Customer Reviews

Witch in the Kitchen: Titania's Book of Magical Feasts

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Witch In The Kitchen: Titania's Book Of Magical Feasts is a unique and very highly recommended cookbook by Titania Hardie that is entertainingly illustrated with unusual photography by Sara Morris and offers recipes that introduce a kind of "culinary magic" which is especially appropriate to pagan celebrations and events from Summer Weddings, and Harvest Celebrations to Winter Solstice and Halloween. From Salad of Warm Goat Cheese; Eggplant Confit with Pita Bread; and Salmon Baked in a Tent; to Barbecued Potatoes with Basil Butter; Summer Fruit Champagne Jelly; and Ginger Divination Cookies, Witch In The Kitchen offers delicious recipes with special metaphysical applications. Of special interest is the section devoted to "The Witch's Herbal". If you'd like a little culinary magic in your life, then Witch In The Kitchen is the cookbook for you!

I have been a longtime fan of Titania's and have all of her books. I was delighted to see that she had Witch in the Kitchen out and bought it right away. This book is definitely recommended for people who practice or are interested in magic and also love to cook. Not only are the recipes different and delicious, but they are presented along with interesting ways to present the meals and absolutely gorgeous photography. This book is worth having even for the photography alone! It is one of my favorite books that she has written so far.

Hrmmmm.........what to say about this book? This is my first book by Titania Hardie. I was originally attracted to the pretty, velvety cover and didn't really take a look inside before buying it. At first, when I got it home, I was a bit dissapointed. Not with the recipes. Those are fabulous, and I can't wait to try a lot of them. Although, I must admit, this book was written more for a gourmet cook than anything else. There are a lot of ingredients that an average person will probably not have in their cupboard or even afford. This book is also not for the inexperienced witch looking for the traditional feasts; it's more for those witches looking for something different or less traditional. And if that witch is looking for a lot of specific info for that sabbat/esbat, forget it. What I found dissapointing were the photos. When I have a cookbook, I want to see either a pic of the actual dish, or pics that fit in better with the theme. Don't get me wrong, the photos were beautiful and well done. It's just that most of them didn't really fit in well. I mean, come on. One of the pics was of an Italian gondola with ice cream cones that had plants coming out of them for the Italian Ice Creams. Or, LOL, of a salmon in a bathtub for the Salmon Baked in a Tent. But, since I love unusual and nontraditional cookbooks, this little beauty has already found it's niche in my kitchen.

As an avid collector of unusual cook books, I was drawn to this little, velvety covered book. The title lead me to believe that this would be a book full of food served to commemorate Wicca or craft celebrations and perhaps some information about the recipes and what each ingredient meant.

Surprisingly, the book has little in the way of "traditional" feasts. The book seems more a collection of the authors personal favorite meals as opposed to meals served to commemorate specific celebrations. However, the book is well written and entertaining and the recipes are easy to understand and follow.

The one big let down however is that the book is oddly illustrated. The photos of the food are attractive, yet there are other photos of cut-out people and plastic knick-knacks that seem out of place and distract from the overall feel of the book.

Not a book for people seeking traditional recipes or indepth information about Wicca or Craft food or celebrations, but an interesting little cookbook all the same.