touches of springtime

I noticed chives sprouting in one of my old garden pots that had been sitting, neglected in the corner of my porch. Today we fall back on an old favorite of mine. This one takes some time, but little effort

Spring Spread

first, as always, gather your ingredi...i mean spell components.
you will need:

2 cups plain nonfat yoghurt
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup minced chive
1/2 cup cucumber,peeled, seeded and diced
salt and pepper

dishtowel
strainer
bowl


put the strainer over the bowl
place the dishtowel over the strainer and add the yoghurt
wrap the yoghurt with the dishtowel and squeeze slightly untill you feel the towel dampen
place a small weight (no more than 1 lb) over the towel wrapped yoghurt ( i find a small plate works well, as long as it is of a size to press on the yoghurt and doesn't get hung up on the sides of the strainer)
refridgerate for at least 12 hrs and up tp 24 hrs ( the longer you press the liquid out of the yoghurt, the thicker the spread)
remove the yoghurt from thw towel (retain any liquid that may remain in the bowl) and place into another (dry) bowl
add the garlic and chives. ( you can return some of the reserved liquid if the spread is too thick for your taste.)
add the cucumbers
add salt and pepper to taste

return to the fridge for at least an hour

serve as a spread with crackers or as a dip for veggies

Did you know?

Eat your protien first and feel satisfied faster! When protien reaches your intestines, they begin to produce a hormone that tells your brain that there is food present. This hormone is not triggered by carbohydrates....

cravings

the first sprouts of kale have started to raise their heads in my garden pot, prompting a run to the grocery store because I couldn't wait for the harvest. Kale, by the way, ranks quite high on EWG list of contaminated foods. Only go organic here!!

serves 4

gather your ingredi...I mean spell components....

2 cup kale leaves (stems cut out- juliene the leaves)
2 slices bacon chopped
1/4 cup diced onion
salt and pepper
1 lb chicken (tenders or sliced breast meat)

add bacon and onion to a cold, med sized fry pan w/lid
turn heat on to medium
sweat the bacon and onions untill fat has cooked out of bacon and onions have gone glossy/shiny
and salt and pepper
add chicken and raise heat to high
saute for approximately 7 minutes, untill chicken is cooked through
add the kale,reduce the heat to medium and steam the kale for 2-3 minutes

serve over your favorite whole grain and enjoy!

food for thought/thought for food

as Spring produce begins to enter the market i find my self ruminating over pesticide. Our friends at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have released their annual study of pesticide Contamination in foods. The EWG tracks the concentration of chemical pesticides that are known to have effects from skin, lung and eye irritation to hormonal system effects, nervous system damage and cancer-- even at levels deemed safe by FDA. You can check out their full list at http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

The folks at EWG state that we can reduce our pesticide exposure by up to 80% by switching to organic only for the top 5 items and aiming for organic on the bottom 5.
Spring produce to only buy organic include Strawberries, lettuce, carrots, spinach and potatoes
these foods have some of the highest concentration of pesticides when purchased without the organic certification.
We should aim for organic in all foods, but Broccoli,sweet peas, asparagus and onions are great buys if you can't find organic; they contain the lowest concentration of pesticides of the foods EWG track

Cravings

I've been craving cabbage lately. I keep rumaging around in my larder seeking certain flavors and this delicious recipie created itself out of what I found.

serves 4 as a side dish

First, as always, gather your ingredi... I mean your spell components.

1 white candle
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp carroway seed
1 large apple of choice - diced ( i prefer a tart, crisp apple here)
4 cups chopped cabbage (about 1 inch or so pieces)
1/2 cup onion chopped (about the same size as the cabbage)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup brandy
salt and pepper

light your candle. Imagine that the energy of the universe is coming through this candle and infusing your meal with love and light, that its nutritional propperties are augmented by this light

add the olive oil to a large fry pan on high heat
add the onion and saute for about 2-3 minutes, just until the onion starts to brown a little
reduce the heat to medium-high and add the cabbage
stir infrequently until cabbage has softened. You want the cabbage to start to turn golden in color, but not burn. Depending on your stove-top this should take about 10 minutes
add salt and pepper to taste
reduce the heat to medium -low and cover the pan. let this steam away for about 15 minutes
remove the cover and raise the heat back to high
carefully add the brandy (away from the heat, it could flash and burn)
return pan to heat, stir and let liquid reduce by 1/2
add apple juice, stir and reduce until the cabbage has become glossy and little liquid remains
toss in the diced apples and serve

this dish goes great with pork chops or ham

Did you know

red peppers contain up to 20% more of the vitamins found in the green. Orange peppers can contain up to 20% more than the red. Cook with a rainbow of peppers for better health, flavor and spell craft.

Yet another giveaway

Check out Walk in the Woods and Win a Whimsey! http://whatrosemadetoday.blogspot.com/2009/02/win-whimsy-when.html
This site is not about food, but Rose's Craft is a gift

Did you know?

