This is a lovely alternative to the crescent Sabbat cake.  Much MUCH easier, too! 

It is in dedication to the Goddess Bride (pronounced "Breed")

after you are done mixing, right before you put it into the oven, you can take your Athame or your consecrated cooking tools and make prosperous Runes or other symbols to aid in the goal you are working for that evening.  You could also use this for a person who you are doing an abundance-type work on and you could put your Rune in it, charge it, cook it and they could ingest your energies.

TONS of possibilities with this bread.

Enjoy.

Blessed Brides Cake

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup coarse chopped almonds

1 up vegetable oil

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

a tsp wine and a tsp honey if for Sabbat or Esbat

Method

In a bowl mix all the ingredients until wet.  Don't over-mix.  Put into a floured rectangular pyrex baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 -30 minutes, or until knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Serve with chilled sparkling apple cider or chilled sweet white wine.  ( I like to mix the white wine and sparkling cider together tp make a spirit.)

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It's me, the Jewish Witchard, who want's to share this recipe - Matza Ball soup, also known as 'Jewish Penicilin'.

It is known to cure anything from mild colds to severe depression. Traditionally it needs to be cooked and administered by a Yiddische Mame, but if you don't have one [you are a Gentile] any loving relative will do, and if that's not anywhere to be found, any loving creature, including your Dog or Teddy Bear can do the trick.

Jewish penicillin: Chicken soup.

From "Elementary My Dear & Fabulously Low Fat" by Tree Stevens

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 1:45, plus cooling time.

1 stewing chicken, skinned - this can be substituted with a good Chicken stock.

6 celery ribs, with tops, cut in large pieces
4 carrots, cut in large pieces
2 large onions, cut in large pieces
1 parsnip, cut in large pieces
1 Tbs. whole black peppercorns
6 sprigs fresh parsley

cheesecloth
kitchen string

salt and pepper - is not needed, if you serve with Matzah Balls.

Clean the poultry and place the whole bird, including the neck and giblets, in a large pot in water to cover. Place all remaining ingredients, except the salt, pepper and dill weed for seasoning, in the cheesecloth and tie off with a piece of string; place this bundle in the pot with the chicken. Add 1 Tbs. salt to the water and boil, uncovered; cook, uncovered, until the meat falls off the bone when touched with a fork, about 1-1/2 hours. Remove the bundle of vegetables and open; return the carrots to the soup; discard the rest of the bundle. Season with the salt, pepper and dill; continue to cook the soup, uncovered, so it cooks down by about 25%.

To taste the soup during this time, take the spoon and stir until the fat on the top dissipates, so you can get a spoonful of broth to taste. When the taste of the soup meets your expectations, remove the chicken; cool the soup; refrigerate. The chicken meat can be used for sandwiches or chicken salad; discard the neck and giblets. After cooling, remove the fat that has congealed on the top of the soup, and you have defatted stock or chicken soup to heal your loved ones.

This recipe serves 6 people. Due to the nature of this recipe, it adjusts the number of servings in multiples of 6 only.

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If not really a form of penicillin, chicken soup may, in fact, have some therapeutic merit.

A study published in the journal Chest demonstrated that chicken soup may contain substances with beneficial activity including an anti-inflammatory effect that could ease the symptoms of colds and other upper respiratory infections. Chicken soup was found to inhibit neutrophil migration providing a basis for an anti-inflammatory activity. "Undoubtedly, the in vivo effects of chicken soup include more than the effects on neutrophils," the researchers wrote. "The warm liquid, particularly when sipped, can stimulate nasal clearance and may improve upper respiratory tract symptoms." (Rennard BO, Ertl RF, Grossman GL, et al. Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro. Chest. 2000;18:1150-1157.)

It should be added that to benefit from Jewish penicillin, one need not be Jewish.

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A good chicken soup is nothing without matzah balls (dumplings).

Matzah balls
 
4 large eggs, beaten
6 Tbls. seltzer or club soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup matza meal (or normal wheat flour)
salt and pepper - the Matzah ball need to be well seasoned, the 'hotter' the better.
 
Mix eggs, seltzer, oil, salt, and pepper. Stir in matzah meal.
Refrigerate 4 hours.
With wet hands, shape matzah balls. Add to boiling hot soup. Simmer matzah balls about 15 minutes in soup.

Shadow Bear

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"You could also use this for a person who you are doing an abundance-type work on and you could put your Rune in it, charge it, cook it and they could ingest your energies."

Um I wanted to say becarefull with this.  This is very powerful work and make sure your intent/charge/goal is very specific, because you could hurt someone, even un-intentionaly.

