The cooler days really make me want to get in the kitchen to cook and bake. There's just something about the warmth that kitchen magic brings to the home. The scents, flavors and good times. Here are two of my favorite Samhain Recipes that I make every year: Samhain Stew and Samhain Pumpkin Bread. Please feel free to save and print them out. If you make them let me know. For this quick bread you can adjust the spices as you see fit. I add freshly grated ginger and candied ginger pieces. Sometimes I put in chocolate chips. Because - chocolate! Invite friends and family over. Enjoy the eats and the Season!  Have a very magical Samhain! Audra

Have you even been drawn to gathering or harvesting herbs, flowers, roots, etc and had NO IDEA why?  Yeah, that just happened to me. I was outside with Asher, my tiny Hell hound, and had the irresistible urge to pluck acorns off our neighbors tree. Now, in the 16 years we've lived here I've never been "inspired" to pluck acorns from their tree. Strange? Then I couldn't help myself, I had to harvest all the seed pods off our Iris Oriental bush. So I got a bowl and scissors and gathered a bunch. Then took all the seeds out, keeping the pods in tact so they still made a 3 pointed star. Good grief. Why?  I looked up the magical meaning for Iris, here's what I found:  "Iris species. A Moon plant, orris root is good for digging deep into the Moon-ruled subconscious and uprooting what is hidden. Like any Moon herb, it can also be used in divination and dream work. The iris is also called the fleur-de-lis, so this Moon plant has often been associated with dom...