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Herbs - Blog Posts
Witch Tip: Get to Know Your Spell Ingredients
Get to know your spell ingredients. Just because one ingredient is good for money doesn't mean it's a good fit for you.
There are a lot of parts to getting to know an ingredient.
You can research its functionality if it has an herbal use whether medicinal or culinary - the classifications of herbals help a lot in understanding a component's working in your spell, ie - how it will do what you want it to do. A warming herb has a different effect than a cooling herb, for example. An herb that drys out the body can also be used to dry out a situation. A purgative can be used to clear things.
You can research the historic uses of the spell ingredients - I would look at both medical and magical uses here. Though we have debunked a lot of old medicinal uses and I by no means mean to suggest that you use herbs by their old medical uses, these practices give an idea of the nature of the plant. Over time, particular cultures develop an understanding of specific planets and if you are respectful, you may be able to tap into this shared knowledge.
You can hold and interact with the ingredient. This is a must for me before I will use anything in my spell work. I am an animist - I believe that all objects (both inanimate and animate) have a spirit - both their own individual spirit and a connection to the great over-arching spirit of their class. For instance, the basil plants in my garden are three things: each is its own individual basil plant, also a combined Basil spirit that is growing in my garden, and a piece of the spirit of Sweet Basil as a whole. When learning to work with the energy of a spell ingredient, I need to know how it feels. How it interacts with my energy. Is it calming? Does touching it make me go buzz buzz. How does it smell? How does it taste (if its safe to consume, of course)?
You can grow/harvest/gather/mine that ingredient yourself. This only furthers your knowledge of this ingredient. Did you see it when it was a tiny seedling? Did you plant it in the ground? Did you spend hours in the woods looking for the perfect specimen or find a field full on your walk home from work one day? Sure, the seashell you picked up on the beach may not be as perfect as the one you can buy online but you have already established a personal connection with that shell by choosing to take it home.
There are so many more ways. You can write/photograph/draw your object. You can meditate with it. You can potentially communicate with it through dreams or other means of divination. You can experiment with using this spell ingredient by doing your usual spell work with it in addition or substitution to something that you normally use - did it make a difference? How did working with that ingredient change your magic?
Take notes on the different ingredients you use and become the scientist in your own witchy life.
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On Purple Dead Nettle
My new plant-love of this Spring season is the unassuming (and yet striking beautiful) Lamium purpureum, aka Purple Dead Nettle. This wild forageable is considered a “weed” in many yards and gardens and yet has great medicinal, edible, and magical properties. What more is there to love? I first noticed purple dead nettle after seeing it on a Youtube channel - it turns out, it was growing in my neighborhood all along and I had been oblivious! Purple Dead Nettles (Also sometimes called Purple Archangel) is found around the world. In warmer areas, it is a annual Winter weed that provides much needed ground cover - here in Southern New England it is a early Spring flower that blooms for about six weeks starting in mid April. It is highly distinguishable by its square stem (proving its membership to the mint family) and distinct red/purple leaves. It can grow up to 8-10 inches tall but generally prefers to stick close to the ground. It is a super food - all parts of the plant are edible though its leaves are fuzzy so it can be a strange experience to eat it on its own. It can be added to salads, used as an edible garnish, made into pesto, or added as a green to smoothies. It’s flavor is green and reminiscent of grass or clover. Medicinally, it is an astringent, diaphoretic, and purgative. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It’s leaves can be made into a salve or applied directly for on-the-go wound care. Consumption slows the production of histamines so it has a claim to fame as a plant used to treat seasonal allergies. It can be dried and drunk as a tea but can have a laxative effect if consumed in quantity. It is also listed as unsafe for pregnant and breast feeding humans. On of the best quality of this wonder-plant, in my opinion, is that it is one of the earliest bee friendly flowers that blooms in the colder climates. Bees and other native pollinators seem to prefer Purple Dead Nettle to other plants. Yet another reason not the mow this lovely plant down and let it thrive!
