SC - "barbeque" recipe

[Stefan li Rous]

For those of you not in Calontir, last sat. was Queen's Prize Tourney,
our A&S main event of the year. Those of the Grant level award and above
sponsor those of us below that level and help/encourage projects in the
Arts and Sciences. At the event, the projects are laid out, with their
documentation, where the populace can show their astonishment and
appreciation for them (bowls are given and placed next to the projects so
that the populace can give trinkets and other things if they are really
impressed - I ended up with several beads, two small "empty" books, and
two bars of homemade soap) Judges, at scheduled times, normally in
threes, come around and do a face to face evaluation  with the person on
their entry. Instead of judging, they discuss what was good, bad, or
surprising, about the object and its documentation, and where you can go
to from here. It also gives you a chance to question people more
experienced than yourself on the chosen topic. At the evening court, the
sponsors call up their people and award them prizes, most of them made by
the sponsors themselves.(we had to evacuate the building in the middle of
court because a fire alarm went off, but that is another story)

My Cooking Entry was Pickled Lemons.
I had found several references to pickled lemons in _The Domostroi:Rules
for Russian Households in the Time of Ivan The Terrible_ edited and
Translated by Carolyn Johnston Pouncy (Thank you Brigid!) and decided to
see if I could find a salt brine lemon pickle recipe. I found a modern
one in _A Feast of Fruits_:
Moroccan Preserved Lemons
6 lemons, preferably thin-skinned lemons, about 1 13/4 lbs.
1/2 C. coarse salt (I used canning salt, so I think I overdid the salt a
bit)
One 1-inch stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries (I know, allspice isn't medieval, but It
was the first time on the recipe so I didn't want to muck with the spice
blend. The judges suggested ginger/anise perhaps, next time)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the lemons, return the water to a
boil, and cook 3 minutes. Drain, drop the lemons into cold water,
changing it once or twice to cool the lemons;drain again and dry.Stand
the lemons on end & cut them lengthwise nearly into quarters so that they
open out and remain attached at one end. Spread each open and sprinkle
the inside liberally with the salt;close it up and pack it into a
wide-mouthed 2-quart preserving jar,or two 1-quart jars, pressing down to
squeeze out some of the juice. Continue with the remaining lemons. Add
the apices to the jar/s along with the remaining salt, and pour fresh
boiling water up to the top. Wait until all the bubbles have risen, then
seal and sterilize. Store at least 1 month in a cool dry place. To use
rinse the lemons and quarter,slice, or chop them with or without the
pulp.

For demonstration purposes, I just chopped them up and put them on a
plate with toothpicks nearby. Of course, first I had to open one of the
jars. When I seal something, nothing gets in, not even the cook
apparently! Luckily I found a strong male friend who didn't mind the salt
brine soaking when he finally managed to open it! :-) I basically got two
reactions:  Why, that's.......interesting!?!?!
(polite way of saying "Good G*d! what did I just put in my mouth? blech!)
and WOW! where did you find this? this is wonderful! what would you use
it for? ect. It pleased me that there was more of the second than the
first. The judges were also very impressed that I was willing to go out
on a limb and try something completely different (at least in QPT terms).
They suggested that since, according to Pouncy, lemons were imported from
Italy via Poland or from Astrakhan, that I try to trace trade routes and
find if any of those countries had pickled lemons or recipes using
pickled lemons, period or modern. 
So, does anyone have any info on trade routes to Muscovey from Italy via
Poland, or Astrakham (where is Astrakham anyways?)
Cariadoc,& Lord Ras, you are into Middle Eastern cooking, do you have any
recipes that call for pickled lemons? I have one 1-qt. jar left here, I
would like to know somethings to do with it.
Lady Beatrix of Tanet

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