[Sca-cooks] originals and redactions, was "All the King's Cooks"

[Ron Carnegie]

lilinah> >I do not miss the fire restrictions of living in Caid or the
lilinah> >West!  In fact little I miss from out there save friends family and the
lilinah> >lack of humidity!
lilinah> Where are you now?

	Currently I live in Virginia of the Kingdom of Atlantia.  I was
born and raised in California however.  I have lived in Los Angeles,
Pasadena, Santa Monica, Avalon, Burbank and Healdsburg.  I have not
lived in San Francisco but I have spent a lot of time there.  Would have
moved there if I didn't get married when I did.  I used to work at the
Renaissance Faire in Novato and the Dicken's Faire back when it was on
the pier.

lilinah> 
lilinah> >Where in the West do you live?  There may be a Living
lilinah> >History Museum that can help you gain some time in a period kitchen
lilinah> >though it is unlikely to be SCA period.
lilinah> 
lilinah> That's a nice suggestion, although i suspect i live in too urban a 
lilinah> location to have this sort of thing nearby... i'm in the San 
lilinah> Francisco Bay Area, East Bay.

	Depends on how far you are willing to drive.  I am not  aware of
anything in San Francisco proper, though it wouldn't surprise me if
there is something I am not aware of.  Some sites in the area (though
some are a bit of a drive) would include Fort Ross up in Jenner, General
Vallejo's Adobe (which I believe is in Vallejo) and of course Sutter's
Fort in Sacramento.  There was a farm site in just below San Jose as
well, but I am not sure they are still there.  The only one of these
sites that I know for sure has a foodways program is Sutter's Fort, but
if a History site has any "living" aspect it usually begins with a
blacksmith and foodways.  Of course the historical accuracy of such a
situation can vary greatly.  Most sites in California rely upon
volunteers, which makes getting involved rather easy.  Most sites in
California are very limited in programs as well.  Many of these sites
are likely to only have one or two "living History" events a year.  Fort
Ross has one for instance.  Sutter is pretty active.  Spanish sites in
California may be your best bet, as they tended to have outdoor kitchens
with bread ovens and I know there are a number of these reproduced in
the State.  A reproduction kitchen is more likely to be allowed a
cooking program than an original kitchen.

lilinah> Last summer my daughter and i drove from San Diego to the Bay Area 
lilinah> visiting all the missions. They vary from extremely touristique (San 
lilinah> Juan Capistrano) to a pretty good recreation of what they might have 
lilinah> been like, minus the Indian slave labor (La Purisima in Lompoc). That 
lilinah> was my favorite. It was in a fairly rural area and they did living 
lilinah> history days... unfortunately we missed one the day before we got 
lilinah> there. Usually they cook some food in the fire places and let the 
lilinah> visitors taste. They also have a working black smith shop, actually 
lilinah> raise animals and grow some food there, and have potters who make 
lilinah> some of the dishes they use.
lilinah> 
	They have a nice program there, though their "Natives" suffer
form the same paleness found at most Living History sites.

lilinah> But i'll look around. One never knows what's lurking out there... 
lilinah> There's a farm with living history days near the Dumbarton Bridge - i 
lilinah> should check that out.
lilinah> 
lilinah> Thanks for the suggestion.
lilinah> 
lilinah> >  I have since learned that my definition of redaction was
lilinah> >incorrect.  Figures!  I had never heard the word before it came up in a
lilinah> >SCA context.  Never heard it in my non-SCA foodways experience.  I
lilinah> >checked the OED the other day and the word's current use is specifically a
lilinah> >text reproduction of process.  Important lesson here, learn the meaning
lilinah> >of a new word before you use it? :)
lilinah> 
lilinah> Yeah, well, on this list (and in the SCA) we have our own meaning for 
lilinah> words. We're not quite as arbitrary as Humpty Dumpty in "Alice", 
lilinah> but...
lilinah> 
lilinah> So, "redaction" in this context means working up a (generally 
lilinah> reusable) modern recipe from an historical recipe.
lilinah> 

    I am not sure if I made myself understood here, as a number of
people have written defending the SCA's use of the word.  I didn't mean
to attack it.  I would argue that it in line with the OED's version.  It
was MY use that was incorrect.

Ranald de Balinhard,

Ron Carnegie <r.carnegie at verizon.net>
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	"The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that
	 once on this earth, on this familiar spot of ground walked
	 other men and women as actual as we are today, thinking
	 their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions but now
	 all gone, vanishing after another, gone as utterly as we 
	 ourselves shall be gone like ghosts at cockcrow."
				G.M. Trevelyan
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