The Witchery of Cookery

New Bake Ware

2012-01-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

I just ordered some inexpensive bake ware off of Yardsellr. I'm looking forward to getting the muffin pan so I can try out cloverleaf buns.
Yesterday we went to Jon's Market and I picked up some wheat flour and corn meal to round out my baking staples. And I got some feta cheese for some baked breakfast bread with bacon and eggs in it. That should be interesting.

And I got the peanut butter for peanut butter and bacon muffins. It sounds so bizarre that I have to try it soon.

Baked Bacon

2012-01-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

After years of hassling with pan fried bacon, including the tiny burns you get with it pops and lands on you and the grease spots all over my counter and clothing, a friend says to be, "Why don't you just bake it in the oven."

He said that is common knowledge but it was news to me so I'm guessing at least one of you out there doesn't know this.
Advantages: The bacon shrinks less.
The bacon lies flat.
You don't have to babysit the pan.
It won't burn if you turn your back.
Less grease splashing everywhere.
It gets nice and crispy and cooks more evenly.

How to bake bacon:
1. Get a baking sheet and cover with parchment paper. The paper with absorb some of the grease.
2. Lay out bacon in a single layer.
3. Heat over to 350 degrees.
4. Put bacon in oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
5. Check to see if it's done when the timer goes off, and if not, leave it in for another few minutes.
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Turn off oven.
8. Enjoy

Korean Market Has Sprouts

2012-01-18T23:20:00.000-08:00

One of the advantages in living in S. CA is there are a lot of ethnic markets here. Today we went to a Korean market up on Beach Bl. and they had an amazing collection of sprouts. The ones I can remember are radish, beans, and alfalfa. I like sprouts on sandwiches and in salads but I have the seeds at home to grow my own.

I'll have to remember to take my camera next time to show you the shop sign, but it's called Han Nam Chain Super 1 Mart. It's our favorite place to go to get kimchee, fish oil, and things like red pepper paste. They also have food samples, and freshly cooked food ready to go. And there is also a food court but we haven't had a chance to eat there yet.

Back to Baking

2012-01-18T23:10:00.000-08:00

Recently we picked up some used cookbooks. One of the bread books has me thinking about baking bread again soon. My main problem with bread is my boyfriend barely eats it and I don't need to get any fatter than I already am. So if I'm going to bake some, I need more friends in real life to share it with. I need to get in the habit of baking for pot lucks or to take to SCA events or to take to friends and relatives. Then the group of us can have a muffin or two and I don't end up eating a whole loaf of bread or 2 dozen cupcakes. The most bizarre recipe in one book is Bacon and Peanut Butter Muffins. I may make that just out of curiosity. But I am willing to try to make a new sourdough starter or some tofu bread or sopaipillas or onion crescent rolls. I'll keep you posted.

Making Chile Verde

2011-11-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I was involved with a cooking project making Chile Verde. Since my boyfriend already made an excellent post on his blog, I'll just send you to Greenman Cooking.

Lost My Kitchen

2011-08-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

It seems that as time goes on, some of our favorite recipes fall through the cracks. When I got into this relationship a decade ago, I never realized I'd practically be giving up cooking because my boyfriend buys the groceries, and chooses things for recipes he's making, which means I'm not making the food decisions. And we have a really small kitchen which makes it difficult to cook together in a safe and effective way. But I've lost a part of myself I think and need to find it again and start putting my foot down in the kitchen.

Cabbage Rolls

2011-08-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

Like many of us, I'm needing to eat more vegetables. So when I find a list of good recipes I have to share it. All kinds of cabbage roll recipes and facts: http://www.squidoo.com/stuffed-cabbage I'm trying to get more greens into my life and this is one way to do it.

Strawberry Pie

2011-02-28T15:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't been in the kitchen much. Now that my boyfriend works at home, he does most of the cooking. Yesterday he made strawberry pie with fresh whipped cream. Yummo!

