Literary Cooking

Reminiscing on the books read from childhood, I wonder about the foods mentioned in them. I know there's Monday mornings when I could use some rejuvenating Lembas bread, but did you ever wonder if you could handle eating an entire chocolate cake, as ordered by Ms. Trunchbull in Matilda? While reading Anne of Green Gables, did you ever wonder what the heck Anne Shirley thought she was giving her bosom buddy Diana Barry, who ended up drunk because she was really drinking currant wine? Or, from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, did you imagine Turkish Delight to be like ambrosia, since Edmund sold his fam out for it?

                                  

Legolas about to om-nom Lembas bread.

Well, thanks to a cute book titled Turkish Delight & Treasure Hunts: Delightful Treats and Games from Classic Children's Books, you can make some of these interesting creations yourself!  I stumbled upon a blog post written by Emily and Katie mentioning the book and these foods from fiction, and I was so intrigued by their post that I bought the book myself (sure, you can find the recipes via Google, but I love me some unusual cookbooks!).

I have to admit: Turkish Delight -- the real thing -- isn't how I imagined it. It looks like Aplets and Cotlets, which I'm not a fan of. The real stuff from Turkey is supposed to be sheer Elysium. According to recipes I've seen, its main contents include rosewater, cornstarch, foodcoloring, and sugar. Going by looks alone, it doesn't seem very appealing, but I'm going to make some, anyway. Apparently you can dip them in chocolate, too, and well, chocolate makes everything better.

Making foods from fiction is a charming idea; of course, the bread and jam that Frances would only eat is a no brainer, and Stone Soup would be tasty... minus the stones, that is. There is also an awesome Trunchbull Chocolate Cake recipe found on the World Wide Web! I do hope that one would pass on the Green Eggs and Ham, though. Ick.

For reference, check out the cookbooks:

Turkish Delight & Treasure Hunts: Delightful Treats and Games from Classic Children's Books by Jane Brocket

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes by Roald Dahl, Felicity Dahl, and Josie Fison  (many recipes in this book do not seem...appetizing)

The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook by Kate MacDonald