Witchy Kitchen

Tag: oats

  • Apple Lemon Energy Bites

    Apple Lemon Energy Bites

    The Descent, a film about a group of adventurous women and their fraught caving expedition, is probably in my Top 5 favorite horror movies of all time, and is surely a modern classic. First of all, it’s scary as hell; the darkness and claustrophobia of spelunking are already terrifying, and that’s before you get to any supernatural elements. But above all else, I think this is one of the most natural depictions of women and their friendships and conflicts of any movie I’ve ever seen, in any genre.

    The women in this movie are legitimate badasses, extremely competent, and physically powerful without their bodies becoming the focus of the male gaze. They are supportive of each other and work together to solve problems, and they falter and argue in a very human way. (The fact that I’m applauding a movie for portraying women as humans is both comforting and upsetting…but let’s be happy about it here).

    The Faculty of Horror podcast has a fantastic episode on The Descent which brilliantly dissects the movie and echoes a lot of my own thoughts. I definitley recommend a listen.

    Sarah is our clear protagonist, who has experienced a loss I don’t know if I personally could come back from. Juno, her closest friend, is more complex. Like Alex from The Faculty of Horror, I’m a Juno apologist; she’s my favorite character in the movie, from her ferocious love of the people close to her to her desperate recklessness to her shutting down when it’s all too overwhelming. Her necklace with the engraving “Love Each Day” is cheesy, yes, but it embodies her; she experiences the world on a pure, raw level.

    For my recipe, I made an energy bite, perfect for whatever adventure we ladies get up to. It’s got dates and flax seeds, nutritionally dense staples that I hear sporty people are into (My actual tweet from when I first watched this movie. Ahem. “This movie’s making me want to be more sporty. [Reclines, sips wine]”). I’m just kidding, I go outside once in awhile. The main thing though is apples, which, come on, apples are the classic symbol of temptation and indulgence, it’s in my damn logo. Before any real trauma, the caving ladies stop for a break; Juno heartily devours an apple and Sarah noticeably declines.

    The other ingredient I included drawn from the film is lemon zest. In a very tense scene, Sarah has a panic attack and Beth (the sweetest, most wonderful character) tells her a very cute joke about a lemon to calm her down. And it’s so good! I tasted the mixture before and after the addition, and the lemon zest both makes the bites delightfully bright and brings out every other flavor. Beth’s joke ftw.

    I refered to Minamalist Baker for a general technique, but as my ingredients are super different and it still worked, I’ve concluded you can pretty much make these to your preference.

    Apple Lemon Energy Bites

    • 3 ounces dates (rehydrate for 10 minutes in warm water and drain if they are super dry, I didn’t need to)
    • 3 ounces dried apple
    • 1 ounce candied ginger
    • zest of one lemon
    • 1/2 cup rolled oats
    • 1 tablespoon flax seeds

    In a food processor, blend dates, apple, and ginger, until the pieces are small and it forms a moist ball. Break up the ball by hand into pieces in food processor, it will help the rest blend. Add lemon zest, oats, and flax seeds.

    Blend to a fairly uniform mixture (will be grainy). Form heaping tablespoons into balls on a plate, then set for 10 minutes in the freezer. Take on your caving expedition.

  • Spiced Carrot and Fennel Soup

    Spiced Carrot and Fennel Soup

    This month for MENA Cooking Club, the lovely group I’ve been cooking with to try more Middle Eastern and North African recipes, the country was Oman, hosted by Rafeeda of the mouthwatering blog, The Big Sweet Tooth.

    This month also happens to fall during Ramadan. As I’ve been reading about Ramadan traditions around the world, it seems most Middle Eastern countries have a traditional iftar (fast opening meal) of a light soup of lentils and/or vegetables, humble food to kind of adjust the digestive system, gently bring it back to life. Makes sense, seems very peaceful and measured…then the Pakistani tradition, as far as I can tell, is party food: pakoray, dahi baray, papri chaat, rooh afza! Fried goodies and sugary drinks, at least we’ve got some watermelon or fruit chaat to balance it out, and I’ve been throwing in some roasted veggies or a fresh tomato salad as well.

    Anyway, since this month was Oman and one of the suggested recipes was a vegetable soup, that’s what I chose to make because it seemed like an appropriate iftar dish. I focused on carrots and fennel and added some Middle Eastern spices. Several of the soup recipes I looked at were thickened with oats, which I found interesting, so I tried that here. It gave the soup a nice creamy texture that I’m sure is much healthier than actual cream, so I might be trying that trick more often. I’m happy with the garnish too, I shaved a carrot and fried the shavings into crispy little carrot chips to sprinkle on top – I always garnish, it makes even the most mundane dish a little special.

    Please, friends, I’d love to hear more about your iftar traditions!

    Spiced Carrot and Fennel Soup

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
    • 2 small bulbs or 1 large bulb fennel, sliced
    • whole spices: 1 teaspoon ajwain seeds (you could sub a little dried thyme), 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
    • powdered spices: 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon red chili
    • 1 pound of carrots
    • 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
    • 4 cups chicken broth

    In a large pot, heat butter/ghee and saute onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add fennel and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or so until fennel is softened. Add whole spices and stir for a minute, add powdered spices and stir for a minute more.

    Add carrots, oats, and 2 cups of the chicken broth. Stir well, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and simmer until carrots are very soft. Puree in a blender and return to the pot. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and heat back through.

    Serve garnished with crispy carrots (below) and chopped fennel fronds.

    For the crispy carrot garnish

    Peel and trim a medium carrot. Shave carrot into thin slices with the peeler. Heat a pan with oil and shallow fry the carrot in batches, until no longer bubbly and is beginning to turn golden. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.