Jim: Welcome to another episode of Knit A Spell. Katie. It's the spirits. The spirits are around us. The spirits that we drink.
Katie: Yes, especially at this time of the year. It's essential.
Jim: I might have some in my cup right now. .
Katie: That's right. Hey- oh.
Jim: Today is Spirited Craft Cocktails, and we have an amazing guest. Welcome Runa Troy. Woohoo.
Runa: Hi. Thank you. Thank you.
Light From Lantern presents: Knit A Spell.
I'm magical maker: Katie Rempe.
And I'm the maker of magic: James Divine.
Join us as we stitch together the symbiotic relationship between crafting and 'The Craft'.
Jim: So I'll do a quick intro for Runa. Mixing her heritage and permaculture into crone life worth living, Runa Troy's been a practicing witch for more than 40 years.
Jim: This week we are happy to bring Runa on to Knit A Spell to chat with us about creating spirited craft cocktails for this season. I am so thrilled to have you here. You're the perfect guest for this topic.
Runa: I'm so excited to be here.
Jim: So let's first talk about your background. Were you raised by witches in the woods?
Katie: Like so many of us, yes.
Runa: Oh, totally. No.
Runa: I was a child that always wanted to be outside and be in the woods. I felt the pull of the earth and the trees and the bees and the birds and just, be with nature and I saw people's auras and didn't have the language as a young child to explain it to someone, meaning an adult who understood and saved to think I was just some silly little girl.
Runa: And I would talk with the spirits that were about and be chidded for having imaginary friends. And it left me with a lot of questions. I just constantly felt this I need to find these answers. I need to find these answers. And as a teenager, a young teenager, I was walking by our locals, we called it a smoke shop, but it doubled as an occult shop and they had this display in the window that featured Lois Born's Confessions of a Witch, or yeah, witch amongst us, the Confessions the Autobiography of a Witch. And Linda Goodman's, sun Signs and Marion Weinstein's Positive Magic.
Runa: And I went in and I bought Born's book and read that. And it started the journey. So I got her book and began to have this very hidden collection of books, and I began to understand a whole lot more and started walking down that path. And that was about 1979 ish, the 19 hundreds. It's been a while.
Katie: Wow, that's incredible. So when did it really come into your life in earnest? When did you
Katie: Figure out like, oh, this is what I'm doing and this is what I'm good at.
Runa: Would say as I entered my early twenties it just felt like I was a constant student and that everything that I learned and everything that not everything, but a lot of what I explored, spoke to me, resonated with me, made my life better.
Runa: And so I was hooked, I suppose you could say. And it just, it felt organic and it felt right and I didn't have those questions anymore and I didn't feel so out of place anymore. I felt more rooted and grounded and ready to explore even further and create a life that allowed me to be my true self and live my best life.
Jim: Were you able to practice then, these esoteric practices or witchcraft or whatever you were imagining from then on from your early twenties until now?
Runa: No, it was very kind of fits and starts.
Runa: I would have seasons where it was me trying to find out more and trying to just really understand it and then ignoring it to a degree because I was a witch who couldn't really share it with anyone.
Runa: My parents sent me to a Protestant parochial school. I was very much into protection spells because I grew up in Detroit and crime and violence and mean girls and bullies were all around me. And I was a bookworm and a furious storyteller, at least to my composition books that had carried around with me all over the place.
Runa: And my strictly religious mother pushed me very deep into the broom closet. And so my magic began to take a very kind of hidden and secretive umbrella to it. But it allowed me to explore a lot of things in the craft and magic.
Runa: And it's still with me today clearly.
Katie: We're having you on to specifically talk about cocktails and spirits that get mixed into there. When did that enter your life that you're like, oh, I'm a witchy mixologist of sorts?
Runa: One of the very first jobs that I got as a legal adult was a bartender. Oh, there you go.
Runa: Back when I was 18, the legal drinking age was 18, and then when I turned 21, they turned it to 21. So from a young age
Jim: for you specifically, the state of Michigan.
Runa: It's called manifestation.
Runa: It was crazy. Living in Detroit, you would cross the border into Windsor where drinking was 19 as well. So spirits and cocktails and everything else like that was a part of my life for a long time, and even when I got a corporate job, or even when I was in the service, I would moonlight and bartend because it was a great way to meet people.
Runa: You made decent money so I could sock away some savings and things like that.
Runa: So incorporating that with my craft was a natural.