Vegetable Drawer Soup

2011-01-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

My friend Marikan left a post on Facebook that she was making Vegetable Drawer Soup. It was such a funny name and yet I knew exactly what she meant. Since I heard Richard Simmons saying he lost weight by adding 2 more servings of vegetables to his diet each day, I was looking for a way to do the same. So I had to try this soup thing. I was a bit discouraged when my boyfriend said he just wasn't into vegetable soup so I'd be on my own. But I plowed ahead anyway. He has some powdered chicken stock he let me use. So I used 4 tbsp. of that in 12 cups of water of boiling water. Then I added chopped carrots and 2 handfuls of lentils first to get a head start while I chopped everything else. Next I added chopped cilantro, zucchini, celery, a yellow bell pepper, button mushrooms, brocolli and snow peas. I added some ground tomatillo, onion salt, parsley flakes and season salt. I let the whole thing simmer for about two hours. Once the carrots were tender, I served it up. I put some fresh ground black pepper on top and a bit of fresh cilantro.

It was so delicious! And I felt good because the veggies went into my tummy instead of into the trash can like they usually do. I never saw my boyfriend try any, but he said he liked it. In fact it was his idea to add it to my food blog.

Apple Pandowdy

2011-01-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

There is something special about Saturdays. I'm happy to be baking. I finally got to make the Apple Pandowdy I mentioned in a previous post. It's in the oven right now. The hard part is going to be letting it cool awhile before I try to eat it. I think it's going to be similar to the Bisquick coffee cake I used to make when I was a teenager, and apple pie. We'll see.

The only change I made to the recipe was to sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Eating Out

2010-12-30T22:59:00.001-08:00

I haven't had the chance to do much cooking lately. With two chefs in the family and only one tiny kitchen, I don't get a turn very often.

Here is a restaurant review of a place we went to a few days ago. http://greenmancooking.blogspot.com/2010/12/post-on-guerilla-chef-blog-recently.html

I had tandoori chicken and nan, two of my favorites.

Apple Pandowdy

2010-12-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on Cook's dot com and I'm going to give it a try soon. I got two different types of apples for a better flavor. It's rather like peach cobbler I think, only with apples. I got the idea from America's Test Kitchen, but their recipes are always too complicated, so I went with the easy way instead. In their version you have to make a pie crust. Not that that's so horrible, it's just that my kitchen is tiny and rolling out dough isn't fun. I believe I got granny smith and braeburn. According to the Cooks Thesaurus I actually made a good choice completely at random.

Apples are considered magical because when you cut them in half, there is a star inside.

Wheat Dough Pizza

2010-12-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

I got a late start on the day and didn't have breakfast. So I decided to make pizza for lunch. Using the wheat pizza dough I made in the bread machine a few days ago, I put together a pizza from items on hand.

Pizzas are a great way to use up bits of meat, cheese and veggies. On mine I put fire roasted tomatoes in sauce, grilled onions, browned kielbasa sausage, shitake mushrooms sliced thinly, and medium grated cheddar cheese. I'd already added oregano to the dough.

This dough was a lot stiffer than what I'm used to. Even though the recipe said it was enough dough for 2 large pizzas, I could only spread it out far enough to make one rectangular pizza. I had already used about 1/5 of the dough for breadsticks the other night. But still, there is no way that would have made 2 large pizzas, even with allowing the dough to relax several times.

It made for a very hearty thick crust chewy pizza though. One and a half pieces were all I could eat. The rest went in the fridge for tomorrow.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

2010-12-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

I just put some pizza dough in the bread machine. I couldn't find my usual recipe so I got one from another book I've been meaning to try. This one is half white and half wheat flour. I'll like it fine, but I'm not sure my boyfriend will like it.
The bread machine sounded a bit clunkier than usual. I hope it's okay.

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

I found four cookie cutters in a never opened package at the thrift store. The bear design was really cute. There was a bear, a snowman, a tree, and a bell.

I tried a new recipe for sugar cookies and found out my boyfriend doesn't like frosting on his. So I just used colored sugar I made in a baggie. Evidently I don't like sugar cookies without frosting, but they are lovely to look at.

