Cooking Through Fiction: Percy's Blue Cheesecake

When I need comfort, there are a few items or activities that spring to mind. Just to name a few: 1) my twin-size Mickey Mouse quilt that used to be on my dorm bed in college; 2) my too-big Northwestern sweatshirt with frayed arm cuffs; 3) a long walk in nature; 4) laughing with friends and family; and 5) watching one of my favorite romantic comedies.

Food offers comfort of its own. For me, nothing quite beats a home-cooked southern meal. And then there’s homemade pizza. And melty double chocolate chip cookies. And rice (yeah, this is weird, but I really do love rice). Obviously, lots of food offers me comfort. For Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, he finds blue food especially comforting. And, boy, does he need comfort on his latest quest.

Cooking Through Fiction: Son of Neptune Spaghetti

I’m a sucker for happy endings and unlikely heroes who bring these happy endings. I like when the underdog wins. I release a happy sigh when the boy gets the girl or vice versa. I especially enjoy when someone doesn’t believe he or she has the stuff that heroes are made of, only to discover by story’s end that he or she is, in fact, the one who saves the day.

In Son of Neptune (a story that takes place in a continuation of the world created by Rick Riordan in the Percy Jackson series), Percy Jackson has amnesia. He can’t remember anything about his life but Annabeth. He ends up in a Roman camp for demigods, and instead of being the son of Poseidon (a Greek god), he becomes known as the son of Neptune.

Cooking Through Fiction: Blue Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love mazes. I love to try and solve them on paper, and I love to walk through the giant ones constructed from corn or boxwood hedges. I’m not discouraged by dead ends. I just backtrack and choose another path. I never think I won’t find the way out. Neither does Percy.

In book four of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, titled The Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson must navigate Daedalus’ labyrinth in order to save the world. Again.

Cooking Through Fiction: Percy's Ambrosia Brownies

Sometimes life is difficult. If you’re a demigod, you can multiply your problems by at least ten. In my day-to-day existence, I don’t normally battle monsters, such as evil Titan lords, but Percy isn’t as fortunate as I am. Monsters sniff him out. Literally.

Even small tasks that Percy believes are easy enough usually result in a battle for his life. In The Titan’s Curse, Percy’s is sent out to recruit two, young demigods. He ends up battling a manticore that is masquerading as a vice principal. And you thought your schools were rough!

Cooking Through Fiction: The Sea of Monsters — Country-Fried Stymphalion Bird

Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel called You Can’t Go Home Again. I'm pretty sure this phrase isn't meant to be taken literally. Have you ever returned to a place only to find that it wasn’t exactly as you remembered? Maybe the grass wasn’t as green, the trees weren’t as tall, and the mist across the lake wasn’t as magical.

Maybe the roller rink where you hosted your birthday parties was torn down and now it’s a pet store. Maybe the football stadium looks dingy, and you can’t imagine hiding with anyone beneath the bleachers without wanting a tetanus shot.

Cooking Through Fiction: The Lightning Thief — Blue Waffles

The teenage years can be awkward. Sometimes you have a bad perm and bangs that are full of so much hairspray not even gale force winds could move them. Sometimes you’re in desperate need of braces (which you get only after you’ve entered high school). Most likely all of these unfortunate events happened to me.

Being a teenager is also difficult because it’s a time when you’re trying to figure out who you are while desperately trying not to stick out from your peers. During these times, you need comfort and support, and Percy Jackson is no different.