I made the Perry of Pesoun which, despite what it looked like, was incredibly good. I used a bit too much sugar in the recipe but it was fine other than that. I used split dried green peas, dried chopped onions, and brought them to a boil. When I did that, I added a 1tbl of olive oil, probably about the same in sugar (I just shook the box of sugar until it looked like I had enough), and salt. It doesn't take long to boil but it does take a while for the peas to soften. By the time they do, they explode and you get green mush. Which is why you add the safforn - it makes everything a nice bright colored yellow mush. And yes, exploded peas porridge is perfectly period. (I think it's an Italian cookbook that says to make it into the shape of a worm and serve it.)
I also made brown rice in almond milk with cinnamon and sugar. I think I'll add some raisins to it tonight for extra yumminess.
The only other thing I had was bread with oil. I didn't have any salad because I forgot to stop by the grocery store and I was too tired to make the mushrooms. :-(
I'll eat a lot of the same tonight. For lunch today, I have sort of a trail mix. It's roasted almonds and crystallized ginger - which are really surprisingly delicious together. Breakfast today was a nice yummy mug of hot chocolate. Also known as vanilla flavored almond milk with nesquik heated up in the microwave. :-)
For tomorrow, I'm thinking salmon fish fry! And mushrooms. Must have mushrooms. Tonight, if possible.
So, by now you've probably noticed not all the recipes are from the 16th c. Some are from the 15th and some are from the 14th. Just like today, they used the older cookbooks and just added on to them. How many still have Joy of Cooking in their cookbook collections? It was first published nearly 80 years ago now. I have Martha Washington's Cookbook (which actually contains a lot of late 16th/early 17th c recipes in it because it was a family cookbook handed down) that I've used in the past. I think the cookbook regarding Southern cooking my Mom always uses is from the late 19th C. Tastes change slightly from generation to generation but how to cook various things doesn't. Just like today, back in the 16th Century, they used the older cookbooks for various reasons.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday
I'm thinking of keeping it simple tonight. A salad with oil and vinegar, rice boiled in almond milk with sugar and cinnamon, bread with oil (which is what I had for breakfast again), and maybe try my hand at peas. Oh, and mushrooms. Can you tell I like the mushrooms yet? ;-)
New Peas on a Fish Day sounds good. However, I have a supply of dried peas I'd like to try. Maybe this recipe for Perry of Pesoun?
In related news, I just found Antiquitates culinariae or Curious tracts relating to the culinary affairs of the Olde English. It's a book regarding medieval and Tudor English food customs written in the 18th C. It's fabulous. I'm pouring over it now for information.
New Peas on a Fish Day sounds good. However, I have a supply of dried peas I'd like to try. Maybe this recipe for Perry of Pesoun?
In related news, I just found Antiquitates culinariae or Curious tracts relating to the culinary affairs of the Olde English. It's a book regarding medieval and Tudor English food customs written in the 18th C. It's fabulous. I'm pouring over it now for information.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Epic Fail
So, the Salmon pie? Yeah...that wasn't a good idea. I tried to make my own dough recipe and I know that's where I went wrong. Don't put the fish in the dough until the dough itself has been mostly cooked. The dough was super sticky and looked like instant mashed potatoes. Yes, I tried to make my own and not follow the recipe like I should have. That was another mistake. The salmon still turned out okay but the dough ruined it.
So, I did have a salad and fried mushrooms. I also ate some plain rye bread. I'm going to have some hot chocolate and I already ate some ginger. Tomorrow, I'm going to drown my sorrows in apple pie. ;-)
So, I did have a salad and fried mushrooms. I also ate some plain rye bread. I'm going to have some hot chocolate and I already ate some ginger. Tomorrow, I'm going to drown my sorrows in apple pie. ;-)
Possibility for Monday's Dinner
You must take the salmon, well-cleaned and washed, and take your spices, which are long pepper, galingale, and ginger, and all this well-ground with salt, but in such a manner that there is not too much spice, but moderate; then make the empanadas, and put the salmon inside. And cast the spices on top and beneath, and all over. And then cover the empanada and let it go to the oven to cook; and when it is cooked, if you wish to eat the salmon cold, make a hole in the empanada under the bottom crust so that the broth comes out, because with it, it cannot be kept well.
And you must know that the salmon ought to be eaten in the month of October when it starts to get cold.
This comes from Libre del Coch which is a book filled with recipes from both Naples and Spain. Since my persona is from Naples, this will be a great recipe to try! I don't think I can get galingale (I'll check out a couple of stores on my way home) but I have everything else at home.
What I love is the book does tell you how to make a fish pastry or pie in general earlier in the book (so you aren't left guessing unlike in some). A general recipe is here:
You must take meat or fish, and give it a boil. But if it is meat, boil it more than the fish. And when it is well-boiled, take it from the fire and put it in cold water. And then make the empanada. And put in the meat or fish which is cut into small pieces, as big as two fingers, or even smaller. And put them in the empanada, and then go to the oven and make a vent hole on top of the lid of the empanada so that it can breathe, or else it will burst in the oven. And when you put the meat in the empanada, also put fine spice with it. And if it is fish, use a good deal of pepper. And if it is meat, use a good deal of spice; and a little before it is time to remove the empanada from the oven, put into the vent hole some eggs beaten in a dish with verjuice or orange juice or rose-scented white vinegar. And then return it to the oven for the space of a Paternoster and an Ave Maria. And take it out and put it on the table.
