing what produce we can in own yards. After all working and worshiping directly with the soil is one of the most sacred things humans can do , and it’s even good exercise. The next time you sit down to a meal give a moment of thanks to the people that grew and helped get your food to the table. Also give thanks to the Great Mother for the chance to continue to enjoy her bounty.

For additional reading I recommend “The Omnivores Dilemma A Natural History of Four Meals” or “Exposed The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products - Who’s at Risk and What’s at Stake” which take you down a couple more related paths on being aware of our world.

J

Available in Print!

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Shipped directly to your door!

New low price of $6.10 per issue! Plus postage Single Issues or Subscriptions http://www.paganedge.com

Continued from Page 11

What things have you started or tried to start? What do you feel has been a success? Hold these things in your mind’s eye and smile, congratulate yourself, you have done well. Things you have worked hard for have borne fruit. Focus on the warmth of the bright sun as it shines down upon you now.

The cold water between your toes makes itself known again helping you to honestly remember those things that have not really worked out. What are you putting lots of energy into, only to find it unworthy and constantly tiring? What things could you have done differently this season? The cold on your toes is the crisp and yes sharp reality of things which must be faced, and your life is too precious to hang onto those things which are not working out. Don’t let yourself be lost in these things but again breathe deeply for a moment.

As your body will it sit up slowly and gaze into the stream. The water is always moving, everchanging, just like life is. You can build on your successes and learn wisdom from the failings and so let something new grow.

Now reach down into the cool clarifying water and pick up a small pebble. Study it carefully, every change in color, every glint of light, how it hides these things as it begins to dry. Put it in your pocket; it is there to remind you of your strengths and weaknesses, so that when you awake

from this dream you can remember them and act.

Take your feet from the cool waters and stand up in one smooth motion. The music of the water is so delicate and the sunshine continues to warm your skin. Feel your feet dry as you stand there on the small bank. Walk with measured steps over to the nearest clump of daisies in the meadow and sit down slowly. Pick a few flowers giving thanks to Mother Earth as you do so. She won’t mind that you have picked them for from their stems you will weave your ideas for tomorrow. Begin to weave the stems together into a daisy chain, or simple braid. Be mindful of this seasons successes and what could be done to bring more good fortune. Finish weaving the stems together and know that this small work also represents what you must do to correct those failings even if it might be difficult. Breathe deeply and look at your daisies in your palm, feel the warm sun on your back and empower your ideas for the future.

first harvest of this summer. Find that spot marked by the outline of your body and lay back down once more the smell the earth and the grass rushing up to fill your mind. Listen - you can hear birdsong and, far off, the lilting song of the stream. Close your eyes breathe deeply and listen. You know you can come back to this beautiful place any time. Today you have learned something about yourself and the fruits of your life, and you can be happy with this knowledge.

Breathe slowly and deeply, and you can gradually begin to hear the sounds around you in this world echo the beauty of those from your personal one.

Slowly open your eyes. Welcome back!

✪

With your new found treasures stand up once more for it is time to go back. You can feel the warm sun shining upon you, and there is a gentle breeze has gone warm. Rich smells of summer make you pleasantly light upon your feet. Walk back to that patch of berries. Look into the mass of prickly twigs; you can see the green berries, soon to be black. The berries will be food for the birds and meadow folk, their

Did you know that you can buy all of our back issues for only a $1.95 each?

Just look for our store at http://www.paganedge.com

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June 2012 • Volume 3 21

Continued from Page 18 • Extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced • ¼ cup cilantro, chopped • 1 lime

Putting it Together 1. Drain and press the tofu.

Wrap the tofu in a layer of paper towels and then in a tea towel. Place between 2 cookie sheets. Weigh down with a cast iron skillet or a couple of heavy cans. Leave for 1-2 hours. Slice into ¾” thick slices.

2. Mix ingredients for the marinade.

3. Place the tofu, zucchini, corn and red peppers in the marinade. Marinate while tofu presses. Turn both the tofu and veggies halfway through.

4. Puree the ingredients for the avocado spread in the food processor. Set aside.

5. Puree the ingredients for the black bean spread in the (freshly washed) food processor. Set aside.

6. Heat a grill pan on high.

7. Grill the tofu for 3-4 minutes per side.

8. Lower the heat to medium high and cook the zucchini 2-3 minutes per side.

9. Cook the peppers 3-4 minutes per side. Let the 22

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

pieces cool slightly and then scrap off the skin.

