Food in a good storybook

I always fancy a story book that has good food.

The picnics that Mother made for Jo, Fanny and Bessie (of The Magic Faraway Tree) always sounded delicious - sandwiches, cake and milk in a basket. As were the food in the lands that they visited - pop biscuits (the ones that go pop and you find your mouth full of honey).. soup from a tap (in the Land of Goodies).. mouth-watering Google Buns.. - they all sounded so yummy!

And who can deny that some of the major highlights of Malory Towers (and St Clares) were the midnight feasts they had, term after term - tongue sandwiches with lettuce, hard-boiled eggs to eat with bread-and-butter, great chunks of new-made cream cheese, gingerbread cakes and jam sandwiches.

And I remembered how I used to read the Famous Five books (no Secret Seven for me - there were just too many of them to remember...) wishing I could go on those cycling trips they had. Not for the views of the Cornish sea or country side, but the iced-cold lemonade they seem to find in small village stores and the lashings of ginger beer they used to drink. And I always wished I could visit the places where they stayed at during their holidays. They often seem to have the nicest food! Freshly baked bread with homemade jam, crispy bacon and fried eggs, slices of ham and tomatoes, whole fruit cake, stews with carrots, onions and peas... the food seem to be delicious in every adventure that they had!

Anne of Green Gables, one of my favourite book series growing up, also had its share of nice food - with crab apple preserves, plum puddings, ginger snaps and of course, the infamous "raspberry cordial" that Diana got drunk on.

Even the food in Harry Potter is nice, albeit a little too pumpkin-ish for me at times. I mean.. I can understand pumpkin soup.. but pumpkin juice?

The reason for this nostalgic post is that I learnt about this new book recently - Cherry Cake and Ginger beer, by Jane Brocket. It is a book with recipes of foods from books we read when we were young.

This is how it is described in Amazon:
"A wonderfully nostalgic cookery book, it will take you straight back to your favourite children's books and show you how to cook the feel-good foods that feature so strongly in them. So, you'll find recipes for Swallows and Amazons Squashed-Fly Biscuits, the Famous Five's Gorgeous Ginger Beer, and Gloriously Sticky Marmalade Roll from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe amongst others. Divided into appropriate sections like Proper Elevenses, Picnic Treats and Lessons in the Kitchen each recipe is introduced with an evocative description of the book that inspired it. Guaranteed to take you straight back to your childhood, the book is an escapist treat for grown-ups and will encourage you to re-visit much-loved classics and share them with the next generation. "

This book is on my wishlist now. It is unfortunately, out of stock because a friend of mine has gone and purchased 4 of it (all they had) from Amazon..

I need to go find something delicious to munch on now...