Katie: Everyone has an opinion on drinking with, using like your psychic abilities or whatever that might be.
Katie: Some are like, oh no it's not good. Like it's gonna break it. You can't concentrate. Others are like, oh no it puts you in that place. Maybe it just depends on the person and the practice and the amount, but I'm curious what your feedback is on that.
Runa: I would say that's absolutely correct.
Runa: Magic is very personal. Sure. The craft is very personal to everyone who walks along the path. And so for some people it could be something that helps bring them to a place where, they are able to connect better with the energies of the universe and conduct a ritual or do a spell. Whereas other people it might block.
Runa: And so my kitchen witchery, which is a lot of place where I've done my craft comes into play there. So you look at the ingredients and you figure out what it is that you need as a practitioner and go from there. Because I come from a large family and I have a very large family my husband and I have a blended family.
Runa: We have five children who now have partners. Our first grandbaby is on its way. We have a full household all the time. And so you're managing a lot of energies and spirited craft cocktails and kitchen witchery is a great way to help you do that.
Jim: Yeah. I think about how the ancient Greeks talk about how wine helped to smooth the difficulties of life . And even 3000 years ago, we just have this evidence of how the ancient Greeks, used wine and the ancient Greeks never drank wine straight out of the amphora. They always mixed it with herbs, with water. It was very uncuth to drink wine straight like we do.
Jim: And if you drank unmixed wine, people would be like, oh, what a savage drinking unmixed wine. So basic. Such a brute. And if you've ever had Red Cena, you'd be like, oh, that definitely needs something.
Jim: Good point. Yeah.
Runa: Oh our brewing capabilities. A good chunk of my ancestors were matriarchal brewers. As I've explored my ancestry deeper and deeper, which is something that I think a lot of Americans are coming to because we've come from this fragmented kind of background and colonialism and all that good stuff.
Runa: As I've been exploring that, the ability to brew things today is so different than it was back then. And so yes, mixing cocktails a lot of times was absolutely a necessity.
Jim: A little less vinegar. A little more delicious.
Runa: Yeah. Yeah. A little easier. No rye weirdness.
Jim: The spirits of the holiday could certainly be whiskey, vodka, rum, but the other spirit of the holiday, really what I'm asking is, Runa, do you believe in Santa?
Runa: Yes, I believe in Santa. I definitely believe in the magic of the season.
Runa: All seasons, honestly I live very close to the seasons. But there's this hard fought victory energy in this season. Advent, the four weeks leading up to the winter solstice that my German and Norris pagan ancestors practiced it way before the Christian over culture came to Northern Europe.
Runa: This is the hardest part of winter. You're not physically, mentally ready for winter. And it's tear inducing dark out. Round is frozen. Even the hardiest of herbs and greens are just shriveled and withered up into icicles and the winter solstice it happens and the light starts coming back and you start having this yuel tide of hope and it's a special time.
Runa: So you're celebrating and you are gathering around the fire with some warm nog, grog, wassail and reveling and being close to your kindred and your community. You can't survive those ancient winters without that.
Runa: I love that kind of magic and that spirit. I think the whole meaning of Santa Claus and, sharing your bounty your harvest. Because right now your making things to sustain you through the winter. This is when you're working with all those resources that you've gathered throughout the year.
Runa: Weaving happens as I know that you're aware of that. The tanning of skins and leather and preserving of vegetables and meats, and creating fermented things to get you through the winter because fermented things last longer. You don't have to refrigerate 'em, although it's cold, but my favorite of course is the Yule Lights.
Runa: And so the more lights, the merrier. And let's make 'em LED folks.
Jim: It's interesting you say this is the hardest, cuz I think about January, February, March, like there's nothing to eat until April.
Runa: So it becomes a mental game, right? In the middle of winter, there often would be a bounty of meat because it's easier to hunt, especially the full moons in December and January.
Runa: And because the animals get a little active during the full moon as well. I think it's more of a mental game. The end of February, March hard. Heck yeah, it is. But they've moved on to things like ice fishing and yes the light is starting to increase even more. And so you get the spring births and the eggs and the dairy. That's why dairy's is such a big deal at Imbolc, right?
Jim: First Milk.
Katie: It's sort of the idea of jumping into a cold pool, like when you first jump in, it is worse than five minutes, 10 minutes an hour later, cuz you know, you're used to it, but the shock initially just of the transition.
Katie: With that said, let's take a quick break and when we come back we'll talk all about more spirited cocktail.
