[Sca-cooks] Special diet friendly sweets

[Susan Fox]

Amy Cooper wrote:
> This weekend is our Shire's quarterly feast night. One dish I'm going
> to do is Torta Bolognese - to me, the dish almost screams spring. But,
> we've got some shirefolk (and both dear friends of mine) with some
> interesting dietary restrictions. One is vegan - her digestion
> literally can't handle meat/dairy/eggs of any sort. Honey is ok with
> her. The other one is on an anti-inflammatory diet, so she can't have
> dairy, and is to avoid wheat as much as possible. She also is allergic
> to peanuts, and therefore avoids nuts. These friends are not making
> any sort of demands on me - I just enjoy the challenge of cooking
> something they can have and might like.
>   
Friend #1 would do pretty well with anything marked "Lenten" don't you 
think?  Here's a nice rice pudding from Maestro Martino:  
http://www.nicomarin.com/ricette/ric340_e.htm

Friend #2 should find out for sure about nuts other than peanuts.  
Honestly, peanuts and their products should properly not be found in the 
SCA milieu but you know people will sneak in peanut oil for frying on 
account of its stability at really high temperatures.  But it does not 
automatically follow that she is allergic to almonds and that would 
really make your life easier if you could use almonds and almond milk.
> I'm thinking of some sort of sweet for my second dish - which should
> meet the above-mentioned friends' dietary requirements, since the
> torta will not be edible by either of them. I had been thinking of
> something like Breney or a similar fruit compote, served with probably
> fried wonton skins (not period, I know, but I really really don't work
> well with doughs of any sort). 
Meh, don't beat yourself up over that, they are just "paste rolled thin" 
by someone outside of your house.  On the other hand, they are made from 
wheaten flour which counts it out for your wheat-avoiding friend.  A few 
friends in the Barony of the Angels have turned up with Celiac disease 
and I'm keenly aware of this kind of thing.

> I don't think I can find or afford all
> the ingredients, though (most of the recipes I've found have pine nuts
> and/or quince). Are there some simpler fruit compote recipes out
> there, with more modernly-common ingredients?
What fruits you got?  Check Stefan's Florilegium under the "Food-Fruits" 
page of goodness.  Quinces are at about the end of their season anyway.

Bon Appetit, Selene