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Blessed Lammas! Welcome, whether you come from Alison Cross’s blog or Joy Vernon’s.
And Happy Blog Hop anniversary to me! I love cycles. This is the season in which I began participating in the Tarot Blog Hop in 2012. We survived the Mayan calendar predictions to start a new cosmic aeon cycle and here we are!
Still in Texas, which was not my intention (moving to Idaho next year, Goddess willing and house appreciation happenin’!), so the harvest has already passed, and we wait for the heat to abate before planting again. I would imagine others of a more northerly persuasion are getting their tomatoes in now. We do still have some jalapeño peppers left, though. So, a small, hot harvest continues. 🙂
Lammas is the European pagan festival of the first harvest, brimming with the first fruits, which were often summer fruits like berries, and in America, early corn. All that spring work of planting, watering, and waiting starts to pay off. Time to shower our people with gifts and celebrate! Although the
Tarot Queen of Pentacles, generous soul that she is, is usually associated with this festival, hey, I did that last year, so since cycles shift dimension into a beautiful spiral through time and space, I’ll designate the Three of Cups as my Lammas tarot card for this year. Time for a glass of the first wine and sharing with friends and family.
So, two gifts for you. First, my recipe for salsa, made totally with ingredients from our subtropical spring garden (which we began harvesting in May). Being a northern New Englander by birth, salsa is not a natural for me, but I enjoyed learning. We made three batches and tweaked as we went, so this is just a base for your own experimentation. We are not into super-spicy food, so this is a mild recipe, although it depends entirely on the power of your jalapeño chili peppers. We did discover by growing them that the younger and greener they are, the hotter they are, and the more of the white “meat” and seeds you leave in the hotter they are. This one is based on a lovely recipe by Alton Brown on the Food Network. Here goes:
Matt & Joanne’s Fresh Salsa
Ingredients
4 to 6 small-to-medium tomatoes (roma are good if you don’t have a garden), chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 minced jalapeño peppers (seeds taken out—milder or left in—spicier, your preference)
1 bell pepper, fine dice (red or green)
1 small onion (red, white, or yellow), fine chopped
Fresh cilantro, snipped, quantity to taste
2 T white vinegar (or lime juice—we liked vinegar better)
Extra salt to taste
Directions
I did buy a little food processor to get the chopping/mincing/dicing right. If you are a good manual chopper, go for it.
Just put all the ingredients in a single container and leave in the fridge for about 12 hours to get all the flavors “fused” as Alton put it. It won’t be like the kind of salsa from a jar at all; kind of a cross between pico de gallo and salsa. Great with tortilla chips!
The Lazy Daisies Tarot Spread
And for your second Lammas gift, a spread I created for the TABI (Tarot Association of the British Isles) Tracker newsletter, which also came out today (a little late, but done). For those not in TABI in particular:
I know daisies have more than five petals, but I just got this vision of sun-drenched fields, lying therein, with grass and daisies all around. It’s been a warm and busy summer, so, time to relax, I’m thinking. So, I asked the tarot these five questions to get reconnected to my happy holiday, relaxed self:
Card 1: What do I need to let go of to relax?
Card 2: And what else do I need to let go of to relax (there’s always more than one thing!)
Card 3: Where’s my field of daisies?
Card 4: How should I get there?
Card 5: What will I bring back with me besides daisies?
This one was really fun. I got 7 Wands–Hierophant–Wheel–8 Swords–Page Cups. So, let go of the struggle of being in charge, throw out the traditional rules, go to the auto races or a gambling resort (!), get there by releasing yourself from your imagined restrictions, and bring back new or renewed feelings/relationships (new lover!). Let’s go!
Reply with your reading in the comments if you’d like. I’d love to hear about it!
