May 24, 2022 • 57 mins
Set in a dystopian future, this media franchise deals deeply with how hunger can be weaponized – and how food brings us together. Anney and Lauren explore the semi-fictional food of The Hunger Games books and films.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to Sabor production of I Heart Radio.
I'm anti Reason and I'm more in Voguel Bam, and
today we have an episode for you about the semi
fictional foods of the Hunger Games, yes, which when you suggested, Lauren,
I have to admit, I was like, um, okay, yeah,
(00:30):
gonna be interesting and a lot perhaps. Yeah yeah I
think I Um, I don't like okay, like I like
like I felt the same way when I suggested it,
Like I like, I my brain was like, oh, what
about the Hunger Games? Because I was looking for another,
you know, fictional series that we could delve into, and uh,
(00:53):
you know, my eyes alighted on my copy of Mocking
j on my bookshelf, and I was like, oh, Hunger Games.
And then I was like, oh Hunger Games. Yeah. Yeah.
We had a very interesting conversation about what we would
possibly talk about and it, as you said, there are
(01:14):
a lot of academic articles and essays written about it.
So so here we are, so here we are. It
was also like like like, in preparation for this episode,
I went ahead and reread the books, and um, I
(01:35):
gotta tell y'all that like these our these are our
modern times are just a heck of a time to
reread those books. Yeah, I did not reread them. I
uh so, I'm very curious because I did. I remember
(01:58):
when I first read them. Um, I think I read them.
I started reading them right when Catching Fire came out,
when the second one came out. Yeah, I think that's
right about when I started reading them too. Yeah, And
I had heard about them at dragon Con. I remember
this huge deal at dragon Con. In fact, there was
like a werewolf card game you could play that was
(02:20):
Hunger Games based. I'm sure it was really depressing. I
didn't go do it, but I'm sure it was Barry
a breathing Oh dear, oh, I love that. Okay, sorry,
next game night, we'll see. But I remember I was
looking at, you know, different talks and things I could
go to, and I kept seeing Hunger Games. So I
(02:41):
went out and found them. Uh And I stayed up.
It was one of the last times I remember. Yeah,
it was one of the last times I remember staying
up late to read a book and to finish a book. Yeah, no, absolutely,
I I got really hooked on him. Um My, my
friends gave them to me and I was like, oh no,
(03:02):
and like I think I read the first one in
like a night, like an actual it was like one
sitting book ready and so right, so so I yeah,
I was. I really I really enjoyed reading the series.
I mean I was an adult when they came out,
but that you know, y as for everybody, okay. Um.
And and then the movies came out, and it was
(03:25):
a very strange experience for me, um going and seeing
the films because they were all of these kids in
the audience and I was like, oh, no, yeah, but yeah,
but you have a different you have a different connection
to the movies. I do. I do. So I remember
reading these and it was early in my acting career,
and I was no joke, like the stereotypical. I was
(03:46):
in my bed. I was visiting my parents that weekend,
so I was in my childhood bed with a flash
like reading them at night. Uh. And I remember thinking, Oh,
they're going to make these into movies. They're gonna make
these in to movies. And this was early on in
my acting career. And it was actually right around the
time two Thoulve was when I started at this company,
(04:10):
so a couple of years later, but yeah, right around
that time, I had started here, and I remember being like, oh,
I should go audition for these because like, yeah, and
I can shoot a bow and arrow. I have a
bow and arrow, like right in my entry way. No joke,
(04:31):
that is true. So I went auditioned, and I got
pretty far in the process. Uh. And in fact um,
the video crew which I was part of at the time,
which included people like Bim Boll and Matt Frederick H.
Tyler playing wrote me a very nice letter about like,
you know, good luck you got this. It was very sweet.
(04:53):
I did not get it. And as I was telling you,
Lauren is one of the times where I'm like, yeah,
Jennifer Lawrence, Yeah, like she did an okay job, sure, alright,
like like all right, Like that's if you have to
lose to someone. Losing to Jennifer Lawrence, it is like, well,
all right, okay, I see it. Uh. And then a
(05:16):
couple of years later, when they started, I think the
first one they filmed in North Carolina, the second one
they filmed here. That one, I got kind of a
glorified uh extra role. It's like a in between between
extra an actor where you get two lines, but it's
still not like a full flow fat yeah. Yeah, and
(05:36):
I got it and I did it. It was the
whole thing, but it got cut due to drama and
I won't go into it. I'm going to be full
of rage. But oh it is hard for me to
watch them now just because of that. And it's not
because like I enjoyed them, but it is oh yeah,
all right, oh heck yeah. After I like, after I
(06:02):
suggested the topic, I remembered that also you had had
that experience, like I've heard that story before, and I
was like, oh no, did I just do the thing
like again where I'm like, hey, Annie, you want to
think about something that depresses you really hard for a while?
Always Okay, Actually that's fair. It's you. So you're like, yeah,
I do, but exty stuff, I love it. I'm like,
(06:26):
it's one of those things where every time I watch it,
I enjoy It's not like I'm hating the whole thing.
It's just kind of hard to take that initial you know,
stip to turn it on. Once I do, I'm like,
oh yeah, yeah, very upsetting in a lot of ways
that don't relate to me because the story is upsetting
(06:50):
pretty good. Yeah, I you know, I don't know, like, uh,
we can we can go into it as we go
through it, Like like the movies like aren't necessarily for me,
I do Still, I really enjoyed reading the books and
like a kind of naschistic way, um, you know, like
like the movies. The movies are cute, Like there's like
the costuming is beautiful, the actors are all top notch, um,
(07:11):
But but I don't know, like like there's like the
elements of the books that I enjoyed, like the obsessive
detailing about the food are kind of absent, you know,
because they were focusing on other stuff, and that's understandable.
But yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I did read a
lot of interesting articles about the difficulty of making those
(07:33):
into sure stuff. Yeah, m hmmm. All right, well, I
guess that brings us to your question. Yeah, because you know,
probably all of you have heard of this franchise, but
there might be some of you who are extremely confused
right now. Indeed, and for you, we asked the question
(07:55):
the Hunger Games, what are they? Well, um, the Hunger Games,
I guess can mean a few things, but but at
top level, it's a media franchise based on a trilogy
of young adult books by one Susanne Collins. The first
(08:18):
book published in two thousand eight, with sequels Catching Fire
and Mocking Jay releasing over like like one a year
for the next two years, which is a nutbar um.
There are also for films based on the three books,
the final one being split into two movies UM, which
began releasing in and also followed a yearly schedule, which
(08:40):
is even more nutbar um. And a prequel young adult
novel came out in called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
And I have to say, may of what was even
more of a heck of a time to be reading
a book like that? That was who stuff? Yeah? Uh
(09:03):
so I purchased it and then have not read it yet. Wow,
all you're like saving it? Oh no, I know. I
was like, well for a good day for this one,
and then it was continually not good days. Yeah. Um,
it's it's they're very dystopian like, It's okay. So, so
(09:27):
the series is about the world of pen M, which
is this dystopian society that has replaced the United States
in North America at some unknown future date UM. The
country pen M is separated into thirteen um enslaved destitute
production districts UM, each responsible for creating specialized goods based
(09:50):
on the resources that they have. They're like UM lumber
or coal or food crops or electronics or nuclear weapons.
Those thirt in production districts plus their ruling capital District,
which is a city of excess and arts and self
interest run amuck ah. At some point in Panama's history,
(10:13):
the enslaved districts rebel and thus begins a long civil war,
at the end of which the capital wins and institutes
the titular Hunger Games UM, which is a yearly punishment
wherein a boy and a girl called tributes from every
district except the Capital are are selected by lottery and
(10:35):
then forced to fight each other to the death in
an arena with a soul survivor UM and this develops
over the decades into a glamorous mccob reality entertainment event UM.
So the trilogy opens the The first trilogy opens UH
seventy four years after the institution of the Hunger Games,
(10:56):
and it follows this teen girl, Catanus Everdeen UM who
Annie was auditioning for UM through her survival before and
during and after the Games and UM and they're really
about how she she brings hope and dearly bought freedom
to herself and the people of PanAm. The prequel, meanwhile,
(11:19):
is about how the leader of the Capitol in the trilogy,
one President Snow struggled to prominence some like sixty years
earlier and inadvertently A helped create the games as Catonists
and we all know them and be really set the
stage for cat and is ultimately kicking his butt, which
(11:39):
is real fun. Okay, oh yeah, there, it's a little
bit heavy handed. I love it. It's I appreciate it. Spoilers,
I'm sorry, I have no idea what it could be
and I'm excited to find out. Um well uh. Sam
(12:00):
Collins is an American writer who was born in Connecticut
in nineteen sixty two. Her father was in the Air
Force and so the family moved around a lot when
she was a kid. She got her start writing um
for kids and like preteen shows in the early nineties,
mostly on Nickelodeon, like including Clarissa Explains It All and
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, which, if you're you know,
(12:23):
like like me that like writing for Clarissa Explains It
All is the best feather one could possibly have in
their cap I'm like, dang, that's cool. I love it anyway.
Based on based on her experience in that she started
(12:44):
writing children's books about a decade later in the early
two thousand's Um and Yeah. She frequently incorporates these themes
of war and poverty and rebellion into these science fiction
and fantasy stories for young audiences. And and she's spoken
in inner views about UM being super interested in just
war theory. Um, not like like just a war, but
(13:07):
like just war, like just like justifiable war. Yeah, Um,
you know, like when and how it can be morally
right to wage war. She cites Greek mythology as being
a major influence, which you can really see once you
start looking in UM in the arena and the character's names,
and like a lot of the tropes that she uses.
(13:29):
There has been some criticism of the series for for
copying stuff like UM like the film Battle Royal and
A Running Man and The Long Walk, But honestly, I
think that they're all just pulling from the same classical tropes. UM.
