The time after the unforgettable ice fishing trip passed in a blur. So many events, I can’t even list them all. And many of them I missed, like the second Shire Riddle Run. Too bad! I hope there will be a third.
But one thing I will never ever forget in my entire life, and that was the pie baking competition. I prepared a catfish pie using my old ma’s recipe of course, and it was the best I had ever made, a warm, steaming top-crust pie. The shiny, golden-brown puff pastry crust was decorated with a pastry fish in the centre and some intertwined pastry sea-weeds around the edge. A lovely, mouth watering smell of catfish was tickling your nose when coming close to it.
As for the pie filling, I had used freshly caught catfish from the Rushock Bog. The bog water gives it a special taste that you won't find with catfish caught elsewhere. This is what my ma always told me, and she was right.
I added a fish stock with white wine, savoury seasonings and mixed herbs, a cup of fresh cream, and mashed golden Shire taters.
And of course I made the pie crust and the puff pastry lid myself, and the freshly grinded spring barley flour from Master Peppy's mill made the pastry even better than the one Ma used to make.
And as I told the jury, this catfish pie tastes best with a glass of Dorwinion White from Rivendell or a mug of Toad's Tongue Ale from the Floating Log. If neither is available, any white wine will do.
The competition was hard, from inside-out pies to a wonderful green dragon pie with steaming nostrils. How surprised I was when I was announced the winner! I nearly fainted. Oh, my dear old ma would have been so proud! If only she had lived to see that…
The next days to come I was floating on cloud nine and hardly remember all that happened. But of course I do remember the Grand Greenfields Gallop. I loved the yellow clothes all hobbits of the helping team were to wear, and after it was over I ran around in them a few more days. I even fell asleep in them right after the Gallop.
And actually, it was a tiresome job. I don’t remember when and if ever I ran around so much in one single day. And since the contestants were all on horses they were much faster and made you run even more. And how many different horses were to be seen! And the riders even in matching clothes! Such a beautiful sight! Since there was also a rider-matching-horse contest, we had to run around even more, find the most beautiful ones and chose a handful of winners from them. Endless discussions. They all were so impressive! Maybe selecting the winners was the most stressful job of all. It was much easier to determine the winners of the races, although there were neck-and-neck races, too.
After the Gallop, I slept the whole night and the whole next day through and woke up just in time to join the celebrations after the second Shire Riddle Run. I very much hope there will be a third and then I will make sure to rest well before it and ignore all gallops and fishing competitions and whatever events in the three days before the Run!
