[Sca-cooks] true medieval recipes!

[Susan Lord]

We have had a bit of discussion of late and last I knew it ended that I would like to know specific cases in which I have added or changed ingredients from the original manuscript.

Tonight. I was proof reading a blog I am preparing for publication. The recipe calls for nigella seeds. Yes, I prepare my blogs as long in advance as possible, which leaves my doctors time to operate and for me to be with the family when they have time. 

I found recipe No. 195 in the 13th century al-Andalus manuscript calls for the nigella seeds. I couldn’t find the seeds in the places I frequent but did find them for sale on internet. I ordered them. 

After a month, I asked the sender where they were. She replied that they were on a bus to my home in Santiago, Chile. The bus line is national. Now I am wondering if the seeds were coming from the Austral highway, which is dirt, or Patagonia in the deep south of Chile as Amazon USA gets their packages to me faster than that. Finally, the lady gave me the correct shipping number after a couple of tries. I called the bus company and they said the package had just arrived. Oh I replied, - then I will stay home all day waiting for it, no? No, she replied, but tomorrow it will be delivered.

The next day a young boy appeared with an envelope half the size of a legal sheet of paper and charged me for the shipping. I felt that that was overdoing it as my shipping fees are included in all other internet orders. Anyway, the return address was a town in Valparaiso, 1 1/2 hours from my home! Had we known, we could have picked it up when vacationing in the area during the September holidays.

Anyway, I open the package. It contained the normal little seed envelope. I opened that and it had the tiniest of plastic bags in which there was 1/4 tsp of seeds - all that for a total of USD$7.50.

Anyway, now I can make the recipe. Nope, I forgot the chard. Dashed out for that. Then, finally, I made the recipe as directed and then posted it with my photos and the original recipe scanned as usual.  Hold your breath. . .

The original recipe does not call for nigella seeds but Perry’s translation does. . .