It is actually amazing. We’re roaming around north of the middle of fucking nowhere and the food is better than at most inns. It’s surely not mum’s cooking level, but definitely at the top of what I had since leaving home. And it keeps getting crazier:

Somebody – I’m quite sure it was Harf – started with baking! Initially I wondered how that should work out. Seeing that we left civilization far behind us, we have no oven and ingredients are hard to come by. But after coming back from a round of foraging there it was: A full on DIY oven made from stone. I suspect that was a collaboration between Harf’s knowledge around stones, Nim’s engineering skills and Einarr’s strength, or flex or whatever it is that powers that guy, to put the stones in place… And that whole thing actually works too!

I’m not good at baking myself, but here is this one recipe for this delicious berry cheese cake my mum always made, that I know how to make. Okay, I only watched her make it, but it was often and I thought I’ll give it a try. The hard part was getting the ingredients though. Berries naturally are easy, but the remainder is mostly made from various dairy products which first go bad rather quickly – especially when you run around and your bag is getting crushed and what not all the time, and second you need animals to produce it. Well, let’s say that much, milking a fucking owlbear borders on suicide. But, in the end we succeeded. There will be scaring though. And not only the physical kind…

The final product didn’t turn out half bad, so I’m pleased. I did come up short of berries in the end, so I had to “liberate” some of Quiz’ goodberries. She only carries them around until they go bad anyways, so no harm in putting them to good use. Also, she seemed quite distracted by the catnip…

Fun fact: The goodberries loose some of their healing power when baked. They now only heal psychic damage taken from name puns. Sou far so good, but only harf as useful… *uses-bonus-action-to-hide*

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Dwarven bread should reflect the qualities inherent in dwarvenkind. Sturdy and square. No frills nor adornments should interfere with the basic structure and stability of a loaf of dwarven bread. In fact, if one were to swap out a keystone of a bridge with a well baked loaf, and you couldn’t tell the difference, I’d consider this good bread.

Glorifim Berlgranite, Baker

I’ve come across the writings of Glorifim and if you ask me, that guy is a bit nuts. But I can’t lie, the nostalgic comfort of a nice square loaf is something I can’t deny. I decided to take some inspiration from my travels and try for something softer and fluffier. Got something tasty, but I think I messed up my shaping and timing and ran into some, shall we say… structural problems. Grumph… this is trickier than I thought…

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Decided to go the other way around and take it low and slow. I honestly lost track of time, was it one and a harf hours? *Glug* Two and a harf? *Glug* But I felt like I was on the right track. Decided to not go for the mayo and went for a big dollop of miso butter instead, and whooo… I think I’m onto something. Now I’m getting ideas of brightening it up with some fresh lemon zest and juice and serving it on a flaky pie crust like a galette with some sugar snap peas… hmmm…

When I first met this bunch of crazy lads, it was down in some strange ruins, Sou Far handed me Catnip! it was the dried herbs but ohhhhh the smell!! I know that normal humans can not smell the herbal freshness heaven , that it is. But let me tell you No smell in the world makes you feel happier or saver. But it made me wonder if he ever traveled my homes Woodlands, because you don’t just come by some catnip everywhere.

My Ma made the best Mole Verde in our Hunt. She always added a lot of Catnip and Cicely and a lot of previously charred Pimentos and Salt Tomatos. Soooo yummy! If I ever come by some fresh catnip I will prepare it for Sou Far… he seems a little bit stranger lately.

Got a bit impatient with the heat, and it seems like if you don’t take your time it doesn’t get that right balance between sweet and toasty…
But – I played with some flavor combinations and interestingly enough the tanginess of mayo seems to go well with it. Now I’m getting ideas of roasting it until it’s really caramelized and soft and blending it into a roasted cauliflower mayo. Must investigate further.

As a dwarf, it’s hard not to be aware of the transformative powers of heat. In one of the mines I was working in, we had a room with four forges running day in day out. So hot, you’d start to sweat if you thought about the place while sitting in a tavern 10 miles away.
Only much later, once I left Niflheim and started to work in kitchens here and there, would I open my eyes to more unusual and pleasurable possibilities hidden within a fire (sorry Sou Far). Take a hearth, cozy and warm all night, a head of cauliflower and roast it long enough until it starts to brown and caramelize, turning creamy, toasty, sweet and nutty all at once. Layer the flavors with spices, sherry vinaigrette and parsley, serve on a crispy slice of whole wheat bread. Beats standing in front of a forge all day.

There’s a rumor going around among bards that there’s a song recounting a 100 ways to prepare an egg. Unfortunately I haven’t heard it, but um…, here’s one? Would’ve preferred fresh chives, but sometimes you have to make do with what you’ve got.

Chicken skin yakitori

Once in my really early youth, probably 80 years ago, I one of my older cousins visited a neighbouring town. Maybe I should clarify that for a woodland elf “neighbouring” usually means a travel of six days through thick forest. Nevertheless, when he returned, he surprised us all with something special he learned to prepare on his tip. He called it a vegetable Lasagne, which made us and my parents laugh, since none of us had ever heard such a strange name before.

He insisted on preparing it and claimed that it was originally invented by the humans, but they typically use meat and not vegetables. We all watched as he built layer after layer, filling them with a mix of spinach, mushrooms and other new human inventions made from milk.

In the End he added some Cheese and after harf an Hour or so it was done. It smelled quite different to what we usually ate, but interesting and quite good. So we had a wonderful meal together.

In the end my cousin asked, with a big grin on his face: “what do you all think?”

My Father was the first to answer: “In Green I trust! What is the other Stuff even for?” I personally liked it very much and once in while my cousin used to make it again. Even my father got used to the idea after a while and enjoyed it himself. He also had the idea of importing some human beverages and he grew quite fond of them. He also got quite funy every time. They came from a Palce called Finland. I still don’t know if their county is at the end of the world or not…