Magic In Cooking #1

Baking a brioche on a stormy afternoon. A slow living approach.

We had a stormy day last week. The weather was gloomy and it was really windy. I decided to bake a Brioche. Bread making is such a great activity to slow down, and brioche are such a decadent treat. 

Making brioche was really hard for me the first couple of times, and I wish I watched videos on how to make it. 

 Brioche makes wonderful food for any celebrations of the pagan year! You can adapt the recipe to your need and add the flavours and herbs. They are perfect for you feasts are they are the embodiment of the little luxuries, the little extra we enjoy on a celebration day! At the end, I give you some ideas to adapt the recipe to each of the sabbats!

Prep time: 40 min

Rest time: 1h30

Proving time in the fridge: a whole night

Cooking time: 25 to 30 min

Material needed:

A standing mixer with a hook or a hand mixer with hooks. If you don’t have any of those, you can mix by hand but it is going to get really messy and it is much longer.

Ingredients

2tsp dry yeast

4tbsp milk

1tbsp suger

250g plain flour

30g sugar

125g butter at room temperature

3+1 eggs at room temperature

1tbsp Cointreau or Rhum

Recipe

Activate the yeast by mixing 2 tsp of dry yeast with 4tbsp of luke warm milk and a tbsp of sugar. Mix well and let it rest for at least 15min. The yeast is activated when there is a fluffy foam on the top of the milk.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt and butter together until crumbly.

In a small bowl beat 3 eggs with a tbsp of Cointreau or Rhum.

Add the beaten eggs and the yeast to the crumbly dough.

Start mixing with the robot for at least 5 min. The dough is ready when it is smooth, silky and sticky (don’t worry about that)

First proving:

Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rest in a warm place. Near a radiator is really good or in the oven at minimal heat (no more than 30°C / 86°F). Let it rise for about 1h30 or when the volume has doubled. If there is a wind draft, the dough will never rise.

Second proving:

Once the first rising is done, punch the dough to remove the gaz accumulated. At this point the dough is really sticky and that’s normal, don’t be tempted to add more flour. Cover the bowl again and let it rest a full night in the fridge. The dough will rise a bit again.

The day after:

Pre heat the oven at 180°C/350°F

Sprinkle flour on your worktop and start rolling the dough in a large cylinder. Cut it in 3 equal parts.

Roll each part in a long sausage, then braid them together.

Beat one egg and spread it on the braided brioche with a brush. It will make the crust gold and shiny

Bake 25 to 30min at 180°C/350°F

A few important tips:

This dough has a lot of butter that make is very sticky. That’s why the nigh in the fridge is very important. It makes the dough hard enough to be manipulated. Try to work quickly so the dough stays cold.

If you don’t have room temperature butter, shred the butter with a cheese grater it will do just fine.

No alcohol? No problem! Try to perfume the brioche with vanilla or orange zest!

Sabbaths celebrations ideas:

Mabon - 20th-22nd September - Add some sliced apples to the dough before the first proving time

Samhain - 31st October - Add a tsp of pumpkin spices to the flour.

Yule - 20th-22nd December - Add orange zest and orange juice to the mix instead of the Cointreau

Imbolc - 1st February - Don’t change the recipe it is perfect for this celebration day!

Ostara - 20th-22nd March - CHOCOLATE! Add chocolate chips to the batter before mixing everything together

Beltane - 1st May - Use 30g of honey instead of sugar

Litha - 20th-22nd June - Again, you can use honey and also add oranges. Maybe brush a bit of orange marmalade when it is straight out of the oven

Lughnasadh - 31st July - Add Strawberries / Raspberries / Blueberries to the mix before the first proving time

☀️ Midsummer Ritual ☀️

a ritual for midsummer, a ritual that observes the summer solstice, and the new life that has been growing in the earth.

☀️ perform ritual at noon, call open a circle

☀️ build a safe bonfire in a safe area, or alternatively light a yellow candle.

☀️ leave out an offering for the fae near the candle.

☀️ make a solar wheel and burn it. 

☀️ speak a prayer to each of the four cardinal directions. 

☀️ play music and celebrate in the circle

☀️ close and leave the circle.

MY BELTANE 2020

how i celebrate Beltane whilst in lockdown for 2020

I started of the morning by making Gluten-free pancakes with my younger brother. He loves them and i’ve recently had to go Gulten free so we were trying them out. They were amazing!! I then got dressed into my red dress but had to wear a black top as well as it was so cold.

Later in the afternoon I made oat cookies for my family.

I also made a fruit smoothie for me and my mum but forgot to take any pictures to document it. I used fresh strawberries and bananas!

In the evening, I unpressed all the flowers i pressed to try a few weeks ago - id been leaving it until Beltane to do so!

I then made my offerings to the fae. It was honey, milk and some of my oat cookies. I left it under a beautiful flower in my garden that’s surrounded by our strawberry pots.

