In the tradition of family cooking, much of these recipes leave the decisions up to the cook!
Recipes courtesy of Gaudets' Goodies, which has more than a few Doiron cooks, with A Cove of Witches embellishments.
Seafood chowder
(a nod to Sébastienne’s cod stew, when she threatens Rose with turnip casserole)
1 onion, chopped
2-3 potatoes, diced
1½ cans evaporated milk
Butter
Frozen haddock (broken into chunks)
¾-1½ cup regular milk
1 can of clams in juice (if you don’t have the real thing – PEI frozen clams!)
2 celery stalks, diced
Salt & pepper
Sauté vegetables in butter until soft; add enough water to cover vegetables and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender. Add frozen haddock and simmer until fish is cooked. Then add whatever variety of other seafood you want. Simmer until cooked. (I have no idea when you add the milk ).
Bread and butter pickles
(a nod to the pickled onions Sébastienne hides her vodka behind)
4 qt sliced unpeeled cucumbers
1 green pepper (cut in narrow strips)
1/3 cup salt
1½ tsp celery seed
2 tbsp mustard seed
6 medium onions (sliced)
1 sweet red pepper (cut in narrow strips)
3 cups white vinegar
1½ tsp turmeric
Layer cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a large bowl or pot. Sprinkle salt through the layers. Mix tray of ice cubes through the layers and another tray of ice cubes on the top. Let stand for 3 hours – add more ice cubes if mixture doesn’t stay cold (it is the salt and ice combination that makes the pickles crisp). After the 3 hours, drain thoroughly and discard the icy salt water, combine sugar, vinegar, and spices. Pour mixture over veggies, heat just to boiling point – do not overcook. Ladle pickles into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 8 pints.
Reet's war cake
(as a stand in for the various desserts mentioned in A Cove of Witches, this recipe recognizes how women often had to be creative with limited resources to bake something sweet. If you’re interested in Anna’s scotch cookies, go to the A Sea of Spectres recipe page.)
First, mix:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups hot water
¾ cup shortening
½ cup molasses
1 lb raisins
Then add:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup chopped fruit (mixed fruit, red and green cherries, some lemon)
Boil “first” ingredients together for three minutes and cool. When cool, add the “then” ingredients, mix together, pour into greased tube pan and bake in 350Ëš oven for 1¼ hours.