The Wand Woman

Beast Wellington

2010-05-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

I started calling this dish Beast Wellington so that non-cooks could get an idea of what I meant and it just stuck. It is a dough wrapped roast or "pie". The dough would have protected the floor of the bake oven from the oils and juices of the roast as well as insulating the roast until service.

Beast Wellington

Sabina Welserin #67 A game pie

Take a hind leg from a red deer and divide it in for three pies, the bones are good afterwards for a game soup. Then boil the three pieces, which are for the pies, well, after which take them out and lay them on a platter or in a trouogh and salt and pepper them well and let them lie there overnight. Afterwards mix a dough out of rye flour. First pour about a quarter pound of flour on the table and put into apan about one quart water and one pound of fat and let it dissolve together and bring it to a boil and pour it afterwards on the flour, until it is sufficient, and make then a strong dough and work it well. After that remove some dough, about one third, and roll it out into two rounds, according to how many pies you need or want to make. Next put the game on the bottom round and put afterwards the top round on it and shape it, however you would like to have it. After that take a bag of water and spread the bottom crust on the edges. Afterwards press the top dough onto the bottom so that nothing runs out, arrange it with a small knife and crimp it, however you would like and shove it in the oven.

2 1 ½ kilos French roast
1 pound salt
1 pound pepper
2 cups rye flour
1 cup water
½ cup shortening

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put the roasts into them and boil them for 30-45 minutes. Remove into a large pan and cover with a mixture of salt and pepper. Put in the fridge overnight to marinate.
Bring the water and shortening to a boil. Pour into a large bowl with the flour. Mix well with a large spoon and set aside to let the flour absorb the liquids. Do not let it cool too much. Work the dough until it is smooth and then separate it into 4 and roll each out separately. Cut to shape of the roasts and reserve the rest for decoration. Take the fat and string off the boiled roasts and place in the center of the bottom dough. Place the top over and shape it around the roast. Wet the edges of the bottom and roll over the top edges pressing down to seal the edges. Crimp and then wetting surfaces decorate as desired. Put into a 375 F oven for 30 minutes or until the roasts are hot through and the dough is cooked. If you are adding ears and tails you should cover them with foil for half the cooking time and remove the cover. Egg wash is also good for a decorative touch.

Veal pie

2010-03-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sabina Welserin- 1553

60 To make a veal pie

Take pieces of veal from the leg and boil them in water, about as long as it takes to hard boil an egg. Afterwards take them out and chop the meat small, and take suet from the kidneys and cut it small and chop it with the veal. And when it is finely chopped, then put it in a bowl and put some wine into it and an ample ladelful of broth , pepper and a little mace, which should be whole. Crush it a little by hand so that it in small pieces, put in it raisins and saffron and stir it all up together with a spoon, put cinnamon in it also, and taste it, however it seems good to you.

1 double crust pie shell

2 kilograms ground beef or veal
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 broth. preferably beef
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 1/2 cup raisins, seedless
1/8 teaspoon saffrom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
salt to taste

Put meat, wine and broth in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer, Cook until meat is done, add spices and raisins and simmer until the raisins are plump and the broth is reduced. Adjust salt and spices to taste. Put into crust, cover and bake at
425 F. for 30 minutes or until the crust is completely cooked.

It is common in medieval recipes for the meat to have been cooked before being put into the crust to bake. This also allows for a period cook to prepare the bulk of the dish ahead and then assembled on site and baked.

Baked Strauben

2010-03-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

Sabina Welserin-1553

141 To bake Strauben for a meal

Take six eggs and a little milk with water, salt it, beat it together well and put the flour into it. Do not make it thick, then it is right.

1 cup milky water (3/4 water. 1/4 milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 medium eggs
oil for coating pans

Combine milky water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir constantly, over medium heat, with a wooden spoon or spatula until it is very firm and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Take off the heat and add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously until each egg is completely incorporated. The dough should be firm and glossy. Pipe the mixture through a wide tipped pastry bag onto a large greased pan. Bake the strauben in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes (depending on the size that you made) or until puffy and golden. Remove from the oven and put a slask or hole in the bottom to allow steam to escape and return to the oven for a few minute to dry them. Cool and store loose.

Interpreting medieval recipes can be tricky because you never know if steps were left out or not and by whom. Since many medieval manuscripts would have been copied, errors can be either from the original cooks, the original clerk or a later copist/translater. There is only one way to deal with that- try the recipe as written. For me I could never make the original recipe work as written, it was fine flavor wise if you like rocks but it was always denser than I thought useful for any food purpose when baked. There are variant fried strauben recipes and it works well with them but still nothing special. Then it strikes me, as it has struck other cooks, that this is more workable as a hot dough method like a pate choux or a churro recipe. The purpose is to precook the flour and egg and then the baking or oil frying makes the pastry puff and hold air pockets. It is the kind of step that people who do something all the time might forget, like strudel cooks forgetting the pound the bejesus out of the dough step.

I adjusted the order of entry of the ingredients to the modern variant because it actually makes it easier to teach to new cooks. It can be done following the original order but it is trickier for making the porridgelike dough.

May Cake

2010-03-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sabina Welserin- 1553

176 To make a good May cake

Take a pound of raisins, a pound of currants, five small portions of May butter, a handful of hyssop, a handful of ground ivy, some sage, about ten leaves, two times as much mint, a handful of costmary, approximately fifteen eggs and a half pound of sugar; the herbs finely chopped, baked for two hours. The butter must be stirred into the herbs. For the crust, two eggs, which are prepared as for a tart.

To do one May Cake in a 9 inch pie pan

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup currants
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
10 leaves fresh mint, finely chopped
6 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar

2 additional eggs beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the pan in and let it get hot. Toss the herbs and fruit with the butter and mixthe beaten eggs and sugar together. Put both together and set aside. When the pan is hot, take the two additional eggs and pour them into the hot pan and swish it around to coat the bottom and sides thoroughly. Let set and then add the fruit/egg mix and place in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center is firm. Take out and cool.

This is a great recipe to serve the next day as the herbs infuse their flavor over time.

Large spoons

2010-03-11T11:01:00.001-08:00

For my friend Tadea, a wooden spoon with her as Edward E Newman on one side and a woman doing her hair on the other.

For my friend Freya, a maple spoon used in large scale tomato paste production that has been woodburned with a fox pattern on one side and a viking ship bearing the logo Freya's Fabrics on the other. A running pattern of dots and seaaxes finishes the handle. Watercolors and varnish.

New stick- under construction

2010-03-11T10:53:00.001-08:00

A 50" maple stick, dies naturally and stained with naturally occuring colors. Wood burned leaf and acorn pattern with a triskele knotwaork pattern on the upper haft and the top. Colored with goldleaf, milk paints and water paints. To be varnished after completion.

Walking Stick- The Old Man of the Forest

2010-02-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Walking stick- the Forest Within

2010-02-10T12:41:00.001-08:00

Walking stick- The Universe Within

2010-02-10T12:37:00.001-08:00

I lied.

2010-02-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

It appears that I wasn't ready to get back to blogging but we have a new year now and so how about some pictures.

These are from a statue called Elven Village.

After Worldcon and renovations.

2009-08-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

Alright I have been absent too long. We can call it an extended vacation from medieval recipes or just a messed up year. Things seem to be getting back to normal and so with the start of a new school year I hope to get back to making recipes.

I will start with a non-medieval one. I was asked about it after using it for Worldcon Consuite. I was also asked to not use the oriental name since I have radically altered it for convenience sake so...

Consuite soy chicken

Cooking liquid- Mix equal part soy sauce and either water, stock or wine/beer and then add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and sugar to taste. I like more garlic and less sugar and others prefer more ginger and sugar. Try several attempts to find your own taste.

In a slow cooker place thawed chicken legs or wings and then cover with the cooking liquid. Reserve some liquid for topping up later on. Set the slow cooker on high, cover and let cook for about 1-2 hours until the liquid is very hot and the chicken is cooked throroughly. Remove the chicken, add more raw chicken, top up the liquid and recover the slow cooker. You can keep doing this all day.

