Camp Half-Blood Favorites // Fictional Feasts

"...my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn chip tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop."

- The Lightning Thief

"She's funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food. I think it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass seventh grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that."

- The Sea of Monsters

"Meat!" [Grover] said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.

"Those are vegetables."

- The Lightning Thief

 I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and so for this Fictional Feast I decided to make two of the characters' favorite foods. I made blue cupcakes in honor of Percy's obsession with blue food, and cheese enchiladas, which is Grover's favorite thing to eat. The enchiladas needed to be meat-less, because, being part-goat, Grover is a strict vegetarian.

The cupcakes and enchiladas were really yummy and easy to make. I used this fairy cakes recipe that Anna shared on my blog a long while ago. For the enchiladas, I pretty much did my own thing, but I based it off of this recipe.

  I had fun making these - and my younger brother (now a converted Percy fan himself) enjoyed being the taste-tester.





 
love, 
Hannah

 P.S - this is a scheduled post. By the time you're reading it, I'll be on my holidays in England for the week! Talk to you when I get back!

On My Bookshelf: High Fantasy

Previous On My Bookshelf posts:
Fairytale Retellings
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction

  High fantasy: a sub-genre of fantasy fiction, defined either by its setting in an imaginary world or by the epic stature of its characters, themes and plot.   

  So many of my favorite books belong in the fantasy genre. I love reading about adventures and heroics and mythical places and creatures. Here are a couple of my favorites. 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

“This is the land of Narnia,' said the Faun, 'where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea.” 

 Okay, so - these books are my very favorite. They're pretty much my perfect books. Amazing plots, lovable characters, beautiful writing. I never get tired of them no matter how many times I've read them.

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

 "For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

 You can't have a list of high fantasy novels without talking about Tolkien. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are fantastic. I don't think there's ever been a fictional world as complex as Middle Earth. Tolkien was a bit of a genius.

The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

"Better to trust in the moon's promises than in the word of the Thief of Eddis. He was famous in three countries for his lies.”

  This series is not as well-known as they deserve to be. They're epic. Megan Whalen Turner is a brilliant writer, and the books have such a unique feel to them. Oh - and the main character, Eugenides, is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters. I love that sarcastic little thief.

The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown (Damar #1 and #2) by Robin McKinley
Pegasus by Robin McKinley

“Perhaps it is a human thing, to look upon such beauty and fail to encompass it.”  - Pegasus

 Over the the last year or two, Robin McKinley has become a new favorite author of mine. Her Damar books are captivating, complex, and full of twists and turns.  
 And I just recently finished Pegasus and had to add it to this list - it was great.

  

I get really excited about fantasy books. Going into a new fantasy book is just like:

Have you read any of the books in this list? What are some of your favorite high fantasy books?

love,

Hannah

On the Lake

  My house is just a short walk away from a big, beautiful lake. I've lived near it for ten years, but I'd never gotten the opportunity to go out onto it until our neighbors invited us on a boat trip last Thursday.

  IT WAS SO FUN GUYS.

|my brother, Caleb, steering the boat|

| my grandpa and my brother, Brendan |

 After a while, we stopped at a pretty dock where we walked around a bit and had tea and scones.

| so look at this cute little table with the cute little cups of tea |

| our neighbor's dog, Margo, wearing her life-jacket |

 The weather was gorgeous, everything was beautiful, and there were scones involved. It was a great day.

love, 

Hannah