:-) I love the whole "poke a hole or else it will pop in the oven!" thing since I remember well the exploding hot dogs in the microwave of my childhood. It sounds like a very similar issue. However, making the crust is still an issue. How do you do it without eggs or butter?
It sounds like, based on two sources (Flans in Lent) almond milk and rice flour were used to make some sort of crust. This Lady has a recipe that I'll probably use. So, salmon pie tonight!
Sunday and Monday Morning
Sunday is a day of celebration in Lent. In the 16th Century, you still couldn't eat meat but it looks like a small amount of butter might have been allowed (or at least, a blind eye was turned) and you ate whatever else you pleased. I ended up only eating fish and chips at Lunch and a vegan chocolate chip cookie in the evening. I just wasn't hungry! The fish and chips was good but I couldn't finish it all. My brother teased me about it since he went out to lunch with me.
The vegan chocolate chip cookie was because they are really good and I can't have solid chocolate the rest of the week. Yeah, they don't have milk or eggs but they do have chocolate chips which weren't invented until much later.
This morning, I decided on some rye bread with just oil and herbs. Oh, and orange juice! Which probably sounds like an odd combo but I love orange juice in the morning. And I wanted something yummy for breakfast that wasn't jam so I ended up with a bit of olive oil, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and onion salt all mixed together. I'll probably go back to jam tomorrow. For lunch, it's roasted almonds and apples and dinner is probably going to be a fish pie - unless I decide apple pie looks better. ;-)
The vegan chocolate chip cookie was because they are really good and I can't have solid chocolate the rest of the week. Yeah, they don't have milk or eggs but they do have chocolate chips which weren't invented until much later.
This morning, I decided on some rye bread with just oil and herbs. Oh, and orange juice! Which probably sounds like an odd combo but I love orange juice in the morning. And I wanted something yummy for breakfast that wasn't jam so I ended up with a bit of olive oil, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and onion salt all mixed together. I'll probably go back to jam tomorrow. For lunch, it's roasted almonds and apples and dinner is probably going to be a fish pie - unless I decide apple pie looks better. ;-)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Saturday Dinner
I didn't really have lunch. I munched on crystallized ginger and rosemary flatbread through most of the day. I didn't want a lot of dinner and the fish pie I was going to make - well, the salmon is frozen and I don't have pears which would be a problem. A fixable one but I didn't feel like going back out so...Apple Fritters! (And more fried mushrooms!)
I changed up the mushrooms a bit - I used a fresh chopped onion with the mushrooms, garlic powder, and regular salt (not onion salt). It was different but just as good. The onions caramelized and were fabulous with the mushrooms.
For the apple fritters, I combined two period recipes. I had everything for the batter in this recipe but I can't eat currents (I'm allergic to pretty much everything in the berry family. Thank goodness Strawberries are in the rosa family!) and I'm not fond of figs. However, I have apples! Just like this recipe but I don't have safforn until tomorrow (Mom got me some! Thanks Mom!)so....
Use the batter from the first recipe and cut up apples instead!
For the batter:
1 cup of almond milk
1 cup of flour
Mix it together. Peel the apples (2) and cut them into thin slices. Once you have a nice thick batter, coat the apple slices. Heat up a pretty thick amount of olive oil in a frying pan. Enough to cover any slice almost half way. Cook the apple slices covered in batter about five minutes, each side on medium high heat. Basically, the batter will turn a nice brown. If you don't cook them well enough it will taste doughy (I screwed up the first batch).
Sprinkle a good amount of powder sugar on the fritters once they've been cooked both size and taken out of the pan. They are so yummy!:-)
I changed up the mushrooms a bit - I used a fresh chopped onion with the mushrooms, garlic powder, and regular salt (not onion salt). It was different but just as good. The onions caramelized and were fabulous with the mushrooms.
For the apple fritters, I combined two period recipes. I had everything for the batter in this recipe but I can't eat currents (I'm allergic to pretty much everything in the berry family. Thank goodness Strawberries are in the rosa family!) and I'm not fond of figs. However, I have apples! Just like this recipe but I don't have safforn until tomorrow (Mom got me some! Thanks Mom!)so....
Use the batter from the first recipe and cut up apples instead!
For the batter:
1 cup of almond milk
1 cup of flour
Mix it together. Peel the apples (2) and cut them into thin slices. Once you have a nice thick batter, coat the apple slices. Heat up a pretty thick amount of olive oil in a frying pan. Enough to cover any slice almost half way. Cook the apple slices covered in batter about five minutes, each side on medium high heat. Basically, the batter will turn a nice brown. If you don't cook them well enough it will taste doughy (I screwed up the first batch).
Sprinkle a good amount of powder sugar on the fritters once they've been cooked both size and taken out of the pan. They are so yummy!:-)
Medieval Cream of Wheat!
