Witchy Kitchen

Tag: vegan

  • Gollum Stew

    Gollum Stew

    It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
    Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
    It lies behind stars and under hills,
    And empty holes it fills.
    It comes first, and follows after,
    Ends life, kills laughter.

    In honor of Hobbit Day (September 22), the Fandom Foodies theme of the month is The Hobbit, hosted by In Literature. Use #HobbitMonth to find lots of Hobbit-themed dishes this month!

    My favorite vignette from The Hobbit is Riddles in the Dark, where Bilbo encounters the precioussss, slimy Gollum and they play a game of riddles, during which Gollum decides whether or not he wants to eat the little hobbit that has wandered into his lair. It’s a delightfully creepy scene, and as I was also an obnoxious, smartypants kid, the cleverness of it was fun for me.

    Though it’s said that Gollum subsists on fishes and the odd goblin that gets lost in his cave, I started dreaming of what other slimy, swampy food might be available. I put together this stew, seaweed steeped in a lovely broth rich with sweetness and umami, with earthy mushrooms and watery lotus root. Lest it veer too far into Asian territory, I flavored it with ginger, peppercorns, and clove reminiscent of Medieval Europe’s ubiquitous savory spice mix poudre fort. If Gollum gets hungry and tired of fishes, this stew is a slurpy alternative.

    Gollum Stew

    For the broth

    Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit’s Vegan Umami Broth

    • 3 tablespoons white miso
    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 2 onions, thinly sliced, skins reserved
    • 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
    • 1 celery stalk, thinkly sliced
    • 1 head garlic, halved
    • 8 dried shitake mushrooms
    • 4 6×4 pieces kombu
    • 1 tablespoon peppercorns
    • 6 cloves
    • 2 slices ginger

    Heat oven to 300° Whisk together miso, vegetable oil, and 2 tablespoons water. On a baking sheet, toss onions, carrots, celery, garlic, shitake mushrooms, and kombu with the miso mixture and arrange in a single layer. Bake for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours until caramelized.

    Transfer vegetables to a pot with 4 quarts cold water, peppercorns, cloves, and ginger. Simmer for about an hour and strain.

    For the stew

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
    • 6 ounces lotus root (about half a lotus root, I used a package of slices), peeled, halved, and sliced
    • 2 green onions, whites and greens divided and sliced
    • 1 ounce dried wakame seaweed, cut or broken into long strips
    • vegetable broth (see above)
    • salt and white pepper to taste

    In a pot, heat the vegetable oil, and cook the mushrooms until liquid is released but before they brown. Add lotus root, green onions, and white pepper and cook until onions are wilted. Add seaweed and about 3 cups vegetable broth (more if you’d like a soupier consistency). Cook on a low simmer for about 15 minutes, check seasoning, and serve hot or warm garnished with green onion.

  • 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.

  • Orange Jubilee

    Orange Jubilee

    Hey mutants! This month’s Fandom Foodies theme is #Xmenu, all X-Men inspired recipes hosted by Food ‘n’ Flix!

    Most of my X-Men familiarity comes from the 90s animated series. My favorite was Rogue, but I love a spunky orphan, so Jubilee was a close second. She’s the truest of mall rats; she ran away from an orphanage to hide out in the Hollywood Mall.

    alb-eleven

    Jubilee by one of my favorite illustrators Heather Mahler

    When brainstorming a recipe, I settled on a remix of one of the most iconic mall foods, the Orange Julius. I gave it some energetic personality by using coconut milk, then frozen pineapple as yellow and frozen OJ concentrate as dated as her signature jacket (just kidding, that jacket’s on point). Fire up those energy plasmoids, or your blender, and you have a drink as fun and girly and cool as our underrated heroine.

    Later I tried topping it with some sparkly orange seltzer – gave it that little bit of fireworks.

    Orange Jubilee

    • 12 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1 cup frozen pineapple
    • 1/2 cup ice
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 cups coconut milk (the beverage kind in the carton, not the kind in the can)
    • orange seltzer, optional

    In a blender, combine orange juice concentrate, sugar, pineapple, ice, vanilla extract and coconut milk, blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with orange seltzer (optional), enjoy!

    WHAT, Jubilee gets turned into a vampire?! I may have to investigate this further.

    I’ve not seen Logan yet, so the most recent movie I’ve seen is X-Men: Apocalypse, which I think we can all agree was ok at best. However, there were two pieces of perfection, including my girl Sophie Turner who can do no wrong as Jean Grey, and this amazing mall montage with plentiful Jubilee which didn’t even make the final cut.

  • Imperius Pears

    Imperius Pears

    These Imperius Pears, poached in red wine and bathed in chocolate, are one of the unforgivable dishes. They cast a pleasant thrall over those who eat them; there’s a darkness tinged with spices, especially the unusual black pepper, but the chocolately sweetness is so dreamy that the eater doesn’t mind losing their will.

    Only the wizard with exceptional strength is able to resist – but why would they want to?

