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 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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Posted May 25, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments
I loooove toffee. Sweet, nutty, and satisfyingly crunchy—it’s all I’ve ever wanted in a dessert. So when I saw that the main character in the book Sabriel eats some homemade toffee while traveling through the Old Kingdom, I decided this was going to be my dessert recipe no matter what.
I adapted this English toffee recipe by Ghirardelli to get my recipe, which I completely scarfed down over the span of a few days (no joke—I barely left any for the Mister). This toffee is the perfect combo of salted dark chocolate, toasted almonds, and crunchy caramel candy. And it’s super easy to make!
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Posted May 16, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Reading Kits / 5 Comments
At first I thought I’d have a hard time coming up with items for a Sabriel reading kit, but when I sat down to brainstorm, I couldn’t stop the flow of ideas! Charter marks! Mogget! Swords! So much more! Though Google searches turned out to be comically tricky…since “Sabriel” is also the name of a character from Supernatural. Uh-oh! 😛
But after some digging, I managed to find a lot of fun stuff! I’m especially proud of the amigurumi Mogget I found on Etsy. Enjoy! ^.^
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Posted May 11, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments
While reading Sabriel, one of the dishes that stood out most to me was the grilled fish Sabriel eats when she arrives at her father’s house. The fish itself is described as “small and almost circular,” and it’s served with a delicious-sounding sauce of tomato, basil, and garlic. As soon as I read those words, I knew I’d found the entree for my Sabriel menu!
Though the sauce’s base isn’t described, it sounded to me like it was most likely a cream sauce (I’ve seen similar sauces served with fish before). The fish had me stumped at first. The closest comparison I could think of was tilapia, since it’s silver and on the smallish side. I grilled some up, whipped up a cream base I adapted from this recipe, and roasted some grape tomatoes. This has become one of my favorite ways to prepare fish!
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Posted May 4, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 11 Comments
Welcome to our latest Book of the Month: Sabriel, the first installment in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom trilogy! Sabriel was on my TBR for years before I FINALLY got around to borrowing the audiobook from my library last September. It was sooo good! I love Sabriel as a main character, and did I mention that the audiobook is narrated by Tim Curry? So yeah, there’s that awesomeness too. Plus, some of the foods in the book sound SO delicious that I knew I wanted to make a menu for Sabriel here on blog. So here we go!
When Sabriel first visits the Old Kingdom, she must trek through the snowy, treacherous countryside to her father’s house. Her only sustenance: dried fruit and homemade toffee.
I’ve made fruit chips from apples before, but I’d never tried making more traditional dried fruit. Now seemed like as good a time as any to try! Plus, with a new baby taking up pretty much all my time, I could use some healthy, ready-made snacks to save for emergency munchies! 🙂
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Posted June 1, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Hints / 5 Comments
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Happy June, folks! It’s time for our Month in Review!
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Posted May 19, 2016 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments
As much as Homily complains about not wanting to live in a badger’s set, something tells me she’d secretly love the challenge. Homily lives for homemaking, and making a home out of a badger’s set is no small feat! These Badger’s Set Salad Bites are inspired by the wild, field-to-table food the narrator hypothesizes Homily would serve at her new home. They feature dandelion greens, fresh berries, and edible blossoms. And don’t forget the homemade strawberry-infused white balsamic vinegar for dressing! As with all our recipes from The Borrowers, each salad bite is the perfect size for a full-size Borrower meal or a Human Bean appetizer! 🙂
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