Submission: Spiced Warm Milk

From The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Photo by Elizabeth Tressa Grace

Today's recipe is a submission from Elizabeth Tressa Grace, who, in addition to having a super awesome name, also has a super awesome blog called Bread, Brownies and Beyond.  I just spent ten minutes surfing through it and I'm pretty sure there's drool on my keyboard. Those of you who've read the book will remember that this soothing beverage was made for Katniss by a sympathetic Capitol worker when she awoke from a nightmare shortly before the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Initially she just ordered a warm milk to help her sleep, but the attendant, feeling bad for her, added a little honey and spice as an act of kindness and solidarity.  Make this when you or someone you care about is feeling especially sad or nervous. Or, you know, when death is imminent. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk (regular milk will work, as well)

1 teaspoon honey

Splash of vanilla

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Sprinkle on nutmeg


Directions:
Microwave milk on high for 1 minute. Continue to microwave it in 15 second increments until desired temperature is reached. Mix in honey and vanilla, and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Enjoy!

Submission: Sopor Slime Pie

From the web comic Homestuck - MS Paint Adventures

Photo by Reneva

This is a submission from Geeky Chef reader and obvious Homestuck fan Reneva. Make sure you all click the link and give her a visit on Tumblr! I gotta be honest with you guys, I know nothing about Homestuck other than it involves a lot of cute little demon looking guys and it has a very avid and loving fanbase. That alone means there must be something to it. From what I can gather on the internet, consuming Sapor Slime has a sedative effect on "trolls" and is often baked in pies, thus today's recipe. There you go, folks, that's the end of my detailed and meticulous explanation. You can find out more here. The following is Reneva's recipe, with her own notes included.

Ingredients:

For the pie shell: 

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

 3 Tbsp water


For the filling:

1 package lime jello (6 oz.)

1 package lime jello (2.75 oz.)

1 package lemon pudding (3.4 oz.)

2 cups water

2 cups Moon Mist Faygo (or Sprite, 7-Up, Sierra Mist, whichever you have or can get)

4 Tbsp cornstarch -1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup whipped cream (or Cool Whip or whatever)

Food colouring as desired


Directions: 

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan, then turn off the heat and dump in the big package of lime jello mix and use a whisk to stir it until everything is blended. Stir in the wicked elixir (Faygo/Sprite/Etc). Stir in the pudding mix. Stir in the cornstarch, the powdered sugar, the whipped cream, and then the small jello package. Whisk everything around so it's blended smoothly and there aren't any lumps. Add food colouring as desired.** Pour as much slime as you can into the cooled pie shells. Just make sure you can carry them to your thermal hull(Fridge) without spilling. Refrigerate your miracles for a couple hours or so until the slime sets.

 **I used 15 drops of yellow and 3 drops of green. It probably wasn't too necessary, so put in however much you think will make it look fabulous. Like in the picture. :)

Five Flavor Soup

From the Avatar: The Last Airbender television series

A while back I did a poll to see which Avatar: The Last Airbender food you guys wanted to see most, and you chose Five Flavor Soup. This soup appeared in Season 3 in the episode "The Puppetmaster" where it was made for Avatar Ang's gang by the waterbender Hama, who wanted to serve them a traditional Southern Water Tribe dish while they were hiding in the Fire Nation. Like Avatar itself, this dish has mixed Asian influence. There were a few assumptions I made based on what little information is presented in the episode. The major assumption is that the soup is vegetarian, because Ang, who does not eat meat, chows down on it happily. In the episode it appeared that the soup did not have anything in it aside from broth, but I thought that was probably only to save on the animation budget. The broth certainly could stand alone if you wish to go that route, as it has a very strong base and rich flavor. When I heard the name of the dish, my immediate thought was Chinese Five Spice, which is a delicious mix of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel and Sichuan pepper. These spices are perfect for cold weather, so I made sure they stand out. There are also five major ingredients in the soup: the wontons, the beans, the mushrooms, the cabbage and the wakame. I also tried to incorporate ingredients that the Water Tribe might use, like kelp, which grows in water, and broad beans, which can be harvested in cold climates. And, of course, cabbages were a necessity. Just looking at this recipe it might seem complicated because there are a lot of ingredients and steps, but none of it is very difficult so don't be intimidated! The result is a light but filling soup, bursting with heat, spice and umami.

