The Darkover Cookbook

The Darkover Cookbook was the second publication of Thendara House. 
The original edition contains 19 pages. The May 1979 edition contains 25 pages and more content.
The first ads mentioned Tracy Blackstone as the main compiler of this zine, but this name is left off of the actual cookbook, which lists Marion Zimmer Bradley with the assistance of Bjo Trimble, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Devra Langsam, and Walter Breen. From the introduction: "Most of these recipes I worked out for myself; every one of them has been tested and cooked, either by me, or by someone whose intelligence I trust (Thank you, Bjo and Devra.) Therefore, I invite you to try them for yourself. It is taken for granted that all ingredients have been converted into Terran equivalents; blackfruit, or the hindquarters of a rabbithorn, are not commonly available on Terra in the 20th century."
The front cover and interior illustrations are by Diana L. Paxson. 
From a later flyer: "These recipes have all been tested using the nearest Terran equivalent to the foods of Darkover, and even if you don't like to cook, the chat ABOUT food is entertaining to anyone who loves to eat. (And don't we all!)" 
 
==Table of Contents: Original Edition==
* Introduction by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1)
* Breads (Amazon Festival Cake; Winter Festival Spicebread; Darkovan Nut Muffins; Digger Bread) (4)
* Porridges and How to Serve Them (8)
* Sauces for Grains and Porridges (9)
* Meats and Main Dishes (Heart and Marrowbones of the Chervine, a reindeer like milk animal also used for riding; the oudhraki and makes good soup. Terrans, however, should substitute beef heart (sliced) and beef marrow bones. Fried Fowl, Vegetable Stew, Jaco) (10)
* Beverages for a Cold Day on Darkover (14)
* Dissertation on Darkovan Cooking by Bjo Trimble (15)
* Disquistion of Darkovan Foods Available and Otherwise by Devra Langsam (17)
* Some Special Recipes for High Festivals by Devra Langsam and Walter Breen (18)
==Table of Contents: Revised Edition==
* Introduction, Marion Zimmer Bradley (1) 
* Breads, etc (4) 
*Porridges and Sauces 11 Meats and Main Dishes (13) 
*Beverages for a Cold Day on Darkover (18) 
* Dissertation on Darkovan Cooking, Bjo Trimble (20) 
*Disquisition of Darkovan foods available and otherwise, Devra Langsam (22) 
*Some Special Recipes for High Festivals, Devra Langsam, Walter Breen (23) 
*MISCELLANY (25)
==Individual Recipe Contents: Revised Edition==
* Darkovan Daily Bread by Marion Zimmer Bradley (4)
* Nevarsin Monastery Bread, created by Bradley's brother Don ("...My brother Don, a Darkover fan, and a notable cook in his own right, discovered this bread by accident one day when he forgot a bowl of rye-dough sponge that he had put to rise. It is tender when thinly sliced, and has a wonderful "primitive" taste and feel.") (5)
* Digger Bread, submitted by John and Bjo Trimble ("...served freely to all comers at the early Be-ins in Berkeley by the "Diggers", a commune given to such corporal works: of mercy, during the 1967 overflow of Flower Children and Street People, as feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. Later it was served at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (this was the year when the Society for Creative Anachronism had a booth there) and the recipe was widely given out...") (5)
* Amazon Festival Cake by Marion Zimmer Bradley ("This recipe is a favorite; it is my own invention, and I have served it many times at meetings of the Thendara Council. I suspect this recipe began its life as a variant of Irish soda-bread, which probably originated in Scotland anyway, and is therefore quite workable for descendants of the New Hebrides Commune.") (6)
* Winter Festival Spicebread, no attribution (7)
* Darkovan Nut Muffins, no attribution (7)
* No-Knead Oatmeal Bread, Suzanne Townes (8)