I found a recipe that is not exactly cream of wheat but it has about the same look to it. The amandelye or cream of almond, really, is quite good. It's supposed to be a sauce for fish but it looked good enough for breakfast as well. ;-) I'm going to play with the measurements since it was a bit watery and needed more pepper. Here's the translated original:
[8] For an amandeleye within the fasting time. Take almonds, [9] cinnamon, ginger, a little pepper and a little bread therewith [10] and pass it through a strainer. But it must [11] be well ground up with hot water. One simmers this all together [12] over the fire until it is thick enough and let pot sugar [13] boil with it. When it is off the fire add it [14] and loaf sugar then stir and let cool. In this [15] one lays and serves fried/roast fish. Over [16] this one strews cinnamon powder or white sugar.
What I used:
1 cup of almond flour
1/2 a cup of finely ground plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2~ a tablespoon of ginger
1/8~ a teaspoon of pepper
about 1/4 of a cup of brown sugar
1/4 of a cup of white sugar
I brought two cups of water to a boil and then added all the stirred up all the ingredients except the white sugar to the water. I probably could have used a cup and a half of water but it was okay. It looks really watery at first but thickens up nicely after a few minutes. You need to stir this every few minutes until it gets to your desired thickeness. Just like cream of wheat, it clumps.
A note, I have no idea what "pot sugar" is. I have some idea of what loaf sugar is and I know exactly what white sugar is. I used brown sugar but my guess is that pot sugar is really raw sugar. Loaf is probably light brown sugar and white is well, what I use in tea! I'll do more research on this but I'm really not sure. Since I didn't have any raw sugar (something I'll go get later today as I need some vanilla almond milk anyway...and trash bags.) I used brown sugar.
Once you get it to something resembling cream of wheat, take it off the burner and add the white sugar. I ended up adding a bit more pepper and more cinnamon. I think it needs about 1/4 of a teaspoon pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon. It tasted much better.
Right now, I'm waiting for it to cool but I wanted to write this down so I'd remember later! And yes, though it's a sauce, it's still period and sounded yummy enough to try. ;-)
EDIT: Add raisins. It's delicious.
[8] For an amandeleye within the fasting time. Take almonds, [9] cinnamon, ginger, a little pepper and a little bread therewith [10] and pass it through a strainer. But it must [11] be well ground up with hot water. One simmers this all together [12] over the fire until it is thick enough and let pot sugar [13] boil with it. When it is off the fire add it [14] and loaf sugar then stir and let cool. In this [15] one lays and serves fried/roast fish. Over [16] this one strews cinnamon powder or white sugar.
What I used:
1 cup of almond flour
1/2 a cup of finely ground plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2~ a tablespoon of ginger
1/8~ a teaspoon of pepper
about 1/4 of a cup of brown sugar
1/4 of a cup of white sugar
I brought two cups of water to a boil and then added all the stirred up all the ingredients except the white sugar to the water. I probably could have used a cup and a half of water but it was okay. It looks really watery at first but thickens up nicely after a few minutes. You need to stir this every few minutes until it gets to your desired thickeness. Just like cream of wheat, it clumps.
A note, I have no idea what "pot sugar" is. I have some idea of what loaf sugar is and I know exactly what white sugar is. I used brown sugar but my guess is that pot sugar is really raw sugar. Loaf is probably light brown sugar and white is well, what I use in tea! I'll do more research on this but I'm really not sure. Since I didn't have any raw sugar (something I'll go get later today as I need some vanilla almond milk anyway...and trash bags.) I used brown sugar.
Once you get it to something resembling cream of wheat, take it off the burner and add the white sugar. I ended up adding a bit more pepper and more cinnamon. I think it needs about 1/4 of a teaspoon pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon. It tasted much better.
Right now, I'm waiting for it to cool but I wanted to write this down so I'd remember later! And yes, though it's a sauce, it's still period and sounded yummy enough to try. ;-)
EDIT: Add raisins. It's delicious.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Honey In Lent
This is an interesting slight problem I'm running into. Honey. Was honey, since it comes from bees, considered a meat product or, because Saint John the Baptist ate nothing but grasshoppers and honey while in the desert, is it considered a fasting food?
It's hard to tell. All the recipes that are specific for Lent that use a sweetener, say sugar. Even a lot of the older ones. For example, this 15th C recipe for what is, basically, the creamy center of a Cadbury egg:
Take Eyroun, & blow owt that ys with-ynne atte other ende; than waysshe the schulle clene in warme Water; than take gode mylke of Almaundys, & sette it on the fyre; than take a fayre canvas, & pore the mylke ther-on, & lat renne owt the water; then take it owt on the clothe, & gader it to-gedere with a platere; then putte sugre y-now ther-to; than take the halvyndele, & colour it with Safroun, a lytil, & do ther-to pouder Canelle; than take & do of the whyte in the nether ende of the schulle, & in the myddel the yolk, & fylle it vppe with the whyte; but noght to fulle, for goyng ouer; than sette it in the fyre & roste it, & serue f[orth].
- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.
