Kitchen Witchery: Red Beans and Rice Pt. 1 Ingredients

My love for this classic southern dish is tied in with my life in a lot of ways. One of my favorite places in the world is New Orleans, where red beans and rice is a staple whether in the home or at a restaurant. I went there for the first time the year before Katrina hit and I think I ate this dish nearly every place I went, going wild over the flavors so much my parents had to tease me. I certainly hadn't had it this good in Kentucky but I was determined to bring it home with me. Later, some of my first dates with the man that I later married were at a Cajun restaurant where we bonded over this very dish. We married in New Orleans and, yes, ate a lot of red beans and rice on our honeymoon there.

When I asked my husband if he wanted anything special for dinner this week, he said red beans and rice and I decided to give it a try in the Instant Pot we bought for Christmas.

As I gathered my ingredients, I contemplated the metaphysical associations of the herbs and plants used. Here is what I've come up with in my basic research and my overall thoughts on the spiritual vibes I associate with this dish as I brew it up with some kitchen witch magick to feed my beloved.

Beans: these unassuming staple foods have a long history of magick. Think Jack and Bean Stalk wherein a few magic beans sent up a stalk that reached straight to the sky and the kingdom of the giants. This could have root in Norse mythology with the Jotun and the Tree of Life reaching between worlds.
While red beans and kidney beans aren't the same, they can be used interchangeably in a red beans and rice recipe and for that I will be including both in this listing.
Folk magick traditions like Hoodoo, Appalachian practice, and Gypsy associate beans mostly with luck, money, and energy. Neo-Pagan associations rely a lot on color magick and associate red beans with love, romance and passion.
In Japan, red beans are used in sweets which lend to their association with love, friendship, and other sweet things as well as the shared association of good luck that crosses cultures.

Rice: Used for sex, fertility, happiness, money, and protection. There's a reason we used to throw rice at newly weds - it was part of wishing them health, wealth, happiness, and lots of babies as they entered their life together.

Garlic: one of my favorite spices (top 5 for sure) and I can never get enough of this stuff so I have to be mindful when using so I don't offend my loved ones that I'm cooking for.
I could write quite a bit about this amazing bulb of yum but Kitchen.Witch already has here, so I figured I'd just direct you her way - https://steemit.com/kitchen/@kitchen.witch/herb-of-the-day-garlic

Tomatoes: I've come across some recipes that don't use tomatoes...I don't know why. This nightshade is another love in my life and don't even get me started on heirlooms (my love affair with them went up another notch when I was pregnant and craved them by the bushel).
The botanical name for tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) means “edible wolf peach”. Their French name, Pomme d’amore (apple of love) and the Spanish name poma amoris, reflect this. Hungarians called it paradice appfel (Apple of Paradise). The Greeks called it pomadora, Golden Apple, and associated it with the Hesperides and the golden apples of Hera. It was considered by many an aphrodisiac, which might be one of the reasons Italian food with lots of garlic and tomatoes is one of the most popular for dates.
Neo-Pagans claim that, although the flavor is completely different, tomatoes can be used in place of apples in many magical spells. They can also be used in place of other members of the nightshade family. This should, of course be done in considerations to use and fellow ingredients.

Peppers: For my recipe, I always use bell peppers and jalapeno. Sometimes I use very little jalapeno if I'm cooking it for people other than my immediate family because not everyone can handle heat like us (and, yes I'm including my toddler in this, that kid likes spice but I only let him have a little right now. Takes after his mama).
Peppers, associated with heat, are used for all manner of fiery things ranging from lust, love, and passion to protection, hexes (casting and breaking), banishment, and destruction.
I'm including black pepper in this mix which is mostly used for protection purposes.

Bay leaf – Psychic awareness, protection, healing. I use bay leaves for cleansing much like many fellow witches use white sage. Just burn a couple leaves during your ritual to clear unwanted energy. In food, add it for flavor and to draw in all non-beneficial energies that you will then filter out and toss.

Pork Sausage: I know its not a magickal herb and not everyone includes meat in their red beans and rice but I love including pork sausage in ours. In Norse tradition, pork is lucky and pigs (imagery or food) are often used in celebrations ranging from Yule to births to oath ceremonies.

References:
http://witcheslore.com/bookofshadows/herbology/cottage-witchery/1547/
http://gypsymagicspells.blogspot.com/2011/06/bean-magick.html
https://www.themagickalcat.com/Articles.asp?ID=242
http://www.witchipedia.com/herb:tomato