Thank you for stopping by. You can use the links below to navigate through the rest of the hop. They are all well worth your while. 🙂
oooh a recipe AND a spread – result! Thanks Joanne, I’m a bit partial to both 😀
Ali x
Salsa – yum, yum! And the daisy spread is lovely – thanks for both 🙂
Love a bit of Salsa and I’ll try out the spread when I have the time to contemplate relaxing LOL 🙂
I lurve salsa. But …Idaho ?? I understand getting outta Texas, but ….Idaho ?? 😀
Ah, Vivianne, if I had my druthers, I’d just move back to Britain. Economically not real feasible, and the hubby suffers from seasonal affective disorder, so the climate is not conducive. Idaho is one of the best-kept mountain-and-valley places left in the Western U.S. a number of micro-climates that mitigate the potential extremes of weather. And land to raise vegetables and goats on. We’re in back-to-nature/back-to-hippy mode!
Now I’ve got this going around in my head
Oh, dear!
LOL I like the B52s 😀
I like your daisy (chain) spread 🙂
Now, that just ROCKS! First salsa, and then a spread for the sauce of life! Great gifts on Lammas. Thanks!
Another great spread to try as well as Salsa! I didn’t grow my tomatoes this year, I need to do that next year for sure 🙂
Hope the move to the new state is as stress-free as it could be – I shall read Tracker tomorrow, tired now 🙂
I’ve been looking for a decent Salsa recipe for aaaggges! Thank you! Love the Lazy Daisies Spread.
Here’s what I got… Knight of Cups – King of Wands – 8 of Cups – Ace of Cups – 4 of Cups. Interesting! I need to let go of my attachments and illusions regarding certain people, stop being the strong one and release the feeling that I’m responsible for their quality of life, my field of daisies is somewhere I can be alone, I get there by loving myself and valuing my own needs, and I come back with an opportunity or offer I’m not yet aware of (insight or some new awareness) 🙂
Awesome, Sharon! It does work pretty nicely, and one can do a real short narrative, like the questions all follow into each other. I’ll have to remember this structure for other spreads. Yep, definitely emotional sustenance for your relax time!
Yum! Salsa. I like to add a little bit of canned chipotle to mine. It’s ridiculous hot here in San Antonio. Hope you make it to Idaho soon!
Saw your spread. What a fun spread! When I told Joel that I was going to try out this Lazy Daisies spread this afternoon, he said “What for, Mom? If you’re that lazy, get Pops to pluck the damn things for you!” hahahahahah!
I love fresh salsa, and I make mine pretty much the same as yours! But I’m lazy and more often than not buy something jarred. And the hippie/goats/B52s juxtaposition had me laughing out loud!! 🙂
Nice spread and great recipe! We are fortunate to have a long growing season down south! 🙂
I adore that spread! Thank you. And mmmm on the salsa. I’m only over in Austin. Surely you can meet me half way to give me some. LOLOLOL!
Sure, Arwen, but you’ll have to wait until the fall harvest. Right now, all remaining tomatoes are chopped and frozen for use in cooking recipes. Garlic’s gone, onions frozen…even the jalapeños are winding down in the heat. Matt will be turning over the soil after this heat wave for us passes in a week or two, and then we’ll get started again. So, reconnect at the next hop on the equinox, and that may be too soon for the tomatoes; we’ll see. 🙂
I think I’d have read the Wheel as your field of daisies being where you can just flow and enjoy life, but that might be cos I’ve never been to the races or a gambling joint 😉 Lovely spread, and I adore that you added, “What else do I need to let go of?” 😀
Salsa and a new spread 🙂 Just the perfect mixture :p I would add some “salsa” music to it and it will be perfect! 🙂
Love this spread! Here’s what I pulled:
What do I need to let go of to relax? The Fool. I need to let go of my fear of feeling foolish or looking foolish to others.
What else? Five of Swords. Picking up the pieces after others are done fighting/playing or whatever it is they do that leaves such a mess?
Where’s my field of daisies? King of Pentacles reversed. Um. Okay, my interpretation of this is not meant for a family website…(sorry, but the King of Pentacles is kind of cute…)
How should I get there? reversed Six of Pentacles. By being loving and generous. See above.
What will I bring back with me besides daisies? Strength. Taming the lion. Or maybe taming the King of Pentacles…
Wonderful, Bonnie! I hope you find that slightly wild version of the King of Pentacles, there. Or maybe it’s a reinforcement of the Fool card (since the upright K of P is so plodding and cautious and Taurus-like). I really like your take on the 5 of Swords there. Never thought about picking up the pieces of others’ conflicts. It definitely works!