Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties!
Hobbits! Ponies all! We are fond of parties.
Now let the fun begin! Let us sing together!
The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 6, The Old Forest
Tonight, we stop for a mid-feast-week rest at the house of Tom Bombadil, that mysterious and generous host whose boots have long been immortalized in song. The hobbits have just been rescued from the evils of the old forest and have trod quite a long way to reach the little house at the top of the grassy knoll. They step into the golden light of the house and are soon served a simple but sumptuous supper.
A door opened and in came Tom Bombadil. He had now no hat and his thick brown hair was crowned with autumn leaves. He laughed, and going to Goldberry, took her hand.
‘Here’s my pretty lady!’ he said, bowing to the hobbits. ‘Here’s my Goldberry clothed all in silver-green with flowers in her girdle! Is the table laden? I see yellow cream and honeycomb, and white bread, and butter; milk, cheese, and green herbs and ripe berries gathered. Is that enough for us? Is the supper ready?’
The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 7, In the House of Tom Bombadil
The beauty of this meal is that even someone who is… shall we say… a novice in the kitchen can easily prepare and serve it. You can see that I managed to procure all but one ingredient: the honeycomb. I substituted honey. (Please forgive me and imagine that I was able to call on my friend Beorn to provide me with some after the taking of my photos.)
Berries are plentiful this time of year, as they were in Middle-earth, and so are herbs of all kinds – it should be no challenge to find these at your local store or farmers’ market. A simple herb salad, a loaf of french bakery bread, any cheese you like (I chose a block of local cheddar, but you may want to go more exotic with a chevre or other soft cheese) make up the savory portion of the meal, while the berries, cream, and honey (in my case, orange blossom honey – yum!) can be enjoyed in mass quantities at will for those of us with a sweet tooth. And of course, be sure to wash it all down with a lovely mug of whole milk.
This is so easy and delicious, I think we should spend another night feasting at Bombadil’s, don’t you? We’d love to have you again, so stop back tomorrow for more Tolkien Feast Week celebrations!
Feast Week, Day 1: Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday
Feast Week, Day 2: Sleeping Outdoors
Feast Week, Day 3: The Feast of Gildor
Feast Week, Day 4: Farmer Maggot’s Feast
Feast Week, Day 6: The Feast of Tom Bombadil, Part Deux
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