You can now eat the chicken either hot on rice, or chill it and eat it cold later. You can also grill the cold chicken later to reheat and give it a different flavour.

If serving a large crew then you can simply scale the whole process up and into a larger pot. Enough cooking liquid to completely cover the chicken is all that is needed. It is also important to note that the liquid keeps after cooking and becomes denser and more flavourful the more often you use it because of the added flavour from the chickens and the added gelatine from the bones and cartilege. Keep the cooking liquid in an airtight container in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for several months. You may need to add more soy and sugar as time goes on but it is well worth the end results.

New Year

2008-12-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

With hours to go before 2009, I wish to say that 2008 has been full of surprise and frustration. Surprise in the renewed strength of the American Progressive movement and frustration that so many could enthusiastically join it without the least clue about what it is about. So this year I resolve to educate myself about progressive causes and get better at implementing the changes that I need to be more progressive in my day to day life. I hope to bring others along with me but if I am alone I accept that each life that is more aware is a step forward. So teaspoon at the ready, I stand prepared for a new year and new surprises.

One extra thing- get tested as a bone marrow donor, give blood when you can and if possible become prepared to donate organs so that other teaspoons can be raised when they might have been lost. Each life has something to give if we are prepared to learn.

Lebkuchen for Subtelties and Sieges

2008-12-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Lebkuchen is a basic Germanic honey cake which is still used to make Christmas decorations and gingerbread houses. Variants of this recipe range from Scandanavia through the Balkans and whose modern cousins are made softer by the addition of fats and rising agents. The traditional lebkuchen is closer to a candy than a cookie and its durability varies based on the thickness of the cookie. A thin cookie will produce a crisp texture and a thicker cookie will be tougher. The cookie stores well as long as it is kept away from humidity.
The key to making a good lebkuchen is to cook the honey and sugar together until it is very liquid and then stop cooking it to avoid it becoming a candy. The flour/spice mixture must be mixed in quickly while the liquid is very hot to allow complete absorbtion. Then you have a waiting period. You have to work the dough while it is warm. Too warm and you risk hurting yourself, too cool and the dough becomes impossible to work. It can be rewarmed as long as you are careful not to start baking/cooking it.
The warm dough can be sculpted, shaped, stamped, molded and cut. It can be incised and because it has no rising agents it will retain fairly complex designs through the baking process. Larger size shapes may bubble and so caution must be used on larger pieces. Individual pieces should be baked separately dependant on size to ensure even colour.
The baking process needs to be slow as you are dehydrating the dough at the same time. The dough will be pliable while warm and so some adjustments are possible with the warm cookie. You can return the piece to the stove to rewarm but not for too long or too hot because the cookie will continue baking in that situation.

151 To bake good Lebkuchen Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey, not quite a third quart of flour, take two and a half ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves, two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as small as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and put the sugar into the honey, let it cook together, put the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it first, afterwards the ginger and the other spices.
163 To make Nürnberger Lebkuchen Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim it well and let it boil a good while. Put one and a half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the described spices in the dough, stir it around slowly and not too long; take one and a half ounces of cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg, three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or grind each one separately so that they are not too small, the cinnamon sticks, especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you have put the spices in the dough, then let the dough set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough, make balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling pin, and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the prettier. After that dip the mold in rose water and open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or else they will be no good, but on the board you can put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let them set overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then see to it that you have another board that is thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of flour into the oven so that the board is completely heated, the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none touches the other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look after them frequently. At first they will become soft as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well. And when they become entirely dry, then take them out and turn the board around, so that the front part goes into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short while, then take it out. Take a small broom, brush the flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the other board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen, one after the other, so that there is no more flour on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very cleanly from off the board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top of it again, so that the bottom is turned to the top. Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it out again, wash the flour from the bottoms of the Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any water on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards put the board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven, until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, then take the board out again. See to it that two or three [people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. Afterwards take rose water and wash them on top with it as you have done on the underside. Put them in the oven again, let them become dry, carry them home and move them around on the board, so that they do not stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them in paper and store them in a dry place, see that no draft comes therein, then they remain crisp.
164 To make a large Nürnberger Lebkuchen Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar, prepare it as for the smaller Lebkuchen, take one quarter pound of flour and then the spices as follows: one half ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves, one and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of ginger, one fourth ounce of mace. Stir it carefully around, afterwards roll the dough out somewhat. Bake it as for the smaller Lebkuchen. Welserin, Sabina Cookbook of Sabina Welserin Armstrong, Valois (trans.) (orig. German 1553) online copyright Valoise Armstrong 1998

My redaction :

Lebkuchen

4 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons each of ginger, cinnamon and cardamom
½ teaspoon ground clove
2 cups honey
1 cup sugar

Put the honey and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl so that the spices are completely incorporated. Once the honey mixture is liquid, remove from the heat and add the flour mixture in a slow stream. Stir in until the flour is completely absorbed. Put the dough in a clean bowl and let cool. Cool the dough until it is at a temperature that is comfortable to handle. Do not let the dough cool completely. Roll or shape the dough as desired, working with floured hands and boards. Bake in a slow ( 300 degree F ) oven just until the dough browns slightly. Remove from the cookie sheets as soon as they can be handled and let the cookies cool completely before placing in a container. The cookies will keep in a container for very long periods.

Pfferneusen

¾ cup molasses
¾ cup honey
¼ cup shortening
1 large egg
4 cups flour sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon each of nutmeg and allspice
¾ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon anise seed ground

Heat honey and molasses (do not boil) in a large saucepan. Add shortening and stir in. Cool. Beat in egg. Sift dry ingredients togethr and add gradually stir into honey mixture. Let dough stand 30 minutes to stiffen enough to handle.

Moisten hands and shape dough. Usually they are shaped like small nuts: filberts, almonds or pecans. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a preheated moderate oven (300 degrees F.) for 13-15 minutes. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Pokerounce

2008-12-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

.xxxvj. Pokerounce.—Take Hony, & caste it in a potte tyl it wexe chargeaunt y-now; take & skeme it clene. Take Gyngere, Canel, & Galyngale, & caste þer-to; take whyte Brede, & kytte to trenchours,* & toste ham; take þin paste whyle it is hot, & sprede it vppe- [leaf 32 bk.] on þin trenchourys with a spone, & plante it with Pynes, & serue forth.

I cup honey
1/2 tspn. each ground spices-ginger, cinnamon and galingal
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts
24 toasted rounds of french bread

Heat honey in a pot until it boils, skim the top and let it settle. Add ginger, cinnamon and galingal and stir in. Prepare toasted rounds of bread and spread the hot honey mix on top, scatter with pine nuts and serve.

When you heat honey it becomes very liquid and it can be used like a liquid. When it cools it becomes less liquid and more spreadable. So we have a problem with the recipe which states that we have a paste when the mix is hot. I take this to mean that there is a very high ratio of ground spices to honey. Modern tastes would rebel at this, so I advocate less spice and cooking the honey longer to evaporate some of the water resulting in a more caramel like texture. You can also leave it looser as the honey will thicken as it cools on the bread. Any way that you do this, this is a very sticky dish to serve and that should be taken into consideration. With due consideration, a finger washing bowl should be served immediately after or a person should go around with a salver and towel for people to wash up at the table.

The Tale of Brave Sir Stephen

2008-12-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

I acknowledge deep input from years of watching Monty Python and wanting to usurp their talents.

Bravely bold Sir Stephen
Rode forth from Calgary.
He was not afraid to lead,
Oh brave Sir Stephen.
He was not at all afraid
To legislate in nasty ways.
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Stephen.

He was not in the least bit scared
To have his budget quashed,
Or to have his members shout,
And his ministers all broken.
To have his caucus split
And his votes all burned away,
And his quotes all hacked and mangled
Brave Sir Stephen.

His agenda smashed in
And his initiatives cut out
And his government removed
And his microphone unplugged
And his conversations taped
And his trustworthiness burnt off
And his pen--

"That's... that's enough music for now lads,
*** there's dirty work afoot*** ???."

