On tonight's menu

Tonight we are celebrating the birthday of one of our coven members. Yes, we are officially a coven (no more "the group" this or "the coven that's not a coven" that). It's exciting! Since I'm currently living with my High Priestess and we both love to cook, we decided to make the birthday girl a lovely dinner with wine. Here's what's on in the witchy kitchen.

Appetizer- Herbed goat cheese bruschetta

you need:

a nice fresh baguette

herbed goat cheese

1 tomato (roma or plum)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

fresh basil, sage, or oregano, depending on taste and availability

pinches of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Slice the baguette diagonally and toast in the oven for a few minutes.

Finely chop the tomato and fresh herbs. Combine with oil and vinegar, add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for 15 minutes for the flavors to mingle.

Top each slice of baguette with some goat cheese and then sprinkle with the tomato mixture. Serve while you drink wine with your friends and finish cooking dinner.

The Soup- Butternut Squash Soup

You need:

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 tbsps olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/4 cup heavy cream

nutmeg

salt & pepper

Heat oil in a stock pot. Add onion, garlic, ginger, carrot, and squash and cook until it's all just a little softer, about 4-6 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a slow boil. Cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a blender or processor. Blend until smooth, adding the cream slowly. You can use more cream if you like! Transfer back to the stock pot to reheat and season with nutmeg, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. This is the best recipe. Trust me.

The Inevitable Potato Dish in Wendi's blog- Colcannon

I promised this one anyway! And I want to make it for everyone! It's very rich and delicious, it's both good and bad for you. I don't recommend substituting fake butter for the real stuff. If flies don't touch it, neither should you. Butter can be fine, if you're not vegan or allergic, in ridiculous portions once a year or so, say, on your birthday. Or a friend's birthday. Or like, when someone dies. But no more than 3 times a year. Anyway don't judge me. Just try this recipe because it's wonderful and Irish.

You need:

5 roasting potatoes (or 8 small red)

1 medium onion

6 cloves garlic

I'm not going to lie, A LOT of butter

a big bunch of kale. I like lacinato 

Cube and rinse potatoes. Boil them until soft, like for mashed potatoes. Leave the skins on for health and texture! Meanwhile, chop onion and garlic and sauté in butter until gooey. Seriously! Slowly add the kale and just barely wilt it in the pan. Turn off the fire and set aside. Drain the potatoes, and mash them halfway with a little salt and pepper. Now start adding the kale and onion mixture to the potatoes, combining and mashing them together until everything is blended together. If it's really sticky, you can mash in a bit of cream leftover from the last recipe to make them smoother. But colcannon should be a bit chunky. 

And since I've given you three recipes in one blog, that's all I've got for now. I mean, I have a lot of stuff to do before dinner tonight!