Monday, February 27, 2012

Recipe Testers Needed

If you're interested in testing some recipes, please contact me either through facebook or hariscruff at yahoo dot com. Put "Recipe Tester" in the subject line.

These are recipes that I will NOT be putting on the blog. They are only for the one cookbook or another. Recipe testers must agree not to share the recipe with anyone else - not on facebook, not in a blog, not at a church picnic. ;)

I'm working on some spring recipes and some brunch recipes (also spring-related) right now.

I need testers because all recipes should be tested in multiple kitchens by multiple cooks to check for consistency.

Oh, and recipe testers will be acknowledged in the finished product. :)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Soup for Ostara

I've been busy-busy lately, working on grades for my students and trying to get recipes organized for my cookbook projects.

I figure the brunch cookbook will end up being published through Create Space, but I'm fine with that. I can't wait to finish it! I'm so excited about it, I'll most likely share some menus and probably a recipe or two with you all.

Today I'm going to share a recipe from the spring cookbook that I'm currently working on. This soup is (another) curry. Yes, you know I love curry! :) It's reminiscent of my curried peanut soup, but it uses almond butter instead of peanut butter. It also features finely shredded carrot and chicken. I served it last weekend to many "Mmmmmmms".

I recommend this gentle curry for Ostara. Serve it with a scoop of basmati rice for a satisfying meal. This Ostara will hopefully be spent coloring eggs with a friend and her young daughter, and then holding an informal ritual.

Now, on to the recipe:


Coconut curried chicken soup


2 chicken breasts
1 1” piece of ginger, sliced in half
5-6 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Water to cover

1 medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1” fresh ginger, grated
2 Serrano chilies, minced
5-6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup unsweetened almond butter
Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked Basmati rice, to serve
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Slivered almonds for garnish

Place the chicken breasts, bay leaves, ginger, and peppercorns in a sauce pan.
Cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then drop the heat, partially cover, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 10 minutes.
Skim the foam off the surface during the cooking process.
After 10 minutes, cover the chicken completely, remove from the heat, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the liquid and allow it to cool completely.
Shred or chop finely.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
Add the onions and carrots and cook for about 7 minutes, or until onions are translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook another 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle over the spices and stir to coat.
Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
Take a ladleful of the broth and mix it with the almond butter.
Lower the heat. Stir in the almond butter mixture and coconut milk.
Add the finely chopped chicken to the pot.
Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a scoop of Basmati rice on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and slivered almonds.

Serves 4 - 6

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Another Iron in the Fire

I have a love of sunrises on sabbat mornings. I love staying up all night and greeting the sun at Yule. The golden autumn sunshine of Samhain reminds me of the thinness of the veil. You know what else I also love? Brunch. Yeah.

I love breakfast foods at any time of the day. I love the idea of brunch because it's something sweet, something savory, and often something alcoholic. Because I love to honor the sabbat early in the day (as well as later, around a fire), I have decided to put together a book of brunch menus. I have one brunch menu for each sabbat.

I'm hoping to finish it soon and either publish it myself through createspace.com, or contact an actual e-book publisher. We shall see. Wish me luck!

Oh, wait, you want a sample, don't you? Where are my manners!

Since Ostara is coming up, here is my bountiful Ostara brunch menu:

Smoked salmon spread
Crostini
Savory spinach custard
New potatoes with lemon-dill butter
Glazed ham
Iced mint tea
Apricot-cherry crumble

I'll be busy testing recipes for my other book project this weekend, but I might get a chance to work on a few more brunch recipes,too!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I am busy with school work, but I did take some time out to work on recipes.

I'd like to welcome follower # 270 to the blog. Thanks for reading! If I can get to 300, I'll have another giveaway. This time the prize might be a copy of "Recipes for Beltane", which is one of the two mini recipe books I have published through createspace.com.

If any of you have something you've written that you'd like to see in print, I'd recommend createspace.com. It's free (if you do all the work yourself) and fairly easy to use. There is also the option of publishing electronically. "Recipes for Beltane" is available for your kindle right now, actually.

Well, back to my grading. I just wanted to pop in and say hello and welcome those who have just started following Witchin' in the Kitchen.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Amazon

My mini cookbooks can now be found on amazon.com. Just search for "Recipes for Ostara" and "Recipes for Beltane", and there you go! :)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Recipes for Beltane Mini-Book

Follow this link: https://www.createspace.com/3791864

If you are interested in some recipes for your Beltane celebration, may I suggest my mini cookbook? Inside you will find recipes for a wine punch and oatcakes for your post-ritual cakes and ale. You'll also find an appetizer, a salad, two mains and two sides, and a dessert guaranteed to impress and entrance your special someone. There are three or four vegetarian/vegan recipes in this book.

Monday, February 6, 2012

And Here It Is!

My first mini e-book is now available here: https://www.createspace.com/3790735


"Recipes for Ostara" includes some recipes from blog land, as well as recipes I've adapted over time. I put together a collection of recipes that reflect the spirit of rebirth and renewal. There is a spicy soup, a quiche, a chutney recipe you've never seen before, and a few other yummy surprises.

It's not perfect, but I think it's pretty darn good for a first try. "Recipes for Beltane" promises to be that much better. It has more recipes, too!

Don't worry - I'm still working on my other cookbook project. This is just my teaser. :)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Blessed Imbolc

I hope everyone enjoyed their Imbolc celebrations. It was quiet here at Cadi'nin Evi, but productive. I contacted Pagan Edge magazine about a position as a food, kitchen and nutrition writer. I was accepted, and I have one article out of three written so far.

I have also collected some recipes for Ostara and Beltane and submitted them through createspace.com Books only have to be 24 pages, which turned out to be the perfect length for an introduction and some recipes for the Sabbat.

So, those have been submitted for review and in a couple of days I should know if I've been accepted or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that "Recipes for Ostara" and "Recipes for Beltane" become available to you online. I will let you all know.

I basically spent the entire weekend writing, organizing recipes and working on formatting. It was fun, but where did my weekend go? I hope everyone had a good one!