Brave Sir Stephen ran away.
("No!")
Bravely ran away away.
("I didn't!")
When danger reared it's ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
("no!")
Yes, brave Sir Stephen turned about
("I didn't!")
And gallantly he prorogued out.

****Bravely**** taking ("I never did!") to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat. ("all lies!")
Bravest of the braaaave, Sir Stephen! ("I never!")

Longue Fretoure

2008-12-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Long Fritters

xlvj. Longe Fretoure.—Take Milke, an make fayre croddes þer-of, in þe maner of a chese al tendyr; þan take owt þe whey as clene as þou may, & putte it on a bolle; þan take ȝolkys of Eyroun & Ale, & menge floure, & cast þer-to, a gode quantyte, & draw it þorw a straynoure in-to a fayre vesselle; þan take a panne with fayre grece, & hete it on þe fyre, but lat it nowt boyle, & þan ley þin creme a-brode; þan take a knyff, & kytte a quantyte þer-of fro þe borde in-to þe panne, & efte a-noþer, & let it frye; & whan it is brownne, take it vppe in-to a fayre dyssche, and caste Sugre y-now þer-on, & serue forth.

1 cup curdled milk/yogurt/cottage cheese
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup ale (preferably on lees)
2 1/2 cups flour
oil
sugar

Take yogurt frozen and thawed drain out the whey or take curds or cottage cheese and drain. Mix the whey, egg yolks and ale and mix it with flour until you have loose dough. You may not use all the flour so add it gradually. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Cut slices of the dough and pull them into long strips and fry until golden brown. Cover with sugar and serve.

Deep-fried dough is a basic of comfort food. The ale acts as the leavening by expanding when the cool dough hits the hot oil. The soured or fermented milk product gives the fritter an interesting sourdoughlike flavor and the whole dish is always popular. It is hard to prepare for a set feast but is good in more informal affairs like an outdoor event or a fair. You can get fancy with the cut or twist of the dough as you get comfortable working around hot oil. I do advise never getting TOO comfortable around hot oil- always make sure the pan is level and securely in place. Make sure that the heat is consistent and that you have a safe zone around you where people do not enter unexpectedly, especially children. Have a cover for the pot as it is easier to put out an oil fire by starving it of oxygen than any other way.

The best ale to use for this recipe is the lees at the bottom of homemade beer- it really is the yeast that you want.

A bake Mete

2008-12-02T05:36:00.000-08:00

.xxxij. A bake Mete.—Take an make fayre lytel cofyns; þan take Perys, & ȝif þey ben lytelle, put .iij. in a cofynne, & pare clene, & be-twyn euery pere, ley a gobet of Marow; & yf þou haue no lytel Perys, take grete, & gobet ham, & so put hem in þe ovyn a whyle; þan take þin commade lyke as þou takyst to Dowcetys, & pore þer-on; but lat þe Marow & þe Pecyȝ * ben sene; & whan it is y-now, serue forth.

12 tart shells using favorite crust
6-18 pears depending on size
1/4 lb. butter cut into 12 lumps

2 cups milk
5 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tspn. saffron

Prepare open tart shells, take peeled and pared pears and place them in the shells. Add a piece of butter on each. Bake the pies until the pears are tender. Mix milk, egg yolks, sugar and saffron into a basic custard mix. Pour over each pie letting the pear be seen and return to the oven until the custard sets. Serve warm or cold.

Any leftover custard can be baked separately.

This makes a great finger food for a sideboard, lunch or picnic meal. Custards are the basis of many great recipes and are surprisingly durable, quick and efficient. Learn custard/flan- baked and stovetop. That one recipe will serve you well in medieval and modern cooking- milk, egg and sugar, apply heat and serve.

Touching base

2008-11-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Almost better will post a new recipe soon.

Langue wortes de pesoun

2008-11-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

I am not even bothering to write out amounts on this one. It really is dependant on personal taste and style. You can use fresh peas in season, frozen peas or dry green peas. The flavor will vary but you will find that it makes no sizable difference inpreparation. You can use a vegetable broth, a chicken broth or beef broth or just some of the reserved pea water. Wortes are fresh seasonal greens anything from spinach and turnip greens to parsley and sage. This is a versatile recipe in that it can be turned into a sort of vegetable cracker or a dense soup. It can be used on fish days, flesh days or anything in between. Finally it can be served in spring when it is seasonally fresh which has a light flavor or in winter when it would be denser with the stronger flavors of preserved and dried foods.

This recipe highlights one of the things that we forget about medieval cuisine which is that they did have ways to extend the life of their ingredients and their recipes reflect that. They didn't need to be told about that fact because they lived it. I advise trying this recipe following the path of seasonality to get yourself into the medieval mindset. In fall and winter, try dried peas, cold hardy greens, dried herbs and onions. In spring, try baby peas, early greens, early herbs and chives or green onions. In summer, try fresh garden peas, varietal greens, fresh herbs and garden fresh onions. Try seasonal broths as well and I think that you will begin to see the variety possible within even a small range of ingredients.

Langue wortes de pesoun- dry green peas, onions, fresh herbs and greens, oil, salt, saffron

.ij. Lange Wortes de pesoun.—Take grene pesyn, an washe hem clene an caste hem on a potte, an boyle hem tyl þey breste, an þanne take hem vppe of þe potte, an put hem with brothe yn a-noþer potte, and lete hem kele; þan draw hem þorw a straynowre in-to a fayre potte, an þan take oynonys, and screde hem in to or þre, an take hole wortys and boyle hem in fayre water: and take hem vppe, an ley hem on a fayre bord, an cytte on .iij. or iiij., an ley hem to þe oynonys in þe potte, to þe drawyd pesyn; an let hem boyle tyl þey ben tendyr; an þanne tak fayre oyle and frye hem, or ellys sum fresche broþe of sum maner fresche fysshe, an caste þer-to, an Safron, an salt a quantyte, and serue it forth.

Wash and clean the dry peas and put to boil until they break and become a paste. Cut up onions, boil fresh herbs and greens and cut them up, and add both to the pea soup. Bring back to a boil until tender and thick. You can now either fry the peas and greens paste in oil or add fish broth with salt and saffron and serve as a hot soup.

Passing of a Friend

2008-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

I woke this morning to find that a friend has lost his long struggle with leukemia, and a condition called monosomy 7. His long struggle is documented at http://www.healemru.com/index-en.php and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9635600965.

I have no words except that being on the bone marrow donor list can save lives, I have lost two people to diseases that could be cured with a timely match and the only way for that to happen is to have as many as possible on the list. That means that regardless of your ethnicity, you need to be on the list, you need your family on the list and you need your friends on the list. You may never be needed, you may never match but if you do then you can save a life. There is nothing better than that.

Remembrance Day

2008-11-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

We will remember.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— John McCrae (1872-1918)

Egredouncye

2008-11-10T05:33:00.000-08:00

This is a nice beef or pork stew. It is easy to make and if you want to make it into a porridge then that is possible as well simply by adjusting the breadcrumb/grain and stock levels. The herb issue seems to be fairly undefined and I think that this is a good place for people to experiment with fresh herbs and their seasonal availability. There is a huge number of herbs that would have been grown in home gardens and pots, trial and error will give you an idea of how they effect the outcome of a stew. I like to add sorrel, a leafy relative of rhubarb, because it adds an acid undernote and melts into the liquid. Sorrel is easy to grow, likes cool weather, is available from early spring and shouldn't be eaten raw. It is exemplary in soups and stews.

.Cxl. Egredouncye.—Take Porke or Beef, wheþer þe lykey, & leche it þinne þwerte; þen broyle it broun̛ a litel, & þen mynce it lyke Venyson; choppe it in sewe, þen caste it in [leaf 24 bk.] a potte & do þer-to Freyssh brothe; take Erbis, Oynonys, Percely & Sawge, & oþer gode erbis, þen lye it vppe with Brede; take Pepir & Safroun, pouder Canel, Vynegre, or Eysel Wyne, Broþe an Salt, & let ȝet * boyle to-gederys, tylle þey ben y-now, & þan serue it forth rennyng.

