This came across my Facebook feed this morning, and I thought it was worth sharing. This is a topic that I try to keep in mind when I am planning sabbat menus, developing recipes for my own projects, or just thinking about what to make for dinner during the week. My kitchen is currently being packed into a U-Haul by my poor, sweet Aussie, along with everything else that is on its way to NC from WV.
The Myth of 'Easy' Cooking
This article, posted in The Atlantic by author Elizabeth G. Dunn in November 2015, discusses the promise of restaurant-quality, gourmet meals at home, in a snap! Except...not. Now, I don't have children, but I do have a full-time job, pretty shitty clinical depression, and chronic pain. These things combine to make me feel like absolute crap at the end of many days, with no motivation to even chop an onion, much less slap together a "simple" quiche or "instant" pasta carbonara.
Nah, fuck that. I'm almost ashamed to say we actually did a lot of takeaways. Obviously not ashamed enough to omit that information from my blog, however. And you know what? We'll probably do it here sometimes, too because even though I love cooking, the cleaning up process takes forever. We don't always have the energy to do a thorough job of it, and this place is...considerably buggier than WV. I'm not willing to deal with that. At least we have a dishwasher again. That's incredibly helpful, but I know that there are still evenings when I simply hurt too much to stand and move enough to prepare a proper meal. And I know I'm not alone in that.
Once I have a proper work surface again, I plan to go back into my notes and evaluate what I have planned so far. Is is truly simple? Does it take too much time? Too much effort? Can a busy kitchen witch, perhaps one with children and/or another full-time job prepare these dishes for their sabbat celebration? It's a valid point, I believe, and one I fully intend to address in some way.
Showing posts with label sabbats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sabbats. Show all posts
Monday, October 9, 2017
Monday, August 3, 2015
I Feel Better Now!
Greetings, once again.
The other day, I was feeling bad that I hadn't gotten around to making any Lammas or even blue moon posts, but then I happened upon this in my newsfeed: Why I'm Boycotting Lughnasadh
I feel much better about not observing most of the holidays now. I agreed with a lot of what the author said, especially about how some rituals are escapist. It does seem that, even when rituals are done outdoors, there is a disconnect between what we tell ourselves the day is about and what is actually happening in nature around us.
I am guilty of this, too. I mean, how in-season is the produce I incorporate into my recipes, really? How local is it? Probably not very. I am trying to harmonize my body with the cycles of nature and the seasons, but why? Shouldn't my body already be that way? Has our modern world messed with us that much? Eep!
Read the article and let me know what you think.
The other day, I was feeling bad that I hadn't gotten around to making any Lammas or even blue moon posts, but then I happened upon this in my newsfeed: Why I'm Boycotting Lughnasadh
I feel much better about not observing most of the holidays now. I agreed with a lot of what the author said, especially about how some rituals are escapist. It does seem that, even when rituals are done outdoors, there is a disconnect between what we tell ourselves the day is about and what is actually happening in nature around us.
I am guilty of this, too. I mean, how in-season is the produce I incorporate into my recipes, really? How local is it? Probably not very. I am trying to harmonize my body with the cycles of nature and the seasons, but why? Shouldn't my body already be that way? Has our modern world messed with us that much? Eep!
Read the article and let me know what you think.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Dreaming of October...
Don't I always wish it were fall? It's not that I'm not enjoying the summer. It's just that I long for the season of the witch, all year long.
We're almost ready for Midsummer! Well, y'all might be, but it's crept up on me again and I don't know if I'm going to have the time and energy to get prepared. I don't even have a menu planned. Can you believe that??
What I DO have, however, is a menu plan for every other sabbat through Yule. Yeah, yeah, I know...Priorities.
As usual, I will share the menus now and promise recipes later. I truly am terrible, aren't I? I will even attempt to get some decent photos. I'm just so ashamed to let anyone see how cluttered this tiny space is!
Anyhell, here are some sabbat menus:
We're almost ready for Midsummer! Well, y'all might be, but it's crept up on me again and I don't know if I'm going to have the time and energy to get prepared. I don't even have a menu planned. Can you believe that??
