[Sca-cooks] Pictures from my Illusion Feast

[Olwen the Odd]

>I sent out the whole pamphlet-that-never-was (sigh, it would have been nice 
>to
>have them ready for the Event) a couple of days ago, but here's the compost 
>recipe
>by itself::
>Faerisa
>
>Compost of Pasternak and of Peeres - Forme of Cury:
>See original at  http://www.godecookery.com/alabama/alabam01.html#compost
>
>Gode Cookery translation:
>
>Pickled Salad. Take parsley, carrots, radishes; scrape and clean them.
>Take white radishes & cabbages, pared and cored. Take an earthen pan with
>clean water & set it on the fire; and put all these in. When they've
>boiled, add pears and parboil well. Take all these things out and let cool
>on a clean cloth. Add salt. When cooled, place in a container; add
>vinegar, powder, and saffron, and let sit overnight. Take Greek wine &
>honey, clarified together; take "lumbarde" mustard and whole currants, and
>cinnamon, "powdour douce" & whole anise seed, & fennel seed. Take all
>these things and place together in an earthen pot, and take from it when
>you need to, and serve.
>
>     Modern recipe:
>
>          2 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces
>          3-4 pears, peeled, cored and chopped into medium sized pieces
>          1 1/2 heads cabbage
>          1 tsp. salt
>          1 cup white wine vinegar
>          1 Tbs. ground ginger
>          1/2 Tbs. each anise seed & fennel seed
>          1 1/2 quart white wine
>          1/2 cup honey
>          1/2 Tbs. mustard seed
>          3 cinnamon sticks
>

Hi Faerisa.  I have a question or two about your redaction.  It seems that 
several of the items in the original recipe are absent from the redaction 
and I was wondering if you had tried the recipe adding them and didn't like 
it that way or what.  Some folks just don't like the taste of parsley.  In 
this case I would guess it would be the flat leaf parsley which is sweeter 
that the curly.  What happened to the radishes?  White (chinese) radishes 
are not bitter like the little red ones.  What type of pears did you use?  
There are so many that I get confused.  Why did you use mustard seed instead 
of Lombardy Mustard?  No currents?  Seems like they would add a nice touch.  
I could understand why not the saffron (expense, availability) but what 
about the Powder Douce?  Here is one recipe from Early French Cookery
3 T ground ginger
1 and 1/2 T cinnamon
1 t grains of paradise
1 t ground cloves
2 T sugar
Don't mean to sound not nice, but I am just wondering.  Maybe you couldn't 
get the ingredients or don't like them or have allergies.
Olwen

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