It can take up tp 20 minutes for your body to realize it has been satisfied. This is why we often get up from a meal and feel over full-- we've eaten more than we needed. Slow down, chew with intention, smell, taste, feel how the flavors effect your mouth. Think about you meal as you are eating it. You will find you enjoy your meals more and end up eating less. Its a win /win situation!

Check out granny annie's give away!

Annie's got some great insights on mindful eating found in her Eating The Angel Way segments of her blog called writers and witches and words oh my! AND she's got a great giveaway for posting on her blog. Check it out! http://anniekelleher.blogspot.com/

Thought for food

Unplug. Put away that food processor. Use a knife. Slow down, pay attention to your task. Not only does this increase your connection with your meal, but its better for the environment and your wallet. Start whole. Buy in Bulk. Reduce your packaging.
Rather than buying shredded cheese and sliced cheese, buy a block. Slice it or shred it as needed, connect with your food, let your inner energy interact with it, rather than some nameless factory worker. Less processing, less packaging, less transportation.... everybody wins.

A Valentines Love Spell

You will need

1 red candle

1 lg cucumber, peeled and cut into 6 equal sized (1-2inch) rounds
1 vidalia or other sweet onion, small dice
4 lg beefsteak tomatoes: 1 diced , 3 chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
6 tbs cider vinegar
8 oz smoked mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
1 tsp oregano, i prefer fresh here, but dried works just fine
1/2 cup red wine (your choice, but never use a wine that you would not drink)
1/2 lb your favorite pasta (cooked)
1 loaf crusty bread of your choice
salt and pepper


1) Light the red candle before you begin to gather your ingredi... erm.. Spell Components.
2) State Your Intention : This is the important part: Focus your thoughts on the candle, imagine that the candlelight is filling you and the room with passionate love. Imagine that as you are gathering the components of your spell you are exposing them to this passionate love. Imagine your evening being filled with this passionate love. Where will you serve this meal?imagine your companion and the reaction to your serving a beautiful meal. Cast this passionate candlelight onto the image of your companion and imagine the evenings events.
Once you feel you have a good image in mind say these or similar words:

as i light this candles fire

to show my love my true desire

fill these foods with passions delight

and grace our hearts with love tonight

3) gather all the components

4) using 2 tbs EVOO, sweat all but 2 tbs of the onion in a large skillet over low heat(cooking slowly, until they start to turn clear)

meanwhile....

5) take the remaining onion and toss in a bowl with 4 tbs of the cider vinegar, 1 tbs EVOO, the diced tomato, basil chiffonade, 1 clove of garlic, minced, and S&P to taste. Refrigerate.

6) raise the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 tbs EVOO and the 2 cloves worth of chopped garlic, when this starts to sizzle a bit and turn golden, (2-4 minutes)

7) add the chopped tomato and a little salt and pepper (pinch or so) cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes start to fall apart

8) add chopped basil leaves and oregano. When basil starts to wilt,

9) add remaining 2 tbs cider vinegar and the red wine and simmer 8-12 minutes, stirring often

meanwhile....

10) remove and discard the seeds from the 6 cucumber pieces arrange on two plates

11) add 2oz shredded mozzarella to the refrigerated tomato basil mix and fill the cucumber pieces with the resulting salad

12) just before serving the pasta , toss the remaining shredded mozzarella into the sauce and give it a quick stir

so what have you created? Caprice Salad stuffed cucumbers, pasta telephonica and an evening full of passion and romance

During dinner, don't cut the loaf of bread, but tear off manageable pieces and feed them to your partner at least one time, but try to feed your partner three times durring the meal. Sharing food increases your connection to each other and to the food..erm... spell

Use the red candle during dinner and imagine the candle's light filling you both with love and passion throughout the meal

Did you know?

Sure, everyone knows you give chocolate to a loved one, that oysters will rev-up your love life; but how about basil or cucumber? Did you know anise is an aphrodisiac?

Food for thought/Thought for food

My philosophy focus around many things. I prefer local, organic and seasonal food. I believe that attention should be paid to all aspects of your meal, from how its grown,to how its prepared, to how you eat it.
Where did your last meal come from?

fun food fact

Did you know? it take 2,500 galons of water to create 1 lb of beef? If everyone in the USA stopped eating beef one day a week, we could save the same amount of water that runs over Niagara falls in 5 Days!

Food for thought/Thought for food

Welcome to my little Blog. Here we will talk about food, swap recipies and learn all about making magic in the kitchen. In the posts to come I hope to introduce you to a new way to think about food, where it comes from, where it goes and everything you can do with it in between.

Today I would like to recommend a brief foray to another blog here on the blogspot called Mindful Eating. There are only 6 posts, but the author does a great job at setting the stage for what I hope to accomplish here. Cooking is only one part of making magic in the kitchen, how we approach the task, the types of ingredients and thier sourses, the steps we take and the intentions we hold all play a major role in creating a meal that can satisfy our bodies, our minds and our souls