Why You Never Fry Gnocchi

2010-12-11T12:08:00.001-08:00

If you need a good laugh, watch this: http://www.wimp.com/preparegnocchi/

Happy Lammas

2010-08-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lammas/ht/Lammas_Ritual.htm

I need to bake some bread for the ritual. Any thoughts on that as to what kind? I don't drink so I think I'll go with sparkling cider.

Peach Cobbler Hot Out of the Oven

2010-08-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

This is for a lunch with friends tomorrow, so I shall have to resist temptation.
This is the first time I tried making it in this pie plate a friend gave to us. My boyfriend said, "Are you sure that's ovenproof?" I said, "It's been in a kiln, I'm sure it will be fine." I think it looks and smells divine. I got the recipe off of http://www.cooks.com.

Deviled Eggs?

2010-07-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

I made deviled eggs today, and then I was thinking if I'm Pagan and don't believe in the devil I really should call these something else. Got any ideas?

I do think the eggs came from hell because I couldn't peel those suckers to save my life. Out of 7 eggs, not one would peel easily. Yes, I've tried all the tricks: use old eggs, use new eggs, add salt, don't add salt. I've tried them all and nothing seems to work.

At least they tasted good. I mixed up the cooked yolks with dill relish, finely minced onion, paprika, dried mustard, salt, pepper, crumbled bacon and a bit of mayo.
I didn't think to take a photo, but considering how homely looking they were, that's probably a good thing.

Nachos and Tostadas

2010-05-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Nachos

Tostadas

I made some yummy nachos with chips, avocado, red leaf lettuce, cheddar cheese and refried beans.

Then the next day I used what was left of the beans and made tostadas with corn tortillas and colorful little tomatoes from Trader Joes. Simple meals are a blessing. And this could be made vegetarian easily if you got the vegetarian beans instead and left off the cheese.

Peach Cobbler and Cherry Cobbler

2010-04-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today I made peach cobbler and cherry cobbler to take to the archery gathering tomorrow. But we couldn't resist trying it. I was being really good about leaving it alone but after my boyfriend cut it I couldn't resist any longer. And it was delicious. I only had a tiny bit of each though, with a bit of French Vanilla ice cream. Be very jealous.

Nisha Cooks

2010-04-15T18:53:00.001-07:00

One of my crafty online friends decided to go to culinary school. And now I see she has a food blog. http://nishadoes.blogspot.com/ It looks like she is working on desserts right now and may I say Yummo! Go see.

Sprouts

2010-01-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

I'd like to get back into making sprouts to go on sandwiches and salads, so today I picked up some flax seeds at the market. I want to write an article on it, but I want to try various seeds. So I'll keep you posted on the experiment. Or if you are good at sprouts feel free to suggest various seeds and methods.

Gingerbread Cookies

2009-12-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I made gingerbread cookies. Then last night I made deviled eggs. And today I have beans soaking and a ham bone so I'm going to make a crock pot full of beans for dinner. My boyfriend isn't a fan of beans, so I think he plans to make stuffed grape leaves.

I thought I'd share the cookie photos. I love to bake, don't you? I got the scotty dog cookie cutter at a junk shop in Quartzsite AZ. It seems we had one as a kid so I had to have it.

A Boy and His Dog

2009-12-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

Today I made some gingerbread boys and gingerbread Scotty dogs. The house smells wonderful.

Tonight I'm going to make deviled eggs. But I'm taking a cookie break.

Calzones for a Crowd

2009-12-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

Calzones for a Crowd

Posted using ShareThis
I wanted to try making some Calzones for dinner using the pizza dough recipe in my bread machine. So I needed a little help and found this recipe. I want to freeze some for later too.

If At First You Don't Succeed

2009-11-06T01:51:00.001-08:00

I don't want to give the impression that I'm the perfect cook and everything comes out great. Such is the case with my bread. Everything was picture perfect until the last rise. The directions said to form a loaf, put it on a cookie sheet, and let it rise from 1 to 3 hours. Well, after 4 hours, it still hadn't risen and I had no idea why.

