Food pr0n in books...

[dmacabre]

Growing up on Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, I think I probably read Farmer Boy the most. Hardship on the frontier was exotic and interesting, but... Almanzo had a much cozier life. And of course, there was the endless stream of food pr0n, most of it stuff I'd never heard of. Laura's stories of maple sugar candy, crackling, roasted pig

Comments

[shiv5468]

I'm always a bit excluded from all this food pron as it's rarely vegetarian.

[dmacabre]

True. But should I ever get that chocolate waterfall, you're always welcome to stop by and we can raise a bucketful in toast. :)

[dmacabre]

Ah yes, Harriet's tomato sandwiches! I envied her cake and milk, too. :)

If I mentally squint, I can imagine apples n' onions being a good accompaniment to pork, but not sure I'd eat platefuls of them alone. I was totally down with the idea of apple turnovers and doughnuts in my lunch, though... too bad my mother would not get on board with that suggestion.

[dmacabre]

Haha, Puddleglum tasting like mud sounds about right. In Anne of Green Gables, I think there is an incident where she accidentally puts salt in the pudding instead of sugar when guests are over. The raspberry cordial incident was a case where she gave Diana currant wine by mistake.

Lucy's tea with Mr. Tumnus involved a lot of toast, I think. I didn't quite get that as a kid but I suppose it's a British thing.

Have you tried anything out of the Wilder cookbook?

[dmacabre]

I'd have to look up the exact description of vanity cakes because it's been too long and I can't remember if they were served plain or with sugar. When I think of them, something like beignets spring to mind. I could eat a whole plateful of those suckers...

I kind of thought that both the food and prosperity must've been like a fantasy-land for Laura, too. Almanzo's childhood seems far more romanticized and idyllic even by Little House standards-- always plenty to eat, a large family and an established home, etc. The contrast was always striking, even when I was a kid.

[bleodswean]

Yes! So much of the "food" from that book affected me and stayed with me over the years. The description of sugar mapling the most...and snow with maple syrup.

I love goat's milk and goat's cheese, though! I am still an avid milk drinker but it's only goat.

[dmacabre]

I wanted to try that thing with the snow and maple syrup, but my mother (who was and is a MAJOR party pooper for this sort of thing) said it was unsanitary. :)

Goat cheese I can stand if it's very mild but the aged cheese is a bit much for me. Johanna Spyri always made it sound amazing, though.

[vashka_kat]

Loved, loved, loved the Little House books growing up. The descriptions of everything was just so vivid, most especially the food.

The food in the other books was also notable, but the ones that I always drooled over were the descriptions of the gluttonous feasts in the Redwall books. Deeper'n ever pie, meadowcream, scones, rose pudding, etc, and the drinks always sounded even more fantastic!

Omg- I just googled 'Redwall food' and a website with recipes!!! :D

[dmacabre]

I didn't think of it as a child, but food must've been fairly scarce for her to remember even the simplest things so vividly, and to describe meals she never had with such loving detail.

I somehow managed to bypass all the Redwall books, for some weird reason! But I notice that series comes up a lot in literary food discussions.