[Glaslyn] Food Collegium

[lizdenpeters at juno.com]

Good Gentles,

Yesterday, I had an amazing experience.  To me this collegium absolutely
rocked.  I am now going to say a few words regarding each of the teachers
and the venue.

To HL Saqra Al-Kudsi (hope I spelled that right):  Many thanks for your
ideas for the structure of the event.  You helped more than you know. 
Thanks also for your very professional presentation on safe food handling
practices when cooking for a group.  A simple and effective production
that really drove the points home about running a safe kitchen.  And, her
dishes, simple preparation with fresh ingredients to make them wonderful.
 True in period and today.

To HL Esther of Ennis Merth:  Thank you for loaning the equipment for the
Power Point presentation above and bringing some very relevant selections
from her extensive library for us to peruse.  Thank you also for
inspiring me to try to put classes together when the original teachers
were unable to come due to mundane life issues.  I could not and probably
would not have tried without your cheer leading.

To Count Gunthar (probably misspelled):   I am utterly amazed that you
managed to put together such tasty dishes along with the redactions and
recipes on such short notice.  Your preparations of the beef and chicken
with the two sauces for each gave great contrast due to the difference
each sauce made in the flavor of the meats.  Your contributions to the
discussions as well as the "no s***, there I was" stories added so much. 


To HL Suzanna the Herbalist:  While period cooking is not your area of
interest, you gave some fascinating insights into the use of herbs and
spices during our period and that the attitudes towards these ingredients
was far different from modern viewpoints.

To Elizabeth Seale:  The desserts were soooo good.  It was very
enlightening to see the subtle taste differences between the cooking
methods for what was, essentially, the same dessert.  And that sauce!  I
have a sweet tooth so my only regret is that I couldn't eat more.

To HL Gulianna Fridalfur (probably misspelled):  Your insights into the
issues for vigils tied in nicely to the issues regarding feasts as there
are many similarities.  A great class and your input into the discussions
was appreciated as well.  I particularly appreciate you making the effort
to come since the house was having a new HVAC, venting, and water heater
installed and this was a great personal favor to me. 

To HL Lete Bithespring (I think I actually have this one spelled
correctly):  Thank you for finding such a lovely venue for us to have
this event and obtaining such favorable rental conditions.  Without a
site, we could not have done this.

And, finally, thanks to all who attended or dropped in.  We had a great
time and hope to do something similar again.

The only sour note is here is that, until Saturday, I had less than no
interest in period foods and cooking. (Period food is weird)  Now, I am
eager to learn more about redactions, foods, recipes, feasts, vigils,
preparation techniques and so on.  There are actually a couple of
cookbooks that I may be compelled to buy.

A tired but happy,

Lady Fionnghuala the Fair "Nuala" and/or my evil twin, Cedric
"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a
garage makes you a car."
                              Laurence J. Peter