{"id":63777,"date":"2025-10-06T18:30:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/63777\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T18:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:30:12","slug":"in-new-book-chicago-blogger-and-witch-shows-you-how-cheese-can-be-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/63777\/","title":{"rendered":"In New Book, Chicago Blogger And Witch Shows You How Cheese Can Be Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 Chicagoan and cheese priestess Erika Kubick dives into the connection between cheese, magic and the seasons in her latest book, \u201cCheese Magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kubick is the founder of Cheese Sex Death<\/a>, a blog she launched in 2015 that has grown into two books and a large social media following<\/a>. She published her first book, titled after her blog, in 2021 and has followed it up with her second, \u201cCheese Magic<\/a>,\u201d which released Sept. 16.<\/p>\n

Kubick is celebrating her latest book with a party and market 3-8 p.m. Oct. 18 at Sideshow Gallery, 2219 N. Western Ave. in Bucktown. She will be signing books, and there will be local vendors selling cheese plates, giving tarot readings, performing astrology sessions and more.<\/p>\n

The event is free; guests can RSVP here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Erika Kubick, author of Cheese Magic, poses for a portrait at Beautiful Rind, 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Logan Square on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Kubick described her first book as more of a reference book where she could teach people the basics of cheese, including its history, different types and how to buy, plate and cook it, she told Block Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheese Magic\u201d was her opportunity to get a little more \u201cesoteric,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to explore new territory,\u201d said Kubick, who got her start in cheese at the now shuttered Pastoral cheese shop<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t want to teach Cheese 101 anymore. I\u2019m really happy to be here, and I\u2019m so grateful that this book, I feel like, took me over that bridge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kubrick, who is a practicing witch, knew she wanted her next book to be a spellbook, she said. There\u2019s a long history between cheese and witchcraft \u2014 including practices like fortune-telling with cheese<\/a> \u2014 and she decided to lean into that with her latest book, she said.<\/p>\n

There are guides at the start and end of \u201cCheese Magic\u201d with tips for things like how to prepare a kitchen for spell-casting and a glossary of the magical correspondences for certain foods or ingredients.<\/p>\n

But the book is meant for the spell-casting and non-magic-practicing alike, Kubick said. <\/p>\n

The book itself is divided into eight sections guided by the seasonal festivals in Pagan tradition, each tied to a seasonal solstice, equinox or cross-quarter \u2014 the midway point between solstices and equinoxes \u2014 festival.<\/p>\n

The sections include a recipe for a breakfast, lunch, salad, appetizer, three accompaniment recipes, two beverage recipes and three cheese plates. Most of the recipes directly include cheese, but others are meant to be paired alongside them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Kubick, the seasonality of cheeses \u2014 meaning certain cheeses being only available in the summer versus cheeses typical sold in winter \u2014 felt like natural way to ritualize her love of cheese, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of us really need to be grounded right now,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the only things that really makes me feel grounded is eating good food, and good food is also really expensive, so I think that ritualizing it makes [it] more of a ceremony. You\u2019re not just nourishing yourself physically; you\u2019re nourishing yourself spiritually and providing yourself with just a little bit of pleasure, which is so important right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Erika Kubick, author of Cheese Magic, poses for a portrait at Beautiful Rind, 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Logan Square on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

One of Kubick\u2019s favorite recipes in the book are raspberry, brie and orange marmalade \u201clove tarts,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use it for developing self love or to even use it as a love spell, which is how I wrote it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you also don\u2019t have to do that, like you could just make them like a tart, whatever you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another of the book\u2019s highlights is the pesto-baked camembert \u2014 a soft, French cheese with roasted grapes \u2014 a nod to a grape and pesto focaccia breakfast sandwich Kubick had at Logan Square\u2019s Lula Cafe.<\/p>\n

It can be hard to get people out of their comfort zone with cheese, but Kubick hopes \u201cCheese Magic\u201d can provide simple, easy-to-use recipes for people to try cheeses they might see as intimidating, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of the reason why I started my brand, to help people,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought of myself as a bridge between the public and the industry. But it\u2019s a tall hill to climb to try to help the public feel comfortable walking in front of a cheese case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n

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