What I DO have, however, is a menu plan for every other sabbat through Yule. Yeah, yeah, I know...Priorities.
As usual, I will share the menus now and promise recipes later. I truly am terrible, aren't I? I will even attempt to get some decent photos. I'm just so ashamed to let anyone see how cluttered this tiny space is!
Anyhell, here are some sabbat menus:
LAMMAS
·
Pork chops (grilled) with orange, cumin,
chipotle glaze
·
corn pancakes with whole corn
·
toppings: avocado, green onions, sour cream,
shredded cheese
·
frijoles rancheros – pintos with bacon, onion,
and jalapeño
·
garden salad with Green Goddess dressing: salad
mix, spinach, red onion, orange bell pepper, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage,
sugar snap peas, broccoli florets
·
cherries jubilee with vanilla ice cream (cherries done outside)
MABON
·
Baked vegetarian kibbeh (potato, onion, and bulgar with chickpea-pine
nut filling)
·
Yogurt sauce
·
Lemon-herb roast chicken
·
Persephone’s salad
·
Ginger pear upside down cake
SAMHAIN
·
Cornmeal-dredged fried catfish with tartar sauce
·
Hoppin’ John
·
Cornbread
·
Apple crisp
·
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tea
YULE
First course:
·
Buckwheat blinis with with duck, red cabbage,
parsnip, ginger-cranberry-orange sauce -
lightly sauté cabbage and parsnips
Main course:
·
Maple-mustard glazed pork tenderloin with fruit
stuffing
·
Duchess sweet potatoes with garam masala
·
Stuffed onions
·
Swiss chard with curry powder and hazelnuts
·
Persephone’s Salad
·
Butternut Squash Flan
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.
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, May 18, 2009
Midsummer
Midsummer is only a few short weeks away. I'm happy to say I will be back in my home state during that time, but as of yet I have no plans for the actual celebration.
Midsummer celebrates the God in all his glory. The Goddess is heavy with child, as the trees and plants grow heavy with their bounty. The Oak King and the Holly King are one. The Oak King is young and full of vigor, while the Holly King represents maturity and wisdom. Midsummer is a classic time to perform all kinds of magick. Herbs harvested at dawn on this day are considered to be especially potent.
Some symbols of Midsummer are the sun, fire, blades, oak leaves, mistletoe, sun wheels, and faeries.
Some of the foods and herbs in tune with this holiday include lemons, oranges, , fresh vegetables, lavender, chamomile and thyme.
Decorate your table/altar with herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables of the season, blue and green candles, and burn lavender, rose, cinnamon, or citrus incense.
Set up tables outside in your yard if you can, or find a nice park. Provide your loved ones with the following feast and nourish their bodies they can perform their healing, purifying, or love magick. They will be fed in body and spirit.
Midsummer Menu
Chamomile-Lavender Iced Tea with Honey
Pumpernickel Bread (with spinach-dill dip)
Grilled Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese
Grilled Summer Salmon with Herbs
Key Lime Pie
Iced Tea
This couldn't be simpler. Depending on the amount of iced tea you want to make, steep chamomile tea bags in hot water for a few minutes, along with a good tablespoonful of dried lavender buds, wrapped in cheese cloth. Sweeten with honey. Chill. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.
Grilled Veggie Salad
1 each red and orange/yellow bell pepper
2 small zucchini
1 small eggplant
4 Portobello mushrooms, cleaned
1 red onion
3 small leeks (optional, if you don't want too much onion flavor)
Assorted salad greens
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
4-6 ounces goat cheese
Rub the bell peppers with oil and roast on the grill until the skins blacken. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to sit and steam for about 10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, peel, core and slice into strips.
Preheat the grill. Blanche the leeks (carefully cleaned) and the red onion (sliced into wedges) in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Slice the zucchini and eggplant into 1/2-inch thick slices. Brush all the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables separately until barely done, about 5-7 minutes, turning once. Slice the mushrooms into strips after they come off the grill.
Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a 2:1 (oil to vinegar) ratio. Add the fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad greens with the dressing and arrange on plates. Top with the grilled vegetables and chunks of goat cheese. If desired, a little extra balsamic vinegar can be drizzled over the grilled vegetables. If you aren't a fan of goat cheese, some shaved Parmesan would also do nicely, or leave the cheese out completely.
Grilled Summer Salmon with Fresh Herbs
4 medium to large salmon fillets
4 sprigs each fresh thyme, basil and rosemary
1/2 cup parsley
3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
3 - 4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
In a blender combine everything except the salmon. If using fillets that have the skin, apply the herb mixture on the skinless side. On a preheated grill that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, grill the salmon 3-4 minutes on each side.
Stay tuned for Pumpernickel Bread with Spinach-Dill Dip and Key Lime Pie
I need a typing break! :)
Midsummer celebrates the God in all his glory. The Goddess is heavy with child, as the trees and plants grow heavy with their bounty. The Oak King and the Holly King are one. The Oak King is young and full of vigor, while the Holly King represents maturity and wisdom. Midsummer is a classic time to perform all kinds of magick. Herbs harvested at dawn on this day are considered to be especially potent.
Some symbols of Midsummer are the sun, fire, blades, oak leaves, mistletoe, sun wheels, and faeries.
Some of the foods and herbs in tune with this holiday include lemons, oranges, , fresh vegetables, lavender, chamomile and thyme.
Decorate your table/altar with herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables of the season, blue and green candles, and burn lavender, rose, cinnamon, or citrus incense.
Set up tables outside in your yard if you can, or find a nice park. Provide your loved ones with the following feast and nourish their bodies they can perform their healing, purifying, or love magick. They will be fed in body and spirit.
Midsummer Menu
Chamomile-Lavender Iced Tea with Honey
Pumpernickel Bread (with spinach-dill dip)
Grilled Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese
Grilled Summer Salmon with Herbs
Key Lime Pie
Iced Tea
This couldn't be simpler. Depending on the amount of iced tea you want to make, steep chamomile tea bags in hot water for a few minutes, along with a good tablespoonful of dried lavender buds, wrapped in cheese cloth. Sweeten with honey. Chill. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.
Grilled Veggie Salad
1 each red and orange/yellow bell pepper
2 small zucchini
1 small eggplant
4 Portobello mushrooms, cleaned
1 red onion
3 small leeks (optional, if you don't want too much onion flavor)
Assorted salad greens
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
4-6 ounces goat cheese
Rub the bell peppers with oil and roast on the grill until the skins blacken. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to sit and steam for about 10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, peel, core and slice into strips.
Preheat the grill. Blanche the leeks (carefully cleaned) and the red onion (sliced into wedges) in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Slice the zucchini and eggplant into 1/2-inch thick slices. Brush all the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables separately until barely done, about 5-7 minutes, turning once. Slice the mushrooms into strips after they come off the grill.
Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a 2:1 (oil to vinegar) ratio. Add the fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad greens with the dressing and arrange on plates. Top with the grilled vegetables and chunks of goat cheese. If desired, a little extra balsamic vinegar can be drizzled over the grilled vegetables. If you aren't a fan of goat cheese, some shaved Parmesan would also do nicely, or leave the cheese out completely.
Grilled Summer Salmon with Fresh Herbs
4 medium to large salmon fillets
4 sprigs each fresh thyme, basil and rosemary
1/2 cup parsley
3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
3 - 4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
In a blender combine everything except the salmon. If using fillets that have the skin, apply the herb mixture on the skinless side. On a preheated grill that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, grill the salmon 3-4 minutes on each side.
Stay tuned for Pumpernickel Bread with Spinach-Dill Dip and Key Lime Pie
I need a typing break! :)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Let's Talk Cookbooks
Specifically, I want to talk about the cookbook(s) I have in the works. For a while now (I'm ashamed to say how long), I've been toying with the idea of writing a kitchen witch cookbook. That's one of the reasons I started this blog. I enjoy cooking and I like combining ingredients for specific purposes - finding a new job, making people feel warm and loved, etc.