I will say, if anyone has ever seen the Japanese
film Battle Royal, like, it's a little uncannily similar in tone,
(13:51):
but but she claims that she didn't know that that
existed when she created this, and I I have not
but to believe her m hm. Collins has said that
she got the idea for Hunger games specifically when she
was surfing channels and like flipped by reality television and
a war news broadcast in rapid succession, and she was like,
(14:14):
huh yeah. She was like, there's something here. Oh no,
but we are ostensibly a food show, uh And he
just shrugged. Yeah. And and food does play an uh
an intricate integral role in the series. Yeah, it does.
(14:39):
Even though at first I was like, what are we
going to talk about with this? Because these are about
starvation a lot, So that's but yeah, which we are
going to talk about? We are, we are? But yeah.
Food is often used to represent control, power, class, wealth, life, hope, love, comfort,
and even luxury. The tie itself demonstrates how food has
(15:02):
been weaponized and how hunger can be used as a tool.
And when children are chosen at the reaping to be
tributes in this game, they can enter their name more
than once for a small supply of oil and grain,
so you're kind of increasing the likelihood that you'll be
chosen with the hope that you'll get some food. Uh yeah,
(15:24):
because because death by starvation isn't uncommon in the poorer districts,
and this is purposeful on the part of the capital
to keep the people struggling so that they don't rebel again. Um.
Like in the first book, Catness is thinking about the
history of the rebellion and the country and how little
she knows about it, um due to like probably intentional
(15:45):
misinformation or disinformation from the capital. But then she immediately
thinks like, whatever the truth is, I don't see how
it will help me get food on the table. Yeah
ahoof um yeah, And along those lines, um, the winner
um of the games every year and their whole district
(16:06):
are gifted with a little bit more food, like a
tiny bit more food, and and even delicacies like like
sugar or candy or tinned meat or apple sauce. Right.
And then in the cornucopia where the games are held, um,
especially the first one is what I'm thinking of. It's
(16:27):
where there are weapons and supplies are located, where like
you can either choose to rush towards when it starts
or a void because everyone else is going to rush
towards them and maybe you know, kill you, kill you,
But a cornucopia, you know, in our traditional understanding, it's
(16:49):
a symbol of nourishment, especially with plenty right exactly like
that's on our like Thanksgiving flags, people will put out
as a cornucopia. Um. And this is sort of an
example of how that can be weaponized, or how food
can be weaponized, or lack of food can be weaponized. Yeah.
Even within the games themselves, hunger is a major issue.
(17:14):
Successful tributes may receive food items like like broth or
bread being dropped in by drones from from sponsors who
are betting on the event, uh, destroying enemies. Food supply
in the arena is a winning strategy. Um. And sometimes
the gamemakers will spice things up if there's like not
enough children killing each other, um by calling a feast um,
(17:38):
sometimes with literal food, sometimes with other supplies or weapons,
but all of which are again as a perversion of
the idea of feast, of the idea of plenty Um.
It's really just intended to draw tributes out to fight
for their entertainment. Yeah. Yes, And again food and of
(18:00):
it is used to paint a start portrait between the
waste and decadence of the Capital with their rich foods
and we're going to get into this later, but use
of a sort of vomitorium type thing so they can
eat and drink as much as they want against the
poor citizens who are starving. Like we have these very
stark contrast, very start contrast going on. On top of that,
(18:24):
the food uh they're enjoying requires those less well off.
Uh they're enjoying the capital requires those less well off
than them producing it. So again those districts are providing
that for them. Um, for those who are food and secure,
like catnets, food can represent affection, safety, options, and love,
(18:47):
and it is a very powerful symbol throughout. In an
interaction with Effie, who is from the Capital and all
about decorum and manners, Effie laments some of the previous
competitors had no manners and ate everything with their hands.
Catness informs her that those kids had never in their
(19:09):
lives had enough to eat like, let alone learned table
manners like they certainly were not going to finishing school exactly.
And to further drive homer point, Catnis uses her fingers
for the rest of the meal and wipes them on
the tablecloth. Uh and This is just one example of
many of using food as a form of rebellion, which
(19:30):
we've seen in our own actual history as well, whether
through protest cookbooks or underground markets of foods that have
been banned as a form of control and or as
ways to erase cultures. So again, like you can find
so many essays about this. It was really interesting. Yeah,
it's clearly very very carefully constructed on Susan Collins part
(19:55):
mm hmmm. Another example when catness gets frustrated when and
there's like the scene where the tributes have to showcase
their skills, and that allows for the gamemakers or sponsors
to decide like, oh I think they'll survive or they
won't survive. Yeah, it's really important forum for getting those
(20:16):
gifts within the arena from sponsors who are betting on you. Yeah, exactly.
And so she's showing off her skills with the bow
to the gamemakers and sponsors and they're essentially ignoring her. Um,
so she shoots an arrow through an apple in their
pig roast mouth to get their attention. Yeah. Yeah, it's
pretty good, really like rebellious bow and walks out yep, right,
(20:45):
and both literal and symbolic food stuff is just abound. Um.
A lot of the plot, both inside and outside of
the arena, focuses on the characters just trying to get
enough to eat and drink to live, and meal time
times are featured super often, like probably every chapter, um
as events around which the characters congregate and form and
(21:11):
deform relationships with each other and make decisions. Um. Another
another symbolic one. Catanus is a name for a for
an edible plant. Um. It's a it's a starchy, edible
tuber with arrowhead shaped leaves. She's an archer. Uh anyway,
(21:33):
um and uh and her parents named her in the book,
her parents named her after that plant because it's like
a form. It's like a pretty flower, and it's a
form of sustenance and you know, it's it's it's all
of these things. Um. But uh. But you know, like
when you when you dig into the character, like it
is the necessity of Catanus having to hunt illegally with
(21:56):
a bow and arrow to obtain enough food for her
family to survive. That makes her a strong contender in
the games. Um. You know because of that, she's she's
physically fit. She can use the bow and arrow Um,
she knows how to forage and find fresh water, knows
a little bit about plants, is medicine, and so it's
those skills that the capital forced her to learn. UM,
(22:21):
and her performance in those games that the capital forced
her to participate in that eventually let her bring down
the capital. Um. It's it's really on the nose, but
also super interesting to dig into. I love it. M
h uh and um. And a lot of the food
that's described in the books sounds really good. Uh. There
(22:46):
have been a number of unofficial cookbooks published with recipes
for recreating dishes that are mentioned in and inspired by
the books, UM, including lamb stew with plums and various
types of bread us and like stick tarts, rich hot
chocolate stuff like that. Yeah, m hmm. Well, I hesitate
(23:08):
to ask. What about the nurtrition don't eat media franchises?
Be careful in your consumption? Oh oh dear, Yeah, yeah,
absolutely absolutely. I I don't know. Maybe a dystopian maybe
(23:33):
a dystopia sci fi series is not is not what
anyone should be consuming right now. I can't tell you
what to do. I don't know. That's true. Everyone's different
in where they find their absolutely and it seems like
these this book, these books, this franchise is a big hit,
(23:53):
because we do have some numbers for you, oh we do. Um. Okay. So,
together with her other book series, Collins has sold over
a hundred million books worldwide, translated into over fifty languages. Um.
The first Hunger Games book spent six years on the
New York Times best seller list. Wow huh right, I mean,
(24:18):
you know, like like with the movies coming out, it
was a it was a phenomenon. Um. The prequel um,
which was right released in May two, did five hundred
thousand sales it's first week um, which is not shabby
considering like how early in the pandemic shutdown that was
like you probably couldn't go to a bookstore and get it.
So yeah, yeah, um. There is a lot of discussion
(24:44):
also about how um, the series was kind of like
the apex of the young adult boom of the early
two thousand's, like building on Harry Potter and Twilight before it,
and also making room for a lot of development in
the genre afterwards. Mhm, I guess. Speaking of Yeah, the
first film made more money on opening weekend than the
(25:07):
first Harry Potter or Twilight film. Uh. The film series
grossed nearly three billion dollars worldwide. Um. Apparently reportedly, lions
Gate bought the rights for just a two hundred thousand
dollars so hoof to Oh my, Uh. There is a
(25:30):
Line's Gate Studio theme park. Uh. It's sort of like
Universal Studios here in the States. It's in Dubai. I
think it's called motion Gate, and it features two Hunger
Games themed rides. Um. A roller coaster called the Capital
Bullet Train. Okay, all right because in the series they
(25:51):
take this Bullet train to the Capital anyway um uh,
and a motion simulator called the pen M Aerial Tour.
And then there is a meet and great slash photo
up with actors that they've dressed up as Effie Trinket.
(26:13):
Oh my gosh, who like take a selfie with Effie.
I'm like, oh no, yeah, oh no, indeed, Okay, listeners,
this is important if any of you have been seen this,
oh oh yeah, I need the photographic evidence of that immediately.
(26:34):
Oh right, Like I like, if if you haven't consumed
the series, as as Annie was kind of saying earlier,
like like Effie as this woman from the Capital who
is just just a complete symbol of the excess and
kind of like a frivolousness of the capital. Just completely
self involved. Um like like everything that she does is
(26:59):
expensive and she loves it. Um, so that's weird. Um Uh.
There's also a Hunger Games the exhibition in Las Vegas. UM.
It has some costumes from the film's props collection, eleven
set recreations, and interactive features like an archery range you
(27:19):
can also from from this you can purchase a limited
edition Capital Cotour water bottle for two thousand, four hundred
dollars or a UM Girl on Fire clutch for a
hundred dollars um. Both are studded in crystals that that
(27:42):
brand name that I can never pronounce that one starts
with the next. I don't know. There's a W in
there somewhere. Interesting. Interesting. I've read many essays that were like,
this is a once again an example of like capitalism
messing with an anti capital. Yeah, yeah, it's real awkward. Um.
