Happy Christmas from us to you!

The cookies came out a bit wonkey. It’s been a rough season on Doctor Who.

Hope you’re having a lovely holiday season! We made cookies in anticipation for Christmas, but not long after they came out of the oven, the Daleks attacked and left no survivors! The poor Tardises didn’t stand a chance.

Tardis cookie cutter 1.0

We’ll have to make more cookies, preferably after our 3D printed cookie mold is upgraded to increase the definition between ridges and grooves. In the meantime, you can watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special (but no spoilers, please!) and check out BBC radio 4’s radio drama of A Christmas Carol while it lasts. Cheers!

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A Tangle of Knots Bake-off!

After reading Lisa Graff’s A Tangle of Knots, we couldn’t help but wonder about Cady’s cake recipes. Cady has a Talent for being able to sense and then bake a person’s ideal cake. Out of all the recipes, we thought we’d enjoy Mrs. Asher’s Honey Cake–surprisingly spicy for such a sweet cake–the most (until peaches come back in season), so we gave it a go.

Here’s the recipe, excerpted from the book:

a small sliver of butter (for greasing the cake pan)

2 1/3 cups flour (plus extra for preparing the cake pan)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup honey

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 cup coffee, at room temperature

1/3 cup orange juice, at room temperature

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Everything On a Waffle (Pancake) Feast

After reading Everything on a Waffle, by Polly Horvath, we both had the same thought–let’s test Primrose’s recipes. We chose four: shepherd’s pie, asparagus, pear soup and waffles of course, except they’re pancake shaped because we didn’t have a waffle iron. And in honor of The Girl on the Red Swing restaurant, we had to serve everything on a waffle. Except the soup. How did Miss Bowzer manage that?

First Lisa segregated the carrots (because they’re evil, she claims) from the mixed veg for the shepherd’s pie.

The finished pie.

Pear soup: tastes better than it looks. Key ingredients include pears, blue cheese, and Chardonnay.

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Random Links of Questionable Merit

I’ve been meaning to write a real blog post for awhile, but time, schedules and my brain will not cooperate. Instead, I’ve curated some news that’s just…odd. Starting with the most gulp-worthy:

The Quileute Reservation copes with tourists brought by “Twilight,” from High Country News’ latest edition. It’s behind a paywall, but bookstores out west carry the magazine, and the title really says it all…

Next up in the less scary department, we have more modernized book covers. They’re just like the ones I blogged about before, except blurrier (the watery look does wonders for windswept clothing/hair).

And finally, something I can wholeheartedly endorse: chocolate Dalek cakes!

I think it’s time to plan a Doctor Who feast a la The Great Redwall Feast.

These cakes will go perfectly with my new disappearing TARDIS mug…now all I need is a Dalek to offer me tea.

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Our Great Redwall Feast!

Cold winds blow from north and east,
Perfect weather for a Redwall feast!

Gather up the turnip roots,
Hack ‘em good and clean.
Careful not to leave the knife
Sandwiched in between.

If only we had used Martin's sword...

Next up is a recipe
That’s known to every otter.
And cuz we’re such daring beasts
We made it one shade hotter!

Shrimp 'n' Hotroot Soup

Soon the hearth is snug and cosy,
Aromas warm the air.
Before we can tuck headlong in,
There’s tea bread to prepare.

Spiced Gatehouse Tea Bread

Foremole’s famous tuber pie
could hardly be much deeper,
And after just one cheesy bite,
We knew it was a keeper!

Mole's Favourite Deeper'n'Ever Turnip'n'Tater'n'Beetroot Pie

Our bellies now are near to bursting,
Yet is there room for cake?
Friends and food and warmth a plenty
Thank you, Mister Jacques.

Squirrelmum's Blackberry and Apple Cake

Recipes culled from The Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques.

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Dumpling Party!

Book launch of Dumpling Days by Grace Lin, held at Porter Square Books on Jan. 21st.

(Note: this is a joint post from Jen and Lisa)

Grace Lin’s book launch felt like one big happy gathering, just in time for Chinese New Year. Lin gave us a taste of her new book by reading to us from Dumpling Days. This time around, we travel with Pacy to Taiwan, her parents’ homeland, for a month long food adventure. In the sushi restaurant chapter, Pacy encounters for the first time raw fish and wasabi and a high-tech Japanese toilet with a control panel. “You never press the red button!” we learn as Lin sent us into fits of laughter, perfectly capturing Pacy’s youthful voice in a spot-on reading.

Yes, that’s a fancy toilet on the projector screen.

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