[Sca-cooks] vegetarian

[Kirrily Robert]

Stefan wrote:
> Kirsten commented:
>> 1. a lot of the people in some baronies are vegetarian...... this may not be
>> true in YOUR barony, but it is true in mine
>>
>> 2.  if they cant eat it, they wont come to feast
>
> Yes. Just like I have little interest in attending most feasts which
> don't include period foods or reasonable attempts at them.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of period vegetarian recipes.  I have
about 10 right here, all Elizabethan from the 3 or 4 cookbooks I have
readily to hand.  I have a webpage listing a bunch more from other
sources.  What part of "having vegetarian dishes available" equates to
"not including period food" or "reasonable attempts" in the menu?

>> 3. if they cant eat  at enough feasts. they feel left out of the SCA as a
>> group. cant socialize with the other SCAdians.. and we may lose them
>> entirely!
>
> This is one reason I prefer the Ansteorra tradition of allowing "off board"
> and "on board" folks to eat at the same tables. This allows those who
> have special food preferances or requirements to join their friends at
> feast. In some cases I've noticed period looking feasts at tables that
> looked much better than the main feast.

Where I come from (Lochac), often the feast *is* the event.  The idea of
having a huge event in a huge site with fighting, fencing, A&S, yada
yada, is new to me since I came to Ealdormere.  Back home, you would
show up late Saturday afternoon, stay all evening, and EAT.  This was
for the majority of events I attended at any rate.  Fighting events
tended to either be held outdoors during the day with minimal cooking
facilities (perhaps a pot-luck picnic or something) or on the Sunday
after a feast in a park somewhere, usually where the group held their
regular practice.

In this context, "off-board" makes no sense at all.  Most events didn't
list an off-board price, and site and feast were lumped into one fee.
You paid $N, you showed up and got fed.  If you didn't want to be fed,
you didn't show up.

>> also, there are lots of times we use what would have been an expensive meat
>> to substtute for a (period inexpensive) meat
>> like we use beef instead of rabbit in something....... so you can just as
>> easily use TVP or Tofu in a strongly flavored sauce.. and it probably tastes
>> about the same......
>
> Hmmm. Possibly there is tofu that tastes similar to meat. But I've yet to
> see or taste any that resembled meat in texture. Unless jello is a meat.
> But I haven't tried any of the meat substitutes (TVP?).

Perhaps you should.  It's not quite the same as meat, but it's not a bad
approximation for ground whatever.  Some of the not-meats (not-bacon,
etc) are also not quite like meat, but they're a *lot* closer to it than
they are to jello.

>> heck...... i doubt it would be out of place to have a good barley and lentil
>> stew......... in harvest time.
>
> That's a meal. Not a feast. And maybe not a meal for the upper class.

Which is exactly the point most vegetarians complain about.  They pay
their $N, but even if they have notified the cook in advance they often
get only a couple of dishes they can eat, one of them a generic and
often flavourless grain-and-legume stew.  Everyone around them is eating
a feast, and the cook has promised to provide them with a feast, but
they get a meal, and not a very good one at that.

I sat with my violently-allergic-to-meat friend at an event recently.
She had notified the cook several weeks in advance.  She got boiled
rice, boiled barley (both either completely unflavoured or so close as
to make no difference, and the two of them constituted pretty much all
she got in one course!), a slice of something eggy, and a couple of side
vegetables.  This was hardly worth her $N, when for the same amount the
meat-eaters got twice as many dishes and most of them more filling and
flavourful.

Now, the challenge is, can we find veg foods that fit into an upper
class feast, that are documentable, that are flavourful, and that are
all we expect from meat dishes?  If we can, we open up a range of new
dishes to feed *everyone*, not just the vegetarians.  And we save
ourselves some stress when a vegetarian shows up on the day and says
"what are you going to feed me?" (yes, I agree it's amazingly rude, but
it can be planned for).  Perhaps even better, most vegetable dishes are
less expensive than meat dishes, so you can have more of them and give
people a bigger feast, or get some more special ingredients, or support
more half-price servers or special presentation items to give your event
a bit extra class.

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"