For this year’s Feast Week celebration, we are sharing Middle-earth News Staff Favorites from Feast Weeks past! These posts were chosen by the Middle-earth News team as our collective favorites for each day of Feast Week. So, enjoy the yummy goodness of these posts! If they inspire you to make your own Feast Week meals, be sure to tell us in the comments and save some leftovers for us — if there are any leftovers!
Join Rachel in the House of Tom Bombadil in this post from 2013, and fear no nightly noises!
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
Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties! Tonight’s meal is served up to the hobbits in the merry home of Tom Bombadil himself. So break out the butter churn (or head to the supermarket) and settle in for the ‘Feast of Tom Bombadil’.
Because Tom’s house is nestled in the Old Forest, there is a selection of fresh berries and greens at his table straight from the bounty of the nature all around. Included in this meal is honeycomb, milk, butter, and bread.
For my take on the Feast of Tom Bombadil, I tried to go with something a little more modern, yet still sticking with the main theme. I could not find honeycomb locally so instead I chose to incorporate honey in different ways. I also chose to combine the berries, cheese and greens into a delicious berry salad.
To make the salad, lay a bed of baby spinach and arugula. Next, crumble up goat cheese and sprinkle it on top. Then, add berries. I personally chose sliced up strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Blueberries would taste really great on this too! To compliment the sweet berries and the greens, I cut up chunks of avocado. You don’t have to do this, but I love the taste of avocado and how its texture complements the texture of the greens. You might also choose to add a handful of sliced, toasted almonds on top. Last, top with vinaigrette: I happened to have strawberry vinaigrette on hand, which was a perfect accompaniment to the berries in the salad.
Along with the berries and greens, Goldberry also laid white bread out upon the table for the meal. I too baked bread. Due to the lack of honeycomb, I chose to bake honey oat bread. The bread is best served warm, with butter melted on top and a drizzle of honey. A mug of black tea on the side completes this cozy meal and will warm the weary traveler to the tips of his or her furry feet.
For dessert, (if you haven’t had enough berries already) – what is more delectable than berries and fresh whipped cream? I bought heavy whipping cream and whipped it together with sugar to taste. Then I topped a medley of mixed berries with a generous spoonful of fresh cream.
So there you have it: a slightly modernized take on Tom Bombadil’s meal, with a salad sure to please any hungry hobbit. Continue to join Middle-earth News for the rest of Feast Week for more meals and recipe ideas!
The mug pictured is a “Barefoot Hobbit Mug” which I purchased from an Etsy store called The Four Farthings. The Four Farthings produces Tolkien-inspired mugs. Be sure to check it out: there are creative and innovative mugs to please every type of fan!
You could also win your very own handcrafted mug from The Four Farthings by entering the Middle-earth News “My Own Shire” photo contest.
