Witchy Kitchen

Tag: honey

  • Gingerbread

    Gingerbread

    Bored now.

    If Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my one of my all time favorite TV shows (and it is; Buffy has gotten me through some dark times), then Willow Rosenberg is one of my all time favorite characters. Maybe because she’s the closest representations of myself I’ve ever seen in fiction: nerdy, quiet, sweet, smart, witchy – and more darkly: selfish, controlling, with an addictive personality. If this post seems a little me-centric, it is, and I will point out that that too is Willowesque.

    Gingerbread is not a great, or even that good, episode of Buffy, but it’s one that I remember fondly and think back to often. Maybe because it’s one of the first ones I ever saw, and one of the reasons I started watching the original run, but also because the combination of fairy tales, creepy kids, Willow character development, and a hilarious line by Cordelia about her mom confiscating all her black clothes and scented candles make it a really entertaining one, one close to my little black heart.

    Also it’s the one where Amy turns into a rat.

    Gingerbread

    Adapted from King Arthur Flour

    • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon Witchy Autumn Spice Mix (or a mixture of spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, etc.)
    • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
    • 3/4 cup molasses
    • 1/4 cup honey
    • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
    • 1 egg
    • 1 cup buttermilk (or allow 1 cup milk with a 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sit for 10 minutes)
    • 1/4 cup water

    Heat oven to 350° and prepare a 9×9 baking pan.

    Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Pour in the melted butter, molasses, and honey (you can combine the molasses and honey in a measuring cup and heat for 20 seconds in the microwave to make it pour easily) and stir gently into the flour until moistened. Add ginger, beaten egg, buttermilk and water and stir gently until evenly combined.

    Pour into baking dish and bake for about 35 minutes (start checking around 33) until cake is pulling away from the edge of the pan.

    Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 23: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in which Carrie and Diana discuss the cult TV show with various vampy concoctions – Happy Meals on legs, textured blood, yummy sushi, foamy nectar, and some really bad puns. #TeamSpike #Spiffy

  • Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    No barbecue (at our house at least) is complete without a leafy green salad. This one makes use of the grill with grilled onions and peppers, and some goodies on top for interesting flavor and texture. Next time I’m thinking to grill the tomatoes for the vinagrette too!

    I started putting tomatoes in my salad dressing when I was pregnant with my son. I was trying to eat tons of fruits and veggies for all those smart, healthy baby-developing vitamins and minerals (including green smoothie in the morning, oatmeal with banana midmorning, salad with lunch, carrot sticks and hummus in the afternoon….I ate a lot and pretty much constantly, haha), and adding tomato was a fun way to add a little bit more – I’d dice up a roma in the morning and let it marinate in the vinaigrette until lunchtime, yum. For this simple vinaigrette I just obliterated everything in the blender, so you get some tomatoeyness with each bite.

    Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    For the vinagrette

    • 1/2 medium-size tomato or whole small one
    • 1/4 cup white balsamic vineger
    • 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
    • few leaves basil, or a pinch dried basil
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 1/2 cup olive oil

    Combine tomato, white balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in the blender. Add olive oil in a stream while blending.

    For the salad

    • 1 red onion, cut into large chunks and put on skewers
      couple handfuls small sweet peppers, or two red/yellow/orange peppers, deseeded
    • olive oil, salt and pepper
    • several handfuls mixed greens
    • tomato vinaigrette (above)
    • handful large green olives, sliced
    • 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
    • handful toasted almonds

    Prepare onion and peppers for grill by coating with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until soft and slightly charred. Cool, then cut into strips.

    Toss onions, peppers, greens, and half the olives with enough vinagrette to thinly coat, then sprinkle the remaining olives, goat cheese, and almonds on top. Serve with extra vinagrette on the side.

  • Salmon with Pomegranate and Sultana Sauce

    Salmon with Pomegranate and Sultana Sauce

    I am happy to participate in another month of Mena Cooking Club, this month Iraq hosted by Maryam of Maryam’s Culinary Wonders – (she has an impressive recipe index, I’ve bookmarked quite a few to try).

    I jumped on this suggested recipe for two reasons, 1. I need more fish in my life and 2. POMEGRANATE, which I both love, and had some homemade pomegranate syrup (just reduced pomegranate juice, you can also buy it at Middle Eastern markets) leftover from Thanksgiving that I was looking to use. I was a little apprehensive of the sauce, which contains 1/2 cup of raisins along with the spicy and savory ingredients. I personally like raisins but was almost sure my husband would hate them, but to my surprise he really enjoyed the spicy sweet sauce and this dish was a hit.