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^{Hmmm, well the elephant thing I felt was in appropriate, so it's gone.}

^{Thank you all for contributing. Looks like some great recipes.}

^{A little heads up, if this thread gets too cluttered with regular conversations, I will delete once they've died down. So in the future we might want to take conversation to a new thread. Nothing against anyone, so please when I do delete, it's just to clean up the threads. Well that is unless we get another recipe like the elephant one.}

^{(((HUGS))) & Bright Blessings}

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INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup slivered almonds, blanched
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 Tablespoons milk
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 Tablespoons butter
8 ounces linguine, cooked to package directions
  Freshly ground pepper to taste
  Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
TO PREPARE:
 
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Toast almonds on a cookie sheet in the oven for 5-7 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.
3.  In a bowl combine cottage cheese, Italian herbs, onion, milk, chicken broth, Parmesan cheese and peas.  Stir well.  Set aside.
4.  Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add cooked and drained linguine.  Stir to mix well.  While linguine is warm, add cheese mixture and stir gently until heated.  Stir in pepper; top with toasted almonds and serve immediately.  Serve with Parmesan cheese.
.
SERVES:  4 - 6

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Hi, sorry no meat in this one but I thought maybe some would still find it good. Hope it's ok.

            4 c. love                             5 spoons hope

               2 c. loyalty                         2 spoons tendreness

               3 c. forgiveness                  1 barrel laughter

               1 c. friendship                    4 c. faith

Take love and loyalty and mix it thoroughly with faith.Blend it with

Tenderness,kindness,and understanding. Add friendship and hope. Sprinkle

Abundantly with laughter. Bake it with sunshine. Serve daily with

Generous helpings.

Enjoy, Charlie

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Does anyone have a good (moderately difficult) recipe for mulled wine?  I would really like to have one for the winter.

Thanks!!  Megan

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• 1 large bottle of decently-priced Cabernet (Woodbridge is fine, or whatever is local to you)
• About the same amount of cherry cider (natural food stores or gourmet stores like Trader Joes cary this)  You could use other fruit ciders though.
• a few whole cloves
• a pinch of allspice and mace (you could use other spices too like whole cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, etc)

Simmer gently until flavors blend.  Strain out the whole spices you used.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

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These are three"Cooking Blessings" I found in a really fun book, called Halloween by Silver Ravenwolf. I use them throughout the year, all the time, as they are not specfic to any sabbat.

The first is a "General Ingredient Blessing"

Put your hands over the ingredients of any dish. Envision pure, white light entering the ingredients. Circle your palms five times over the ingredients, and say:

"From the east,the air brings wisdom/From the south, the fire brings creation/From the west, the water brings love/ From the north, the earth brings stability/From the center, Spirit brings blessings."

Tap the kitchen counter three times and say: "The love is sealed".

The next blessing is for general cooking. This would be great for the "Jewish Penicillin" recipe that Shadowbear gave us..

Put your hands over the simmering pot, and repeat three times:

"Three angels came from the east/Bringing blessings upon this feast./The first said, "I banish all negativity."/ The second said, "May you never thirst."/ The third said, "May you never hunger."/ In the name of the three, So mote it be.

With your hand (or a wooden spoon) make the sign of an "equal armed-cross" (look one up on the web), over the cooking pot, then tap the spoon or your fingers lightly on the stove, saying:

"This work is sealed. Blessings of Vesta upon us."

One of the most popular and mysterious goddesses of the Roman pantheon. Vesta is the goddess of the hearth.

This last blessing is for food that is ready to serve.

Hold your hands over the cooked food, and say,

"The golden rays of sun kissed the grain/Sweet drops of rain caressed the fruit./Streams of moonlight danced in the fields, sending energy into the root./Blessings of the Mother, strength of the Father/Unity of Love/ So Mote it be."

Make the sign of the equal-armed cross over the dish. Tap the dish once. Serve with love and a smile.

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Graham Cracker Cookies

1 Box of Cinnamon Graham Crackers ( or plain )

1 Stick Butter

1 Stick Margarine ( or use all butter if desired )

1/2 Cup of Sugar

Pecans - Broken ( as many as desired )

Spread aluminum foil in 13x9x2 inch cookie sheet. Place a single layer of graham crackers on the foil. In a heavy saucepan, melt the 2 sticks butter/margarine. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, pour the mixture over the grahams. Sprinkle the pecans on top, bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and break into pieces.

these are nice to have around when yourself you need to ground.

love and light, Charlie 

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Ok I have never tried this but it sounds yummy!

Ecclectic Eggplant: Serves 6

Ingrediants:

2 eggplants about 1 pound eact

flour

1 large egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

seasoned dry bread crumbs

3 plum tomatoes sliced

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Cut the eggplants into diagonal slices

cover them with flour

in a wide bowl beat together the egg oil salt and pepper. Dip each eggplant slice into the egg mixture then cover with the seasoned bread crumbs.  place them in a greased baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. pierce wiht fork to make air vents bake for 15 minutes.

Remove foil top each slice of eggplant with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with shredded cheese. return to the oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes longer until cheese is bubbling.

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I found this recipe in my Witch In The Kitchen recipe book.Its a late winter one.

2 tablespoons Olive Oil.

3 to 4 cups carrots,scrubbed and cut into 1/2 rounds.

1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup,honey or borwon sugar.

