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Product Reviews:
The Wicca Cookbook: Recipes, Ritual, and Lore |
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Sabbat Organization
Comments: The Wicca Cookbook / 0-89087-995-8
Unlike other Wiccan cookbooks which often organize recipes around types of cooking (starters, main dish, side dish, dessert, etc.), "The Wicca Cookbook" organizes its recipes around the yearly Sabbats. Each chapter explains the history of the Sabbat, the associated seasonal produce, and the magical significance of the Sabbat and each suggested dish. This organization is perfect for urban-raised wiccans (like me) who haven't memorized the yearly produce growing cycle. Are berries purchased in the spring or the summer? Is corn harvested in the summer or the fall? "The Wicca Cookbook" can answer these questions, as well as how to prepare the seasonal bounty both for food and for magical decorations.
This cookbook is perfect for helping to plan Sabbat meals and celebrations. I do not know, though, how useful it might be as an eday cookbook. The recipes are sometimes complex (like a lot of Wiccan cookbooks, each recipe Comes with multiple spices to add a heap of magical intent to each dish) and picky eaters and shoe-string budget families will have to do a bit of trimming and rewriting to make the recipes more feasible. I also continue to be startled by how many "Wiccan" recipes (both in this book and others) demand to have rose petals included in the meal. I'd estimate that a great dozen or more recipes in this book center around rose petals, and I am baffled at where I am supposed to get these petals. Roses do not grow easily in the American southwest where I live, and a commercial bouquet costs a minimum of $40 here, and with no way of knowing what pesticides were used in the growing of these flowers. Consequently, a great dozen or more of the recipes in this book I cannot try. I chalk this up to1more difficulty between being an American wiccan in a European wiccan's world - it's up there with being told to harvest your own staves from fallen tree branches. Will cactus branches do? No? Oh well.
As an added note, this cookbook is neither vegetarian nor vegan, as several recipes include meat, cream, and dairy products. I know that some people prefer vegan or vegetarian cookbooks for their money, so I thought I'd mention it here. Several of the recipes also call for various kinds of wine and alcohol, however the recipe will sometimes include non-alcoholic substitutions for people with alcohol intolerance. If you eat meat and dairy products regularly and would like a great guide for planning Sabbat meals, this is a great resource and I definitely endorse it. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: great book
Comments: Love this book!! Love the recipes, and the history and the facts to go along with each of them. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Wonderful Cookbook
Comments: This is my favorite Wiccan cookbook. Some people may complain about the veal, however I do not hear anyone complaining about the Medieval Game Bird. (which, by the way, double the beer, add parsnips, carrots, potatoes and a bunch of herbs...side of soda bread....awesome.!! ) In my household, the hunters are the patron god(esses), the recipes in this book are hearty, easy and easily modified to suit game meat. I refer to this book for harvest festival recipes and side dishes to accompany the game we procure.
Yes, there are pagans who hunt..... |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: Yum!!
Comments: A wonderful book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. almost all of the recipies have been a success (one or2did not turn out so wonderfully, however that may have been my mistake!!), and it has been a huge help in organising our celebrations.
As for the recipe calling for veal, if you object to it's use, boycott the veal industry!! Apparently though, some of the other readers do not understand that just because a recipe says "veal" that another meat cannot be used. I live on a cattle station, where we slaughter our own, and I can tell you that a great piece of aged rump usually tastes better in ANY veal recipe!!!! Obviously your industry standards are lower than ours, because I know that our calves are spoilt rotten (not overfed, just well looked after!!) before going off to a (relativly) humaine howevercher. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: You do not have to be into Wicca to enjoy this
Comments: You do not have to be into Wicca to enjoy this book. I enjoy cookbooks and it is hard to find many that have great recipes that are easy to fix. I do not follow Wicca or practice it, however I loved this cookbook.The recipes are comfort food style recipes that are generally easy to make. They have covered ething in this book from Bread to Dessert. I love the bread recipes and the basic stuffing recipe is easy and delicious. Just do not avoid this book because it is Wiccan, if you do you are missing a gem of a cookbook. The history and lore and interesting reading, however it's the recipes that are wonderful and savory. What I like almost all is that this book has recipes that are great quality without being pages and pages of ingredients and recipes. Many of them are basics that you can use in a variety of different ways. This is my favorite cookbook. My only complaint is that it isn't longer, however that's not really a complaint at all:) |