In Modern American English:
Take Eggs, and blow out the yolks with a hole at the other end; than wash the shell clean in warm water. Then take Almond Milk, sit it on the fire. Take some cheesecloth, pore the milk on it and let the water run out. Take the cloth (with the almond remains) and put it on a baking sheet. Then put sugar in it. Take half of the dough and put some yellow in it, roll it in a ball, and roll it around in cinnamon (to make the yolk). Wrap the white dough around the middle yolk and put it back in the egg shell. Make sure it's not too full! Set it in the fire, roast it, and serve.
Sugar. Not honey. Hmm..
Another recipe from around the 14th/15th C also calls for sugar, not honey:
CXV Good tortellini made like white fritters for lent.
To make white tortellini for twelve people. Take a pound of almonds, a quarter (of a pound) of hazel nuts and half a pound of sugar. Take the well peeled almonds and hazel nuts and grind them together and mix in enough of the sugar to make a paste, this batter is used to make the fritters, and make them small. Take flour and saffron and blend them with water so that it is a soft, yellow dough, and wrap the tortellini in this and fry them in good oil. When they are cooked dust them with sugar and send them to the table before the other dishes.
So, far now, until I can find something that says honey is fine during Lent, I'm going to stay away from it. I'm good with sugar. :-)
EDIT:
I found one recipe, in Dutch, from the 15th Century.
xxij Loesengen inde vastenen of daer buten
nemt bloemme huenich melc tempert
ende wriuet dynne ghelijc een blat
Teender taerten ende dan snijdet naer
Juwen wille ziedet inde vastenen
in olyen ende buten vastenen in smoute
vercoelse ende dan hebt wijn ende
huenich ende siedse in een panne
met sukere ende met een lettel wijns
dan heetse waerm
I don't know Dutch (let alone, middle Dutch like this is written in) but, according to the person who translated it, it calls for honey. I double checked and "huenich" or "HONICH" is the Middle Dutch word for honey. It doesn't look to be one of those can mean many things words (suiker or suker is the word for sugar) so this probably really did call for honey.
The problem is simple - if you needed a cough drop or a lozenge like this recipe is for, then you were probably sick. Even back then, there were exceptions made for the sick when it came to the Lenten fasting rules. Although it looks like I'm on the right track, I'm still not sure if honey is allowed or not.
It's hard to tell. All the recipes that are specific for Lent that use a sweetener, say sugar. Even a lot of the older ones. For example, this 15th C recipe for what is, basically, the creamy center of a Cadbury egg:
- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.
In Modern American English:
Take Eggs, and blow out the yolks with a hole at the other end; than wash the shell clean in warm water. Then take Almond Milk, sit it on the fire. Take some cheesecloth, pore the milk on it and let the water run out. Take the cloth (with the almond remains) and put it on a baking sheet. Then put sugar in it. Take half of the dough and put some yellow in it, roll it in a ball, and roll it around in cinnamon (to make the yolk). Wrap the white dough around the middle yolk and put it back in the egg shell. Make sure it's not too full! Set it in the fire, roast it, and serve.
Sugar. Not honey. Hmm..
Another recipe from around the 14th/15th C also calls for sugar, not honey:
CXV Good tortellini made like white fritters for lent.
To make white tortellini for twelve people. Take a pound of almonds, a quarter (of a pound) of hazel nuts and half a pound of sugar. Take the well peeled almonds and hazel nuts and grind them together and mix in enough of the sugar to make a paste, this batter is used to make the fritters, and make them small. Take flour and saffron and blend them with water so that it is a soft, yellow dough, and wrap the tortellini in this and fry them in good oil. When they are cooked dust them with sugar and send them to the table before the other dishes.
So, far now, until I can find something that says honey is fine during Lent, I'm going to stay away from it. I'm good with sugar. :-)
I found one recipe, in Dutch, from the 15th Century.
nemt bloemme huenich melc tempert
ende wriuet dynne ghelijc een blat
Teender taerten ende dan snijdet naer
Juwen wille ziedet inde vastenen
in olyen ende buten vastenen in smoute
vercoelse ende dan hebt wijn ende
huenich ende siedse in een panne
met sukere ende met een lettel wijns
dan heetse waerm
I don't know Dutch (let alone, middle Dutch like this is written in) but, according to the person who translated it, it calls for honey. I double checked and "huenich" or "HONICH" is the Middle Dutch word for honey. It doesn't look to be one of those can mean many things words (suiker or suker is the word for sugar) so this probably really did call for honey.
The problem is simple - if you needed a cough drop or a lozenge like this recipe is for, then you were probably sick. Even back then, there were exceptions made for the sick when it came to the Lenten fasting rules. Although it looks like I'm on the right track, I'm still not sure if honey is allowed or not.
Fasting on Fridays
Today is pretty simple. During the 16th c, Wednesdays, Fridays, and sometimes Saturdays (I'm finding there is some arguments on whether Saturday was a fasting day or not, Wednesday seems to have a similar issue) were fasting days. This meant one full meal and one collation during the day and evening. The idea of two collations is from the 19th Century.
Although during the period the main meal was lunch and you had your collation in the evening, that doesn't work quite as well in the modern world. I can't stand by a stove all morning and cook up the main meal when I have to be at work. So, I've switched them. Bringing in some roasted almonds and a few pieces of crystallized ginger is a lot easier than trying to bring in a full meal. Even if all I'm going to have is leftovers. :-) Mushrooms! Really, they were that good. I'm going to fry up some more tonight, have another salad, and eat up the rest of the already cooked salmon.