    Harry Potter Imperius Pears

    • 4 Bosc pears, almost ripe
    • 2 1/2 cups red wine (such as cabernet)
    • 3/4 cups sugar
    • 1 vanilla bean, split
    • 12 black pepper pods
    • 1/2 inch ginger, sliced into coins
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
    • pinch salt

    Peel the pears and scoop out the core at the bottom with a spoon.

    In a small saucepan, heat wine, sugar, vanilla bean, black pepper pods, and ginger to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and submerge the pears two face up, two face down.

    Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, then flip pears and simmer another 20 minutes. Check to see that they are easily pierced by a fork but not falling apart. Remove to a plate.

    Strain the remaining wine mixture and return to the saucepan, add cocoa and salt, and bring to a boil. Lower heat slightly and simmer until mixture thickens, coating a spoon. Remove from heat and cool.

    Arrange pears on a plate and drizzle with the wine and chocolate reduction. Service with more on the side.

    potter-week-gold

    Submitted for PotterPowers day of Common Room’s PotterWeek – check out #PotterWeek around social media for tons of fun Harry Potter-related goodness!

    Mischief managed.

  • 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.


  • Peach Chutney

    Peach Chutney

    Summery peach chutney is a lovely balance of sweet, spicy and refreshingly tart and is perfect on everything from grilled veggies to rice to sandwiches to toast – I know because I’ve been eating a lot of it! And I’m not complaining; the combination may not be for everyone, but for me it’s addictive!

    Peach Chutney

    • 2 pounds peaches (about 8 medium)
    • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
    • 2 inches ginger, peeled and grated
    • 2 tablespoons jaggery, brown sugar or sugar
    • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon red chili powder plus a couple dried red chilis (or to taste)
    • 1 teaspoon garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • generous pinch salt

    Wash the peaches then score them on the bottom. Drop in a boiling pot of water for two minutes and drain. When they are cook enough to handle, peel, pit, and chop into medium large chunks.

    Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan along with a cup of water. Cook, covered, on medium low heat for about an hour, gently stirring occasionally. After an hour, you can cook uncovered to thicken it up a bit to desired consistency.

    Cool completely and serve! Stores well in the fridge for up to a month.

  • Spicy Grilled Corn

    Spicy Grilled Corn

    One of my favorite things about our trips to Pakistan is that en route to anywhere, there are venders along the road where we would always stop to explore; to buy fruit, to shop for pottery, to drink tea, to eat corn!

    The corn sellers will let you choose your own ear, then they cook it by tossing it a pit of salt roasting over coals – the salt is blackened from roasting. Once it’s cooked, they wrap it in newspaper, and you can enjoy right it on the side of the road.

    We recreate this almost every time we grill, because it is dead simple and delicious. It’s just corn, plain, unadulterated, on the grill, with a lime and chili masala to flavor it afterwards. I cut mine off the cob (#bracelife), and the kids devour it plain.

    Desi Bhutta (Spicy Grilled Corn)

    This is barely a recipe so much as a technique. Take however many ears of corn, husk them and clean them, then grill until charred all over. If you aren’t grilling, you can also do this on a cookie sheet under the broiler, turning occasionally so they get a char.

    Once cooked, mix salt and red chili. Cut a lime in half, dip it in the salt and chili, and rub all over the corn. Enjoy!

  • Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    This rice dish is the perfect side for all your summer barbecues – it pairs perfectly with all kinds of grilled veggies, fish and meat, and particularly well with Caribbean, Southeast Asian, or desi menus. I would describe it as intensely pleasant. The flavors aren’t huge and bold, and it’s not exactly the star of the table, but it’s a fantastic supporting actor; for whatever reason it was the leftovers I was most excited to eat again!

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    For the hara masala:

    • 1/2 bunch mint
    • 1/2 bunch cilantro
    • handful basil
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
    • 2 green chilis, optional (I left out for kids)
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

    Combine mint, cilantro, basil, garlic, ginger, chilis if using and turmeric in a food processor.

    For the rice:

    • 3 cups basmati rice, rinsed well and soaked for half an hour
    • 3 tablespoons ghee, use oil to make a vegan dish
    • 1 onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 4 cloves
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • pinch black pepper
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 1/2 cups (1 can) full-fat coconut milk
    • 1 1/2 cups water
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • green masala (above)
    • toasted coconut and chopped green onions or herbs for serving

    Heat ghee (I did the onion and spices in a wok then transferred to a pot, you can do that or just do everything in the pot) and fry onion, stirring, until VERY golden brown – un-goldened onion ends up as slimy strips in your rice, so make sure to cook thoroughly! Add cinnamon, cloves, cumin and black pepper and stir for a moment or two. Transfer everything to the pot (if you’re not there already), and add bayleaf, coconut milk, water and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn on another eye of the stove to low, you’ll move the pot here in a minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

    Stir in the hara masala, cover the pot with a tea towel first with the top over that. Transfer to the other eye on low, and let steam for 20 minutes.

