[Northkeep] G&G food ideas

[Elsa]

Thank you, Your Grace, for posting this. Mooneschadowe will also have a
food-enhanced gathering soon, and this information ties closely with our
theme as well.

~Elsa

On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 1:53 AM, willowdewisp at juno.com <
willowdewisp at juno.com> wrote:

> Since Grub and Garb is being held close to St. Crispin Day I found this
> information out. Also this is the time Apple Cider and other apple
> products. I did on find recipes for Pork dishes with Apples but I found
> reference to Pork and apple dishes and Goose stuff with apples and nuts.
> Nuts being another Autumn treat.
>  I question the potato recipes because while the potato was discovered in
> the New World many people did not start eating it until after 1600. It was
> believed that potatoes caused Leprosy. In Ansteorra we know that is not
> true so we can eat it without worry.
> Samhain is was thought to be the end of the "Summer" where you let the
> animals out to roam and the beginning of the "winter" year when you bought
> them in and because of this had to cull the herds. I suspect it was thought
> a time of death because it was just that. It was the time of slaughter and
> coming from a ranching family that really makes you think of death- all
> death animals and human.
> Well here is what I found out. I can not cook right now but some of these
> sound like they would taste good.
> October 4: Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
>
> FROM HIS early biographers we learn a charming incident in
> the life of the Little Poor Man of Assisi which deals with
> food even for this most abstemious of saints.
>
> It was in the year 1212 that Saint Francis became acquainted
> with a young woman of the Roman nobility, Lady Jacoba di
> Settesoli, widow of the knight Gratiano Frangipani. The name
> Frangipani had been given the family because an ancestor had
> saved the Roman people from famine by giving them bread--
> hence the name "Frangens panem."
>
> Jacoba, a very devout woman and noted for her great
> generosity, often gave lodging to the Poverello when he came
> to Rome. So impressed was he with the energy and the
> capability of his friend that he called her "Brother
> Jacoba," by which title she passed to posterity. She not
> only saw that Francis' clothing was in decent order, but she
> served in her home a sweetmeat of which he was very fond.
> "Frangipane" it was called in later years--a concoction of
> almonds and sugar, for which the saint expressed perhaps the
> only compliment on cooking in his life.
>
> Because Brother Jacoba was so good to him, Francis gave her
> a lamb which he had cherished and allowed to accompany him
> about, in honor, says Saint Bonaventure, of Our Lord Jesus
> Christ, the gentle Lamb of God. The lamb adopted Jacoba in
> the same way and "it would follow its mistress to church,
> lie down near her when she prayed, and return home with her.
> If Lady Jacoba overslept in the morning, the lamb would come
> to awaken her and would bleat in her ear to compel her to go
> to her devotions."
>
> When he lay dying, Saint Francis thought of Brother Jacoba.
> "She would be too sad," he said to Brother Bernard, "to
> learn that I had quitted the world without warning her," and
> he dictated a letter, telling her the end of his life was
> near, that she was to set out as quickly as possible for
> Assisi to see him once more, and to bring with her a piece
> of haircloth as a shroud for his body and whatever else was
> necessary for his burial. "Bring me also," he ended, "I beg
> thee, some of those good things thou gavest me to eat in
> Rome when I was ill."
>
> But the letter was barely finished and still unsent when the
> noise of horses was heard. Jacoba entered with her two sons
> and her servants, having been inspired to set out for Assisi
> from Rome. When one of the Brothers told Francis he had good
> news and before he could say more, Francis spoke. "God be
> praised. Let the door be opened, for the rule forbidding
> women to enter here is not for Brother Jacoba."
>
> She had brought everything he needed--the veil for his face,
> the cushion for his head, the haircloth, the wax for the
> watching and funeral ceremonies. And she had brought also
> some of the almond sweetmeats he loved. He tried to eat
> them, but found he could take only a taste and he gave the
> rest to Brother Bernard.
>
> Today we know "Frangipane" as a sweet almond cream flavored
> with red jasmine extract or a similar essence. It is used as
> a filling for cakes.
>
>
> Frangipane Cream
>
> 2 eggs                         pinch of salt
> 3 egg yolks                    2 cups scalded milk
> 6 tablespoons sugar            1 teaspoon vanilla extract
> 12 tablespoons flour           6 stale macaroons
>                3 tablespoons sweet butter
>
> Stir the eggs and egg yolks and add the sugar mixed with the
> flour and salt. Slowly stir in the scalded milk and continue
> stirring over a slow fire until the mixture thickens.