(28:04):
There there have been there have been other like really
questionable merch tians, like capital themed makeup palettes, and I'm like,
oh no, no, no, no, no, no no no. I'm
always like, do you get your missing the point? Or
do you not get your missing the point? I'm just curious, right,
(28:26):
because like if you if you're just leaning in, I
think that's very questionable. I would agree, I would second that.
Well mm hmmm. Uh food one article I read, food
(28:49):
is mentioned over one hundred times in the first book
of the series alone. Yeah, as I was going through,
I tried to buckmark all the references to food in
the series, but I think I gave up after a while.
I was like, Ah, that one isn't that one isn't
like like juicy in some kind of metaphorical way. So
heck it, I can't. You gotta draw the line somewhere.
(29:10):
I can't bookmark it every time they talk about this
lamb stew oh, the lamb STU. We're gonna talk about
how we are we are and a lot more of
the foods that are featured prominently in the books. Um,
but first we're going to get into a quick break
for a word from our sponsors, and we're back. Thank
(29:37):
you sponsored, Yes, thank you so Uh. The world of
the Hunger Games essentially contains food and drinks that we
mostly recognize, uh from our own world, because it's like
supposed to be our own world just in the future time.
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. And because part of the genre
(30:00):
that it's in is like action survival, you do follow
the characters like through their daily grind and you get
therefore to see a lot of what they eat. Um.
And every district has its own biome and socioeconomic structure,
and so you sometimes get to see what some of
those subcultures do with that on a very granular level. UM.
(30:26):
The places that you get to see the most from
our District twelve, where Catness is from and the capital.
So District twelve is what we know today as Appalachia. UM.
So you've got stuff that you would expect. They're like
goats more for milk than for meat because money, you know,
(30:49):
m chickens for eggs, herbs and seasonings like basil and
cammle and mint, pine tips and tree bark, fruit like
apples and blackberries and strawberries and gray nuts, freshwater fish,
vegetables like dandelion, greens and tubers, and wild onions, game
like rabbits, squirrels, wild turkey, duck, and even wild dog. Quote.
(31:11):
We don't hunt them on purpose, but if you're attacked,
and do you take out a dog or two well,
meat is meat. M A lot of this is obtained
illegally by poaching on capital land outside of the residential
bounds of the district, um and by trading on the
black market, even for things like salt. There's also moonshine
to be had, but all the capital really sends them
(31:34):
is like oil and grain enough for like rough bread
and mush. And they're like allowed to have herb gardens
and chickens and goats and that's kind of it. Yeah. Yeah,
there are some nicer things, not that any of those
things are not nice, um, but fancier things I guess
made legally in town, like cookies and cakes at one
(31:58):
of the main characters, Peeda Mallark's family bakery, though most
of the residents cannot afford them, including said bakers. So yeah, uh,
you don't spend a lot of time in the other districts.
But um, but like District four, which is the seaside district,
strongly suspect it's the Gulf of Mexico, like like around
(32:20):
New Orleans. They have a seafood like fish and oysters
and traditional spicy sauces for them. You you kind of
get the idea through the books that the District twelve
is actually lucky in a way because there isn't a
whole lot of attention on them. And also Appalachia is
like rich with wild food sources, so with those two
(32:42):
things combined, they can eat out a pretty comfortable living.
Some of the more industrial districts have it a lot harder, right, Um,
So now let's talk about the capital. Sure, yeah, uh
so yes, Catanets goes from you know, this District twelve
situation sees the Capital. When she first arrived, she is
(33:03):
shocked by the bounty and the richness of food. Yeah.
Her her very first Capital served meal like on the
train there. Uh sounds you know, nice but simple to us,
but it's just incredible. To her quote, a thick carrot soup,
green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit,
(33:24):
a chocolate cake. I've never had food like this, so
good and so much m hmm. Yeah yeah, but right. Uh.
The Capital features things like breakfasts of ham and eggs
and fried potatoes and chilled fruit, and pancakes and sausages,
orange juice and coffee and hot chocolate. Lunches of a
(33:48):
dish of creamy chicken and oranges with green peas and
pearl onions, or pheasant with jewel colored jellies, or fish
cakes with a creamy lime paste, snacks of goose liver
and puffy bread, dinners of mushroom soup or cream and
rose petal soup, rare roast beef, a ruble of salad,
flaming cakes, delicate custards, and fine wines, all kinds, all
(34:11):
kinds of stuff. Yes, and as mentioned, her favorite dish
is lamb stew um. But she's horrified by this excess.
One event she attends with Peta features essentially, as we said,
a vomitorium, there are substances to induce vomiting in a room,
to do so in so that those who partake too
(34:33):
much can continue to keep partaking, keep it going. Like
that is the point. Like they have these little these
little glasses of yeah, like you eat too much and
then you go throw it up, and then you eat
too much again while people are starting in the districts
um and and this is specifically they find this out
(34:54):
at a lavish feast in their honor, uh that has
it has like twenty soups and like whole roasted cows
on spits waterfalls of wine. Yeah, the whole thing, and yeah,
yeah it definitely I read another essay that was about
like how this was sort of a fattening up of
(35:16):
like pigs for the slaughter, sharing all of them the
stuff and anyway, Yeah, we see so many instances of
those in the Capital eating these lavish feasts, unthinking and unconcerned,
like not even just sort of mindlessly eating while they
watch these children starve and kill each other for their entertainment. Um.
(35:41):
In in the books, you find out that there are
tours of previous game arenas. Uh quote, you can even
take part in re enactments. They say the food is excellent.
Woof yeah yeah oh the Capital, oh my goodness. Um.
(36:08):
All of this, though, is um contrasted with this this
very utilitarian city that turns out to be the seat
of the rebellion and also kind of turns out to
be not that great themselves. Um. And this is the
literally underground District thirteen. They have indoor farms that produce
(36:30):
enough food for the population, but everything is really precisely, calorically,
scientifically measured. You know, stuff like breakfasts of hot grain
and a cup of milk with a scoop of fruit
or vegetable on the side like match turn ups one day.
And I do think it's super interesting how neither neither
(36:54):
of these political bodies, the capital or district, are nice. Um,
both both of them are ultimately kind of the enemies
of the people. Um. But you know it, really Collins
really shows how that the positive opposite of excess is
(37:15):
not simplicity necessarily. M hmm yeah yeah. Are this like
absolute control right right? Yes? Yeah. Um. You do also
get to in the in the prequel book go into
the past of the capital and you find out there
(37:37):
that um that during that civil war that led to
the Hunger Games being created, the rebels cut off the
food supplied to the capital as as a strategy of war,
which resulted in this starvation situation in the capital. So
(37:57):
people who were wealth previous to the civil war and
who wind up being wealthy again by the events of
the main book series grew up very hungry, up to
and including, um, the antagonist presidents Now, so you know,
things that he grew up eating were like like thin
cabbage soup and lima beans and canned milk. Your rashing
(38:21):
coupons never really got you quiet enough. And the citizens
of the Capital also turned to black markets, like they
think that they're so like they act like they're so
above black markets in Catness's time, but they also turned
to that and went even further to cannibalism when they
got desperate. H m hm. And also you do see
(38:42):
some of the some of the better food of the
capital from that time, and its like sort of sweetly
to me um Collins. Collins wrote it as being very
like like mid mid nineteenth century, like mid century nine
hundreds kind of food. Um, like creamed ham on toast,
meatloft sandwiches, a rose with onions and potatoes, bread pudding,
apple pie, fried dough, and pink lemonade for a celebration.
(39:05):
Stuff like that. Huh yeah, that is interesting. Uh well.
Perhaps one of the most prominent foods in the Hunger
Games is bread. Yes um. After all, PanAm bread is
a part of the name yes um, right, I write
PanAm is a Latin word for bread, best known today,
(39:29):
and this is mentioned in the books from the Latin
phrase bread and circuses, which is shorthand for how you
can control a population, like get them to give up
their power if you just give them basic food and entertainment,
right and there's a fascinating history behind all of that
that I had to stop myself from Yes. Uh. And
(39:53):
then you have Pet's name, Peter's name in itself. That
is so funny to be because I never I never
thought about it like Peter bread. I always assumed it
was like Peter, like a um, like a derivation of Peter. Um.
But I, but I love, I love. But you saw
Peter Bread in it? Yeah? Yeah, am I the only one?
(40:17):
Bread does evolve from a symbol of survival, a symbol
of rebellion, and a symbol of control with rationing. Yes.
Throughout these books. Yeah. When Catness, for example, first lays
eyes on the mocking j pin that becomes her symbol
throughout the books, she finds this, this ornament like ridiculously impractical. Um.
(40:42):
She thinks real gold, beautifully crafted. It could keep a
family in bread for a year. M Yeah, um. Bread
are variations of bread become a way of sending coded
messages um and also a a reward. For example, when
Cats kisses Peta for the audience, she's like trying to
(41:03):
play up and get these sponsors on board with sending
food and supplies during the games. In the first book, Uh,
Catness and Peter get a small feast from them, including
roles in return for this display. Yeah mm hmm, and
to thank Catness for how she honors competitor Ru in
the first book, Rus District sends Catness a loaf of
(41:27):
bread in the shape of a crescent sprinkled with seeds.
Quote what must it have cost the people of District eleven,
who can't even feed themselves? How many would have had
to do without to scrape up a coin to put
in a collection for this one loaf? And yeah, this
is a big deal, um and a sign of the
district's coming together early on, because generally before that the
(41:49):
district's never showed support for someone for a tribute outside
of their district. Um, So this is a show of
support for someone outside of their district. And in that
is it and in that it's quiet defiance and the
withholding of food or personal rationing later on with Catiness
(42:11):
and like at large, later becomes also an act of
rebellion and defiance. And yeah, this whole idea of people
rising up against their government due to lack of food
does have a historical basis and as a sustaining staple
food for many cultures. Bread has been a symbol of
that more than once. Mm hmm. Early on in the
(42:36):
first book, Peter tosses a starving Cateness to burnt loves
of bread that he was instructed to throw away and
act he was punished for. And she remembers him often
after that as the boy with the bread and reflects
he was solid and warm as these bread loaves and
that this was the quote bread that gave Catness hope. Yeah.
