Heroes-feasting - Hello Bonjour

episode twelve: honeyed ham 🍖🍽🗡

Soul Cakes and Halloween Costumes

“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble” - Witches’ Speech, Macbeth

End of October and early November is an interesting time of year. Marking the end of the harvest season, October 31st - November 2nd share four separate holidays:

Halloween on the 31st;

All-Saints Day on the 1st; and

All-Souls Day and Samhain on the 2nd.

For such an interesting time of year, it’s no wonder that recipes have appeared across time to commemorate each occasion.

Traditionally baked to celebrate All-Souls Day, Soul Cakes are sugar-cookie-esque spiced cookies (or biscuits) that are made with none of the vanilla extract, baking powder, or baking soda that we’re used to seeing in modern recipes. Rather, they rely on their interesting blend of spices to treat your taste buds!

If you’re looking for something to keep the Halloween season going at school or work even after the holiday has passed, bring in these cookies to snack on!

Have a safe and happy Halloween/ All-Saints Day/ All-Souls Day/ Samhain everyone!

P.S: The fox in the picture is named Elphaba!

(Adapted from Helen Best-Shaw’s Fuss Free Flavours and Cooking Journey Blog)

Prep: 10 mins               Cook: 30 mins               Overall: 40 mins

Ingredients*:

¼ cup + 3 tbsp. (100 g) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

1 pinch saffron or ground turmeric (for colour)

1 tsp. (2 g) all-spice

½ tsp. mixed spice**

2 ½ tbs. (35 ml) milk

50 g raisins***

* Makes enough for 15-18 2-inch (5 cm) diameter cookies or 24-27 ~2.6-inch (6.6 cm) diameter cookies.

** Mixed spice is a spice blend that includes cinnamon, coriander seed, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves, and caraway. I don’t have access to this blend so I added ¼ tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves individually to make ½ tsp..

*** I didn’t have any regular raisins so I substituted for golden raisins.

To start, preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Next, in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.

Then, whisk in the egg yolks.

Add flour, all-spice, mixed spice, and milk and stir until the dough holds together.

After, stir in the raisins until they are well distributed.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to about o.6-inch (¼ cm) thickness. Then, cut the dough in circles using a cookie cutter.

Recombine and re-roll any dough scraps to get the most cookies possible!

Place the dough circles on the parchment-lined baking sheet - leaving space between each cookie. Cut a plus-sign (or cross) shape on each cookie (adding the raisin is optional).

Bake on the middle oven rack for 15-20 mins - rotating the pan halfway through - until they are golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Overall, I would give this recipe a 5/5. The spices used in the cookies made for a different and delicious spin on the sugary cookies we’re used to nowadays. I had a lot of fun diving into this medieval British treat and hope to try more in the future!

Happy Halloween/All-Saints Day/ All-Souls Day/ Samhain!

[video by aidenarata. original caption: it's a good spoon]

being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors

MCC has added a monument to Techno in the MCC lobby!

[Image ID:

A cropped screenshot of Techno’s memorial in the MCC hub from the update video for MCC 23. It consists of a wooden slab with a custom diamond sword with a stone hilt embedded into it. The sword’s connection between guard and hilt is decorated with a golden pig face and a custom version of Techno’s crown hangs from one side of the guard.

End ID]

Underdark Lotus with Fire Lichen Spread

Sometimes called “fungus two ways,” this zesty duergar essential is sure to rouse the taste buds of even the most spiced-crazed tiefling. - Heroes’ Feast, p. 93

I’ve always found hummus to be a very interesting snack food. With countless possible flavour combinations, you would be hard-pressed to grow tired of this nutritious spread!

Eccentric in both name and origin, the Underdark Lotus with Fire Lichen Spread is sure to satisfy your hunger and delight your taste buds. Between the sweet taste of the carrots and the savoury taste of the cumin, it really is the perfect snack food for spring, summer, and fall!

Fun fact: this hummus has become so popular in our house during hang-out sessions that it’s one of the few recipes I’ve got memorized!

