Sacred 2:Book 6 - Ancient and Foreign Recipes
Book 6
Ancient and Foreign Recipes
Countless ancient books and fragments of scrolls are stored in the libraries of the realm, yet only a handful of those books deal with the art of cooking. The only surviving copies are the "ye Great Booke of Foode" by the Elven Highlord Taurith of Graat - written 829 Old Time - and "what Thou See is What Thou Eat" by an unknown Human Nobleman, written probably before 600 old time. Both books contain a number of rather odd suggestions for food. Many of the ingredients are hard to come by these days, other recipes are particularly strange and nobody would even consider eating their results anymore. Since both books are written in a fairly arcane language, it is sometimes hard or even impossible to to translate the passages into the modern languages of Ancaria. Some parts of the content appear to be completely lost in translation. Still, those books are highly interesting, not only for those who are interested in cooking. They are contemporary documents and give us insight into the history of our world.
Excerpts from "Ye Great Book of Doode" by Taurith of Graat, approx. 830 Old Time:
Goblin in Mustard Sauce
Kill some Goblins. Remove their heads, hands and feet. Fry them in a big pan, with salt, pepper, garlic and some ham. When the skin turns brown, remove them from the heat. Add onion rings to some water, boil for several minutes. When the onion rings are soft, take the pot off the fire. Take a brush and mustard. Apply the mustard to the goblins, make sure the entire surface is covered with mustard. Take the onion sauce, pour it over the Goblins and serve them. If you like your goblin an little more spicy, take some pepperoni, chop it into very small pieces and season the Goblin with it.
Scrambled Harpy Eggs
Steal 2-5 Harpy Eggs, beat them lightly, add seasoning. Melt some fat in a saucepan and pour the eggs in. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the egg begins to thicken, then remove it from the heat and let it cool down. Serve the Scrambled Harpy Eggs warm with some bread.
Giant Ravenous Llama Goulash
Gather a few friends and take down a Giant Ravenous Llama. (As a rule of thumb: one Giant Ravenous Llama serves approximately 8 people.) Be careful, those llamas are dangerous creatures. Avoid their toxic spittle under all circumstances, always wear your safety goggles. As soon as the Giant Ravenous Llama is dead, skin it and remove all organs. Place it into an oversized pot with some water and cook for several hours. When the meat turns gray, remove it from the head. Separate the meat from the rest of the bones and cut it into small pieces. Put those pieces into a pot and set it aside. Put Onions, Ginger, Pepper, Mace, Salt, Vinegar and some wine into the oversized pot. Add some pints of water, throw in some dried squirrels and boils this mixture for half an hour. Remove it from the fire, then take a huge frying pan and put all pieces of Llama meat into it. Fry for several minutes, until the meat is dark brown. Add it to the sauce. Stir well and serve it.
Basilisk in Bacon Wrap
Put a bag over a basilisks head and kill it. Skin it and remove all organs, fill the chest with onions, apples, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Wrap slices of bacon around the basilisk and fix them with thread. Put the basilisk on the fire and roast it for 15 hours (basilisk meat is quite resistant to heat, so it will take a while). Server it while it is still hot and remember to avoid eye contact with your dish.
Evidently, all those recipes sound rather odd; in fact, some of the are quite extraordinary. Therefore, this book is considered a hoax by some historians. Others are suspecting sloppy translations of arcane language parts. However, even the most renowned researchers choose their words carefully when they are talking about he older book "what Thouse See Is What Thou Eat". The oldest fragments of this book have been found during an excavation at an ancient High Elven ruin site. The condition of the book is rather poor, many pages have been completely destroyed and the reset was heavily damaged by water. In addition, it is written in a very old Human dialect, which has been completely lost for centuries. Still, some parts of the book have been deciphered and copied.
Excerpts from "What Thou See is What Thou Eat"
by unknown author, approx. 600 Old Time:
Vampire Tarte Flambee
1-2 vampires 1 wooden stake 55 garlic bulbs 3 onions parsley absinthe
Stake a Vampire. Leave the stake in his body to paralyze him. Place him in a large pot along with garlic, onions, absinthe and (very little) parsley. Wait until sunrise, then place him into the light for just under a minute (or half a minute if you prefer your vampire medium).
Squirrel Stew
50-60 squirrels 10 gallons of water 3 tomatoes salt pepper mace thyme
Throw the squirrels into a large pot. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces, add them to the squirrels, then add the water and boil everything for an hour, while constantly stirring it with a large edgar. (translator's note: edgar = ancient term for a large cooking spoon) As soon as the consistency is getting thicker, add the salt, pepper, mace and thyme. Stir it again with the edgar and finish it with some more salt for seasoning. serve the squirrel stew with a bit of cream on top and eat it while it's hot.
Magic Scarabaeus in a Dumpling
20 scarabaeus wheat eggs onions pepperoni sugar salt
Collect 20 magic scarabaeus, remove their wings and antennae. Place the eggs, wheat and some water into a bowl, mix them together until you have a dough. Cut the onions and pepperoni into small pieces, add them to the dough. Take the beetles and wrap the dough around them, forming a dumpling for each scarabaeus. Roast the dumplings on a fire until the surface is brown, then remove them from the fire and add some sugar and salt for seasoning. To soften the rather strong beetle flavor, serve them with sour cream and vinegar.
Disclaimer:
I think even the most adventurous reader will agree, that those recipes are very strange. We do not recommend trying them without proper research. The editor does not take responsibility for any mental or health damage, caused by those recipes. Nevertheless, if you are "brave" enough to try one of the above recipes, feel free to send us your feedback.