(42:58):
This was kind of the first time that they really
met each other when they were kids, and it's sort
of what drives their relationship for the rest of the series.
Mm hmmm. Uh. And in an interview about District twelve,
Peter tells the interviewer that toasting bread is a part
of wedding rituals in District twelve. In the prequel, it
comes out the district too, has a funerary practice of
(43:21):
sprinkling crumbs over the deceased. One thing I loved is
there's so many essays that were like plays on gender roles.
Oh yeah, gender yeah. R O l l s because
the fact that Peter is a baker and Catness is
a hunter is a bit of a traditional gender roles flip. Yeah.
(43:44):
I mean he's he's definitely the artist of the two
of them, and she is definitely like the warrior of
the two of them. Um. And it is a plot
point that he is a skilled painter um from his
experience decorating baked goods, which I love. Catness and pet
to participate in a small act of rebellion when they
dip pieces of bread into their hot chocolate again early
(44:05):
on the first book, which is not proper to those
that live in the Capitol, and in one moment, a
wafer with Catness is symbol on It is a way
to communicate with others, to let them know whose side
you're on, like a like special coin or something. A
member of Catnesss prep team, Octavia one time sneaks her
(44:27):
a role as a gesture of solidarity in the Capital,
So she's kind of telling Catiness like, I'm on your side. Uh.
And then Octavia is later in District thirteen severely beaten
for trying to steal extra helpings of bread, and Catiness
goes on to say after the incident pushes her to
(44:47):
rebel against coin of of President m H that Catiness
is doing it for anyone who has been treated like
that for taking a slice of bread. Yeah, there's so
much like capital symbolism, like like some of it I
was like, oh dear like um, like Ru's death comes
(45:10):
in the form of a spear to the stomach. Yeah,
stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. The other capital s symbolism
thing is um is berries. Yes. Berries pop up throughout
the books, often as a symbol of sacrifice. The first
book opens with Catness and Gail sharing bread and berries.
(45:33):
For instance. Yeah, they're like safe meeting place out in
the wild. They're like happy place together is right behind
this thicket of BlackBerry bushes. Um. Also, the bread that
they eat in that scene is bread that Gail got
from PETA's family bakery. Capitalists yep uh. Catness uses berries
(46:00):
to hide the taste of a sleeping concoction she gives
to Peter when he's injured in the first Games. Um.
They also symbolize catnesses knowledge of the land, something she
had to learn after her father's death. And then in
the climactic end of the first book, Peter and Catness
are the last two participants in the Games. Unwilling to
(46:21):
kill each other, they prepare to each eat poisonous berries
that will kill them, meaning there will be no winner.
The powers that be panic and stop them before they can,
declaring them to both be the winners. The berries represent
a choice for them in a way for them to
exert control over their own lives. Yeah. Um. Later later
(46:44):
in the series, the same berries, which are called Nightlock,
are made into suicide pills for the rebels in case
they're captured. So yeah, just a reminder why a young
adult books, right? Oh man? Yeah, they're they're very intense. Um.
(47:07):
But that that's that's a that's that's most of what
we have to say about the Hunger Games. I kind
of wanted to end on a nice quote, like sort
of like like one of the things that as always
reading the books made me made like really cemented their
connection to food in my mind. Yeah, okay, So this
(47:29):
is from Mocking j and pardon, pardon me if you
hear any like book noises in the background. I'm reading
this out of again, a physical book on paper, right, weird,
I know. Um. And this is a moment from from
District thirteen. Um uh, Catiness Cateness is narrating. She says,
(47:49):
I'm starving and the stew is so delicious. Beef potatoes
turnips and onions in a thick gravy that I have
to force myself to slow down. All around the dining hall,
you can feel the rejuvenating of act that a good
meal can bring on the way it can make people kinder, funnier,
more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to
go on living. It's better than any medicine. So I
(48:11):
try to make it last and join in the conversation.
Oh yeah, oh goodness, I'm not gonna lie listeners. There
are several times where I was like, one, oh yes,
(48:34):
this is a food food podcast. Throughoutfum too, I just
kept thinking of the poor souls who have never interacted
with this franchise. And you must be very confused at
some of the elements, but you know, hopefully you picked
up generally what we were putting down. Hopefully hopefully. We
(48:56):
always we always try um to to make get interesting,
even for humans who are unfamiliar. Um and ah goodness,
I I will. I. I also do want to say
that I, like part of me is so mad that
these didn't come out until I was an adult, because
(49:18):
I would have been nut bar for these books as
a kid like this. What would have been so up,
Young Laurens Ali like it's it's action and adventure and
like the protagonist lady like isn't that into kissing. She
thinks it's weird, and like it's a whole series about eating,
and like you follow these characters moment to moment, but
(49:41):
nobody ever poops, ever poops. They don't discuss it. Young
Lauren would have flipped, I love that's one of your
like like disgusting murders. Love it that children killing each other. Yeah,
(50:11):
they're quick and easy. Reason Like I remember, like I said,
I was up all night reading them, so uh, I hesitated.
I keep wanting to say I recommend them. I do,
but they are mentally taxing. They are, They're intense, They're right, yeah,
and like that we're living in a dystopia right now.
It's like oh yeah, yeah, yeah, so you know, tread
(50:37):
with caution, caution, let us know what you think. Yes, yes,
please do well. I guess we should close the book
on this pH now. Yeah. Yeah, but speaking of letting
us know what you think, we do have some listener
mail for you. We do, but we have one more
quick break for workroomer sponsor and we're back. Thank you, sponsored, yes,
(51:08):
thank you, and we're back with listen. Man. I can't
remember how the mocking Jake um that that would have been.
And that's kind of what I started to do because
he started on a high note and I was like,
oh are we going there? Um, it would have been
a listener male, I just did it really a tonally
(51:32):
it wouldn't be like that. I'm glad we've cleared it up. Yeah,
I can hear it my head, but it's one of
those things where it's like so foggy, it wasn't happening,
even though I can remember it. The brain to malfunction.
It didn't. That's fair happen, that's fair. I have a
(51:54):
hard time whistling it like I've tried to, because that's
what I've been up to for the past week. Um.
I also have like that one song in my head,
the Hanging Tree really hard. I've been torturing my roommates
with a your Welcome roommates. I'm sure they love it.
I'm sure positive well A Sheldon wrote, it seems these
(52:22):
days that more and more of your topics are something
I know nothing about. Maybe it's me probably is, or
maybe not. In any case, today I made a batch
of coon because one of my granddaughters loves them. It
while making them, I thought that they would make an
interesting obscure topic too much of the world. As far
(52:43):
as I know, there's no English word for it, because
it's pretty much unknown outside of Quebec and its environs.
What is it? I call it poor man's patte, cooked
down pork, pork, fat, onions, garlic and some spices. It's
usually spread on toast for breakfast, although my granddaughter likes
it on bread to bring to school for her lunch.
And just in case you would ever want to do
(53:04):
one on Creton, you have to know how to pronounce it, okay. Uh.
The crew is pronounced just like the crew in the
word crust. This is so fun silent, and the all
is pronounced like the all and the word only but
barely pronouncing the letter in as I know you love
Lauren with French. Yeah. Oh, man, I hope I got
(53:29):
it somewhat close. Uh. I. In fact, yes, I've never
ever heard of this. It sounds great. I mean, it
sounds delicious. Mm hmmm um. I would love to talk
about it and perhaps make some Oh I really want
to go to come back okay, me too. All right, well,
(53:53):
thank you, thank you for making me hungry for something
I've never had. It's one of my favorite things to
be actually, Randall wrote, my girlfriend made a lamb cake
and I really wanted her to use green icing because
the thing looked like baby Yoda or perhaps a demon,
you can decide. She used a pound cake batter. Um.
(54:16):
And then there's a tuna ring made from Pillsbury crescent rolls.
Pop the can um. It is a simple and fun
dish to make and serve. If you don't know um,
you just pinwheel out the crescent roll triangles onto a
baking sheet, Spoon on your favorite tuna salad, top with cheese,
and fold over the points. Put it in a three
oven for fifteen minutes or until the rolls are golden
(54:39):
good to check. Uh. The recipe says serves four, but
two is more like it. And I have a red
currant bush in my backyard. They have seeds. By the way,
I can usually fend off the birds long enough to
harvest four cups for currant pie. I keep the seeds
in because they're small and don't bother me. I use
a flaky pie dough, which usually tails swearing and perhaps
(55:01):
throwing stuff in frustration as I'm rolling it out. Not
my favorite activity. Yeah, yeah, pie crust can be a
whole thing. I y'all. I only ever buy store like
like pre made pie crusts. It's not worth it to me.
I have a simple ish recipe, but it makes you
(55:22):
miserable even so, um, just because it's so cold. You
like freeze the butter and then you use you grade
it to make the pieces, but it gets so cold,
So I I understand, and I often buy pre made
by crust easy. Yeah, refrigerated or frozen. It's it's fine.
It is just it is like not it's not quite
(55:44):
as good as homemade pie crust, but it's close enough. Yeah,
without the misery that's sometimes involved. I do love we
got some two recipes in a row in these episodes. Yeah,
I have a friend that loves this, the the pin
wheel crescent roll type recipes, and I totally forgotten about it.
So I'm glad you brought this back to my I
(56:07):
don't think I've had one of these before, but now
I'm like, that sounds delicious. They're so good. And then also, yeah,
I love a lamb cake that could be a demon
or baby Yoda. That's fantastic, you know they do. They
really do have the ears like, yeah, I can see it,
(56:28):
I can see it. Uh wow. Thanks so much to
both of those listeners writing in. If you would like
to write you us, you can our emails hello at
saber pod dot com, but we are also on social media.
You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
saber pod, and we do hope to hear from you.