> Remove, add the vanilla extract, the macaroons which have
> been finely crushed, and the butter. Stir from time to time
> so that the cream is cold before using. (Red Jasmine extract
> is most difficult to come by, but should any reader be
> fortunate enough to procure some, 6 drops may be added.)
>
>
> October 25: Feast of Saints Crispin and Crispinian
>
> This is the feast of two brothers, whose names are oddly
> alike. Both were bootmakers and cobblers. In France, their
> native land (though "The Golden Legend" tells us that they
> were Romans who had migrated to Soissons), many useful
> objects bear their name. A shoeshine kit is called a "Saint-
> Crispin"; an awl is "Saint Crispin's lance"; and if your
> shoes are too tight, you are "in Saint Crispin's prison."
>
> Because of their refusal to sacrifice to idols, Saint
> Crispin and Saint Crispinian were pierced with shoemaker's
> awls and suffered other tortures. They were in popular
> veneration throughout the Middle Ages, and we read in
> Shakespeare's "Henry the Fifth":
>
>        This day is call'd the feast of Crispian:
>        He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
>        Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
>        And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
>
> For many years there was a special Mass for the cobblers of
> France on this feast and it was followed by a huge banquet.
> Legend says the first celebration of this Mass so pleased
> the saints that they allowed cobblers to have as reward a
> little preview of heaven.
>
> In England, the same custom of a special feast on Saint
> Crispin's day was observed by the shoemakers. Afterwards
> they burned torches on the sand, probably as substitutes for
> the altar lights provided by the shoemakers' guild in pre-
> Reformation times for their chantry chapel.
>
> Just as, some months back, on Saint Anthony's Day we allowed
> a recipe having as its title a pun, so we give you another
> for the day of the shoemaking saints.
>
>
> Fruit Cobbler
>
> 3 cups fruit                     1 tablespoon flour or
> 1/2 cup sugar or more            1 egg
>                  biscuit dough
>
> A cobbler may be made with the fruit on top of a biscuit
> dough or with fruit under the dough. Prepare the fruit and
> add sugar (the amount will vary with the sweetness of the
> fruit) mixed with flour or with a well-beaten egg. Make a
> rich biscuit dough (or use prepared mix) and place in the
> bottom of a greased baking tin; cover with fruit dotted with
> bits of butter and bake at 425 degrees F. for about half an
> hour. Or, cover the fruit with the dough and brush the dough
> with a little milk or the beaten yolk of an egg diluted with
> a little water. Apples, peaches, plums, or other fruits may
> be used.
>
>
> October 28: Feast of Saints Simon and Jude
>
> Not very much is known of either of these Apostles, except
> that Simon was called "the Zealous," and Jude was the
> brother of James the Less, and that they preached and were
> martyred in Persia.
>
> Over the years great devotion has grown up around Saint Jude
> as the Saint of the impossible. As prayers to Saint Anthony
> restore lost articles, so prayers to Saint Jude restore or
> revivify the most difficult of spiritual causes for persons,
> or groups, or nations. Saint Jude has proved a powerful
> patron in more than one instance, for example in the case of
> the City of St. Jude in Alabama, founded to aid materially
> and spiritually the Negro race, and which has well fulfilled
> that mission. Saint Jude might make a fine patron for the
> United Nations, over endowed with material patrons, but
> sadly lacking in those of the spirit.
>
> Regarding popular celebration of the feast of Saint Simon
> and Saint Jude, there has arisen some confusion through the
> centuries. In Italy a "foletto," which translated, means
> holy goblin, was often confused with Saint Simon because of
> a similarity in names, and Jude was confused in people's
> minds with Judas. Another reason for the confusion is that
> the feast of these saints comes so close to All Hallow's Eve
> that it partakes a little of its traditions.
>
> From the old association with goblins and witches and feasts
> of the dead, there has come down to us a cake often eaten in
> Scotland and England in honor of Simon and Jude. In
> Scotland, it is known as a Dirge Cake, in England as a Soul
> Cake, and we give the recipe on November 2nd, the feast of
> All Souls.
>
>
> October 31: All Hallows' Eve
>
> A very ancient celebration is this the Eve of All Saints. In
> pre-Christian eras it was a day when the Druids gathered
> within a ring of stone and chanted runes. The Romans
> celebrated it with an autumn feast to Pomona, goddess of
> orchards.
>
> In the calendar of the Church this is a fast day, but,
> especially in Ireland, many interesting dishes have been
> evolved to tide one over to the next day's feast of All
> Saints. Fast days often seem to inspire cooks to concoct
> palatable foods of a vegetarian nature. Of these the
> counties all have their favorites, most of them based on the
> potato, that basic commodity from the Irish fields. But no
> matter what the food, there is always placed in the dish a
> wedding ring wrapped in grease-proof paper, and this is said
> to decide the future of the person finding it.
