Hello, Creatively Green readers! Food features
prominently in my series, the Toy Soldier Saga, as a tool for worldbuilding. In
my universe, orcs really enjoy spicy, high-protein food. So let me share a
recipe that my family now makes on a regular basis.
Ryll:
REAL ORCS EAT QUICHE, ESPECIALLY WITH MEAT, MUSHROOMS and HOT PEPPERS.
Ryll (also called rryll)
is a breakfast favourite for the Balorian orcs, but I see no reason
why it shouldn't be eaten at any time of the day! It is the name for a
meat-and-egg pie with mushrooms; what we might call a quiche lorraine. Any
strips of meat cut thin are acceptable, and orcs have probably eaten them all,
but for simplicity, and authenticity of spacers on campaign, I stuck with
bacon.
It would be more typical
for Balorians to use goat or yak milk, with soft white goat cheese for the
interior and hard orange or yellow yak cheese for the exterior. However, we
will be assuming cow's milk, and substituting brie and aged cheddar. Lactose
free milk options, such as coconut milk, are not out of the ordinary in typical
orcish cooking either, but cheese substitutes would be.
Typically the orcs would
flavour this pie with their legendary (and much feared) Elathan
Purple Pepper s, which we, of course, do
not have access to, and probably couldn't eat without giving ourselves a
chemical burn if we did. So for this purpose, I have substituted pickled hot
peppers. This would be consistent with the fare of bivouacking troops, since
pickled peppers are typically included among their rations. However, if you
wanted to get as close as possible to orcish authenticity, I recommend habanero
peppers or even that much-feared searing fruit, the ghost pepper. Don't say I
didn't warn you.
The spicing added to the
egg mixture is based on the Clan
Bloodfist recipe, but feel free to adapt whatever hot spices and peppers you
so choose! Each clan has their own.
Orcs bake in clay ovens, or
stoneware and iron Dutch ovens, but we'll be adapting our recipe for a modern
oven.
This recipe makes two 9-inch ryll pies.
Ingredients:
- 2 pie crusts (gluten free)
- 5-6 slices of
bacon, chopped (or
any equivalent meat slices)
- 1 bell pepper (I like to split this up
with half each of a yellow and red pepper), diced
- 1/2 can, or
about half a dozen fresh, mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup
(59 ml to 78 ml) hot pickled peppers, or habanero or ghost peppers, sliced
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup
(59 ml to 78 ml) brie or soft goat cheese, diced* (optional)
- 4-6 eggs**
- 1/4 cup (59 ml)
milk, goat milk, or coconut milk
- 1/4 cup (59 ml)
hard sharp cheese (ie. aged cheddar), grated (optional)
- a pinch to a
1/3 tsp (5 ml) each paprika, chili powder, cayenne & black pepper
- hot pepper
sauce to taste
Notes & Substitutions:
* Lactose-free people can substitute grated
mozzarella soy "cheese" in equivalent amounts. It works pretty well.
** I have not tried any of the egg substitute
products for this, so I can't vouch for them.
Preparation:
Ryll Slice by Diane Morrison
I
will take this opportunity to mention that wheat and barley do not grow well
on Elatha.
So if you want authenticity, it's best to start with gluten free pie shells.
It's time-consuming to make gluten-free pastry, so I just bought some pre-made
frozen pie shells. If you'd rather make your own, this recipe looks
particularly tasty. If you can't use butter, shortening will work. I think the
key to good pastry is to make sure your fat is semi-solid if possible when
cutting it into the dough.
The
key to making good ryll is
in the layering of ingredients, and the quality of the crust. To keep it from
turning into a soggy mess, blind bake your pie
crusts for 10 minutes prior to working. Instead of using pie weights, I just
used rice, separated from the dough with a sheet of parchment paper. There's no
shortage of rice on the typical Balorian ship, so this, too, is a nod to being
authentic. When finished, turn your oven down from 400°F (204°C) to 350°F
(177°C).
Set
your mushroom pieces (if canned) and your pickled peppers to drain in a
strainer while you work on the next step, to eliminate excess water.
Chop
your bacon into small pieces and fry them to desired texture. I advise not
going too crispy, or your ryll will
fall apart when you try to eat it. Dice up your bell peppers while you're waiting
for the bacon to fry.
Drain
the bacon on parchment or newspaper, and lightly fry your bell peppers in the
bacon grease.
