Cosima Rubens Quotes

“Cosima and Tommy sit on Midsummer Common, under a tree on the patch of grass where they first met. As is their tradition, Cosima has baked a plethora of goodies: sour cherry and chocolate cupcakes, goat's cheese and pesto pizzas, orange oil cannoli, and- Tommy's personal favorite- lemon and lavender cake.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“Occasionally, Kat detects the aftertaste of a spell in Cosima's cooking- one to add extra flavor or mask the bitterness of being burned on a slice of cake or a pistachio croissant- but nothing too serious. As children, Kat had taught Cosima a few tricks now and then, including the odd baking spell, but her little sister had always been more interested in playing with her dolls than learning the magical properties of flowers and herbs. Cosima's games always involved weddings starring Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Rapunzel marrying Prince Charming.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“As the milky early morning sun slips in through her kitchen windows, Cosima plucks the blossoms off her yellow squash and begins to make her way through today's menu: courgette blossom and artichoke pizza, wild mushroom and tomato bruschetta, lemon and pistachio cake, vanilla and orange oil cannoli, espresso and hazelnut tart... And into each bowl she sprinkles a generous pinch of paternal love, protection, and devotion.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“Try this," Cosima says, handing him a sliver of lemon-pistachio cake. "While you wait."
George's eyes widen as he takes it. "Looks delicious." He gobbles it down in one gulp. "Incredible."
Cosima laughs. "You barely tasted it."
"I have highly sophisticated taste buds," George explains. "They only need a passing lick of something in order to fully appreciate the delicate subtleties of its flavors."
"Oh, really?" Cosima smiles. "Okay then, try this and tell me what's in it." She hands him a slice of wild mushroom and grape tomato bruschetta. "Every single ingredient."
"All right then," George says, as he begins to chew. "You're on." He swallows. "Okay, in addition to the obvious: basil, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, salt... a splash of lemon juice and a dash of rosemary."
Cosima studies him with a raised eyebrow and a curious smile. "That's very impressive. Anything else?"
"Nope." George shakes his head. "That's what my extremely sophisticated taste buds are telling me.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“He walks into the empty cafe, then sees the table she's set up for them: atop a white linen tablecloth is a spread of treats that makes George salivate: tomato breads, zucchini blossom pizza, vanilla cannoli, Sicilian salad, red wine, and, of course, a plate of chocolate and pistachio cream cupcakes.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“As it turned out, Cosima had quite a flair for flavor. She created things that shocked Kat, who had only ever followed her mother's more mundane recipes. One Saturday, Cosima made rosemary, stilton, and walnut bread and their father ran up and down the street after breakfast, telling his neighbors he was training for a marathon. Another Saturday her bacon and brie bread caused Peter Rubens to quit his sales job and revisit a great passion for pottery and carpentry that he'd long before abandoned. Kat personally puts her father's remarriage down to the chocolate and chili bread Cosima made when she was six, Kat liked her stepmother and loved that she was finally free to leave her father and little sister and go out into the world to live her own life.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“Cosima lines up all her little jars of dried herbs and flowers, then carefully picks the ones she needs.
"Acacia, for secret love. Celandine, for joys to come. Bluebell," she whispers, "for constancy. Bougainvillea, for passion. And chrysanthemum, for truth."
She finds her special ceramic baking bowl and begins to add the usual ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, and eggs.
"And the only flavor strong enough to mask the flowers." Cosima opens the cupboard above her head and takes down two bars of the finest dark chocolate she's ever tasted. "Ninety-nine percent. Perfect."
After she's grated a beetroot, for moisture, and added vanilla pods, for extra flavor, Cosima pours the dark, thick mixture into a small baking tin and slips it into the oven. An hour later, she cools the cake, then glazes its black (with a tint of purple) surface with a chocolate icing seasoned with a little dust of daffodil, passionflower, and cosmos: new beginnings, faith, joy in love and life.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“Every table is sprinkled with rose petal confetti; every place is set with a single chocolate and rosewater cupcake with swirls of pink icing, each of them topped with a frosted cinquefoil (beloved daughter) flower. Pink balloons bounce and bob against the ceiling and a vast array of cakes of every variety crowd the counter: chocolate and pistachio cream, vanilla and elderflower, red velvet, passion fruit and pear, white frosted layer cake.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge

“She put so much love and magic into her baking. I bet you all had your favorite-" Kat tries to swallow her tears but she can't.
"Pistachio cream croissants!" Noa shouts out.
Kat blinks, scanning the crowd for the perpetrator and sees Noa looking up at her, grinning.
Kat nods. "My favorite too."
She looks out at the congregation again, blinking back her tears.
"Zucchini and caramelized onion pizza!" someone else shouts.
Kat sniffs, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Tiramisu cheesecake!"
"Vanilla and elderflower brownies!"
"Cinnamon and nutmeg biscuits!"
"Spiced chocolate cake!"
Kat starts to smile. She looks out at the congregation, at their happy, memory-filled faces, the taste of Cosima's baking still on their tongues, and feels her heart begin to lift.
"Passion fruit and pear cannoli!"
"Chocolate and pistachio cream cupcakes!" shouts Amandine.
"Dough twists dipped in Nutella!" Heloise calls out.”
― Menna van Praag, The Witches of Cambridge