>
> Tyrone, Cavan, and other counties indulge in boxty dishes
> and also in many verses about them. One runs:
>
>                Boxty on the griddle,
>                Boxty on the pan,
>                The wee one in the middle
>                It is for Mary Anne.
>
>                Boxty on the griddle,
>                Boxty on the pan--
>                If you don't eat boxty,
>                You'll never get your man.
>
> And another:
>
>                Two rounds of boxty baked on the pan,
>                Each one came in got a cake in her han';
>                Butter on the one side,
>                Gravy on t'other
>                Sure them that gave me boxty
>                Were better than my mother.
>
> These boxty dishes include boxty dumplings and boxty bread
> and boxty pancakes (for the latter see Shrove Tuesday).
>
>
> Boxty Bread
>
> 1 lb. raw potatoes                    salt
> 1 lb. cooked potatoes                 flour
>
> Wash and peel the raw potatoes and grate them onto a piece
> of cheesecloth. Then squeeze them out, catching the liquid
> in a dish which must be allowed to stand so that the potato
> starch may settle. Mash the cooked potatoes over the raw,
> and season with salt. Pour off the potato liquid carefully;
> then scrape up the potato starch at the bottom of the dish
> and add to the potato mixture. Work in enough flour to make
> a good dough and knead for a few minutes; then roll out, cut
> into cakes, and bake on a hot griddle.
>
>
> Boxty Dumplings
>
> Use the same ingredients and follow the same procedure as
> for Boxty Bread. When the dough has been kneaded, instead of
> rolling it out, form into small balls the size of an egg,
> drop them into boiling salted water and cook them for forty-
> five minutes. Serve with a sweet sauce.
>
> The same counties feature on Halloween Potato Pudding and
> Colcannon (see Saint Patrick's Day).
>
> In Scotland a special cake is made, and charms wrapped in
> paper are stirred in before it is baked. These are the usual
> ring, button, thimble, and coin, with the addition of a
> horseshoe for good luck, a swastika for happiness, and a
> wishbone for the heart's desire.
>
> In England, as also in the United States, it is a night for
> feasting before an open fire, on cider and nuts and apples,
> and was formerly known as Nut Crack Night.
>
> Far back in history runs the list of games played on that
> night, many of them still popular, such as bobbing for
> apples in a tub of water, or trying to take a bite from one
> swinging on a cord, or that slightly more dangerous but
> fascinating sport of snapdragon, in which raisins were
> placed in a bowl of brandy and the liquid set on fire, the
> point of the game being to extract the raisins without
> burning oneself--surely a better game to win than to lose.
>
> Although Halloween is the eve of a solemn church festival,
> its celebration has always been associated with witches and
> hobgoblins and ghosts; in the past it was at times an
> occasion for the practice of sorcery and incantations, and
> even of cruelty. Today it is a night of fun, which even at
> its worst seems to consist in the carrying away of gates or
> porch furniture. We have all seen the children, dressed in
> grotesque ways, who go about asking for candy and pennies.
> Familiar is the sight of the small boy coming home with a
> bag full of edibles--candies, cakes, nuts, gum, enough for
> several meals--and a good stack of pennies.
>
> Grown-ups, whose duty for the evening seems to be to provide
> the handout, might spend their own evening by making it a
> Nut Crack Night. Sitting before a bright hearth fire, they
> can feast on the appropriate foods of the night and of the
> season--cider and apples and nuts.
>
>
>
> NOVEMBER
>
>
> November 1: All Saints' Day
>
> THIS DAY, formerly known in England as All Hallows and in
> France called "Toussaint," honors, as its name implies, all
> the saints canonized and uncanonized, known and unknown.
> Long ago the church bells rang for most of the night before
> All Saints' Day to praise the saints "risen in their glory."
> Everywhere patronal and family saints are especially
> remembered. It is a feast to give them praise rather than to
> ask favors of them, a day for praising them to God rather
> than asking them to remember the living to Him.
>
> The observance of this feast merges into the next, which is
> All Souls' Day, so that by evening it has become the eve of
> the day of the dead. On All Souls' Eve the graves in Hungary
> are lighted with candles and decorated with flowers. Indeed,
> the custom of visiting the cemeteries and adorning the
> graves of relatives and friends with wreaths and bouquets
> prevails in most Latin and Central European countries.
