Witchy Kitchen

Category: Halloween

  • Witchy Autumn Spice Mix

    Witchy Autumn Spice Mix

    Tis the season! I’ve decked the halls with pumpkins and cobwebs, and fall baking is in full swing. Here’s a deliciously fragrant witchy spice mix for all your fall treats, everything from gingerbread to roasted veggies to pumpkin spice lattes.

    It’s nothing revolutionary, it’s like chai masala with different levels of spice (not that you couldn’t make a lovely chai with this), and like store-bought pumpkin pie spice only so much more lovely and piquant because the spices are fresh ground. I’ve made a nice batch which I’ve stored in a little jar in my spice cabinet, but it’s going so quickly I know I’ll need to make another batch before the holiday season is over – and this time make it a double!

    Also, this wouldn’t be half as witchy without some magical correspondences, so if you’re curious:

    • Allspice: money, luck healing
    • Black pepper: protection, exorcism
    • Cardamom: lust, love (so you’ve got the sweet playful version with green cardamom and the smokey sexy one with black cardamom)
    • Cinnamon: spirituality, success, healing, power, psychic powers, lust, protection, love (so, pretty much everything)
    • Clove: protection, exorcism, love, money
    • Ginger: love, money, success, power
    • Star anise: psychic powers, luck

    All the good stuff; if you’re looking for love, money, or just need a good old-fashioned exorcism, a batch of pumpkin bread may be just the thing. Happy baking!

    Witchy Autumn Spice Mix

    • 10 green cardamom pods
    • 10 allspice berries
    • 14 cloves
    • 3 star anise
    • 3 cinnamon sticks
    • 1 tablespoon black pepper pods
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (about half a pod)
    • 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

    Lightly toast all spices except the ground nutmeg and ginger in a dry pan. Grind all spices in a spice grinder until very fine. You may need to crack the cinnamon sticks first, and then sift the spices once and grind the larger pieces again.

    Stir in the ginger and nutmeg, and store in an airtight container. Will last indefinitely but spices will lose potency over time, so try to use within a month or two.

  • Season of the Witch (Halloween Mixes)

    Every other year or so I’ve been making a Halloween mix fit for the season. This year instead of making a new one I decided to freshen up my old ones – I rearranged some songs, now each mix has 13 tracks (obviously) and a new cover with gorgeous artwork by Khoa Le, and I moved them from the various platforms I had them on over to Spotify. Enjoy!

    Perfect to play while you’re cooking, decorating, costume making, pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, monster mashing, tractor riding, driving at night, moon howling, graveyard dirt collecting, scrying, flying, or summoning. Happy Halloween!

    season-of-the-witch-vol1

    season-of-the-witch-vol2

    season-of-the-witch-vol3


  • Pumpkin Quesadillas

    Pumpkin Quesadillas

    For the last several years, it’s been a tradition to make pumpkin quesadillas on Halloween – they’re easy, the kids love them, and they go great with Beetroot Chili (or any chili for that matter).

    Pumpkin Quesadillas

    • 4 oz cheddar cheese, or a mix of cheddar and jack, grated
    • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
    • 1/2 tsp garam masala (or a mix of cumin and cinnamon)
    • 1/2 tsp paprika
    • good pinch cayenne
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • small corn tortillas

    Heat a pan or griddle over medium high heat – I use my tawa 🙂

    Combine cheese, pumpkin, and spices and mix well. Spread a smallish amount over a tortilla and top with another, cook on both sides, flipping, until toasty and brown. Allow to cool slightly then slice in quadrants, serve with salsa/sour cream/chili.

  • Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    This month I’ve made a couple of traditional recipes associated with Samhain (namely Irish Boxty and Barm Brack), so here’s an English one for the mix. It has nine ingredients – hence the name – and is also played as a fortunetelling game, with a ring (symbol of marital happiness) hidden inside to be served to a lucky guest.

    For the record, I got the ring, but Zoeya got upset so I re-hid it and she totally by chance got it and was really excited about it. Which is to say, usually in these situations I just tell her to get over it, but I think it’s ok to spoil your kids a little once in awhile to see them smile.

    Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    Slightly adapted from Food.com

    • 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
    • 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
    • 1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into thin slices, including some of the green tops
    • 6 ounces farmhouse cheddar cheese, grated
    • salt & pepper
    • 2 tablespoons cream (or half & half, which I always have around)

    Heat oven to 350°.

    In a big pot of salted water, bring the potatoes, carrots, turnip and parsnip together to a boil, and cook until soft. Mash them thoroughly (I think it’s supposed to be more uniform but I left it a little lumpy) and season with salt and pepper to taste.

    Heat the butter and saute the leeks for a few minutes until soft. Add to the potato mixture along with the cream and mix. Stir in the grated cheese – and the ring! – and spread in a baking dish. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

    We ate this on Friday movie night while watching Frankenweenie.

  • Dulce de Leche Apple Muffins

    Dulce de Leche Apple Muffins

    A couple weeks ago, my friends made caramel apples (salted caramel apples to be exact). Melty caramels + tart Granny Smiths = me almost losing a bracket but it was worth it! #bracelife

    Ever since I’ve been dreaming of them, so these are caramel apples in muffin form. I used the apple muffin recipe for King Arthur Flour with a dollop of dulce de leche in the middle – and another one on top. I put a little sprinkle of sea salt too just for good measure.

