yep its jaithien with another strange foods topic. whats she suggesting now? well nothing fancy just a little old fashioned cooking. ^.^
well if you are a fan time time travel within our current ability how about medieval foods?
in the days of old when knights were bold refrigerators weren't invented.
milk would go bad before they could get around using it. the solution? make it out of almonds. who would have thought you could get milk from nuts? but I digress.
almond milk
* 1 cup ground almonds
* 2 cups boiling water
Directions
1. Combine almonds and water. Steep for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sieve the mixture to remove coarse grains OR (preferably) blend mixture in electric blender until grains are absorbed. Yield - 2 cups almond milk.
the cooks of the rich could pretty much do anything with this.
peasants on the other hand had to make due. meat was rarely on the menu so the churches no meat on friday rules didn't affect them by and large. they pretty much ate what they could grow, hunt or harvest from the woods. things like mushrooms, acorns and other nuts, berries, wild fruits even. breads, porridge, stew, seasonal vegetables and some meats were their chief meals. Peasants mainly grew crops of beans, barley, rye, and wheat.
young boys were sometimes charged with the job of defending the crops from wildlife that would target them. crows, magpies, rabbits, these could easily find their way into the stew pot. they normally wouldn't get exotic foods like figs and dates and honey. well they could get honey if they found a hive in the woods but it was mostly expensive.
so if you want to eat like a peasant, there is still a wide variety of foods you can choose from,
milk did have its uses, peasents made butter and cheese from it. but in those days, they depended greatly on the land, if they didn't get the right amount of everything weather wise, they starved to death.
but you probably want to feast! so let us feast like. a medieval feast could have many courses in one meal. as many as 16 I heard. being rich meant never fearing starvation thats for damn sure. unless you got over thrown or there was a siege or something. (after reading about the peasants kinda makes you wanna do a robin hood sorta thing doesn't it? yeah me too)
this gives you more of an idea on the differences between peasants and lords.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/food_and_drink_in_medieval_engla.htmanyway, food was often dressed up. a roast chicken could be fitted with a pheasants plumes in the back and decorated with a piglets head and or strips of bacon nestled in a bed of many exotic fruits like dates, figs, and such. a turrein of almond custard could be sprinkled with rose petals, and so on. If you want to make a feast use your imagination with food presentation. remember bigger is better. if you can get it, try mutton, its a tad strong an reserved for stews, but if lamb is any indication its gotta be a real good meat.
can you tell I'm loving this?
FEAST!from m'lordship's kitchensye olde Italian and French recipes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_cuisinehow medieval theme restaurants get it wrongwell thats it for my presentation of medieval times. please stay tuned for my next lecture on how people in the 17th to 19th century ate focusing mostly on pirates and other sailors. ^.^
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