Calico Bread from Fablehaven

4 cups flour (white or whole wheat)
1 3/4 cups warm water or milk
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. dry yeast or .6-.7 oz fresh yeast
2 tsp. sugar

Fillings/flavors:
peanut butter
jam/jelly
cheese
marinara sauce, with or without cheese, minced pepperoni, etc
poppy seeds and lemon zest
dill weed and grated carrot
any kind of herbs, edible flowers
tiny bits of caramel
cheese with minced vegetables like peppers, garlic, etc
honey
cinnamon and sugar
dried fruit
Use your imagination!


Combine the yeast with the sugar in warm water/milk. Stir in the flour one cup at a timbre, adding in the salt at some point. Knead so that it's smooth and elastic with some resistance.

Coat bowl and dough in oil or water. Place dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap sealed around the edges, but large and loose over the top so it doesn't smash the risen dough. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled, in a warm place.

Divide dough into a lot of small portions. Add a different filling into each piece, adding flour if necessary to anything that is too wet. Some filings can be kneaded into the dough. For some fillings, roll the piece of dough flat, put on the filling, and roll it into a log with the filling spiraled inside. Others can be made into little filled dumplings. Who the outside of the pieces with water so they will adhere together. Put the pieces of dough all together in a greased bread pan, coat the top with oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise again for another 30 minutes or so, until it is about an inch over the top of the pan.

Spray water into the oven or place a small pan with water inside. Put the bread pan into the oven, then start pre-heating to 350° F. Bake for 60-70 minutes until it's a dark golden brown on top and the interior measures to 190°-200° F.

D&D Healing Potion

2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 cups water
1 Tbls. floral tea* (dried rose petals, hibiscus, chamomile, etc)
2 cups sugar

Spices:
For regular healing potion: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
For greater healing potion: 1/4 tsp. ground clove
For superior healing potion: 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
For supreme healing potion: 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. pearl dust**
For regular healing potion: pink pearl dust
For greater healing potion: white pearl dust
For superior healing potion: silver pearl dust
For supreme healing potion: gold pearl dust

2 liters carbonated water

*The floral tea I used in this batch was a combination of hibiscus petals, lemon peel, orange peel, rose hips, and rose petals.

**Pearl dust is a powdered food coloring, made with mica powder, used to decorate pastries. It is shimmery, and not to be confused with color dust, which is powdered food coloring that is not pearlescent. It is also called luster dust in different brands.


Combine raspberries, water, floral tea, and spice over high heat in a large pan. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat to maintain a boil for 25 minutes.

Put a fine mesh strainer, or a colander lined with cheesecloth, over a tall bowl or pitcher. Pour the mixture into the strainer and let it slowly strain through gravity, without pressing the mixture.

Eventually, after an hour or more, you should have about 1 1/2 cups of syrup.

Remove and reserve 2 cups of carbonated water from its bottle. Add the pearl dust into the bottle, then pour the raspberry syrup into the bottle. Top off any empty space with the reserved carbonated water. Screw on the lid and gently tilt the bottle back and forth to mix it.

Grumm's Experiment

From Martin the Warrior.  Grumm mixes together wheat flour, wild oats, wild plums, wild honey, and apples chopped small, then shapes the dough into cakes and cooks on a stone over a fire.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup apple, minced
1 cup plums, stones removed, and cut into quarters

 Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the honey and fruit.

Warm the plum pieces to soften them (30 seconds in microwave), then mash them, focusing on separating the flesh from the skin and liquefying the flesh. Stir into the flour mixture. The dough should be very sticky and wet.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet that is greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden-brown.

Mossflower Vegetable Stew with Dumplings

7 cups water or vegetable stock
6 Tbls. corn meal
3 Tbls. oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/4 pound potatoes, diced
5 carrots, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup corn
3 cups beans, precooked

Dumplings:
2 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat, white wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup milk or nut milk
1/3 cup minced parsley
3 egg whites

Whisk the corn meal into the water/vegetable stock. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Let it simmer, but not boil.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and parsley. Beat in egg whites. Drop dough in spoonfuls into the stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes until dumplings are done.

Felix Felicis

1" piece of ginger root
pineapple, canned or fresh (if using fresh, peel and cut into pieces)
apples
1/3 cup lemon juice (or a peeled lemon to juice)
1 cup water
1/2 lb. dry ice

Makes about 2 liters

Put the lemon juice in the measuring bowl (or run a lemon through the juicer into the bowl). Juice the ginger with the first apple, then continue to juice apples until you have 4 cups of juice. Juice the pineapple (you can use the juice in the can too) until you have 8 cups of juice. Transfer to a serving bowl or to a larger container if necessary. Stir in the water and stir around to help diffuse any foam that may have formed from juicing. Add the dry ice. You can start serving it after 15 minutes (to make sure it's all carbonated). Or, you can take out the ice after 15 minutes (or wait for it to all dissolve) and transfer the potion to an airtight container for storage. Store in the fridge.

Redwall Abbeyscones

From Legend of Luke, these scones are meant to resemble the bricks from which the abbey is built.

1 cup whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or white wheat flour
1 cup oats
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbls. crystallized honey
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup preserved cherries with juice (Not cherry jam or pie filling, just canned cherries) or fresh cherries, pitted and mashed
1 Tbls. beet juice, or beet powder, or juice from any red berry, optional
allspice

Preheat oven to 425.

Stir flour, oats, and salt into a bowl. Cut in butter and honey until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add nuts and cherries. Add a few tablesoons more cherry juice if necessary to make a dough, but not too sticky. Beet juice or powder or berry juice may be added if a stronger red color is desired.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead a little until it's cohesive. Place the dough on a baking sheet that is either greased or lined with parchment, and roll or press it into a rectangular shape. Cut it into smaller rectangles. Sprinkle allspice on top.

Bake for 10 minutes.

The batch pictured here didn't turn out very red because canned cherry juice doesn't have a strong color, and I didn't have any of those other colorants on hand. Still delicious, of course.