{"id":13561,"date":"2017-03-01T01:10:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T06:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=14232"},"modified":"2017-03-01T18:11:49","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T23:11:49","slug":"the-kitchen-witch-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/03\/01\/the-kitchen-witch-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kitchen Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">The Kitchen Witch:\u00a0Spaghetti and Meat Balls<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">The big holiday in March is Saint Patrick\u2019s Day on March 17 and while some pagans refuse to celebrate it, I almost always cook up a pile of corned beef and cabbage, with carrots and potatoes and onions, and maybe turnips and parsnips as well. Or perhaps a big bowl of Irish stew, made with either lamb or beef, and some Irish Soda Bread for dipping. I may revere the Goddess in all Her forms but I do love to cook and any excuse works for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><a name=\"_GoBack\"><\/a> <span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">A lesser-known holiday is Saint Joseph\u2019s Day on March 19. Again, not a Pagan holiday but still noteworthy in terms of food. Many churches will set up what is called a \u201cSaint Joseph\u2019s table\u201d filled with (mostly) Italian goodies and invite their parishioners and anyone else who needs a meal for the feast. If you like Italian food, this holiday is for you. Of course, I like everything, and Italian food is no different.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">It\u2019s so easy, nowadays, to just go to the supermarket and buy a jar of spaghetti sauce \u2013 really good sauce \u2013 and meatballs, either fresh from the meat case or frozen \u2013 that I don\u2019t think many people make their own from \u201cscratch\u201d anymore. But it\u2019s not very hard and really doesn\u2019t take much time. And like all things made homemade, it\u2019s <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"><i>so <\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">worth it! There\u2019s magic when you make it yourself! But you already knew that, didn\u2019t you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">The first thing I do is make the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For twelve medium-sized meatballs, you want to use one pound of ground beef. Some people use a mixture of ground meats \u2013 often called \u201cmeatloaf mix\u201d \u2013 ground beef, pork and veal \u2013 if you remember the prison scene from the movie \u201cGoodfellas\u201d, you might remember how they insisted that the \u201cflavor\u201d in the sauce came from the \u201cpork\u201d \u2013 \u201cYou gotta have the pork, there\u2019s your flavor\u201d \u2013 but my mother never used anything but ground round for her meatballs \u2013 that\u2019s 85% lean beef. But we\u2019re not Italian. And I have used venison-beef mix; venison-meatloaf mix; ground turkey; beef-turkey mix; honestly, it\u2019s up to you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Here\u2019s the recipe: 1 pound ground meat of your choice<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> \u00bd cup Italian bread crumbs<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> \u00bd cup grated Parmesan cheese<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00bc cup minced onion<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> 2 eggs<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> Garlic salt &amp; freshly ground pepper to taste<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14233\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag1.jpg\" alt=\"Spag1\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Put the meat into a large bowl and add the bread crumbs, cheese and minced onion. Season with garlic salt and the freshly ground pepper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14234\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag2.jpg\" alt=\"Spag2\" width=\"641\" height=\"481\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">At this point, I mix it up by hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14235\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag3.jpg\" alt=\"Spag3\" width=\"633\" height=\"474\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">When it\u2019s uniformly mixed, I add the eggs and continue mixing it with my hands. If you don\u2019t like the feeling of raw meat on your bare hands, wear latex gloves or use a food processor. When it\u2019s all completely mixed, start making the meatballs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> My mother always made meatballs that were the size of baseballs. When I first left the house and started eating in restaurants, I was amazed that commercial meatballs were tiny! No larger than a good-sized walnut. My meatballs are about the size of a billiard ball. I can fit twelve of them into a 9&#215;9 pan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14236\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag4.jpg\" alt=\"Spag4\" width=\"608\" height=\"456\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Put them into the oven and let them bake for about a half an hour or until they\u2019re nice and brown. Meanwhile, start your sauce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14237\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag5.jpg\" alt=\"Spag5\" width=\"663\" height=\"497\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">You will need: 2 tablespoons olive oil<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> \u00bd cup chopped mushrooms<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00bd cup chopped fresh onions<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1 15-ounce can tomato sauce<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1 8-ounce can tomato paste<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00bd cup red wine<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, bay leaf<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14238\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag6.jpg\" alt=\"Spag6\" width=\"610\" height=\"457\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook until soft. Add the can of tomato sauce, stirring well, and then the diced tomatoes. The tomato paste is next and it goes without saying that you have to stir very vigorously to get the paste completely mixed in! Then add the wine and the seasonings. I didn\u2019t put down exact measurements for the seasonings because to me, it\u2019s a matter of taste \u2013 some of us like more oregano and some of us like less! (There\u2019s a famous \u201cAndy Griffith Show\u201d episode about this \u2013 Andy Taylor eats spaghetti at everyone\u2019s house when Aunt Bea is away visiting and everyone\u2019s \u201csecret ingredient\u201d is oregano). And of course, just before serving, you have to taste it and adjust your seasonings \u2013 my mother always added more wine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14239\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag7.jpg\" alt=\"Spag7\" width=\"658\" height=\"494\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> When your meatballs are done cooking, you will want to add a few meatballs to the sauce to soak up the flavor of the sauce and to flavor the sauce itself. I only added a few to the sauce and the rest of the meatballs I let cool and then individually wrapped up and froze for use in a few weeks \u2013 there\u2019s no way I can eat twelve meatballs in one sitting! I let the sauce and the meatballs simmer on the lowest setting for over an hour. I put the cover on the pan so that my stove wasn\u2019t covered with red spots (but of course it was anyway!