According to archaeologists, it is believed that some of the very first cakes ever made were simple concoctions of soft goat cheese, honey, and sometimes a little bit of grain. These cheesecake tarts are my homage to those ancient cakes. The flaky pastry crust gets a nutty flavor from buckwheat flour, but has also been adapted to be gluten-free. The filling is an aromatic mixture of homemade bay leaf-infused goat cheese and honey. A gorgeous topping of elderberry honey sauce really dresses these up, and a roasted fig with honey is the perfect compliment to the richness of the cheesecake below.
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Welcome to the Wondersmith's Writings! Here you can find magical recipes featuring foraged ingredients, musings on food and ceremony, and meaningful rituals to explore your own everyday magic. Though I have been focused on other writing pursuits, I am keeping all of my blog content up as a resource for you. You can use the search bar below to find what you are looking for. (Please note that sometimes you need to refresh the page to see the search results.) Happy reading! If you'd like to support my goal to spread magic far and wide, consider contributing to my patreon program!
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This soothing face cream is a celebration of the healing properties of Queen Anne’s Lace, as well as an essay about how romanticizing your life can change your outlook!
Read MoreA delightful summer fruit parfait with homemade granola and porridge is the perfect way to start and early morning… especially if that morning includes a ritual celebrating and capturing the sunrise!
Read MoreThis recipe is a delightful ode to summer’s bounty. Fresh-caught trout are stuffed with fresh green herbs, stone fruits, and dried currants steeped in pomegranate molasses. A drizzle of saffron butter adds floral complexity, and they lay on a bed of rice pilaf filled with the fresh forest flavors of tender conifer tips and toasted pine nuts. A saffron and spruce tip aioli is the perfect finishing touch for this summertime feast.
Read MoreIt’s surprisingly easy to brew fresh, fragrant elderflowers into a sparkling soda, and after just a day or two you’ll have a soda sparkling with the wild and enchanting essence of elderflower. I love serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the best float you’ve ever tasted. Cheers to the magic of elderflowers and the spaces they inhabit. Cheers to the people living authentically as themselves around the edges of societal stodginess. Cheers to the freedom to be exactly who we are.
Read MoreThese decorative cookies are delicately flavored with homemade wild fennel extract and are a fun modern version of a forgotten classic.
Read MoreThese hearty rolls from my culinary genealogy are filled with the treasures of the landscape I call home: nourishing winter greens, flavorful dried berries, and more!
Read MoreThese tangy and spiced cupcakes are a gorgeous bright purple, with a rum-spiked buttercream. Candied hibiscus flowers and a filling of pie cherries are the perfect surprise elements to make them extra special!
Read MoreThese hearty, seed-filled cakes drizzled with maple cream are a beautiful reminder of potential. What do you want to give birth to? An idea? A project? A child? Accompanied by a fertility ritual, these cakes are a symbol of spring’s abundance to come, metaphorically or literally!
Read MoreA mysterious ancient spellbook, full of secrets...wait, is that gingerbread I smell? A flaky bite. A creamy, tangy center. This ancient spellbook holds an unexpected interior: a cheesecake unlike any other you’ve had before. I can honestly tell you that this realistic fairytale book was a joy to create. Why? Because projects like this are all about honoring and exploring creativity!
Read MoreIf you’re looking for a hearty savory breakfast, this one’s got you covered! Delicious spices, zesty watercress, and hot eggs simmered in tomatoes and peppers…all scooped up with a crusty bread. It’s the perfect start to a winter’s day!
Read MoreThis stunning cake is a delight of flavors and textures. It has a rich, strong maple flavor with a slight kick of alcohol swirled through a silky ganache, layered between tender gluten-free crepe-like cakes. It’s all the woodsy, earthy, warmth you’d want from a log cake, without tasting even a little bit like firewood.
Read MoreFluffy, buttery rolls with a delicious herbal garlic flavor are all dressed up for the feast! They’re not empty-handed, though: they’ve also got a fun activity rolled right into them.
Read MoreThis hearty pasta is full of forest flavors, from the gluten-free acorn flour noodles to the fir and miso pesto they are tossed in. It tastes like an instant transport to a woodland daydream…
Read MoreA simple ritual will help you get in touch with your “heart voice,” aided by the magic of Hawthorn. Accompanying it is a recipe for a delightful sugar scrub full of antioxidants from rose hips, hawthorn berries, and orange peels.
Read MoreThis decadent gluten-free cake is moist, buttery, and bright purple, thanks to the addition of powdered purple sweet potato! It’s delicately flavored with wild ginger and accented with white chocolate for a balanced (and delicious) autumnal treat.
Read MoreFor this week’s Wondercrew Wednesday, I’m sharing a really special Secret Recipe for a gorgeous green star bread packed full of foraged autumnal flavors! It’s accompanied by a love letter to you (yes, you!) that I really hope you’ll read <3
Read MoreCome here for a laugh. Come here for a brief art history lesson. But most of all, come here for a vibrant, summery bowl of pasta full of dynamic flavors and textures! Mugwort basil noodles have a wonderful herbal flavor that goes wonderfully with a cold fresh corn salsa, perfectly spiced.
Read MoreThis beautiful gluten-free artisan bread is flavored with Russian Blue Sage, a popular landscaping plant with a pleasant herbal flavor. I’ve paired it with turmeric, apricots, and toasted walnuts… and some thoughts about the nature of celebrations
Read MoreThese beautiful trompe l’oeil rice cakes look just like fresh heirloom tomatoes, but taste like summer fruits, pine needles, and sweet honey nuts! They’re as fun to make as they are to eat.
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Join me for a little winter night magic as we bake this cake full of rich seasonal flavors and black cocoa!