And what, pray tell, is a Barrow-wight?

Sorry for my absence from the blogosphere, finals kicked my butt last week and I am just now finding time to relax. So now I am back and ready for action!

I am still making my way through The Fellowship of the Ring, and after having made it past the home of Goldberry and Tom Bombadil, I was very confused by the whole Barrow-wight scenario. Obviously our hobbit friends were confused enough themselves as they woke up next to the ominous stone that they picnicked at in the fog-filled valley of the Barrow-downs, but I seriously had to reread chapter 8 twice and still had to look up what a Barrow-wight was. According to the LOTR "One Wiki to Rule Them All" site, Barrow-wights are shapeshifting, evil phantoms that inhabit the treasure tombs of the Barrow-downs.  

"Cold be hand and heart and bone

and cold be sleep under stone

never more to wake on stony bed

never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead

In the black wind the stars shall die

and still be gold here let them lie

till the Dark Lord lifts his hand over dead sea and withered land."

                            ~Barrow-wight chant.

I don't know how much this clarify things for everyone else, but I am still slightly confused and hope that I never run into one.

As promised, here is my recipe for Mrs. Maggot's mushroom and bacon, served over eggs for breakfast. Though the recipe calls for four eggs to feed two people, if you are feeding two hobbits (especially in their tweens), you might want to double the amount of eggs. Also, it tastes best with organic, farm fresh eggs from the Shire.

Mushrooms and Bacon Breakfast Recipe

Makes 2 Servings

2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced

1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced

4 eggs (8 if cooking for hobbits)

1/2 cup Amish blue cheese

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon truffle oil

Cilantro (if desired)

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, saute onions and portobello mushrooms. Set aside.

Crack eggs into a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. In a separate pan, heat the remaining olive oil, then scramble eggs for 4 minutes. Once cooked, plate eggs topped with blue cheese, cilantro and mushrooms, then drizzle with truffle oil.

Enjoy before a long journey, toting a magical ring.

Mushrooms and bacon: The food of the gods...

Ambrosia - (am-bro-sia) n. Greek & Roman Mythology The food of the gods, thought to confer immortality. (Source)

In actuality, ambrosia is not some awkward (read: disgusting) dish of odd fruits and marshmallows in sour cream (Side note: Who thought that this was a delicious thing to make as a pot luck staple???? The inventor must have really hated their friends.), but instead the idea of ambrosia is embodied in one, perfect food group: Bacon.

Yes, in modern society bacon is the food of the gods. I will not debate this issue. 

So what does this discussion of ambrosia and bacon have to do with The Fellowship of the Ring? At the end of chapter 4, the hobbits - who are the only creatures who like eating more than I do - eat a dish of bacon and mushrooms at Farmer Maggot's house. I've decided that I want to make a recipe for my version of "ambrosia," consisting of bacon, mushrooms, truffle oil, minced chives and flat-lead Italians parsley. No fruit. No sour cream. Definitely no marshmallows. I will post a recipe once I have figured it out...

I'd also like to take a moment to comment on the hobbit meal plan. I would love to eat six, regular meals each day. Let's see, I could wake up to have breakfast, go for a long bike ride, come home and eat second breakfast, take a nap, wake up for elevenses, work on some writing, go to the grocery store, grab afternoon tea (well, let's be honest, coffee) at Lestat's (my neighborhood cafe), come back for a second nap, wake up for supper, and then drink a couple of bottles of wine before drifting back to sleep and waking up the next day to do it all again. I'd be fat and insane from an overconsumption of wine within a month, but I'd probably be wicked jolly.