If you would have pots that never boil over or go dry, and baking that never burns, and food that is never overdone or underdone … well, perhaps that is beyond the skill of any mortal. But you can come close to it with this prayer. Light a candle near the stove (if you can light it from the stove fire, all the better) and light a mugwort stick and wave smoke around the room. Then say:

Mother Holda who blesses the hearth,

I would have cauldrons that never boil over,

I would have food that never burns,

I would have all the spirits of the household

Work through my hands to feed my family

Only the best that can be made,

And waste nothing in the trial.

Grant me a sacred kitchen

And I shall be the keeper of this temple.

Of course, once you have made this prayer, you must keep the kitchen clean when not directly in use, as you would a temple. You should light smoke to propitiate the kitchen spirits regularly, and give them a portion of most of your meals.