{"id":13685,"date":"2017-04-01T01:10:49","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T06:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=14357"},"modified":"2017-03-31T20:50:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-01T01:50:27","slug":"the-kitchen-witch-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/04\/01\/the-kitchen-witch-20\/","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><strong><a name=\"_GoBack\"><\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Sweet Potato Pie: How Not to Make it!<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Okay, I\u2019ve really been off my game lately. I\u2019ve been traveling a lot and I haven\u2019t been doing a lot of cooking \u2013 I\u2019ve been eating a lot of salads and quick pasta dishes or beans and rice \u2013 things I can whip up in a jiffy. But I got home from visiting my son and my elderly parents the other day in Buffalo and I thought that I would make something different \u2013 I had some yams that needed to be used, so I thought, oh, I\u2019ll make a Sweet Potato Pie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> If you have heard of \u201cGranny Moon\u2019s Morning Feast\u201d either on WordPress or through Yahoo Groups, then perhaps you have heard of a mailing she does called \u201cWhy Spells Don\u2019t Work\u201d. There\u2019s a variety of reasons \u2013 you\u2019re working the spell at the wrong phase of the moon or you have the wrong herbs for the spell or the wrong color of candle or your intent isn\u2019t strong enough \u2013 honestly, sometimes it\u2019s just that the Universe is working against you and your spell. Well, it\u2019s the same thing with cooking. Why doesn\u2019t a recipe work out the way it\u2019s supposed to? Maybe you don\u2019t have the correct ingredients and you are substituting something else. Maybe the weather is working against you \u2013 this is eminently true if you are baking, especially cakes and bread. Maybe you\u2019re just not in the mood \u2013 you are too tired or too hurried or you just <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"><i>don\u2019t feel like <\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">cooking whatever it is you\u2019re cooking that day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> My problem right now is that I\u2019m exhausted from traveling \u2013 I am really beginning to feel my age \u2013 and I am really too tired to be cooking anything. I should have stuck to something easy and simple \u2013 but when has a <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"><i>pie <\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">proved too hard for me? One that I have made before? True \u2013 I can\u2019t remember when I last made this pie. It may have been twenty or more years ago. I probably had an electric mixer for making sure that everything got blended perfectly. Which is a real issue with this pie. You can\u2019t mix it manually \u2013 which is what I was trying to do. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> I was so tired when I was mixing up this pie that I was forgetting to take pictures as I did it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> I had to run some errands so as soon as I took the pie out of the oven, I went out and when I got home, I cut myself a piece and put some whipped cream on it and tried it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14358\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Cooking1.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking1\" width=\"624\" height=\"468\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> Well \u2013 it tastes great. It really does. But \u2013 the texture is \u2013 well, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"><i>weird. <\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">The custard never set up correctly and it\u2019s all kind of mottled. I quite honestly have never seen a pie look like this. I really have to laugh. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> I admit I made mistakes from the beginning. I forgot to take the butter out of the freezer and I was in a hurry to get it to soften so I put it in the microwave to defrost and then I forgot about it and it was part-way melted by the time I remembered it. NOT A GOOD IDEA. And then I didn\u2019t have quite enough baked sweet potato, so I used some canned yams and I think blending the two might have messed up the texture. But who knows. I really do believe that this recipe requires an electric mixer to make sure that everything gets beaten well and mixed to a creamy consistency that is nearly impossible to do by hand, especially if you\u2019re exhausted from days of travel. I was also fighting with my little cat Radar, who has been by my side since I got back home \u2013 he really missed me when I was gone \u2013 but trying to bake a pie when you have a cat on the table isn\u2019t a great idea, either!<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> So, here\u2019s the recipe. Don\u2019t let my mistakes scare you away from trying it. I have made this pie and it <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"><i>has <\/i><\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">turned out fabulously good. And both my mother and my sister has made it to perfection. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Sweet Potato Pie<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00be cup butter, softened<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1\/3 cup white sugar<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1\/3 cup brown sugar, packed<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1 tablespoon molasses or dark corn syrup<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">2 large yams or sweet potatoes, baked, cooled &amp; mashed, about 2 cups total<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">2 eggs, beaten<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1 teaspoon vanilla<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">1 (15-ounce) can evaporated milk<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00bd teaspoon salt<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00be teaspoon cinnamon<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">\u00bc teaspoon nutmeg<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Cream butter and sugars. Add molasses or corn syrup and blend until creamy smooth. Beat in sweet potatoes or yams. Beat in eggs. Slowly add vanilla and milk until completely uniform in texture and color. Add spices. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\">Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> Like I said, it didn\u2019t work out like it was supposed to BUT it does taste really good. So, it\u2019s not a complete loss. And the crust is fabulous, as usual. I do make great pie crust, if I say so myself! <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;\"> Cooking, like casting spells, is a skill, and you have your act together to do it well. I was obviously not with it this morning when I tried to mix up this pie! It\u2019s a good thing I wasn\u2019t trying to cast a love spell or something really important! Brightest Blessings!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sweet Potato Pie: How Not to Make it! &nbsp; Okay, I\u2019ve really been off my game lately. I\u2019ve been traveling a lot and I haven\u2019t been doing a lot of cooking \u2013 I\u2019ve been eating a lot of salads and quick pasta dishes or beans and rice \u2013 things I can whip up in a jiffy. But I got home from visiting my son and my elderly parents the other day in Buffalo and I thought that I would make something different \u2013 I had some yams that needed to be used, so I thought, oh, I\u2019ll make a Sweet Potato Pie. If you have heard of \u201cGranny Moon\u2019s Morning Feast\u201d either on WordPress or through Yahoo Groups, then perhaps you have heard of a mailing she does called \u201cWhy Spells Don\u2019t Work\u201d. There\u2019s a variety of reasons \u2013 you\u2019re working the spell at the wrong phase of the moon or you have the wrong herbs for the spell or the wrong color of candle or your intent isn\u2019t strong enough \u2013 honestly, sometimes it\u2019s just that the Universe is working against you and your spell. Well, it\u2019s the same thing with cooking. Why doesn\u2019t a recipe work out the way it\u2019s supposed to? Maybe you don\u2019t have the correct ingredients and you are substituting something else. Maybe the weather is working against you \u2013 this is eminently true if you are baking, especially cakes and bread. Maybe you\u2019re just not in the mood \u2013 you are too tired or too hurried or you just don\u2019t feel like cooking whatever it is you\u2019re cooking that day. My problem right now is that I\u2019m exhausted from traveling \u2013 I am really beginning to feel my age \u2013 and I am really too tired to be cooking anything. I should have stuck to something easy and simple \u2013 but when has a pie proved too hard for me? One that I have made before? True \u2013 I can\u2019t remember when I last made this pie. It may have been twenty or more years ago. I probably had an electric mixer for making sure that everything got blended perfectly. Which is a real issue with this pie. You can\u2019t mix it manually \u2013 which is what I was trying to do. I was so tired when I was mixing up this pie that I was forgetting to take pictures as I did it. I had to run some errands so as soon as I took the pie out of the oven, I went out and when I got home, I cut myself a piece and put some whipped cream on it and tried it. Well \u2013 it tastes great. It really does. But \u2013 the texture is \u2013 well, weird. The custard never set up correctly and it\u2019s all kind of mottled. I quite honestly have never seen a pie look like this. I really have to laugh. I admit I made mistakes from the beginning. I forgot to take the butter out of the freezer and I was in a hurry to get it to soften so I put it in the microwave to defrost and then I forgot about it and it was part-way melted by the time I remembered it. NOT A GOOD IDEA. And then I didn\u2019t have quite enough baked sweet potato, so I used some canned yams and I think blending the two might have messed up the texture. But who knows. I really do believe that this recipe requires an electric mixer to make sure that everything gets beaten well and mixed to a creamy consistency that is nearly impossible to do by hand, especially if you\u2019re exhausted from days of travel. I was also fighting with my little cat Radar, who has been by my side since I got back home \u2013 he really missed me when I was gone \u2013 but trying to bake a pie when you have a cat on the table isn\u2019t a great idea, either! So, here\u2019s the recipe. Don\u2019t let my mistakes scare you away from trying it. I have made this pie and it has turned out fabulously good. And both my mother and my sister has made it to perfection. Sweet Potato Pie \u00be cup butter, softened 1\/3 cup white sugar 1\/3 cup brown sugar, packed 1 tablespoon molasses or dark corn syrup 2 large yams or sweet potatoes, baked, cooled &amp; mashed, about 2 cups total 2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 (15-ounce) can evaporated milk \u00bd teaspoon salt \u00be teaspoon cinnamon \u00bc teaspoon nutmeg Cream butter and sugars. Add molasses or corn syrup and blend until creamy smooth. Beat in sweet potatoes or yams. Beat in eggs. Slowly add vanilla and milk until completely uniform in texture and color. Add spices. Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Like I said, it didn\u2019t work out like it was supposed to BUT it does taste really good. So, it\u2019s not a complete loss. And the crust is fabulous, as usual. I do make great pie crust, if I say so myself! Cooking, like casting spells, is a skill, and you have your act together to do it well. I was obviously not with it this morning when I tried to mix up this pie! It\u2019s a good thing I wasn\u2019t trying to cast a love spell or something really important! Brightest Blessings!<\/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-13685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13685","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=13685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}