This morning, I had a cup of hot chocolate. Pope Gregory XIII ruled that hot chocolate didn't break the lenten fast. I don't have access to all the stuff needed for period hot chocolate (more research!) so mine ended up being Nesquick with vanilla flavored almond milk. Honestly, other the few preservatives in the Nesquick, it doesn't sound like it was that far off from period hot chocolate. It's pretty much sugar and powdered chocolate. (One of the reasons I buy it is that there isn't any corn in it - something I'm allergic to) Anyway, the hot chocolate was delicious and I think I'll have another cup using the vanilla flavored almond milk when I get home.
Although during the period the main meal was lunch and you had your collation in the evening, that doesn't work quite as well in the modern world. I can't stand by a stove all morning and cook up the main meal when I have to be at work. So, I've switched them. Bringing in some roasted almonds and a few pieces of crystallized ginger is a lot easier than trying to bring in a full meal. Even if all I'm going to have is leftovers. :-) Mushrooms! Really, they were that good. I'm going to fry up some more tonight, have another salad, and eat up the rest of the already cooked salmon.
This morning, I had a cup of hot chocolate. Pope Gregory XIII ruled that hot chocolate didn't break the lenten fast. I don't have access to all the stuff needed for period hot chocolate (more research!) so mine ended up being Nesquick with vanilla flavored almond milk. Honestly, other the few preservatives in the Nesquick, it doesn't sound like it was that far off from period hot chocolate. It's pretty much sugar and powdered chocolate. (One of the reasons I buy it is that there isn't any corn in it - something I'm allergic to) Anyway, the hot chocolate was delicious and I think I'll have another cup using the vanilla flavored almond milk when I get home.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday's Dinner
Oh my! It was so good!
First, I went shopping today. Basically buying an entirely new food supply is not cheap but it wasn't horrible either. I ended up with a nice large fillet of salmon, grated orange peel, grated lemon peel, marjoram, rice, crystallized ginger, a beef bone for the dog, almonds, more almonds, sliced almonds, not yet cracked almonds, almond milk, almond flour (seriously! They had it at my local grocery store for $9.99; it was the most expensive item after the salmon.), rice flour, another flour I can't recall right now that wasn't normal white flour, parsley, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and probably a few more things that I can't recall off the top of my head right now.
When I eventually got home, I looked up good recipes using what I had. I ended up landing on this page for a decent salad. My salad was a spring mix with spinach, carrots, mushrooms, and chopped almonds. The dressing was olive oil with red wine vinegar and black pepper. It was quite good.
The side dish was a fabulous mushroom dish I'd love to make again. I used fresh mushrooms rather than dried and used dried minced onions rather than fresh. I then added garlic powder once everything was almost done. I fried it up in olive oil. Towards the very end, I added chopped almonds. It smelled delicious and only needed a small amount of salt to make it absolutely perfect.
The main course was the salmon dish which I overcooked a slight bit. Still, it was quite good. I just used the beer my brother brought over once that had been sitting in the fridge - I doubt it's period but it worked.
I was going to make apple fritters as well but I really just don't have the time. I've never cooked fish before and had NO idea what to expect. (One of the reasons I liked the recipe above, they had the modern adaptation.) Now, I have some idea at least.
Overall, a delicious meal. Ginsie is in love with her beef bone. Since I gave it to her two hours ago, she has not stopped chewing at it other than to growl warnings at Jasper.
First, I went shopping today. Basically buying an entirely new food supply is not cheap but it wasn't horrible either. I ended up with a nice large fillet of salmon, grated orange peel, grated lemon peel, marjoram, rice, crystallized ginger, a beef bone for the dog, almonds, more almonds, sliced almonds, not yet cracked almonds, almond milk, almond flour (seriously! They had it at my local grocery store for $9.99; it was the most expensive item after the salmon.), rice flour, another flour I can't recall right now that wasn't normal white flour, parsley, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and probably a few more things that I can't recall off the top of my head right now.
When I eventually got home, I looked up good recipes using what I had. I ended up landing on this page for a decent salad. My salad was a spring mix with spinach, carrots, mushrooms, and chopped almonds. The dressing was olive oil with red wine vinegar and black pepper. It was quite good.
The side dish was a fabulous mushroom dish I'd love to make again. I used fresh mushrooms rather than dried and used dried minced onions rather than fresh. I then added garlic powder once everything was almost done. I fried it up in olive oil. Towards the very end, I added chopped almonds. It smelled delicious and only needed a small amount of salt to make it absolutely perfect.
The main course was the salmon dish which I overcooked a slight bit. Still, it was quite good. I just used the beer my brother brought over once that had been sitting in the fridge - I doubt it's period but it worked.
I was going to make apple fritters as well but I really just don't have the time. I've never cooked fish before and had NO idea what to expect. (One of the reasons I liked the recipe above, they had the modern adaptation.) Now, I have some idea at least.