>
> In Czechoslovakia there is an old tradition of eating
> special cakes on All Souls' Eve, and of drinking cold milk
> "to cool the souls in Purgatory." In Belgium also a
> particular variety of cakes is baked, and it is an old
> superstition that "the more one eats of them the more souls
> will be saved from Purgatory."
>
> In many old English towns, maids still go "souling" on All
> Souls' Eve, that is, singing for cakes, and one hears such
> ancient ballads as:
>
>                Soul! soul! for a soul-cake!
>                I pray, good misses a soul-cake--
>                An apple or pear, a plum or a cherry,
>                Any good thing to make us merry,
>                One for Peter, two for Paul,
>                Three for Him who made us all.
>
>
> Soul Cakes
>
> 1 yeast cake                       2 cups milk
> 1/2 cup sugar                      6 cups flour
> 1/4 cup lukewarm water             1 teaspoon salt
> 1/4 lb. butter                     3 teaspoons cinnamon
>
> Dissolve the yeast cake with 1 teaspoon of sugar in the
> lukewarm water and let it stand in a warm place. Cream the
> butter with the sugar. Add the milk which has been scalded
> and slightly cooled and then add the yeast. Sift the flour
> with the salt and cinnamon and add to the mixture, kneading
> for a few minutes. Place in a bowl and allow it to rise in a
> warm place to double its bulk. Shape the dough into round
> buns and bake at 375 degrees F. for about thirty minutes or
> until lightly browned. Originally, these cakes were shaped
> like men and women and were given raisins or currants for
> eyes.
>
>
> November 2: All Souls' Day
>
> After the feast in honor of the saints in heaven, comes the
> day of praying for the dead, particularly for members of the
> family, so "that they may quickly attain to the fellowship
> of the heavenly citizens."
>
> As we have said, many of the observances of this day take
> place on the eve. In the Old World lights were set in
> windows to guide the departed back to their homes, and food
> was placed beside a candle or lighted lamp on the table to
> await them. In Brittany, where belief in the supernatural is
> intensified on this night, the people, dressed appropriately
> in black, hurry home after vespers to talk together about
> the departed, speaking of them in low tones as if at a
> funeral. On the table with the best cloth are placed plates
> of bread and cheese and mugs of cider for the refreshment of
> the departed ones. As the living sit whispering together,
> they hear, or seem to hear, in creaking floorboard and empty
> benches about the table the movements of the ghosts who have
> come to rest that night in their former home. And knowing
> that the saddest of all are the homeless dead who roam about
> the countryside on this one night of the year permitted them
> on earth, it is a custom of Celtic people to set food and
> drink on doorstep and window sill, so that homeless spirits
> too may have a share.
>
> In Italy, and especially in Sicily, good children who have
> prayed for the dead through the year are rewarded by having
> the "morti" leave gifts, sometimes cakes, none the less
> welcome because they have been made by the hands of mundane
> bakers. Especially good are these "Fave dei Morti," and as
> fine a reward for a pious child as was the "Pretiolium" or
> pretzel of the Middle Ages.
>
>
> Fave dei Morti (Beans of the Dead)
>
> 1/4 lb. almonds               butter, size of a walnut
> 1/4 lb. sugar                 1 teaspoon cinnamon
> 2 tablespoons flour           1 egg
>             1/2 lemon peel, grated
>
> Pound some of the almonds (unblanched) with some of the
> sugar in a mortar, and then rub through a sieve. Continue
> this process until all of the almonds and sugar have been
> used. Any of the mixture remaining in the sieve should be
> pounded again until it is fine enough to pass through the
> sieve. Work this paste with the flour, butter, cinnamon,
> egg, and lemon peel until the whole is quite smooth. When
> done, roll into long thin rolls; divide into small pieces
> and shape them to resemble a broad bean. Bake on a greased
> tin at 350 degrees F. for about twenty minutes or until
> light brown. Though soft at first they will harden when
> cold.
>
> In Poland on All Souls' Day vespers are sometimes sung in
> the churchyards, and alms are given to the poor who in
> return are expected to offer prayers and petitions for the
> dead of the donor's family. Lighted candles are placed on
> the graves to drive away the bad angel so that "the Lord may
> count on that night the number of souls belonging to
>
> In Spain every theater gives a performance of the famous
> play "Don Juan Tenorio" and thrills anew to the drama of the
> wicked lover who is dragged to hell by the ghost of the fair
> damsel to whom Don Juan proved unfaithful. The "Dia de
> Muertos" is an occasion so important in Mexico that its
> observance lasts for several days. Several days before, on
> October 30th, the souls of dead children are said to revisit
> their homes and spend the night. They are welcomed with
> flowers and food in gourds, as many gourds as there are
> "angelitos"--souls of dead children expected. And in the
> doorway of homes are placed chocolates and cakes and a
> lighted candle for those children who have no one to
> remember them.
