Star Wars had a huge effect on my youth. After watching A New Hope a handful of times, I was awestruck by the timeless story of good vs evil but even more so at the idea that I could make my own ‘Blue Milk’. When I got home from the theatre, I took one portion one percent milk and mixed it with an equal portion of Boo Berry cereal. I then strained it from the bowl to a cup and served it chilled. It tasted like a soggy cereal concoction and didn’t quench my thirst like I imagined the delicious, Bantha milk would do.
Nowadays, besides being able to type a few characters into Google and finding your geek drink or food of choice…geek inspired cookbooks, whether official or unauthorized, can be found at bookstores aplenty.
Stealth Bot and myself decided to give ‘The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook’ by Emily Ansara Baines a whirl. It boasts over 150 recipes from lamb stew to ‘Groosling’. The author wasn’t kidding. Chapter 8 ‘Wild Game for Wild Girls’ has many recipes calling for squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, beaver, dog and partridge. I entertained the idea of calling butchers in the area looking for the infrequently used wild game meats. Stealth bot commented that she saw a family of underfed quail in her parking lot, if only we had a bow and arrow.
All of the recipes are divided into sections. One recipe to a page whereas each page includes an acknowledgment to what book the dish can be found from. The “Tips From Your Sponsor” notes add some background reference about the entree and/or the cooking know how used in creating it. All the recipes we chose were from ‘The Hunger Games’ (No Mockingjays were harmed in the making of these foods).
Dagobot:
Starting with the biscuits, I was so gung ho at getting my hands dirty, subconsciously I decided to skip the instructions. I put all of the ingredients in together and was about to start to stir them when Stealth Bot schooled me. She insisted that I start over. Not being much of a cook or baker, I assumed throwing it all in there and mixing it into a liquid bouillabaisse would be fine. Admitting my rookie mistake, I dumped it out and started over. The drop biscuit recipe was fairly easy and produced delectable results in about eight to ten minutes. The bakers dozen had slightly bumpy tops from the pinched in butter and a light, sweet flavor.
Next up were the Goat cheese balls. Stealth purchased a three and a half ounce package of the cheese, however the recipe called for five. I dumped the contents into a small bowl. Mixed it with the pepper it called for, as well as the lemon juice and olive oil. After a few minutes of mixing, we spooned them out onto fresh basil leaves. If there was any more cheese added to the mix, I feel it would have drown out the tart and herb taste of the appetizer. A brisk, savory antepast that can be prepared within minutes and has the allure of something that would take much longer produce. It looked fancy to boot.
Stealthbot:
The strawberry bread was dense. Recipe called for 1 cup of strawberries, but did not specify fresh or frozen, whole or chopped. I chose to use fresh and chop them, which is a good thing since the bread only rose about an inch. Flavour was good, but dry the next day. Going to try this one again.
Greasy Sae’s Spicy Vegetarian Chili was easy to prepare. Instead of cooking the whole pot on the stove, I chose to transferred the base of the recipe to a crock pot, adding the beans and veggie crumbles and kept the crock on high for about 3 hrs. I chose to alter the recipe as far as the amount and types of chilies to include because I was too lazy to go out again and buy what I needed. Two cans of chopped green chilies sufficed and added the spicy punch I think the recipe was going for without going overboard with the heat. We both thought the addition of the mushrooms in this recipe made it especially delicious. This is a definite make again.
Honey Caramel Custard for Your Honey was an easy to follow recipe that took more time than ingredients. It was my first time making a custard and I followed the directions to the letter. Topped it off with some fresh strawberries. Yum!
This is a great cookbook for fans of The Hunger Games trilogy, parents of preteens and children and as well as people like me (Dagobot) who are constantly stuck in Chef 101 mode. It could have used some illustrations or pics of the finished dishes. However, IMO it’s perfect for your own Capitol Feast Day or reaping, whichever you choose…may the odds be ever in your favor.
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