Dreamsnatcher Blog Tour: Characters and Their Favourite Gypsy Recipes

Thrilled to welcome my friend, debut author Abi Elphinstone, to the blog today as part of the Dreamsnatcher blog tour to talk about characters in her brilliant MG adventure The Dreamsnatcher and their favourite recipes! 

While Moll is trapped in a witchdoctor’s lair she tries to convince one of the servant boys there that she can tell a lot about a person from their handwriting. In her own words: ‘Big bends in the g, f, j and q mean a person’s greedy; small loops in the a, d, e and o mean a person’s tight-fisted, those wispy dashes across the t and f there mean this person’s clever-thinking.’ But Moll’s lies are as thick as they come when she’s fighting for a plan to escape. It got me thinking though – perhaps you can tell a little about a person from the things they do and like. And so, I’ve asked each of my characters what their favourite gypsy recipe is – then I’ve done a bit of inventing to see what that might mean about them…

Moll scoffing sausages

MOLL: Elderflower in Batter

Make a batter with flour and milk, some sugar and a beaten egg.

Take an elderflower head (cut short at the stalk).

Dip it into the batter and shallow-fry in butter.

Character notes: short recipes mean a person is impatient and probably headstrong – they don’t like cooking but the eating is all good. The shallow-fry in butter implies means this character has a cheeky side and the use of a wild plant like elderflower suggests an unpredictable nature

GRYFF: Duck from the river…

Lie hidden in an alder branch overhanging the river

Wait, crouch low and size up prey, hopefully a duck

Leap from the branches, splay claws then dig fangs into duck’s neck

Drag prey to the banks and consume it

Character notes: the way the wildcat waits silently for its prey indicates a stealthy, secretive nature and its violent attack suggests a wild personality

SIDDY: Joey Grey soup

Add oil or lard to the pot and melt

Add six sausages and cook until brown

Remove the sausages and chop them up into chunks

Place the sausages back into the pot with six rashers of chopped bacon

Cook until brown

Add 3 chopped onions and 1 garlic clove

Once brown add water and 4 potatoes

Cook potatoes until soft

Add 4 large tomatoes and stock then cook until tomatoes soften

Serve with bread and butter

Character notes: six sausages imply the person may be slightly greedy but the tradition at the heart of this Romany soup dictates a loyal character

 

Traditional Romany pots and pans for cooking

ALFIE: Poacher’s Stew

Mix ½ a cup of flour with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper

Coat 2lbs of venison in the flour

Melt butter or lard in a heavy cast iron Dutch oven pot

Brown the meat then add 6 cups of water and heat until boiling

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours

Stir in 3 potatoes, 1 turnip, 4 carrots, 1 bell pepper, 4 stalks of celery, 1 onion, 1lb white button mushrooms (all of the above should be peeled and cubed)

Add 1 bay leaf

Simmer for 30-45 minutes until vegetables are tender

Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes, stirring continuously

Best served with fresh bread

Character notes: the name of the recipe shows this person is tough and can survive in the wild, but the fact that the venison is poached might mean this character is keeping a secret…

OAK: Pot of Shackles

Half fill a large cooking pot with water

Add pheasant meat, onions, split peas (soaked overnight) & lentils (soaked overnight)

Cook until the meat is cooked through

Add chopped swede, carrots, parsnips, turnips and potatoes and cook

Add stock and stir

Mix flour and fat with a little water and make into dumplings using floured hands

Float dumplings on top of meal and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes

Character notes: this hearty, filling meal is for a person who is active throughout the day, and its warming nature suggests a kindness at this character’s heart. Dumplings imply strength

MOOSHIE: Cake in the Pan

Put 8 tablespoons of self-raising flour into a bowl and add a big blob of lard

Mix together with your fingertips

Add a load of redcurrants and blackcurrants (picked under a full moon)

Add a pinch of salt and sugar, and mix well

Whisk up an egg and add, together with water (or milk), and mix to a stiff dough

Press out on to a floured tray or board into a round shape about ¾ inch thick

Get the swing-pan hot and throw in some lard

When the lard is melted and hot, place the cake in

When golden brown, turn over and cook the other side

Character notes: A baking recipe implies a kind, warm nature though the use of the swing pan suggests a fiery temper. Berries picked under a full moon mean this person is a strong believer in the magical properties of plants

CINDERELLA BULL: Bacon-or-Rasher Pudding

Put 8 tablespoons of self-raising flour into a bowl

Add 4 tablespoons of shredded suet (raw beef or mutton – the hard fat found around the lions and kidneys – if you have Atora beef suet that will do)

Mix ingredients together

Pour in some cold water and mix to a stiff dough

Flour a big tray or board and roll out to about 16 inches x 11 inches

Place a few rashers of bacon, sliced onions and tomatoes on top

Sprinkle with dried mixed herbs, salt and pepper

Roll up (like a Swiss roll)

Wet edges to stick together

Flour a muslin cloth (or cotton tea cloth) and roll pudding in it loosely

Tie end with string, wrap loosely and tie other end

Place in big pot of boiling water and let it bubble gently for 2 hours

Best served with boiled spuds and cabbage

Character notes: The slightly strange, contradictory nature of the title of this recipe suggests a person with a mystical mind. The dried mixed herbs imply a close connection with natural spirits and the precise nature of the recipe indicates this person adopts rituals when carrying out activities

HARD-TIMES BOB: Hotchi Witchi

Encase a hedgehog in clay and bake on a campfire until the clay is glowing red

Break open the clay and you will find the spines of the animal stuck to the inside

Roast the meat over the fire on a spit

Keep turning until the meat is cooked through

Serve with spuds or raspberry jam

Character notes: though not to everyone’s taste, this recipe shows the person has a cheeky sense of humour, verging on the absurd. The spuds show a fondness for tradition but the raspberry jam indicates the underlying randomness at the heart of this person

A Romany hearth

SKULL: Stewed rat

Skin and gut the rat then split it lengthwise

Fry in butter until brown

Cover with water then add tomatoes, peppers and salt

Simmer the rat until tender and serve with rice

Character notes: The rat is an unlucky symbol for gypsies and so surrounding this person is a sense of darkness. The violent language used in the recipe implies a sinister side to this character. Watch out…

GOBBLER: Jellied crows’ eyes

After killing 3 crows, cut out their eyes

Sprinkle them with sat then swallow them whole

Character notes: This repulsive recipe suggests a grotesque and even inhumane character. And the slimy texture of the eyeballs indicates a disgusting physical quality to the person’s appearance

THE AUTHOR – ABI ELPHINSTONE: Doci Baci Balls

Chop up 6 rashers of streaky bacon

Shallow fry the rashers in butter

Twice boil a handful of Dock leaves (lightly salt water, boil for two minutes in each pan)

Tip rashers into the washed and dried Dock leaves

Sprinkle with vinegar

Wrap Dock leaf edges up to form small parcels

Hold in place with cocktail sticks

Character notes: short recipes mean a person is impatient and probably headstrong – they don’t like cooking but the eating is all good. The shallow-fry in butter implies means this character has a cheeky side and the use of a wild plant like elderflower suggests an unpredictable nature.

Sound like anyone from THE DREAMSNATCHER?!

Abi Elphinstone writing up the recipe ideas in a wood in Scotland

 

Thanks for a fab post, Abi! Check out Abi's website or follow her on Twitter - and don't miss the wonderful Dreamsnatcher trailer!. Also, if you're a teacher, you may be interested in her resources for teaching The Dreamsnatcher.