SC - Best food for War

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

As someone with a Near Eastern persona, i prefer Near Eastern food, 
either modern ethnic, peri-oid, or period. I'm a lapsed vegetarian, 
so i usually don't cook meat. And i'm just beginning to explore 
period cooking, so my repertoire of period Near Eastern foods is not 
yet very extensive.

- -- Breakfasts --
Often yoghurt ("Persian milk"), fruit, bread, and dips and spreads 
(of spices, or fruit preserves, or cheese and herbs, or others). Oh, 
and fresh ground, very dark roasted coffee (if i don't have just one 
cup before 10 am, i get a headache).

- -- Lunches - mostly stuff i can just drag out and plop on the table --
* bread (lavosh / pita / "ak-mak")
* traditional Near Eastern dry dips, such as za'atar and dukkah, that 
i make (to eat: sprinkle *good* quality olive oil on bread, then dip 
in herb/spice/seed/nut mixture)
* hard-cooked eggs (i don't boil them, so the yolks don't turn green) 
- - i usually make these at home before an event and they're good 
dipped in za'atar or dukkah
* cheese (feta and others)
* yoghurt, sometimes mixed with sliced cucumbers and radishes (and 
garlic and mint and salt and crushed walnuts)
* 2 or 3 kinds of cured olives (shriveled Moroccan black in oil, 
Provencal green in brine with garlic and herbs, etc.)
* garlic dill pickles (ok, not Near Eastern but good for the dehydrated)
* fresh fruit (what's in season, can travel well, and won't suffer if it's hot)
* sometimes Near Eastern but non-period foods like tabouleh and 
hoummous bi tahine
* mint or other herbal or fruit tea (i'll probably make some kind of 
senkanjaben for summer)

I don't care much for sweets, so i don't bring any, nor do i make 
sweet dishes. None of the aforementioned require cooking and many 
don't even require a cooler. And they're easy, which is important 
since days are busy, with so many things going on, and i often spend 
time as a duty and/or field herald or watering fighters, if i'm not 
involved in some A&S or meetings. I usually share this with folks who 
forgot to bring lunch. If the weather is cold, i might include a hot 
dish or soup of lentils or chickpeas, often cooked with spinach.

Right now, i've got a half-dozen merguez - Near Eastern lamb sausages 
- - in my freezer, waiting for an event.

- -- Saturday Night Dinner --
I usually camp with others and we share the chores of Saturday 
dinner. Everyone contributes something for dinner, usually period or 
peri-oid. If i'm with the Shire of Crosston, then it's a large 
pot-luck feast joined by many guests (at least 2 dozen), usually with 
some sort of theme to the food. I prepare between one and three Near 
Eastern dishes of vegetables and/or grain or lentils/chickpeas. 
Beverages are whatever folks have brought to share. I usually bring 
something non-alcoholic. I don't mind the taste of wine, but if i'm 
thirsty i want something else to gulp.

My consort is a fighter (i'm not yet, but i intend to become a light 
fighter this year - javelins or archery). He brings along a "case" 
(12 pack) of Guinness and insists that we bring a multitude of cans 
of chili. I don't think he's ever used up all the Guinness, even 
though he shares (he's not a big drinker). And we've never opened the 
chili at an event, but he insists, so they're in the food bag, in 
case of emergency along with a can opener...

Anahita al-shazhiya