Fic: Sensitivities

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

Title: Sensitivities
Summary: In which Nob makes a mistake and worries about the consequences. Even in Middle-earth, they must have had food allergies.
Word Count: 559 + Recipe
Beta: just_ann_now

Nob sat on the floor, his back against the wall opposite the door leading to the guestroom. The healer had been with the dwarf quite a while - how long he couldn't say, for he didn't own a watch, but it seemed like hours - and the waiting was like to drive him mad with worry.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and soon saw Bob making his way down the corridor. He smiled congenially and took his seat on the floor beside Nob.

"You smell of horse," Nob said to the stable-boy, thankful for any excuse not to think of what was happening beyond the closed door. "Could you not at least have washed your face and hands?"

Bob picked a piece of straw from his hair and flicked it into Nob's face. "Is there no news?"

"Do you think I'd be sitting here if there was aught I could do?" Nob snapped. Bob looked a bit taken aback, but he nodded slowly. Let that teach him not to ask foolish questions of someone who has want of answers himself, Nob thought bitterly to himself.

After a moment, Nob looked at Bob again and saw the concerned look on his friend's face. "Your pardon, Bob," he said, his voice sounding weary even to his own ears. "I don't know much more than you. I served him his evening meal, much the same as everyone else's, but when I went to clear the dishes his stomach rumbled something fierce. And not long after he retched into the chamber pot; that's when old Barliman sent for the healer. But I don't understand, for he ate much the same food as all the other guests, and none of them took ill."

"Much the same?" Bob asked. "What was different?"

Nob thought on that. "Let's see. They had beer from the normal tap, potatoes, greens, and mutton as Mistress Butterbur made for the whole house...." Nob's eyes grew a bit wide as a thought occurred to him. "And the stew. I hadn't thought of that before."

Mistress Butterbur had made a pot of stew especially for some of the wandering rangers. Potatoes with a bit of cheese and bacon added for taste. That Strider had taught her how to make it, and the mistress often made it special when his folk came to the Pony - they paid well for a taste that reminded them of home. "I thought he might like it, seeing as he's traveling with those rangers," Nob said after a moment, "and mayhap he'd set aside a coin or two for me come morning."

"Well, there's your answer, Nob!" Bob laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Some folk can't eat certain foods. Sis was like that with some nuts."

Nob felt his eyes grow wide with fear. "Didn't your sister die some years back?"

"Aye," Bob answered, "but from drowning. Nuts would make her lips tingle and swell, and they'd make her eyes water something fierce, but she never took serious hurt from it." Bob stood up and pulled Nob to his feet. "Come on, let's go find Mistress Butterbur. There's a tea my mum found that settled her stomach, so Sis could sleep it off. She'd be right again by morning."

At that news, Nob smiled with relief and followed Bob down the stairs.

=============================

The Recipe

==> 3 cups milk
==> 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup
==> 2 cups frozen hash browns
==> 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
==> 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
==> 2 green onions, thinly sliced
==> black pepper to taste
==> crusty bread

1. Mix milk and soup in saucepan.
2. Stir in hash browns.
3. Bring to boil on high heat.
3. Simmer on medium heat for ten minutes, stirring throughout.
4. Top with cheese, bacon, and onions. Do not mix in, but allow to heat long enough for cheese to start to melt.
5. Just before serving, season with black pepper.
6. Serve with a side of crusty bread.

Obviously at the Prancing Pony this recipe would be doubled or even tripled. If your own brood is smaller than a Gamgee clan, though, you might find this recipe size more to your tastes. :-)

Comments

[dreamflower]

Poor Nob! But yes, I'm sure there were some allergies in M-e! I hope the guest was all right!

And that sounds like a nice chowdery type of soup. Yum!

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure he was fine by morning. Just a little bit of stress for our fave (non-Shire!) hobbit.

The soup is delicious and warming on a cold winter day, and easy to make, too. Glad you liked the sound of it.

[shirebound]

Oh, poor Nob! And poor Dwarf! I do love stew, though. :)

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you sympathized with them - it was kind of fun to imagine what a bad day at the PP might look like.

That stew/chowder/whatever is a good recipe. Warming and easy to make, too. :-)

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

Enjoyed the bit at the end where Nob wasn't certain if the food allergy had killed Bob's sister or not. Love the recipe and the story is entertaining too. I just get more and more hungry the further I read.

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

I felt for poor Nob at that point but do think that might not be outside the realm of possibilities. It was fun to play with and I can just imagine the look of horror on his face. :-)

The recipe is a good one, and easy to make too. I spent the first decade or so of my life in South Carolina foothills and then moved into the mountains where the winters were cold, and this recipe got me through a few afternoons of getting caught walking home through a snow storm.

[telstar-gold.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that sounds delicious! :) I wonder which bit he was allergic to, though?

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

Of the various foods in the recipe, the most obvious allergen (I think?) is the milk and cheese - so some sort of milk allergy or just lactose intolerance maybe. I actually had some thoughts on that which I was originally going to put into a note but decided not to bore people and it was hard to format it with the recipe coming afterward.

If you're interested, my thoughts were that dwarves living in the mountains would likely have cheeses made from animals that didn't need a lot of pastureland. So I can see that cow dairy would be a luxury product, probably imported, and more often they probably ate goat cheeses since goats could actually be found and maybe raised in a mountain environment. But goat dairy would have different allergens (I assume) so a dwarf might have an allergy to cow milk and not know it.

In any case, thanks for your comment. And I can vouch for the recipe: it is delicious, and easy to make, just the thing for a cold winter day when you need something heartening to warm you up.

[ceshaughnessy.livejournal.com]

It was fun to have a look at these two, we don't see them very often. Mater of fact, in rereading the FOTR I was just went through the PP part the other day and this made it more fun!

I love potato soup!!