I also took a moment whilst outside to appreciate the sunset i could just see.

I then proceeded upstairs to write my wish letter to the Gods and Godesses i celebrated with today. (it’s only the title as i didn’t want to show it)

When i go to bed, i plan to fully pray to the Gods and thank them for a beautiful day!

I’d love to hear what you did below!

Chicken Pot Pie with Scallion Pastry

A comfort-food classic with magical properties of healing, protection, prosperity, and love.

Special equipment: immersion blender

Ingredients

1 double crust pie dough

½ cup chopped scallions (measure green parts only; any white parts may be added to pie filling)

4 cups water

1 large onion, roughly chopped

4 whole garlic cloves

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2 chicken thighs

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

salt & pepper to taste

¼ cup butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup dried wild mushrooms (can substitute fresh; just sautee the fresh mushrooms ahead of time to remove excess liquid)

1 cup frozen peas (do not thaw)

1 egg, beaten

Maldon flake salt (optional)

Methods

Boil chicken thighs with water, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and salt & pepper. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from broth. Discard bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables with the broth until smooth. Set aside.

Make pastry according to recipe of your choice, but before adding the water, stir in the scallions. Chill pastry.

Rehydrate mushrooms according to package directions. Reserve the water. Roughly chop the mushrooms if necessary. Shred the chicken (or cut into bite-size chunks).

Make a roux: melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes foamy and turns a light golden color. Add 4 cups of the vegetable broth puree and whisk constantly. If necessary, use the mushroom broth to thin out the gravy. Bring to a boil. Boil one minute while whisking; remove from heat. Allow the gravy to cool.

Heat oven to 400°. Roll out pastry and line a pie plate. Mix together chicken, mushrooms, white parts of scallions, and frozen peas. Add enough gravy to reach desired consistency (3-4 cups). Pour mixture into pie shell. Apply top crust. Brush top pastry with beaten egg, and if desired, finish with a light sprinkling of flaky salt such as Maldon.

Bake at 400° for twenty minutes, then cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil or a pie collar to prevent excessive browning. Bake an additional 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the gravy bubbles (total bake time about 45 minutes). Allow the pie to rest at least twenty minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Bay: healing, banishing, success, wishes

Thyme: courage, protection, prosperity

Garlic: love, purification, warding

Scallions: fertility, healing, exorcism

HONEY ALMOND CEREAL BARS FOR HAPPINESS

A treat or breakfast, anytime you need a pick me up throughout the day. You can infuse these bars with your intentions, and charge them with a crystal of choice. I hope you guys enjoy! ~ Angel.

For the Bars:

½ cup (170g) honey

happiness, healing, prosperity

½ cup (120g) almond butter

prosperity, universal love, luck

1 box Honey Nut Cheerios

happiness, nostalgia, prosperity

For the Coating:

½ cups (75g) white chocolate

friendship, self-love, fun

1/3 cup (85g) greek yogurt

2 tbsp honey

happiness

1 tsp vanilla extract

self-love, attraction

Directions

On medium heat, combine honey, almond butter, and your honey nut cheerios in a rather large pan. Make sure the almond butter has melted and the cheerios are fully coated. This should take about no longer then 7 minutes. About 3 plays of Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. 

Once you have done this, spread evenly into a glass baking dish until it sets completely. This can take 1-3 hours.

Cut them into bars. Combine your greek yogurt, honey, melted white chocolate, and vanilla together, and dip the bottoms into the mixture, Let them set for an additional hour.

Enjoy!

Hot Toddy for Good Health and Cheer

So, hot toddies are my absolute fave drink (read: alcoholic drink) for those cold nights where your hands are freezing and you’re feeling a little run down. They’re also a remedy for colds in one of my friend’s family, and who am I to argue with folk remedies? But I also like to put a little ~woo~ spin on it.

So, what you’ll need:

A large cup of tea (my favorite is chamomile, for its healing and sleep-inducing properties)

Honey (again, something I associate with healing in the magical as well as mundane)

A lemon slice (purification)

A cinnamon stick or a little sprinkle of cinnamon, if you can’t find cinnamon sticks (healing and strength)

Whiskey! Or liquor of your choice. I mean, you don’t have to, but this really gives it a kick. (originally distilled for medicinal purposes, I think whiskey is great for a healing drink)

Brew your tea like you normally would. Squeeze the lemon into the drink, and visualize it purifying you of any illness; add the honey (maybe in the form of a sigil if such is your jam), and focus on how it will trap any negativity and bring sweetness. Add a splash (or two or three, hey I don’t know your life) of the whiskey, thinking of it killing any foul microbes that might be lurking (this is not how it actually works in the body, though I think it’s a great visualization) and filling you with warmth (it may just be vasodillation, but it’s still a great feeling on cold nights).

