Bewitching Gingerbread Latte

Take your favorite freshly ground coffee, brewed with pumpkin pie spice.  Add a shot of Domaine de Canton French ginger liqueur and a splash of milk.  Stir deosil (clockwise) while making a wish.  Blessed be!

Kitchen Coffee Witchery

Make your own pumpkin spice coffee by adding pumpkin pie spice to the grounds before brewing.  You can make your own spice:
4 T. cinnamon
4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 tsp. ground ginger
3 tsp. ground allspice
Stir all spices together and keep in an airtight jar (re-use an empty spice jar).

Experiment and come up with your own combination, maybe adding cloves or chili powder or cocoa - whatever you like!

Mourning Moon

This month's full moon is called the Mourning Moon.  Here is a bit of info from the pagan/wicca site on about.com.

It's a little chillier each day, the skies are a bit grayer, and it's the time of year we call the Mourning Moon. This post-Samhain season is often considered a fallow time, a period in which we rest and rejuvenate. It's also the beginning of a new year for most Pagans and Wiccans - why not use this month to plan your new beginnings for the coming year?

Correspondences this month include colors that match the changing skies -- grays and blues and silvers. Gemstones for this month continue the theme with topaz and lapis lazuli. Take the time this month to honor deities of the dark season like Isis, Bastet and Hecate. This is a time to wash away your old bad habits and baggage -- get a fresh start for the new year. Dump those toxic relationships that are dragging you down with negativity, and work on strengthening your connection to the Divine and to Self.

Dinner to brighten longer nights

Daylight savings time is over.  I'm spending what time I get outside raking leaves, pulling the last (hopefully) of the weeds, trimming back bushes and laying down mulch.  Colder nights mean time to break out the crockpot again!  I think of it as a modern day cauldron.

Tonight I'm making pulled pork:
3.5 lb boneless pork shoulder
1 large chopped sweet onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
(I leave out the onion and garlic for digestive reasons and the pork is still the best I've ever had!)
1 12 oz bottle chili sauce
2 T. packed brown sugar
2 T. cider vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

For easy cleanup, use a liner in the slow cooker.  Place pork, onion & garlic in slow cooker.  In medium bowl, combine all other ingredients.  Pour over pork.
Set cooker on high for 5-6 hours or low for 10-11 hours.
Remove pork to large plate or serving dish, reserving juices in cooker.  Using 2 forks, shred pork, discarding any fat.  Skim fat from top of juices.  Pour enough juice over pork to moisten it.  Recipe makes approximately 6 cups.  Leftovers can be divided into 2 cup portions and kept in airtight containers for other recipes.  Refrigerate for 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. 

For dessert - blondies. 

The recipe (and a video) can be found here: http://www.joyofbaking.com/barsandsquares/Blondies.html

In older times, the beginning of winter meant fresh meat (so the livestock would not have to be fed through the lean times ahead) and the wine and beer that had been fermenting since the harvest were ready to drink.  Celebrate that fine tradition: eat, drink and be merry!

Autumn Blessings

First of all, it's snowing, so water for the plants! My baby oak trees are a year old and dropping acorns like crazy. I was wondering what to do with them when the blue jays swooped in and solved the problem for me. Nature is pretty amazing!
Between the shorter days and cold wind, I've been preferring my couch to a walk around the park. Then I discovered all the workout dvds you can find at the library. So far I think this is my favorite:

It has great music and incorporates other moves into the walk so you don't get bored. It can all be done in a very small space in your living room and is a lot of fun. Plus the instructor is so nice and upbeat - the time flies by and I really enjoyed working out while watching the snow fly!
Enjoy your day!