Also, I was supposed to sprinkle corn meal on the pan first. I thought we had some but we didn't. So I used flour.
I brushed the top of the loaf with water. I put the bread in the oven after 4 hours. I checked the thermometer and it was 400 degrees spot on. I baked the bread 20 minutes and it wasn't even browning. So I left it in another 5. Still no browning. Left it in another 5. It was a little brown but I was afraid to overbake it so I took it out. I let it cool half an hour as per the directions. Then I tried to pry it off the pan. It has become one with the pan. I cut off/pulled off 3 slices. Later I tried to get the rest unstuck and broke the spatula trying. It was my boyfriend's grandmother's spatula.

Anyway, the bread did taste good. It tasted like sourdough and the inner bread was perfect. My teeth aren't the greatest so I didn't even try to eat the tougher parts of the crust. I'm sure it would be fine dipped into vegetable soup or spaghetti sauce.

At any rate, I fed my starter again, and maybe I'll try again. If the second attempt doesn't rise, I guess I should toss the starter.

Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Sourdough Bread Project

2009-11-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the sourdough bread all day. It's doing the last rise now. It's in loaf form and has to rise until double it's size, which will be from 1 to 3 hours. I hope it's 1, because it's already 8:43 PM. Then 30 minutes baking time at 400 degrees. Then 30 minutes of cooling time. Next time I won't try to do it all in one day. I'll let it rise in the refrigerator and bake it the next day.
I'm having fun though, and that's what counts. Anticipation is a big part of breadmaking.

Greenman Cooking: Vegetable/Spinach/Shrimp/Water Chestnut Dip

2009-11-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Greenman Cooking: Vegetable/Spinach/Shrimp/Water Chestnut Dip

Sourdough Bread

2009-11-03T12:43:00.001-08:00

I had to postpone my cooking projects for a while because of preparing for a craft sale and making a business trip. So now I'm home again, somewhat caught up on my sleep, and ready to dive back in. Or at least wade back in.

I took the sourdough starter out of the fridge. I'm going to let it warm up, feed it, and then hopefully make my first loaf of sourdough bread.

Five Minute Artisan Bread and Naan

2009-10-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

At the archery gathering yesterday Diane told me about Five Minute Artisan Bread. So I found the recipe here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx. She also said she has some sourdough starter that has been around since making it to the west in a covered wagon, and she promised to share some at our next meeting. The Artisan bread info also tells how to make Naan, one of my favorite breads that you can even make on a camp-out. So I can't wait to try that too.

The photo is of Diane beading a necklace. She's camera shy.

Tostadas for a Quick Dinner

2009-10-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

When I want a meal in a hurry I go with Tostadas.

Ingredients: Flour or Corn Tortillas
1 small can of refried beans
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1 C of lettuce mix
1 small diced tomato
Season salt

Serves 1 or 2 adults

First grate the cheese and dice the tomato. Put the beans in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and heat up slowly, stirring from time to time so they don't burn to the bottom.

Fry the tortillas flat in a bit of cooking oil. Drain on paper towels. I like mine crispy.

Assemble:
Smooth the beans over the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese so that it melts a bit over the hot beans. Add some lettuce mix and the tomatoes. Serve while warm. Salt to taste.

Optional: Salsa and/or Cilantro and/or sour cream
Optional: Pre-cooked ground beef

Sourdough Starter

2009-10-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

I decided it was about time I made some sourdough starter. I'm going to use these excellent directions for sourdough. My boyfriend made some a few years back but we lost it when we moved. So now it's my turn to give it a go. I'm excited.

Day 2: So far my starter seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing...expanding, bubbly, and so forth. This photo was from last night right before I moved it to a bigger jar.

Apple Turnovers

2009-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

For today I wanted to use up my leftover Fillo Dough and my Gaia apples so I found this recipe on Cooks.com for Apple Turnovers.
Since I was using already cut sheets of dough I had to approximate the way they said to fold it, but it came out fine. The recipe calls for Granny Smith Apples, so if you are making a trip to the store get those instead.
After I cut the apples, I asked my boyfriend if I could use one of the lemons he bought last time we went to the market and he said no. He was just about to use it for some Stuffed Grape Leaves (which turned out wonderful). So I had to walk to the store to get a lemon. Actually, I got a tablespoon of lemon out of just half the lemon. But I was also able to get some milk to go with the apple turnovers. So Yay!

