I’ll tell you what: If we must label it, let’s call it “Neo-Victorian” from the start, since there’s nothing punk about these steamy dishes.
But whatever you call it, if you’ve a taste for scrumptious historical cooking, Time Travel Kitchen is about the best damn thing ever.
Author Gail Carriger tipped me off to this one when she bubbled over about the Kitch’s assault on “Vermicelli Soup, Jugged Hare, Vegetables, Bread and Butter Pudding,” taken from the esteemed Ms. Carriger’s favorite cookbook, 1876’s Things a Lady Would Like to Know.
As if cooking up comestibles from the Allan Quatermain era wasn’t enough, Time Travel Kitchen’s “Culinary Chronaviatrix,” Jana, lays down a few of the helpful quotes from the book alongside the Jugged Hare. Like, for instance:
Look unto those they call unfortunate
And, closer viewed, you’ll find they were unwise.
What could be truer? Wow, I feel improved AND well-fed already!
The quotes require no commentary — because what can you say to that? But for each dish, Jana offers her honest and often hilarious “verdict,” both on the cooking and the resultant food. In the case of this particular meal, for instance, her opinion on the Jugged Hare starts out a little like this:
“Rabbit tastes just like chicken! Really. Husband cut up the rabbit, because raw meat with bones makes me feel squiggly.”
Squiggly is indeed how you may feel upon viewing this picture of her bad-ass husband, with partially disassembled hare. I love Jana, I love Time Travel Kitchen, and it must be dinnertime because I want some Jugged Hare. Mmmm…Jugged Hare…
[Via a Tweet from Gail Carriger.]
Oh, gosh! 😀 I’m glad you were entertained.