The Red Plum Cookbook

[Engel]

*The folio on the table is bound in red cloth, with the words "The Red Plum Cookbook" painted onto its cover in fading gold letters. The first page is a title sheet and index, meticulously handwritten.*

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1

Being the assorted recipes encountered and invented by the Red Plum Actors and Gymnasts' Guild: compiled, edited, and maintained by A. Engeltrud.

Index
p. 2 - Foremole's Summertime Beetroot Soup
p. 3 - Den Ekorn Potato Bread
p. 4 - Midwinter Glühwein
p. 5 - Wrenhollow Pasties

[Engel]

2

Foremole’s Summertime Beetroot Soup

Compiled by A. Engeltrud, with the permission of the good tribe of Foremole Grundel

Soup after a long, hot day’s work? Well, sure! This hearty soup’s so easy to whip up you can make it ahead of time and serve it cold, even if you aren’t like a mole and natural at digging up taters and beets. Serve with a flagon of cool cider and a buttered slice of good dark bread.

Ingredients:
5 large beets, trimmed, scrubbed, and rinsed
4 russet potatoes, peeled
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups plain yogurt
zest and juice of one lemon
2 sprigs dill, finely chopped

Directions:
Put potatoes, onion, and potatoes into large stock pot, cover with several inches of water and simmer until the beets are soft, about 1 hr. Remove the beets and grate them (wearing gloves, unless you want your paws red for weeks!), returning grated beet and juice to pot. Repeat with potatoes. Cook mixture for another half hour or until the texture begins to smooth. Add yogurt, salt, and honey, then dill and lemon to taste. Take off of heat, cool, and store. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a bit more dill, if you like, and enjoy!

[Engel]

3

Den Ekorn Potato Bread

With the permission of Atosk Ekorn, and Den Ekorn by proxy.

This unique flatbread comes to us from the northern squirrel house of Ekorn, and is indeed a treat. Thin, soft, and exceptionally mild, it goes well equally well with any light fare or on its own, day or night.

Ingredients:
3 cups of fine white flour
An additional cup of the same
5 firm russet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of milk or cream*
1 teaspoon of honey

Directions:
Boil the potatoes until tender. While the potatoes are boiling, combine all remaining ingredients but flour, warm through, and stir until smooth. Add to the potatoes, and mash until the mixture is well incorporated and the potatoes are smooth. Take the mixture from heat and allow it to cool until it can be comfortably touched, then add the first portion of flour. Mix until smooth, then add the remaining cup until the mixture achieves a pliable, doughy consistency. Turn out onto a large board and knead for two minutes. After, begin dividing small pieces of dough onto a lightly floured surface and rolling them very thin (thicker than parchment, but thinner than pie crust). Bake on an ungreased griddle until lightly brown on both sides, and store between warm, barely damp towels until eaten.

Serving suggestions: This bread does marvelously on its own beside soup, salads, and fish, but also makes a delicious dessert when it is lightly buttered and honeyed before being rolled tight. It can also easily be cut into smaller pieces and dried into crackers for traveling, though these are admittedly fragile.



_{*In the case of heavy cream, reduce the portion of butter by a tablespoon.}

[Silas]

((Very good, Engel. It's scary I know as much as I do about cooking... Of course you've already posted your first recipe up and recieved credit. The second one, though, has not been graded. Sounds like ye know what you're doing, and it looks like it could work when attempted.))

Den Ekorn Potato Bread:
30 Crystal Shards

[Engel]

4

Midwinter Glühwein

Compiled from memory, from the kitchens of Lord Bartram Gerolf

This recipe comes to us from the dark forests of the far inland southeast, where the winters are cold and the snows deep, and the midwinter gatherings large and very long. Feel free to use the cheapest wine in the cellar on this recipe -- the honey and spices are very forgiving of quality.

The name means 'glowing wine' -- though it's always up for debate whether the wine or the drinkers are glowing more by the end of the party.

Ingredients:
1 small cask of red wine
1 flagon of white wine
1/4 of a flagon of brandy, preferably peach
2 cups honey (4 cups if using a brandy that is not as sweet)
8 sticks of cinnamon
20 cardamom seeds
25 cloves
2 cups blanched almonds (if almonds are scarce, almost any mild nut will do)
2 cups raisins, white preferable


Directions:
Warm through wine and brandy in a cauldron. Add honey, stirring so it does not stick to the bottom and burn. Once the honey is dissolved, add additional ingredients, let mull for fifteen minutes, and keep warm while serving. Serve with a long-handled ladle, so everybeast can get a few raisins and nuts in his cup.

Drink slowly.

[Engel]

5

Wrenhollow Pasties

Graciously lent and written by Miss Sylvia Porter

These pasties were first encountered by the Red Plum Guild in the little northern town of Wrenhollow, served up by the exemplary Miss Sylvia at the Privet Inn and Tavern, and with them the Guild was bribed into more than one encore. Pastry's a tricky thing to master, though, so don't expect to get actors at your beck and call right away with this recipe.


Ingredients:

Pastry:
2-1/2 cups flour
4 oz butter, cut into small cubes
pinch of salt
cold water

Filling:
The real beauty of this recipe is that you can use almost anything you have lying about as filling. Some popular favorites, however, include onion, potato, rutabaga, carrots, peas, beets, and even leftover bits of fish! You do not need much filling, either -- a few cups will stand you in good stead. Miss Sylvia used turnip, carrot, potato, onion, and a herbed gravy thickened with arrowroot. In addition to the above, you will need:
2 oz butter
1/4 cup hot water
salt & pepper
pinch of flour
spash of wine, preferably port
herbs and spices to taste

Directions: Put the butter reserved for the fillings in a skillet and heat until melted. Add herbs and spices. Add the fillings, diced fine, in order of firmness and cooking times (rutabaga will go before peas, for example). When all ingredients are cooked and soft, set skillet aside. If you wish to make a gravy, remove vegetables with a slotted spoon, deglaze the pan with a splash of port, and add butter and flour to form a pale brown roux, stirring constantly. Darken as much as you like, and remove from heat before it burns. Then, moving to the coolest spot possible, put the flour in a large bowl, add the salt, and rub the butter in gently until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add water in tablespoons and mix with your paws or a folk until dough starts to come together. Use enough water to produce a pliable dough. The key to this step is to be quick -- the dough should remain reasonably cool. Do not knead it, simply mix until all ingredients are distributed, turn out, and roll flat. With a sharp knife, cut out 6 circles of dough about 6 inches in diameter each (you'll have some left over). Put 2-3 spoonfuls of filling into the center of each dough circle and crimp together the dough using a little water. Place in oven upon a sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden-brown.

Tip: Some delicious desert pasties can also be made using stewed fruit as the filling, so long as the mixture is less of a watery sauce than a good, solid pudding. Above all, be creative and have fun!

[Udumchoke Danaira Srichaphan]

God, I'm gonna make this.Sounds excellent


Midwinter Glühwein
28 cs

Wrenhollow Pasties
35 cs. Very orignal