1 kg. stewing beef or pork in 1-2” cubes
2 litres beef broth
3 tblspns. Mixed seasonal herbs
2 large onions, chopped
1 tblspn. Chopped parsley
1 tblspn. Chopped sage
2 cups bread crumbs (you can add whole grains)
1 tspn. Pepper
½ tspn. saffron
1 tspn. cinnamon
500 milliltres white wine
Add more broth to loosen
Salt to taste

Take stewing beef and brown it in a pan. Put it in a pot with beef broth, take herbs, onions, parsley and sage and other good herbs. Add the rye berries. Add pepper, saffron, cinnamon, white wine more broth and salt to taste. Boil it until the rye is soft and serve.

( I have replaced the breadcrumbs with the rye berries at times to make it gluten free.)

Cryspes

2008-11-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

Crisps are fried dough. Fried dough is good and it is period and it is probably eternal. This is quick and fun and, if you keep an eye on them, a way to get children involved. Make sure the dough is runny enough to drip off the fingers but sticky enough that it forms strings. Adjust the milk/flour ratio as needed.

.lj. Cryspeȝ.—Take Whyte of Eyroun, Mylke, & Floure, & a lytel Berme, & bete it to-gederys, & draw it þorw a straynoure, so þat it be renneng, & not to styf, & caste Sugre þer-to, & Salt; þanne take a chafer ful of freysshe grece boyling, & put þin hond in þe Bature, & lat þin bature renne dowun by þin fyngerys in-to þe chafere; & whan it is ronne to-gedere on þe chafere, & is y-now, take & nym a skymer, & take it vp, & lat al þe grece renne owt, & put it on a fayre dyssche, & cast þer-on Sugre y-now, & serue forth.

3 egg whites
1 cup milk
1 ½ cup flour
1 tspn yeast
1 tblspn sugar
Salt to taste
Oil
Icing sugar

Mix egg white, milk, flour and yeast into a runny dough. Let the dough rest, covered, until it starts to bubble. Add sugar and salt to taste then drip into a pan of hot oil and fry until crisp. Drain on a towel and cast sugar on it and serve it forth.

Waffres

2008-11-06T05:03:00.000-08:00

This is a variation on the pancake. The egg whites are the rising agent and the soft cheese adds a sour note to the flavor. They work well when you are serving a gooey or loose dish such as an applade as the wafers can be used like chips.

Waffres- yogurt cheese, flour, egg white, sugar, ginger

.xxiiij. Waffres.—Take þe Wombe of A luce, & seþe here wyl, & do it on a morter, & tender chese þer-to, grynde hem y-fere; þan take flowre an whyte of Eyroun & bete to-gedere, þen take Sugre an pouder of Gyngere, & do al to-gederys, & loke þat þin Eyroun ben hote, & ley þer-on of þin paste, & þan make þin waffrys, & serue yn.

Wafers- Take the womb of a pike and simmer it well and grind it in a mortar and tender chese thereto, grind them together; then take flour and egg white and beat together, then take sugar and ground ginger and mix it all together and look that your grill is hot and lay on it a thin paste and make thin wafers and serve.

1/2 cup yogurt or soft cheese
1 cup flour
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tspn ground ginger

Mix yogurt, flour and egg white into a thin paste, add sugar and ginger to taste and then fry the paste on a hot skillet or griddle in thin wafers and serve.

Oatmeal Bruet

2008-11-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

This is an unfinished recipe, even though I have served it. I used it in a vegetarian version using ground almonds and no broth. It is not impossible to make without measurements because you make the oatmeal groats separately and then add the sauce which means that if there is some of either left over there is no problem. With the sauce you can personalize it: more or less sweetness, more or less sourness, more or less spiciness. I would advise playing with those elements to find your own level and flavour notes.

My advice to a medieval cook who is just starting out- get whole grains and by that I mean shaped like the grain, not processed. So oats groats, whole barley, rye, wheat, spelt and brown rice should be tried at least once. Buy just a cup to experiment with and cook them exactly the same way and see the differences in texture, flavour, the liquid left in the pot, the stickiness and all the other differences that make these grains such an important part of the medieval diet. Modern cooks are used to working with highly processed grains and medieval cooks used those same grains in many different capacities. They each have their own strengths and work in different ways to make a dish special. Rolled oats will not work in this dish in the same manner because they absorb liquid in a different rate, because they get mushy faster and because the feel in the mouth is radically different.

Verjuice is not vinegar but it is an acid note in a recipe. So just as lemon juice is an acid note but no one would say that it is the same as vinegar, neither is verjuice. It is available in middle eastern markets and a medieval cook needs to find an oppurtunity to try it experimentally to understand how it works differently to produce flavour results.

I will be posting measurements at some future time but I encourage new cooks to experiment with those two elements- whole grains and verjuice as an alternative to vinegar.

Oatmeal bruet- whole oat groats, verjuice, white wine, almond milk, white ginger, grains of paradise, sugar, saffron

. An oatmeal bruet of capons: and to give understanding to him who will make the oatmeal bruet of capons, let him take his fat first-year capons and pluck them cleanly and wash them well and properly, and then put them to cook and meat therewith, that which it needs, that is in the season of winter good fresh chines of pork and pigs' feet, and if it is summer good kid and veal and salt pork as is needed, which should be very well cleaned, washed, and parboiled a little beforehand. And those who are making it would be well advised, the day before he makes the said oatmeal bruet, to arrange that he has good whole oats and pick over and clean them very well and grain by grain so that there remains nothing but the pure grain, and then wash it very well in three or four changes of lukewarm water and then put it to boil in fair water in a fair and clear and clean pot; and let him do this according to the quantity which he is ordered to make. And when it is half cooked draw it out and remove it and take it out of the pot and the water in which it has boiled, and put it back to boil in fair, clear, and clean water and put it back to cook for an hour or so. And when it is boiled enough let him put it to rest until the next day. And according to the quantity of the bruet which he has been ordered to make let him arrange that he has almonds and blanch, clean, and wash them very well, then bray them in a mortar and moisten them with the capon broth and draw them up with it, and according to the quantity of the said potage which he wants to make let him put in some of the said broth, and let him flavor it with verjuice and white wine; and according to the quantity of the said bruet which he is making let him put in spices, that is white ginger and grains of paradise, and strain all this with the almonds; and, all this being strained together, let him arrange that he has according to the quantity of the broth a clear, fair, and very clean pot and put them in, and then put them to boil over a fair and clear fire, and put in a great deal of sugar according to the quantity of the said broth, and salt in measure and a little beaten saffron to give it a little color. And then take the said oatmeal which he has resting, and separate the water from it with a good strainer, and check and see that there is nothing in it that should not be there; and, this being done, put it into the said broth above made and devised. And, this being done, take out onto fair and clean boards the said capons and meat, and then arrange the said capons and meat on fair serving dishes and then put the said oatmeal bruet on top.

Boil the oat groat until they are tender and strain out the liquid remaining. Put aside while you make the Sauce. Mix almond milk with the oat water and flavor with verjuice and white wine bring to a boil and add sugar, ginger, grains of paradise, salt and saffron. Add the groats to the broth and serve forth.

Rapeye

2008-11-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

As recipes go this is where we see the usefulness of studying Chinese dimsum cooking before trying medieval recipes. Both rely on fast, hot and low energy cooking techniques and produce stunning results. What the rapeye looks like at the end is all in the hands of the person folding and filling the casings. I have done these as simply as a filled log that looks a little like a peascod and as fancy as a little purse with a flower top. It is great to serve with dishes like Apple Muse or Applade Ryalle as the crispiness of the Rapeye matches with the softness of the apple dishes.

These can be made ahead, stored in containers that don't allow moisture to accumulate and then reheated in an oven.

Rapeye- egg roll wrappers, figs, raisins, almond milk, pepper, galingale, cloves, egg wash, oil

.xlvij. Rapeye.—Take dow, & make þer-of a þinne kake; þanne take Fygys & raysonys smal y-grounde, & temper hem with Almaunde Milke; take pouder of Pepir, & of Galyngale, Clowes, & menge to-gederys, & ley on þin kake a-long as bene koddys, & ouer-caste þin kake to-gederys, & dewte on þe eggys, an frye in Oyle, & serue forth.

