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Hobbit Cuisine: A book review
Regional Cooking From Middle-Earth: Recipes
of the Third Age
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and a nasty oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy-hole with nothing to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. -- J.R.R.Tolkien (from The Hobbit) And that means food. Hobbits love
to eat, six times a day if they can get it, and they love to have 'transportable'
food, so as never to go hungry. There are desserts and beverages
aplenty in this book (the Ents ate no solid food), but also hearty stews,
soups, omelettes, salads, and meals fit for kings. There is even
a buffalo roast! And a wickedly spectacular chocolate Brulee.
Emerald Took Laiqua was one of the three sisters of Reginard.
(The sisters were referred to by Tolkien, though not named.) She says "Today,
we are mixed with the races of Man; having traveled outside the Shire again
after the end of the Third Age after the War of the Ring, when King Elessar
was crowned. The important thing we always try to remember is that
we are all relations....one way or another. The next person I meet
today is probably a
There are one hundred and eleven recipes in the book (including one for Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday cake), listed by the regions of Middle-earth, and indexed by seasons of the year. They are combinations of various ethnic recipes, "some of them very old: some are from neighbors in the shire...They are from the various regions of the earth because Middle Earth is our earth." There are even recipes in honor of Smeagol and his Preciousss; Smeagol, "the first bi-polar character I ever recall in fiction, and the most tragic." Many of the recipes have Elvish names, mostly in the Quenya and Sindarin tongues, but with some in Telerin (the language of the Sea-Elves). Other recipes are named for or to honor characters in Tolkien's writings, and some are just humorous names. Emerald stresses that "Cooking is an intuitive art...it is passion and skill combined to equal sensual enjoyment and expression." She urges that we "Let the YOU in the recipe show through...your personality, your special appeal." From The Dark Lands (areas of the Middle Earth "that were corrupted by the seeking of power and greed by Sauron and by Saruman"), there is a 6,000 year-old recipe for a non-dairy chocolate, chili peppers and coffee brew called Ur-dur Nahald. And for contrast, a healing brew of root beer, ice cream and mint, named Towering Amon Sul, after Weathertop, where Frodo was wounded. Emerald offers an artichoke and mushroom soup and an appetizer to honor Aldaron, because he is the "lord of the Trees." You will be tempted by the squid dish, which you may, if you wish, "imagine to be the 'Watcher in the Water" outside the gates of Moria -- who dared to think of Frodo as a snack! "Hisilome" is a soup "rumored to have begun with the Wood Elves; the Laiquaquendi "Green Elves," you know; some of Legolas' people. We know that this delicious offering has a hint of woodlands, and something just a little fey, magical, or exotic about it. See what you think...." 8 ounces cauliflower florets
Bring stock to boil. Add vegetables andspices; reduce heat and cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring back to a boil, then reduce heat again. Allow the soup to thicken, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Season to taste. Serves six. Preparation time: about 50 minutes. "Lembas, the lifebread wafer of the Quendi people is probably the most sacred of all Tolkien's creations.....The key is that they be nourishing, easy to carry, and wrapped in leaves." Here is one of three recipes Emerald provides for Lembas: 4 cups whole wheat flour
In addition to the recipes, Emerald includes a few of her own poems, an index of herbs, lists for a well-filled pantry, a Hobbit "ice-box," and spice drawer. The "Hobbit Garden" lists all the plants named in the gardens of the Shire or in the names of Hobbits. Emerald (aka Stephanie N. Simmons) shares quite a lot about herself, as well as her recipes. She lives in Pennsylvania, near where Flight 93 went down on September 11, 2001. She dedicates the book and a portion of the proceeds to "Anthony Rozzano and the Air, Search, and Rescue organization that helped so tirelessly at the Fl 93 crash site....I appreciate everything Anthony and his crew did during our crisis in 'The Shire.'" Emerald is a Hobbit; they are naturally appreciative, sharing folk. -- Peggy Whitcomb OMED: This book ( ISBN 1-55395-257-X), which has the official approval of the Tolkien people according to our research (they're very particular about such things) and is a bit hard to find, but here's an eBay page where you can get it. (eBay purchase link). Phone and snail mail orders will be filled at: Mandala Books
The above store will take MC and Visa, and checks; will ship priority mail; international as well. Duppstadt's Country Store
This store is one mile from the fl93 crash site, and is the most
delightful
© 2002 Peggy Whitcomb |
