More from the KU Menu Stuffed Chicken and Cherry sauce

These recipes are less recipe and more guidelines. No amounts really needed, Play it by taste and sight.

 Stuffing for capon NC P.189 rec 81

Get marjoram and parsley and grind them up; get one or two breasts of capons and grind them with the other; get a little Parmesan cheese, two egg yolks, cinnamon, pepper, saffron and ginger, with a little lardo or cured ham, and grind everything together; stuff the capon and set it to boil or to roast; Make its glazing with egg yolks and rosewater.

Chicken                                                                1 whole

Chicken breast (or 1 breast with 2 thighs)                        

4 egg yolks (2 stuffing / 2 for glaze)        

Parmesan cheese                                                 2+ ounces

Marjoram                                                               Bunch fresh or a few Tablespoons dry

Parsley                                                                  Same as Marjoram

Cinnamon                                                             Sprinkle over the meat and mix in

Pepper                                                                  Same

Saffron                                                                  I would soak some in a tiny bit of hot water

Lard (or ham or butter)                                          2 - 4 Tablespoons

Add a bit of salt too

Salt and pepper the inside of your chicken, rub with butter or oil as well. Grind up the breast and thigh together add the spices. To test the taste have a hot pan nearby and fry it up. When it is to taste stuff the whole chicken. I roast my chickens at 180°c covered with foil and take the foil off for the last half hour. Baste with the egg yolk and rosewater (or use plain water).

Sour cherry sauce NC P. 193 rec 109

Follow the directions for the Black grape sauce but, since the sour cherries are tart, add in all the sugar and cinnamon your master may wish

* Get good black grapes, crush them carefully into a vessel with crustless loaf of bread, and add in a little verjuice so that the grapes will not be so sweet; boil this, but first strain it; when you have boiled it, add cinnamon, ginger and other sorts of spices. Note that this strained sauce should boil half an hour so that it is somewhat thick.

Take a liter of sour cherry juice and reduce it by 1/3 - 1/2

After reducing spice the juice

Thicken what is left by sprinkling in bread crumbs a bit at a time, stir well

A recipe from the KU menu Squash Torte

Apparently I made some pretty OK food for Kingdom University a few weeks ago. I will try to put up some of the recipes of the dishes that people spoke about, a lot!

I primarily used the Neapolitan Collection with a few recipes from Libre du Cuccina . The first selection came out with the 3rd course and was modified in only that I was unable to put the pasta layer on the top. 

Grating the squash is important for texture reasons. It really is different than using mashed. I think I will at some point try it with the veal (I can't eat pork) but using butter was perfectly fine.

Another note, I used cream instead of milk and the 'new cheese'. I found this worked well to give me the creaminess.

 Squash torte Neapolitan Collection p. 196 rec 128

Get a good squash, scrape and grate it, and bring it to a boil in fat broth or milk; get a pound of new and old cheese; Get a pound of pork- I mean, pork belly- or veal, boil it until it is well done, then beat it with a knife; if you like, instead of belly you can use good butter or lard, along with half a pound of sugar, ginger and cinnamon, with a beaker of milk and 8 eggs; when the squash is cooked in broth, take it out and strain it; make the mixture yellow with saffron and put it in a pan with moderate fire above and below; when it looks half done, put small lasagne on top; when it is well done, put sugar and rosewater on top.

½ kg butternut

2 oz cheese  I used a combo of emmentaler and parmesan

1 oz cream

1 oz sugar

2 oz butter (soft)

5 g fresh ginger (grated)

½ tsp cinnamon

1 egg

⅓ recipe pasta dough (100g flour + 1 egg)

Grate the butternut squash and boil for about 5 minutes in a good broth (meat or veg)

Drain the squash well, no need to squeeze 

Mix all the ingredients together

Pour into a form

Bake 180  20 min (no convection, just over under heat)

Lay pasta on

Bake for 10  min more

This recipe made a small pie in a 6inch pie form

Notes:

Tasty! Can bump ginger, cream was a good idea. Double to 2 ½ times for a single ‘pie’. if you want to create a meat broth from bouillon I recommend using a 1/2 chicken 1/2 beef and making it slightly strong. If you use commercial broth extra salt is not needed though a pinch would be OK. if you use home made and it is not salted add some salt to the mixture.

The newest project: Feast at in person KU

November 10-12 2023 finds Drachenwald's Kingdom University being held in the lands of Knights Crossing. We have a lovely site that will hopefully give us everything we need. 

