This January marked my blog’s second anniversary. I like to think I’ve learned a few things about food blogging over the past couple years, and one of those things is just how powerful the proper tools can be. However, it may surprise you to know that this dish:
….was made in this kitchen:
That’s right! Up until three months ago, I was making all my food in a tiny galley kitchen. It had two squares of counter space, two drawers, and no windows. Though it was bigger than my very first kitchen (a studio kitchenette), I was worried it would be too small to handle a food blog. In fact, I’d read posts about bloggers renovating kitchens that were already bigger than mine. In the end I decided to give it my best shot and see what happened. I was pretty surprised by what I learned!
Dana Scully’s ability to get hungry while performing an autopsy is the stuff of legend. In fact, she almost always finds herself craving whatever the victim’s last meal was! I like to think it’s because her work reminds her that life is fleeting, so—since she usually eats so healthy— she should order that bucket of fried chicken while she can. This combination of the macabre and the silly made me want to create an entrée that pays tribute to Scully’s autopsy munchies.
You may recall that last month I premiered a new type of monthly post: reading kits! I’m planning to do one for every menu I make this year, which I’m not ashamed to say has me super excited. I LOVE finding just the right mix of things related to my favorite books (or in this case, TV show). Since X-Files doesn’t involve much reading, I’m rebranding the kit as a “marathon kit” this time, but it’s basically the same thing: a compilation of 6 items inspired by our menu of the month. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so why not make a kit for that special X-Files fan in your life? I know I’d love one! 🙂
What items would I include in an X-Files marathon kit? I’m so glad you asked…
These alien bookends for storing all your abduction research
This gray alien to keep you company while you watch the show.
Normally I wouldn’t have our first non-book inspired menu so early in the year, but I’m a wild X-Files fan. So you can only imagine how much I flailed when I heard a new season was coming out. I decided I didn’t care that it was only February and that it might be a bit weird to follow up King Arthur with a sci-fi show. I was making an X-Files menu, come hell or high water contaminated with a symbiotic black oil alien species.
GUYS. Do you remember last year when Chobani asked a bunch of food bloggers (including myself) to make recipes for their #deliciousbowl Super Bowl project? Well, they emailed me again this year to say they liked my Healthy Dessert Pizza so much that they want me to make another healthy Super Bowl recipe! On the outside I was all “Ah yes, my good people. I would be elated to oblige,” but on the inside I was all:
I’m a big fan of myths, folklore, and historical fiction. That’s part of why I love the classics so much! It’s great to step into a character’s shoes and experience a time period I’ll never see for real. However, I think the BEST thing about historical lit is that it shows how certain aspects of human life are universal and timeless. Sure, I may never break a slate over someone’s head like Anne Shirley did when she got made fun of in Anne of Green Gables, but I know what it feels like to be teased. I may not move to a post-Civil War NYC boarding house and meet a German professor like Jo from Little Women, but I know the fear and excitement of striking out on my own. And I think that’s the big draw behind historical fiction: we get to make personal connections with people from another time period.
January is just about over, folks. What a month it has been! I was nominated for the Creative Blogger Award, took part in my first Top Ten Tuesday linkup, and continued taking part in the Beautiful Books/Beautiful People post series. Plus, I started two new types of posts here on AWR: reading kits and tea premieres! My plan is to post a new reading kit and custom tea blend for every Book of the Month from here on out.
In a way, that just makes it all the harder to move on to our next menu. My one comfort is that the new menu I have in mind involves something I love just as much as King Arthur! Ready for your photo hint? Here it is!
Our new menu is going to be a Pop Culture Corner contribution: our very first TV Series of the Month! Though I don’t plan on doing many TV menus (I don’t want to depart TOO far from classic books), I just HAD to make a menu for this particular show. And once you see what it is, I think you’ll agree that it definitely falls into the “classic” category. 🙂
ANY GUESSES AT WHAT OUR NEXT MENU OF THE MONTH WILL BE?
Full disclosure: this cake pan was the whole reason I got the idea to do a King Arthur menu to begin with. I saw it on ThinkGeek several months ago, and it immediately went on my Christmas list. I’m pretty sure it was designed to appeal to the Game of Thrones crowd, but I couldn’t help thinking it’d be just right for a King Arthur dessert. The cake recipe itself is a chocolate pound cake from BHG. It was perfect for getting the pan’s little details to stand out! I decorated mine with raspberries, mint, and whipped cream, but you can decorate yours however you want. You’re king (or queen) of your kitchen! 😉
Our King Arthur tea is here at last! I’ve been itching to introduce it all month, and now it’s FINALLY time! Last year I introduced new teas at the end of each month as part of my hint post, but writing the posts got more difficult as I struggled to tie in tea with my otherwise unrelated monthly news. I decided to remedy this by giving each new tea its own premiere post. Huzzah!
The Once and Future Tea
Inspired by the misty island of Avalon, the Isle of the Apples, this light, ethereal blend features delicate White Eternal Spring and Snowbud tea with fresh apple flavors. Sip while you wait for the Once and Future King to rise from his ancient sleep.
I love this blend! It’s simple and light, with the faintest hint of fruit and flowers. I’ve had my eye on Adagio’s eternal spring tea for ages, and an ancient king borne away to an ageless isle seemed like the perfect opportunity to include it in a blend. Eternal spring uses a white tea base with all kinds of dried fruit: mango, pineapple, apple, cranberry, and blueberry, plus some rose petals and hibiscus for good measure. The scent is intensely fruity, but since it’s a white tea, all the flavors are more airy and subdued. I mixed in snowbud, another white tea. Snowbud is made with the newest leaves and buds harvested in early spring, which results in the gentlest flavor. The mix of the two is a delicate tea with a mystical, ethereal effect. It definitely reminds me of Avalon!
Avalon, the Isle of Apples, is said to be King Arthur’s final resting place. It’s described as a beautiful, ethereal, magical place…so of course I wanted to include it in our King Arthur menu! This savory tribute to Avalon’s namesake fruit is filled with sweet gala apples, butternut squash, and pearl onions topped with blue cheese. The rustic style and hearty flavors combine to make a side dish reminiscent of Arthur’s grand medieval feasts.