10. Cook the corn 5-6 minutes per side. Cool slightly, and then cut kernels from the cob.

11. Mix corn kernels, peppers, and zucchini together.

Season with juice of ½ lime.

Mix in the cilantro and green onions.

12. To assemble the tacos, spread a layer of black beans on the tortilla. Top with a layer of avocado spread. Add a layer of vegetables, and a slice of tofu. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and salsa or Pico de Gallo, as desired.

This can, of course, be done on an outside grill if you are lucky enough to have one.

This dish incorporates the colors of summer, a little subtle heat, and the reminder that the harvest season is coming. The corn is for fertility and reminds us of the Corn Mother and the coming of Lammas.

✪

Love continued from page 10 To be honest, food and I have a long and somewhat tawdry relationship. I’ve spent the better part of my life yo-yo dieting and developing a lovehate situation with many a succulent and sweet morsel.

Food can be like heaven or hell to me, depending on my emotional status. It got me to thinking that perhaps, this is why food is seen in so many of the myths.

From the banquet tables of Heaven, Hades or the Hotel California, food seems to be the preferred ‘welcome home’.

Generally, once food has been consumed, you’ve arrived at your permanent destination.

It acts as an anchor, a mechanism and symbol that we are invested completely, that we are part of the family that dwells within that world.

Even as infants, the first thing that we are concerned with is the partaking of nourishment from mother’s breast. Are we really hungry, having just been disconnected from the unending pipeline of sustenance we’ve relied on for 40 weeks? Probably not. Yet, from the very first squawk of life we are rooting and searching for food— something to anchor us, appease us, and make us feel secure.

Perhaps this is why so many of our life events revolve around the feast. Weddings, wakes, funerals, baptisms,

rites of passage, holidays and birthdays all give us reason to gather and eat together. In so doing, we solidify the bonds of family and friendship and cement the long held notion that we’re all in it together.

Passing the gravy from one set of hands to another is like a blessing that says, “I’m here, you’re here, and as long as we are, we’re alright.”

but heightened, multiplied by feelings of guilt and confusion.

This dark place is no place that we want to become our permanent residence.

As the summer drifts by, may we all be mindful of not only our gardens that will become our feast at harvest, but also of the harvest of family and friends that bring to the table what we honestly and assuredly need the most— love and connection.

It may also be why people like myself, tend to have trouble with food.

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When we feel alone, we eat. We may not see that extra person, but on a cellular and soulful level, we are able to outrun that feeling of isolation. We eat when we’re sad, because we cease to feel that we are crying alone in the darkness.

We eat when we’re frustrated, because somehow we just know that the answer should be as close as Aunt Minnie and her mashed potatoes. We eat because we need to feel that we are home and no longer wandering.

Yet we’ve missed the most crucial part of the feast: It was never about the food-- it was all about the connections.

Inadvertently, a person who has issues with food has isolated themselves with the food and without the connection. Thus, the feeling of dissatisfaction and loneliness is not diminished

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June 2012 • Volume 3 23

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™•June 2012 • Volume 3

Book Review continued from page 19 This is a tasty starter book for those who are considering being more involved with culinary or hearth magic. Telesco offers an excellent explanation and exploration of kitchen witchery. She provides information about gods and goddesses of the home and hearth as well as much folklore, traditions, and myths about common kitchen items and foods. She focuses on the beginning kitchen witch, but the recipes and rituals included could be used by all. She makes kitchen witchery user friendly; discussing how to put more energy behind the intention of spells in ways that are simple and intuitive.

My favorite part about this book was probably the extra information Telesco includes about the origins, meanings, traditions, and histories of various food items throughout the book. It was fun to learn those intriguing little tidbits.

The Kitchen Witch Companion: Simple and Sublime Culinary Magic

Most folks will probably enjoy the tempting and delicious-sounding recipes she includes in bonus! As a picky eater, I found myself thinking that the recipes sounded more to my taste if one or two things were removed… Telesco emphasized adapting recipes as needed, so even us picky folks will be able to use the spells and rituals included to serve our intentions.

