I concocted this easy-to-make drink for
Marissa Meyer's young adult, science fantasy, fairytale retelling series The Lunar Chronicles (particularly with the first book,
Cinder, in mind). It'd be great for a bookclub, party, or simply to sip on your own (I actually like to drink it over the course of a few days because I prefer it when the soda's gone flat).
The red hibiscus tea inclusion is for the various reds and crimsons described in the story, plus the red theme of
The Lunar Chronicles covers (each cover has a red object in it). Hibiscus is a good source of vitamin C, so that's a nice plus (haha, "C" for Cinder). :) The addition of ginger (in this case ale soda) is for the future Chinese society in which Cinder takes place, ginger being a staple ingredient in Chinese cooking. A cool tidbit; Marissa said that she set
Cinder in a future version of China to pay homage to the fact that some folklorists believe that the earliest version of the
Cinderella tale came from China.
Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit might be a relatively short story, but there are so many mentions of food (even rabbit pie, oh no!). the focus and action of the tale is Peter and his escapades in Mr. McGregor's garden (I made savory scones inspired by this), but I like how there is a bit of coming around with the story, the beginning showing mischievous Peter's three sisters being sensible and picking blackberries, and then at the end having them eat the blackberries, along with milk and bread, as a nice treat (while Peter was sent to bed with no dinner for getting into so much trouble!). I knew I wanted to make something simple that included those three ingredients, but what? Blackberry bread pudding, of course!
