LotR | Peregrin Took’s Carrot Seed-Cakes

Now that we’ve rung in the New Year, who’s ready for some second breakfast? So my husband and I have a little tradition where we marathon The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (extended versions) in their entirety on New Years Day. Since it doesn’t do to host your friends for 12 hours without feeding them, I whipped up some Tolkien-esque concoctions to satisfy my local shire-folk. First on our Middle Earth Menu is a breakfast of Carrot Cake Scones and Lemon-Poppyseed Clotted Cream inspired by Peregrin Took!

Click here to skip to the recipe for Peregrine Took’s Carrot Seed-Cakes!

Peregrin Took, An Honest Fool.

The Peregrin “Pippen” Took we see in both the films and books is the poster child for curiosity and impulsivity. Between setting off fireworks indoors and stealing from Farmer Maggot’s crop, to throwing rocks around the Mines of Moria and meddling in the affairs of wizards, Peregrin Took “always has to look.”

I bring this up because curiosity and impulsivity can be as much a blessing as it is a curse. As much as Pippin’s actions brew trouble, he has nothing but good intentions. Gandalf says he is “a fool, but honest one” and it shows. We see this when the film’s Pippin tricks Treebeard into taking them south because “the closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm.” In the face of the Ents’ over-planning and discussion, though, he is right. The longer the Ents take to avoid risk, the more harm they do to the trees they shepherd.

And also let us not forget the number of times Pippin’s impulse to do the right thing saved lives between drawing Uruk-hai off Frodo and Sam in Fellowship, to saving Faramir from a fiery death in Return of the King. If anything, Peregrin Took’s story teaches us that often the difference between life and death falls on the person willing to step and do the stupid thing that everyone else is too afraid to do.

“What About Second Breakfast?”

Since we started our party/marathon in the late morning, a “second breakfast” seemed appropriate for our first Middle Earth Menu item. I don’t know about you, but first thing in the morning I want something savory like “fried eggs, tomatoes, and nice crispy bacon.” I usually only hit the sweets between breakfast and lunch.

With this in mind, I thought I would also reference Farmer Maggot’s scene from Fellowship and make some savory-sweet breakfast scones with carrots. I then incorporated some fresh thyme, ground ginger, buttermilk, and honey into the dough for some English farm flavors likely found in the Shire.

Now whether you choose to large or small-grate your carrots is up to you. If you prefer a softer texture, you can use a fine-toothed grater or rasp as I did. A standard cheese grater will give you long shreds that also provide these scones with an interesting appearance and more body.

This recipe works with both all-purpose and gluten-free 1-to-1 flour without recalculating conversions. I chose the latter for the company I had over. The buttermilk will keep these cakes moist and flavorful either way.

Since scones really are best with some form of cream, I adapted my Outlander Crowdie recipe to whip up some Lemon-Poppyseed Clotted Cream. I figured since Tolkien often refers to seed cakes as a hobbit delicacy, its addition turns this second-breakfast staple into a halfling’s treat.

Sing for your Supper!

So as I mentioned in my last post, today starts a new feature on The Gluttonous Geek. While access to recipes on the blog will always be free, I will now have printable PDF recipe cards and thematic cook-along Spotify playlists as rewards for those who choose to support the blog.

The printable recipe card and playlist for Pippin’s Carrot Seed-Cakes will be available as a $3 donor reward on my Ko-Fi page until January 17, 2019 at 8 pm EST.

recipe

“Fool of a Took!”