From what I can tell, the real meaning of Switchwitch is to give and get individual personal attention and recognition. That's pretty much what the requirements constitute, with of course the caveat that there be something tangible exchanged, because that's measurable and "attention spent" isn't so much. But really, it's all about the individual personal attention and recognition. As a witch you get to feel that you're having an effect, which is awesome because so much in life it can be difficult to measure the effect of our work, but a good witchee will report when ey receives our gifties, and generally also says how it brightened eir day, so look! Noticeable effect! As a witchee you get to feel that somebody's paying attention to you, which is awesome because it's also so easy to feel taken for granted in life, but a good witch will read your questionnaire and stalk your posts and send gifts aimed at your tastes, so look! Somebody's paying attention! And you didn't even have to figuratively stomp your foot and demand that ey pay attention. On the contrary, it's an anonymous person who's probably never even met you!

That said, I'm out to prove that it is totally possible to do justice to your witchee even if you're on a tight budget.

In this installment of Witching on a Budget (which, because blogs can be edited, will be added to as I think of more things), we talk about something that a great many of us can do - cooking!

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In this entry: (use bolded words to search within entry)

* Mixes in a Jar

* Chocolate Bark

* Vegetarian Doggie Treats

* Cook up that Pumpkin

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Make em a Mix In A Jar - seriously, this is a great idea. I love having a jar in the pantry that I can just toss into a pot with some easily-available kitcheny stuff, and have an awesome dish come out the other end, with most of the prep work done for me. It's like having a boxed brownie mix or a bagged soup/side mix, but with a lot more love and flavor, and can be made to your witchee's exacting tastes. Also? Prettier, and with no artificial ingredients, because you made it yourself! Thanks to <B>gatesofrocknroll for this link with lots of mix-in-a-jar ideas and recipes. Let your imagination go wild!

Super-easy Chocolate Bark (cost dependent on choices made, but I estimate about $5 for a cookie sheet full)

You will need:

- A working burner of a stovetop or hot plate that is capable of boiling water

- Chocolate, any type, any form. Don't be afraid to experiment, or to use whatever you have on hand. I like it midnight dark, as have some of my witchees, so I often do something like one block of Trader Joe's bulk dark chocolate blended with a few bars of baker's chocolate. If your witchee likes white chocolate, you can find that in bulk, too.

- Bits, any type, dry. Finely diced crystallized ginger, dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, raisins. Nuts? Whatever strikes your fancy. Try looking through the pantry.

- A big (heat-resistant) spoon or spatula

- A cookie sheet, preferably with a lip all the way around the outer edge

- Wax paper or parchment paper. Aluminum foil or the thicker type of plastic wrap that will stand up to boiling water will also do in a pinch (it's not as pretty), but an unprotected cookie sheet is not recommended.

- A double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, you can make on out of a metal bowl and a saucepan it will fit inside, or two saucepans that can be nested so that the inside one doesn't touch the outside one at the bottom. Just put your (larger) saucepan on the stove, arrange your smaller receptical inside it so the bottoms don't touch, and pour water into the bigger one (don't get the water in the smaller one). Turn on the heat, the heat warms the water, the water warms the smaller receptical, and that warms your chocolate. Voila, instant way to melt your chocolate without burning it!

Line you cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.

Put water in your double boiler, and warm it over medium heat. Throughout these instructions, keep an eye on it and adjust the water level if necessary, to keep it from boiling over or boiling dry.

Dump in the chocolate. As it starts to melt, stir it up so it blends properly and melts evenly.

When the chocolate is completely melted, dump in the bits, stir it up, and take it off the heat.

Pour the melted chocolate with bits onto the cookie sheet. Working fairly quickly, smooth it down with the spoon/spatula so it's about evenly distributed. If you are going for a swirl effect, melt two types of chocolate simulaneously and separately, then pour them on opposite sides of your cookie sheet and swirl them together with your spoon/spatula while smoothing them down to make them even. You may wish to hold the bits until the chocolate is all smoothed down, then scatter them over the top of the melted chocolate bark and tamp down lightly to make them stick.

I usually put mine in the freezer to cool, particularly if it's summertime. If you do this, make sure to either carefully cover your chocolate so it doesn't freezer burn, or keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as it's solidified. Chocolate can also be chilled or left covered on the counter to set, just make sure you use a hot mat to protect your counters, as the cookie sheet will heat up to the temperature of the chocolate.

When it's set up nice and firm, turn the cookie sheet upside down over a clean counter, peel off the paper, and break it into pieces. I generally break it by hand.

I didn't include instructions for tempering your chocolate, because I like to make it so it'll melt in your hand. So... it'll melt in your hands if it isn't frozen, and it will melt together if improperly stored. Work quickly, and store in a tightly-sealed container (such as a ziplock baggie) in a cool(!!) dry place.

As if you'll have to store it anywhere after you (and your family) realize(s) you just made chocolate bark.

Breath-Freshening Dog Treats, from Veggie Life Magazine (contributed by the illustrious Ahania, a witch of kitchen magic)

3/4 c minched parsley leaves and stems (1 medium bunch)

1/4 c finely grated carrot

1 T vegetable oil

3/4 c whole-wheat flour

1/2 c corn flour or finely ground corn meal

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 c water

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the parsley, carrot, and oil. In a large bowl, mix the flours and baking powder. Add the parsley stuff and mix until it's all in coarse crumbs, then add water until it's a smooth ball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/2 inch thick, then cut into shapes. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes for soft biscuits, 30 minutes for hard.

They can also be rolled out thinner to make human crackers, too. They're preportedly quite tasty with a good dip.

How to turn that pumpkin into something you can cook with - Use this as a cheaper alternative to canned pumpkin.

You will need:

- a pumpkin, any type. Frankly, the ugly red ones are tastier than the Jack-o-lantern type, but the former tend to be more expensive than the latter in, say, November when nobody wants to make Jack-o-lanterns and there are lots of big orange pumpkins left at the store.

- a really sharp big knife

- a big flat-bottomed baking dish with sides (such as a brownie pan), the bigger the better, best if you have a few

- water, or butter and a brush

- a working oven

- patience

Preheat oven to 350°F. De-seed the pumpkin. If you desire, separate the seeds from the stringy pulp for seasoning & baking, but that's another recipe. Cut the pumpkin into pieces that will lay mostly flat. 

Option 1: Fit the pieces, skin-side-up, into your "brownie" pan(s). Put about 1/2"-1" of water in the brownie pan(s), and lay the pumpkin into the water skin side up. Making sure the water never runs dry, bake until the pumpkin feels tender when you insert a sharp knife. You'll probably need to do this in batches.

Option 2: for more flavor, brush melted butter all over all surfaces of the pumpkin, paying special attention to the non-skin surfaces. Fit the pieces, skin side down, into your brownie pan(s). Put about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the pans, then lay the pumpkin into the pans skin side DOWN. Being careful to brown but not burn the pumpkin, bake until the pumpkin is tender when you insert a sharp knife. You'll probably need to do this in batches.

When done baking, take the pumpkin pieces out of the pan and let them cool on a towel or plate until you can touch them comfortably. Cut/peel the skin off. Put the flesh into a big bowl or food processor and mash it to a pulp. Alternatively, if you want chunks of pumpkin, chop it into chunks instead of mashing.

Pumpkin prepared in this manner chills and freezes well. From this state, you can use it any way you'd use the canned stuff, but it'll taste fresher.