    I’d definitely make this again, although I would probably either pan-sear the salmon or get it closer to the broiler (it wasn’t hot enough where I had it and I missed that crispiness). Also I’d plate it on top of the sauce but that’s a minor thing. The sauce that I was scared about I’d keep exactly as is.

    The rice was lovely and fragrant – cardamom is my most favorite spice.

    Salmon with Pomegranate Sauce, with Yellow Rice

    Adapted from The Boston Globe

    For the Yellow Rice

    • 2 cups rice
    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
    • 5 cardamom pods
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 3 1/2 cups hot water (note, my rice came just a little soggy, so I may reduce to 3 1/4)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

    Rinse the rice well and soak for at least half an hour. In a pot over medium heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon and stir for a few seconds until fragrant. Stir in the rice, hot water, and salt. Raise the heat to high and boil the rice until visible moisture is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to low, and simmer rice, covered, for 20 minutes. Turn the rice gently with a wooden spoon 2 to 3 times while simmering to allow it to fluff.

    For the Pomegranate Sultana Sauce

    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • 2 medium onions, chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
    • 1/2 a poblano pepper, chopped
    • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
    • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1/4 teaspoon red chili
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup
    • 1/2 cup sultanas/golden raisins
    • 1/4 cup water

    Heat oil in a pan (I used a nonstick wok), and saute onions with a pinch of salt until very soft and golden. Add garlic and chopped pepper and saute for a few minutes, then add spices (cumin, turmeric, red chili, ground coriander) and stir for a minute. Add tomatoes and another good pinch of salt and saute until tomatoes are completely broken down and almost jammy. Stir in pomegranate syrup, raisins, and 1/4 cup water, and cook for a few minutes until thick. Reserve warm.

    For the Salmon

    • 1 tablespoon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • 2 pounds skinless fillet of salmon, divided into 4 portions
    • olive oil
    • Coarse salt, for sprinkling
    • 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds or chopped pistachios, for garnish

    Turn on the broiler. Line a flat baking pan with aluminum foil, and grease with olive oil. Arrange the fish pieces on the pan, leaving space between them.

    Combine mustard, honey, and a tablespoon of olive oil, and brush the fish with the mixture. Sprinkle with salt. Broil 3-5 minutes each side until fish is lightly cooked through and surface is crisp and golden (like I said, mine wasn’t close enough to broiler, so will make sure to do this next time).

    Spread the warm sauce on a platter and arrange this fish on top. Garnish with almonds or pistachios, and serve with the yellow rice.

  • Persephone Salad

    I am often put in charge of salad. I guess salad is a girly thing to make so I get it by default, but maybe it’s also because I can be artful in diving into the depths of the produce drawer and pantry and emerging with interesting salad ingredients and the means for a homemade vinaigrette.

    As green salads are just as much about texture as they are about flavor, here is the formula: something fresh (possibly fruity!), something creamy, something crunchy. And this salad fits perfectly.

    This particular salad concept is based on this Arugula, Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I made it a couple years ago for Thanksgiving, and I’ve made variations on it ever since – including for Thanksgiving this year, and now for my daughter Zoeya’s holiday potluck.

    The ingredients are very autumnal, but the pomegranate seeds like little ruby jewels look gorgeously Christmassy as well. This is not so much a recipe as a concept with lots of options (and I’m not going to be fussy with amounts). The only absolutely essential ingredient are the pomegranate seeds, which is what makes this so lovely and appropriate for the dark months.

    Persephone Salad

    For the salad:
    greens, such as arugula, mesclun, spinach
    a green apple or pear
    seeds from half a pomegranate
    blue cheese or goat cheese
    walnuts, almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds (I used pumpkin seeds in this latest rendition, it’s a great options if you’re serving to people with nut allergies)

    For the vinaigrette:
    pomegranate molasses (instructions below) – this is your best option, but if you don’t have it you can use honey or jam or jelly. Maybe like that yummy lingonberry stuff they have at IKEA.
    sherry or balsamic vinegar
    olive oil or walnut oil
    salt & pepper
    a thinly sliced shallot, pickled in the vinegar, is nice

    To make pomegranate molasses, take a small bottle of pomegranate juice and heat it slowly in a saucepan, stirring, until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Be careful not to burn.

    To assemble everything, just toss the greens and the apple or pear with some of the vinaigrette (enough to lightly coat, not to drench). Sprinkle all the rest of the ingredients on top, along with another drizzle of vinaigrette.