Saber is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
(56:48):
podcasts my heart Radio, you can visit the I Heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan
and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we
hope that that's more good things are coming your way
Hello, and welcome to Sabor production of I Heart Radio.
I'm anti Reason and I'm more in Voguel Bam, and
today we have an episode for you about the semi
fictional foods of the Hunger Games, yes, which when you suggested, Lauren,
I have to admit, I was like, um, okay, yeah,
(00:30):
gonna be interesting and a lot perhaps. Yeah yeah I
think I Um, I don't like okay, like I like
like I felt the same way when I suggested it,
Like I like, I my brain was like, oh, what
about the Hunger Games? Because I was looking for another,
you know, fictional series that we could delve into, and uh,
(00:53):
you know, my eyes alighted on my copy of Mocking
j on my bookshelf, and I was like, oh, Hunger Games.
And then I was like, oh Hunger Games. Yeah. Yeah.
We had a very interesting conversation about what we would
possibly talk about and it, as you said, there are
(01:14):
a lot of academic articles and essays written about it.
So so here we are, so here we are. It
was also like like like, in preparation for this episode,
I went ahead and reread the books, and um, I
(01:35):
gotta tell y'all that like these our these are our
modern times are just a heck of a time to
reread those books. Yeah, I did not reread them. I
uh so, I'm very curious because I did. I remember
(01:58):
when I first read them. Um, I think I read them.
I started reading them right when Catching Fire came out,
when the second one came out. Yeah, I think that's
right about when I started reading them too. Yeah, And
I had heard about them at dragon Con. I remember
this huge deal at dragon Con. In fact, there was
like a werewolf card game you could play that was
(02:20):
Hunger Games based. I'm sure it was really depressing. I
didn't go do it, but I'm sure it was Barry
a breathing Oh dear, oh, I love that. Okay, sorry,
next game night, we'll see. But I remember I was
looking at, you know, different talks and things I could
go to, and I kept seeing Hunger Games. So I
(02:41):
went out and found them. Uh And I stayed up.
It was one of the last times I remember. Yeah,
it was one of the last times I remember staying
up late to read a book and to finish a book. Yeah, no, absolutely,
I I got really hooked on him. Um My, my
friends gave them to me and I was like, oh no,
(03:02):
and like I think I read the first one in
like a night, like an actual it was like one
sitting book ready and so right, so so I yeah,
I was. I really I really enjoyed reading the series.
I mean I was an adult when they came out,
but that you know, y as for everybody, okay. Um.
And and then the movies came out, and it was
(03:25):
a very strange experience for me, um going and seeing
the films because they were all of these kids in
the audience and I was like, oh, no, yeah, but yeah,
but you have a different you have a different connection
to the movies. I do. I do. So I remember
reading these and it was early in my acting career,
and I was no joke, like the stereotypical. I was
(03:46):
in my bed. I was visiting my parents that weekend,
so I was in my childhood bed with a flash
like reading them at night. Uh. And I remember thinking, Oh,
they're going to make these into movies. They're gonna make
these in to movies. And this was early on in
my acting career. And it was actually right around the
time two Thoulve was when I started at this company,
(04:10):
so a couple of years later, but yeah, right around
that time, I had started here, and I remember being like, oh,
I should go audition for these because like, yeah, and
I can shoot a bow and arrow. I have a
bow and arrow, like right in my entry way. No joke,
(04:31):
that is true. So I went auditioned, and I got
pretty far in the process. Uh. And in fact um,
the video crew which I was part of at the time,
which included people like Bim Boll and Matt Frederick H.
Tyler playing wrote me a very nice letter about like,
you know, good luck you got this. It was very sweet.
(04:53):
I did not get it. And as I was telling you,
Lauren is one of the times where I'm like, yeah,
Jennifer Lawrence, Yeah, like she did an okay job, sure, alright,
like like all right, Like that's if you have to
lose to someone. Losing to Jennifer Lawrence, it is like, well,
all right, okay, I see it. Uh. And then a
(05:16):
couple of years later, when they started, I think the
first one they filmed in North Carolina, the second one
they filmed here. That one, I got kind of a
glorified uh extra role. It's like a in between between
extra an actor where you get two lines, but it's
still not like a full flow fat yeah. Yeah, and
(05:36):
I got it and I did it. It was the
whole thing, but it got cut due to drama and
I won't go into it. I'm going to be full
of rage. But oh it is hard for me to
watch them now just because of that. And it's not
because like I enjoyed them, but it is oh yeah,
all right, oh heck yeah. After I like, after I
(06:02):
suggested the topic, I remembered that also you had had
that experience, like I've heard that story before, and I
was like, oh no, did I just do the thing
like again where I'm like, hey, Annie, you want to
think about something that depresses you really hard for a while?
Always Okay, Actually that's fair. It's you. So you're like, yeah,
I do, but exty stuff, I love it. I'm like,
(06:26):
it's one of those things where every time I watch it,
I enjoy It's not like I'm hating the whole thing.
It's just kind of hard to take that initial you know,
stip to turn it on. Once I do, I'm like,
oh yeah, yeah, very upsetting in a lot of ways
that don't relate to me because the story is upsetting
(06:50):
pretty good. Yeah, I you know, I don't know, like, uh,
we can we can go into it as we go
through it, Like like the movies like aren't necessarily for me,
I do Still, I really enjoyed reading the books and
like a kind of naschistic way, um, you know, like
like the movies. The movies are cute, Like there's like
the costuming is beautiful, the actors are all top notch, um,
(07:11):
But but I don't know, like like there's like the
elements of the books that I enjoyed, like the obsessive
detailing about the food are kind of absent, you know,
because they were focusing on other stuff, and that's understandable.
But yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I did read a
lot of interesting articles about the difficulty of making those
(07:33):
into sure stuff. Yeah, m hmmm. All right, well, I
guess that brings us to your question. Yeah, because you know,
probably all of you have heard of this franchise, but
there might be some of you who are extremely confused
right now. Indeed, and for you, we asked the question
(07:55):
the Hunger Games, what are they? Well, um, the Hunger Games,
I guess can mean a few things, but but at
top level, it's a media franchise based on a trilogy
of young adult books by one Susanne Collins. The first
(08:18):
book published in two thousand eight, with sequels Catching Fire
and Mocking Jay releasing over like like one a year
for the next two years, which is a nutbar um.
There are also for films based on the three books,
the final one being split into two movies UM, which
began releasing in and also followed a yearly schedule, which
(08:40):
is even more nutbar um. And a prequel young adult
novel came out in called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
And I have to say, may of what was even
more of a heck of a time to be reading
a book like that? That was who stuff? Yeah? Uh
(09:03):
so I purchased it and then have not read it yet. Wow,
all you're like saving it? Oh no, I know. I
was like, well for a good day for this one,
and then it was continually not good days. Yeah. Um,
it's it's they're very dystopian like, It's okay. So, so
(09:27):
the series is about the world of pen M, which
is this dystopian society that has replaced the United States
in North America at some unknown future date UM. The
country pen M is separated into thirteen um enslaved destitute
production districts UM, each responsible for creating specialized goods based
(09:50):
on the resources that they have. They're like UM lumber
or coal or food crops or electronics or nuclear weapons.
Those thirt in production districts plus their ruling capital District,
which is a city of excess and arts and self
interest run amuck ah. At some point in Panama's history,
(10:13):
the enslaved districts rebel and thus begins a long civil war,
at the end of which the capital wins and institutes
the titular Hunger Games UM, which is a yearly punishment
wherein a boy and a girl called tributes from every
district except the Capital are are selected by lottery and
(10:35):
then forced to fight each other to the death in
an arena with a soul survivor UM and this develops
over the decades into a glamorous mccob reality entertainment event UM.
So the trilogy opens the The first trilogy opens UH
seventy four years after the institution of the Hunger Games,
(10:56):
and it follows this teen girl, Catanus Everdeen UM who
Annie was auditioning for UM through her survival before and
during and after the Games and UM and they're really
about how she she brings hope and dearly bought freedom
to herself and the people of PanAm. The prequel, meanwhile,
(11:19):
is about how the leader of the Capitol in the trilogy,
one President Snow struggled to prominence some like sixty years
earlier and inadvertently A helped create the games as Catonists
and we all know them and be really set the
stage for cat and is ultimately kicking his butt, which
(11:39):
is real fun. Okay, oh yeah, there, it's a little
bit heavy handed. I love it. It's I appreciate it. Spoilers,
I'm sorry, I have no idea what it could be
and I'm excited to find out. Um well uh. Sam
(12:00):
Collins is an American writer who was born in Connecticut
in nineteen sixty two. Her father was in the Air
Force and so the family moved around a lot when
she was a kid. She got her start writing um
for kids and like preteen shows in the early nineties,
mostly on Nickelodeon, like including Clarissa Explains It All and
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, which, if you're you know,
(12:23):
like like me that like writing for Clarissa Explains It
All is the best feather one could possibly have in
their cap I'm like, dang, that's cool. I love it anyway.
Based on based on her experience in that she started
(12:44):
writing children's books about a decade later in the early
two thousand's Um and Yeah. She frequently incorporates these themes
of war and poverty and rebellion into these science fiction
and fantasy stories for young audiences. And and she's spoken
in inner views about UM being super interested in just
war theory. Um, not like like just a war, but
(13:07):
like just war, like just like justifiable war. Yeah, Um,
you know, like when and how it can be morally
right to wage war. She cites Greek mythology as being
a major influence, which you can really see once you
start looking in UM in the arena and the character's names,
and like a lot of the tropes that she uses.
(13:29):
There has been some criticism of the series for for
copying stuff like UM like the film Battle Royal and
A Running Man and The Long Walk, But honestly, I
think that they're all just pulling from the same classical tropes. UM.
