Posted June 5, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Teas / 2 Comments
Coffee may be the most iconic “organic suspension” in Star Trek: Voyager, but Vulcan Spice Tea is a close second. It’s a reigning favorite of Captain Janeway, who has been known to share a cup while meeting with her Vulcan head of security, Lieutenant Tuvok. I started this blend with spiced mate tea, a high-caffeine Brazilian tea flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and orange. I paired it with orange honeybush to increase the zesty flavor and honeybush hazelnut to compliment the toastier notes in the mate. Definitely the perfect blend to sip while watching the adventures of the starship Voyager!
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Posted May 31, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 6 Comments
For my Lord of the Rings bonus recipe, I loved the idea of making the cake from Bilbo’s birthday party. It’s not expressly mentioned in the book, but it’s hard to imagine a birthday without one. As you may recall, the one in the movie is huuuuge—2 giant tiers with 2 layers each, enough to fit 111 candles and a host of fresh flowers. I thought about doing a recreation of that same cake, but I’ve seen enough other bloggers do it that I wanted to try something different. Plus, I just finished making a giant chocolate chip cookie, and I made a 10-inch 2-layer double chocolate cake last month. They were fun (and delicious), but I think I’m done with giant desserts for a while. I was in the mood for something mini, but not JUST mini. I wanted a unique, creative element to make this dessert just a little bit special. And that’s where I got the idea for these cupcakes!
The cake in the movie appeared to be white cake with vanilla frosting. I decided to stick with the white cake for the cupcakes themselves but went with a lemon frosting on top, garnishing with candles and edible flowers just like the movie. Inside, I added a surprise: homemade blackberry curd! It’s super delicious and easy to make—an invisible surprise, just like at the end of Bilbo’s party!
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Posted May 29, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Link Up / 7 Comments
Howdy, folks! Sorry about the mix-up earlier today. Those of you who were paying close attention probably already know what I’m talking about. I’ve been trying to work ahead on my posts and accidentally scheduled next Tuesday’s post for today! EEP! >.< It was only up for 10 minutes before I caught the mistake, but those of you who follow through email probably still got an update about it….so I guess you got a sneak peak at next month’s menu! I can trust you to keep it a secret until June for everyone else, right? 😉
Anyway, THIS is the post that was supposed to go up today: my Top Ten Tuesday linkup! Below I’ve shared a list of my top 10 favorite fictional worlds. Hopefully they’re all worlds that are forgiving of bloggers who try to work too far ahead and get their wires crossed! 😉
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Posted May 24, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments
The round, green door of Bag End is one of the strongest icons in the stories of Middle Earth. It represents so much—home and journey, beginnings and endings, comfort and adventure—and it holds all these otherwise contradictory ideas in effortless resolution. It’s the door through which Bilbo greets his unexpected guests and leaves for adventure in The Hobbit. It’s a symbol of the home that Frodo longs to return to in The Lord of the Rings, but when he does, he finds that although we can go home, we can never go back. It’s a door that, when opened, leads to the promise of good company, a full larder, and a kettle of hot tea. It holds a special place in my heart (and that of many other Tolkien fans as well), so I knew my Lord of the Rings menu wouldn’t be complete without a tribute to it.
I’ve made giant chocolate chip cookies in the past, and I loved the idea of making one to look like a hobbit door. So here it is! The recipe is the giant chocolate chip cookie recipe from Tollhouse. I love how it turned out, though if I’d been thinking ahead, I might have tried to create a wood grain effect with my smoothing knife as I spread out the frosting for the base. I love the yellow doorknob and Gandalf’s rune in the corner. The quote around the border comes from Bilbo and Frodo’s traveling song, and it couldn’t be more perfect! 🙂
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Posted May 22, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Teas / 0 Comments
Normally I make just one tea for my Book of the Month, but I’ve been known to make multiple teas for books I’m really excited about. I knew The Lord of the Rings would be one of those books long before I even started planning the menu. For one thing, it’s a trilogy, so it’s only fair to have one tea for each book, right? Plus, there are just too many awesome potential teas to choose just one. I actually made FIVE originally, but that seemed excessive so I narrowed it down to my three favorites: Ent-Draught, Breakfast at Bag End, and Sam’s Garden Tea.
Ent-Draught was the most obvious choice, since it’s arguably the most iconic drink in the story. There are two versions, and I decided to make the refreshing, less savory version. Breakfast at Bad End is a slight variation on a hobbit tea I designed for my cookbook (the one in the book uses English breakfast and chestnut, while this one is Irish breakfast and hazelnut). And Sam’s Garden Tea is a tribute to orchard, herb, and flower bed with a refreshing blend of peach, chamomile, and spearmint.