    To serve, transfer to a serving dish and top with toasted coconut, green onions or herbs. Serve hot!

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  • Olive Oil Braised Veggies

    I am a prolific veggie roaster. After sweeping in from work, before I’ve even taken off my heels I’ve got the oven heated and chopped veggies with little more than olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on their way in. It’s hard to beat from a time standpoint, and there’s something to be said for keeping it simple and just letting your veggies do the talking.

    But to elevate my veggie game just a little bit, there’s this braising method – still refreshingly simple, just dressed up a little bit. There’s something so nice about the fresh cleanness of the veggies, gently cooked to maintain their shape and color, with the richness of the immensely flavorful olive oil. It makes for a pretty side dish, perfect to be mopped up with crusty bread, or even a light meal over rice or quinoa.

    It works for all kinds of vegetables, you just add them in the order of cooking time. I used baby red potatoes, carrots, and asparagus, but you can swap them out for whatever you like, just add the longer-cooking ones first. I love this combination of aromatics but you can play around with them as well depending on taste and what you have around in the kitchen.

    Olive Oil Braised Veggies

    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 1 lemon, cut into thin wedges (divided)
    • 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
    • 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
    • good pinch red chili flakes
    • sprig of rosemary
    • salt & pepper
    • 1 pound baby red potatoes (cut the larger ones in half)
    • 2-3 shallots, quartered
    • 2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into medium sized sticks
    • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

    Heat olive oil on medium high. Add a quarter of the lemon wedges (save the rest for serving), and allow them to slightly brown. Add sundried tomatoes, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes and rosemary, and stir for just a minute. Lower heat to medium low and add the new potatoes, shallots, and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir to coat with the oil and cook for about 20 minutes. Add carrots, stir gently to coat, and cook covered for another 20 minutes. Check to see that veggies are fork-tender but not falling apart. Add asparagus, again stir gently to coat, and cook covered for 7-10 minutes until asparagus is just done.

    Remove from heat and serve with lemon wedges, a sprinkle of parsley or basil if you want, and either with crusty bread or over rice or quinoa. Make sure to get some of the yummy olive oil on top!

  • Winter White Parsnip and Hazelnut Soup

    Winter White Parsnip and Hazelnut Soup

    Spring is almost here but winter is still lingering; last week we finally had some snow, which is what we call icy rain and slush in North Carolina. Gloria came over for another lovely Sunday in the kitchen. We’ve decided to get together about once a month and master a new skill; last month it was deboning a chicken and making Pollo a la Brasa. This month I requested we make soup (because jaw surgery) so we chose the complimentary skill of making nut milk for the soups, and baking with the pulp!

    Making nut milk is devastatingly simple: it’s just a matter of soaking the nuts overnight (we did a batch of hazelnuts and a batch of pecans), straining them, blending them with water, and straining them again. I’ve done it before through a cloth, but this time used a fine mesh strainer. You could probably squeeze out just a little more with a cloth and get the pulp a little drier, but it’s also so much messier, so search in your heart whether it’s worth it. My heart is lazy efficient.

    The soups we made with the nut milks were a sweet potato casserole soup that Gloria dreamed up (spiced roasted sweet potatoes, apple juice, pecan and coconut milks – I have some in the freezer I can’t wait to eat!) and a parsnip and hazelnut soup from Diana’s Food Adventures in Ficiton blog. It’s inspired by Rapunzel, which thrilled my daughter. You can read all about it on Diana’s blog, or even listen to us discuss it on our Grimm’s Fairy Tales episode of Fiction Kitchen!

    The only thing I did differently was to add some of the hazelnut pulp to thicken the soup. The way she prepares it is more elegant, but as I’m mostly eating soup nowadays, I’m trying to make them as hearty as possible – so mine is the rustic version.

    Winter White Parsnip and Hazelnut Soup

    For the hazelnut milk (makes about 2 cups)

    • 2 cups blanched and skinned hazelnuts
    • 4 cups water

    Soak the hazelnuts in 2 cups water overnight. Strain, and blend with 2 more cups water. Strain through a cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer. Reserve the nut pulp.

    For the soup

    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 2 leeks, sliced (white parts only)
    • salt & white pepper
    • 2-3 small parsnips (the smaller the sweeter), peeled and chopped
    • 1/2 cup hazelnut pulp
    • 2 cups hazelnut milk
    • 1 cup vegetable broth
    • crushed hazelnuts for garnish

    In a soup pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until nice and wilty. Season with salt and white pepper, and stir for a minute. Add the parsnips, hazelnut pulp, hazelnut milk, and vegetable broth, and simmer until parsnips are very tender, about 20 minutes.

    Pour into a blender and puree (hold a tea towel over the lid). Pour back into the soup pot and gently warm back through; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot garnished with crushed hazelnuts.

    soups-mason-jars

    Soups look so cute and cool in mason jars.

    minty-split-pea-soup

    Oh yeah I also made a (nut milk-less) Minty Split Pea Soup for our Arabian Nights episode of Fiction Kitchen podcast!