The staff is a fabulous blend from every region of the kingdom! I do mean ALL the regions too. With a diverse crew from the central lands and the help of those most distant this will be a most excellent event.

I will have the task of being in charge of food. Friday night will be handled by Bryndis, Breakfast By Mari Jean (she will help production line lunch as well) and the rest of lunch and Feast will fall to me. I have enlisted the help of Eira from the far reaches of our north (Hamburg) To help me and be my second. 

I have chosen a few recipes from a Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)  (Anonimo Veneziano)

Translated 2003 to January 2005 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL  (MKA Louise Smithson) from the transcription of  Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made available online by Thomas Gloning.

Last updated March 28th 2005.

You may use/ distribute this version for non-profit use only (scholarly, private use) provided that this header is included.  Contact me by email at helewyse@yahoo.com ( https://www.medievalcookery.com/helewyse/libro.html )

With the bulk of the recipes coming from The Neapolitan Collection.

More to follow, with recipes

Sitting on my hands

 I am passionate about my hobby, not just cooking. I love to see and be at events no matter what side of the crew I am on. Running it, participation or a combo of both. 

I suppose the reason I am putting all this here is to remind myself of what I was/ am feeling and why. A record for me to look at to help me analyze how to improve my relationship with my hobby.

I volunteered to run Spring crown this past year out of that passion, the drive to see things get done. No, not a 'I must do it or it won't get done' but a 'someone has to do it, I can do it, me doing it will relieve the pressure off of others that have been doing it a long time and those that may not be ready to take on such a big project.' 

12th night coronation needs to be done. I have only a pair of things on my plate, I could do it, but I won't. I am still trying to figure out some things from post SCT (Spring Crown Tournament). I do not have the confidence I had going into that event and that will take time to rebuild. I have been frustrated lately with many aspects of the organizational side of my hobby and it has 'crisped my edges' I guess. 

So, as to keep from getting further burned out, I need to let go, I need to accept that I can not fix everything, that path only leads to ruin. I do hope that someone out there steps up, someone in a better place to be able to manage the event. Someone with a thicker skin than I have/had. And I hope that person does it from a genuine desire to run the event and not an 'I'll do it cause no one else will.'

The siren's call, or why it seems certain people work a lot!

 Look, we're volunteers for a hobby we love. We do what we like, and sometimes some things we don't like. I mean, who REALLY likes to clean the bathrooms? 

Anyway, Someone mentioned something to me,' Why does it seems some people are always doing the work? ' even possibly to excessive amounts. It is a phenomenon I call 'The Siren's Call'. 

This call is the friend that you see dozens of posts from looking to fill slots in a schedule, It is your friend who is the event organizer who needs extra hands for something, it is your friend that needs help, and not answering the call feels like you are betraying that friendship. It isn't, our friends definitely understand that we can't do everything all the time. Somehow though, knowing this doesn't help.

10 years on

Fair warning: This is not an SCA post

10 years ago I was in a hospital. My back had gone 'wonky'. The MRI turned out to be clear and all they could tell me was it was a muscular issue, and not one like they had seen. My back eventually 'fixed' itself. I asked questions: 'What was wrong?' 'What caused this?' and 'Will this ever happen again?'. To each question the answer was the same. 'I don't know'. I have gone 10 years without a problem so bad that I was hospitalized again (though the pain at Crown came close). There is no answer, no warning, no trigger, Instead I just live my life.

I don't NOT do things because something MAY happen. I can not live with 'What if '. Recently my back has given me issues. Crown certainly was hard but there were so many things going on. It could have been 'my issue' or it could have been a combo of : not my bed, my period after 10+ weeks, stress, working, and random stuff. I will never know. 

I don't often talk about my health. Mental OR physical. What's the point? No one can help. My body just is the way it is. 

Growing up when and where I did I learned to 'just do it', ignore pain and discomfort there is shit to be done. If I stopped every time I had an ache I'd never get things done (chronic pain isn't just sometimes, it is always, just sometimes it is less). 

I have 2 choices: Live or don't. Let the pain rule my life and keep me from pursuing the things I love or live, do it anyway. Yes, Yes, balance and all that. When the pain is too much I do let it stop me, but at that point, the mental health issues start. The lazy, crazy, just suck it up weasels invade. I am not sure what is worse, the weasels or the pain and when I am stuck with both, well ya, that sucks most.

