[Sca-cooks] Definition of "Period Cooking" was Re: Substitute for Potatoes?

[David Friedman]

>On Aug 24, 2009, at 7:10 PM, David Friedman wrote:
>
>>>Let me clarify my intentions, so that there'll be no more need to 
>>>create another dead horse just for people like me to beat on. ;)
>>>
>>>1. To provide food for myself, my household if I join or form one, 
>>>and anyone who signs up for my meal plan.
>>>
>>>2. To make that food in a way that doesn't violate my religious 
>>>restrictions.
>>>
>>>3. To make it, as much as possible, with only Period ingredients, 
>>>but in MY style, because every single cook that ever lived put 
>>>their own spin on every dish they made, and I'm not going to stop 
>>>the ongoing tradition of creativity in the kitchen just because 
>>>I'm choosing to learn about past times and Period ingredient 
>>>availability.
>>
>>This is the part that makes no sense to me. What's the point of the 
>>arbitrary restriction to period ingredients if you aren't making an 
>>effort to reproduce a period cuisine? You could easily enough go to 
>>a modern restaurant, avoid ordering potatoes or tomatoes or squash 
>>or anything with capsicum peppers in it, and get an equally period 
>>meal.
>
>The point is that it's a step further. We all approach our SCA 
>experience in different ways. This is mine. For someone who's only 
>been to half a dozen events -- and only one of them in adulthood -- 
>I think I'm doing okay so far. Do I come off like someone who's been 
>doing this for ten years and therefore should really be progressing 
>further by now? Because I'm not. I'm a newbie. Cut a sister some 
>slack! Hello, newbie alert!

Actually, you come off as someone who wants to be more authentic than 
the current SCA average, including old and new people. That's why I'm 
trying to persuade you that the way to do so is by going to the 
period sources, not by inventing your own hemi-semi-demi-period 
cuisine.

...
-- 
David/Cariadoc
www.daviddfriedman.com