Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

Between the influence of Brigid as a triple aspected diety (one who represents all three phases of a womans life, maiden, mother, crone); her connection to weaving and other domestic arts as seen celebrated through brigid crosses and the traditions of offering bread to the land to enhance the coming agricultural season, I wanted to […]

Imbolc is the first festival in the Wheel of the Year after the Gregorian calender celebrates the New Year. It can be a time of cold where only what has been preserved was available to eat and those supplies might be dwindling so although celebration feasts are enjoyed, the meals would have been plainer than […]

With so many things being extra sweet at this time of the year, using fresh cranberries for a bit of pucker makes a refreshing addition to the cookie tray. Cranberries and British Columbia go way back. They are native to this part of the world and were traded as far away as California by 1827 […]

Where winter is cold and there is lots of snow, one might expect Christmas Eve dinner to be served hot but the older tradtion was that the hot meal was served at noon and the evening meal was one of bread and cheese, smoked meat and on special occasions, herring salad. Some recipes for herring […]

In Holland there is a strong tradition connecting letters with this time of the year. Edible letters were used as a teaching aid to help children learn their alphabet in convent school.  Today chocolate letters can be found in delicatessens at Christmas time but the tradition goes further back to a time when the letters […]

Cranberry Sauce is a bit like shortbread cookies. Your family recipe is naturally the favourite. The other day though I was invited to a belated American Thanksgiving dinner with two different cranberry condiments. One was a traditional `sauce`made with white wine and curry. The second was a freshly grated uncooked option with oranges and nuts. […]

Back in August, when the weather was warm, I posted this recipe for an Aloe Coconut Cream. Now that the mercury has dropped the coconut may feel a little much as it will be firmer, so I have adjusted the ingredient list, adding a few additional optional ingredients and am making this the third treat […]

Keeping with the easy homemade gift giving theme, this three ingredient face cleanser is top of the list. I am combining it with an aloe almond coconut lotion and a brown sugar honey sugar scrub (coming Tuesday & Wednesday) and making little stocking stuffers for some of my friends this season. You will need: 1 […]

This year I am gifting some of my friends with homemade toiletries; a simple cleanser, an updated version of a moisturizing cream (still to come) and this wonderfully aromatic scrub that I often made in class. Three little tubs of pampering self-care to stuff some stockings! We are all of a perspective that gifting things […]

The other day I was shopping for supplies for a candlemaking class and came across some glasses that would make good containers for soy wax candles, so I thought I would share the steps as I had just come across almost the exact same thing ( as a finished product) on a store shelf for […]