#i don't think they care if it could use some extra garlic powder

[relapseabstracts]

officially back in my Eating Baby Food era

#it works tho it tickles my little disordered brain #like oh? a variety of meals that are 150 cals or less? already all portioned out just for me? #little salt little pepper some herbs here some spices here little twirl in the microwave?????????? #it is a lottery of is this what it's advertised as or is it the worst thing i have ever put in my mouth #bc babies eat batteries #i don't think they care if it could use some extra garlic powder #the apple pear pouches are horrendously good tho i could hoover that stuff up all day #sometimes u want something but u don't want the cals of a whole fruit u know #the apple rice cakes and those little long round rectangle biscuits?? the chocolate ones?? heaven on earth

[thenightling]

How to ward your home against evil

How to ward a home against Evil: Protection wards are pretty easy.

One of the oldest protection wards is hanging a pentacle (Pentagram) over your door. In medieval Germany up into the nineteenth century it was believed the pentacle over your door could ward out evil, including demons. It also protects against werewolves and vampires (which are warded off by symbols of faith).

If you're not comfortable with a star within a circle over your door because you have neighbors who think it's Satanic, a free-floating pentacle (a five pointed star on its own) may work.

Salt sprinkled across the threshold will also keep out unwanted spirits and demons. I sometimes add a little garlic powder to give it an extra oomph. I sprinkle it across the threefold and window frames while repeating "Let none with ill-intent pass this way. So mote it be." I do this at night and while the moon is waxing. It's always worked well for me.

But be warned, if you invite an entity in, this will break the ward and you will have to do it all over again so be careful of who or what you invite in after you do the salt warding.

Sprinkle blessed water over the threshold too. If you don't know how to make blessed water there are plenty of easy instructions out there. It's not hard. And there are many kinds of blessed water as well.

Iron horseshoe hung over the door will protect against malicious Earth bound nature spirits. i.e. dark fae / sidhe, goblins, imps, etc. Anything iron works really but iron horse shoes are considered especially lucky.

A Jack-o-lantern (even an artificial one, or a Jack-o-lantern shaped nightlight) also helps. This one might sound silly but Jack-o-lanterns were originally protection wards against uninvited, malevolent, wandering spirits. They were not just Halloween decorations.

Supernatural entities tend to respect old beliefs and understand a dis-invitation when they see one. The earliest Jack-o-lanterns were carved out of turnips but Irish immigrants to America found that pumpkins worked just as well (if not better). I used to keep a large wooden Jack-o-lantern on my doorstep all year long for protection and luck. It made for a wonderful conversation piece when someone came over in late March and saw it. "Is that... a Jack-o-lantern?" "Why, yes. Yes, it is."

Wild roses will also ward against vampires. Sprinkled poppy seeds and a rope with many knots in it also works for this purpose. Roses also work against demons.

A five pointed star made of rowan twigs and bound together with red ribbon is supposed to protect against black magick.

A charm of any kind with a glass blue eye is supposed to protect against the Evil Eye and can be hung anywhere or even worn.

Lamb's blood (myoglobin from a package of lambchops will work) or sacramental wine smeared on the front door and splashed on the thresholds and windowsill are supposed to keep out demons.

I recommend using the wine instead. Easy cheat: Welch's Sparkling red grape juice was an attempt to make a non-alcoholic wine for ceremonial purposes. It's safe, clean, and you don't have to explain yourself to a rabbi or priest. An iron bell (preferably three) will ward off some spirits.

Vervain / Verbena (Flower or things scented to be like verbena) are supposed to protect against mind manipulation.

Cinnamon sticks or anything cinnamon scented (Cinnamon brooms) for luck.

Anything made of silver and iron mostly for protection, but especially if it is a symbol of faith.

Something small and gold like golden pin will ward off entities like the Dullahan (headless horsemen). For something more discrete: Anything "pumpkin spice" may ward off evil in general as most of the ingredients in pumpkin spice mixtures are seasonings once used in protection spells against malicious entities. Every autumn lots of people are drinking spice mixtures that double as seasonal protection wards, and don't even know it. (Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin, and ginger are all used in protection magick.)

