Madam Spider’s Soup Spells

Cooking is one of the oldest and most overlooked forms of magick.
— Madam Spider

Blessed Summer Solstice, witches! In honor of our growing gardens and Telling the Bees pub date (if you haven’t already, you can order it here!), the eight-legged weaver called Madam Spider is sharing two soup spells from her personal grimoire! If you stir up a Moon & Vine or Savory & Cinnamon potion, we’d love to see it! Tag your fellow kitchen witches online @littlewitchbooks and @pointyhatpress.

Moon & Vine Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

  • 8 large tomatoes, halved

  • 1 sweet onion, diced

  • 5 carrots, peeled and chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 6 oz or 1/2 can of coconut milk

  • Vegetable broth (as needed)

  • A few pinches of fresh or dried thyme, parsley, and oregano

  • Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven warms, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to a baking dish. Add in the vegetables, making sure the tomatoes are arranged skin-down. Drizzle with more olive oil, as well as dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Flip the tomatoes over and cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for approximately one hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the skins from the tomatoes and discard. Blend the rest of your mixture until you reach your desired consistency, adding vegetable broth as needed. Place mixture into a cooking pot with a bay leaf and simmer for 10 minutes. For a creamier soup, add coconut milk.

Savory & Cinnamon Stew

Ingredients:

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

  • 1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

  • 1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 3 tbsp. olive oil

  • 6 oz or 1/2 can of coconut milk

  • Approximately 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

  • Dash of white wine (optional)

  • One large spoonful of plain Greek yogurt or cream cheese

  • A few pinches of cinnamon

  • Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Add olive oil and onion to a large cooking pot. Set the burner to low/medium and let the onion soften for a minute before adding in the bay leaf, garlic, salt, pepper, and a dash of wine. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes. Add the butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Cover, return heat to low/medium, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and use a potato masher to roughly blend the ingredients. When the soup has reached your desired consistency, add a spoonful of greek yogurt or cream cheese and mix well. Add a dash of cinnamon to taste.

The Ingredients: Magickal Properties

Butternut squash: Like the pumpkins and gourdes from our favorite folktales, a ripe squash is a vessel. When hallowed out, squash can store light, wisdom, and a bit of magick.

Tomato: A fruit disguised as a vegetable that awakens the heart.

Sweet potato: A rosy root popular in rituals for healing and beauty.

Carrot: Use this wand-shaped root in potions for new perspectives, or intentions around creativity.

Onion: An absorbent, protective bulb for everyday kitchen witchery and hearth magick.

Garlic: Purifying and apotropaic, garlic restrings the boundaries of heart and hame.

Thyme: A creeping plant that summons support and strength.

Parsley: Growing parsley in your garden or keeping a fresh supply in your home apothecary is protective and purifying.

Oregano: A vehicle for memory and joy, oregano summons energetic harmony.

Cinnamon: A fragrant bark that’s burned and brewed to invite in abundance and luck.

Bay leaf: Bay leaves are savory, blank pages upon which to ‘write’ your wishes. Dream big!

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Pandora’s Box: The Summer Crossroads

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The Gardens of Iris: Litha Magick