[Sca-cooks] Period substitute for tomatoes?

[Judith Epstein]

Comments interspersed.

On Aug 23, 2009, at 3:30 AM, Saint Phlip wrote:

> Does boiling water count as cooking?

Yes, because it involves putting an edible substance on/in a heat  
source. If the water is boiled before Shabbat, then kept NEAR the fire  
before Shabbat and left there over the entirety of Shabbat (warm/hot  
but not boiling itself away), that's permitted.

> I understand that to some of you being a little bit treif is being  
> totally treif, but levels of observance differ, depending on  
> upbringing and traditions.

"Orthodox" is a term that applies to Ashkenazi Jewry (which had to  
come up with a name for the traditionally-observant community after  
the non-traditionally-observant community started calling themselves  
Reform). I'm Sephardi/Mizrachi, and the Sephardi community never had  
Reform, so traditionally-observant Jews are just called Jews, or  
observant, not "Orthodox." But an Ashkenazi Jew looking at my life  
would probably call me Orthodox, and not really of the Modern variety.  
I'm very strict with kashrut and Shabbat and negiah (touch; 'nother  
topic altogether).

> The reason I'm aking is because we've had a number of long  
> conversations about boil in bags, and I was thinking that they might  
> work well for making period, kosher foods ahead. Even if you don't  
> boil them, I'm thinking that they'd at least keep your food edible-  
> and in some cases, laying them out in the sun under a dark rag would  
> even provide you with hot food without cooking.

I admit to being unfond of sous vide, but it may have to happen. So  
far I've been able to experiment at home with making things ahead,  
freezing or refrigerating, thawing, then putting into the oven. Some  
of the foods are Period-plausible -- actually, most of them are, if I  
leave out the potatoes and tomatoes -- so I've been going over my  
"food thoughts" (I don't use recipes, per se) and seeing what I could  
reasonably use this way for camping/SCA.

> Dunno for sure, but I strongly suspect that the Lord your God wanted  
> people to eat as part of the being fruitful and multiplying.

Oh, definitely. Hashem doesn't ask us to fast on the Sabbath unless  
Yom Kippur falls on Sabbath. Sabbath is meant to be a delight, which  
is why we're allowed to have a fire lit before Shabbat for purposes of  
light, warmth, and the heating of foods that are put on the fire  
before Shabbat. Thank goodness, too -- I love chilled hummous, salads,  
and summer chilled soups when it's hot, but I'd hate to make cold  
Shabbat in the wintertime!

Judith / no SCA name yet