In
the meantime, you can start layering your pie. If you need to, dice your soft
cheese. Start with mushrooms, then the pickled peppers, then bacon, cheese (if
you're using it,) and bell peppers. It's expected that you'll lay these
ingredients in thickly, but make sure they're level with the pan.
Whip
your eggs, milk, and spices together. Pour the mixture into the pie until it's
level with your pan. Ideally, the ingredients you've stuffed it with should be
almost covered.
Ryll Pies by Diane Morrison
Allow
the ryll to
cool completely. Serve in slices with your choice of hot sauce (I used a cajun
pepper sauce, sriracha also recommended,) and enjoy!
You'll
find that the baking takes some of the sting out of the peppers, if that's a
concern for you. You can choose just not to add hot sauce if you prefer as
well.
This
was a big hit in my household and has become part of our regular rotation. I
hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
If you prefer vegetarian fare check out this recipe for GRAF: SPICY ORCISH COFFEE - A UBIQUITOUS PART OF ORC LIFE
Graf is a strong orcish
stimulating drink, always served at the morning meal and often served
throughout the day. Males drink it strong, black and bitter; females add honey
and heavy cream. In the evening, strong alcohol is often added (usually rum, brandy,
or sake; occasionally a fermented milk alcohol called tyklak.)
Essentially, it is chai spice in coffee!
Traditionally,
the coffee is brewed with the rest of the ingredients in a cast iron, copper,
or ceramic cauldron over a fire or brazier. The coffee is added as whole beans,
which do not leave grounds that would then need to be strained out. The liquid
is brought to a boil and brewed quite strong. It's not uncommon for a pot
of graf to
have been started the night before and added to periodically throughout the
day, like a stone soup. In the cold winter months, butter may be added directly
to the pot as well. In the summer months, coconut milk might be added instead,
especially as a supplement to thin rations.
Sometimes
the residue that is left at the bottom of the pot is scraped up at the end of
the day, tied off in a muslin bag, and used to start the next day's graf. It is said
that the five original Great Clans still use grists that date back to the
Founding. Each clan has its own interpretation of graf recipes,
with varying amounts of the relevant masala spices.
This
grist is often packed into presses and dried in bricks, which are easier to
transport and store. These graf bricks
are included in standard orcish Navy rations. When confronted with a situation
in which they know they will not be able to stop for proper graf, such as
travelling through Wormholes and Portals or being in
the field or doing a hard day's labour, they frequently scrape off a fragment
of a brick and swirl it around in their mouths, like a "chaw."
In
large gatherings or at home, Balorian orcs use large cauldrons to brew
their graf,
and serve it still heated over braziers. Those partaking of it use round
ceramic coups without handles to dip into the cauldron and take what they
want. Graf cups
in common usage are usually plain and unadorned, made of ceramic, clay, or even
wood. However, ceremonial graf services,
which are kept for special occasions such as multi-clan gatherings, weddings,
funerals and so forth, are brightly and elaborately painted with clans runes
and stylized totemic images. On ships or when in the field, smaller or even
individual graf services
may be used.
Since
this would be quite cumbersome in our present world and culture, this adapted
recipe assumes that one is using a percolator or typical automatic drip coffee
maker with a 12-cup capacity. Other cultures on our world, such as the
Mongolians, would perhaps find it easier to adapt.
Ingredients:
- 1 pot strong
black coffee
- 7 cardamom pods
- 1 level tsp (5
ml) whole cloves
- 1 level tsp (5
ml) whole peppercorns
- 2 heaping tsp
(10 ml) ground cinnamon
- 1 heaping tsp
(10 ml) ginger
- 1 tbsp (15 ml)
butter (optional)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml)
thick coconut milk (optional)
Optional Ingredients (Female Version):
- 1 tbsp (15 ml)
honey
- 2 tbsp (30 ml)
heavy cream or whipped cream (or non-dairy substitute)
Preparation:
FOR A PERCOLATOR--
Grind up the
cardamom pods, cloves and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Add the
cinnamon and ginger and mix thoroughly.
Add
1 tbsp of mixture to enough coffee grounds to brew a strong pot of black
coffee, and percolate. Remove grounds. Stir in butter or coconut milk, if
desired, while coffee is still hot.
Add
honey and cream if desired (or your favourite spirit) and drink!
FOR AN AUTOMATIC DRIP COFFEE MAKER--
Grind up the
cardamom pods, cloves and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle. Add the
cinnamon and ginger and mix thoroughly.