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14240\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag8.jpg\" alt=\"Spag8\" width=\"687\" height=\"515\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14241\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Spag9.jpg\" alt=\"Spag9\" width=\"694\" height=\"520\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> So all you have to do now is cook your pasta and serve your meal. Here is what my plate looked like:<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-14242\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/spag10.jpg\" alt=\"spag10\" width=\"726\" height=\"545\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t<!--\n\t\t@page { margin: 0.79in }\n\t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.08in }\n\t-->\n\t<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">With a piece of bread and a salad, that\u2019s one righteous meal. Filling, too! I had a quart of sauce left over, which I put into the freezer for future use with the meatballs I froze, so my personal St. Joseph\u2019s table will continue into the spring months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> So if you\u2019re the kind of person to grab a jar of Prego and a bag of frozen meatballs, try something a little more magical \u2013 make your own! Many blessings! Merry meet until next month!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kitchen Witch:\u00a0Spaghetti and Meat Balls The big holiday in March is Saint Patrick\u2019s Day on March 17 and while some pagans refuse to celebrate it, I almost always cook up a pile of corned beef and cabbage, with carrots and potatoes and onions, and maybe turnips and parsnips as well. Or perhaps a big bowl of Irish stew, made with either lamb or beef, and some Irish Soda Bread for dipping. I may revere the Goddess in all Her forms but I do love to cook and any excuse works for me. A lesser-known holiday is Saint Joseph\u2019s Day on March 19. Again, not a Pagan holiday but still noteworthy in terms of food. Many churches will set up what is called a \u201cSaint Joseph\u2019s table\u201d filled with (mostly) Italian goodies and invite their parishioners and anyone else who needs a meal for the feast. If you like Italian food, this holiday is for you. Of course, I like everything, and Italian food is no different. It\u2019s so easy, nowadays, to just go to the supermarket and buy a jar of spaghetti sauce \u2013 really good sauce \u2013 and meatballs, either fresh from the meat case or frozen \u2013 that I don\u2019t think many people make their own from \u201cscratch\u201d anymore. But it\u2019s not very hard and really doesn\u2019t take much time. And like all things made homemade, it\u2019s so worth it! There\u2019s magic when you make it yourself! But you already knew that, didn\u2019t you? The first thing I do is make the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For twelve medium-sized meatballs, you want to use one pound of ground beef. Some people use a mixture of ground meats \u2013 often called \u201cmeatloaf mix\u201d \u2013 ground beef, pork and veal \u2013 if you remember the prison scene from the movie \u201cGoodfellas\u201d, you might remember how they insisted that the \u201cflavor\u201d in the sauce came from the \u201cpork\u201d \u2013 \u201cYou gotta have the pork, there\u2019s your flavor\u201d \u2013 but my mother never used anything but ground round for her meatballs \u2013 that\u2019s 85% lean beef. But we\u2019re not Italian. And I have used venison-beef mix; venison-meatloaf mix; ground turkey; beef-turkey mix; honestly, it\u2019s up to you. Here\u2019s the recipe: 1 pound ground meat of your choice \u00bd cup Italian bread crumbs \u00bd cup grated Parmesan cheese \u00bc cup minced onion 2 eggs Garlic salt &amp; freshly ground pepper to taste Put the meat into a large bowl and add the bread crumbs, cheese and minced onion. Season with garlic salt and the freshly ground pepper. At this point, I mix it up by hand. When it\u2019s uniformly mixed, I add the eggs and continue mixing it with my hands. If you don\u2019t like the feeling of raw meat on your bare hands, wear latex gloves or use a food processor. When it\u2019s all completely mixed, start making the meatballs. My mother always made meatballs that were the size of baseballs. When I first left the house and started eating in restaurants, I was amazed that commercial meatballs were tiny! No larger than a good-sized walnut. My meatballs are about the size of a billiard ball. I can fit twelve of them into a 9&#215;9 pan. Put them into the oven and let them bake for about a half an hour or until they\u2019re nice and brown. Meanwhile, start your sauce. You will need: 2 tablespoons olive oil \u00bd cup chopped mushrooms \u00bd cup chopped fresh onions 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 8-ounce can tomato paste \u00bd cup red wine Parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, bay leaf Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook until soft. Add the can of tomato sauce, stirring well, and then the diced tomatoes. The tomato paste is next and it goes without saying that you have to stir very vigorously to get the paste completely mixed in! Then add the wine and the seasonings. I didn\u2019t put down exact measurements for the seasonings because to me, it\u2019s a matter of taste \u2013 some of us like more oregano and some of us like less! (There\u2019s a famous \u201cAndy Griffith Show\u201d episode about this \u2013 Andy Taylor eats spaghetti at everyone\u2019s house when Aunt Bea is away visiting and everyone\u2019s \u201csecret ingredient\u201d is oregano). And of course, just before serving, you have to taste it and adjust your seasonings \u2013 my mother always added more wine. When your meatballs are done cooking, you will want to add a few meatballs to the sauce to soak up the flavor of the sauce and to flavor the sauce itself. I only added a few to the sauce and the rest of the meatballs I let cool and then individually wrapped up and froze for use in a few weeks \u2013 there\u2019s no way I can eat twelve meatballs in one sitting! I let the sauce and the meatballs simmer on the lowest setting for over an hour. I put the cover on the pan so that my stove wasn\u2019t covered with red spots (but of course it was anyway!) So all you have to do now is cook your pasta and serve your meal. Here is what my plate looked like: With a piece of bread and a salad, that\u2019s one righteous meal. Filling, too! I had a quart of sauce left over, which I put into the freezer for future use with the meatballs I froze, so my personal St. Joseph\u2019s table will continue into the spring months. So if you\u2019re the kind of person to grab a jar of Prego and a bag of frozen meatballs, try something a little more magical \u2013 make your own! Many blessings! Merry meet until next month!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}