Tag Archives: garlic

Wild Garlic and Wild Garlic Soup Recipe

It’s that time of year when you’ll start seeing (and smelling!) wild garlic popping up in shady and damp woodlands, fields and hedgerows throughout Britain, Ireland and Europe.

If you don’t know what it looks like, it has tiny white flowers and bright green leaves, but it can be quite scarce.

It is commonplace in ancient woods, where it creates a carpet of star shaped white blossoms, instead of the blue flooring of bluebells.

MAGICKAL PROPERTIES

In Witchcraft, wild garlic can be used just like regular garlic and is primarily used for protection, banishing and warding.

It can offer protection from break-ins when kept around the house or utilised in wards. It can also ward against nightmares, if used in sleep charms, and is useful for banishing negativity and unwelcome spirits. By this token, you could probably also use wild garlic to get rid of unwanted mindsets, habits, emotions, etc. Finally, it can protect the user from gossip and psychic attacks, and it can be used in wards of almost any purpose.

Garlic has strong associations with Hecate and the ancient Greeks would place garlic at cross roads as an offering to her.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Wild garlic is useful in treating bronchitis, allergies and asthma, by helping to open the lungs and ease breathing. It is also a healthy antioxidant and has antimicrobial properties. Additionally, it can aid in preventing clots by thinning blood and therefore should be used in moderation, due to these properties.

It can also help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels and it’s juice can be applied directly, or in a poultice, to burns.

Please take care, when picking wild garlic, to only remove the leaves. Don’t pull too hard, or you can pull the bulb straight out too, which has the potential to spoil next years crop and contribute to it’s scarcity. As with all foraging, take only what you need and treat the site with care, so you can enjoy it again next year!

Also, don’t pick anything from the side of the road, as there is too much pollution there from cars, or where people regularly walk their dogs, as no one wants pee or poop in their food!!

WILD GARLIC SOUP RECIPE

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 40 g butter (or veggie/vegan alternative);

• 1 medium onion (chopped);

• 3 medium potatoes (peeled and diced);

• 1.5 ltr vegetable stock;

• 300 g wild garlic leaves (washed and patted dry);

• 100 ml double cream (or veggie/vegan alternative); and

• Salt and pepper.

Method:

Melt the butter over a medium heat, add the onions and saute until soft.

Add the vegetable stock and potatoes to the pan and simmer gently until the potatoes are fully cooked.

Add the wild garlic to the pan and allow to wilt for a couple of minutes.

Use a jug or hand blender (please be careful, as it’ll be boiling hot!) to blend the soup until you have a smooth and silky consistency.

Stir through the cream, season to taste and serve.

Serve with crusty bread.

Recipe Source: “wild garlic soup – Lost in Food” https://lostinfood.co.uk/wild-garlic-soup-a-mini-mid-week-adventure/

Magickal Milk Roasted Chicken

I made this a couple of months ago and it went down very well! It’s actually a Jamie Oliver Recipe, but if you look into the properties and benefits of the ingredients used, and cook with specific intent, you can make a much more magickal meal!

INGREDIENTS

• Whole chicken
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 10 cloves garlic, skins left on
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 handful of fresh sage, leaves picked — around 15 to 20 leaves
• 2 lemons

Health Benefits and Magickal Properties

• Sea salt – Salt is great for using both as a magickal tool and ingredient in cooking. Used as a tool, it is often used by witches to cast their circles, as it creates a powerful barrier that can shield and protect you whilst you work. As an ingredient, salt is used for banishing, binding, cleansing, grounding, healing, purification and protection, in addition to blessings and consecrations.

• Black pepper – Black pepper can be used for banishing, binding, home cleansing and protection, repelling, separation and warding.

• Cinnamon – Cinnamon can be used for attention, attraction, business acumen and success, creativity, financial gain, intellectual stimulation and concentration, libido, lust, knowledge, money, power, prosperity, sexual love, success and winning.

• Garlic – Garlic can be used for accident prevention, reversing bad luck, banishing, good luck, illness, jealousy, male fertility, negativity, physical and psychic protection, sleep and virility.

• Sage – Sage is good for balance, honesty, grounding, longevity, mental clarity, truthfulness and wisdom. 

• Lemon – Lemons are perfect for purification, happiness, friendship, longevity, purification, refreshment, unity, uplifting, rejuvenation, awareness, love and fidelity.

METHOD

Heat your oven to 190°C (375°F) degrees. Season the chicken with the sea salt and pepper, thinking of the specific intentions that you want to imbue into this meal. I made it for my husband and stepson (with enough leftovers for our two rescue dogs), so my intentions were binding us as a family, grounding us all and protecting us from the current troubles in the world.

Then place a hob/oven proof pot (I used a deep, cast iron, casserole dish, with double handles), that can fit the chicken snugly within it, over a medium-high heat on the hob/stove.  Add to this pot the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the chicken to the pot and fry it, turning every few minutes, until it has browned all over. I made sure to turn the chicken deosil (clockwise), to promote my positive intentions.

Turn the heat down to low, remove the chicken from the pot and place it onto a plate, then drain off all but a few tablespoons of the fat from the pot.

Then add the cinnamon stick and garlic to the pot and allow them to sizzle in the oil for a minute or two. Return the chicken to the pot, along with the milk and sage leaves. Use a vegetable peeler, or sharp knife (please be careful!) to cut wide strips of skin off both lemons and add them to the pot as well.

Put the pot into the oven and bake for approximately 1.5 hours, basting the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender and the sauce has reduced into a thick, curdled sauce. (If the sauce is reducing too quickly, cover the pot with a lid)

The chicken will be so tender you can just tear portions off and divide between everyone’s plates, making sure to spoon a generous amount of sauce over each serving. We had ours with mini roast potatoes and cauliflower & broccoli cheese, but it goes well with sautéed greens, pasta, rice, potatoes or bread. The leftovers are delicious on sandwiches too!!

I don’t have an photos of the finished product, as it was demolished!!