Ingredients: 

1 Sheet Kombu

10-12 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

6 Cups Water

5-7 Leaves Napa Cabbage

1 1/2 Cup Broad Beans

A couple pinches of Wakame

Wonton Wrappers

1 Asian Pear, chopped finely

3-5 Green Onions, finely chopped

10 Cloves Garlic, minced

Ginger Root

1/2 cup Soy Sauce (or to taste)

1/2 cup Ponzu Sauce

1 tbs. Garlic Chili Sauce (or to taste)

1 tbs. Mirin

2 tbs. Chinese Five Spice


Directions
Start the broth by putting the water and the sheet of Kombu into a large soup pot. Bring the water to a simmer, and then add the dried mushrooms, two tablespoons of the minced garlic, and a couple slices of ginger root. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the broth to simmer while you prepare the wonton filling. Chop up half a cup of the broad beans into tiny pieces. Remove one or two of the mushrooms from the broth and chop them finely too. Take one or two leaves of the Napa Cabbage and chop that finely. In a small mixing bowl, add the chopped mushrooms, chopped beans and copped cabbage along with the green onions, Asian pear and remaining garlic and mix this thoroughly together. Season mixture with some soy sauce and grated ginger to taste.  Heat up a frying pan with the the oil of your choice, and fry the mixture until nicely browned. Start building your wontons following these instructions. Only make enough wontons that you will be using right away, about 2-3 per bowl. It is not a good idea to make them all at once and do not add the wontons directly to the soup. In a separate pot from your broth, boil the wontons in some salted water until they are translucent. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in your serving bowls. Reduce the heat on the broth and remove the kombu and ginger, but keep the mushrooms. Add the soy sauce, ponzu sauce, mirin and chili garlic sauce to the broth and stir. Taste it, and add more of the ingredients you think it needs until the broth tastes right to you. This might be different for everyone. When the broth is too your liking, add the the remaining broad beans, the napa cabbage and the wakame. Be careful with wakame because it expands a lot, a little goes a very long way. Let the soup simmer for another 5 to ten minutes. Your soup is pretty much done now, so spoon the soup into the serving bowls over the wontons and enjoy!

Mudder's Milk

From the Firefly television series

I really love Joss Whedon and almost everything he's done. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my favorite television series as a very young teenager, and still holds a very special place in my heart. Joss has gone on to create a lot more shows and movies, all with their own dedicated fans and beloved characters. Firefly/Serenity was Joss's very short-lived delve into science fiction, and it was glorious. In the series, the alcoholic beverage known as "Mudder's Milk" was used on a remote planet called Higgin's Moon to simultaneously feed the laborers (or "Mudders" as mud was the planet's only export) and keep them submissive. It has, according to planetary legend Jayne, "all the protein, vitamins and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner, plus 15% alcohol." From this description, I instantly imagined a sort of alcoholic protein shake. This recipe is not going to be everyone's cuppa, obviously, but that's sort of how it is supposed to be. The drink is super filling, and I think it tastes pretty rutting good myself. It would be a great meal replacement for one of those days.


Ingredients

2-3 Shots of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Banana

2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

1/4 Cup Oatmeal

Honey to taste

Cinnamon to taste

Ice


Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend until consistency is smooth and drinkable. Pour into a mug and enjoy!