Overall, a delicious meal. Ginsie is in love with her beef bone. Since I gave it to her two hours ago, she has not stopped chewing at it other than to growl warnings at Jasper.
Lenten Foods!
I know, y'all are probably reading this think "What the heck?" :-) I'm really having a ton of fun researching all the lenten foods. I mean you can eat Apple Pie as a Lenten dinner!
225. To make a good tart with roasted apples. Peel the apples and cut them into four pieces, cut out the cores, and put them in pot, which should be well covered, and let them stew in the pot. One should watch them frequently, so that they do not scorch. Afterwards spread them on the pastry shell, which should be made of good flour, and put a half pound of sugar and a half ounce of finely ground cinnamon therein.
Don't think that it's really a Lenten dish? Well, there are several recipes for fritters! Including yummy Apple Fritters:
Apple fritters for lent.
Take apples and peel them, then cut in the way of the host (thin circular slices). Make a batter of flour with saffron (and presumably water), and add currants, and put the apples in this batter; then fry them in sufficient oil for each. Powder with sugar when they are cooked, etc.
There is also this recipe for fritters:(The recipe is also available here)
Frutowr for Lentyn. Recipe flour & almondes mylk, & temper þam togyder; þan take fyges & rasyns of corance & fry þam with þe batour with oyle & tyrne þis & serof.
Or maybe you like a nice Flan?
Flans for Lent. Gather good flour and make paste, and take good almond milk and rice flour or starch and boil them together until they are well laden; and when it is boiled thick take it up and lay it on a foot board until it is cold; and when the coffins are ready, take a part and put it in the coffins and carve them in slices, and put them in good almond milk, and figs and dates, in 4 parts. Then bake it; serve it forth
And, according to this source, fish balls instead of fish sticks are totally period:
Sauterys in Lent Ground salmon mixed with fried slivers of pastry, made
into balls, dipped in a light batter and fried.
225. To make a good tart with roasted apples. Peel the apples and cut them into four pieces, cut out the cores, and put them in pot, which should be well covered, and let them stew in the pot. One should watch them frequently, so that they do not scorch. Afterwards spread them on the pastry shell, which should be made of good flour, and put a half pound of sugar and a half ounce of finely ground cinnamon therein.
Don't think that it's really a Lenten dish? Well, there are several recipes for fritters! Including yummy Apple Fritters:
Apple fritters for lent.
Take apples and peel them, then cut in the way of the host (thin circular slices). Make a batter of flour with saffron (and presumably water), and add currants, and put the apples in this batter; then fry them in sufficient oil for each. Powder with sugar when they are cooked, etc.
There is also this recipe for fritters:(The recipe is also available here)
Frutowr for Lentyn. Recipe flour & almondes mylk, & temper þam togyder; þan take fyges & rasyns of corance & fry þam with þe batour with oyle & tyrne þis & serof.
GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:
Fritter for Lent. Recipe: flour & almond milk, & temper them together; then take figs & raisins of Corinth & fry them with the batter with oil & turn this & serve.
Or maybe you like a nice Flan?
Flans for Lent. Gather good flour and make paste, and take good almond milk and rice flour or starch and boil them together until they are well laden; and when it is boiled thick take it up and lay it on a foot board until it is cold; and when the coffins are ready, take a part and put it in the coffins and carve them in slices, and put them in good almond milk, and figs and dates, in 4 parts. Then bake it; serve it forth
And, according to this source, fish balls instead of fish sticks are totally period:
Sauterys in Lent Ground salmon mixed with fried slivers of pastry, made
into balls, dipped in a light batter and fried.
Alcohol and Lent
So, some fun this morning. I came across a book called Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It looks like it's going to be a GREAT help and it already has been. I was concerned since - in the modern era- we have plenty of stuff to drink when alcohol is forbidden. There's any variety of sodas, milk, juices, tea, coffee, ect. However, in the 16th C it was tea, water, hot chocolate (towards the end of the 16th C), wine, beer, and a whole bunch more alcohol. If you couldn't afford/get tea and alcohol isn't to be consumed during Lent, then what the heck did you drink? Water? For 40 days? Ick. (Yes, I know there are other medieval drinks out there that are not alcoholic but wine and beer were the drinks of choice.) Turns out, not so.
Although hard alcohol was forbidden, wine with dinner or beer was perfectly acceptable. Yay! :-) I'm not a big fan of beer but wine is good. The main issue for me was I kept coming across recipes that looked delicious and very good for lent except they called for wine. Cooking wine is different and most of the alcohol should burn off but I wasn't sure if it was allowed or not even given all of that. Turns out, it is. :-)
Now, to figure out what I want for dinner for the next few days before heading over to the Amish Market. Yes, I know - I'm spoiled by that place. My actual grocery store isn't much better since that's where they have the almond milk, almond butter, and a bunch of other things to eat.
Oh! Ginsie got a bit of the rice, carrots, and raisins last night (the bit I gave her didn't have raisins). She loved it. Those of you that know the pup know she's spoiled she'll only eat certain things. I have to put chicken broth on her food to get her to eat it. Silly puppy. The only reason she got some of it was because it's VERY filling and I couldn't finish what I had on my plate last night. The recipe was based on a few period ones; Recipe for rice from the 15th Century, Recipe for rice from the 14th Century, and I think this influenced the dish a lot.