Jim: Every year people have trouble finding the right gift for somebody. Does it fit, is it something they have to dust or that they're gonna re-gift?
Jim: One of the best gifts you can give somebody this holiday season is the gift of an experience. You can give somebody the gift of a palm reading or a tarot reading from me, James Divine.
Jim: You can purchase gift certificates at thedivinehand.com/gift.
Jim: It's delivered via email. And you know what's cool? It always fits! Just head over to thedivinehand.com/gift and grab a gift certificate for your loved one today.
Katie: Always in stock and never outta style. That's James Divine.
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Jim: And we're back with Runa Troy and her amazing, magical mixology for the holiday spirit.
Jim: Speaking of spirits, is there like that nostalgic beverage from your past that comes to mind?
Runa: Oh yes. It's actually the very first ritual of drink that I was ever exposed to, and it's a Tom and Jerry.
Runa: It is a old school cocktail made with eggs and butter and Christmas spices and brandy and rum, and it was something that was always featured at my paternal grandparents' house during the winter holidays.
Runa: It was topped with whipped cream too, which was especially enticing to the little ones. Although we were allowed sips, but there weren't enough mugs to go around except for the adults. So we'd be like, ma, can I have a drink? Can I have a drink? But it's frothy and boozy and creamy and spicy all in one, like my family.
Runa: So it's definitely something that I remember.
Katie: That's like a meal in a cup!
Runa: Oh yeah.
Jim: This is on your paternal grandparent side?
Runa: Yes, my Pepe and Gigi.
Jim: And wasn't Pepe a little bit of a mixologist himself?
Runa: Yeah. To give you a little bit of background, my father comes from a family of nine children.
Runa: He's got three sisters and or three brothers, excuse me, and five sisters and families were big like that back then. Birth control was wonky at best, and my maternal grandmother comes from a family of 10. So I was surrounded by people all the time. So it's no surprise that big punch bowl were brought out when the family all got together cuz it, really went ways to feed and drink a big gathering like that.
Runa: And I remember my Pepe, he would be so proud of his Tom and Jerry's. God, I would love to have his Tom and Jerry's set too, but He was tasting it and you have to separate a dozen eggs and the butter has to be the right temperature. And, he was mixing and tasting and mixing and tasting and, he looked like this, potions wizard covering over it and everything like that.
Runa: And I remember sitting in the basement bar watching him do this. And it was very hypnotic. Now today I can say that, I was getting those alpha and theta brainwaves going and, being very meditative. And that's why I remember this particular moment.
Runa: But my one uncle, the youngest of the uncles put more brandy in. Yeah, exactly.
Jim: Wait, so his intention was like to spike it or make it a little more like , let's get lit or something. Let's that, let's get lit.
Runa: Yeah, let's get lit. Let's have fun. And my Pepe was furious. He was a pretty easygoing guy.
Runa: You would have to have nine kids. But he. So mad and he made my uncle go out in the winter and go get more ingredients so he could start it all over again. And it was funny because he didn't see my uncle do it. He tasted it, he knew it had been messed with and you were messing with the energy that he put in.
Runa: He made this with so much love and care and intention that everyone would feel welcome and loved and cared for. And my uncle messed that up and he was none too happy.
Jim: So it wasn't about getting effed up, it wasn't about like drinking, it was about. The recipe and the ingredients and the
Runa: Absolutely.
Runa: Finding the balance. Yeah. Yeah. Our yu yues for any families and definitely for mine, were fraught with families. Squabbles and drama and that, and I'm sure that once I left Detroit, my life choices were gossiped about at that bar over the Tommy Jerry's pun and stuff like that.
Runa: But you know in my crone mission to seek peace and sanctuary. That's none of my business. But at that time, as a child, I look and I was like, yeah. That's not okay. You can't do that. So that kind of sticks in my mind. There was a lot of magic to it, and it was labor intensive, separating a dozen eggs.
Runa: That's no easy feat. Today, it's a little bit easier. We got all these cool, kitchen tools and stuff, but for my grandfather, that wasn't the case at all.
Jim: We can buy egg whites at the store in a carton.
Runa: Right? There you go. And then the butter having to be at the right temperature in that.
Runa: So I've taken that and created my own version of it, which is a whole lot easier and a whole lot more accessible for people. And I'm calling it Good Forward Nog, because I wanna take the good of my ancestors that care and that love, and leave the squabbles and the drama behind.
Katie: So in this case, the ingredients are just as important as the intention.
