"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace." - Milan Kundera (b. 1929) Czech author
Chocolate truffles are our mom's favorite Christmas candy to make because they are easy, they keep, and they make nice gifts. With the basic formula of chocolate and cream you can create the ganache and then add whatever flavors strike your fancy. This is mom's favorite combination
Chocolate Coconut Snow Ball Truffles
2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips 1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream 1 tbsp rum about a cup of chopped dried cherries about a cup of chopped walnuts 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes for rolling Put the chocolate chips in a large bowl. Heat the cream in a sauce pan until just starting to simmer at the edges. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until a smooth ganache forms. Add the rum, cherries, and walnuts and mix well. Chill for about 2 hours in the fridge. Scoop out tablespoon amounts and roll in the sweetened coconut flakes. Store in the fridge in a container lined with parchment paper. We have been thinking about our list for Santa Paws
And we want a lot of stuff: bones, squeaky toys, biscuits, a new bed, etc. What we really want though is a Hobbit House!
and here is one in Pennsylvania, read about it here:
Mom would be awful happy if we got this house and we would have a lot of space to play and be comfortable, because we know a Hobbit House means comfort! It seems unlikely Santa will fit him one on his slay though so we will have to content ourselves with our annual Christmas Lord of The Rings marathon.
(Mom and Dad saw the Hobbit movie and they did like it, but they think it was a bit silly to stretch a 300 page book into a 3 part film series. Its probably for serious fans only).
Forget the olympics, the US presidential election, the supposed doom predicted by the Mayan calendar, the biggest event of 2012 for fantasy nerds comes on Friday December, 14. The premier of part 1 of The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey.
Now finally the void left since The Return of the King can be filled, because there is nothing like a Hobbit, and of course sadly in the real world they do not exist (according to the books they were driven away by the big folk). Take heart though, there seem to be some interesting parallels between Hobbits and Pugs.
If you don't believe me take a look at this dialogue taken from the extended addition of The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring (I have highlighted the pug pertinent parts and supplied pictorial evidence)
BILBO VOICEOVER:
Hobbits have been living and farming in the four Farthings of the Shire for many hundreds of years.
Exhibit A: Pugs are one of the oldest breeds around. Writing describing pugs date back as far as 534 BCE, when they were described by Confucious. Quite content to ignore and be ignored by the world of the Big Folk. Middle Earth being, after all, full of strange creatures beyond count. Hobbits must seem of little importance,being neither renowned as great warriors, nor counted amongst the very wise.
Exhibit B- This picture documents a day that the Urban Hounds dad played a mean trick on the pugs. Tubby, Ping, and Weasley wandered into Weasley's play pen in search of srtray bit of kibble, Dad then closed the door and they became a bit confused. A few seconds later when he re-opened the door they could not figure out how to get out and had to be picked up out of the pen.
(Of course a pugs natural cleverness comes out when manipulating a human who loves them, much like the wisdom of a Hobbit under duress. Also not great warriors, they definitely prefer a snuggle to a tussle)
Exhibit C-A Pug Besotted Human
BILBO:
In fact, it has been remarked by some that Hobbits’ only real passion is for food.
Exhibit D: Three hungry pugs sharing a pupsickle
A rather unfair observation. As we have also developed a keen interest in the brewing of ales and the smoking of pipeweed. But where our hearts truly lie is in peace and quiet
Exhibit E: Pugs appreciating peace and quiet
and good tilled earth. For all Hobbits share a love of all things that grow.
Exhibit F: A pug demonstrating a love of things that grow
And yes, no doubt to others, our ways seem quaint. But today of all days, it is brought home to me it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.
Exhibit G: Pugs appreciating the simple life
We hope you enjoy the movie if you do go and see it, or even better read the book. Happy Hobbiting!
Like any dyed in the wool sci-fi fantasy nerd. I am obsessed with the Lord of the Rings, at fifteen I even made a brief attempt to learn Elvish, yes there are nerds so devoted that they speak and write in it, however my patience and talents for it where akin to my patience and talents for high school French so I gave up very quickly. Every Christmas the whole Urban Hounds family (myself, husband, dogs, and cats) watches the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on DVD, it is a ritual I consider of up most import, as utterly essential to the Yule Tide Celebration as the tree and the gifts. So you can imagine my excitement when I went to see The Adventures of Tin Tin and during the vast slew of previews that now precedes every movie I saw the one for The Hobbit:
It completely overshadowed the movie for me which I thought was only so-so. I was in nerd nirvana.
Any way today is JRR Tolkien's birthday, he was born in 1892 and passed away in 1973. So I thought it was a fitting day to make some hobbit inspired snacks (as Tolkien notes Hobbits love to eat and drink, something that along with being quite short, I have in common with them.)
Hobbits are particularly fond of mushrooms (one of my favorites) and young hobbits often participate in mushroom hunting, our outright mushroom thievery. So an appropriate Hobbit inspired snack is Mushrooms on Toast excellent for elevenses, tea, or second breakfast.)
1 container of button mushrooms, washed and sliced (about 2 cups total) 3 tbsp butter 1 tsp truffle oil (or regular olive oil) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1/4 cup sour cream 2 slices of wheat toast or white toast
Heat the butter and oil in a skillet or pan over medium heat until frothy. Add the mushrooms and stir about seasoning with the salt and pepper. Cook for three minutes. Add the sour cream and stir well. Let the mushrooms simmer in the sour cream mixture while you make the toast, serve. (If you want to dress it up a bit add some minced parsley).
I also think that these Walnut Tarts
being small, homely, and tasty would be excellent Hobbit fair. Perfect for tea with Gandalf.
Walnut Tarts
> Pastry > > 4 oz Cream cheese > 1 stick butter > 1 cup all purpose flour > > Filling > > 2/3 cup chopped walnuts > 1 egg > 3/4 cup brown sugar, sift out lumps > 1 tsp vanilla > Dash salt > > > PASTRY > Let cream cheese & butter soften at room temp, and then combine ingredients > for pastry in food processor until firm dough forms. Remove from machine, > form into a ball and refrigerate for about one hour. Shape in 2 dozen 1" > balls. Place in ungreased mini muffin pans, press dough against bottom & sides. > > WALNUT FILLING: Beat together egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla & salt just > till smooth, stir in chopped nuts. Fill in pastry lined pans. Bake in low > oven (325 degrees) 30 min. Cool & remove from pans.
but in the meantime I can eat my snacks with my hounds at my sides and count down until December 2012 when I can go the theatre and see The Hobbit on the big screen.