#Protection wards #Wicca #Wiccan #Pagan #Magick #Occult

[les-lazy-miserables]

Fried Veggies and Noodles (1.0)

Price per serving: around £2 Servings: 2-3 when very hungry, or 3-4

Beware: You will need a big pan or better: an actual wok.

This will work with any veggies that are frozen; I mostly use green veggies for this, especially "stalky" ones as they are cheap and come in large quantities.

Ingredients (in order of appearance in the recipe)

Main: Leek, you can also use white onions Peas (tin or frozen, I used frozen) Broccoli (frozen or fresh, I used fresh as it was on offer) Medium noodles (depends on what you like), you can also use rice as the idea is to have a mild wok dish Mushrooms

Little helpers: vegetable oil for frying garlic (fresh or granulated or powder) pepper

any kind of sauce that you like for wok dishes (optional) soy sauce (optional) vegetable stock (optional but I'd always add it. Live a little. (How sad is it that not having bland food is considered living a little when you live on a budget))

Instructions

Prep:

Cut all the vegetables. Do not care about what you have heard about how big the slices should be. This is your gig. Cook all the vegetables that are frozen. Consider cooking them a bit less since wok dishes taste best when the veg is more crunchy. Heat oil in pan/wok. Put leek/onions in pan/wok. (Add garlic.) optional Add broccoli and peas Add some water (optional: and vegetable stock.) Rather add your water bit by bit than at once. The goal is not to have your food swimming at the end. Add noodles and let them cook in the whole thing. Add some more garlic because why not. Add pepper optional: add sauce

You may wonder: How do you fry vegetables? - I put oil in a pan, heat the pan, cut the vegetables and throw them in one by one. When I see that they turn brown quite quickly, I turn down the flame.

Why not cook the noodles separately? Because that means more cleaning afterwards. Also I think the basic idea of a wok dish is cooking everything in one pot. Not entirely sure. Also the noodles absorb some of the flavour of the vegetables.

Yikes, there's water left! Cook a bit longer with a higher flame. Yes, the vegetables will be mushy. It's okay. You'll learn how much water is appropriate for this dish. Just use a bit less next time and add it bit by bit.

A tip for storing food: I don't like tupperware too much as I find it hard to keep my kitchen organised and there's always a lid going missing no matter HOW HARD YOU TRY. When I cook something in a big pot (like this dish), I wait for the pot to cool down, stick a big plate, and put it in the fridge. Use a deep plate so it closes of the pot.

I have two pots. It was something I had to buy and I had one for the longest time but realised it prolonged my cooking time (I had to first cook frozen goods, then pasta, or the other way around). So after some internal struggle I bought a second one. I still find storing cooked food directly in a pot a very helpful way to actually eat the prepared food (as you can't make new food without having to empty the pot first). Plus you can put one part of the annoying wash-up away for later, literally. Plus you won't have to buy tupperware (I never do, I try to use empty sturdy packaging from ice cream for example). If you do have tupperware already, do what you like.

This whole trick of course assumes you have enough room in your fridge but that was never a real problem for me.

Another tip to avoid having to buy tupperware: When I can't finish the portion I put on my plate, I stick a deep plate on top (the bottom faces away from the "serving plate" so you don't stain the second plate and save yourself some extra washing up).

Oh and for those wondering: I use the empty food packaging for storing cut vegetables.

The story behind this dish: My first day in Britain. I had my Excel spreadsheet ready for months, calculating my monthly budget so I could afford living in Britain and paying back my loan (a private one, which I used to pay for a postgraduate course as an international student). But this was all projections and planning. Now it was show time. My strategy for food and grocery shopping was to have several basic recipes that I could modify to take advantage of special offers. So far it has worked, and I am relatively happy with the result. I cooked in bulk so I would not have to worry about savoury food for the next few days. It was a bit on the bland side; I am considering investing in a sauce that I could stretch. Or just toss in a bit more garlic next time, or some nuts. We will see.

#bulk #veg #wok #noodles #vegetarian #vegan #flexible #savoury