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Posted May 17, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
“A Short Cut to Mushrooms” is one of my favorite chapters in Fellowship. It’s when we get a really good look at the nature of hobbits. When Pippin first suggests crossing Farmer Maggot’s land, Frodo doesn’t want to because he was caught stealing mushrooms from Maggot as a child. However, we see a glimpse of hobbit-y good humor when Maggot laughingly remembers the thefts…and his wife later sends a basket of mushrooms with them just for Frodo! We also see the stout-heartedness of hobbits when Farmer Maggot volunteers to take the travelers to the ferry, even though he knows there are dangerous men out looking for Frodo. He stands up bravely to what they think is a Black Rider (but turns out to be Merry in the end). It pulls at my heart that the farmer is willing to risk himself for his neighbors when he owes them nothing.
Long story short: from the moment I first started planning this Lord of the Rings menu, I knew I HAD to have a mushroom recipe. I wanted something quick and easy with only a handful of ingredients—a literal short cut to mushrooms! This recipe is one of my favorites. I use it all the time at home. Just throw the ingredients in a bowl, stir, spread it on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. It works well in a skillet on the stove top too!
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Posted May 15, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Reading Kits / 4 Comments
Not gonna lie, creating this reading kit was downright intimidating. There are just SO MANY cool Lord of the Rings items out there! Choosing felt like such a huge task. I actually put off writing this for a week to give me time to thoroughly sort through everything and make sure my kit included only the really good stuff.
I did my best to avoid items that were too obvious or super easy to find, since I figure people don’t need anyone to tell them about Frodo Funko Pops or One Ring replicas. I also avoided super expensive stuff (with two carefully considered exceptions). I focused my efforts on creative, high quality, mostly fan-made items that would make great gifts for the hobbit, wizard, shieldmaiden, or Heir of Isildur in your life. Enjoy! 🙂
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Posted May 10, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
We’re doubling up on recipes today! There are SO many awesome foods in Lord of the Rings, so it was the only way I could fit in everything I wanted today make. ^.^ For the stew, I combined a method I found on The Spruce Eats with my own list of ingredients and created what is now one of my new favorite recipes. The meat is savory, mild, and tender (it falls right off the bone!), and the broth is perfectly seasoned. It’s definitely a dish Sam Gamgee would be proud to serve Mister Frodo!
For the lembas, I used a recipe featured on Tea with Tolkien as a jumping off point and experimented with it from there. The original recipe makes a thicker, slightly sweeter cookie with almond pieces in it—which sounds delicious, don’t get me wrong—but I was in the mood for a thinner, simpler cookie. It took a few tries, but I FINALLY came up with a version I loved. It’s delicate and faintly sweet, almost a cross between a cookie and a savory biscuit. The almond-lemon flavor combo is just the sort of subtle, fresh, back-to-nature flavor you’d expect to find in Elven food. Husband and baby loved it too! 🙂
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Posted May 8, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Link Up / 0 Comments
Every book lover has a weakness for beautiful books, and I’m no exception. There’s just something about a hardbound illustrated edition with lush cover art and gold-fringed pages that draws me in every time. Over the years, my mom has bought me several beautiful editions of the classics, including a few Barnes & Noble hardcover classics and an Anna Bond illustrated Alice in Wonderland. I’m doing my best to preserve these precious volumes from the destructive grasp of the Little Mister, who has a penchant for tearing paper. So far I’ve been successful, but I don’t think I’ll breath easy until he’s fully grown out of his whirlwind tornado phase (which should be in about 10 years >.<)
When I saw that this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt involved book covers, I decided to do my own spin on it and write a post devoted to beautiful book collections. Below you’ll find some of the more famous editions—like Barnes & Noble and Penguin—including a few unexpected treats. Feast your eyes on the rich colors and elegant designs, then let me know your favorites in the comments below! 🙂
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Posted May 3, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 5 Comments
Dear Tom Bombadil,
I never got over you being left out of the Lord of the Rings movies. You’ve always been one of my favorite Fellowship characters, quite possibly because you are such an enigma. Even Tolkien himself didn’t claim to know your whole story, though I admit I favor the theory that you represent Adam before the Fall. No matter what your origin may be, you undeniably bring a refreshing touch of charm and joy to a book series that definitely has it’s share of somber moments. As such, I wanted to show my appreciation for you by giving you a place of honor in my Lord of the Rings menu.
As I read Fellowship, the dinner you shared with Frodo and friends sounded sooo wholesome and delicious: white bread, butter, herbs, yellow cream, honeycomb, and berries. I simply couldn’t resist recreating it for myself! I used a white bread recipe developed by Red Star Yeast, which produced a beautiful, soft, smooshy loaf. It paired wonderfully with basil butter, fresh blackberries, and a light drizzle of honey.
A slice of this bread is the perfect start to a wonderful culinary journey. If you ever decide to travel outside your forest and visit the land of Chicago, don’t hesitate to stop by. I’ll put the kettle on, and we’ll munch on homemade bread as you tell me all about Old Man Willow and your adventures in your beautiful forest.
Love,
Ali
P.S. I love your boots.
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