Favors Farflung Ep. 4, by Faelan Wo
Hello, dear readers! I am writing to you from a sun-drenched market stall in Thyr, the capital of Thalosion, eating the most delectable fare I have yet had the pleasure of tasting here on this planet: sweet fruit stuffed with tangy cheese and wrapped in smoked meat. It truly is the finest marriage of flavors! And it’s just street food to them! Can you imagine? Should the people of Melkaris learn of these, these snacks would be found on every celebration platter!
Before I set foot on this world, I was sure I would only find the strangest of foods to match the violent Cerynath we all know. But to my surprise, I have found their food to be oddly simple—though the flavors they concoct can be anything but. (Except for the gruel of the plains tribes. I can believe eating that slop for your entire life could indeed make one go mad.) Their food is strongly influenced by their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, making use of meat, dairy, fruit, nuts, and a grain they must grow somewhere, though I haven’t seen any cultivated fields.
I have been pleasantly surprised that not only is Cerynath food actually palatable, but not all Cerynath are raging, violent gangsters! Who would have thought?
Ah, there is the freighter that has contracted to take me to the next planet, Tuscano. Yes, I know many of you have already been to the lovely watery planet and tasted their fruity, airy cuisine as you sat beneath their magnificent water sculptures. We all know and love the tourist capital, Erde.
But tell me truly: have you ever ventured outside the seawalls of that jeweled city to the untamed reaches of the Merdeti homeworld? Despite weeks of research prior to my departure from Melkaris, I was unable to find much information at all about the outlying towns of Tuscano. I wonder what I will find!
Until next time, my intrepid readers!
Cerynath Sweet Street Snacks
Ingredients
- Bacon
- Dates
- Goat cheese
- Black pepper
- Flaky salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Precook bacon in the oven for ten minutes, until it’s halfway cooked but still pliable.
- While the bacon is cooking, stuff the dates with cheese. Make a shallow cut, not all the way through, remove the pits, and fill the cavity with cheese. Gently squeeze them closed. Do not overfill!
- Once the bacon is cooled, cut each piece of bacon in half and wrap each stuffed date with a piece of bacon. Hold in place with a toothpick.
- Season with a little freshly ground black pepper and a small pinch of flaky salt.
- Bake the dates for 5-7 minutes more on each side. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!