* Spinach Bread, Adrienne Barnes (8)
* Raw Apple Bread, Vernette Williams (9)
* Knakebrod, Vernette Williams (9)
* Brewbread, Lee Newman Roberts (9)
* Fungus Cakes, Gwen Nichols (9)
* Yeast Rye Bread, Suzanne Townes (10)
* Wheat & Grit Hi-Protein Bread, Lynn Gibbs (10)
* New Skye Staple, Frank Lee Linne (10)
* a long narrative recipe for a variety of grain porridges, Marion Zimmer Bradley (11)
* Vegetable Sauce, no attribution (12)
* "Sharpe" Sauce, no attribution (12)
* Boiled Grains and Sauce, Daphne Ann Hamilton ("This must be well-cooked and well-chewed.") (13)
* a long, narrative recipe for homemade soup, appears to be by Bradley, who expresses her dislike of canned Campbell's soup (14)
* Fried Fowl, Bradley ("Sometimes at a party I get large numbers of drumsticks and wings -- or if I am serving large numbers of children, all of whom want the drumstick!") (15)
* Vegetable Stew, , no attribution but assumably by Bradley, includes frozen hash brown potatoes, canned tomato juice or V-8 juice, lentils, and cinnamon (15)
* Stew Simplicissimus, "The Easiest of All Stews," no attribution (15)
* some other un-named stew recipes, one of them a"a good old Depression-days stew which is cheap and extremely edible, but it needs wither artful seasoning or hunger sauce... is is great on a day when the cupboard is almost bare and you have three hundred firefighters (or, to be more realistic, a half dozen fans coming to collate a fanzine) dropping in and you have to feed than.) (15-16)
* Fish Dinner, Bradley ("Since no fish had been served in any Darkovan novel so far, I was forced to resort to proverbial expressions to prove the existence of fish in Darkovan diet.") The same logic could be applied to including any food in this cookbook. (16)
* Sausage Meat Pie, Adrienne Barnes (17)
* Barley Soup, Suzanne Townes (17)
* Jaco, not attributed, but assumably Bradley (1 teaspoon instant coffee, 2 teaspoons powdered cocoa mix, add hot water, some rum if it's a cold night) (18)
* Winter Punch, Frank Lee Linne (19)
* Trin Tea (Lipton's lemon-flavored instant tea, "Tang" (powdered orange drink), and cinnamon) (19)
* a "hot beer" recipe that someone has speculated was drunk in Left Hand of Darkness: boiling water, tea bags, frozen raspberries, lemons, a lot of sugar, some red wine -- it is emphasized that both the wine and the tea should be as cheap as possible) (21)
* some commentary on bark tea, and how to alter store-bought teas to taste more Darkovan (21)
* Bjo Trimble has a short essay on imagined Darkovan foods, and includes a recipe for sauerkraut salad (21)
*. an extensive list of foods that could be or not be grown on Darkover, Devra Langsam (22)
* Borscht, Devra Langsam (23)
* Rich Cheese Cake, Devra Langsam (23)
* Charosis, Devra Langsam (23)
* Roast Rainbird with Stuffing, Walter Breen (24)
* Rabbithorn With Mushrooms, Walter Breen ("Skin rabbit horn and remove fangs, poison gland under tail...") (24)
 
* substitute ingredients for white sugar, Suzanne Townes (25)
* Nevarsin Freeze, Martin Dennison (25)
* Drytown Sherbit, Devra Langsam (This is a cold drink with vinegar, like a shrub -- not a frozen thing) (25)
* A Caudele Almaude, Devra Langsam (25)
==The Cookbook's Introduction==
From the May 1979 edition: 
==Long Time in the Making, In the Waiting==
It was first offered for sale in March 1976 in the first issue of Darkover Newsletter. Fans who sent their money in at that time had to wait over a year to get this publication, as it wasn't published until over a year later.
From a March 1976 ad: 
Some August 1976 comments by MZB: 
Not so quick: January 1977 comments in Darkover Newsletter: 
Finally? From August 1977, a blurb from Darkover Newsletter, giving those who waited to order it an advantage: Bradley's autograph: 
But! More waiting, and blame on the post office, in late 1978: 
==References==
Category:Cookbooks
 Category:Darkover Zines
Category:1977 Zines