Food Prep and Cooking

[Peter Remling]

When the Message Board on MERanger was in full swing we had a number of good recipes and cooking tips. Anyone care to contribute something new or something from that site ?

[hesinraca]

At the SCA event this weekend I was in charge of dinner one night for the household I camp with. I did a chicken bbq of sorts. The original idea was a spit roast but the spit failed because I lost a piece and was busy with the demo and didn't start on time (takes like 3 hours) so we sectioned the chicken up instead. It was soaking in apple cider for a while, and then we put them on the grill til they cooked partially (surface turns white-ish) and covered them in a glaze. It was DELICIOUS.

Glaze I did was fairly period as far as my research went:

3 cups honey (this was for 2 chickens and a bag of chicken breasts, so not like you need that much)
3-4 tsps of ground cloves (I like the taste, so I might ahve done a bit more, but too much makes your tongue go numb)
4-5tsps cinnamon
5-6 tsps ground sage (this seams like a lot but as an auromatic, especially in a honey base, it dissipates a lot and you really only get a light smell/taste)

Put it all in the honey and stir till evenly mixed, then use a basting brush or a spoon and smear it all over. let it sit for 5 minutes and flip over and do it again. We only did one coating, but traditionally, especially with spit roasts, it sounds like you just keep coating and coating and coating, making sure to not actually burn any part, and eventually you get a honey coating that is almost crispy in spots. It was delicious.

[caedmon]

Viking Barley Bagels taken from http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikbagels.html

I've made this recipe and quite approve it, mine were generally salty and thick as opposed to the recipe's reported sweet, but I liked 'em.


* 2 cups barley flour
* 4 cups whole-wheat flour
* 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
* 4 tablespoons oil (I used cold-pressed sesame)
* 3-1/2 cups boiling water

In a heavy pan over medium-low heat, roast the barley flour in 1 T. of the oil until it smells good and turns several shades darker but is still off-white; flour should not turn brown. Mix barley and wheat flours with salt and remaining oil in a big bowl, using fingers to rub in oil, until it's of uniform consistency. Add the boiling water all at once and stir up quickly.

Being careful not to scald your hands, take out a small clump of dough and work it between hands until it's uniform, glossy and translucent. Repeat with rest of dough, then work it all together into one smooth lump.

Divide lump into into 24 smallish balls. Shape into bagels; poking a hole through the ball of dough works well. Arrange on oiled sheets (they won't rise much).

Let sit overnight. (Still look just the same, don't they?) Bake in 450 oven 20 minutes, then reduce to 400 and cook until "done," about another 45-60 minutes. They'll have hard, dark brown undersides. There is a fine line between gummy-undercooked and done-but-impossibly-hard; good luck finding it. I recommend testing one every five minutes after they've cooked an hour.

Let cool; if they're "done," they'll soften up a bit and be easier to chew. Slightly sweet and good with butter.

[caedmon]

Earlier this year my wife made homemade saltines, and did a taste comparison with storebought. They were better. Here's the recipe:


Sort of Saltines

1 cup sifted flour (really do sift it, your crackers will be more airy)
1 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of butter cut in chunks
1/3 + 1Tbsp milk
1 tsp of kosher salt (optional)

add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a food processor
pulse 2-3 times to stir up the ingredients
add the butter and pulse just until the flour mix resembles course crumbs
with the processor running pour the milk in and process until the dough comes together

transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and roll out to aproximately an 8X11 rectangle
sprinkle with the kosher salt and lightly role over it with rolling pin
using a pizza wheel cut the crackers into desired shapes
transfer to an ungreased baking sheet and bake 18-22 minutes until the crackers are done and lightly browned
cool completely and if you have any left store them in an airtight container but I'm guessing you wont have many left to store

[caedmon]

Once again stolen from my wife's blog.