Add
1 tbsp of mixture to the basket, along with enough coffee grounds to make a
strong pot of black coffee. Brew.
Stir
in butter or coconut milk, if desired, while coffee is still hot.
Add
honey and cream if desired (or your favourite spirit) and drink!
FOR A FRENCH PRESS--
Include
the graf spice
mixture, prepared as above, in the coffee grounds. Proportions vary and depend
on the size of the press. In general, estimate 1 tsp of the mixture per cup of
coffee, or 1 tbsp per pot. Add butter, milk, coconut milk, honey, etc. when you
would normally add your milk.
*Note: Most of Elatha, the orcish homeworld, is damp and tropical, so wheat, rye and oats do not grow well there. Alcohols made from such must be imported, and are therefore expensive and not often used culturally except for on special occasions.*
You
can get the first book in the Toy Soldier Saga, A Few Good Elves, now at this link. And you can find
the recipe for Grafat the Toy Soldier Saga website.
Excerpt
All about on the decks of the Queen’s Dirk, the crew were running and screaming. There were too many dead and wounded to count, and the Chiurgeons had elves spread out over the tables in the mess, the garden, even the Captain’s bed.Shaundar sensed Lieutenant Sylria on the remains of the fo’c’sle, now mostly a debris field, commanding the mages to ready spells and the weapons crews to continue their attack. He could also see the gravity well of the Vengeance, just now coming about on their starboard side, though he was certain that it had been much longer than they needed.
“I have the helm!” Shaundar cried.
“Get us out of here, Shaundar!”
He turned his head and studied the rapidly oncoming Balorian ship through both the hole in the starboard wall, and Queenie’s senses. Even with Sylria’s magical boost, he knew this to be hopeless.
“I can’t do it, Sylria,” he said in a hollow voice. “They’re just too fast.”
Sylria looked down at her feet for a long moment. She squared her shoulders. “Then we shall die with honour.”Shaundar nodded. Amazingly, there was no fear, just sadness, that he would not see his family or Narissa again. “Sails, evasive manoeuvres!” Shaundar commanded. “Hard down!”
As the insectoid ship neared, it closed those claw-like limbs to grapple them. But under Shaundar’s power and direction, they dodged the attempt. Shaundar saw a whole army of armoured Balorian warriors pour out onto the deck and stand to the rails.
Sylria shrieked, “Mages, fire!” and she let off a lightning bolt herself. There were only a couple of elves left alive topside to obey Sylria’s command, but they responded. Flames and electricity washed over the orcs, enough that it stopped them in their tracks and aborted their boarding attempt.
“Bring ‘er about,” Shaundar ordered. “Hard astarboard!”
Queenie answered sluggishly with all the shorn rigging and shorthanded crew, but she came back around. As they swooped back towards each other, Sylria’s command rang out. Defiantly, the Queen’s Dirk fired another volley.The Balorians greeted it with a broadside of their own as they both swung starboard at the last moment. The larboard ballistae both missed, but two of the three others dented the hull. The third pierced it once more on their larboard side with a ringing tear of sheet metal.
Their catapult did not fire at all. Whether it was because it was damaged, or because there were too few crew left to man it, Shaundar would never know.
The decapitated Vengeance had only one gun it could bring to bear on the pass, but it fired that larboards bombard at point blank range. The fo’c’sle simply collapsed like a sandcastle. Sylria was swallowed into the sinkhole. Shaundar roared in horror and pain but could not hear his own voice in the overwhelming noise.
There was no sail crew left to command, but hoping against hope, Shaundar bellowed anyway,
“Hard aport!” The mizzenmast was shorn away, and he knew it, but knowing there was nothing else to be done, he yelled out, “Prepare to ram! All hands brace for impact!” just as Garan had attempted.
He didn’t flinch as the Queen’s Dirk collided head-on with her foe.
Diane Morrison lives with her partners in the Okanagan Valley, BC, where she was born and raised. She has been published in SFF markets such as Terra! Tara! Terror!, Air & Nothingness Press, and Cossmass Infinities. Under her pen name “Sable Aradia” she is a successful Pagan author, a musician, and a Twitch streamer and podcaster. She likes pickles and bluegrass, and hates talking about herself.
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https://www.goodreads.com/sablearadia
https://www.youtube.com/user/sablearadia
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/toysoldiersaga
https://www.amazon.com/author/dianemorrison
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