Our herbs this month are bergamot and poppy.
Bergamot is most often used as an essential oil to attract money or success. You can put the oil in places where you keep money, like your purse, or you can dab it on the corners of your household planner, if you use one of those. However, one of the applications of bergamot that can be helpful with this month’s intention is that it can be used to bring balance to your life.
Poppy has many applications in the craft, like many of the herbs and other tools we talk about, but to match with this month’s intention, we’re going to focus on its uses in dream work. We’re talking about being brave, but what if you’re stuck and don’t know what you need to be brave about to bring about the change you want? Poppy is good for connecting to your highest self in dream work to figure that out.
So, how can we use these together? This month’s suggestion is a tasty recipe for Bergamot and Poppy Seed cake that I’ll share below.
To bring a bit of craft and magic to your kitchen, try speaking our July intention as you’re mixing, and say it three times before you enjoy your first bite. “Courage is the act of doing regardless of fear. I embrace fear to unleash to show my true self.”
Bergamot and Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients:
(You can substitute any citrus for bergamot.)
For the Loaf:
4-5 bergamots
1 tbsp lemon zest
½ tsp culinary lavender
½ cup whole milk
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds 12g
⅓ cup lemon juice 80ml
½ cup sour cream 120ml, room temp
¾ cup unsalted butter 190g, almost melted
3 large eggs
For the Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Juice from 1½ bergamot
For the Loaf:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add parchment paper to a loaf pan.
Zest a lemon. Microwave the milk so that it is warm to the touch. Sprinkle in lavender and lemon zest to infuse.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and poppy seeds.
Juice bergamot until you get about ⅓ cup.
In another bowl, combine sour cream, butter, bergamot juice, infused milk mixture and eggs. Whisk everything together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking loaf pan.
Bake for about 60- 90 minutes or until the center is set and the edges are slightly pulling away.
For the Glaze:
In a bowl, add confectioners’ sugar and the juice from 1½ bergamots. Mix until you reach a desired consistency. Make sure not to add too much liquid at the beginning.
Drizzle the glaze over the loaf.
Enjoy! And don’t forget to speak your intention! This is best enjoyed near bedtime, so you can access that dream space and journal about it when you awaken!