The one thing that is not in that recipe is the Powdered Sugar Glaze. Put about 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small bowl, and add literally a few drops of water at a time and stir, until you get the consistancy you want. Let the apple turnovers cool for 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze over them. Also, I sprayed the pan with ordinary cooking spray, but used melted butter brushed on with a pastry brush between the layers and also on top.

Falafels

2009-10-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I wanted to make pita pockets with falafel for my boyfriend. But much to my surprise the markets I go to no longer carry either one, much less Tahini sauce. Then tonight my boyfriend wanted to go to a market we've never been to called Super King. He wanted to get supplies to make pickles and we hadn't found pickling cucumbers anywhere either. Well, happily, they had his cucumbers, and while we were wandering about, I spotted some powdered falafel mix. It had no directions on it though. But later I turned around and saw not just one brand of falafel mix, but several. Yes! Of course then I had to go back to the very front corner of the store again to look for pita pocket bread. Well, they had that too. And I was trying to remember what goes into a falafel when I remembered the Tahini sauce. So I told my boyfriend, "Where would I look for Tahini sauce." And he said, "Right behind you."

He's a little nervous though. He's not a fan of beans and falafels are made from garbonzo beans and seasoning. I hope he will give it a fair chance.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

2009-10-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

We had leftover roasted chicken so I decided to try out the Foreman grill someone gave us by making a sandwich. So I took some wheat bread and buttered the outsides. For the filling I used breast meat, tomato slices from my garden, mozerella and feta cheese, and a bit of cilantro. I wanted cranberry sauce on it but was afraid that wouldn't work in the grill so I put the cranberry sauce on the side. It was yummy but next time I'll put some mayo on it before grilling.

Fayme's Super Easy Cherry Tarts

2009-10-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 Package of fillo dough
1/3 cube of butter (melted)
2 Tbsp water
1/4 C powdered sugar
Makes 24 tarts

To make these I sprayed a cupcake pan with cooking spray. Then I cut some Fillo dough into squares and tucked about 6-9 squares into each cup. I carefully brushed each 'cup' with melted butter to keep it from shifting. Then I added a spoonful of canned cherries like you put in pies into each cup. Then I added a few more layers to cover and brushed with butter again. I baked for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I took a little bowl and while they were baking I stirred about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tbsp. of water to make a glaze. After I took the tarts out, I let them cool a minute then drizzled glaze on each one. I popped them out with a fork and we ate them while they were still warm. One can will make 24 tarts. I only made half today. I'll make the other half in a day or two.

Cherry Tarts

2009-10-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

For lunch I made a really cool sandwich in the George Foreman grill someone gave us. And now I'm going to make cherry tarts with the Filo pastry. I was going to make them earlier today but I forgot the Filo takes 5 hours to thaw. I wish I hadn't put it in the freezer when we got home from the market on Sunday.

First Post and Why I Made This Blog

2009-09-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

After writing about cooking and recipes randomly in my other blogs I finally decided to give my cooking skills a place to park. I guess I've always taken cooking for granted. But judging by all the people I meet that don't cook at all, or who can pretty much burn boiled water, I guess I should be glad someone taught me to cook.

My boyfriend just made some sauerkraut, and posted it to his blog here:sauerkraut When I told him I decided to make a cooking blog he laughed. I don't know why he laughed. I know he fancies himself a better cook than I am. I told him I raised two kids and never poisoned either, so he needs to at least respect my cooking. He's really good at cooking meat, but I'm better at baking and cooking within a budget. My mom had 5 kids to feed so we weren't exactly buying 2" steaks.

I think between my boyfriend and I we have some pretty amazing recipes. And we never lack for variety in our meals. We just need a bigger kitchen, that's all.