Magically it is associated with happiness and cheerfulness and considered useful for grounding when combined with yarrow. Like all hearty plants that will grow “anywhere” it also has an association with strength and resiliency. For magical purposes, dead nettle is most often dried and turned into an incense blend or tea (see the above mentioned warning about drinking too much of it.) Last but not least, I wanted to share a fun fact. The Latin name for Purple Dead Nettle (lamium purpurium) means “diminutive purple monster” - a nickname given to the plant that spread out of control. Laugh all you want but be careful where you plant it if you don’t want a yard FULL of dead nettle. But for real - who wouldn’t want a yard full of dead nettle? Certainly not me… Like my work? Please consider supporting me by Buying Me of Ko-Fi.
When Life Gives You Jewelweed, 1
As an intuitive witch, I strongly believe in working with the plants that grow in your natural environment. It's a covenant that I have made with my spirits and the spirits of the land - it's invasive, I should use it all up or if it's native, I should help it to flourish and grow.
Enter jewelweed aka Impatiens capensis, Balsam Weed, Slipper Weed, "Touch Me Not"
Jewelweed is native to the American Northeast but is not often a gardener’s friend.
I don’t blame the intrepid gardener who, appalled at the HUNDREDS (literally) of jewelweed plants that spring up in their yard, pulls them all up in a haste to do be done with the voracious spreader (jewelweed is known as “touch me not” because its seed pods go off like a BOMB when touched, spreading its seed voraciously – one misstep with this and you will guarantee yourself months of weeding jewelweed out of every space you have).
Yes, almost every single plant in this following photograph is jewelweed! Dora has recently moved into her ancestral home and is trying to reclaim her gardens back from the mess that her Grandmother made of them to “fit in” with the popular gardening trends of the ’90s.
As often happens when you start to clear out a wild space, the first thing to move in are the “weeds” – in this case – jewelweed!
Still, as a green witch, I know that even the most “obnoxious” plants have fabulous magical, edible, and/or medicinal properties. Jewelweed is a perfect example of this.
Jewelweed is both anti-inflammatory and an anti-histamine and can be used topically to treat eczema, bug bites, stinging nettles, and fungal rashes. It is best known for its ability to neutralize the urushiol compound in poison ivy that causes many people to have that horrible itchy rash. This can be done in one of two ways. Firstly, by applying the raw sap of the jewelweed plant directly to the area that you want to treat. For longer-term use, jewelweed can be made into a salve or tinctured (I am going to put mine into a Thatcher’s Witch Hazel toner because I know that my skin tolerates that well).
Magically, there is less information on the properties of jewelweed. Like many of the native plants to the Americas, there is a dearth of information due to the continued reliance on “old world” herbs in our modern crafts. Due to its healing properties and the wet environment in which it grows, the obvious elemental association is Water. The bright orange color of its trumpet flowers speaks to happiness and joy. I might simplify that plus its healing properties to a sense of “relief”.
My intention is to pick and dry some of the flowers and play around to see how it works out magically. I’ll update you with the results.
I am pleased with the medicinal applications of jewelweed. My partner has both realized their love of gardening and developed quite an intense contact dermatitis to something in my garden, so a jewelweed concoction is right on time. I intend to make both a salve and infuse into Witchhazel – they will ultimately be my guinea pig as to which is better.
In any case, I’m very excited to be making a new plant acquaintance.
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Spell Energetics: How to Apply the concept of Herbal Energetics to your spell work
Note: I'm drawing here from my knowledge of herbal energetics as they are recognized in multiple herbalism systems, my knowledge of astrology, and the concepts of sympathetic magic - if this isn't your thing, please just move along.
The four elements and the concepts of Energetics run consistently through the framework of much of the Western magic systems but it's something that is often overlooked. Suppose rather than relegating the elements to something that we call upon ritualistically to join us in our magic works (or, that must be represented on an altar), we instead stop and consider what they are, and what they do. In that case, we can gain a deeper understanding of how magic works on a human being.
The idea of the four elements and their associated qualities (dry, warm, cool, and moist - now known as herbal energetics) comes from the Athenian philosopher Aristotle. The fire element is warm, the earth element is cool, the air element is dry, and the water element is wet. This shows a remarkable difference from the modern astrological association of earth being opposed to water, and air to fire as it is shown on the astrological wheel; here, hot is opposed to cold (fire to earth) and dry to wet (air to water). It is worth noting that this can be somewhat proven through action - earth puts out fire, for instance. Today, we understand that there is more to healthfulness than balancing energetics (thank you antibiotics, vaccines, and insert your favorite modern medical miracle here) but there are still a number of views on wellness that encourage considering them. Maybe someday I will write more of this and how it relates to synastry, but let's focus on how this can be used in magic.