Rapeye- Take dough and make thereof a thin cake; then take figs and raisins ground small, and temper them with almond milk; take ground pepper, galingale and cloves and mix together and lay on the thin cakes as long as good cods (peapods?) and fold over the cake and dot with eggs and fry in oil and serve forth.

1 cup figs
1 cup raisins
¼ cup almond milk
½ tspn. Black pepper
½ tspn. galingale
¼ tspn. ground cloves

2 eggs
25 wonton covers
oil

Grind figs and raisins and add a little almond milk to thin. Add pepper, galingal, cloves and mix well. Place on egg roll wrappers and form packets sealing with egg mixture, add an egg wash and then deep fry and serve.

Pork pie in another manere

2008-11-03T04:43:00.000-08:00

This is a good dish to make ahead and rewarm or to assemble on site and cook. It is also good to make as tartlets for a sideboard feast or a demo. I went gentle on the spices but the rather simple ingredients list allows you room to make it spicier or sweeter to serve your purposes. You can make more filling and overstuff the pie but the filling is a little dry if not covered and dense if it is covered. It goes well served with a gravy or chutney. It is also a good filling to use in the Chinese manner with wonton shells- you can steam or deep fry and serve with mustard, plum sauce or hot chili paste. Though if you are doing it in that style I would advise using fresh grated ginger for snap.

Pork Pie- ground pork, egg yolks, pepper, ginger, and honey, pie shell (flour, vegetable shortening, and salt)

.iij. A-noþer manere.—Tak fayre porke y-broylid, & grynd it smal with ȝolkys of Eyroun; þan take Pepir, Gyngere, & grynd it smal, & melle it with-al, & a lytel hony, & floryssche þin cofyns with-ynne & with-owte, & hele hem with þin ledys,* & late hem bake, & serue forth.

Take ground pork and brown it. Mix it with egg yolks, pepper, and ginger and honey. Put in pie shells and cover with thin lids and bake.

1 lb. ground pork
3 egg yolks
½ tspn. ground black pepper
1 tspn. ground ginger
¼ cup honey or to taste
9” pie shell with lid
1-2 beaten eggs to color the crust

Brown the meat and break it up into small pieces. Mix with other ingredients and set aside. Paint the pie shell inside and on the lid with the beaten eggs. Add meat mixture, cover and bake at 375 F until crust is browned. Serve warm.

Pom-Garnez

2008-10-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

These are immensely cool as a feast food. You can make them large or small. Smaller ones have a bad habit of being a little dry because of all the cooking stages. The boiling stage is to get the meat mixture firm enough to stay on a skewer and it partially defats the meatball. The stock made by the poaching process is fantastic and well worth doing the recipe. I use fairly small portions of spice in the recipe even though I prefer more. If you like spice I would advise going whole hog with the ginger and galingale.
You can use rose hip tea to make a red food paint that would allow you to do different types of apples. This recipe is for green apples but that shouldn't stop anyone.

Pome-Garnez- ground pork, ground chicken, egg, salt, ginger, saffron, galingale, coating rice flour, parsley juice

.xxiij. Pome-Garnez.—Take lene Raw Porke, & lene raw Flesshe of hennys, & raw eyroun, & rent þe flesshe fro þe bonys, & hew it smal; take þanne Salt, Gyngere, & Safroun, Salt, Galyngale, þer-of y-now, & caste it in a morter, & bray it smal; take þan þin fleysshe, & caste it in-to þat morter to þe Spycery, & þat it be wyl y-grounde; þanne make þer-of pelettys, as it were Applys, be-twene þin hondys; loke þou haue a fayre panne sething ouere þe fyre, & do þer-on þin pelettys, & late hem nowt sethe to swythe, & þan lat hem kele; & whan þey ben cold, ȝif hem a fayre spete of haselle, & be-twyn euery, loke þer be an ynche, & lay hem to þe fyre: & þan make þin baturys, þe on grene, & þat oþer ȝelow; þe grene of Percely.
Mix ground pork, ground chicken and eggs, add salt, ginger, saffron and galingal when evenly mixed form into meatballs the size of small apples. Take the meatballs and simmer them in hot water until cooked. Allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, grind parsley with water until it forms a loose slurry, drain through a colander until you just have a liquid. Mix the liquid with rice flour until it forms a paste the texture of thick paint. Set aside.

Place several meatballs on a skewer. Paint them evenly with the paste and place in a hot oven to bake. After a few moments take them out let them cool ( put in a second batch) , paint them again and rebake. Do this a third time if necessary. Serve warm.

1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground chicken
2 eggs
¼ tspn. salt
½ tspn. ginger
¼ tspn. American saffron
½ tspn. galingale

Flour (regular is fine, I used rice for a friend with gluten problems)
Fresh parsley

Mix the ground meats together with the eggs and spices. Form the loose mixture into apple size balls- for a meal about a Macintosh, for a sideboard about a crab apple. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and gently add the meatballs. Watch and turn them as necessary and pull them out on a strainer when they are fully firm. Let them cool on the side. Prepare a raised baking pan by lining the bottom and checking that your skewers fit across it.

In a food processer, grind the parsley with a little added water. Strain out the liquid into a bowl. It should be vividly green. In a separate bowl place about two cups of flour and start whisking in the parsley juice. Add juice slowly until the paste has the consistency of paint.
Roll your meatballs in the parsley paste and place in the skewers leaving about an inch between the balls. Place filled skewers on the baking dish and put into a 375 degree F oven for about 10 minutes. Check every few minutes and add more paste with a paintbrush as needed. When the paste covering begins to brown, take them out and place on the platter. You can add bay leaves on the top hole and a clove in the bottom to complete the look.

Liver y-chopped

2008-10-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

I have finished adding the recipes from my last feast and so I will move into my archives and start on past endeavors. As people are aware I like to add come of the dishes that others avoid because of the ingredients so this is a liver dish. "Oh no, why serve liver at a feast?" is probably going through your heads. Well, some of us like liver and it is a fast cooking meat that if done right is tasty and versatile. The following recipe does not include measurements because, well, it is liver and scrambled eggs and that, my friends, is pretty darn basic.

Liver y-chopped- liver, oil, eggs, ginger, pepper, saffron and salt

61. For the chopped liver: he who has the charge of the chopped liver should take kids' livers--and if there are not enough of those of kids use those of veal--and clean and wash them very well, then put them to cook well and properly; and, being cooked, let him take them out onto fair and clean boards and, being drained, chop them very fine and, being well chopped, let him arrange that he has fair lard well and properly melted in fair and clean frying pans, then put the said chopped liver in to fry and sauté it well and properly. And then arrange that he has a great deal of eggs and break them into fair dishes and beat them all together; and put in spices, that is white ginger, grains of paradise, saffron, and salt in good proportion, then put all of this gently into the said frying pans with the said liver which is being fried while continually stirring and mixing with a good spoon in the pans until it is well cooked and dried out and beginning to brown. And then when this comes to the sideboard arrange the aforesaid heads on fair serving dishes, and on each dish next to the heads put and arrange the aforesaid chopped liver.

Simmer the cleaned liver until cooked through and let it drain and cool. Chop it into small cubes and then fry it in a pan with hot oil. When the liver is browned, add beaten eggs mixed with ground ginger, ground grains of paradise, saffron and salt. Cook stirring until the scrambled eggs start to brown serve warm.

Creme Boylede

2008-10-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

This is a stove top bread pudding. The richness of the dish is directly proportional to the fat % of the cream used and amount of butter added. The flavor is improved by using fresh or day-old sourdough bread to make the crumbs.

Creme Boylede- Take creme or mylke, & brede of paynemayn, or ellys of tendyr brede, an breke it on the creme, or elles in the mylke, an seet it on the fyre til it be warme hot; and throw a straynour throwe it, and put it in-to a fayre potte, an sette it on the fyre, an stere evermoure: an whan it is almost y-boylyd, take fayre yolkys of eyron, an draw hem throw a straynour, an caste hem ther-to, and let hem stonde over the fyre tyl it boyl almost, an till it be skyfully thikke; than caste a ladel-ful, or more or lasse, of boter ther-to, an a good quantite of whyte sugre, and a litel salt, an than dresse it on a dysshe in manner of mortrewes.

