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In this section of my Book of Shadows you will find a variety of recipes, which will be added to as time goes on. Not only will you find food here, but you will also find oils, incenses and other magickal concoctions. I have used all the recipes included here, so I can vouch for their tastiness!
Please note: None of these recipes take into account your allergies. Nor have any checks been made as the the legality (or not) of you picking plants in the wild. You should make 100% sure that you know what you are picking, as well as any contraindications. Diana Jarvis takes no responsibility for any ill effects you may suffer from using any of these recipes.
You can go straight to the recipe you want by clicking on the link below.
Mash O’ Nine
 Here is a really traditional English Samhain / Hallowe’en dish, although these days not many folks have heard of it. Like many Samhain traditions, this dish is served with a purpose … and that purpose is love!
Mash O’ Nine is comfort food, it is a great accompaniment to sausages, but you can eat it on its own, it is really that tasty. It has nine different ingredients in it – hence the name. If you are having a celebration for Samhain and you have any unmarried guests, then try this out on them. It is not only delicious, but it can also determine who will be next to marry …
After you have prepared the mash, allow your guests to help themselves to a portion each. The mash includes a ring*, which is put into it before it is served. The guest that gets the ring in their portion will be the next to marry! I tried this one Samhain and was highly amused when my partner got the ring, despite the fact that most of the guests had served themselves before him. He was not so amused, but he still accepted my proposal four months later (witches believe in equal rites). We married in January 2009.
*Health & Safety: Warn your guests that there is a ring in the mash, I will not be held responsible for your error is somebody chokes on it!
Ingredients
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 small turnip, peeled and diced
1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into thin slices, including some of the green tops
6 ounces mature farmhouse cheddar cheese, grated
salt
freshly grated black pepper
2 tablespoons single cream
Directions
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Pre-heat oven to 350ºF/180ºC, Gas Mark 4.
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Boil the potatoes, carrots, turnip and parsnip together until soft. Mash them thoroughly and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Poach the leeks in a little water for about 5 minutes, until they are slightly soft.
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Add the poached leeks to the potato, carrot, turnip and parsnips, and mix in the cream.
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Season well to taste, and then stir in the grated cheese, reserving some for the top. At this point you can insert the ring, as long as it is not plastic.
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Scatter the reserved cheese on top and bake until golden-brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.
I have made my Ostara Cakes for years and I share them with anyone and everyone until they are all gone. Many people have been accosted and instructed “Here, have a cake!” When asked why, I usually just disappear! I'm not sure why I have such a desire to share them (especially with strangers and non-pagan folk), but I do. They are yummy, so it isn’t because no-one likes them, either!
Ingredients
100g (4oz) butter, softened
100g (4oz) soft brown sugar / demerara
100g (4oz) self-raising flour, sifted
2 eggs
1tsp Cinnamon
Zest and rind of an orange
2tbsp Icing Sugar
A bunch of carnations– go for the lightest and most natural looking colour: less dyes!
You will also need:
About 18 paper cake cases, depending on how generous your servings are!
Method
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Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180₀C / 350₀F.
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Cream butter and sugar together until light in texture and fluffy.
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Beat in eggs, one at a time, adding about 1tbsp flour with each egg.
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Add half the juice as well as the remainder of the flour and the cinnamon.
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Fold in gently, making sure everything is well mixed.
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Lay out cake cases on some baking sheets and distribute mixture evenly amongst them.
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Put in oven.
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Make the icing: mix the icing sugar together with the remaining juice and zest. Not all in one go! Carefully add some juice to some sugar, mix; then continue the process until you have a thick consistency of icing. I can’t give you exact amounts that will work as oranges vary! You will have to gauge this yourself!
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When the cakes are cooked (test by putting a skewer or very sharp knife point into the centre: if it comes out clean they should be cooked), leave them to cool.
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When the cakes are cool, top with icing and a carnation head, or just a petal. Return any unused portions of carnation to the Earth. Eat, share and enjoy!
Please note, as with all recipes, you should check for allergies yourself: I accept no responsibility for any problems you may have with this recipe or the cakes themselves.