    Side note, if you are wont to Google things like “dulce de leche vs. caramel,” these is a nice succinct (and yet questionable? Carmel?) answer by “therealchiffonade” on this Serious Eats thread:

    Dulce De Leche = milk + sugar cooked till lightly brown.
    Caramel = Water + Sugar cooked to a specific stage.
    Carmel = Cream + the water and sugar you cooked to reach the caramel stage, above.

    So there you go. (Edit: Woah, cajeta is made from goat’s milk!)

    Dulce de Leche Apple Muffins

    Adapted from King Arthur Flour

    For the dulce de leche

    • 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

    I used to make this in the oven, but now use the ingenious method of cooking this in your crockpot for 8-10 hours – which doesn’t seem like it should work but it does. (I know this is not news to anyone, but I am still fascinated). I did it on high for an hour, then on low 8 hours or so overnight, then 1 more hour on high in the morning.

    For the muffins

    • 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, room temp
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • 1 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
    • 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and smallish diced

    Heat oven to 375° and prepare a muffin tin. I used liners because I had some cute one but usually would just do this in the pan.

    Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg, then gently mix in yogurt.

    Whisk together whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, then stir into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in apples.

    Spoon into the muffin cups until half full, then spoon about a tablespoon of dulce de leche into each one, then spoon more batter until they are full. Bake 25 minutes, then add a spoon of dulce de leche on top of each one then bake two minutes more. Finish with a sprinkle of sea salt. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool the rest of the way.

  • Roasted Grape and Sweet Potato Salad

    Roasted Grape and Sweet Potato Salad

    After the Renaissance Festival (shamelessly love it, go every year), my friend Gloria invited us back to her house for pumpking carving, also our yearly tradition, and fed us a delicious dinner including a salad with roasted grapes. I was fascinated by these grapes, as I often am with food I’ve eaten since childhood treated a different way, and wanted to try them myself (I roast everything else in the world, might as well try this). So here’s my version of Gloria’s yummy salad, which has a decidedly fall feel.

    Roasted Grape and Sweet Potato Salad

    For the vinaigrette
    The “Original” red wine vinaigrette:

    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
    • 1/4 tsp sugar
    • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
    • 2 tsp salt
    • 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 1/4 tsp dry English mustard
    • 1 small clove garlic, grated
    • 1 cup olive oil

    Shake everything together in a Mason jar.

    For the salad

    • 1 lb grapes
    • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
    • 3 slices dark pumpernickel bread, cubed
    • olive oil
    • sea salt & pepper
    • 10 oz or so baby spinach
    • 5 oz queso fresco, crumbled
    • 1 shallot, sliced, and soaked in red wine vinegar, pinch of sugar and salt for 30 minutes
    • couple handful pumpkin seeds

    Heat oven to 400°. On three separate baking dishes, toss grapes, sweet potatoes, and pumpernickel cubes with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, then spread in a single layer. Roast, turning occasionally. Bread croutons will only take 10 minutes or so until crispy, grapes and sweet potatoes will take 25-35 minutes. Remove and cool.

    Toss together spinach, grapes, sweet potato, and pumpernickel croutons with just enough vinaigrette to coat, then sprinkle with cheese, pickled shallot and pumpkin seeds. Serve with optional extra vinaigrette on the side.

    I’m trying to put some pictures of my stinky cute kids at the Ren Fest but will figure that out later…

  • Acorn Squash and Burrata Toasts

    Acorn Squash and Burrata Toasts

    When looking for Halloween appetizers that were not revolting, I came across these Italian recipes (although I was not prepared for the zombie I scrolled down to, that was a little revolting – made me jump!).

    I made my version of the pumpkin and mozzarella bruschetta using burrata instead (which I guess is a little trendy right now but I just tried it and turns out it’s awesome, I also used it for my Vampire Slayer Pizza) and adding a dollop of harissa which adds a pretty pop of color as well as a little spice! They are simple and elegant and so easy to make that I’ll probably make it again when we have people over on Halloween.

    Acorn Squash and Burrata Toasts

    • One acorn squash, halved and seeded
    • Olive oil
    • Sea salt & pepper
    • One whole wheat half baguette
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 4-6 oz burrata, sliced
    • few tablespoons harissa
    • Sliced green onions for garnish

    Heat oven to 400°. Coat squash with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast until very fork tender but not falling apart (20-30 minutes or so? I timed about as well as I measured). Cool squash enough to handle, then slice and scoop out (they will be mushy slices but still keep a little shape).

    Heat broiler. Slice baguette and place on a baking sheet. Rub with garlic and brush with olive oil. Broil until toasty. Put a slice of burrata and a slice of squash on top of each one, then return under broiler for just a minute or two until the cheese just starts to melt.

    Remove, put a dollop of harissa on each one, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and green onions. Serve warmish but would be find room temp.

  • Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    maple-aleppo-corn-on-the-cob

    We grill corn a lot in the summer, usually Pakistani style (plain, charred, then rubbed with lime and red chili), but I was looking for another way to fix the last corn of the season. I had seen a bunch of recipes for maple chipotle corn on the cob – which sounds awesome, I love chipotles in adobo – but I’ve had these aleppo pepper flakes sitting around and I’ve been looking for new ways to use them. This turned out fantastic, spicy salty sweet, even though I had to cut mine off the cob. Brace life.

    Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    Adapted from Epicurious

    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
    • 2 garlic cloves, grated
    • 1 tbsp aleppo pepper flakes
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 6 ears corn, husked

    In a small saucepan, simmer (low) maple syrup, butter, garlic and aleppo pepper until it makes a thick glaze (be careful not to burn, mine got a little too done).

    Ideally you can grill these, but I roasted these in a 500° oven – lay on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and brush with glaze. Roast for 10 minutes, turn, brush again with glaze and roast 10 minutes more and brush with remaining glaze.

  • Vampire Slayer Pizza

    Vampire Slayer Pizza

    Everyone knows vampires hate garlic, but there’s also this other little piece of mythology that I feel like I’ve heard a couple of times and keep forgetting, which is that if you scatter seeds in front of a vampire’s grave he will be compelled to count them before returning. The Sesame Street Count is based on this myth – ah, ah, ah!

    vampire-slayer-pizza

    For this reason, I made a super garlicky white pizza, but I also threw nigella seeds in the dough (if the garlic doesn’t keep vampires away from my pizza, they’ll at least have to count for awhile before they get a slice).

    Great for date night (um, if your typical date night is making food and watching movies on the couch after the kids go to bed – woo!), just make sure you both eat some!!

    Vampire Slayer Pizza

    For the dough
    Slightly adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

    • 1 cup warm water
    • 1 packet (.32 oz) rapid rise yeast
    • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
    • 3 cups flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
    • 1 tbsp nigella seeds (optional)
    • 2 tbsp olive oil

    In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Wait for ten minutes until is foamy (if it’s not foamy, yeast dead, use new yeast).

    Meanwhile, combine 2 cups of the flour, salt, garlic powder, nigella seeds and olive oil. Add the water and mix until it forms a very sticky dough – dump out onto a well-floured board (or well-floured counter in my case) and knead, adding flour little by little until it comes together, and afterwards a sprinkle here and there if it gets too sticky to handle. Add just enough to keep from going crazy, otherwise the dough will be heavy and dense. Knead for 10 minutes, then roll into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave it somewhere like the microwave for an hour.

    For the pizza

    • 2 heads garlic, outer paper removed and the top 1/4 inch cut off
    • olive oil
    • salt & pepper
    • 8 oz burrata (2 4 oz balls) or 4 oz each mozzarella and ricotta
    • parsley and red pepper flakes for garnish

    While dough is rising, heat oven to 375° Drizzle each head of garlic with about a teaspoon of olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until very soft and golden.

    At this point, retrieve the dough and knead again for a couple minutes and spread onto prepared baking sheet(s) or stone(s) – you can use one large square baking sheet or two smaller circle ones. Let sit 10 minutes or so while you prepare the rest.

    Heat oven to 500°

    Squeeze garlic cloves from their paper, leaving some mashed and some still with some shape. Strew around the dough. Tear burrata into small pieces (or tear mozzarella and use spoonfuls of ricotta) and strew evenly around dough.

    Bake for 12-15 minutes (mine usually takes around 13) until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Let cool and serve, sprinkled with parsley and red pepper flakes.

  • Pomegranate Brussel Sprouts

    Pomegranate Brussel Sprouts

    pomegranate-brussel-sprouts

    First, a word on the humble brussel sprout. People used to give them such a hard time. As a child, even though I had never even eaten one, I osmosed the attitude that they were gross and to be avoided. But even the first time I had them (defrosted and steamed), they weren’t nearly as bad as people claimed.

    Nowadays I feel like they are universally more appreciated. When shredded they make a substantial salad that won’t immediately wilt when dressed, and when roasted (as they are here) they take on a pleasant nutty flavor. Plus they are so cute! When I made them a few months ago, my mother-in-law called them bund gobi ke bacche – baby cabbages! Adorable!

    Of course, as nice as brussel sprouts are, let’s be honest, what takes this from mundane to magical is the gorgeous, jeweled and otherworldly pomegranate.

    Pomegranate Brussel Sprouts

    Slightly adapted from The New York Times

    • 1 lb brussel sprouts, washed, trimmed and halved
    • 2 tbsp olive oi
    • sea salt
    • 1 cup pomegranate juice
    • 2 tbsp brown sugar
    • 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

    Toss the brussel sprouts with olive oil and sea salt, and roast at 425° for 30-35 minutes, turning once or twice, until lightly browned and crispy.

    Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over medium head, combine pomegranate juice and sugar, and reduce to a medium-thick syrup.

    When brussel sprouts are done, serve drizzled with several tbsp’s of the pomegranate reduction (save the rest for salad dressings), and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.

    Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Canada! I should have posted this yesterday. Oh well, still plenty of time for American Thanksgiving, for which this would also be perfect!