People who eat my food tell me how delicious it is, and I feel both grateful and humble. I say that I feel humble because the materials and ingredients that I use were created and provided by the Divine. I combine the ingredients, add heat and intent, but most of the work has been done by the earth, the sun and the rain. I strive to feel more in touch with the gods and honor them by nourishing the people I treasure, and by respectfully using the fruits, vegetables and grains that grow upon this planet. I am thankful to the animals whose bodies also provide food for us. I want to put together a book of recipes that reflect the wheel of the year with seasonal menus, potluck dishes for get-togethers and Sabbat celebrations, or just every day.
What I'm looking for is some feedback. Lately it seems as though everybody is writing a cookbook. What makes mine different? Well, all the things I mentioned above, hopefully. There are a few Pagan-oriented cookbooks on the market, written by Patricia Telesco, Karri Ann Allrich, Cait Johnson, and Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen (a favorite resource). Can anyone think of any others? Other authors have included some recipes in their books about Sabbats (Ravenwolf's book on Halloween, for example), but their books haven't been all about the recipes.
I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I have ideas for three books. However, I haven't even officially started the first one yet. Right now I have lots of notes, some finished recipes, and not enough time to sit down and do all the work I need to do. I also don't have access to all of the ingredients that I need right now, which means I have had to put off testing some recipes. If anyone is interested in being a tester for recipes, please let me know! I plan to test some things when I go back to the States for my six-week vacation this summer, but I am interested to see how recipes turn out for other people. I've had to learn to really measure things, as opposed to my usual "pinch of this, dash of that, eyeball that" style.
As this jorunal entry is getting too long, I am going to wrap up and start another one that talks about some of the things that will be included in the book, should I ever get off my butt and write it! Publishing is another concern of mine. It will pretty much have to be a Pagan-friendly company, but I don't want to limit myself to just Llewellyn, in case the people there aren't interested, and I want a hard copy, as opposed to an e-book. At least for the first one. We shall see.
People who eat my food tell me how delicious it is, and I feel both grateful and humble. I say that I feel humble because the materials and ingredients that I use were created and provided by the Divine. I combine the ingredients, add heat and intent, but most of the work has been done by the earth, the sun and the rain. I strive to feel more in touch with the gods and honor them by nourishing the people I treasure, and by respectfully using the fruits, vegetables and grains that grow upon this planet. I am thankful to the animals whose bodies also provide food for us. I want to put together a book of recipes that reflect the wheel of the year with seasonal menus, potluck dishes for get-togethers and Sabbat celebrations, or just every day.
What I'm looking for is some feedback. Lately it seems as though everybody is writing a cookbook. What makes mine different? Well, all the things I mentioned above, hopefully. There are a few Pagan-oriented cookbooks on the market, written by Patricia Telesco, Karri Ann Allrich, Cait Johnson, and Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen (a favorite resource). Can anyone think of any others? Other authors have included some recipes in their books about Sabbats (Ravenwolf's book on Halloween, for example), but their books haven't been all about the recipes.
I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I have ideas for three books. However, I haven't even officially started the first one yet. Right now I have lots of notes, some finished recipes, and not enough time to sit down and do all the work I need to do. I also don't have access to all of the ingredients that I need right now, which means I have had to put off testing some recipes. If anyone is interested in being a tester for recipes, please let me know! I plan to test some things when I go back to the States for my six-week vacation this summer, but I am interested to see how recipes turn out for other people. I've had to learn to really measure things, as opposed to my usual "pinch of this, dash of that, eyeball that" style.
As this jorunal entry is getting too long, I am going to wrap up and start another one that talks about some of the things that will be included in the book, should I ever get off my butt and write it! Publishing is another concern of mine. It will pretty much have to be a Pagan-friendly company, but I don't want to limit myself to just Llewellyn, in case the people there aren't interested, and I want a hard copy, as opposed to an e-book. At least for the first one. We shall see.
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