Take cream or milk and bread or else fresh bread crumbs. Break the bread into the cream or milk and seethe it over heat until it is just hot. Push through a strainer to make it smooth and put it into a new pot over the heat and stir it from now on. When it is just under a boil, take egg yolks and draw them through a strainer and add them to the pot and keep it on the fire until it is almost at a boil and until it starts to thicken. Add a ladleful, more or less, of butter and a good quantity of white sugar and a little salt. Dish it up like a stew.

2 cups half and half
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tspn. butter
1 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt

Pull the center out of a firm round loaf and bread the bread into crumbs. Add the crumbs to a pot with the half and half and bring to a simmer. If you want the dish very smooth, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor and return to a clean pot, reserving some of the hot liquid to add to the yolks. Stir the hot liquid into the yolks and add to the hot bread and cream mixture and stir constantly over the heat. When the liquid comes to a simmer and starts to thicken take it off the fire and add the butter, sugar and salt. Let cool and thicken. Add to the bread bowl just before serving.

Wardonys in syryp

2008-10-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

Wardons or Pears in syrup is a classic dish to this day and involves the simple act of poaching pears in wine syrup. The largest difference between this and the more modern is the greater use of spices and the adding of vinegar to make a sweet and sour sauce. It is important to use slightly underripe pears for this dish so that you do not end up with pear sauce. The fruit should be softened but still firm when done. You end up with a great quantity of syrup because of the need to cover the fruit pieces- DO NOT throw it out. It keeps well and can be used to make the dish again and again by bringing the syrup to a simmer and adding new fruit. It s also good on pound cake, ice cream and bread puddings.

Wardonys in syryp- Take wardonys, an caste on a potte, and boyle hem till they ben tender; than take hem up and pare hem, an kytte hem in to pecys; take y-npw powder of canel, a good quantyte, an caste it on red wyne; an draw it throw a straynour; caste sugre ther-to, an put it an erthen pot, an let it boyle: an thane caste the perys ther-to, an let boyle togederys, an whan they have boyle a whyle, take pouder of gyngere an caste ther-to, an a lytil venegre, an a lytil saffron; an loke that it be poynaunt an dowcet.

Take wardons, and cast them in a pot, and boil them until they are tender. Then take them out of the water and pare them, and cut them into pieces. Take ground cinnamon, a good quantity, and cast it on red wine; and put it through a strainer; cast sugar in and put it all in an earthen pot and let it boil. Then add the pears and let it boil together and when they have boiled awhile, add ground ginger and a little vinegar and a little saffron to make it sour and sweet.

8 pears
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
3 cups red wine
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
¼ cup vinegar
1 teaspoon saffron

Peel and core pears. In a pot mix wine, sugar and cinnamon and bring to a boil, add the pear pieces and simmer until tender, ladling the wine over exposed pear parts to color the surfaces. At the end add ginger and saffron, taste sauce and add vinegar for a sour note.

Serve warm

Nese Bekys

2008-10-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

I like to show how ordinary many medieval dishes are to the modern palate and yet I also like throwing in dishes that are outside the comfort zone. Nese Bekys are a perfect example. Fish and Figs- who would have thought that a pairing like that would net such great results. This makes a very tasty finger food. The casings are easy to paint with food safe dyes and can be used as a visual element to a feast situation and the filling can be made in advance for assembly on site. You can do the deep frying at home and then warm them on the day. Pack them carefully so that they don't become soggy and reheat in a hot oven to crisp the casings.

Eels can be found at better fish shops in season or at better Oriental groceries in the freezer section. I replaced the eel with white fish in the trial and cod for feast and both work well, The dish is mild flavored and the fish taste is totally negated by the figs.

Nese Bekys- Take Fygys & grynd hem wel; than tak Freyssche Samon & goode Freyssche Elys wyl y-sothe, & pyke owt the bonys, & grynd the Fysse with the Fygis, & do there-to powder Gyngere, Canelle; & take fayre past of Flowre, & make fayre cakys ryth thinne, & take of the fars, & lay on the cake, & close with another; then take a Sawcere, & skoure the sydis, & close the cake, & Frye hem wyl in Oyle; & if thou wolt have hym partye, coloure hym with Safroun, Parcely, & Sawnderys; & serve forth for a gode fryid mete.

Take figs and grind them well. Then take fresh salmon and good fresh eels well cooked and pick out the bones. Grind the fish and figs and add ginger and cinnamon. Take flour and make a paste and then make thin cakes. Take the filling and place it on the cake and cover with another. Take a saucer and seal the sides closed. Fry them in oil & if you will have them particolor, color them with saffron, parsley and sanders and serve as a good fried meat.

250 g. Figs
300 g. salmon
500 g. white fish or eels
1 ½ tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon

100 wonton shells
Food coloring

Clip off the tips of the figs and grind them in a food processor. Simmer the fish in water until flaky. Drain and cool, remove any bones. Add to the figs and pulse until mixed. Add the spices and pulse until mixed.
Take two wonton covers and color the top side of one. Fill the bottom side, leaving an edge for crimping. Wet the edge, place the second topside up and using a cup, finger or fork, seal the edge. Repeat until filling and covers are done. Cover with damp cloth or paper until ready to cook.
Heat oil to 160 degrees and cook the filled cakes a few at a time until golden. Drain on towels and serve warm or cool.

When working in large batches you can color the top covers in a group and cover so that they do not dry out.

Gyngerbrede

2008-10-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

This recipe belongs to the family of boiled honey recipes that use the liquid nature of hot sugar as the entire liquid ingredients. This makes this a potentially dangerous recipe for the newbie because hot liquid sugar retains heat and can stick to the skin. It is very important to know your heat tolerances before starting and, if possible, work with someone else the first time that you do this recipe.

Gyngerbrede- Take a quart of hony, & seethe it, & skeme it clene; take Safroun, poudir Pepir, & throw ther-on; take gratyd Brede, & make it so chargeaunt that it wol be y-lechyd; then take pouder Canelle, & straw ther-on y-now; than make it square, lyke as thou wolt leche yt; take when thou lechyst hyt, and caste box leaves a-bouyn, y-stykyd ther-on, on clowys. And if thou wolt have it red, coloure it with Saunderys y-now.

Gingerbread- take a quart of honey and bring it to a boil and skim the top. Add saffron and ground pepper and stir it in. Bring it back to a full boil and add breadcrumbs, then add ground cinnamon and stir it in. Pour into a square mold and cut into squares while hot, decorate with box leaves held on with cloves and if you want it red add sanders with the saffron.

Box leaves = myrtle

4 cups bread crumbs
2 cups honey
½ tspn. Saffron
1 tspn. Black pepper
1 tablespoon cinnamon

In one bowl with a pour spout mix the breadcrumbs and cinnamon. Be generous with the spices because it is a counterbalance to the sweetness of the honey. In a pot with high sides put in the honey and bring to a boil. Modern honey has already been pasteurized and cleaned so skimming should be unnecessary. Once the honey is at a boil add the saffron and black pepper and stir to combine. Take off the heat. Allow a moment to activate the saffron and then add the breadcrumbs in a steady stream stirring with a heat resistant (wood or silicon) spatula to make sure that there are no dry pockets in the mix. The mixture should have the consistency of wet sand and should not hold shape. It will also be to hot to handle.
While the mixture cools, lay out wax paper sheets or a mold for holding the mixture. If you are shaping by hand have a bowl of cold water on hand to wet your palms to keep it from sticking. If you are using a mold line it with plastic wrap, wax paper or use silicon to make sure that the product releases cleanly.
Now touch the mixture, it should be uncomfortably but not burning hot. Take a small amount and compress, if it holds together like a good snowball and be malleable. Place in the mold, compress tight, cut along the service lines while hot and unmold onto waxpaper. Separate into pieces and do any decoration while still warm. If hand molding, take walnut size pieces, shape into a ball and then flatten onto the waxpaper. You can make holes for holding decorations or add decorative pieces at this time while the honey is still partially fluid. As the mass cools the mixture will become more solid and less malleable.