Happy eating and blessed be!

by Patricia Telesco, 2005, ISBN: 080652670X

I do not consider myself a kitchen witch.

Mostly, this is because I do not like to cook all that much, although I do enjoy baking. I would like to cook for myself and others more. I am a very homey person. I never thought this was enough to claim kitchen witch as a label.

Patricia Telesco has made me reconsider my self-labeling!

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June 2012 • Volume 3 25

Lead paint poisoning affects over one million children today.

Learning disabilities, hearing loss, speech delays, violent behavior and, in rare cases, seizures and even death: these are just some of the effects lead paint poisoning has on young children. If your home was built before 1978, lead paint on your walls, doors, windows and sills may be dangerous. And it’s not just large paint chips that can cause damage. In fact, three granules of lead dust are enough to poison your child. Let’s make all kids lead-free kids. To learn more about the simple steps you can take to safeguard your family, log on to LEADFREEKIDS.org or call 800-424-LEAD.

26

™•June 2012 • Volume 3

Continued from our June Issue Page 8 Animation is to enliven an object or idea. In Mary Shelley’s tale Frankenstein, the process and paradoxes of animation is the spindle upon which the tale is wound. Today’s artificial intelligence designers can likewise attest to the trials and tribulations of attempting to create robotics which think and act independently of its creator and yet even with the advances made, no one has been able to enliven an object with true Spirit. Spirit evades and eludes us, for indeed — it cannot and will not, be completely defined or contained. If we turn to the Hebraic creation story and Hermetic Law we may find clues: “Then the Lord God formed a man, from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NIV “THE ALL is SPIRIT! But what is Spirit? This question cannot be answered, for the reason that its definition is practically that of THE ALL, which cannot be explained or defined. Spirit is simply a name that men give to the highest conception of Infinite Living Mind--it means “the Real Essence”--it means Living Mind, as much superior to Life and Mind as we know them, as the latter are superior to mechanical Energy and Matter. Spirit transcends our understanding, and we use

the term merely that we may think or speak of THE ALL.” The Kybalion, Chapter 5 As we see when taken together, the breath of life is what makes a man, a man. This emanation of the ALL, Spirit, is what produces energy and quickens matter, enlivening it. While our bodies are matter and they are maintained by the energy that pulses through us, within us and around us, even that energy is not life in full.

It is Spirit that is the breath to life, the really real and no — for all of our attempts we will never completely understand this essence. If we could, it would not be the ALL, which is ultimately Unknowable and Immutable.

Now, to our question of spirits...

Why would Spirit, having fled its material encasement, remain on the physically manifested plane? There are many intellectual, scientific, and parapsychological hypothesis, each holding some degree of validity. Yet, as I contemplated the nature of ghosts and spirits while keeping the above wisdoms at the forefront of that process, there can only be only one valid answer. Spirit remains sans body, because it has permission to do so from the ALL. Any other claim of reason will never be completely discernible or definable. For

inexplicable reason, Spirit remains because it chooses to do so, for purposes that will ever remain, unclear. Perhaps it is to rectify wrongs, to settle past accounts, to find answer to questions, to continue living in whatever way it can.

Perhaps the larger question for contemplation is not that of Spirit, but of life itself.

What did our living seek to accomplish? What way did we live it? Did we live each day with passion and dedication? Did we speak the words that needed to be spoken, particularly those of love and cherishing? Did we complete all that we wished we had or fall short of the goal and give up? Did we see in our physical reflection a thing of incomparable beauty and worth? Did we do good things in this life, acts that would allow our name to be immortal and beloved throughout time? These are the matters of life itself, what make it all worthwhile.

In these things we find reason and purpose and having done so, live decidedly and with joy.

If Spirit is within us, animating us, should we not give full expression to life? With purposeful living Spirit might have fullness of experience and in that experience, be satisfied. Perhaps the goal is to live in such a manner that Spirit may be recalled to the ALL, the Source, in satiated peace and contentment.

✪

Moving is the best medicine. Keeping active and losing weight are just two of the ways that you can fight osteoarthritis pain. In fact, for every pound you lose, that’s four pounds less pressure on each knee.

For information on managing pain, go to fightarthritispain.org.