Hubble Bubble! Make a feast in your cauldron.
Instead of bumping into blood sucking vampires as things go bump in the night tonight, celebrate Halloween, (All Hallows Eve) traditionally. Did you know that on this date of remembrance for the faithfully departed, it was historically marked by feasting (and something that won't scare-off vegetarians), it was also customary to abstain from meat.
Foods that were favoured were seasonal English apples, country cider and the humble potato, but back in days of yore when people were hell-bent on witch-hunting, one would have had to have kept it humble!
You wouldn't have dared to pepper your potatoes, or brazenly sprinkle cinnamon and stud cloves on your sweet apple pies for fear of being called out a 'Witch'!
How ghastly! If you do want to keep it traditional tonight, fear not! It might be fright night, but you don’t have to keep things frightfully bland if you want to be faithful to the festivities.
'Witch' is a good job Greenwich Pantry’s shelves are bursting with flavours. That’s what we’re all about: Feasting and flavoursome deliciousness, but do spare a thought, whilst you get your worst witch on in Greenwich this weekend: Think back to the women centuries ago accused of the serious crime of witchcraft; persecuted for flavouring food, cast-out of communities for healing with herbs and accused of all sorts of wrong doings for keeping company with familiars. (That’s the likes of cats to you and me).
Dreadful to think, that in reality the accused women were usually the poorest women in society, marginalised for being the unmarried singleton and with no access to healthcare, who would have had to rely on experimenting with natural home remedies. So in the days of the unexplainable, with no way of Googling oneself out of a situation; just the mere sniff of sage, would have landed you in the stocks.
Speaking of stocks, tonight I am going to celebrate all things soupish and bewitching, just me and my faithful cat. With a cup of hot herbal tea, I am going to soothe my sore scratchy winter worn throat with some traditional and antibacterial natural Greenwich Honey & lemon and I am going to hubble bubble boil, with no trouble; cook up a storm.
Tonight as werewolves howl in the wind, out from the windows of my house will pour steam and sumptuous flavours like fresh ground Indonesian long peppers and the bewitching green brew of piquant Anita’s Goan Green Curry Sauce to ward of the Ghouls.
So if you want to try a seasonal spicylicous and vegetarian feast this Halloween here's an easy delicious recipe for a Bewitching Pumpkin Curry.
To make 5 portions you'll need
2 large carrots
1 medium pumpkin or squash & a selection of vegetables
Wharfedale Rapeseed Chilli Oil
Anila's Green Goddess Goan Curry Sauce
The Real Basmati Rice Co Basmati Rice to serve
Some nuts of your choice and spoonful of sugar to toastily caramelise them
I bet Macbeth's Witches would have loved the texture from my recipe, but I don't really rate theirs.
"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and howler's wing"
This comforting recipe is smooth yet chunky and crunchy, with sweet caramelised pieces of tender squash, and veggies with bite. Wolves and goblins and ghosties and ghouls, if you want to trick of treat me at mine, there’ll be no sorcery within. If I don’t answer the door, i'll just be clanging my saucepans.
You won't help but feel sorry for those puritanical potato peddlers of yesteryear, I'd be praying for flavour. They we’re really missing out. If you need me tonight, I'll be on my broomstick!