Katie: Absolutely. And so what makes this recipe easier than the original?
Runa: Because you don't have to make the Tom and Jerry's batter, right? Ah, you have to do that ahead of time. And it can look a little not good.
Runa: The batter itself doesn't look that appetizing, and a lot of times I'll make this, depending on what's going on, I'll make this individually for folks, so I use eggnog instead. It's basically the same ingredients. It's readily available anymore for anybody, and you save a little bit of calories.
Runa: Because you're not using the butter, but the way that you mix it and the things that you mix it with, allows for that creaminess and that good mouth feel of a Tom and Jerry.
Jim: Ooh. So give us a quick description on how you might put this together. We'll have a link to the recipe in the show notes so you don't have to have a pen and write everything down while you're driving to work.
Jim: Give us an overview of how we might do this.
Runa: It's eggnog so you can support your local dairy because they all put out eggnog at this time of year. Some of 'em are plain, some of them already have the spices in it.
Runa: It's okay, it doesn't matter, whatever. You're still gonna add more spices because that's what makes it so good.
Runa: The eggnog holds the energy of new beginnings and abundance and it's important for the intention of why we're making and consuming the Good Forward Nog. You want that new beginning, you want the abundance. Because with those things, you can take the good forward, right?
Runa: It has aged rum, which holds the energy of strength because you're gonna need some strength to discard the generational traumas or, whatever negativity you wanna leave in the past that you've gotten from your family of origin or whatever. You could use this particularly and whatever you wanna take forward as far as the positivity goes.
Runa: It has brandy, which has four ages been used for health. And I love me some good brandy for sure. It's also holds the energy of prosperity. So you have abundance with the eggs. You have a prosperity with the Brandy because you want to continue, you wanna continue to move forward in the good.
Jim: Which makes sense because the brandy is distilled from grapes. And that has that symbolism. Rum is distilled. It depends. Rum can be distilled from different things, but good rum is distilled from sugar cane. And those both have that energy that comes from them.
Runa: And this is aged drum in this recipe too. Been cooking for a while.
Jim: Ooh, yeah. This is great. I see where you're going. Okay, keep going.
Runa: And then there's whipped cream, which is about luxury. Mm. And then all those spices like cinnamon and cloves and nutmeg, that's just, that's life full of love right there.
Jim: My Taurus Moon is in love with this cocktail.
Katie: Yes. Sweet and delicious and spicy. Oh my gosh.
Runa: Yes. And warm. And that's what we need right now. We need that warmth. Yes.
Jim: Oh, this is a warm cocktail. . Oh yes, of course.
Runa: Warm the eggnog. Yes. Absolutely.
Jim: Creamy and warm. And you just want to cup it in your hands and sip it slow. And the warmth not only of the temperature but the warmth of the alcohol also warms all the way down. Yes. I could just feel my body relax. Like the hot tub for your insides.
Runa: Yeah, exactly. I love it.
Jim: And there's nothing like a warm cocktail. I feel a little bit of that intoxication it seems with a warm cocktail a little faster. Is that just my imagination?
Runa: I don't think so. I'm sure that when you're drinking warm beverages, and I'd have to. Do some look up, it makes total sense.
Runa: Like scientifically, I should ask the Viking, he would probably know.
Jim: This cocktail sounds phenomenal. Who has a Tom and Jerry anymore? It's so like retro.
Katie: We're bringing it back.
Runa: We're bringing it back. We're definitely bringing it back. And of course, there's a little spell that goes along with the recipe and things like that to like really focus that intention. Your ancestors weren't perfect, just like you aren't, but you're gonna take all the good that they had and worked for and move forward from there. Yeah.
Katie: Now that we, congratulations, have that amazing cocktail, which I can already smell like just simmering on the stove, and I pass by every 15 minutes for a little topper.
Katie: What other cocktail might you suggest for this season?
Runa: Wassail is great because it can be very inexpensive. You can make a big crock pot full of, again, it's warm. This season is ripe for warm cocktails, for warm drinks. You make it a mocktail. And add the booze after for the adults. And then the kids have it, or those who are not in buying are the designated driver.
Runa: They have something to drink. And because we're we live we are constantly pressing cider I have a ton of cider. And this uses up the stores. It's that whole giving back to the community and being grateful for the harvest that you did have back at Samhain.
Jim: Let's talk about Wassail. Can you tell us a little bit about that tradition? We have the song, here we come a wassailing....
