[Sca-cooks] projects this month

[Karen O]

    Now that I've whittled the e-mail down I can share what I've been busy
doing.

    I made the Cranberry/Grand Mariner Cake;  'cept I used dried cherries
and my own homemade cherry brandy.  YUMMERS!   I soaked the cherries for
about a week  -- coz I wound up having to postpone the baking for about that
time.   I will make another for the Staff Christmas party along with a
Kaluha Cake.

    I also started a new batch of apple wine.  However, I was in a bit of a
rush before I left on vacation, and had a bit more than the 2 gallon jugs
for the 2nd fermentation, so I just put the rest in a canning jar.  Came
home to white floaty stuff  -- mother?  as for vinegar?  Smells that way.
How long does vinegar need to incubate to be vinegar?  and do I need to feed
the mother?  what and how often?   The stuff seems happy enough, and keeping
it for my own vinegar would be way cool, I think.

    I also cooked a Welsh Feast for about 30 people.  Did pretty well.   The
good part is the "Head Cook"  {I was just the assistant, so to speak}had
gotten all the groceries donated, so Feast at $3.00 was reasonable.  No one
went hungry, and the leftovers were very small amounts. The biggest
leftover, being maybe 1/3 of the pork roast  served after everyone pigged
out on the venison.

    Served:  Oatmeal Soup (using leeks) Venison Roasts with pepper/cinnamon
sauce & au jus, Frumenty ( wheat berries, almonds & cream) Pear& Ginger
Conserve, Auter Tarts, Roast Pork with bogberry mustard sauce & an apricot
sauce, Carrots & Apples,  Welsh Cakes, and another jam cookie.  More
Peri-oid than not,  but at least nothing glaringly modern/new world.

    Now to get all those cookies done for the various cookie exchanges I
opted into!

    Caointiarn