Welcome back, Geeky Gluttons, to another episode of Munchies & Minis!
Munchies & Minis is my tabletop RPG-inspired live cooking show for those just joining us. Once a week, I make a snack or meal to pair with a side of dice rolls. You can catch me on Twitch (unless indicated otherwise on social media) Wednesday nights at 7 pm EST.
For our last video, we made some pimento-cheese stuffed artichoke hearts inspired by Pathfinder’s The Rusty Dragon. In this episode, we join the Orcish tribes from web series JourneyQuest for some Waffled — waffle-shaped waybread — that make lembas look like sad biscuits.
Divots of Deliciousness
For those unfamiliar with JourneyQuest by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, this web series follows “a group of dysfunctional adventurers on a quest to discover and destroy the mythical Sword of Fighting (…) where intellectual orcs, incompetent wizards, and holy zombies form the living (and not-so-living) backdrop to an epic story of unrequited love, burning passions, and severely reluctant heroism. And running away. Lots of running away…”.
I’ve covered this series with character-favorite recipes for pineapple cheesecake tarts, cream-filled raspberry scones, and flank steak skewers. This time, I chose an Orcish word as my inspiration: Waffled. Waffled (pronounced WAFF-Led) means “food,” though it’s an Easter egg for fans of writer Matt Vancil’s other work: The Gamers film series. After game time in Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising, the group always goes out for waffles — crying “WAFFLES!” at the top of their lungs. In JourneyQuest, we see this exchange when the orcs disguise themselves as humans:
So with that, I wondered if Waffled is not just the word for food, but may have started as a food staple’s name that became culturally and etymologically associated with “food” — like bread. I don’t see ovens commonplace in orcish wood-dwelling communities. Waffle irons also go back to the European Medieval period. It is possible that orcs either invented the (or copied a stolen) waffle iron and made waybread with little divots perfectly portioned for drizzles of honey or tree sap.
Since this Waffled is meant to travel — and orcs have stupidly high metabolism — I incorporated some chopped ham into the batter. Even if they didn’t steal the ham, pigs keep pretty well in the woods and are likely useful for foraging. Speaking of foraging, though, I wanted to incorporate some forest flavors in this recipe. That’s why I also blended in some rosemary, pine nuts, and, finally, ground sumac for a citrusy zing. Dip it or drizzle it with honey or maple syrup. This tasty snack will keep you going whether you’re hunting the Orcslayer or hibernating through your ancestral rage.
Want to learn how to make Orcish Waffled for your adventuring party? Watch the video or find out how to get the recipe card below!
Orcish Waffled
Sing for your Supper!
This video will always be around to cook along with. But I also have the printable PDF recipe cards available for my Ko-Fi and Patreon supporters.
This week, my blog post and Munchies & Minis recipe cards are available in exchange for a $2 donation on my Ko-fi page. Recipes from previous Munchies & Minis episodes are also being added to my Ko-fi store, so keep an out for updates!
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If you join my Patreon community at the “Kitchen Twitch” ($5/month) level or higher, you will not only get access to ALL of my Munchies & Minis recipe cards. You’ll also get blog-post Spotify playlists, community polls, random digital and physical swag surprises, AND a welcome gift of my Lord of the Rings recipe cards and playlists.
I hope this episode inspired you to start a culinary campaign of your own. Next week, I’ll continue the third season of Munchies & Minis with a recipe chosen by my Patreon subscribers!
Make sure to join me on Wednesday on Twitch from 7 – 9 pm EST. OR you can catch the archived episode on YouTube.
