Cooking Techniques

You're thinking of a black cast iron pot, called a 'cauldron'. Most real witches will have a large one and a small one. Groups and families of witches will have one giant cauldron for special occasions.

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A Pagan Perspective

All the Witches I know cook in the regular pots, pans, crock-pots, woks, dutch-ovens, casseroles, and dishes every one else does.

Our cauldrons tend to be for Ritual use... not that Ritual use does not include cooking, but it encompasses much more as well.

Filet mignon (French for 'dainty fillet') is a steak cut of beef taken from the tenderloin, which runs along either side of the spine and is usually harvested as two long snake-shaped cuts of beef.

If the short end of the tenderloin is cut into portions before cooking, that portion is known as filet (boneless meat) mignon (small).

The fillet is considered to be the most tender cut of beef, and one of the most expensive. The average steer or heifer provides no more than 4-6 pounds of fillet. Because the muscle is non-weight bearing, it receives very little exercise, which makes it tender.

I don't think you can. Nothing grinds like a grinder. You can chop meat with a big knife,
but it will not be the same as ground meat.
You can buy hand grinders for about $30 new.

Agree, grinders work by forcing meat through sharpened blades and then extruding it through plates that can have various hole sizes on them. Hard to replicate this without a meat grinder.

Try sprinkling hemp seeds over a salad, as a topping on granola, puddings, or other desserts. Add hemp seeds to smoothies at home and in many cafes and juice bars. You can also use hemp seeds in baking and cooking, although their nutritional content is at its highest in their raw state.

Try hemp seed in the following recipes:

• Fruity Superfood Smoothie
• Speedy Summer Hemp Power Salad
• Apple Hemp Muffins
• Hemp Milk

Many cultures use goat as a meat source. Goat can be cooked like lamb or beef. It is mostly used in stews or curries.

Some recipes may include India and Latin dishes. Here are a few:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6-8 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 Tbsp allspice (see step 1)
• 3 pounds goat (can use lamb or beef if you can't find goat)
• Salt
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1-2 habanero or Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and chopped
• A 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 cans coconut milk
• 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• 3-4 cups water
• 5 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 Make the curry powder. If you can find Jamaican curry powder, definitely use it. If not, use regular curry powder and add the allspice to it. You will need at least 6 tablespoons of spices for this stew, and you can kick it up to 8-9 depending on how spicy you like it.

2 Cut the meat into large chunks, maybe 2-3 inches across. If you have bones, you can use them, too. Salt everything well and set aside to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

3 Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the curry powder and heat until fragrant.

4 Pat the meat dry and brown well in the curried oil. Do this in batches and don't overcrowd the pot. It will take a while to do this, maybe 30 minutes or so. Set the browned meat aside in a bowl. (When all the meat is browned, if you have bones, add them and brown them, too.)

5 Add the onions and habanero to the pot and sauté, stirring from time to time, until the onions just start to brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle some salt over them as they cook. Add the ginger and garlic, mix well and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

6 Put the meat (and bones, if using) back into the pot, along with any juices left in the bowl. Mix well. Pour in the coconut milk and tomatoes and 5 tablespoons of the curry powder. Stir to combine. If you are using 2 cans of coconut milk, add 3 cups of water. If you're only using 1 can, add 4 cups of water. Add the thyme. Bring to a simmer and let it cook until the meat is falling-apart tender, which will take at least 2 hours. Longer if you have a mature goat.

7 Once the meat is close to being done - tender but not falling apart yet - Add the potatoes and mix in. The stew is done when the potatoes are. Taste for salt and add some if it needs it.

8 You might need to skim off the layer of fat at the top of the curry before serving. Do this with a large, shallow spoon, skimming into a bowl. Also, be sure to remove any bones before you serve the curry.

The stew is better the day after, or even several days after, the day you make it.

Another:

• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 Scotch Bonnet pepper, seeded and chopped (while handling, protect hands and eyes and avoid breathing in fumes)
• 2 pounds boneless goat meat, cubed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 cup vegetable stock, or red or white wine
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Combine onions, garlic, carrots, celery and pepper in a large bowl. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and toss meat with the vegetables. (Protect yourself from contact with Scotch Bonnet peppers.) Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, (the longer the better).

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, and add the meat/vegetable mixture, browning all sides of meats and cooking for a few minutes to integrate flavors. Add the tomato paste and stock, cover and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is fork tender, at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure there is adequate liquid in the pot. (This recipe is also great cooked slowly in a crock pot.) Once the meat is tender, add the chopped tomato and parsley and serve.