While planning the reading kit for this month’s Borrower menu, I wound up stumbling across a LOT of cute miniature things, especially fairy gardens. I’d heard of fairy gardens before—miniature outdoor displays set up to look like fairies live there—but I had NO IDEA they could get so elaborate. There were ones carved out of rooted tree stumps, embedded in stone walls, and even built from scratch to look like real, miniature homes! They had me wishing I could live there, so I made a list of my favorites to share with you. Here are my Borrower dream homes!
The next installment in our Borrower menu is actually three foods from the book combined into one! At afternoon tea, the Clocks serve tiny slivers of toasted chestnut in place of regular toast, and the narrator says they ate birds’ eggs and minnows while living at the badger’s set. These all sound like great breakfast components to me, so I combined them all together into a meal fit for a peckish Human Bean or a whole family of Borrowers. My chestnut toasts are just like the ones in the book—whole chestnuts sliced thin and toasted until golden brown. Since minnows are a little hard to find, I used sardines, and quail’s eggs are just the right size for a Borrower!
A few months ago, I read The Borrowers for the very first time, and I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing. It was amazing! Despite being written for a young audience, the characters were nuanced and relatable. The plot, though relatively simple, was engaging. I LOVED Arrietty’s spunk—she quickly became one of my top literary heroines!
We first meet the Borrowers while they are making their evening dinner: potato soup. Of course, since the pot was no bigger than a thimble, only the most delicate slivers of potato and onion were taken from the Borrowers’ stores to make the soup. Nevertheless, the resulting dinner was hearty and delicious, and I knew right away that it would be the appetizer for my Borrower menu.
April is over and May is here—time to wrap up our current Book of the Month and introduce a new one! But before we get to that, let’s sum up all the awesome stuff that happened this month:
I was really torn as to what to make for our Star Wars bonus recipe. Should I make another molecular gastronomy recipe? A skillet cookie Death Star? Admiral Ackbar’s “It’s a Trap” Wraps? In the end, I decided on this fun, easy Galaxy Bark from Life with the Crust Cut Off. Gotta love those funky colors…and the extra texture element added by the sprinkles! Plus, it’s chocolate, which of course directly translates to SUPER DELICIOUS. Enjoy!
Corny as it may be, I’m fiercely proud of the pun in the title. These colorful lightsaber popsicles are just right for our Star Wars menu: flavorful, easy to make, and perfect for the hot weather we’ve been having lately!
I’ve always believed that Cloud City is hands-down the most beautiful location in all of the Star Wars movies. And maybe it’s supposed to be. Maybe the stark contrast between the heavenly views and the city’s dark underbelly act as a reminder that things aren’t always as they appear.
Luckily, these cloud-shaped cheese puffs (inspired by a recipe from BHG) have all the light, fluffy delicacy of Cloud City’s ethereal panoramas without any of the dark downsides…as long as you don’t burn them! 😉
Nothing says “desert planet” like dry rub bbq, and since banthas are common fare on Tatooine, I figured dry rub bbq bantha steaks would be a fitting entree for our Star Wars menu. This juicy, tender grilled rib eye features a Chicago dry rub blend, guaranteed to take the monotony out of any day of moisture farming.
Happy May the Fourth, aka Star Wars Day! Since Star Wars is our Movie of the Month, today is the perfect day to start our new menu. Up until now, I’ve always done menus based off of classic books, but there are plenty of awesome classic movies out there too. And I think we can all agree that Star Wars is classic enough to make the cut (plus, there are loads of Star Wars books, so…loopholes!). 😉
I make no apologies for the punny title. PUNNY TITLES FOREVER!
April was definitely a fun month for food. The Pineapple Ticking Crocodile was a particularly rewarding leap outside my culinary comfort zone. But now it’s time to say goodbye to Neverland and set our sights on somewhere even farther away…
Any guesses as to what our very first Movie of the Month will be, based on the picture?
If you need a final dose of Peter Pan before we head into the realm of sci-fi, swing by the book blog 101 Books to learn some Fascinating Facts about Peter! 🙂
P.S. We wrapped up our April menu yesterday by premiering our new Alison’s Wonderland Teas page (so feel free to order some if your teacup looks lonely).