Lemon Cakes

From A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire is notorious not only for its graphic violence and political intrigue but also for its loving and lengthy descriptions of food, with passages spanning several pages to describe one meal... They're really my kind of books. It's almost impossible to choose just one dish or treat, so I made a poll for you all to help me decide. It ended up being the closest poll in Geeky Chef history, Lemon Cakes beat out the Garlic and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb and the Honey Cakes by just a few votes. Those of you who voted for other things, don't fret! You can still try out all the tasty options. There's an amazing site called The Inn at the Crossroads dedicated solely to the food of ASoIaF and historical cuisine, you should really give it a visit. As many of you probably know, Game of Thrones (the HBO television adaption of A Song of Ice and Fire) is about to begin its third season, and most of us have eagerly anticipated seeing our favorite characters again. I personally plan to make a feast to celebrate and my version of Sansa Stark's favorite dessert, Lemon Cakes, is on the menu. The Lemon Cakes are mentioned pretty often in the books, but not described in detail. My impression of them was that they were a sort of tea-time treat for young lords and ladies to enjoy. I pictured them being very rustic in appearance and having a dense, moist texture with intense lemon flavor. My cakes are just that, and baked with a sweetened lemon slice for garnish. I hope you like them!

On a related note: I recently attended WootStock with Wil Wheaton, Paul and Storm, and Adam Savage. It was amazing! During Paul and Storm's live set they treated us with a musical plea to George R. R. Martin to write faster, which I'm sure most of us can relate to. If you haven't seen it already, check out the official video.


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 tbs. lemon zest

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 lemons, thinly sliced and seeded


Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil lemon slices for about 15 minutes in 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Grease a muffin tin with butter, vegetable oil or non-stick spray. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl,  beat butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Beat in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Beat in flour mixture and then buttermilk. Place 1 lemon slice in the bottom of each muffin cup. Divide batter between cups, pour over the lemon slices. Bake until cakes are firm and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Mix together remaining lemon juice and sugar. Poke holes into the cakes, then slowly pour lemon and sugar mixture over the cakes so the juice gets absorbed into the cakes, let set for about 5-10 minutes. Remove cakes from muffin cups and serve lemon slice side up!

Submission: Beorn's Honey Cake

From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm super excited to present Geeky Chef's first submission post! This recipe was created by Alex Muensch (thank you, Alex!) and it was submitted just in time for the release of the new Hobbit movie based on the book by Tolkien. In The Hobbit, these cakes were made for Bilbo and the rest of the crew by the bear shapeshifter Beorn. The recipe is mostly a secret, except that everyone knows it contains honey like most of the foods Beornings eat. You know, cuz they're bears and bears eat honey... Anyway. Beornings are known throughout Middle-Earth for their wonderful baking skills, but especially for their honey-cakes, which are almost as filling as Lembas Bread. However, they are supposed to make you very thirsty. Alex's recipe is delicious and full of honey flavor and sweet enough to make you really want a drink; It would make any Beorning proud. I know I'm going to make this and bring it with me when I see The Hobbit! I suggest you do the same.


Ingredients: 

 For the cake: 

 2 eggs

2/3 cup clover honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

A small pinch of baking soda (to counter the honey's acidity)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream


 For the frosting: 

 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl until thick. Add the honey and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. In three parts, add the dry mixture alternately with the cream to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Mix each addition well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool. To make the frosting,  mix butter and sugar until creamed. Add vanilla, honey, and whipping cream and mix. Lastly, stir in walnuts. Spread the finished frosting on top of the cake once it is cooled.

Photo and recipe by Alex Muensch

Elixir Soup

From The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker

I have to say, this is my most requested recipe. I generally try to space out recipes that are from the same universe, but due to the popularity of this soup and the winter season AND the fact that I'm sorta sick and am totally considering finally beating Windwaker while I'm homebound... I figured now is the time. This soup is so delicious and nutritious I guarantee it will replenish all of your life energy and magic power. I have to admit, when I first saw the trailers and demos for Windwaker I was kind of disappointed. After the amazing and realistic (for the time) graphics of Ocarina of Time, I had wanted the new Zelda for the new Nintendo system to be even more stunning. Initially, I refused to play the game until a very wise friend of mine sat me down and made me play and it's now one of my favorite Zelda games, even the cell shading grew on me. If you have for any reason skipped this Zelda, do yourself a favor and give it a shot, you won't be dissapointed. In the game, this soup is given to Link by his Grandmother after he heals her with a fairy. Not only is this Link's favorite soup, it is pretty much the best consumable in the game because it heals both your life and magic bars and doubles Link's attack power. Goes to show, even in the enigmatic world of Hyrule, there's nothing like your Grandma's cooking!  My interpretation uses Vitamin C rich vegetables such as yellow squash, carrots and turnips combined with the indisputable healing powers of chicken broth and citrus and satiety effects of butter to create a delicious and flavorful soup that will make you feel invincible. Now THAT is one hearty soup!

