Lost in translation

Or in other words, surviving cooking when no one speaks the same language..

I knew going in that there was going to be a language barrier but we had a plan. I would have a translator on hand to help. Someone who both spoke the language and understood medieval cooking. Little did we know this plan would be thwarted. My translator didn’t receive her passport in time and we needed a plan b. So, we winged it!

Olga was a huge help. Her English was good, especially in comparison to my Bulgarian. She was with me Friday morning through lunch and got me through. Supper was being cared for by others. When done for the day I mentioned grabbing a couple of people and doing some prep. I thought we had sorted it, so when I arrived at the kitchen to start and set off the alarm on the refrigerator I was a bit surprised. Yet again, plan b. Wing it and trust.

Saturday morning I got up early, way too early! There is a reason I don’t do breakfasts. I got to the kitchen to start. I was working with Valara and Maria. Two super sweet women who spoke no English, or German for that matter, but with hands and pointing we did amazing things. Lunch came out great! 

Then, shift change happened, and in came the “senior” cooks. Gone was the laughter and smiles. These women were serious and stern, they meant business. If I didn’t understand she just said it louder and slower. Thankfully in the office across from the kitchen was Albana. She was a huge help but I could still tell I was frustrating these poor ladies. I had tried to indicate one of the dishes needed more seasoning and when I took it in hand to demonstrate one of them visibly restrained herself from slapping my hand. Another strain was being questioned on the use of cinnamon on meat and being told no. She told me no. I tried to explain it was essential to the flavor. In the end she put cinnamon on but must have thought I was daft.

All in all things went well. There were a few oddities and surprises as I sat in the hall having the feast served to me. I ould hear the reactions around me and it was quite nice to see and hear immediate feedback.

All in all I would do it again. 

Food brings us together

A legend in the mundane culinarry world has passed on. The lesson he left behind, food binds us. It binds us in all we do, we all have to eat. It can be an ice breaker, it can be the cement for a long lasting relationship and it can open doors for cultural exchange.

In the SCA we engage in many ways, textiles, stories, fighting, but we all need to eat. In our hobby exploring and honouring cultural ideas and identities that are foreign to us not only in geography but in time, is not only cool but encouraged, discussed and enjoyed. In the end we all need to eat. I can only hope that the food I make in a small way helps facilitate this sort of openness and exchange.

A silver anniversary

June marks 25 years that Drachenwald has been a Kingdom, it also marks my being in the SCA for 25 years, and to celebrate both of these things I will be cooking. It may seem odd to most people to be excited to celebrate by cooking for 120 people but I'm not the average person.

So, the logical question now is what am I cooking? Let me answer that for you.

I have prepared the menu for Friday lunch, Saturday lunch and Saturday's celebratory feast.  While the lunch menus are comprised of tried and true recipes, the feast will bring all new flavors to the tables.

Now the menu:

Ravioli
May eggs
Hodgepodge

Moorish eggplant
Armored capon
Rice casserole

Pork in lemon sauce
Soup of peas

Pickled game
Preserved beets

Fritters of spinach
Quail

Candied lamb
Crowned triangles


Desserts will be on a sideboard.
Tart of strawberries
Tart of plums
Oranges
Custard fritter
Fried figs
Crostata of peaches

The recipes are all from the 16th century and represent 7 of the countries of Drachenwald.

Germany, England, France, Spain, Denmark, Italy and the Ottoman empire.

While I redacted most of the recipes myself, I sought outside help for 3 of them.

The candied lamb and crowned triangles come from Urtatim al-Qurtubiyya bint abd'  al-Karim al-Fass of the Principality of the Mists in the Kingdom of the West.

The pork in lemon sauce comes from Drachenwald's own Master Giano Balestriere.

I chose each of these people based on recommendations and experiences with them. I understand my own allergies tint how I look at recipes as well as what I choose to cook and redact. In most cases this is not a problem but in such a case as the feast where I wanted a wide variety of dishes I turned to those with the experience to provide what I could not.

Sauce modified

Working with what I have I have redacted once again, A White Ginger Sauce for Capons.

Please see the following:
125 g fresh spinach
20 g peeled, finely grated, ginger
1Tbsp red wine
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp dry rubbed sage

At the moment I did not have fresh sage available to me. I intend to do this again when I do.

Method; I used my stab mixer to puree everything to a fine mush / liquid. I added the dry sage half of a tablespoon at a time, letting it set a few hours between each addition. The mixture has now Sat two days and tastes very good. It is however changing color to a dark green/ black instead of the vibrant green it initially was. The taste is good though.

Meant to be served " raw " this sauce is uncooked and also served cold. With capon or other fowl.

Another how did I miss that!

So as I make my way through coronation planning I am reviewing recipes. I wish to redo something I did at KWDS which is simple roasted sliced meats for lunch. This time I would like to add some sauces on the side. As I'm reviewing a sauce recipe I re read the original recipe and find I completely missed an ingredient. I completely missed it! Now to redo the recipe.

More life but some light

For those that don't know me personally my life had a severe down swing.

While things are still not great they are getting better.

French cooking is just as boring to me as English, lol! Trudging through a 16th century (translated)text. Ugh! Finally have hit on a dish that looks remotely interesting about 2/3 of the way through the text.

While I am here

It seems when the mundane life gets busy the blog falls by the wayside.

I really should get back to blogging I miss it and have come to the revelation that stuff is missing from here that I thought was here. Hopefully either tomorrow or later I can get back to it and make it a regular part of my routine.

Wish me luck!!