>
> On the Day of the Dead, Mexican crowds stream into the
> cemeteries long before daybreak, bearing flowers, candles,
> and food. Breads, candies, and cakes have been made in the
> form of grinning skulls with eyes of shining purple paper,
> of little chocolate hearses and coffins and funeral wreaths.
> With picnic gaiety the families group about the graves in
> the cemeteries, everyone laughing and enjoying the fine
> fiesta and sharing the food they have brought. And as in
> Spain, in the evening the whole village repairs to see the
> perennial drama of the faithless Don Juan and his luckless
> lady.
>
>
> Pan de Muertos (Bread of the Dead)
>
> 1 yeast cake                    2 cups sugar
> 1/4 cup lukewarm water          6 eggs
> 5 cups flour                    1/3 cup orange blossom
> 1 teaspoon salt                      water
> 1 cup butter                    1/3 cup milk
>                1/4 cup anisette
>
> Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and let it stand in
> a warm place. Sift the flour with the salt. Taking about
> half the flour, add the yeast, mix well, and allow to rise
> in a greased bowl in a warm place until double in bulk.
> Cream the butter with the sugar; add the egg yolks and the
> orange blossom water. Then add the remaining flour, the milk
> and anisette. Mix well and knead for a few minutes. Then add
> the egg whites, one at a time, kneading after each addition.
> Finally add the fermented dough and beat and knead until
> thoroughly mixed. Allow it to rise in a greased bowl in a
> warm place until double in bulk. Knead once more and divide
> into two portions. Remove a bit of the dough from each
> portion, enough to form two "bones." Shape the dough into
> round loaves and moisten the tops with water. Place the
> "bones" in the shape of a cross on each loaf and bake at 375
> degrees F. for about fifty minutes or until done. The loaves
> are usually covered with a light sugar glaze when baked.
>
>
> November 3: Feast of Saint Hubert
>
> Late in the eighth century, so runs the story, a hunter
> named Hubert, neither better nor worse than he should have
> been, was tracking a stag through the forest of the
> Ardennes. As he readied himself to shoot the animal with his
> arrow, he was startled when the stag turned suddenly in its
> flight, and he saw between its antlers a luminous cross.
> This experience caused Hubert to change his way of life, and
> he never hunted again. Yet only a few centuries later he was
> known as the patron of hunters, and is a saint greatly
> honored in France and Belgium.
>
> Saint Hubert lived a full life. He became bishop of Tongres
> and traveled through his huge diocese on horseback and by
> boat, preaching and building churches to the glory of God.
> He was the friend of the great of his day--Pepin of Heristal
> and Charles Martel among them--and also of the poor. In
> particular his heart went out to prisoners, and he would
> secretly place food for them before their dungeon windows.
> As he died he said to those about him, "Stretch the pallium
> over my mouth for I am now going to give back to God the
> soul I received from Him."
>
> In parts of France and Belgium there has long been a custom
> of holding stag hunts on Saint Hubert's Day, and the hunters
> gather before the chase for Mass and the blessing of men and
> horses and dogs. After the hunt is over, those taking part
> gather for a bountiful breakfast consisting of fish, meat,
> salad, cheese, and dessert. Naturally the meat is venison of
> some sort, and the salad may well be one of dandelion
> greens.
>
>
> Venaison Roti (Roast Venison)
>
> If the venison is young, it does not need marinating;
> otherwise marinate several hours or even overnight. For the
> marinade use 1 pint of vinegar, 1 pint of red wine, several
> bay leaves, 4 shallots, 2 sliced carrots, 1 lemon cut into
> thin slices, some freshly ground pepper, and a handful of
> juniper berries. Carefully remove the skin from a loin of
> venison without tearing the meat and wipe it with a damp
> cloth. Lard the loin symmetrically with bacon (not larding
> pork). Dust with salt and pepper, cover liberally with
> butter, and roast in a hot oven for one hour, basting almost
> continuously with the butter in the pan and 2 cups of sour
> cream. Remove the meat to a hot platter; carefully stir 1
> tablespoon of flour into the pan, then add a cup of hot
> stock, cook for several minutes, and strain through a fine
> sieve. (Though not orthodox, a leg of lamb may be
> substituted but in that case marinate for several days.)
>
>
>
>
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So if knowing is half the battle, what's the other half? Halberds.