Ingredients:

1lb Yellow Squash, chopped

6 tbsp Butter

2 Turnips, peeled and chopped

2 Carrots, chopped

1/4 Cup Cauliflower, chopped

1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped

4 tbs. Lemon Juice

4 Cups Chicken Broth (or Veggie Broth if vegetarian)

3 Garlic Cloves, minced or chopped fine

1 Yellow Chile, de-seeded and chopped (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chives or Green Onions, chopped fine


Directions:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat, cook the yellow onion and garlic until softened, around 8-10 minutes. Add the squash, carrots, cauliflower, turnip, lemon juice, chile (if using) and half of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then simmer, until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes or until soup won't burn you. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth (be careful with hot liquids) and transfer to the cleaned or a new pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until you serve, adding more broth until desired consistency. Put in your serving vessel (preferably a corked glass bottle) and add the copped chives or green onions to the surface of the soup for garnish. Drink it with a smile!

Fish Fingers and Custard

From the Doctor Who television series

Alright, Whovians, you got your wish! Fish Fingers and Custard, also known as Fish Custard, is a dish enjoyed by the 11th Doctor shortly after his regeneration. The dish has a sort of emotional relevance to the celebrated relationship between the Doctor and Amelia Pond, you can watch the complete scene here to see its introduction.  Fish Fingers and Custard does not seem like something a normal person might want too eat, not all of us are time lords with pregnancy-like food preferences. In reality, Matt Smith, the actor who plays the newest Doctor, was actually eating breaded coconut cakes during this scene. So, there were two possible options to make this idea palatable: you either make the fish fingers into some sort of pastry, or you make the custard into something savory that compliments fried fish. I have found many recipes already that make this dish into more of a dessert (I recommend this one if you want to go that route) but I have never been one to go sweet unless the dish was intended to be a dessert, so I decided to make a savory version. My recipe pairs a panko and coconut battered fried fish finger (coconut added as tribute to the reality of the scene) and tangy lemon honey mustard dipping sauce (that basically looks like custard) which compliments it perfectly.

Ingredients:

For the fish fingers:

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tbs. milk

1lb tilapia filets, cut into 1 inch strips (cod or haddock will also work)

1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

1 cup of coconut flakes

Frying oil (how much depends on the size of your pan)

Salt and Pepper to taste


For the custard:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsps yellow mustard (prepared)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsps honey

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves minced garlic


Directions:
Make sure fish is cut into 1 inch thick strips.  Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Beat the eggs with the milk in another shallow bowl.  Mix the breadcrumbs and coconut  in a third shallow bowl.  Coat each fish piece in seasoned flour, dip in the eggs mixture and then roll in the panko and coconut mixture.  Set aside until ready to cook. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  In small batches, fry the fish sticks until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.  Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  To make the custard sauce simply combine all ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Liberally dip fish fingers in the custard sauce and enjoy!

