Kitchen Witchery

Kitchen Witchery

I get some water for coffee,
thinking of nothing,
transfixed by the smell
of fresh bread lying
fast asleep on the table.

For a few minutes
my body shrinks.
My kitchen keeps so many
mysteries. My frozen mind
only wants to feel.
I thrust my finger
in the cream cheese
without remembering the knife
in the drawer.
I'm just a naughty girl again.
.
While the coffee-pot
announces the steam, I begin
to grease the tin with
oil and forgetfulness,
I get the flour, the eggs and
the sugar and I mix them,
as I distract my soul.
Such a simple magic!
Then I add butter while I
lend sacredness to life,
changing minutes delicately.

I put that beauty in the oven:
everything is hidden in sweet simplicity.
I wait while it gestates:
a ritual of love.
When my cookies are ready,
I lay the table
-fresh bread, my buttery cookies, coffee and everything else.
I call my daughter, my mother, my sister and my niece.
I put my favourite cd of Tom Jobim on,
and we sing together:

That unnamed peace
that we exercise with great
charm is almost unknown
in postmodern life,
We sit together,
healing through food,
love and deep emotion,
celebrating magic in life,
celebrating our connection.

Karla Bardanza
http://asmoonsewsthesatinstars.blogspot.com
http://skycladatmidnight.tumblr.com
http://embracingthegoddessforever.tumblr.com

Brazilian cornstarch cookies

2 cups cornstarch

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (that equals 12 Tbps)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift cornstarch, sugar and salt together, mix the egg and blend in the butter. Knead well. Let stand ten to fifteen minutes. I use a cookie press to drop them on a greased cookie sheet. It makes cookies in different shapes. But usually you shape them into balls in the palm of your hand and drop them on the greased cookie sheet. Then use the tines on a fork to make grooves on the cookies. They look really pretty that way. Some people like to shape the cookies into really tiny balls, others prefer them bigger. Bake for about seven minutes, depending on how big you make them. Let cool and serve with a wonderful cup of Brazilian coffee in
the afternoon.

This poem was written in 2010.