2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (or lemon juice for a very zesty version )

2 teasoons fresh minced ginger root (or 1 teaspoon dried powered ginger ,or 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger)

Sea salt.

In a medium saucepan,heat the olive oil over medium -hight heat.Saute the carrots in  heated oil until they are just crisp-tender.Then add the maple syrup,honey,or brown sugar along with the the orange juice.Stir until the mixture has made a nice glaze.

Sprinkle with ginger(use more if you like)and sea salt to taste.Stir to blend flavors and serve warm.

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2 cups flour, sifted

 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together. Cream margarine and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Add vanilla and beat until batter is smooth. Topping: 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 tsp cinnamon ( I always add more ) 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped (optional)

Combine nuts, sugars, and cinnamon. Toss mixture with melted butter. Pour half of cake batter into a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Add half of topping.

Repeat with remaining batter and topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. ( Tube pan or Bundt pan is fine )

I remember my mom making this cake.  It was always one of my favorites and a great way to remember my mom!

Enjoy!

Robin

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This was created with my Love and I our first endeavor!

1/4 lb chopped clams

5-6 cloves garlic minced

2Tminced onion

1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

1 bottle clam broth

1/4 C olive oil

2T butter

1 t fresh chopped oregano

small sprinkle crushed red pepper

ground black pepper to taste

1-1 1/2 ladels of pasta water

4 slices of bacon chopped and cooked until crisp (reserve)

2 shots of Sherry

cook bacon, and drain fat, chop bacon and set aside.

add oil to pan and cook garlic about 5 minutes med heat. add all ingredients except bacon and clams. simmer until reduced by 1/3, cook pasta(we like shells it holds more sauce)

scoop out pasta water into sauce and drain pasta, toss with sauce in same pot and serve in warm bowls, add crumbled bacon on top about 1 t per serving.

Took about 25-30 minutes from begining to table.

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Easy Baked Apples (substitute for apple pie after a meal):

1. Take each apple (either red-green, or just red...no granny smiths) and peel a strip off the top. Then core, so the apple is has a hole in the center and a shaved "head."

2. For every two small-to-medium sized apples, mix 2 Tbs. brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and a dash of fresh ground nutmeg. Mix in a liberal scoop of either sweetened/dried cranberries, or raisins.

3. Put the apples in a heat-safe dish. Stuff their cored centers with the cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg-fruit mix.

4. Pour enough juice (apple cider, apple juice, or something sweet like peach or white grape) in the bottom of the dish so that there is about 1/4 inch of liquid. Spook a bit more over the top of the apples. Some of the sugar will leak out into the dish, making the centers look deflated. That's okay. If you like, put any remaining dry mix in the apples and bottom of dish too.

5. Cover dish and, if small enough, microvawe on high for about 2 minutes. Check the apples and spoon some of the thick liquid in the dish over their tops and microwave for another 2-4 min (use your judgement, the apples should become tender and the liquid syrupy).

 [bake in 350 oven if you have to because the dish is too big...using your judgement] 

6. Serve each apple in a small bowl, with lots of the syrup. Eaters will need a spoon and a knife (a knife to make a couple of incisions through the still firm peel, a spoon to get all the lucious apple and apple-syrup through those lips).

7. May also be served with vanilla or toffee ice cream. This is a great harvest treat, and easy to do at parties because four can be done in a microwave at a time, and they are fast to bake.

_______

Hearty, Hot Salad:

1. Open a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas). Put the contents of the can (liquid too!) in a saucepan and warm over high heat.

2. In a wok (medium heat), heat 2 Tbs. olive oil and a dash of salt.

3. While the oil is warming, cut 2 plump tomatoes into quarters, and mash a clove of garlic. When the oil is ready (warm and sizzling), put the tomatoes (pulp, juice, and all) into the wok, along with the garlic. Give this mixture a couple of stirs, and keep an eye on it so nothing singes. Reduce heat to medium-low.

4. Rinse and tear (or chop into big chunks) 3 stalks of kale. Put the kale in with the chickpeas/canned liquid and stir it for 30 seconds so it begins to warm up. 

5. Pour the chickpeas and kale into the wok with the olive oil, salt, garlic, and tomatoes. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Stir. If the liquid has become too reduced and burning sees likely, add a few tablespoons of water.

6. Then cover the mixture with a metal bowl so that the kale can soak up some heat and condensation. Leave covered for 4 minutes.

7. Use some tongs to pry up that bowl, throw the whole mixture into a bowl, and grind some fresh pepper over it. A dash of lemon juice is nice too. If properly cooked, the tomatoes should be juicy and hot, the kale dark green/shiny and still crispy, and the chickpeas nicely coated in oil.

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Considering that the holidays are upon us already,I thought I'd share this recipe that I created last year at about this time.

Peppermint Candy Cheesecake

2 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
5 candy canes,crushed
1 graham cracker crust

Blend cream cheese,eggs,sugar and extract until creamy.Stir in candy,pour into crust.Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until center is firm.

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