Drabble 118 – Halomancy

One of the numerous challenges I set myself this year is to bake something once a week. I pride myself on being a good cook; I like food to taste good, and I usually know the ingredients that it takes to improve it. But baking is a mystery to me, the ratios and chemistry of it all feeling like limitations rather than the blank canvas of cooking.

I’m aware that baking involves chemical reactions, and that certain ingredients must be in proportion to one another if you want the recipe to turn out. I also know that it’s wise to read the entire set of instructions before beginning, or you’ll find out midway through that you don’t have a food scale or some other essential piece of equipment. I guess I didn’t really learn anything from all the lessons of too-arrogant beginning wizards in every book I read as a kid.

If you like what happens on this blog, good news! I compiled ten of my favorite drabbles into a zine that’s available for pay what you want on Gumroad. I spent some time making them look all pretty and nice, so consider giving it a look!

Anyway, here’s a drabble.

HALOMANCY

(n.) from Ancient Greek ἅλς, for salt, + Ancient Greek μαντεία , for divination

Divination or magic using salt.

Kimberly knows two things: all food needs spices, and food cures all ills.

She picks her seasonings with care. Her rosemary is fresh from the garden, her thyme dried, upside-down, in her closet. She pinches them between her fingers to unleash their heady scent, and closes her eyes to appreciate them deeper.

Her salt, too, is something special. She doesn’t just pluck it from the grocery shelf; she takes her time with it, considering color, taste, grain. It is as much aesthetics as flavor.

Salt is purifying, is essential, is magic. Kimberly makes sure that magic is delicious, too.