See below for my notes on the results and for some helpful tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast

Note: The terrible lighting in this post is brought to you by me moving back into my student house from my parents’ home.

Prep Time: ~15 mins Cook Time: ~35 mins (25 roasting + 10 misc.) Overall: ~45 mins

For the ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 lb. carrots (about 4 large), peeled and chopped

¾ tsp. cumin seeds or sweet paprika

1 tsp. cayenne

3 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

⅔ cup cold water, plus more as needed

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup tahini*

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Radishes, sliced cucumbers, romaine lettuce leaves for dipping*

* I substituted the tahini for the same amount of 2% greek yoghurt.

** Use any of your favourite veggies/dippables! I used radishes, sliced cucumbers, any kind of sweet pepper, and flatbread (naan).

I use the following conversions in my cooking:

1 lb. carrots = 500 g

1 tsp. cumin seeds = 2 g

1 tsp. sweet paprika = 2 g

1 tsp. cayenne pepper = 1.8 g

3 tbsp. olive oil = 44 ml

⅔ cup water = 160 ml

¼ cup fresh lemon juice = 1 large lemon, juiced

¼ tahini/greek yoghurt = 60 ml

NOTE: I would caution against using bottled lemon juice instead of fresh lemon juice in this recipe. I found using bottled lemon juice gave the hummus an unpleasant bitterness compared to a freshly juiced lemon.

NOTE: I would caution the amount of cayenne pepper called for in this recipe. Even for the spice junkies in my house, 1 tsp. was A LOT of cayenne pepper. I would recommend starting with a little bit less than ¼ tsp. (~0.4 g) and increase it from there each time you make them.

Above is what the veggies looked like before and after roasting. Make sure to toss the carrots, chickpeas, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and spices together first. Then, sprinkle the salt and a generous amount of pepper overtop. I chopped the carrots into slices about a ½ inch (~1 cm) thick.

Although they aren’t a staple in many kitchens, I would highly recommend using cumin seeds for the hummus instead of the paprika - even if you need to buy them. They add an incredible taste to the hummus that makes them worth the extra price.

NOTE: Although Heroes’ Feast states to process the veggies right after coming out of the oven, I’ve had no problem with the flavour when storing them in the fridge and processing them cold.

Above is what the roasted veggies, lemon juice, water, greek yoghurt, and olive oil looked like in the food processor.

TIP: I highly recommend investing in a food processor with built-in side scrapers like the one above. Not having to stop the food processor to scrape down the sides of the bowl is a great time-saver!

TIP: Roll the lemon like a rolling pin before cutting it to maximize the amount of juice it contains.

Above is what the hummus looked like after being processed. Although Heroes’ Feast says to process it until smooth, I found the coarser consistency created a more rustic feel that was a better fit for a D&D setting.

To get it to this texture, I processed it on the lowest setting, continuously scraping down the sides, for 20 seconds. I then added ~1 tsp. more water and repeated the same process for another 20 secs.

Overall, I would give this recipe a 5/5. Everyone in my house thoroughly enjoyed it and it has become a staple during Monday movie nights!

For best freshness results, store any extra hummus in a sealed tupperware container in the fridge. It will keep for about a week or until the greek yoghurt is set to expire.

Pumpkin Shaped Dinner Rolls

“On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys to [give to] all the children.” - Linus, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Happy Halloween everyone! I’ve been a huge fan of Charlie Brown for as long as I can remember. Every year, my family watches the specials on TV and I must have read each volume in my grandmother’s massive collection at least three times.

So, when I saw this tumblr post late last year, I knew exactly what I wanted to make for Halloween this year… but with a twist! After some trial and error, I’ve found a way to add cinnamon/pumpkin spice sugar to these rolls while avoiding a massive pocket of it.

So, grab your fall-themed drink of choice and check out below for how to make a batch of these delicious pull-apart dinner rolls for yourself! The great pumpkin may just pay you a visit for your troubles…

(Based on the post by Chef John from All Recipes and the tumblr post linked above.)

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