I will say, if anyone has ever seen the Japanese
film Battle Royal, like, it's a little uncannily similar in tone,
(13:51):
but but she claims that she didn't know that that
existed when she created this, and I I have not
but to believe her m hm. Collins has said that
she got the idea for Hunger games specifically when she
was surfing channels and like flipped by reality television and
a war news broadcast in rapid succession, and she was like,
(14:14):
huh yeah. She was like, there's something here. Oh no,
but we are ostensibly a food show, uh And he
just shrugged. Yeah. And and food does play an uh
an intricate integral role in the series. Yeah, it does.
(14:39):
Even though at first I was like, what are we
going to talk about with this? Because these are about
starvation a lot, So that's but yeah, which we are
going to talk about? We are, we are? But yeah.
Food is often used to represent control, power, class, wealth, life, hope, love, comfort,
and even luxury. The tie itself demonstrates how food has
(15:02):
been weaponized and how hunger can be used as a tool.
And when children are chosen at the reaping to be
tributes in this game, they can enter their name more
than once for a small supply of oil and grain,
so you're kind of increasing the likelihood that you'll be
chosen with the hope that you'll get some food. Uh yeah,
(15:24):
because because death by starvation isn't uncommon in the poorer districts,
and this is purposeful on the part of the capital
to keep the people struggling so that they don't rebel again. Um.
Like in the first book, Catness is thinking about the
history of the rebellion and the country and how little
she knows about it, um due to like probably intentional
(15:45):
misinformation or disinformation from the capital. But then she immediately
thinks like, whatever the truth is, I don't see how
it will help me get food on the table. Yeah
ahoof um yeah, And along those lines, um, the winner
um of the games every year and their whole district
(16:06):
are gifted with a little bit more food, like a
tiny bit more food, and and even delicacies like like
sugar or candy or tinned meat or apple sauce. Right.
And then in the cornucopia where the games are held, um,
especially the first one is what I'm thinking of. It's
(16:27):
where there are weapons and supplies are located, where like
you can either choose to rush towards when it starts
or a void because everyone else is going to rush
towards them and maybe you know, kill you, kill you,
But a cornucopia, you know, in our traditional understanding, it's
(16:49):
a symbol of nourishment, especially with plenty right exactly like
that's on our like Thanksgiving flags, people will put out
as a cornucopia. Um. And this is sort of an
example of how that can be weaponized, or how food
can be weaponized, or lack of food can be weaponized. Yeah.
Even within the games themselves, hunger is a major issue.
(17:14):
Successful tributes may receive food items like like broth or
bread being dropped in by drones from from sponsors who
are betting on the event, uh, destroying enemies. Food supply
in the arena is a winning strategy. Um. And sometimes
the gamemakers will spice things up if there's like not
enough children killing each other, um by calling a feast um,
(17:38):
sometimes with literal food, sometimes with other supplies or weapons,
but all of which are again as a perversion of
the idea of feast, of the idea of plenty Um.
It's really just intended to draw tributes out to fight
for their entertainment. Yeah. Yes, And again food and of
(18:00):
it is used to paint a start portrait between the
waste and decadence of the Capital with their rich foods
and we're going to get into this later, but use
of a sort of vomitorium type thing so they can
eat and drink as much as they want against the
poor citizens who are starving. Like we have these very
stark contrast, very start contrast going on. On top of that,
(18:24):
the food uh they're enjoying requires those less well off.
Uh they're enjoying the capital requires those less well off
than them producing it. So again those districts are providing
that for them. Um, for those who are food and secure,
like catnets, food can represent affection, safety, options, and love,
(18:47):
and it is a very powerful symbol throughout. In an
interaction with Effie, who is from the Capital and all
about decorum and manners, Effie laments some of the previous
competitors had no manners and ate everything with their hands.
Catness informs her that those kids had never in their
(19:09):
lives had enough to eat like, let alone learned table
manners like they certainly were not going to finishing school exactly.
And to further drive homer point, Catnis uses her fingers
for the rest of the meal and wipes them on
the tablecloth. Uh and This is just one example of
many of using food as a form of rebellion, which
(19:30):
we've seen in our own actual history as well, whether
through protest cookbooks or underground markets of foods that have
been banned as a form of control and or as
ways to erase cultures. So again, like you can find
so many essays about this. It was really interesting. Yeah,
it's clearly very very carefully constructed on Susan Collins part
(19:55):
mm hmmm. Another example when catness gets frustrated when and
there's like the scene where the tributes have to showcase
their skills, and that allows for the gamemakers or sponsors
to decide like, oh I think they'll survive or they
won't survive. Yeah, it's really important forum for getting those
(20:16):
gifts within the arena from sponsors who are betting on you. Yeah, exactly.
And so she's showing off her skills with the bow
to the gamemakers and sponsors and they're essentially ignoring her. Um,
so she shoots an arrow through an apple in their
pig roast mouth to get their attention. Yeah. Yeah, it's
pretty good, really like rebellious bow and walks out yep, right,
(20:45):
and both literal and symbolic food stuff is just abound. Um.
A lot of the plot, both inside and outside of
the arena, focuses on the characters just trying to get
enough to eat and drink to live, and meal time
times are featured super often, like probably every chapter, um
as events around which the characters congregate and form and
(21:11):
deform relationships with each other and make decisions. Um. Another
another symbolic one. Catanus is a name for a for
an edible plant. Um. It's a it's a starchy, edible
tuber with arrowhead shaped leaves. She's an archer. Uh anyway,
(21:33):
um and uh and her parents named her in the book,
her parents named her after that plant because it's like
a form. It's like a pretty flower, and it's a
form of sustenance and you know, it's it's it's all
of these things. Um. But uh. But you know, like
when you when you dig into the character, like it
is the necessity of Catanus having to hunt illegally with
(21:56):
a bow and arrow to obtain enough food for her
family to survive. That makes her a strong contender in
the games. Um. You know because of that, she's she's
physically fit. She can use the bow and arrow Um,
she knows how to forage and find fresh water, knows
a little bit about plants, is medicine, and so it's
those skills that the capital forced her to learn. UM,
(22:21):
and her performance in those games that the capital forced
her to participate in that eventually let her bring down
the capital. Um. It's it's really on the nose, but
also super interesting to dig into. I love it. M
h uh and um. And a lot of the food
that's described in the books sounds really good. Uh. There
(22:46):
have been a number of unofficial cookbooks published with recipes
for recreating dishes that are mentioned in and inspired by
the books, UM, including lamb stew with plums and various
types of bread us and like stick tarts, rich hot
chocolate stuff like that. Yeah, m hmm. Well, I hesitate
(23:08):
to ask. What about the nurtrition don't eat media franchises?
Be careful in your consumption? Oh oh dear, Yeah, yeah,
absolutely absolutely. I I don't know. Maybe a dystopian maybe
(23:33):
a dystopia sci fi series is not is not what
anyone should be consuming right now. I can't tell you
what to do. I don't know. That's true. Everyone's different
in where they find their absolutely and it seems like
these this book, these books, this franchise is a big hit,
(23:53):
because we do have some numbers for you, oh we do. Um. Okay. So,
together with her other book series, Collins has sold over
a hundred million books worldwide, translated into over fifty languages. Um.
The first Hunger Games book spent six years on the
New York Times best seller list. Wow huh right, I mean,
(24:18):
you know, like like with the movies coming out, it
was a it was a phenomenon. Um. The prequel um,
which was right released in May two, did five hundred
thousand sales it's first week um, which is not shabby
considering like how early in the pandemic shutdown that was
like you probably couldn't go to a bookstore and get it.
So yeah, yeah, um. There is a lot of discussion
(24:44):
also about how um, the series was kind of like
the apex of the young adult boom of the early
two thousand's, like building on Harry Potter and Twilight before it,
and also making room for a lot of development in
the genre afterwards. Mhm, I guess. Speaking of Yeah, the
first film made more money on opening weekend than the
(25:07):
first Harry Potter or Twilight film. Uh. The film series
grossed nearly three billion dollars worldwide. Um. Apparently reportedly, lions
Gate bought the rights for just a two hundred thousand
dollars so hoof to Oh my, Uh. There is a
(25:30):
Line's Gate Studio theme park. Uh. It's sort of like
Universal Studios here in the States. It's in Dubai. I
think it's called motion Gate, and it features two Hunger
Games themed rides. Um. A roller coaster called the Capital
Bullet Train. Okay, all right because in the series they
(25:51):
take this Bullet train to the Capital anyway um uh,
and a motion simulator called the pen M Aerial Tour.
And then there is a meet and great slash photo
up with actors that they've dressed up as Effie Trinket.
(26:13):
Oh my gosh, who like take a selfie with Effie.
I'm like, oh no, yeah, oh no, indeed, Okay, listeners,
this is important if any of you have been seen this,
oh oh yeah, I need the photographic evidence of that immediately.
(26:34):
Oh right, Like I like, if if you haven't consumed
the series, as as Annie was kind of saying earlier,
like like Effie as this woman from the Capital who
is just just a complete symbol of the excess and
kind of like a frivolousness of the capital. Just completely
self involved. Um like like everything that she does is
(26:59):
expensive and she loves it. Um, so that's weird. Um Uh.
There's also a Hunger Games the exhibition in Las Vegas. UM.
It has some costumes from the film's props collection, eleven
set recreations, and interactive features like an archery range you
(27:19):
can also from from this you can purchase a limited
edition Capital Cotour water bottle for two thousand, four hundred
dollars or a UM Girl on Fire clutch for a
hundred dollars um. Both are studded in crystals that that
(27:42):
brand name that I can never pronounce that one starts
with the next. I don't know. There's a W in
there somewhere. Interesting. Interesting. I've read many essays that were like,
this is a once again an example of like capitalism
messing with an anti capital. Yeah, yeah, it's real awkward. Um.
(28:04):
There there have been there have been other like really
questionable merch tians, like capital themed makeup palettes, and I'm like,
oh no, no, no, no, no, no no no. I'm
always like, do you get your missing the point? Or
do you not get your missing the point? I'm just curious, right,
(28:26):
because like if you if you're just leaning in, I
think that's very questionable. I would agree, I would second that.