These can be made well ahead and stored in a cool, dry place to allow the spice flavor to build.

Ryghth so Caboges

2008-10-25T04:36:00.000-07:00

This is one of the recipes use to show that not all food in the Middle Ages was "weird". If you can't boil cabbage or have never seen it, you need to get into the kitchen more.

Ryghth so Caboges- Ben seruyd, save men sayn it is gode Also to ley hem in a bagge overnyghth in renning streme of watere, & a-morwe sette uppe watere, & when the water is skaldyng hot, throw hem ther-on, & hole hem in there wise be-forsayd, & serve forth.

Rightso Cabbages- When served men say that it is good. Put the cabbages in a bag and place under a running stream of water overnight and in the morning bring a large pot of water to a hard boil, add the cabbages to the pot and hold them under until cooked and then serve.

Cabbage
Water

Clean cabbage under running water without taking apart the head. Bring a large pot to a boil and submerge the cabbage under until cooked. Carve into wedges and serve.

Ryse

2008-10-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

This makes a sweet rice porridge that matches well with strong flavored dishes or sour/vinegary sauces. I favor using brown rice as it makes a nuttier and more textured dish but it can be done with white rice. Undercook the rice slightly so that more of the almond milk is absorbed to make a dish that is more finely textured.

Ryse- Take a porcyoun of Rys, & pyke hem clene, & seethe hem welle, & lat hem kele; then take gode mylke of Almaundys & do ther-to, & seethe & stere hem wyl; & do ther-to Sugre an hony, & serve.

Rice- take brown rice and pick out the bad ones & cover with water and seethe until done and then let cool. Take almond milk and add to the rice and simmer while stirring and add sugar and honey and serve.

2 cups brown rice
6 cups water
2 cups almond milk
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey

Simmer brown rice in water until done. Drain excess water and let the rice cool. Fluff cooled rice and put in a pot with almond milk over a low heat. Once thickened and hot add sugar and stir it in, take off heat and put into serving dishes. Drizzle with honey and serve.

Venison in Broth

2008-10-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

This will be a gamier flavor if venison is used. I have done the dish with pork which has a sweeter flavor. It is a good dish for in doors or camping events because it can be done in a pot on top of the stove if oven space is a problem. Like many medieval meat recipes indicate, it is cooked wet first and the resulting liquid can be reclaimed for stock or soup later.

Venison in Broth- Take Rybbys of Venysoun, and wasshe hem clene in fayre water, an strayne the same water throw a straynour in-to a potte, an caste ther-to Venysoun, also Percely, Sawge, powder Pepyr, Clowys, Maces, Vinegre, and a lytyl Red Wyne caste there-to; an thane latte it boyle tyl it be enow, & serve forth.

Pork in Broth- Take pork ribs, and wash them clean in clear water, and strain the water into a pot with the ribs. Add parsley, sage, ground pepper, cloves, mace, vinegar and red wine and then let it simmer until cooked and serve hot.

2 sides of Pork ribs
½ bunch parsley
5 large leaves sage
1 tablespoon ground pepper
10 cloves
1 teaspoon mace
½ cup vinegar
2 cups red wine
Water to cover.

Clean and trim ribs and place in a pot. Add all other ingredients and put in a hot (450 degree) oven for 2 hours. Drain and serve hot.

Applade Ryalle

2008-10-22T03:04:00.000-07:00

This is a tasty accompaniment for meat dishes like pork or beef. The almond milk acts as a thickener. The method of making the applesauce was current until my grandmother's day and it works well to create a sauce that does not have the browning of the peel and core method. By boiling the apples before separating the peel the flesh doesn't oxcidize and the color of the skin is imparted to the flesh creating a pink or yellow sauce depending on the type of apple. It is important to select your apples well as some types of apples do not boil soft as easily or swiftly as others.

Applade Ryalle

Take Applys, & seethe hem tylle they ben tendyr, & than lat hem kele; then draw hem thorw a straynour; & on flesshe day caste ther-to gode fatte brothe of freysshe beef, an whyte grece, & Sugre, & Safroun, & gode pouder; & in a Fysshe day, take Almaunde mylke, & oyle of Olyffe, & draw ther-uppe with-al a gode pouder, & serue forth. An for need, draw it uppe with Wyne, & a lytil hony put ther-to for to make it then dowcet, & serve it forth.

Take apples and boil them until they are soft and let them cool. Then force them through a strainer and, on a flesh day, add beef broth and lard with sugar, saffron and sweet powder and, on fish days, take almond milk and olive oil and mix it with sweet powder and serve it. At need, mix in wine and a little honey to make it sweet and serve.

4 cups applesauce
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sweet powder (1/2 sugar, 1/4 cinnamon, 1/8 cloves, and 1/8 mace)

Optional:
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons honey

Bring a large quantity of water to a boil and add your apples whole. When the skins splt and the apples are soft to the center take them out and drain them. Place them in a food mill or strainer and force them through to make applesauce. Put in a new pot and add the other ingredients and simmer until thick. Adjust sweetness by adding more sugar or a mixture of white wine and honey. Serve warm.

Soupes Dorroy

2008-10-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a French Onion soup precursor but is more in keeping with an appetizer or finger food. The parts can be precooked and brought to the site easily enough and then warmed and assembled at need. This makes it an ideal food for display purposes, buffets, and demos.

Soupes Dorroy

Shere Oynonys, an frye hem in oyle; thane take Wyne, an boyle with Oynonys, toast whyte Brede and do on a dysshe, an caste ther-on gode Almaunde Mylke, & temper it with wyne: thane do the dorroy abowte, and messe it forth.

Slice onions, and fry them in oil; then take wine, and boil it with the onions, toast white bread and put it on a dish, and cast on to it good almond milk, tempered with wine; then put the dorroy about and serve it forth.

4 cups thinly sliced onions
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup white wine
Sliced sourdough bread
½ cup almond milk
½ cup white wine

Cook onions in oil until golden brown, add the wine and simmer until it evaporates. Set aside. Toast bread in rounds and place on serving dish. Mix the almond milk and white wine, it will curdle slightly and should be whipped to smooth the texture. Lightly soak the round with the mix of almond milk and white wine and top with sliced onion mix. Serve.

Beef with Furmenty

2008-10-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile and I have a pile of recipes to add over the next few weeks. This first is one that I used for my group's recent Fall Harvest feast and it works well for cold weather. The meat is wet cooked and quick in the oven and the grains dish that accompanies it can be done with bulgar or with whole wheat grains. I had planned for the bulgar and then went with the wheat and it was well received. The whole grains give a nuttier, chewier dish and the mix of texture and flavour is a good counter point to the rather plain meat preparation. The whole grains will let off a rather pasty liquid which you can either wash off or incorporate into the dish. I partially rinsed it reserving half and half to make the dish less porridgy. I like it with a lot of saffron but if you are using real saffron then you will want to be less generous.

Beef with Furmenty
(Venison with furmenty- Harleian MS 279 pg. 7 .viij)

Take whete and pyke it clene, and do it in a mortar, an caste a lytel water ther-on; an stampe with a pestel tyl it hole; than fan owt the holys, an put it in a potte, an let seethe tyl it breke; than set yt doun, an sone after set it over the fyre, an stere it wyl; an whan thow hast sothyn it wyl, put ther-inne swete milk, an seethe it y-fere, an stere it wyl; and whan it is y-now, coloure it with saffron, an salt it evene, and dresse it forth & thin venison in a-nother dyshe with fayre hot water.

Take wheat and pick it clean, and put it in a mortar, and cast a little water on it; and stamp it with a pestle until it hulls; then fan out the hulls, and put it in a pot, and let it seethe until it breaks; then set it done, and soon after set it over the fire, and stir it well; an when you have seethed it well, put in sweet milk, an seethe it again, and stir it well; and when it is enough, colour it with saffron, and salt it well, and dress it forth & the venison in another dish with hot water.

