Oddly enough, the petunia bowl is practically a character in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s one of the book’s most iconic story elements, second only to the towel. And no wonder! Who can forget that fateful bowl of petunias plummeting through space, consumed by only one thought: “Oh no, not again”?
I owe my love of books to my mother. I remember countless nights of getting to sit in the big bed while she read The Chronicles of Narnia out loud to us. She was the sort of read-alouder who always did the voices, and nothing brings a story to life like the squeaky voice of a mouse or the deep, booming voice of a giant…though she says the mole dialect from the Redwall books was particularly tough to master!
It’s an exciting day here at Alison’s Wonderland Recipes! MuggleNet has decided to feature my “Leeky” Cauldron Soup recipe, and they even did a Featured News writeup about it. Thanks, MuggleNet! 🙂
Fun Fact: I actually don’t like fish, but this lovely recipe is the exception to the rule—I’m crazy about it!
I also think the Babel fish is one of the coolest creatures in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. What’s more clever than a little fish that translates alien languages for you? Therefore, it seemed only right to include a tribute to the Babel fish in our Hitchhiker menu.
Happy May Day, everybody! It is with great pleasure that I introduce our new Book of the Month (and first sci-fi pick): The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy! This is easily one of my favorite books. It’s quirky, original, yet sometimes profound. And since May 25th is Towel Day, I knew this month was the perfect time to feature a Hitchhiker’s Guide menu. Let’s get started!
We’ve reached the end of April, so you know what that means…farewell, Harry Potter menu! A sad farewell indeed, but I think we can safely say our mischief was managed. 😉
Man oh man, I had so much fun developing this recipe! Harry Potter features so many fantastic foods, but butterbeer is by far one of my favorites. It’s incredibly versatile–I’ve seen butterbeer cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream all over Pinterest. My original plan was to make butterbeer cupcakes, like those made by The Curvy Carrot, but since I recently made cupcakes for Alice in Wonderland, I decided to try a different route. The goal: something classically British that still captured the essence of butterbeer. And what’s more classically British than trifle? 😉
Happy Easter!
(fun fact: Easter is actually eight days long, so you can get away with saying “Happy Easter” all of this week!)
I hope you had a wonderful holiday! At our party this weekend, my family got a great surprise: my little niece from Ohio AND my brother (who is in the Navy) were able to make it! We feasted on cracked china deviled eggs and light ‘n fluffy strawberry cake roll. Officially the best Easter ever.
So often I feel like we overlook side dishes as an opportunity for creativity. I’ll admit, I’m the queen of zapping frozen peas in the microwave and calling it done. But since this dish was going to represent all the magical goodness that is Harry Potter, I felt honor-bound to push my boundaries and turn a simple soup into something special. Luckily, I think I succeeded!
When I decided to do a Harry Potter menu, I knew I wanted to feature at least one recipe from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. It has the most iconic Harry Potter foods (pumpkin juice, cauldron cakes, etc.), but it also has some lesser-known Potter recipes. I’ve spent ages drooling over the recipes in this book, and now is the perfect time to break one out! The scotch collops (aka pan-seared steak with mushrooms and onions) stood out to me from the rest. This is the dish that Harry, Hermione, and Ron are eating at the start-of-term feast when they find out all the food is made by Hogwarts house-elves. As you may recall, Hermione stops eating in protest, but the boys have no problem finishing their steak. After tasting it myself, I have to say, I’m on Harry and Ron’s side. 😉