Finally, take your cinnamon stick and stir either clockwise to bring in good health and happiness or counterclockwise to banish illness and negativity. Whichever feels right for you is the one I would recommend. For some reason, I tend to do clockwise when I’m just in it for the whiskey and good feelings and counterclockwise for my common colds.

Add or modify to your desire, but this is the basic outline of my hot toddy for good health and cheer!

Pasta Shapes Correspondences

I love to make meals with pasta and sometimes it can be good to slip your intention in with the very shape of your pasta pieces and not just the toppings.  Here is my list of personal correspondences and uses, feel free to use them!

Acini di pepe- This is pasta in tight tiny balls- For temporary spells

Agnolotti- Little pasta parcels- Gifts, money

Alphabet pasta- This is pasta that is in the form of letters- Writing, studying, research

Anelli- This is pasta in the shape of small rings- Bonding, relationships/friendships

Calamarata- This pasta resembles squid rings- Good for hiding/invisibility glamours

Campanelle/Gigli- This pasta is in the shape of a frilly flower- Relaxation, tranquility, peace

Casarecce- The name of this pasta is from the Italian word for ‘homemade’- Family, warmth, hearth magic

Conchigle- This pasta is made in the shape of a shell- Communication, sea magic, water magic

Crest di galli- Pasta shaped a bit like the pipette but had a frilly edge like tripoline on top. I had it a lot when I was very young and I think looks like the Loch Ness monster- Imagination, creativity

Elbow Macaroni- I think this pasta looks like rainbows- Welcoming, affection, bonding, comfort, hope

Farfalle/Farfalline/Corbatta- This pasta is in the shape of butterflies- Transformation, renewal, changes

Fusilli/Cavatappi/Rotini- This pasta looks like a corkscrew- Celebrations, festivals and holidays

Gemelli- Means ‘twins’ in Italian but many think it looks like a unicorn’s horn- Good for fae work

Lanterne- Though the name means ‘lantern’, I think they look like waves- Sea magic, turbulance, change

Lasagna- Flat sheet like pasta- Protection, safety

Linguine/Fettuccine/Pappardelle- These are all flat, ribbon-like pasta shapes- Beauty, self love and acceptance

Maltagliati- Meaning ‘badly cut’ as it is made from scrap and left over pasta- Resourcefulness, creativity, adaptivity

Mezza Luna- This pasta is shaped like crescent or half-moons and is stuffed with meats or vegetables- Lunar magic, celebrating points of the lunar cycle

Nuvole- This pasta is shaped like little clouds- Good for weather magic

Orecchiette- This shape is named after ears- Communication, understanding, listening

Penne- The name of this pasta means ‘pen’ in Italian- Writing, long distance relationships/friendships

Pipe/Pipette/Lumache- These all look like closed ended pipes or snail shells- Good for slow acting but stubborn spells

Radiatori- This pasta is named after radiators!- Warmth, affection, friendships

Ravioli- Little pillows stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables- Dreaming, rest, good sleep

Rigatoni- Wide and ridged tubes- Memory, retaining information

Rotelle/Ruote- This pasta is shaped like wheels- Safe travel, exploration

Spaghetti/Angel Hair/Bucatini/Vermicelli- Thin lengths of pasta- For long-lasting spells

Spighe- This pasta looks like an ear of cereal- Harvest, fertility, plenty, money

Sorprese- Meaning ‘surprise’ in Italian due to not having filling and they resemble fortune cookies too- Luck

Stelle- Often given to children and are shaped like stars- Adventure, discovery, finding spells

Tagliatelle- Little nests of flat ribbon pasta- Hearth magic, family, affection

Tortellini- Little stuffed rings of pasta- Bonding, relationships/friendships

Tripoline/Mafalda- Both are frilly edged long pastas, but tripoline only has one frilled side and they look like jellyfish tentacles- Good for curses, banishing

Trofie- Twisted up pasta- Reliving stress, relaxation

Vesuvio- This twirled pasta has a flattened and domed end and is named after Mount Vesuvius- Destruction, power, good for curses

Ziti/Tubini- Smooth sided tubes- Forgetting, fading, disappearing

This list is not for every single pasta type, just types I have came across and have used and think I will use/make in the future. Please, if you have an interesting pasta shape, add it on!

I’m a beautiful element of the universe and I love that about myself

I love me spell:

-a ready bake pie crust 

-a can of strawberry pie filling (strawberries represent love of all kinds)

-star cookie cutters (star shapes to visually represent my place among the Universe)

-Sprinkling sugar (to sweeten my inner thoughts about me)

-Intent (A whole lot of love and gratitude for being my awesome self)

Enchant each ingredient of the pie with it’s correspondence as listed above. When the pie is assembled and ready to go into the oven imbue the pie with the following chant:

“Every bite filled with love

connects me to the Universe”

Then bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

(via witchinthenight)