From here, we need to take a dive into modern herbalism. Why are we doing this? Because most people use all sorts of herbal components as ingredients in our spells and many of our correspondences have their roots in how that plant matter interacts with the human body. One of the major considerations when choosing an herb is what its Action is on the human body. These actions include Heating (Warm/Fire), Cooling (Cool/Water), Drying (Dry/Air), and Wetting (Moist/Water).
We use these actions all of the time without even knowing that we are doing them. Most cocktail people know that you want to drink a Mint Julip in the summer to cool you down (mint is a Cooling herb). On the other hand, if you need a pick me up, Chai tea which is full of warming herbs - even noncaffeinated versions like Bengal Spice - does the trick. The marshmallow (a Moist herb) does the coating of the throat in "Throat Coat" tea. The conditions of warm/cool/dry/moist are so normal to use as human beings that we tend to overlook them and adjust for them automatically.
With this in mind, I want to bring up a few ways in which this can be applied in witchcraft.
Warm is nice and pleasant. A lot of the warming herbs are used in money and sex magic - they make us feel good. But, like any good thing, they might need to be consumed in moderation. Candles carry the innate action of warmth and just think about how important fire safety is. Some herbs that warm cannot always be handled with bare hands (spicy peppers cause capsaicin burns) and these have long-documented uses in baneful magics of all kinds.
Cool magic can be used to calm and control. It can be used to put a particular situation on ice so that you don't have to deal with it. It can bring down fevers. It can soothe bad tempers and hot-headedness. It can preserve. It can also protect and insulate.
Dry magic can also be used to preserve. It can dry up emotions and stifle passion. It can draw out something or draw something away from a situation. It can create space.
Moist magic can be overflowing and generous. It can also be stagnant and suffocating. Moisture can revive life. It can also drown it.
It is worth noting that all aspects of these factors are always present in our lives. And they don't exist in a vacuum - everything is a combination of the two Aristotlean categories: you have Warm Moist or Warm Dry, and Cool Moist or Cool Dry.
We use these principles in magic all of the time. Anytime that you are using a liquid in a jar spell, you are applying the concept of Moist. If you are applying salt or rice to drain an object, you are using the concept of Dry. A freezer spell is an obvious example of Cool and any time that you are burning something you are using the concept of Warm.
But let's go a step further. If you are trying to do a warming spell, wouldn't it make sense to use specifically only warming herbs - or, at least - herbs that don't counteract Warmth (aka abstain from using cooling herbs?). Remember, these herbs have a natural and calculable effect on the human body so one would assume that, when used as part of a spell directed at a human body, they will have a similar effect. Even if you're a total candle head (I get it - I LOVE candle magic), consider not adding a candle to a spell meant to freeze somebody out.
When casting a hex, it is worth considering whether you want to burn them out with fire or take the slower more calculated path of ice. (Stop me from quoting Robert Frost here...) If you need to separate a couple who thrives on relationship conflict, drying them out could be a good option - more specifically, I'd probably use cool/dry.
Really we are getting into the basics of all sympathetic magic: using a thing that has an obvious effect to transfer that effect, through our spell, to the spell's intended target. This is why I have been very specific in saying that this applies to magic cast on a human being - here we are using the principles of Energetics and how they affect humans. For a spell on an animal or your house, entirely different sympathetic principles would apply.
The next time that you are choosing between two herbs that are said to have the same associations, consider whether one might be better than the other based on the Energetic nature of that plant. You might find a whole new level of casting open up to you.
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Kitchen Witchery: Elminx's Anti-anxietea
In honor of eclipse season, I wanted to share a recipe to bring your buzz down a notch (or two). I've been drinking this nervine tea for nearly five years now; it features all of my favorite herbal flavors! I'm not going to go into detailed herbal profiles for each of these botanicals, but I suggest looking into them more if you are curious. I think learning the basics of herbalism can greatly benefit the kitchen witch.