Well mm hmmm. Uh food one article I read, food
(28:49):
is mentioned over one hundred times in the first book
of the series alone. Yeah, as I was going through,
I tried to buckmark all the references to food in
the series, but I think I gave up after a while.
I was like, Ah, that one isn't that one isn't
like like juicy in some kind of metaphorical way. So
heck it, I can't. You gotta draw the line somewhere.
(29:10):
I can't bookmark it every time they talk about this
lamb stew oh, the lamb STU. We're gonna talk about
how we are we are and a lot more of
the foods that are featured prominently in the books. Um,
but first we're going to get into a quick break
for a word from our sponsors, and we're back. Thank
(29:37):
you sponsored, Yes, thank you so Uh. The world of
the Hunger Games essentially contains food and drinks that we
mostly recognize, uh from our own world, because it's like
supposed to be our own world just in the future time.
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. And because part of the genre
(30:00):
that it's in is like action survival, you do follow
the characters like through their daily grind and you get
therefore to see a lot of what they eat. Um.
And every district has its own biome and socioeconomic structure,
and so you sometimes get to see what some of
those subcultures do with that on a very granular level. UM.
(30:26):
The places that you get to see the most from
our District twelve, where Catness is from and the capital.
So District twelve is what we know today as Appalachia. UM.
So you've got stuff that you would expect. They're like
goats more for milk than for meat because money, you know,
(30:49):
m chickens for eggs, herbs and seasonings like basil and
cammle and mint, pine tips and tree bark, fruit like
apples and blackberries and strawberries and gray nuts, freshwater fish,
vegetables like dandelion, greens and tubers, and wild onions, game
like rabbits, squirrels, wild turkey, duck, and even wild dog. Quote.
(31:11):
We don't hunt them on purpose, but if you're attacked,
and do you take out a dog or two well,
meat is meat. M A lot of this is obtained
illegally by poaching on capital land outside of the residential
bounds of the district, um and by trading on the
black market, even for things like salt. There's also moonshine
to be had, but all the capital really sends them
(31:34):
is like oil and grain enough for like rough bread
and mush. And they're like allowed to have herb gardens
and chickens and goats and that's kind of it. Yeah. Yeah,
there are some nicer things, not that any of those
things are not nice, um, but fancier things I guess
made legally in town, like cookies and cakes at one
(31:58):
of the main characters, Peeda Mallark's family bakery, though most
of the residents cannot afford them, including said bakers. So yeah, uh,
you don't spend a lot of time in the other districts.
But um, but like District four, which is the seaside district,
strongly suspect it's the Gulf of Mexico, like like around
(32:20):
New Orleans. They have a seafood like fish and oysters
and traditional spicy sauces for them. You you kind of
get the idea through the books that the District twelve
is actually lucky in a way because there isn't a
whole lot of attention on them. And also Appalachia is
like rich with wild food sources, so with those two
(32:42):
things combined, they can eat out a pretty comfortable living.
Some of the more industrial districts have it a lot harder, right, Um,
So now let's talk about the capital. Sure, yeah, uh
so yes, Catanets goes from you know, this District twelve
situation sees the Capital. When she first arrived, she is
(33:03):
shocked by the bounty and the richness of food. Yeah.
Her her very first Capital served meal like on the
train there. Uh sounds you know, nice but simple to us,
but it's just incredible. To her quote, a thick carrot soup,
green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit,
(33:24):
a chocolate cake. I've never had food like this, so
good and so much m hmm. Yeah yeah, but right. Uh.
The Capital features things like breakfasts of ham and eggs
and fried potatoes and chilled fruit, and pancakes and sausages,
orange juice and coffee and hot chocolate. Lunches of a
(33:48):
dish of creamy chicken and oranges with green peas and
pearl onions, or pheasant with jewel colored jellies, or fish
cakes with a creamy lime paste, snacks of goose liver
and puffy bread, dinners of mushroom soup or cream and
rose petal soup, rare roast beef, a ruble of salad,
flaming cakes, delicate custards, and fine wines, all kinds, all
(34:11):
kinds of stuff. Yes, and as mentioned, her favorite dish
is lamb stew um. But she's horrified by this excess.
One event she attends with Peta features essentially, as we said,
a vomitorium, there are substances to induce vomiting in a room,
to do so in so that those who partake too
(34:33):
much can continue to keep partaking, keep it going. Like
that is the point. Like they have these little these
little glasses of yeah, like you eat too much and
then you go throw it up, and then you eat
too much again while people are starting in the districts
um and and this is specifically they find this out
(34:54):
at a lavish feast in their honor, uh that has
it has like twenty soups and like whole roasted cows
on spits waterfalls of wine. Yeah, the whole thing, and yeah,
yeah it definitely I read another essay that was about
like how this was sort of a fattening up of
(35:16):
like pigs for the slaughter, sharing all of them the
stuff and anyway, Yeah, we see so many instances of
those in the Capital eating these lavish feasts, unthinking and unconcerned,
like not even just sort of mindlessly eating while they
watch these children starve and kill each other for their entertainment. Um.
(35:41):
In in the books, you find out that there are
tours of previous game arenas. Uh quote, you can even
take part in re enactments. They say the food is excellent.
Woof yeah yeah oh the Capital, oh my goodness. Um.
(36:08):
All of this, though, is um contrasted with this this
very utilitarian city that turns out to be the seat
of the rebellion and also kind of turns out to
be not that great themselves. Um. And this is the
literally underground District thirteen. They have indoor farms that produce
(36:30):
enough food for the population, but everything is really precisely, calorically,
scientifically measured. You know, stuff like breakfasts of hot grain
and a cup of milk with a scoop of fruit
or vegetable on the side like match turn ups one day.
And I do think it's super interesting how neither neither
(36:54):
of these political bodies, the capital or district, are nice. Um,
both both of them are ultimately kind of the enemies
of the people. Um. But you know it, really Collins
really shows how that the positive opposite of excess is
(37:15):
not simplicity necessarily. M hmm yeah yeah. Are this like
absolute control right right? Yes? Yeah. Um. You do also
get to in the in the prequel book go into
the past of the capital and you find out there
(37:37):
that um that during that civil war that led to
the Hunger Games being created, the rebels cut off the
food supplied to the capital as as a strategy of war,
which resulted in this starvation situation in the capital. So
(37:57):
people who were wealth previous to the civil war and
who wind up being wealthy again by the events of
the main book series grew up very hungry, up to
and including, um, the antagonist presidents Now, so you know,
things that he grew up eating were like like thin
cabbage soup and lima beans and canned milk. Your rashing
(38:21):
coupons never really got you quiet enough. And the citizens
of the Capital also turned to black markets, like they
think that they're so like they act like they're so
above black markets in Catness's time, but they also turned
to that and went even further to cannibalism when they
got desperate. H m hm. And also you do see
(38:42):
some of the some of the better food of the
capital from that time, and its like sort of sweetly
to me um Collins. Collins wrote it as being very
like like mid mid nineteenth century, like mid century nine
hundreds kind of food. Um, like creamed ham on toast,
meatloft sandwiches, a rose with onions and potatoes, bread pudding,
apple pie, fried dough, and pink lemonade for a celebration.
(39:05):
Stuff like that. Huh yeah, that is interesting. Uh well.
Perhaps one of the most prominent foods in the Hunger
Games is bread. Yes um. After all, PanAm bread is
a part of the name yes um, right, I write
PanAm is a Latin word for bread, best known today,
(39:29):
and this is mentioned in the books from the Latin
phrase bread and circuses, which is shorthand for how you
can control a population, like get them to give up
their power if you just give them basic food and entertainment,
right and there's a fascinating history behind all of that
that I had to stop myself from Yes. Uh. And
(39:53):
then you have Pet's name, Peter's name in itself. That
is so funny to be because I never I never
thought about it like Peter bread. I always assumed it
was like Peter, like a um, like a derivation of Peter. Um.
But I, but I love, I love. But you saw
Peter Bread in it? Yeah? Yeah, am I the only one?
(40:17):
Bread does evolve from a symbol of survival, a symbol
of rebellion, and a symbol of control with rationing. Yes.
Throughout these books. Yeah. When Catness, for example, first lays
eyes on the mocking j pin that becomes her symbol
throughout the books, she finds this, this ornament like ridiculously impractical. Um.
(40:42):
She thinks real gold, beautifully crafted. It could keep a
family in bread for a year. M Yeah, um. Bread
are variations of bread become a way of sending coded
messages um and also a a reward. For example, when
Cats kisses Peta for the audience, she's like trying to
(41:03):
play up and get these sponsors on board with sending
food and supplies during the games. In the first book, Uh,
Catness and Peter get a small feast from them, including
roles in return for this display. Yeah mm hmm, and
to thank Catness for how she honors competitor Ru in
the first book, Rus District sends Catness a loaf of
(41:27):
bread in the shape of a crescent sprinkled with seeds.
Quote what must it have cost the people of District eleven,
who can't even feed themselves? How many would have had
to do without to scrape up a coin to put
in a collection for this one loaf? And yeah, this
is a big deal, um and a sign of the
district's coming together early on, because generally before that the
(41:49):
district's never showed support for someone for a tribute outside
of their district. Um, So this is a show of
support for someone outside of their district. And in that
is it and in that it's quiet defiance and the
withholding of food or personal rationing later on with Catiness
(42:11):
and like at large, later becomes also an act of
rebellion and defiance. And yeah, this whole idea of people
rising up against their government due to lack of food
does have a historical basis and as a sustaining staple
food for many cultures. Bread has been a symbol of
that more than once. Mm hmm. Early on in the
(42:36):
first book, Peter tosses a starving Cateness to burnt loves
of bread that he was instructed to throw away and
act he was punished for. And she remembers him often
after that as the boy with the bread and reflects
he was solid and warm as these bread loaves and
that this was the quote bread that gave Catness hope. Yeah.
