Kitchen Witchery Recipes
Apricot Chicken
- 3lb chicken pieces
- 2 medium onions - chopped
- 2oz butter
- 1tbsp cornflour
- 15oz can apricot nectar
- 4oz dried apricots - diced
- 1/2 red pepper capsicum - sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms - sliced
- 1/2 cup sour cream - optional
- salt and pepper
- Melt the butter in a fry pan and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove and add onions, sauting until transparent. Stir apricot nectar into cornflour and add to pan. Stir until it boils, reduce heat to a slow simmer, season, add dried apricots and chicken and cover. Cook until chicken is tender (stirring occasionally). Add the vegetables and cook a futher 10 minutes, stir in sour cream.
- Serve with rice.
Baked Pumpkin Squares
- Fresh pumpkin
- Bunch of green onions - diced
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 4 slices Canadian bacon - diced
- Chives
- 1 cup sour cream
- Olive oil
- Cut the pumpkin into squares - scooping out seeds but retaining the skin. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic and chives. Bake at 350 degrees until soft and lightly browned.
- Sautee green onions and bacon. Sprinkle over the cooked pumpkin and top with a little sour cream.
Blackberry Jam
- 4 cups fresh blackberries (or alternate berries) - washed and crushed
- 1/2 lb rhubarb - washed, trimmed, and chopped
- 4 cups fine sugar
- Cook the rhubarb in a saucepan until it softens then stor in the sugar. Once it has dissolved, add the berries and mix thoroughly. Bring to a rapid boil and keep boiling for 20 minutes - check if it has turned to jam by dropping a spoonful on a plate and letting it cool. If it is not runny, but wrinkles when pushed, it�s ready. Let cool a bit and then decant into jars and seal. Sterilise the jars in a dishwasher or by boiling for 10 minutes in water beforehand.
Cawl Cynhaeaf - or Welsh Harvest Broth
- 2 & 1/2 lbs of lamb - use the neck or leg with the bone in
- 1/2 lb dried green peas
- 1/2 lb dried broad beans
- 2 carrots - diced
- 2 large leeks - trimmed, washed, & diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 medium turnip - peeled and diced
- 1 bunch spinach - trimmed and chopped
- 1 small cauliflower - chopped into florets
- Black pepper and salt to taste
- 1 quart water
- Trim the meat and then cover with the water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour - skimming away the scum that forms. Remove and strip meat from the bones. Chop up meat and return (with bones) to the pot. Add the vegetables (except cauliflower and spinach) and seasoning, cover, and simmer for 3 hours - add more water if necessary. Add the cauliflower and spinach and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
Crab Salad
- 1 lb. crabmeat, shelled and chopped/shredded
- 1 medium ripe cantaloupe
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup sliced scallions
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup cashews, toasted, chopped
- DRESSING
3/4 cup plain yogurt, reg. or nonfat
- 1 1/2 tps. mild curry powder
- 2 tbs. chopped shallots or sweet onion
- 1 tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice
- Place crab in bowl, examine and discard any shell. Halve cantaloupe, scrape out & discard seeds. With melon baller, scoop melon flesh out of shells. Or scoop out flesh and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Add melon, all other ingredients to crab except nuts. Toss lightly. Chill. At serving time, make dressing by whisking all ingredients in bowl, then adding to crab. Mound crab on platter or on individual plates. Sprinkle with cashews. Serves 4-6 as main course.
Crowdie
- Crowdie is very similar to the Indian cheese, Panir. Follow the recipe and steps 1 through 4. After draining the curds thoroughly, and squeezing out any extra liquid, empty into a bowl and stir in a teaspoon of salt. Stir until it reaches a smooth texture then add 1 cup of cream and mix thoroughly but gently. Chill in the fridge.
Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage, and Cider Glaze
Original Recipe found in The Herbfarm Cookbook
- 2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds) or other winter squash
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh sage very coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary very coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh unfiltered apple cider or juice
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- Squash: If using delicata squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, cut it lengthwise in half, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each piece lengthwise in half again, then crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Other types of squash should be peeled with a chef's knife, seeded, cut into 1- inch wedges, then sliced 1/2-inch thick.