Each of these ingredients can be found in any decent grocery store, bought online, or grown yourself. The combination is designed with flavor and herbal actions in mind; it's not a measure of exact ingredients - mix with your heart. All of these botanicals are well tolerated and can be drunk regularly by most people. Please be careful when trying new herbs; allergic or other adverse reactions can occur.
Hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa Hibiscus is the primary flavoring agent in this blend. It gives our tea its Cool, Moist, and Sour properties. Please keep in mind that hibiscus will stain anything it comes into contact with, including clothing, wooden spoons, and even countertops. If you don't think you're familiar with hibiscus, it is the primary flavor in all "Zinger" teas. It tastes tart and inexplicably red.
Peppermint, Mentha piperito
Peppermint is the first of our gentle nervines to be added to our tea. Nervines do exactly what you expect them to: they calm your nerves. In addition to being a nervine (primary benefit), Peppermint adds its properties of Pungent, Sweet, Cool, Warm, and Dry to our tea. I'm sure you're all familiar with peppermint; you could probably substitute a different mint here with similar effect.
Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis
Lemon balm is a nervine and a mild sedative. It brings the properties of Sour, Cool, and Dry to our tea. Some people don't like the taste of lemon balm, saying that it tastes like Pledge. If that's you, just omit it from this drink. The taste of hibiscus strongly overpowers the lemon balm, though, so maybe try it first.
Tulsi (Holy Basil), Ocimun santum
Tulsi is a nervine and adaptogenic herb, which means that it helps the body manage stress better. Its properties are Pungent, Sweet, Bitter, and Warm. With its heady, peppery notes, Tulsi is certainly an acquired flavor. If you get along with this herb, you will know almost immediately upon drinking it for the first time. A little goes a long way; you don't need to overdo it.
Dried Apple, Malus sp.
Although apple is primarily a flavoring agent (and sometimes a sweetening agent) in this blend, it does have mild sedative effects that lend themselves to the overall feel of this tea. I suggest using the apples you would eat in this recipe; you can dry slices of apples by putting them in your oven at 225F for 1.5 to 2 hours. Use a sweeter apple if you want a sweeter tea.
Minx's Anti-Anxietea
2 parts hibiscus
1 part peppermint
1 part lemon balm
1-2 parts dried apple
.5 part tulsi
Start by adding 1 tsp tea to hot water and steeping for 8 minutes. Adjust to your tastes from there.
This drink tastes great, hot or cold.
I've never sweetened this tea because I like my drinks bitter like my soul, but I bet a dollop of honey would be lovely in this—especially a nice summery wildflower honey. I've added sweetened cranberries in the past (1-2 parts) for more sweetness. And honestly, I don't measure. I know when it smells right.
I apply this drink liberally, but some people may find it too strong a diuretic to consume more than once daily. I drink it any time that I feel especially anxious or when I know I am going to be under a lot of stress. My partner likes to drink it before bedtime and claims it's one of the only things that will calm them down when they feel like they have too many thoughts.
You can witch this up (it's a verb now!) as little or as much as you like. I like to work calming energy into the drink step by step as I create the mixture by working with each botanical individually. You could charge this with a candle or sigil, dedicate it to one of your favorite gods or spirits, or store it on your altar. I create bindrunes for my favorite tea blends and use them as magical labels.
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Protection and Healing
Besides being wonderful aromatics and flavorful additions to your cooking, Garlic and Bay Leaves are quite useful in any kind of spellwork.
Garlic aids in protection and healing, especially when hung around the home or added to charmed dishes. It’s also said to induce lust when eaten.
Bay Leaves were a favorite additive in Roman times, and are also used for protection and healing. When added to brews or other foods, Bay Leaves encourage clairvoyance and wisdom.
Witches of Tumblr, what are your go to books about herbs/plants/flowers?
Yesterday I learned my backyard is home to purple ground ivy and its place within herbal witchcraft and herbal medicine was fascinating so I want to continue this journey. Obviously I know a few herbs and plants that are good for certain things but I really want to educate myself deeply!
I was looking into the Green Witch but really all and any suggestions are welcome for a beginner such as myself.
What do you use deadnettle for?
