SC - list newbie/Seasonal food.

[Cheriti Watts]

Greetings good gentles.

Having recently been convinced to join the list by 'Lainie, I have been
dutifully trying to catch up on the reading.  (Currently, I think I'm 5 days
behind). So much info, so little reading time.

The subject of seasonal food availability has recently been growing near and
dear to my heart.  However, one subject that hasn't been brought up (or at
least between February 13th and 18th) in conjunction with food availability
is religious food restrictions.  A vast majority of our personas would have
had some sort of religious food restrictions some time during the year, be
they Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Saracens or whatever.  Case in point,
Lent starts soon, and the rules were a bit more stringent historically than
now.

My lord's wargroup (with crusading monk personas) is planning a feast for
the middle of March.  The carnivorous lot of them were not enthused with my
suggestion that the menu be filled with Lenten foods, and so are planning a
typical array of beast and fowl and other such things that warm their
fighter hearts.  I, however, have decided that sometime in the future there
should be a Lenten feast in my barony; I am starting to plan my research
strategy in the back of my brain.

Does anyone know any good sources for period Lenten restrictions and
recipes? (And no, I haven't looked on the Florilegium yet.)

Off subject but in response to the chicken feet thread:
 I've never eaten chicken feet, but I have seen them in the local
supermarket, at DimSum, and I think other 'ethnic' restaurants.  From
experience I can tell you that they can be used to torture children. We
raised chicken for eggs and meat when I was a child, and whenever we'd
butcher them my mother would chase me around with a freshly removed chicken
foot.  If you find the right tendon you can make the toes grasp and ungrasp
like fingers. Horrifyingly fun when you're 8.


- -Cassea