Feast at Tom Bombadil's

For those who are keeping track of these things, September 26th is the day that Frodo Baggins and companions meet Tom Bombadil in the first book of The Lord of the Rings. After 3 days of travel and avoiding the terrifying ringwraiths, plus an afternoon of getting lost and soporific in the grips of the Old Forest, running into this jolly singing fearless fellow with his big blue yellow boots is quite the relief--for the reader let alone for the traveling hobbits. That first dinner with Tom and his lady Goldberry is described in simple terms: "It was a long and merry meal. Though the hobbits ate, as only famished hobbits can eat, there was no lack. The drink in their drinking-bowls seemed to be clear cold water, yet it went to their hearts like wine and set free their voices."

When I remember, I like to have a Tom & Goldberry feast on this day. Tolkien lets us imagine what might have been served. I like to think that thick bread, smoky sausages, abundant tomatoes, and rustic cheeses were involved. Here's the best we could do this year:

Bread & butter, cheese & sausages, wine and apple juice, and Israeli couscous salad (!)

I took several versions of this photo before I read about the drinking bowls, so I reset with bowls instead of glasses. That's a bowl of wine on the bottom left. Our bigger kid thought drinking juice from a bowl was great.