Mostly I use it for magic pertaining to happiness, growth, beauty, or opportunity. I also associate deadnettle with the ability to make proper use of available resources, so I sometimes add it to a spell if a little bit of flexibility, fortitude, or Making The Best Of Things is called for.
Purple deadnettle is an early spring flower, very popular with the bees, and it grows abundantly pretty much anywhere it can find loose damp soil. It turns my yard into an oasis of tiny bell-shaped wildflowers and happily bumbling bees long before the early summer clover begins to bloom. This sweet little flower was one of the first gifts my new home gave me and it helped kickstart the bond I'm developing with the land.
(Apparently, it's also edible, although I've never tried it.)
Pictured: A patch of purple deadnettle in my yard, with vetchweed and dandelion puffballs mixed in.
Every ailment, physiological or mental, is molecular in nature, because human beings are a collection of complex bio-molecular mechanisms.
Every cure and treatment therefore should be based on a molecular understanding. Even treatments that don't involve direct usage of chemicals, like therapy, should be based on an understanding that what they're doing is interacting with a chemical system.
Any "cure" or "treatment" that's based on stuff like "higher energies" or "body thetans" or "the power of prayer" or anything that claims to interact with something other than the body and its chemical processes, is a sham.
When deciding what the properties of a crystal are, please do yourself a favor and look up why. WHY is obsidian associated with cutting ties with things or reflection? Ohhhhh it’s because the Aztecs used it as sacrificial knives and reflective mirrors. WHY is rose quartz associated with love? Ohhhhhhhh because the goddess of Love (Aphrodite) had a lover who bled out onto the stone. WHY is amethyst- ok you get the point. Context is EVERYTHING. Otherwise it’s just meaningless regurgitation of concepts missing their original relevance. Then, after you figure out why they are associated with certain attributes, decide for yourself if you subscribe to this. If YOU feel a difference in energy then obviously use it differently.
An important lesson we can learn from plants, especially those considered "weeds", is that if a system does not work for you, grow around it.
Dandelions cannot thrive trapped under a concrete roof, so they twist and spread and sprout between the cracks.
Tree roots will find their way through foundations and bricks to feed the tree.
Brambles will climb up and over fences designed to keep them out, if what's beyond let's them grow.
A sunflower in a pot will face the sun, not the room it's owner so desperately wants it to decorate.
Do what you need to do to thrive, irregardless of what others think you should do.
This is your friendly reminder that herbs aren't inherently safe.
Natural doesn't mean Safe.
Lightning is natural. Opium, therefore heroin and opiate drugs are derived from poppies. Cinnamon oil will burn your skin. Lilies are toxic to cats and will cause organ failure. Activated charcoal will neutralize your prescription medications and literally anything else in your system. St. John's Wort will destroy your serotonin production and mess with your happiness threshold if it DOESNT KILL YOU FIRST.
So anyway.
Do some damn good research every time you go to eat, breathe, bring around your pets, bathe in, or smoke something. Be safe please.
Witchcraft Exercise - Creating Correspondences
There are dozens of plant species in the arsenal of the green witch. Commonly-used varieties and usage varies somewhat between traditions, but most of us are fairly familiar with industry standards like basil, bay, rosemary, sage, and so on.
But what do you do when faced with a plant that has no listed magical correspondences anywhere that you can find in your witchcraft library? Simple - you create some.
Allow me to demonstrate with a little plant I found in my own backyard. It's a common weed called Virginia copperleaf (Acalypha virginica). But despite it's widespread range and abundant growth as a field weed, there are surprisingly few references to the plant in regional folk medicine and none at all that I could find in contemporary witchcraft.
So in order to incorporate this hardy little weed into my practice, I set about creating some correspondences for it.
First, I researched the physical properties of the plant. It is a small annual spurge with long taproots, a resistance to drought and many herbicides, and a reputation for fast growth and being difficult to eradicate from fields due to prolific seeding. The leaves turn coppery-red in the fall and small spiky flowers bloom among the foliage. It is also mildly poisonous. The juice of the plant may cause contact dermatitis or a mild rash in some people and if ingested, it may cause GI symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.