(42:58):
This was kind of the first time that they really
met each other when they were kids, and it's sort
of what drives their relationship for the rest of the series.
Mm hmmm. Uh. And in an interview about District twelve,
Peter tells the interviewer that toasting bread is a part
of wedding rituals in District twelve. In the prequel, it
comes out the district too, has a funerary practice of
(43:21):
sprinkling crumbs over the deceased. One thing I loved is
there's so many essays that were like plays on gender roles.
Oh yeah, gender yeah. R O l l s because
the fact that Peter is a baker and Catness is
a hunter is a bit of a traditional gender roles flip. Yeah.
(43:44):
I mean he's he's definitely the artist of the two
of them, and she is definitely like the warrior of
the two of them. Um. And it is a plot
point that he is a skilled painter um from his
experience decorating baked goods, which I love. Catness and pet
to participate in a small act of rebellion when they
dip pieces of bread into their hot chocolate again early
(44:05):
on the first book, which is not proper to those
that live in the Capitol, and in one moment, a
wafer with Catness is symbol on It is a way
to communicate with others, to let them know whose side
you're on, like a like special coin or something. A
member of Catnesss prep team, Octavia one time sneaks her
(44:27):
a role as a gesture of solidarity in the Capital,
So she's kind of telling Catiness like, I'm on your side. Uh.
And then Octavia is later in District thirteen severely beaten
for trying to steal extra helpings of bread, and Catiness
goes on to say after the incident pushes her to
(44:47):
rebel against coin of of President m H that Catiness
is doing it for anyone who has been treated like
that for taking a slice of bread. Yeah, there's so
much like capital symbolism, like like some of it I
was like, oh dear like um, like Ru's death comes
(45:10):
in the form of a spear to the stomach. Yeah,
stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. The other capital s symbolism
thing is um is berries. Yes. Berries pop up throughout
the books, often as a symbol of sacrifice. The first
book opens with Catness and Gail sharing bread and berries.
(45:33):
For instance. Yeah, they're like safe meeting place out in
the wild. They're like happy place together is right behind
this thicket of BlackBerry bushes. Um. Also, the bread that
they eat in that scene is bread that Gail got
from PETA's family bakery. Capitalists yep uh. Catness uses berries
(46:00):
to hide the taste of a sleeping concoction she gives
to Peter when he's injured in the first Games. Um.
They also symbolize catnesses knowledge of the land, something she
had to learn after her father's death. And then in
the climactic end of the first book, Peter and Catness
are the last two participants in the Games. Unwilling to
(46:21):
kill each other, they prepare to each eat poisonous berries
that will kill them, meaning there will be no winner.
The powers that be panic and stop them before they can,
declaring them to both be the winners. The berries represent
a choice for them in a way for them to
exert control over their own lives. Yeah. Um. Later later
(46:44):
in the series, the same berries, which are called Nightlock,
are made into suicide pills for the rebels in case
they're captured. So yeah, just a reminder why a young
adult books, right? Oh man? Yeah, they're they're very intense. Um.
(47:07):
But that that's that's a that's that's most of what
we have to say about the Hunger Games. I kind
of wanted to end on a nice quote, like sort
of like like one of the things that as always
reading the books made me made like really cemented their
connection to food in my mind. Yeah, okay, So this
(47:29):
is from Mocking j and pardon, pardon me if you
hear any like book noises in the background. I'm reading
this out of again, a physical book on paper, right, weird,
I know. Um. And this is a moment from from
District thirteen. Um uh, Catiness Cateness is narrating. She says,
(47:49):
I'm starving and the stew is so delicious. Beef potatoes
turnips and onions in a thick gravy that I have
to force myself to slow down. All around the dining hall,
you can feel the rejuvenating of act that a good
meal can bring on the way it can make people kinder, funnier,
more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to
go on living. It's better than any medicine. So I
(48:11):
try to make it last and join in the conversation.
Oh yeah, oh goodness, I'm not gonna lie listeners. There
are several times where I was like, one, oh yes,
(48:34):
this is a food food podcast. Throughoutfum too, I just
kept thinking of the poor souls who have never interacted
with this franchise. And you must be very confused at
some of the elements, but you know, hopefully you picked
up generally what we were putting down. Hopefully hopefully. We
(48:56):
always we always try um to to make get interesting,
even for humans who are unfamiliar. Um and ah goodness,
I I will. I. I also do want to say
that I, like part of me is so mad that
these didn't come out until I was an adult, because
(49:18):
I would have been nut bar for these books as
a kid like this. What would have been so up,
Young Laurens Ali like it's it's action and adventure and
like the protagonist lady like isn't that into kissing. She
thinks it's weird, and like it's a whole series about eating,
and like you follow these characters moment to moment, but
(49:41):
nobody ever poops, ever poops. They don't discuss it. Young
Lauren would have flipped, I love that's one of your
like like disgusting murders. Love it that children killing each other. Yeah,
(50:11):
they're quick and easy. Reason Like I remember, like I said,
I was up all night reading them, so uh, I hesitated.
I keep wanting to say I recommend them. I do,
but they are mentally taxing. They are, They're intense, They're right, yeah,
and like that we're living in a dystopia right now.
It's like oh yeah, yeah, yeah, so you know, tread
(50:37):
with caution, caution, let us know what you think. Yes, yes,
please do well. I guess we should close the book
on this pH now. Yeah. Yeah, but speaking of letting
us know what you think, we do have some listener
mail for you. We do, but we have one more
quick break for workroomer sponsor and we're back. Thank you, sponsored, yes,
(51:08):
thank you, and we're back with listen. Man. I can't
remember how the mocking Jake um that that would have been.
And that's kind of what I started to do because
he started on a high note and I was like,
oh are we going there? Um, it would have been
a listener male, I just did it really a tonally
(51:32):
it wouldn't be like that. I'm glad we've cleared it up. Yeah,
I can hear it my head, but it's one of
those things where it's like so foggy, it wasn't happening,
even though I can remember it. The brain to malfunction.
It didn't. That's fair happen, that's fair. I have a
(51:54):
hard time whistling it like I've tried to, because that's
what I've been up to for the past week. Um.
I also have like that one song in my head,
the Hanging Tree really hard. I've been torturing my roommates
with a your Welcome roommates. I'm sure they love it.
I'm sure positive well A Sheldon wrote, it seems these
(52:22):
days that more and more of your topics are something
I know nothing about. Maybe it's me probably is, or
maybe not. In any case, today I made a batch
of coon because one of my granddaughters loves them. It
while making them, I thought that they would make an
interesting obscure topic too much of the world. As far
(52:43):
as I know, there's no English word for it, because
it's pretty much unknown outside of Quebec and its environs.
What is it? I call it poor man's patte, cooked
down pork, pork, fat, onions, garlic and some spices. It's
usually spread on toast for breakfast, although my granddaughter likes
it on bread to bring to school for her lunch.
And just in case you would ever want to do
(53:04):
one on Creton, you have to know how to pronounce it, okay. Uh.
The crew is pronounced just like the crew in the
word crust. This is so fun silent, and the all
is pronounced like the all and the word only but
barely pronouncing the letter in as I know you love
Lauren with French. Yeah. Oh, man, I hope I got
(53:29):
it somewhat close. Uh. I. In fact, yes, I've never
ever heard of this. It sounds great. I mean, it
sounds delicious. Mm hmmm um. I would love to talk
about it and perhaps make some Oh I really want
to go to come back okay, me too. All right, well,
(53:53):
thank you, thank you for making me hungry for something
I've never had. It's one of my favorite things to
be actually, Randall wrote, my girlfriend made a lamb cake
and I really wanted her to use green icing because
the thing looked like baby Yoda or perhaps a demon,
you can decide. She used a pound cake batter. Um.
(54:16):
And then there's a tuna ring made from Pillsbury crescent rolls.
Pop the can um. It is a simple and fun
dish to make and serve. If you don't know um,
you just pinwheel out the crescent roll triangles onto a
baking sheet, Spoon on your favorite tuna salad, top with cheese,
and fold over the points. Put it in a three
oven for fifteen minutes or until the rolls are golden
(54:39):
good to check. Uh. The recipe says serves four, but
two is more like it. And I have a red
currant bush in my backyard. They have seeds. By the way,
I can usually fend off the birds long enough to
harvest four cups for currant pie. I keep the seeds
in because they're small and don't bother me. I use
a flaky pie dough, which usually tails swearing and perhaps
(55:01):
throwing stuff in frustration as I'm rolling it out. Not
my favorite activity. Yeah, yeah, pie crust can be a
whole thing. I y'all. I only ever buy store like
like pre made pie crusts. It's not worth it to me.
I have a simple ish recipe, but it makes you
(55:22):
miserable even so, um, just because it's so cold. You
like freeze the butter and then you use you grade
it to make the pieces, but it gets so cold,
So I I understand, and I often buy pre made
by crust easy. Yeah, refrigerated or frozen. It's it's fine.
It is just it is like not it's not quite
(55:44):
as good as homemade pie crust, but it's close enough. Yeah,
without the misery that's sometimes involved. I do love we
got some two recipes in a row in these episodes. Yeah,
I have a friend that loves this, the the pin
wheel crescent roll type recipes, and I totally forgotten about it.
So I'm glad you brought this back to my I
(56:07):
don't think I've had one of these before, but now
I'm like, that sounds delicious. They're so good. And then also, yeah,
I love a lamb cake that could be a demon
or baby Yoda. That's fantastic, you know they do. They
really do have the ears like, yeah, I can see it,
(56:28):
I can see it. Uh wow. Thanks so much to
both of those listeners writing in. If you would like
to write you us, you can our emails hello at
saber pod dot com, but we are also on social media.
You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
saber pod, and we do hope to hear from you.
Saber is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
(56:48):
podcasts my heart Radio, you can visit the I Heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan
and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we
hope that that's more good things are coming your way
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