Dystopian Dishes // Fictional Feasts

“I'd go home now if they'd let me. But you have to admit, the food's prime.”

“What’s impressed you most since you arrived here?” 

I rack my brain for something that made me happy here. Be honest, I think. Be honest. 

“The lamb stew,” I get out. 

Caesar laughs, and vaguely I realize some of the audience has joined in. 

“The one with the dried plums?” asks Caesar. I nod. “Oh, I eat it by the bucketful.”

- The Hunger Games

“Have a piece of cake for me, all right? The chocolate. It's delicious.”

- Divergent

"'There was cake?'

...'Yeah, someone just brought it out. Found a couple of boxes of the mix in the back and baked it,' he says. 'You can have a few bites of mine.'

'A few bites? So you're planning on eating that mountain of cake by yourself?'

'Yes.' He looks confused. 'Why?'”

 - Insurgent

 Coincidentally, my very first Fictional Feasts post was published exactly a year ago today. I didn't initially intend for it to be such a long-lasting project, but it's been way too much fun to stop. Thank you all for being enthusiastic and encouraging about it from the start! Hope you like this latest edition.

 I don't think that it's possible to read The Hunger Games and not find yourself wanting to try Katniss' favorite lamb stew, nor to read the Divergent trilogy and not end up longing for a piece of Dauntless chocolate cake. All that food just sounds so good. It was a Fictional Feast waiting to happen. I wasn't disappointed.

Katniss' Lamb Beef Stew with Dried Plum: As a long time Hunger Games fan, I was pretty excited to finally try this. I used this recipe, and it was SCRUMPTIOUS. A lot of work to make, but worth it. I changed the recipe a bit - the biggest change being that I used beef instead of lamb. Personal preference, and I figured Katniss wouldn't mind. My family liked the stew a lot - my mom said it was the best stew she ever had!

Dauntless Chocolate Cake: Just like the cake in the book, I made this from a mix. However, I tweaked it. I googled "how to make a cake mix better" and discovered these two awesome tips: 1. Use hot water instead of room temperature and 2. Add an extra egg yolk. I also added some instant coffee for a flavor boost. Topped with my favorite chocolate icing, this cake was the earth-shatteringly gorgeous. Not even exaggerating. I think that Tobias would approve.


Katniss and Tris' worlds may have be utter disasters, but the food is great.


love,
Hannah

P. S. Yesterday I posted over on the awesome blog, Plottinger Twist. I talked about What I Look for in a Fantasy Novel. I'd love it if you went over and checked it out! Make sure you stick around to see what lovely things Hannah has going on there.