Hey! now! Come hoy now! Whither do you wander?
Up, down, near or far, here, there or yonder?
Sharp-ears, Wise-nose, Swish-tail and Bumpkin,
White-socks my little lad, and old Fatty Lumpkin!
The Fog on the Barrow Downs, The Fellowship of The Ring, Chapter 8, begins with the morning after the feast Frodo and the company had at Tom Bombadil’s house along with a very merry bathing.
“After breakfast, which they again ate alone, they made ready to say farewell, as nearly heavy of heart as was possible on such a morning: cool, bright, and clean under a washed autumn sky of thin blue. The air came fresh from the North-west. Their quiet ponies were almost frisky, sniffing and moving restlessly. Tom came out of the house and waved his hat and danced upon the doorstep, bidding the hobbits to get up and be off and go with good speed.”
Tolkien doesn’t specifically mention the meal they had then, but we get a picture vivid enough of how the dining actually generally looked at Tom Bombadil’s residing from the previous chapter. So keeping it in the same spirit–cheese, honey, wine, white bread, and fresh berries would be expected to still be present at your table this day.
Tom Bombadil was not only a creature of the forest, but its master, in a way. So I suggest a nice walk under the colorful trees of this autumn in a park would be exceptionally appropriate. For snacks you can go with something easy, like fresh berries, Brie Cheese and some cashews.
I decided to add a bright splash of sweetness that is so evident from Tom’s benign character and the warmth of his house and his Lady. So a cold strawberry cheesecake set itself on the center of my table. Basically, you make it like any cheesecake, only because of gelatin, it doesn’t need baking, just a night in the refrigerator. If you prefer to save yourself some time, you can just buy one in a store, or better yet, make one according to your grannie’s recipe. And, if you want your feast to have hobbity aromas, you need mushrooms. I also got some red wine, greens, nuts, fresh apples, sliced ham, raspberry jam, and some homemade spicy sauces.
To kick your feet high up and watch the weather and the world just be–this would probably be even more hobbitish than taking any stroll in the park, so naturally my instincts did not let me down when I had some herbal tea in the backyard, chewing on some comb and enjoying the remains of summer passing by slowly.
And, of course, how can a hobbit feast go successfully without any po-ta-toes! Trying to make them in a way that one would while on a long journey, rolling them up in a foil pieces and throwing them in right into the fire seemed about correct. And the grilled fish was the result of inspiration from Bilbo’s wonderful dinner he never got to enjoy because of Dwalin. (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
While finishing up your fish do not make haste! For this is the night perfectly fit for long stories and songs that last until your head bows in a sweet doze.
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.
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