[Sca-cooks] Pilgrim's Picnic Basket

[Mark S. Harris]

Adamantius replied to me with:
  <<< On Jul 30, 2006, at 3:11 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

 > Huh? what is this about a "Pilgrim's Picnic Basket"?
 >
 > More details please, Adamantius.

I thought we'd discussed this before... >>>

We may have. I've never claimed that I had that great a memory. That  
was the reason I originally started saving the messages that later  
became the Florilegium.

<<< In 1996 I wrote an article
for T.I., based on a competition entry I designed and made for an A&S
competition event in the Central Region (I think -- the regional
lines have been redrawn slightly) of the East Kingdom, an event
called Northern Lights. The article is in the Winter, 1997 issue, I
believe, but it can also be found online here:

http://www.ostgardr.org/cooking/ppb.html

The entry was a travel basket containing an assortment of preserved
foods, laid out as a meal -- oatcakes, smoked sausage, cheese,
compost, and quince paste, plus a mead and a small ale (which weren't
part of the scoring because I had entered them in the brewing
category instead). >>>

Thank you. These foods look delicious. We've talked a little bit  
about small ales and beers:
small-beer-msg    (20K) 11/ 6/03    A weakly alcoholic beer made  
using the grain
                                        from a previous batch of beer

But they are not made that often in the Current Middle Ages,  
certainly not on the ratio they were done in the real Middle Ages.  
I'd like to see your documentation on your small ale as well.

Where did you get the green nuts (for the compot/compost)? Unless I  
had my own trees I'm not sure where I'd find these today.

Would you be willing to let me add your article to the Florilegium,  
giving credit to the TI article and the Ostgardr website, of course.  
Although I'm not quite sure whether it would be more appropriate in a  
food section or the one on A&S competitions and such.

<<< At the time, it was much talked about in the A&S
community because it got the first perfect score total in the history
of an event known for stiff competition. >>>

I think you make a few assumptions, without much evidence to back  
them up, that I would have questioned. But then I'm probably overly  
critical.  Or maybe it's having been on this list so long.

<<< When it was over, I told all my friends, "Okay, you wanted me to
compete, I competed, and I still don't much like competitions..." >>>

Agreed, I do see them as a useful tool, but only one of many.

Thanks,
   Stefan