October Rhythms of Magic: Rhubarb
Rheum rhabarbarum.
Planet -
Venus
Element -
Earth
Gender -
Feminine
Although we
think as rhubarb as a fruit and usually use it in sweet recipes, it is a
vegetable.
Being as its
ruling planet is Venus, it can also be used in love magic.
Rhubarb is
said to increase your will power and reduce worry.
Serve
rhubarb to your lover to place them under your power.
Rhubarb was
used during the plague for protection against the black death, so it works very
well in protective magic. The leaves, dried and ground up make a good
ingredient in a witch bottle or medicine pouches.
DO NOT EAT
THE LEAVES AS THEY ARE POISONOUS!
A large
hardy perennial, can grow to 2 m (6 ft.), on a thick rhizome, with basal clump
of palmately lobed leaves. spires of reddish - green flowers arise on long,
hollow stems in the summer.
Edible
garden rhubarb is from hybrids, developed during the 19th century, of R.
rhabarbarum syn. R rhaponticum, and there are now many cultivars. Is slightly
laxative but does not have medicinal properties.
Rhizomes -
dried for use in decoctions, powders and medicinal preparations.
Used in VERY
small doses for diarrhoea and gastric upsets, and in larger doses for chronic
constipation, also given for gall bladder and Liver complaints. Medicinal
rhubarb should not be taken during pregnancy.
Tangy rhubarb & custard muffins:
Makes 12
Ingredients:
300 g/ 10 oz./2
cups Self - Raising flour
1 tsp -
Baking powder
1 tsp -
ground ginger
50 g/1 3/4 oz./
4 tbsp. -mascarpone
125 ml/ 4 fl
oz./ 1/2 cup - milk
2 eggs,
beaten.
150 g/ 5 oz./
2/3 cup - soft brown sugar
115 g/ 4oz -
butter melted
175 g/6 0z -
rhubarb, chopped.
readymade
custard to serve, optional
Method -
Pre- heat
oven to 200 0c/ 400 f / gas mark 6.
Grease or
line a 12-hole muffin tin.
Combine
flour, baking powder and ginger, sift into a large bowl.
In a large
separate bowl, beat the mascarpone until soft, then gradually beat in 1 - 2 tbsp.
milk until smooth and creamy, then beat in the rest with the eggs. Stir in the
sugar and butter, then add the rhubarb and pour into the dry ingredients.
Stir
together until just combined, then spoon dollops of the mixture into the
prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 20
minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes,
then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Serve on
their own or topped with a dollop of fresh custard.
Written by
)O( Gypsy Willowmoon Xx
Sources -
The Kitchen
and Garden Book of Herbs, By Jessica Houdret & Joanna Farrow
A KitchenWitches World of Magical Food, Rachel Patterson
Recipe from
Muffin Magic, by Susannah Blake.
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