Jim: But there is a tradition of Wassail, which I believe is passing the cup or sharing the cup with others. Do you know a little bit about Wassail?
Runa: It depends on, where in the world. But like where the song came from, there was an old tradition where those in need could go during the yuel tide and go door to door and they would be given cakes and Wassail because it was the spiced, they were making it warm to, keep everybody cozy.
Runa: With a little spirit in it. Sometimes not, it just depended on the household you went to. So just like our tradition of trick-or-treating, the house that's given the full size candy bars, you mind, try to go there more than once. Yeah. Pull out the good song there and you gave back because you provided a song or you did a service.
Runa: For, the matriarch or the patriarch of the house and they shared their harvest with you in that way, right?
Jim: This harkens back to similar sort of values even from Saturnalia. In the ancient Roman times when there was a reversal of fortune. The elite class and the subservient class would trade places. And there was a sharing of wealth and bounty and an equalization. So we think about who will survive the winter. You have to have this community effort of ev how does everyone survive? In many ways, we have to share the bounty across and have this social, cooperation. The wealthy won't survive without everyone surviving because there will be no one to help support their households. They're responsible for everyone in the community and everyone in the community together. And so we get this social connection and social support in these ways.
Jim: And at this time, I think about those things. Ways in which that happens.
Katie: Yeah. Great way to build community in, in an otherwise very desolate, bleak kind of time.
Jim: What is your Wassail? Is it just a spiced cider?
Runa: Yeah, it's a spice cider. So you have your apple cider. Last year we did para cider.
Runa: It's delicious. I tried it. You could, you can get, you could combine some tart cherry juice and some apple cider go crazy, right? Whatever ingredient, whatever magical energies that you want, you can add to it.
Runa: But it's apple cider amaretto, maybe some bourbon a little orange juice. I pierce some oranges with cinnamon stick and clothes and it floats there and it's just festive and just grounds everybody, right? That apple has that big earth energy and it's just an immediate bomb to everybody's holiday frazzles. Even though you say leave the drama at the door.
Runa: Sometimes it takes a minute for everybody to shed that take a couple breaths and everything. And I actually, my daughter-in-law now, she's just like, when she comes in on the holiday, she's like, is Wassail ready?
Runa: Two please. Cause she's an ultra introvert, which I am as well.
Runa: And so I get it, and I'm like, yep, have it. And she has one glass and she's just I'm here. We're having a good time. Everything's good.
Runa: But it's the apple cider holds the energy of peace. The amaretto is for healing. Orange juice is for love and purification.
Runa: And then the spices. There's patience, abundance, and awareness, which you wanna be aware during a big family gathering. And if you're celebrating alone I've spent a lot of yuel tides where I was by myself or I was deployed and away from my kindred. And that helps.
Runa: It really helps. I had to do a lot of virgin Wassails through the years and it still something in the tradition of it as well. It's still something that provides that comfort, that joy, that calm.
Jim: Oh wow. The chill the F out. Yeah. Yes.
Runa: What we all need at this time here, so if as long as your guests have a comfortable seat and they've got a glass of Wassail, you've got a good yule tide.
Katie: I know what I'll be making this season.
Jim: Runa, this has been so much fun. Oh my gosh. Let's have her on every month for the cocktail of the month? Yes.
Katie: Cocktail corner, please.
Katie: Where can people find you, Runa?
Katie: Learn more of. About you, social media, newsletter, all that fun stuff.
Runa: My website is runatroy.com. I'm on Twitter and Instagram under the same name. My Patreon is in its third month now, and that's where a lot of my more detailed content is.
Runa: Not a lot of events right now because I'm writing my forthcoming book to be published by Llewelyn in October of 2024. Entitled to be Determined, but it's basically a which is Grimoire for Drinks. Ooh, more details soon.
Jim: Kind of perfect that you're on this episode. You need to get on to Runa's Patreon. It is so awesome. Runa is not just the cocktail witch. There is so much magic, recipes. Just everything about Wildcrafting, about it's kitchen witchery. Go to runatroy.com. Check her out. Fan freaking testing.
Jim: I adore everything about you.
Runa: Yes. Back at you, Jim.
Katie: Aw. And we'll be sure to have everything linked in our show notes for easy reference.
Katie: We look forward to having you on again hopefully soon, Runa, and congratulations on your book.
Katie: Until next week, Jim, we'll see everybody then.
Jim: This went way too fast. We'll see you all next week.
Katie: Bye-Bye.
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