[Sca-cooks] non-sweet Elizabethan dishes

[Kirrily Robert]

Phlip wrote:
> OK, while I admit I have little sympathy for folks who refuse perfectly good
> food, and then complain that they didn't get enough to eat, what would the
> vegetabletarians on the List suggest as a main dish? Does she eat milk,
> cheese, fish, or eggs? Mac and cheese is period, as are an assortment of egg
> dishes. Something like that, which would be a side for everyone else could
> be presented as a special, large dish for the person- 1 bowl for her, one
> bowl for the rest of the table. Or, if she's totally vegan, a large bowl of
> beans, another of rice would give her the balanced protein she needs. Also,
> even if you weren't planning to serve that at feast for the rest of the
> people, both are pretty easy to make a small batch of.
>
> Kinda hard to figure out recipes for her, if we don't know _exactly_ what
> she does and doesn't eat.

OK, let's get a few things straight...

Regardless of other peoples' ideas on vegetarianism, I would like to
provide enough vegie dishes (and enough range of vegie dishes) that I
can cater for vegetarians without having to make separate dishes for
them.  Some of my close friends are vegetarian, and I'm pretty used to
cooking for them, and would like to be able to provide for them in this
case.  I'd also like to showcase some more unusual vegetable dishes that
are appetizing to non-vegetarians, to show people that period food can
be good even if it's not all meat.  I want to avoid the old traditional
veg dishes of armored turnips, baked carrots, and something
indeterminate and sloppy with cabbage.  And I want to stick very closely
to my Elizabethan food theme, using recipes published in England
between, say, 1550 and 1620.  My barony has pretty eclectic tastes, and
doesn't have a strong "meat and potatoes" fighter contingent.  Finally,
my idea for this feast is that it would be a "food only" event... show
up Saturday late afternoon to evening, get fed and entertained, chill
out and have fun.  Small numbers, small site, quality food, good
company, and a bit higher price than the general feasts that are often
held.

Now, the particular friend I asked to critique my menu has very bad
reactions to meat.  It makes her vomit and gives her diarrhoea if she
eats so much as a mouthful of mammalian or bird flesh.  However, she can
eat seafood, dairy and eggs.  Another friend of mine locally is an
ethical vegetarian but not totally hardcore about it; she chooses not to
eat meat, but would not freak out about meat and vegetables served on
the same plate.  I am not sure about other local vegetarians, but I am
using these two people as useful resources to review my menu, because I
know they have opinions on dreadful feasts they've attended (where the
cook just didn't understand how vegetarians eat) and what they'd like to
see.  If I can make them happy, as well as cover bases for most of the
other common food restrictions and sensitivities (dairy, especially) I
would like to.

So, when I asked the first one for comments and criticisms on my
proposed menu, she told me that today was a bad day to ask her, because
on the weekend she'd been to a feast where the cook had advertised
"plenty of vegetarian dishes" but there weren't enough to make her feel
fed, or feel that she had got her money's worth.  I told her that on the
contrary, that meant it was a *good* day, because she would be
extra-critical and help me cover all the bases.

So her main comments were:

- too many sweet dishes... wouldn't feel like a "complete" meal unless
  balanced by more savoury dishes.
- she wants "main" dishes, not just "sides" ... something to make her
  feel like she's getting as much to eat as the meat-eaters.  This means
  protein and starches, as well as stuff that is presented well rather
  than just slopped onto a plate.

My challenge now is to find Elizabethan dishes that fit that
description: vegetarian, non-sweet, "main" dishes.  Not because I am
caving in to the demands of a minority at the expense of the majority,
but because I think it would be an interesting project to put together a
tightly-themed feast that appeals to as wide a range of tastes as possible
and showcases some uncommon types of dishes.

Yours,

Katherine


--
Lady Katherine Rowberd (mka Kirrily "Skud" Robert)
katherine at infotrope.net  http://infotrope.net/sca/
Caldrithig, Skraeling Althing, Ealdormere
"The rose is red, the leaves are grene, God save Elizabeth our Queene"