Baked Carrot Fritters - Firinda Havuc Mucver

Maybe some of you were wondering what I eat now that I live in Turkey. Okay, so most of you probably weren't, but I'm going to share a recipe with you anyway. The original recipe contains zucchini and it's usually deep fried. I found a baked zucchini fritter recipe at http://almostturkish.blogspot.com and have adapted it a bit. If you have a lot of zucchini this summer, I highly recommend Burcu's recipe. It's delicious. This is my carrot version.

Cast of Characters



Flour - 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Baking powder - 2 tsps
Grated carrot - approximately 3 cups
Parsley and Dill, fresh - about 1/3 cup each
Green onions - 3
Oil - 1/4 cup
Eggs - 3
Salt and Pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional) I used about 1 teaspoon

Grate the carrots and finely chop your herbs. Thinly slice the green onions. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, oil, red pepper, and eggs. If your batter is a bit too thick, you can thin it out with some milk. I sometimes add another egg too, if I'm using both carrots and zucchini (about 2 cups each).



Isn't that pretty? I wish you could smell the combination of green onions, parsley, and dill. It's heavenly!

Fold those beautiful vegetables and herbs into the batter and spread into a greased baking dish. Place into a preheated oven (375 degrees) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Check it by placing a knife in the middle. When it comes out clean, you're good to go.

Before



After



The Perfect Accompaniment

Mince 1 clove of garlic with some thick, plain yogurt (1 cup) and add 2 tablespoons fresh dill and salt to taste.




There's nothing left to do but eat!

Seasonal Eating

One of the ways in which we can better attune ourselves to the cycles of nature is by buying and eating seasonal produce. Not only is it cheaper to buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season, but the produce is also much more flavorful. Since different states and countries have different growing seasons (especially when you think about the Northern and Southern hemispheres), it isn't a bad idea to hop on the internet and search for what is in season in your particular area.

www.nrdc.org allows you to search by state and season.

If you are outside of the US as I am, you can still find information on the internet. No matter where yo uare, one of the best ways to see what is in season is to visit a farmer's market.

For many of us, spring means asparagus and spinach. It also means broccoli, cauliflower, arugula (rocket/roka), peas, spring onions, new potatoes, rhubarb, apricots, strawberries, and cherries. I've been seeing watermelons in Istanbul for weeks. I don't know where they're coming from, but they're already ripe and delicious. What a treat!

Seasonal eating and cooking is good for our bodies and our souls because it helps us tap into the wheel of the year. It is important for us to become aware of our surroundings and see the bounty that the goddess bestows upon us throughout the year, every year.

The goddess provides wonderful things for us. We just need to be able to recognize it. I recommend picking up a good book on wild foods and learning to recognize some of the edible plants that might be growing in your very back yard. However, I do not recommend foraging for wild mushrooms. It is much too risky, and one mistake may be all it takes. Also, if you do wish to forage for wild food such as dandelions and purslane, don't pick anything that is growing close to the road or anything that has been sprayed with pesticide. Wash everything very well.

Talking about the abundance of foods that are provided for us also reminds me of the people on this planet who do not have enough food. It is important that we keep these people in our prayers, and it is also imperative that we help them when we can. If you are able to do so, please make a contribution to your local food bank. And yes, I mean even if it isn't a secular organization! You know who you are... There are also sites on the internet that provide donations of food to the less fortunate. Visit them, and contribute when you can.

Until next time, afiyet olsun.

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! :)

Cooking by Days of the Week - Monday

This comes from Patricia Telesco's book, A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook.

Monday - Originally known as Moon's Day. Cooking on Monday will improve magicks for creativity, insight, maternal nature and Goddess-related efforts.

Good foods to eat are mushrooms, for moon magick, and potatoes, for grounding. Here, then, is a recipe for potato-mushroom gratin, courtesy of epicurious.com

Potato-Mushroom Gratin

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut length-wise into 1/8"-thick slices
1 1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt, plus extra for the mushrooms
3/4 tsp ground black pepper, plus additional for mushrooms
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (approx. 3 oz), divided
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
12 oz fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a 13x9x2 glass baking dish with 2 Tbsp oil. Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes so they overlap. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour 1/3 cream over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender, adding additional cream by tablespoonfuls if dry, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven; maintain oven temperature.

Sprinkle thyme and garlic slices over gratin. Toss mushrooms in a medium bowl with 3 Tbsp oil; sprinkle on salt and pepper. Arrange mushroom slices atop gratin around the edge of the dish. Drizzle with 1/4 cup cream; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Continue to bake uncovered until mushrooms are tender and potato edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.

Cooking by Days of the Week

I have met Patricia Telesco but I don't own any of her books. Maybe I should buy one or two, to generate good book selling karma :) This list comes courtesy of the wonderful invention that is the internet (thanks, Al Gore *L*)



Source: A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook, Patricia Telesco



Monday: Originally known as Moon's Day. Cooking on Monday will improve magick for creativity, insight, maternal nature, and Goddess-related efforts.



Tuesday - Tiw was a god of athletics, combat and law. Consider meals to improve physical well-being, encourage justice, or increase strength and strategy.



Wedesday - Odin (Woden) was a god of the mystical, poetry and resourcefulness. Meals prepared today can accent magick for improved focus on your spiritual path, artistic ability or imagination.



Thursday - Thor, the god of strength and commitment, ruled over this day. Consider dishes prepared to enhance vigor, stamina, devotion and dedication.



Friday - From Frigg, the goddess of relationships and fertility. A good day to create foods for any lunar magick, love-related spells, and improved productivity.



Saturday - Saturn was a god of harvests and planting. A good week day to consider combining with harvest-themed meals, or to sow any seeds to bring positive traits into your life.



Sunday - The sun is the ruler of this day. Any solar magick, god-related foods and foods for leadership, logic, study, etc. are enhanced when prepared on this day.



There you have it.

Kitchen Deities, Part II

There are so many aspects of the Divine that are associated with the hearth, fire, and food preparation. And why not? Food sustains life, and that which sustains life is sacred. These days, many of us are fortunate to have an abundant supply of affordable food. Sadly, though, many are not. For those of you interested in helping feed those in need, donating non-perishable food to a local food pantry can be a ritual in itself. Just leave the food with a prayer that it nourish those who receive it.

The post I made just a moment ago included a list of various kitchen deities, but it seems that there are more than I originally thought. Fortunately, the Pagan Soccer Mom has a list at her blog ( silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com ). She was also kind enough to list some of the foods and herbs that are sacred to these hearth deities. I recommend visiting her blog. I plan to provide more detailed information about some of the deities and include suitable recipes as I have in the past.