Samhain perfect time to cook up dishes to warm witches’ souls

With the equinox behind us and the harvest just beginning, fall is upon us, and with it comes cooler weather, warmer food and, of course, Samhain or more famously Halloween. 

Now for those of you who are unaware, Samhain is the pagan predecessor of Halloween; celebrated by Celtic pagans in the eighth century, the celebration would consist of wearing costumes and wooden masks to hide from entities and lighting bonfires to ward off spirits. Then in the nineteenth century, the jack o lantern was born in Irish and Scottish populated areas, by gutting out and carving turnips with “ghastly and crooked faces” to scare off demons. 

Then in the 1800s when they immigrated to the Americas, they found pumpkins better suited to their traditions and quickly changed to the more iconic jack o lantern we have today. 

But enough history, let’s get to the food. As we all know food is the most important part of any holiday and can make or break a celebration. The following are recipes that are sure to make your Samhain celebration a guaranteed success.

Samhain stuffed pumpkin: 

Ingredients

• 1 2-1/2- to 3-lb. pumpkin
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 lb. stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/4 lb. cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2-5 garlic cloves (to taste), coarsely chopped
• About 1/4 cup chives or scallions
• 1 Tbs. thyme
• About 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of nutmeg

Method

Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven with a diameter that’s just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin. Using a very sturdy knife–and caution–cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin. It’s easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin. Clean out the guts and set them aside for later as pumpkin seeds are very yummy. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot.
Toss the bread, cheese, garlic and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled. 

Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin. Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about two hours–check after 90 minutes–or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. 

Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.
When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, very carefully transfer it to a platter or bring it to the table. 

Harvest Soup: 

Ingredients

• butter
• 4 turnips (butter or yellow turnips)
• 1 Bramley apple (or 1 cox)
• 1 large potato
• 1 liter of chicken or vegetable stock.
• toast stale bread and cut into chunks

Method

Dice all the vegetables and apple.

Over a high fire, heat two teaspoons of butter in a medium-sized pan.

Add all the vegetables and apple and stir so they don’t burn.

When slightly glazed, add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Mix the soup until all the chunks are gone.

Put back on the fire and bring to the boil for another minute.

Season to taste with pepper and salt.

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Place potatoes into a 4-qt slow cooker. Stir in soup stock, onion, garlic, thyme and butter until well combined.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are tender.

Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until desired consistency is reached. Stir in cheese, sour cream and heavy cream until smooth; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more soup stock as needed until desired consistency is reached.

Samhain Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 (15 ounces) can canned pumpkin
• ⅓ cup water
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• ¼ cup vegetable oil 
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 loaf pans.
Stir the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves together in a large bowl. Whisk together the pumpkin, water, eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil together in a separate bowl. 

Gradually pour the wet mixture into the dry while whisking until everything is well mixed. Fold the walnuts into the batter. Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden and springs back when lightly pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow cooling 20 minutes before removing from the pans.

Baked Parsnip Fries With Rosemary:

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds parsnips or carrots, peeled, cut into about 3×1/2-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, plus 5 sprigs
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground cumin

Method

Preheat oven to 450°. Mix parsnips, chopped rosemary, garlic and oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out in a single layer. Scatter rosemary sprigs over. Roast for 10 minutes; turn parsnips and roast until parsnips are tender and browned in spots, 10–15 minutes longer. Crumble leaves from rosemary sprigs over; discard stems and toss to coat. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. cumin over. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more cumin, if desired.

Soul Cakes:

Ingredients

• A refrigerated roll-out pie crust
• 2 Tbs. melted butter
• 1 C mixed dried fruit
• 2 Tbs honey

Method

Roll out the pie crust and cut it into circles. Use the circles to line a tin of muffin cups. Mix the butter, fruit and honey together. Scoop the fruit mixture into the pastry shells, and then bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Allow cooling for about ten minutes before eating.

For more recipes check out the following link, it will take you to a blog post by Kiki Dombrowski where they list tons of fantastic witchy recipes. Links-to-recipes-for-a-delectable-feast. 

Happy Haunting and blessed be.