ICOE (In Case of Elevation / Peerage): A document I think everyone should have!!

 

So, the first thing to address is 'Why do I need one, I'm not even close?' 

The answers are:

    You may be closer than you think.

    This is a living document and can be a reminder of how relationships grow and change and how your views on the society grow and change.

This document is not just for dependents!!! (Squires, Proteges, Apprentices, Cadets, or other) This document is for everyone!

I don't have a peer, who do I give mine to? 

    Great question! Give it to your partner, your closest friend, A friend that is a peer, or give them to me. I will hold anyone's document for them. 

What if the peer I give it to isn't the one on the path I am following?

    Trust me, Peers talk to each other across the disciplines. If someone is looking for your info, they will find it.

'Isn't it unseemly to desire peerage?'

    Let me be blunt NO! Having a desire, a drive, or a goal to become a peer is not unseemly. Being your sole motivation is. A squire by accepting a red belt is making a statement 'I want to be a knight'. It is not wrong for the other dependents to have the same attitude about their belts (pins, garters, aprons, or other signs of a relationship, or no sign at all).

To sum up for now, this is intended as a guide. A place to put your wants AND your Do Not wants as well. I m happy to chat about this if you catch me at an event while I am free, or you reach out via Face Book messenger or via email at baroness.maggie@gmail.com. Lets talk!

Below is the link to my template on my Google drive. Like the document you create it is a living document, Changes will be made at times as I think of more things or new ideas are brought to me.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q4gkMNqEy8mRtX_ss0RYiqLDz772BVqY2N3Y4naDKts/edit?usp=sharing

What the year will bring

 I have a chunk of the year mapped out and a strict 

NO NEW PROJECTS ON THE LIST UNTIL AFTER 30 YEAR

Schedule as it is:

February: Scriptorium (cooking)

March: Arts in April (attending)

            Spring Crown Tournament (autocrat)

April: Flaming Arrow (small chance to attend but on my list anyway)

May: Doublewars (Still lots of logistics to work out)

June: Strawberry Raid (attending and camp cooking, really want to get there)

          30th Year Celebration and Coronation ( attending and some stuff to organize)

Now, where I am at with all of these things. 

Food for scriptorium is planned, nothing left there

Crown.... This one is complicated. We are still missing event staff, will try to scare up what we need but the monkey in the program, I need a feast cook!!!! I had one but due to circumstances beyond his control can not attend. So, plan B..... nope plan B did not pan out, On to plan C!!!! This is in process and fingers crossed!

Flaming arrow would be a birthday trip for me. I'd love to go. It has been forever since I did any archery

Doublewars: Time to look at logistics and money, ugh!!

Strawberry Raid: Halfway there.... but again, logistics and money

30 year: I need to ask some questions, pay some money, figure it all out

so ya, There we have it...

Oh, 2 more things... Online university (end of this month) and in person university (cooking in November)

Welcome to 2023

 I really should write more often. I just don't often think about it, maybe that will be my push in the new year, at least once a month should be doable, right?

Anyway 2022 is wrapped up. I always think 'I haven't really done much' but if I look at the list, I kinda have. So my list is as follows:

January: Taught 2 classes at online university
April: Cooked for Arts in April, Attended an event with no responsibilities 
May: Cooked at Double Wars (breakfast/brunch shift), was a consort for crown, helped with an elevation, embroidered 3 leaves for her laurel wreath, constructed a simple construction tunic (all but the hem), started a new gown, hand sewed a small red cap
June: Cooked at Coronation, trimmed the little red cap
July: attended an event with no responsibilities
October: Attended Crown as a consort, finished the gown I started, embroidered a pair of garters and a patch for an elevation cloak

I have also been hosting on line sewing circles, not quite every week but most weeks. I have been doing research in the field of cooking as well for upcoming events. I started the planning for Spring Crown (i'm autocratting), helping with 2023 on line uni, and planning the cooking for several more events that will take place in the coming year.

Speaking of the coming year, my plans are:

January: On line uni
Feb: Cooking at Scriptorium and Carnivale
March: Spring Crown, as autocrat and consort
April: AiA as an attendee
June: 30th year
July: Red and Gold
November: Cooking for in person Kingdom University

I am sure more will fill in the schedule but these are the firm things in the calendar.

Happy New Year all, May it be bright, blessed, and full of Joy!