Nine Questions for the Kitchen Witch - My Answers

The first set of answers comes from yours truly. Oh, and non-kitchen witches can certainly answer these questions too! Anyone who cooks is free to answer. Please,do! :)

1. Does your magical name have anything to do with the kitchen, foods or herbs?
Yes, my name is Anar, which is the Hindi word for pomegranate. The Turkish word is ‘nar’.

2. What do you think are the three most important tools for a kitchen witch?
I will count my two hands as one tool. I think a mortar and pestle is a nice, primitive food processor and I’ve been looking for a good marble one for quite some time. The third tool would be a good sharp knife. It’s hard to narrow it down to just three!

3. What do you do to make the kitchen the center of the home? Is it decorated in any special way? Do you have a kitchen altar?

I use cooking smells to make the entire house feel like a home. When you walk in and smell garlic frying or something simmering on the stove or baking, you think, ‘This is a home!’. My kitchen isn’t decorated because this is a temporary spot for me. My kitchen things are in another country. I'm working on an altar in the U.S. I have a small table here with a statue of Ganesha, a bundle of dried rosemary, a nazar boncugu, and some offering dishes.

4. Which kitchen deity/deities, if any, do you feel closest to? How do you honor him/her/them?

I am working on learning more about Annapurna, the Hindu goddess of food and the hearth. I have honored Hestia in the past. I honor her by giving the kitchen a good scrub, burning some rosemary, and placing a lit candle in the oven for a while.

5. What is your signature dish? Does it have a magical purpose? You can share the recipe unless it’s a secret

I don’t know if I have just one signature dish. There is an Indian chicken dish I make called Murgh Musallam and it’s very good. The recipe can be found at www.ruchiskitchen.com. At work I am known for my cookies. I make them to carry love into the work place.

6. What are your favorite cookbooks? They can be magical or non-magical.
I read cookbooks the way other people read novels. I really enjoy my copy of Cooking by the Seasons by Karri Ann Allrich. It was the book that really inspired me to start writing my own. I also like Scott Cunningham’s encyclopedias – magical herbs and Wicca in the kitchen. They are good reference books.

7. What is your favorite food?
I love tacos. I could eat them every day.

8. What is your least favorite?
I think canned fish – tuna, anchovies, salmon, mackerel – is the most vile substance I’ve ever smelled. I used to eat the tuna when I was younger, but now I won’t touch it.

9. Do you like to listen to the television or listen to music while you are in the kitchen? If so, what?
I like to match the music with the food. I listen to Indian music or to George Harrison when I make Indian food. I like Spanish-language music when I make Mexican food. I like classic rock all the time.