Next, I researched references to the plant in folk medicine. I could only find a single reference that cited copperleaf as a possible diuretic and expectorant. That does track with the previous mention of GI symptoms, but it doesn't mean the plant is safe to use. I did discover that an alternate name for the plant is three-seeded mercury or mercury weed, likely because of its' tendency for fast growth and the fact that it is propagated by the wind.
So now comes the business of creating the correspondences, using the physical properties of the plant as a basis.
The first and most obvious association is strength. Any weed that is resistant to drought and herbicide and uprooting is bound to be useful for spells involving tenacity and fortitude. Prosperity is also a likely use, both because of the name copperleaf and the way in which the plant grows and spreads quickly. Because of the alternate name mercury weed and the wind propagation, it could be used for wind magic or communication spells. (I often associate the element of air with communication and the name of a messenger god is right there as well, but your mileage may vary.)
The plant could also be used as an ingredient for baneful magic, either to bind and frustrate someone's efforts by consuming available ground where their ambitions might grow, or in its' capacity as a mild poison, to cause physical discomfort and stomach trouble.
So in the end, I have a handful of copperleaf and a listing in my witchbook that details the properties of the plant and notes that it could be useful for spells involving strength, tenacity, prosperity, wind, or communication, as well as possible baneful uses including binding, discomfort, and sickness.
This is my system for assigning correspondences to previously-unknown plants, and I encourage readers to use it as a template for their own practices or to create their own system. Either way, I recommend the use of a field guide or plant identification app like PlantNet to properly identify plants as you find them. Remember to forage and harvest responsibly, be a good steward of the land around you, and always label your plant cuttings.
Happy Witching! 💚🌿
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More witchcraft exercises here:
Oh my god, guys.
Are we just going to ignore the fact that bay trees and laurel trees—the laurel trees, used for Roman victory wreaths—are the same?? Why is witchblr sitting on this??
And why are bay leaved associated with prosperity? It makes sense, but they should symbolise victory and glory! Success! Fame, winning, being lauded and recognised! Prosperity comes along with this but it's not central.
I only found this out yesterday, I'm shocked.
EDIT: In North America (and probably other places) there is Mountain Laurel, it's a shrub that grows by roads in northern states. It's poisonous. Don't burn or eat it!
The Bay Laurel is the tree used by Greeks and Romans. It's safe and used in cooking.
Thank you so much to @.teawitch for adding this!!! I literally copied their addition into the post, sorry.
How to Dehydrate Herbs
This is my first post on my newly-minted digital grimoire, so I thought I'd start out with info I already know. Here's a short little guide on how to dehydrate herbs and other materials at home in your oven (if you have one). I usually dehydrate fresh materials instead of hanging them as firstly: I have a cat who will find a way to reach anything I hang up to dry, and secondly: there are some materials I don't feel comfortable leaving out in open air as they will likely rot. Also, it just saves on drying time.
Steps:
1. Grab whatever you want to dehydrate whether it be fruits, peels, herbs, veg, or (my favourite) eggshells.
Important Note: DO NOT EVER put plants which are known to be toxic or whose origins are unclear in your oven. It's never worth it.
2. Place your items on a sheet pan with parchment paper underneath (there may be lingering oils on the pan, but if you are okay with that feel free to skip the parchment).
3. If your oven is fancy and you have a dehydration setting, great! Use the recommended temperature. If not, set your oven between 160-190*. I usually set it lower, but if you're short on time it will work higher.
4. This is the most crucial step: keep your oven door slightly ajar in order to let moisture escape. However, very importantly DO NOT EVER LEAVE YOUR OPEN OVEN UNATTENDED (or your closed one, for that matter), especially if you have an older oven. Basic fire safety applies here.
5. The process usually takes around 2 hours if you are dehydrating thinner plants, but may take up to 3-4 if you are dehydrating something thicker like citrus peels or fruit slices. Either way, be prepared to wait a bit. You will know they are done when you can easily crush them if plants or they are breakably-solid if peels. With eggshells they will be brittle anyways, but it's nice to dehydrate them to more easily grind into a powder and also to kill any lingering bacteria.
6. Store herbs as you usually would in a container away from sunlight. Enjoy!
Sources:
Printer's Ornament (Chiswick Press, 192)
Witches of Tumblr, what are your go to books about herbs/plants/flowers?