Cellular Peptide Cake with Mint Frosting

From the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series

Some of you might assume the Geeky Chef has mad cake decorating skillz. Not so. I have horrible, sloppy cake decorating skills with an "s" instead of a "z."  However, I am quite proud of how this cake turned out. Even if your own cake decorating skill(s/z) are not so great, I guarantee you can pull this cake off. Now, I am a huge vulcan-saluting, prime-directive-abiding, starfleet-loving trekkie. The Next Generation is my favorite Star Trek series, and Phantasms is one of my very favorite episodes in the series. In the episode the android Data has a program installed in his positronic brain so he can dream like a human. Apparently, androids do not dream of electric sheep, they dream of Deanna Troi cakes and brain slurpees.  The cake is described by an uncharacteristically excited Worf as a "cellular peptide cake with mint frosting." The dream sequence is a delve into surrealism, jarringly unusual for the series, and it is absolutely hilarious. Here's a clip of what in my opinion is the best two and half minutes of Star Trek history. Cellular peptide isn't actually a thing, but it is described in the episode as a chain of molecules found in living things. The recipe I made is for a yummy moist white cake with some very blue mint flavored frosting. I used yogurt as a moistener for the cake itself because yogurt contains living bacteria. You can also go the lazy route and just buy pre-made white cake and pre-made frosting and add some mint extract to the frosting; The point is really to make the cake look like Deanna's starfleet uniform. Whether you make it from scratch or buy it pre-made, the cake will be mmmm... delicious.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 3/4 cups flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup softened unsalted butter

4 eggs whites

1 egg

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract


For the frosting:

1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. shortening

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. mint or peppermint extract or to taste

blue food coloring

black food coloring or use one of these methods to make black frosting


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix all of the dry ingredients. Add the softened butter and mix until crumbly. Add the egg whites, then the whole egg. Beat well. In a separate bowl whisk the yogurt with the two extracts. Add this mixture to the batter. Beat until fluffy. Pour the batter into a small square baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean when done. Let the cake cool and set. While it sets, you should prepare the frosting. Mix all the frosting ingredients in the order listed in small bowl. Beat until you reach a creamy consistency. Add more sugar if the frosting is too thin. Split the frosting into two bowls. In one bowl, add the blue food coloring. You will need a lot to get a deep blue. In the other bowl, mix in the black food coloring. Cut off part of the sides to make a T or torso shape. Emulate this picture when frosting.

Peeta's Cheesey Buns

From The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Here it is folks! Peeta Mallark's famous cheesey buns! Suzanne Collin's young adult trilogy has gained a lot of popularity lately after the release of the film version. It has been praised for its emotionally compelling storyline, character development and strong female protagonist. Due to it's themes of starvation and deprivation, Hunger Games often has extremely detailed and loving descriptions of food, making it one of Geeky Chef's favorite YA novels. There are so many dishes in Hunger Games that make your mouth water just reading about them that I wasn't sure where to start, so I called a vote. I was not surprised that Cheesey Buns won out. Not only are they delicious cheesey carbs (which, let's face it, everyone loves) they are also a favorite of Katniss and are baked for her by her love interest, Peeta. In comparison with the quality of food most people in District 12 are used to, these buns are certainly decadent and rich. In the book Catching Fire, Katniss describes these buns as soft bread with cheese baked on top, a bit greasy and messy to eat. I made a fluffy pull-apart bun, with a mixture of sharp cheddar and gruyere both inside the bun and on top as described in the book.  Working with dough and is not an easy thing to do, so be careful to make sure your dough is a good consistency... And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 packet active dry yeast

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tbs cup butter, melted

Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 375º Fahrenheit. Grease a small pan. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and the yeast in a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix. Toss in 1/2 cup of each cheese. Add the warm milk, warm water and the oil. Beat for about 5 minutes. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour until you have a soft dough. Put dough on a floured board. Knead the dough until it is elastic and not sticky, adding more flour if necessary. Place in a greased bowl and then flip the dough over to grease the other side. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm environment for approximately one half hour. Punch the dough down, cover again and let rest for 10 more minutes. Cut dough into 20 separate pieces. Shape each into a sphere. Dip each ball in melted butter. Arrange balls in two layers in the small well greased pan. Cover with a paper towel. Let rise in warm place until balls are almost to top of pan, about one hour. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the rolls. Bake on the lower rack of a preheated 375°F oven for about 35 minutes or until rolls are firm and golden. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!!