The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2017

Tap Into the Energies of Fruits
Green Witch Kitchen Recipes
Walking the Green Path

WE MUST REMEMBER THAT EATING is a sacred act. In consuming a food, be it animal based or plant based, we forge a connection with nature, the source of nourishment. By taking this nourishment into our bodies, we also honor nature’s presence within our lives, and acknowledge our place within the natural order. Harvesting and preparing food are also sacred acts that we tend to compress into the smallest amount of time possible in order to free ourselves up for other things. When we understand that the act of preparing food is the conscious weaving together of various energies to achieve a specific goal, and that eating with intention leads to our assimilation of those energies, we understand that preparing and eating food with awareness give these actions another dimension of meaning. This chapter explores the energies associated with different foods and offers some ideas on how to combine them in delicious recipes.

Tap Into the Energies of Fruits

Fruit is a plant’s method of reproducing itself and carries an energy based in fertility and abundance. All fruit carries seeds, which are the beginning of life. Whether we consume the seeds or not, their fertile energy permeates the whole fruit. Fruit is also an excellent way to consume seasonal energy, for different fruits appear at different points of the seasonal cycle.

MAGICAL ASSOCIATIONS OF FRUIT

Use this list of correspondences to help you select your own combinations of fruit for salads, pies, and smoothies:

✵ Apple: health, longevity, love

✵ Pear: health, prosperity, love

✵ Orange: joy, health, purification

✵ Lemon: purification, protection, health

✵ Lime: happiness, purification, healing

✵ Grape: prosperity, fertility

✵ Kiwi: fertility, love

✵ Banana: fertility, strength

✵ Mango: spirituality, happiness

✵ Peach: spirituality, fertility, love, harmony

✵ Pineapple: prosperity, luck, protection

✵ Plum: love, tranquility

✵ Melons: love, peace

✵ Strawberries: love, peace, happiness, luck

✵ Raspberries: strength, courage, healing

✵ Blueberries: tranquility, peace, protection, prosperity

✵ Blackberries: prosperity, protection, abundance

✵ Cranberries: protection, healing

FRUIT RECIPES

Fruit is so delicious on its own that it rarely needs any complicated preparation. The following recipes take advantage of this simplicity.

FRUIT BOWL

This simple recipe gathers seasonal fruit into a bowl for display and consumption, making it part craft, part spell, part recipe. Include nuts for visual interest and to add a touch of fertility and abundance to your display. Assemble a selection of seasonal fruit, for example:

✵ Spring: strawberries, cantaloupe, cherries

✵ Summer: oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, peaches, nectarines, plums, berries

✵ Autumn: apples, plums, peaches, grapes

✵ Winter: nuts, apples, oranges

1. Wash fruit and pat dry with clean cloth or paper towel.

2. Arrange fruit in a large glass bowl in a pleasing display. Use as an offering during a seasonal ritual, as a centerpiece, or as breakfast or dessert.

PROSPERITY FRUIT SALAD

This seasonal breakfast or dessert gathers together fruit associated with prosperity and abundance. Choose as much or as little of each fruit as you like.

✵ Fresh pineapple chunks

✵ Blueberries

✵ Cherries, pitted and sliced in half

✵ Grapes, sliced in half, seeds removed

✵ Apples, diced

✵ Pears, diced

✵ 1 teaspoon lemon juice

✵ ¹/₄ cup sugar

1. Wash, dry, and cut fruit into appropriately sized pieces.

2. Combine fruit in a bowl. Sprinkle lemon juice over the fruit.

3. Sprinkle sugar over the fruit and leave to rest for 1 hour.

FRUIT DRINKS

There is something remarkably satisfying about making a fruit beverage. Once all the preparation is complete, you can enjoy the drink without getting your fingers sticky. There are two basic kinds of smoothie, those made with fruit and juice and those made with fruit and milk, cream, yogurt, or ice cream. These easy-to-make beverages combine various fruits to create a delicious potion for prosperity, health, or love.

Like fruit, dairy products are magically associated with abundance, love, and comfort, so if dairy energy supports your magical goal, then include milk or cream or other dairy products in your smoothie recipe.

Basic fruit juices to include in your nondairy smoothies include apple, pear, and white grape. You can also use cranberry and orange, but these have a stronger taste and may not complement your chosen fruit blend. As you experiment with smoothies, you may wish to add one teaspoon of lemon or lime juice to your creation to enhance the flavor.

NONDAIRY FRUIT SMOOTHIE

This recipe makes one serving but can be increased to serve more. If you choose to use watermelon as one of the fruits, omit the juice in your smoothie recipe or it will become too thin.

✵ Your choice of fruit (see previous list of fruit for correspondences)

✵ ¹/₄ cup fruit juice (apple, pear, or white grape)

✵ ¹/₄—1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste (optional)

✵ Fruit for garnish

1. Peel, seed, and dice the fruit.

2. Place the diced fruit in the blender with the juice and sugar, if using.

3. Cover and blend until smooth.

4. Pour into glass. Garnish with fruit on rim or set the glass on a saucer or small plate and arrange a bit of fruit around the base as a garnish.

DAIRY FRUIT SMOOTHIE

This version of the fruit smoothie incorporates yogurt as one of the ingredients. For a thinner drink, use milk; for a thicker, sweeter, more dessert-like treat, use ice cream. For nondairy milks, try almond milk or soy milk, which both have a sweet flavor. (Omit sugar if using nondairy milks.)

✵ ³/₄—1 cup fruit of your choice

✵ ¹/₄ cup plain yogurt

✵ 1 teaspoon—1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

✵ Fruit for garnish (optional)

1. Peel, seed, and dice the fruit.

2. Place fruit in the blender with the yogurt and sugar, if using.

3. Blend until smooth.

4. Pour into glass. Garnish glass with fruit, or place on saucer or small plate and garnish around the base of the glass.

5. If the drink is too thick, stir in a bit of milk. If it isn’t thick enough, return it to the blender and add more fruit.