Nerd Food [Fierce Foodie][Best of FaN]

This is my favorite Fierce Foodie of 2012 because it utterly encompasses my nerdishness, from my obsessive LOTR behaviors to my love of food descriptions in fantasy fiction.  Plus, it expresses my yearning to be a hobbit.  

 When I think of nerd food, my mind inevitably wanders past pizza rolls and poptarts to Tolkien’s Middle Earth and the delicious descriptions of fantastic (often hobbity) foods.  I am a LOTR nerd of the first order.  I have read “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy over thirty times, and went to see the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring, nine times (for the nine walkers), The Twin Towers six times and the Return of the King three times in the theater (due to my initial dislike for the change of Faramir’s character, I could go on, but you’d only start yawning).

As these movies are all over three hours long, I learned that in order to avoid extreme discomfort it was necessary to stop drinking liquids at least two hours before sitting for the film, meaning that I was practically dehydrated by the end of it. But that is the work of the nerd. I was so nervous that the first film would fail, I felt it was my personal duty to make sure I attended multiple times and dragged someone new every time.

Tolkien was the kind of writer that knew the importance of food.  Hobbits love food, especially fresh mushrooms. They eat six full meals a day and snack often.  Merry, Pip, Sam and Frodo are nearly killed by ring wraiths attracted by the smoke of the fire started for frying sausages, bacon, and tomatoes on Weathertop. Sam carries seasonings, pots and pans all the way to Mordor. I did not date until college, did I mention that?

Merry’s Mushrooms

Courtesy of Middle Earth Recipes at http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/other/recipes.html

1 onion, small dice

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups small mushrooms, washed (can also use large mushrooms sliced in half or quarters)

3 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. thyme

2 cups water

2 tbsp. arrowroot

Salt & Pepper

In a medium pot or a deep pan, saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are soft. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for two more minutes.

Add 1 and 1/2 cup water and simmer uncovered for 15 min. Mix the arrowroot with the remaining 1/2 cup of water, and add to pot. Cook until thickened, approx. one minute. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately to hungry Hobbits.

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