Graham Crackers
6 Tbsp of butter, cut up
1 egg
4 Tbsp of honey

1/2 t baking soda
2 t water
3/4 t salt

2 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp of wheat germ

extra flour for dusting

in the bowl of a food processor add the first 3 ingredients; pulse to combine
dissolve the baking soda in the water then add it and the salt to the bowl; pulse again
mix the flour and wheat germ together then add to the bowl; pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball
dust your counter with flour and you rolling pin too, it is a sticky dough
roll to 1/4 thick, cut into desired shapes, transfer to baking sheet then bake for 8 minutes - 10 minutes, watch them they will burn in the blink of an eye
they are done when the edges are slightly browned
let them cool on the sheet for 2 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack

-notes- they don't come out crispy but do get crispy once they cool
they don't last long with kids around
the dough is sticky and I might add a bit more flour to the dough but then flavor may be compromised
one pan got a little too brown but my 5 year old had this wisdom "gee Mom, they are even good when they are smokey"
remember these are not store bought and are more like a flat cookie

[Cinead]

Wow.....ya'll are fancy! My meals consist of stews.....from dry veggies, wild veggies and dry/fresh meat.....

Although I do carry lembas from time to time!

[Willrett]

Spice Soup

Terry's original recipe:

I've been asked if I have a recipe for Spice Soup. As a matter of fact, like many things I write about, I write from firsthand experience. Spice Soup is a simple soup that I created a year or two before I wrote WIZARD'S FIRST RULE. First of all, understand that I rarely measure things when I cook. I go by instinct. Sort of like writing. Understand, too, that it's perfectly all right to add/delete things. If you don't like an ingredient, leave it out. If there's a vegetable you like, put it in. The variety of everything adds to the whole, though, so you may want to try it this way, first, to establish a base line.

SPICE SOUP

First, lightly brown some hot peppers in oil. (The little dried red peppers, often used in oriental cooking.) Be careful not to cook them too long, or the soup will be really spicy. After they're browned, take them out. Be sure to get all the seeds, too. I like to break up the peppers and put them in a vertical handled strainer and then lower that into the hot oil. After they brown this makes it easy to take them out. (You could also cook the peppers in a small pan and then pour the oil into a big soup pot through a small strainer, if it's easier for you.) (All the following ingredients should be cut up into bite size pieces.) Sauté 2 onions, and then mushrooms (about equal to the onions) in the oil.

After the onions and mushrooms are sautéed, add the following:
4 or 5 potatoes
3 carrots
celery
1 small zucchini
1 package frozen corn (or 1 can)
1/2 head of cabbage
2-15 oz cans of tomatoes (or 1 large one)
chicken soup base
dry parsley, crushed

fill the pot with water so that it generously covers everything. After bringing it to a boil, cover and let it simmer until the vegetables are all cooked. It takes some time for the potatoes to cook. Add water as it evaporates. I like to let the soup simmer all day. It not only makes the house smell wonderful, but it gets better the longer it cooks. With chunks of fresh bread, it makes a hearty meal, especially on a cold day sitting by a crackling fire. Enjoy. All best wishes. NOT in anyway my recipe but can be altered for field use taken from http://www.sword-of-truth.com/spice-soup

That is the only thing I can really contribute at this point haven't tried anything else yet.

[hesinraca]

Spice Soup

You're my hero. I used to scan Terry's page all the time but stopped, and I never found that recipe... awesome. Richard + Strider is the sort of ranger I want to be. I've got the herbalism and plant lore well on its way... now just to work on the wraith killing techniques and the additive magic;)

[Eric C]

More of a modern recipe I suppose. We have a hunter attending our church. He is an outstanding cook. I have a deer ham in the freezer. His instructions - I haven't tried it yet:
Cut open the ham. Pack it with bacon. Use toothpick to seal it shut. Rap with more bacon. Put it in the crock pot with a can of onion soup. Cook down, but don't cook it out. Then add cream of mushroom soup and finish cooking. I'm anxious to try it, I'm just waiting for the right occasion.

I know deer was discussed on Andy's site, but more people have joined since this site has been up and running. Does anybody have any good period recipes for deer?

[Willrett]

Yeah it is a bit modern but in the books there are many variations depending on what he has available. But everything he had in the soup was either from his pack or found close by camp.

[Eric C]

Oops, no. I meant the recipe that I posted is modern. Sorry about that.

[Willrett]

No my bad I completely read your post wrong. It does sound very good.