2 cups bulgar or cracked wheat
1 ½ cups whole milk
½ teaspoon American saffron
¼ teaspoon salt

1 large European blade roast

Cook bulgar/wheat in 4 cups water until it comes to a boil, stirring to keep it from sticking. Take it off the fire and let it absorb the fluid. Add the milk and return to the fire, stirring until it comes to a boil, add saffron and take off the heat to absorb the milk. Fluff the wheat, salt and serve on a platter .
Place roast in a pan and cover with water. Braise in a 400 degree oven until the roast is done about 1 hour depending on the size of the roast. Serve with the juices and the wheat.

You can reserve the juices to defat and make into beef stock or to thicken and make gravy. The meat can also be accompanied with a strong flavoured sauce- I used fresh horseradish and cream.

AAARGGHH!

2008-05-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

It is getting bad out in the intertubes for a person who wants to see democracy function at its best. You would think that with strong candidates you would actually see a good campaign season. Wrong. With the connivance of a corporate media that is more interested in parsing obscure remarks than actually understanding what is going on and campaign managers who actively fear real issues and the voters, we are seeing a continuation of the same ill-considered voting patterns that always appear. So for all the rhetoric of change and solutions and experience, we, the voting public, are left in a bog of status quo that will choke us to death.

Cawdell Ferry

2008-03-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Cawdelle Ferry

The Cawdelle has appeared in many forms in several of the cookbooks of the 15th century. The name appears to be applied to most forms of thickened sauce or drink with alcoholic, non-alcoholic, egg and almonds variations. The cawdelle that I will be dealing with is the thickened egg and alcohol drink known as the cawdelle ferry.

In A Noble Boke Off Cookry Ffor A Prynce Houssolde (England, 1468), the recipe is as follows:
Cawdelle ferry To mak cawdelle ferry, tak clene yolks of eggewelle betene and in the betyng do away the scomethen put them in a pot with swet wyne and stirr hem [f24r] 33 well all to gedure and alay it with bred of payn maynestept in swete wyne and boile it and put sugure therto and colour it with saffron and salt it and at the firstboile set it from the fyere then dres it in lesks iij oriiij in a dyshe and cast on sugur and serue it.

In this form, the recipe makes the cawdelle into a form of pudding or custard that is thickened with both egg yolk and bread crumbs.

Now in the earlier text Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430) we see some slight differences.
To mak cawdelle ferry tak unblanched almonds wesshe them and grind them and temper them up with wyne and drawe it throughe a canvas into a pot and colour it with saffron and alay it up with amydon or flour of rise and se that it be thik sesson it with sugur and florishe it with maces and serue it.
Or
xlvij - Cawdelle Ferry. Take 3olkys of eyroun Raw, y-tryid fro the whyte; than take gode wyne, and warme it on the potte on a fayre Fyre, an caste ther-on 3olkys, and stere it wyl, but let it nowt boyle tylle it be thikke; and caste ther-to Sugre, Safroun, and Salt, Maces, Gelofres, an Galyngale y-grounde smal, and flowre of Canelle; and whan thow dressyst yn, caste blanke pouder ther-on.
This shows that the cawdelle has a Lenten and a standard variation. The variation would indicate that it was a popular drink for all seasons. The one that I have recreated is the egg and alcohol version that is reminiscent of eggnog.
xlvij - Cawdelle Ferry. Take 3olkys of eyroun Raw, y-tryid fro the whyte; than take gode wyne, and warme it on the potte on a fayre Fyre, an caste ther-on 3olkys, and stere it wyl, but let it nowt boyle tylle it be thikke; and caste ther-to Sugre, Safroun, and Salt, Maces, Gelofres, an Galyngale y-grounde smal, and flowre of Canelle; and whan thow dressyst yn, caste blanke pouder ther-on.

47. Cawdelle Ferry. Take yolks of eggs, separated from the whites; then take good wine and warm it in a pot on a slow fire, and add the yolks and stir it well, but do not let it boil, until it is thick; and add to it sugar, saffron, and salt, mace, carnation and galingale ground small, and ground cinnamon; and when you prepare it to serve, sprinkle white powder on top.

3 egg yolks
1 cup white dessert wine
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 tspn. saffron
1/8 tspn. salt
¼ tspn. each mace, carnation, galingale and cinnamon
White powder for sprinkling

Beat the egg yolks until they become pale yellow. Place the wine in a pot over a slow heat, you do not want to bring it to a boil as that will evaporate the alcohol and once the egg yolks are added cause them to curdle. Once the wine begins to steam, add some of the wine to the egg yolks to warm them then add the egg and wine mix to the pot. Stir constantly while the mixture returns to a slow simmer. You want it to froth up a bit, add the sugar and spices while stirring and then remove from the heat. You can serve it warm or cold with a sprinkling of white powder on top.

Note- spice mixtures are often mentioned in cookbooks but the exact compositions are often not included in the recipe books. It can be concluded that these were often mixed to family specification or be specialties of local spice merchants. In the case of white powder, sugar in the 15th century was still classed as a spice and so would have been the base ingredient in any white powder mix making it similar to modern cinnamon sugar. A mixture of the so-called sweet spices- ginger, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon with sugar as the primary flavor agent is most likely.

Note- I have left out the carnation or gelofre as I do not currently have a source.

New Year's Resolution

2007-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

Evangelicals have annoyed me for a long time. Most Christians don't, I am a Christian and recognize my limitations on expounding about faith. Proselyting has always annoyed me, diminishing God has always annoyed me and finger wagging has always annoyed me. Evangelical Christianity, as represented on Sunday morning shows and other mediums, is about all three and it grates down my spine like a wire brush. I cannot imagine what makes it so popular except that in making God small and easy to digest it makes Him more accessible. I don't want an accessible God. I want one who can make a universe that expands beyond my imagination and that will live on long after I have gone to rest. I want my great grand children viewing sunsets with wonder and awe and hopefully on other planets. I like that God incarnated to understand His creation better and in so doing forgave us our weaknesses. I like that we are cleared of past sins and left to grow on our own, responsible for our own actions and able to repair the damage done by mistakes. I don't understand how, if we are cleared of past sins, organized Christianity doesn't make it clear that that includes Original sin and Sins of our Fathers. I cannot accept any faith that doesn't get that- that we are only responsible for the sins that we commit. Even though we weren't granted immediate access to Eden, we are no longer stopped from striving to attain it. We can achieve it, we can learn enough about our world to bring it back.
So as the New Year dawns, I offer this promise I will strive to take responsiblity of my actions, I will strive to make the world a little better than it was and I will live my faith and not wear it on my sleeve.

Christmas with the Family

2007-12-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

We have arrived at my parents' house and the season begins. We usually come out Christmas day after Christmas eve service but with my father's illness we are foregoing the fight over going to church. The gathering begins with my sister's arrival from Toronto and the fighting over the computer- blogging, barely started, will be light until I get home and it is only three people fighting for time.

And Christmas creeps a little closer...

2007-12-16T12:47:00.001-08:00

I am putting the last layers of finish on 24 wooden boxes and I can honestly say that it will be a relief when they are done, filled and wrapped. Money and Christmas are often not very friendly and so my crafting instincts usually take over. This year the lead time was cut short when I lost the use of my left arm in November. A frozen rib gave me much the same symptoms of rotator cuff tendonitis (wow, is that painful!) and until a kindly physiotherapist put it back in place I was in pretty bad shape. Three valuable crafting weeks down the tube as the shoulder recovered but I am pretty close to having caught up. I won't be making quite so many gifts and some friends will be getting boxes made in January but hey, that is what Christmas is all about.

And so it begins

2007-12-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

With the decision to blog comes other decisions, how often, about what and of course do I try to get other people to actually look at what I have written. I think that I will just leave this as my little space for now. I need to find my feet in the world of blogging and I guess to just hone my writing skills and find my voice. For today I need to get to work on finishing the Xmas presents. I am behind on my crafting and varnish takes time to dry.

So I've decided to blog

2007-12-11T13:59:00.001-08:00

It has been awhile but I have finally decided to take the leap and start a blog. I will be posting recipes, projects and whatever strikes my fancy. For the moment this is all I've got but I hope to get started for real in the next few days.