 I'm a strong believer in using the bounty that nature has to offer; the more natural and 'straight from the hedgerow' it is, the better. This recipe is included for this reason - the Elder (Simbicis Nigra) is found all over the UK in our hedgerows and gardens. It is sacred to the Goddess, so please do ask for permission from Her before you take the flowers. Please take note: Don't ever eat any part of the Elder raw and only used the cooked flowers or berries. The rest is unsafe for consumption. If in doubt, give it a wide berth.
Ingredients
8 Elderflower heads with some stalk
1 Egg
50g Caster Sugar
200g Plain Flour
250ml milk
Sprinkle of Cinnamon
Sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)
Extra caster sugar for dipping
Water as required
Method
- Put aside the Elderflowers and mix all the other ingredients together, ensuring that all lumps are removed. Add water if necessary to make a thick batter that should drip slowly from a spoon.
- Heat some oil in a pan and wait until really hot.
- Dip the Elderflower heads into the batter and fry them until the batter goes golden brown.
- Dry on kitchen towel and then dip into sugar to finish.
Sloe Gin is a legendary drink. Sloes (Prunus Spinosa) are the fruit of the blackthorn bush and are gorgeous to look at: deep purple with a blue bloom that disappears on contact. Sloes are found in UK hedgerows in late October - November, so get collecting when you can!
Ingredients
450g sloes
225g caster sugar
1L gin
Empty and sterilised wine bottles, enough to take all the sloes when half-filled
Method
- Prick the skins of the sloes all over with a large needle. This is messy - enjoy!
- Half fill each wine bottle until you've used up all your sloes (bottles vary in size so I've left it to you which size you use).
- Share out caster sugar and gin amongst the bottles. Seal very tightly and shake well.
- Put the bottles in a dark, cool cupboard and take out and shake every day for a week.
- Then shake once a week for 3 months.
The gin should now be ready to drink, although the longer you can resist and keep it, the better it will become.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is incredibly good for you, full of vitamins and the leaves also have diuretic* and detoxifying benefits. Dandelion is good for the liver, too. However, it is very bitter, so use only young leaves for this recipe. Another of nature's free ingredients!
Ingredients
100g tender, fresh dandelion leaves
250g mixed salad leaves
250g quartered cherry tomatoes
250g thinly sliced shallots
3 rashers of bacon cut into small strips
garlic, crushed
125g sharp Cheddar chees, grated
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Olive Oil for cooking
Method
- Wash and de-vein the dandelion leaves and add to the mixed leaves. Put into a salad bowl with the tomatoes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and sweat the shallots and garlic.
- Add the bacon and cook to taste.
- When cooked ot your taste, tip the mix onto the leaves along with the oil from the pan.
- Add the freshly ground black pepper and drizzle over some balsamic vinegar.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese on the hot ingredients and serve immediately.
*In modern French the plant is named pissenlit, which means 'pee in the bed'!
Make the most of one of the easiest fruits to find in the hedgerows at the end of August to the end of September: the Blackberry (Rubus
 villosus)! Full of vitamin C, you can make this really indulgent (but incredibly simple) dessert and tell yourself that the vitamins outweigh the fat content ...
Ingredients
Base:
75g butter
200g sweetmeal digestive biscuits, crushed
Filling:
450g soft cream cheese
50g caster sugar
75ml double cream
Blackberry Sauce:
200g blackberries
75g caster sugar
200ml water
Cream, blackberries and mint to decorate
Method
- Heat the butter gently in a saucepan until it melts. Put the digestive biscuits in a plastic bag and, using a rolling pin, crush the biscuits. When the butter is melted, take it off the heat and mix in all the crushed biscuits.
- Spoon the mixture of biscuits and butter into 4-6 ramekins. Push down gently and level out. Refrigerate.
- Mix together the cream cheese, caster sugar and double cream to a smooth paste.
- Put the water in a pan with the blackberries and sugar. Heat until boiling. Continue to boil, but stir until the mixture is syrupy.
- When cool, take the blackberry sauce and mix in roughly wiht the creamy mixture to create a marbled effect. Spoon this into ramekins and put into the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours.
- Take out of the refrigerator and finish by decorating with some whipped cream, whole blackberries and mint leaves.
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