Pagan Blog Post - A for Asparagus

Now you are wondering WTF does Aparagus have to do with the craft right?

This year, one of the ways I am evolving my spirituality is discovering the way food is a gift from Gaia's bounty.  The Goddess does not only nourish us spiritually, but also physically. 

Last June I had an eye opening experience that led to a real life wake up call.  I was diagnosed with Kidney disease and even more recently Lupus.  So alot of things have been woken up inside of me including my spiritual side, my physical side, and my mental side.  The Goddess has given me a really hard wake up call and I am listening.  One of those things is how and what I eat.

So with participating in the Pagan Blog Project, I will also be sharing things from my book tentatively titled Gaia's Bounty: Celebrating the Goddess with Food which I am currently writing.  With the Pagan Blog Project's two week per letter of the alphabet, one of those weeks will focus on a food item and its magical properties. 

With our first week, here is my first entry:

A is for Asparagus

According to the Alchemy Lab's listing, Asparagus has the elemental properties of Water.  It's phallus like shape is definitely representive of the God.  For this reason alone, it was eaten by many Romans and Egyptians because of its shape was thought of as a powerful aphrodisiac.  It is thought that people who wanted to gain a lover, would eat asparagus.  It is also thought that those who had many lovers ate asparagus on a daily basis.

Asparagus is ruled by the planet Mars. It is also thought of having the qualities to represent prosperity since it is considered to be a delicacy and in history eaten by kings such as Louis XIV and Egyptian Pharoahs. If you examine the stalk of it, it is covered with tiny pyramids.  The pyramid is a symbol for prosperity.  You can even make it more powerful by inscribing a money symbol ($) into the stalk near the pyramids for increased prosperity.  Then eating asparagus on a Tuesday is thought to give you more drive towards earning money and possibly becoming sucessful in monetary investments. 

Now here is one of my favorite recipes (before my becoming Vegetarian).  At one point in time, I think everyone has heard the phrase "Bring home the bacon" refferring to bringing home money or making more money.  Why not use this phrase to your advantage and let your spellcasting be in the form of making a magical meal for prosperity? 

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients

• 10 spears fresh asparagus, trimmed (Don't forget to inscribe your $ signs near the pyramids on the stalks!)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 5 bacon strips, halved lengthwise

Directions

1. Place asparagus on a sheet of waxed paper; coat with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with pepper; turn to coat. Wrap a bacon piece around each spear; secure ends with toothpicks. Grill, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 8-12 minutes or until bacon is crisp, turning occasionally. Discard toothpicks.

(I obtained the above recipe from Allrecipes.com)


UPDATE:
Since I posted this entry this morning, I have received over 10 emails asking for a Vegetarian alternative.  I don't know why I did not post one earlier becaue I surely do have one.  It's a recipe that me and my friend Kathy created one night with items from my fridge.  Here goes:


Breadstick Wrapped Asparagus
(Created at Crystal's house Samhain Slumber Party 2011)
24 Asparagus Spears
1 can of your favorite Crescent Dough in a can (according to various sources Pilsbury is Vegan friendly and what we used)
Earth Balance "Butter" spread (or if you eat butter/margarine you can use that too)
Parmasan Cheese (I like the Whole Foods' 365 Vegetarian brand)

Open the can of dough.  Cut each piece of crescent roll into two pieces.  (Can is for 12 rolls).  Take each piece of asparagus and wrap it with a strip of dough.  Place on cooking sheet and follow directions to bake the rolls. (Think it was like 350* for 12 minutes, but could be wrong, get the temperature off the can's instructions).

When done, take out and brush with butter.  Sprinkle on the Cheese.  Then devour.

NOTE:  There was also talk of the possibility of blanching the asparagus ahead of time and also putting the cheese on inside of the dough.  Can experiment with these options as well.  Let us know how it turns out if you do!

Happy Eating and wishing you much Prosperity for 2012!

Blessed Be,
Crystal

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thursday, a day that I personally gives my thanks to the Gods for all that is in my life.
Both the good and the bad...as they both have an impact on my life and who I am to this day.

For my first Thankful entry, I want to give thanks to the Gods for my Family.

Especially thankful to my parents, after all, without them, I would not be here.

My step-dad and Moma

My father (1943 - 2008)  

Those that know me, my childhood was not exactly what one would call happy.  I was abused by my biological father at an early age which resulted in their divorce.  Without going into much detail, lets just say I am not a fan of his, nor will I ever possibly be.  I am thankful that for a period in time, he and my mother fell in love.  They decided to get married and have a family. 

From that union, not only was I created but I also have a brother I love and a sister whom I not only love, but adore and is one of my greatest friends. 

Me and my sister in Salem, MA

I am also thankful that my mother was able to fall in love again.  J is a wonderful man and has been a great Dad to me during my young adult life.  He's always been one of my biggest supporters and told me I can do anything I wanted to do. 


There was also another man in my life that has impacted my life, my brother in law. 

He was there for me as a young child.  He was the man I could always count on.  He was the one helping me achieve my dreams such as driving me to and from ballet class.  Introducing me to the great rock n roll music of my life and told me yes you can be a guitarist.  Giving me a home whenever I needed one and was one of my supporters whenever I wanted to join the Army immediately after highschool.  His example, led to high expecations for any man that would want to become my husband.  Those high expectations led to:

Meeting my wonderful husband playing pool of all things at an amateur tournament for the APA. 
To this day we are happily in love and have been married over a decade and now have two handsome boys!

Commander Fox of the Clones

Our own R2D2 with squeaks and squeals of a 2yr old.

Thank you Goddess and God for the wonderful gift of family.  I am truly blessed!

Blessed Be,
Crystal

Wordless Wednesday