Princess Ben's Strawberry and Thyme Crisp
“The queen regent—as she now insisted on being addressed—developed an elaborate curriculum designed, so she explained, to produce a pearl of a princess from even a grain of sand such as myself.”
After Monday's post, I wanted to do a recipe on a book that was a bit more light-hearted. Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of dark themes in this book: death, war, slavery, and child abuse, to name a few. But there's magic, too. Love. Adventure.
Dragons.
In the book, Ben loses her parents and is suddenly in the spotlight... which means, as a princess, she has to learn to act like a princess should. And she has to look like one.
Body image is a huge theme in this book as Ben is consistently told that she's too fat. Her food gets restricted, and she's only allowed to eat part of her plate at every meal. Sweets are deemed unnecessary, and no longer allowed.
Queen Sophia even says, "tell us, dear Benevolence, do you yet indulge in unnecessary foodstuffs," when confronting Ben about why she doesn't seem to be losing any weight (65).
I wanted to make something with a savory element to it, since sweets are forbidden in this book. I thought thyme would be fun to use, since time plays such an important part in the novel. Herbs are also used in witchcraft, which is fitting.
Thinking of witchcraft and potions, I wanted to make my dessert in a cast-iron pan.
The cast-iron also ties back into the story. "The cook quickly took me as his kitchen slave, even chaining me to his great empty cooking pot each night so I would not escape" (187).
While Ben is working for the cook, she spends her days making a bean stew for the army they were traveling with. She described them as mushy and tasteless. Which made me want to use oatmeal.
Which made me really want to make a crisp. But what kind?
In the medieval times, the upper class wouldn't eat fruit unless it was cooked because they were afraid it was dangerous and dirty. Strawberries were at the top of their list.
Fun fact: strawberries have a bunch of medicinal properties (which Ben's mother would definitely know about as a healer). Supposedly, they help with blood pressure and inflammation (https://abbeymedievalfestival.com/2016/06/strawberries/). They apparently do more, but those two stuck out to me as things Ben would need help with after she got shot with an arrow. (You should read this book.)
Strawberries also symbolize love, and, like every classic fairy tale, there has to be a kiss at the end of the story.
Strawberry and Thyme Crisp
Filling
-2 lbs strawberries, diced
-3 tbsp orange juice
-1/4 c white sugar
-1/4 c all-purpose flour
-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, removed from the stems
- In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, orange juice, and sugar.
- Mix in the flour.
- Fold in the thyme.
- Pour the mixture into a greased pan. I used a 9" cast-iron, but you can use a regular pan.
Topping
-1 c instant oats
-2/3 c all-purpose flour
-1/4 c light brown sugar
-1/3 c white sugar
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix in the two sugars.
- Add in the melted butted and stir the mixture until all of the oats are wet.
- Place the oat mixture on top of the strawberries.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The strawberries should be liquid-y and bubbling.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool a little.
At one point, Ben is on a mountain in the snow, freezing, hurt, and scared. There's nothing better or more comforting than eating something sweet and warm when you're surrounded by the cold. So I decided to serve this crisp warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Queen Sophia would not be pleased to find out how much I ate of this "unnecessary foodstuffs."
(My mom wasn't pleased to find out how much I ate, but that may have had more to do with my mild strawberry allergy than her wanting me to lose weight (it was worth it though! Look at it!).)