- Herb butter: Melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over low heat. Add the sage and rosemary and cook, stirring, until the butter just begins to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown the herbs. Cooking the herbs in butter mellows their flavor and improves the texture.
- Cooking the squash: Add the squash to the skillet, then the apple cider,water, vinegar, and salt. Cook stirring occasionally, over medium heat at an even boil until the cider has boiled down to a glaze and the squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper and additional salt if needed.
Lammas Bread and Ritual
Original Recipe found at Willo's Lammas Bread"
Starts four days before baking. I put barely (white) wheat (red) and rye (black) grains into small bowls on my altar along with my chalice. I make a list of things I've received in the last year that I'm grateful for, and wish to see multiply in the next year. I take a pinch of each of the three grains, offering my thanks to maiden, mother, and crone...and stating my willingness to see the blessing multiply in the next year. For three days, I let them sprout by pouring water over them and draining them, day and night. On the day before Lammas, I put the chalice in the sun so the sprouts will go green....no this isn't mold but chlorophyll... we are talking live plants, here. Then on Lammas, I make my bread...
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 tsp salt.
- Bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes to make a porridge. Add 2 tbsp butter 1/2 cup of either molasses (to make a dark bread) or honey (to make a light bread). Set aside to cool.
- Dissolve 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm (100F) water sprinkle 1 tbsp dry yeast over top. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.When yeast is a fluffy layer on top of the water, stir briskly with a fork to mix. Add to lukewarm porridge mixture, and stir in 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. Beat vigorously for five minutes. This mixing allows gluten formation, which gives the bread a springy texture. Add the sprouts. Add another 2 1/2 cups flour. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 9 minutes. Add up to another cup of flour if the dough gets sticky.
- Sing appropriate chants or carols while kneading, and meditate on your gratitude for the year's harvest. Shape into a smooth ball and place in a buttered bowl. Rotate dough in bowl to grease surface. Cover with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise until dough is doubled in volume (1 1/2 to 2 hours). Punch dough down and divide into five equal parts. Form each into a flat round loaf, place loaves on cookie sheets, and brush with melted butter. If desired, you can cut magical symbols into the tops of the loaves with a sharp knife. Allow to rise under the damp tea towel for another 45 minutes.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Bread will sound hollow when tapped when cooked. Brush top with melted butter and place on cake racks to cool.
- As you eat this bread, meditate on the gifts you've received...and on taking in and assimilating the blessings you've put into the grains... share them with others if you wish.
Lughnasadh Bannocks
- 8 oz plain flour
- 4 oz unsalted butter
- Pinch salt
- 2 oz fine sugar
- 1 oz chopped hazelnuts and walnuts
- 1 oz dried currants
- Place flour in a bowl. Stir in the sugar and salt and then rub in the butter to form a dough. Knead in the nuts and currants. Turn out onto a floured surface and form into a round. Prick the surface with a fork and lightly brush with a little milk. Bake on a greased baking sheet in a 325 degree oven for 45-60 minutes - should sound hollow if lightly tapped with a fist. Let cool then serve sliced with crowdie and cawl cynhaeaf.
Minty Orange Salad
- 6 valencia oranges - peeled and sliced
- 1/2 pineapple - peeled, cored and chunked (or a small tin drained)
- 1/4 cup mint leaves - chopped
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/3 cup malt vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- Mix the oranges and pineapple and chill. Combine other ingredients in a blender and process into a smooth dressing. Pour over oranges and pineapple.
Pumpkin Bread
- 3& 1/2 cups of flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 � tsp salt
- 2 cups cooked pumpkin
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1 cup oil
- 1 cup pecans
- Mix the flour, sugar, soda, spices, and salt together. Mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the water and oil and mix thoroughly. Add the pecans. Grease two loaf pans and pour in the batter. Bake at 350 dregrees for an hour and 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.
Vegetable Stir Fry
- 1 large carrot
- 2 stalks celery
- handful green beans
- 3 large broccoli stalks
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Peel the carrots and broccoli stalks (shave down to the tender middle of the broccoli). Slice carrots, broccoli, and celery into long strips. Top and tail beans. Heat the oils in a frypan and saute the garlic and ginger. Add the vegetables and stir-fry. Add soy sauce. Cover for a few minutes to allow to steam. Add water if it gets too dry.
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