Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Chris and I will take all but one sword. We want you to go out in style, a Viking funeral ship launched into the Long Island Sound with shield, sword and that big old horned helmet.

Fare thee well !



Talk to you soon

Peter Remling wrote: I found a different supplier for Hardtack on the net and they also offer a variety of slightly more palatable bisquits which I'm thinking of trying.

Why not just make your own? Hardtack must be the simplest of all recipes, being flour, water, and some salt, baked/dried thoroughly. I recommend this highly especially since you seem to take issue with their taste and texture, and making them yourself would give you flexibility to adjust ingredients. Depending on the recipe and your preferences, you may wish to add shortening, baking soda, honey, maple syrup, molasseses, or other binders and flavorings. Different flours can prove useful as well - try rye flour, or whole wheat at the least.

As with Gareth, I reside near Swiss Town, though my village is of Norwegian heritage. Because of this there is an abundance of Lefse, which is a flatbread made from potato, somewhat like a tortilla. There is a hard variety however - hardangerlefse - which is made from risen graham flour, rolled, and dried, which resembles a flaky wafer-like hardtack and lasts for months. It is sold in packages in grocery stores here, particularly this time of year. I've not yet gotten any since previously I couldn't think of a use for them, but now I know to try them out as trail rations...

...

Welcome indeed Odigan! Thanks for the valuable input as well. I'm a little put out that mcapanelli didn't mention any of the rest of us in his will though. But then again, we rangers are few and far between. We can't afford for one of our own to poison himself.

Well I'm alive and well so I'll be keeping those swords after all. Your all still welcome to come down and cut with whatever I have on hand at the time thought. I'm getting pretty good at mushroom identity but still don't feel confident to try and eat one. I'll be experimenting this weekend with some flat bread ideas and if it works out I'll share. I'm still trying to come u with a Lembas equivalent, any ideas?

The movie ones pictured looked like a turnover with no filling, light airy with a golden crust.

I still think fruitcake makes a good substitute, if you're one of those people who like a good fruitcake.

Peter Remling wrote:The movie ones pictured looked like a turnover with no filling, light airy with a golden crust.

I still think fruitcake makes a good substitute, if you're one of those people who like a good fruitcake.

I'm not a fruitcake kind of guy (I'm not sure that came out right) Now if only I could make something that tasted better and lasted half as long I'd be in business.

...

When the world ( or rather the US at least) drops into super-depression decline the non-fruitcakes are going to be really jealous of the awesome traveling gear and weapons we have;)

...

Gareth wrote:

hesinraca wrote:When the world ( or rather the US at least) drops into super-depression decline the non-fruitcakes are going to be really jealous of the awesome traveling gear and weapons we have;)

Fruitcake...

LOL! Definitely can't deny the fruitcake thing man. Yet I'll wear my badge proudly as someone that's not afraid to veer from the "norm" and pursue my interests.

I cook and/or improvise with most of my food (I can make a MEAN hardtack with flour made from pounded acorn, and Cattail roots taste like extra-starchy potatoes if you cook them long enough) but there's one thing I refuse to cut corners on.

Trader Joe's sells what they call "Middle Eastern Flatbread" and I swear, this stuff looks exactly like Lembas Bread, and tastes amazing. It's ADDICTING!



In the picture it has some brown spots on it, but every bag I've ever bought was all dough colored. Not too expensive, keeps without refrigeration, and tastes fantastic, not to mention makes for an amazing improvised breakfast burrito, if you stuff it with whatever you happen to have on hand that you cook that morning. Makes eating while starting your journey easy (the hobbits would've loved this stuff if they hadn't eaten it all so early on...)

I would suggest considering Eccles cakes and Chorley cakes. They are small pastries filled with currants and raisins and are excellent trail food. Chorley cakes tend to be flatter and made with shortcrust pastry while Eccles cakes are thicker, more buttery and made with a more flaky pastry.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorley_cake

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eccles_cake

Those are some lovely-looking cakes. This is a fun thread and I'll help myself to reviving it.

I've been experimenting with travel foods lately. I used to find Sailor Boy Pilot Bread at one of our local grocery stores and my daughters loved that variety of "cram," but the store stopped carrying it. Over the past few weeks I've baked several batches of the old-fashioned hardtack and have been learning how to make it edible. One of my favorite ways is to cook into soup. Here are some pictures of a little "ranger lunch" I cooked over an alcohol stove during a lunch break. I work close to Provo Canyon and there's a bike trail that passes by several parks.


Here's the hardtack in its sack.


Simmering the soup. It also included some home grown and dried tomatoes.


And here's how it looked right before I ate it.

When I read about the Fellowship's journey to Moria, I imagine them eating bannock when they could build fires. And for that matter, I like to think the Rohirrim, carrying their "meal and water," ate it too. I've perfected a bannock recipe that's a bit more luxurious than its simplest form. I cook it fairly often:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour or oat groats ground in a hand-cranked mill (somewhere between flour and Scottish oatmeal)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
Dried rosemary and sage to taste - a few sprigs and leaves
Grind the herbs with the salt and mix with the flour and baking powder. Cut in the butter until the texture is crumbly - like pea-sized granules. Add warm water - maybe about a cup - enough to form a dough that's a bit sticky. Knead it for a minute or two until it's not so sticky. Form a ball, pat and/or roll the ball into a round flat cake about a half inch thick. Cook on a griddle - on medium heat over a kitchen stove - for about five minutes each side, or until it smells good and forms some golden brown spots.



I've cooked this over a rocket stove but I need more practice with that, not to burn it. Next time I cook it outside I'll probably try coals - or coil the dough around a stick.

You haven't heard the last from me on this thread, but I'll let that be for now.

Oh my, that soup looks amazing! That's a great idea to throw in hardtack to make a sort of rough dumpling. I'm definitely putting that on the "to try" list.