What to eat for breakfast
I realized that I had a bit of an issue this morning. Normally, I either don't eat breakfast or I just eat some toast and butter. However, I'm trying to avoid butter since they wouldn't have used it in the Renaissance if you were Catholic. The protestants had no issue and some sources say that the Catholic church did relax the whole butter rule in the late 16th C but I can't find a direct source.
Anyway, I was trying to figure out if almond butter with cinnamon and sugar - all things found in period- was okay when I realized something, Jam! My nephew's favorite food is "toast and butter and jelly and toast!" which probably should have made me realize earlier that I could just eat toast and jam.Jelly and Jam were both well known in the 16th Century and there was a huge variety. Luckily, thanks to friends and family who know I love anything "Elizabethan" and jellies in particular, I have a ton of good jams and jellies to choose from - like plum and mint. :-)
Now, it does seem that some animal products were used in period (and today) to make the gelatin but there is also vegetarian jams and jellies. That, and boiling some fruit to oblivion to make a decent spread is nothing new. I have no idea -as of now- if there was vegetarian (or if you can get gelatin from fish) jelly in period. My guess is yes based on this: http://www.godecookery.com/trscript/trsct049.html
I know the mint jelly I have is based on an Elizabethan recipe and, based on my reading, I know they had plum jellies and jams. Also, according to some sources, when the meat or animal product was clearly not the main part of the meal, it was considered against lent. This was in conjunction with "sweetmeats". Today, we are perfectly okay in cooking using things like chicken broth to season noodles as long as there isn't any chicken in the actual noodles. Not sure if they had the same mentality back then.
Anyway, I was trying to figure out if almond butter with cinnamon and sugar - all things found in period- was okay when I realized something, Jam! My nephew's favorite food is "toast and butter and jelly and toast!" which probably should have made me realize earlier that I could just eat toast and jam.Jelly and Jam were both well known in the 16th Century and there was a huge variety. Luckily, thanks to friends and family who know I love anything "Elizabethan" and jellies in particular, I have a ton of good jams and jellies to choose from - like plum and mint. :-)
Now, it does seem that some animal products were used in period (and today) to make the gelatin but there is also vegetarian jams and jellies. That, and boiling some fruit to oblivion to make a decent spread is nothing new. I have no idea -as of now- if there was vegetarian (or if you can get gelatin from fish) jelly in period. My guess is yes based on this: http://www.godecookery.com/trscript/trsct049.html
I know the mint jelly I have is based on an Elizabethan recipe and, based on my reading, I know they had plum jellies and jams. Also, according to some sources, when the meat or animal product was clearly not the main part of the meal, it was considered against lent. This was in conjunction with "sweetmeats". Today, we are perfectly okay in cooking using things like chicken broth to season noodles as long as there isn't any chicken in the actual noodles. Not sure if they had the same mentality back then.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I apologize for not keeping up with this blog. I've been sewing, really! I know those of you on LJ have seen some of the items I've been creating.
I've decided to put my latest "project' up over here. I'm going to try a modified Renaissance Lenten diet. Being Catholic, I always celebrate Lent. Today, being Ash Wednesday, even in modern practice, is a day of fasting. You can read about the modern Lenten practices here if you are curious. Practices in the 16th C -the time period I typically depict in the SCA- were far more strict. There is a lady that has already tried to recreate the Lenten season of the middle ages and I've already learned a lot from her pages. It was reading her website a while ago that made me think that it might be an interesting idea to try - that and given my food allergies, these seemed like a "fun" way to celebrate lent. I'd be able to give up stuff and learn about one of my favorite time periods at the same time! Woohoo!
Some deviation from the true Renaissance diet is necessary - like I'm not fasting on Saturday, just Wednesday and Friday. The reason for this is two fold - I know what I can handle and like I can give up eating on Saint Patrick's Day? (It happens to fall on a Saturday this year. :-) ) Although I'm giving up a LOT of modern food, I'm not giving up my Orange juice. Yes, they had oranges and I'm sure they had fresh squeezed oranges at some point in the 16th C in the morning but I doubt they consumed the quantities I consume. Actually, a lot of the fish recipes I'm looking at call for oranges to be cooked with the fish. Hmm...
Anyway, I'm going to try the no eggs/no butter thing. It won't be possible if I go out to eat to avoid that but I should be able to at home. Since most of the time, I'll be eating out only on Sundays, it won't be an issue anyway - Sunday is a "mini Easter" as Sister Mary Ann says. :-)
Some of the links I've been using:
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/paralle
Oh my goodness. I am sort of shocked I haven't found this beauty before. It's filled with transcribed recipes from the 15th Century in England. There are some good recipes in it for Lent (Fish days according to the cookbook :-) ) that sounds really good. I mean, peas boiled in honey with some sort of fatty fish (they say whale meat but I don't think I'll find that). Sounds very interesting!
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html
A list of a whole bunch of recipes from various centuries and places. Some are translated, some aren't.
http://www.foodtimeline.org/
Not a recipe site but very interesting to read. It's exactly what the website states - a time line of when certain foods were introduced. I also have a few cookbooks at home that contain 16th c recipes that I'll be using.
