Kitchen ‘Magick’ – cooking with love

March 19, 2016

There are so many memories that are attached to food and its aromas.

I love working my ‘magick’ in the kitchen as I cook. I have been doing it for many years. Right now as the day is coming to a close, I have a copper pan on the stove top, full to the brim with veggies and herbs, crafting a delicious soup for this evening’s meal.

Jane's vegey love soup

In the oven is a loaf of bread that I made to accompany the soup. I didn’t have the usual bread ingredients in my cupboard—I am always making Yorkshire puddings and so run out of flour quite often—so I used what I have.

For my Cheesey rune bread, I poured into a bowl:

  • leftover cheeses;
  • wholegrain mustard;
  • half a bag of pasta flour;
  • gluten free spelt flour;
  • eggs;
  • olive oil;
  • some milk;
  • lots of dried coriander;
  • and my love.

I stirred it up and placed it into a greased and floured loaf pan.

Jane's Cheesy Rune Bread

I draw various runes into my food too, this magical enhancement I find truly beautiful. There is always music playing and I dance around my kitchen, wherever that may be in the world.

So far in this lifetime I have worked my kitchen ‘magick’ over in England, Scotland and here in my beloved Australia. The first meal that I make for the first day of a fresh new shiny month is also very special.

Putting gratitude and love into my cooking

I am always full of gratitude for my life and each day that I am here and alive is a day that I actively give my thanks for. I give thanks for having this roof over my head, enough food to cook with and folks that I love with all my heart in my life. My religion is love and gratitude.

When my four kids were little and all living at home, I loved baking cookies for their arrival from school in the afternoon, such happy times. Seeing them come home excited that I had made my shepherd’s pie is such a lovely memory.

Now as adults, when we get together such as last Christmas when my eldest daughter, Catherine and her family, came to stay with us, it ignites my heart with flaming love to see how she still—at aged 26—loves my magical cooking. True bliss.

Memories associated with food

There are so many delicious memories that are attached to food and its aromas. I have memories of my mother Ann and her mother Elsie, in the kitchen, making food at our home in Yorkshire, England—meat and potato pie, my Nan’s onion sauce that accompanied Sunday roasts.

I remember how every weekend my Dad would cook us all bacon and eggs with tomatoes and fried bread or ‘Fr..br’ as he called it, for breakfast. Then on Sunday evenings he would create his tuna sandwiches, it was a ritual that I now cherish myself as my husband makes them for us on Sunday night’s too.

My family’s cooking specialities

  • Onion sauce: Every time I make my Nan Elsie’s onion sauce (email me if you would like the recipe) I am transported right back to that kitchen as my memories awaken and I see her smiling at me. She was such a beautiful woman, a perfect blend of kindness and strength.
  • Shepherd’s Pie: My mother would make our family the shepherd’s pie that I was speaking of earlier, my Dad would return home from work and say ‘how many shepherds’ in this one Ann?’ which made us all laugh. I love our twisted Yorkshire humour! Haha. Do not worry, they never took a life for our dinner… (or did they?)
  • Puff balls: My Grandad Jack would make what he called puff balls, they were very simple but delicious, from self-raising flour, water and salt and pepper. He would mix the ingredients up and cook spoonfuls of the mixture in a hot oiled frying pan, they would magically puff up and be golden within minutes—a tasty accompaniment to bacon, eggs and spaghetti or baked beans. Yum!
  • Bailey’s cheesecake: My mother makes this totally amazing Bailey’s cheesecake that she made for me when I was over in the UK visiting her a few years ago. My memories of drinking a few glasses of good grape and indulging in a huge piece of that love filled cheesecake with her will stay with me forever.
  • Wedding cake: Last year Catherine and I made her wedding cake together. We made two vanilla and two lemon cakes and her then fiancé made a carrot cake, and we took the five layers and placed them together, icing them in the new ‘naked’ icing way. We drank champagne and had a chilled out, beautiful night together, making a cake for their wedding day that both looked stunning and tasted delicious. It was an honour to make my daughter’s wedding cake with her.

My children’s cooking endeavours

I’ll have to mention how all of my kids are great cooks, and I am so proud that they now love creating ‘magick’ in their kitchens.

My youngest daughter Belle makes a scrumptious chicken and leek pie that we all drool over as it is really bloody good.

My second eldest daughter Maisie made a memorable meal combining chicken and fish, for which we ribbed her for at the time. We were watching MasterChef a few months ago and a contestant created a similar dish to hers to which the judges all said was a stroke of pure genius. So to you Maisie I say, congrats my love, you were ahead of your time with sheer ingenuity.

Cooking in moods

I never cook if I am feeling upset or hormonal or not in a good enough mood. I do believe that the chef or cook, imparts emotions into the food as they cook, therefore I always make sure that whilst I am dancing around my kitchen, I am thinking of really good thoughts as I concoct, create and weave the ‘magick’.

I dedicate this to them…

So, this article is lovingly dedicated to my mother Ann, my Dad Mick, my Nan Elsie and my Grandad Jack, the latter three who are all in spirit, and all of my fellow kitchen witches out there. Let us continue to craft our ‘magick’ with loving intent, feeding and inspiring ourselves and our loved ones, whilst creating magical memories for years to come.

Many blessings to you and your food,
Jane

Jane inset into her story

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