Yesterday I learned my backyard is home to purple ground ivy and its place within herbal witchcraft and herbal medicine was fascinating so I want to continue this journey. Obviously I know a few herbs and plants that are good for certain things but I really want to educate myself deeply!
I was looking into the Green Witch but really all and any suggestions are welcome for a beginner such as myself.
Herb pork ribs cooked in stock
Herb pork ribs cooked in stock
We’re going to try an old favourite with a new cooking technique today. Crazy Debbie loves pork ribs……or anything with a bone to gnaw on and is always keen to try new cooking methods. What you need: Pre cooking ingredients shot Pork ribs 2 turkey stock cubes 2 ham stock cubes Parsley Tarragon Celery salt Rosemary Marjoram Mint Garlic granules Lime juice Method: We’ll start by…
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Pork & potato korma
Pork & potato korma
Another chapter in the “potatoes are versatile” book, we present you with a nice curry. This one was my request so crazy Debbie saw it as a ready steady cook style challenge. Contestants, let’s get cooking! Potatoes Pork loin steaks Coconut milk Fresh single cream Cumin Cinnamon Chilli flakes Ginger Allspice Coriander Fenugreek Cloves Nutmeg Hot smoked…
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Burritos
I love Mexican food and burritos are a nice easy one to make. You can pack so much flavour in and they’re very filling. Want to see how Scottish folk make burritos? Of course you do! What we used: Pork mince Long grain rice Soy sauce (light & dark) Mozzarella Garlic puree Nutmeg Cayenne Smoked paprika Onion salt Garlic granules Mild chilli…
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Bombay Potatoes
Another of Crazy Debbie’s video editing recipies this week. Today we have bombay potatoes which was a request of mine as I love Indian style food. Crazy Debbie managed to pull this off using potatoes, passata, spices and wizardry! Seriously there isn’t alot of ingredients in this so well worth a try if you want an easy recipe to follow. What we used: 4 large potatoes Tomato…
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Crunch Wraps
Today’s recipe is presented rather differently and uses Crazy Debbie’s video editing. Nice, easy and quick is all the rage these days and Crazy Debbie wanted to do a nice, easy quick recipe without compromising on flavour – enter Tortilla crunch wraps! What we used: Oregano MintGarlic powder Smoked paprika ThymeMild Chilli Powder Chilli flakes Cumin seedsPork minceBeef minceSmall Tortilla Wraps…
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Lentil Soup
One of my all time favourite soups deserves to be posted. Homemade lentil soup beats tinned every day of the week so here’s Crazy Debbie’s lentil soup recipe: Red split lentils4 carrots A bunch of spring onions 3 potatoes CeleryCooking bacon Tomato passata 2 vegetable stock cubes 1 chicken stock cubeGround all spice Smoked paprika Minced garlic Oregano DillCoriander leaf Ground gingerBlack…
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Paella
Another new dish lovingly prepared by Crazy Debbie. This week, the Scottish cook tries her hand at a famous Spanish dish and I have to say, it went rather well. Chicken breast fillets Long grain rice Lemon juicePassata Ham stock cubes2 heads of garlic Sweet peppers Garlic powder Rosemary CuminCoriander Onion granules Oregano AllspiceClovesSmoked paprika Chilli flakes Cayenne Turmeric Black…
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Spanish Chicken
Pre cooking ingredients shot The inspiration- Debbie wanted a different way of cooking chicken and rice that wasn’t the typical anemic chicken and rice you feed a dug when it’s ill and came up with this! Spanish chicken. Long grain rice Tomato passataTomato puree Chicken legs Parsley Cayenne MintSmoked paprika Mild chilli powder Oregano Thyme Garlic powder Star anise 2 heads of…
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Mustard & Herb Pork Leg
Mustard & Herb Pork Leg
It’s been a while since our last post! Both myself and Crazy Debbie have been working out alot and have been saving posts as drafts and forgetting to post it! So we’re finally back with more tasty recipes. Thyme ChivesBasilParsley Rosemary Yellow Mustard SeedBalsamic vinegar English Mustard. Pork Leg Joint Method: First make some deep scores in the meat all the way round so that all the…
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