So, for today, what I've eaten:
Breakfast was a glass of orange juice. :-)
At lunch, I had tea. Tea was known in the 16th C but not common until the early 17th C. This is one of those mini deviations I'm doing. They knew what tea (or chai) was so I'm not too far off the reservation on this one. I also ate toasted almonds. Since today is a day of fasting, that was it. Almonds were a staple in the 16th C diet. They are in anything for the lenten season and a lot that aren't.
For dinner (the priest decided that 7pm mass shouldn't be let out until 8:20! I was STARVING. ) the "starter" was Sourdough bread. From what I've read, it seems that sourdough was a popular choice. It doesn't have milk or eggs and is delicious. It's actually my favorite bread so I'm quite happy.
In one of the many links I've been looking over, bread was dipped in an oil with herbs on fasting days. My guess is this is similar to what I've been eating since I was small - olive oil with oregano, onion salt, thyme, and basil. So, that's what I had.
For the main meal, I had rice cooked in almond milk. It's the store bought almond milk and not something I made myself. I don't have a grinder to grind up my own almonds and make the milk. The modern almond milk is probably different but it should work. To the rice, I added nutmeg, cinnamon, raisins, and carrots. It's delicious. I did have to add a bit of sugar to it for my tastes (the almond milk was sweetened but not enough).
I'm also drinking tea with dinner. :-)
If anyone has any good links for medieval or Renaissance lenten observations, feel free to post them!
I've decided to put my latest "project' up over here. I'm going to try a modified Renaissance Lenten diet. Being Catholic, I always celebrate Lent. Today, being Ash Wednesday, even in modern practice, is a day of fasting. You can read about the modern Lenten practices here if you are curious. Practices in the 16th C -the time period I typically depict in the SCA- were far more strict. There is a lady that has already tried to recreate the Lenten season of the middle ages and I've already learned a lot from her pages. It was reading her website a while ago that made me think that it might be an interesting idea to try - that and given my food allergies, these seemed like a "fun" way to celebrate lent. I'd be able to give up stuff and learn about one of my favorite time periods at the same time! Woohoo!
Some deviation from the true Renaissance diet is necessary - like I'm not fasting on Saturday, just Wednesday and Friday. The reason for this is two fold - I know what I can handle and like I can give up eating on Saint Patrick's Day? (It happens to fall on a Saturday this year. :-) ) Although I'm giving up a LOT of modern food, I'm not giving up my Orange juice. Yes, they had oranges and I'm sure they had fresh squeezed oranges at some point in the 16th C in the morning but I doubt they consumed the quantities I consume. Actually, a lot of the fish recipes I'm looking at call for oranges to be cooked with the fish. Hmm...
Anyway, I'm going to try the no eggs/no butter thing. It won't be possible if I go out to eat to avoid that but I should be able to at home. Since most of the time, I'll be eating out only on Sundays, it won't be an issue anyway - Sunday is a "mini Easter" as Sister Mary Ann says. :-)
Some of the links I've been using:
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lcc/paralle
Oh my goodness. I am sort of shocked I haven't found this beauty before. It's filled with transcribed recipes from the 15th Century in England. There are some good recipes in it for Lent (Fish days according to the cookbook :-) ) that sounds really good. I mean, peas boiled in honey with some sort of fatty fish (they say whale meat but I don't think I'll find that). Sounds very interesting!
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html
A list of a whole bunch of recipes from various centuries and places. Some are translated, some aren't.
http://www.foodtimeline.org/
Not a recipe site but very interesting to read. It's exactly what the website states - a time line of when certain foods were introduced. I also have a few cookbooks at home that contain 16th c recipes that I'll be using.
So, for today, what I've eaten:
Breakfast was a glass of orange juice. :-)
At lunch, I had tea. Tea was known in the 16th C but not common until the early 17th C. This is one of those mini deviations I'm doing. They knew what tea (or chai) was so I'm not too far off the reservation on this one. I also ate toasted almonds. Since today is a day of fasting, that was it. Almonds were a staple in the 16th C diet. They are in anything for the lenten season and a lot that aren't.
For dinner (the priest decided that 7pm mass shouldn't be let out until 8:20! I was STARVING. ) the "starter" was Sourdough bread. From what I've read, it seems that sourdough was a popular choice. It doesn't have milk or eggs and is delicious. It's actually my favorite bread so I'm quite happy.
In one of the many links I've been looking over, bread was dipped in an oil with herbs on fasting days. My guess is this is similar to what I've been eating since I was small - olive oil with oregano, onion salt, thyme, and basil. So, that's what I had.
For the main meal, I had rice cooked in almond milk. It's the store bought almond milk and not something I made myself. I don't have a grinder to grind up my own almonds and make the milk. The modern almond milk is probably different but it should work. To the rice, I added nutmeg, cinnamon, raisins, and carrots. It's delicious. I did have to add a bit of sugar to it for my tastes (the almond milk was sweetened but not enough).
I'm also drinking tea with dinner. :-)
If anyone has any good links for medieval or Renaissance lenten observations, feel free to post them!
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