A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

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Desert Loon
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Desert Loon »

Try it! The longer you cook the little chunks the more pleasant they are to chew. Almost like big noodles.

If I get around to making pemmican I'll try making pemmican-hardtack soup. Meanwhile I'll try putting jerky or dried sausage in. I bought some South African droewors but I ate it all before I could cook more soup. I have a stash of homemade beef jerky I bought from someone in New Mexico: really thin and crispy. Not like most stuff in stores, I like it better. I have combined it with instant refried beans after breaking it into little pieces. I liked that.
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Eofor
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Eofor »

I'm all for the dried sausages. I hunt down cacciatore and they are brilliant as both a snacking food and then added to the pot at the end of the day.

In a pinch I will still use dried beef but the fats and flavours of the sausages turn a bland stew into a savoury one.

As to the bannocks.... I am envious but I'm a coeliac and the GF version would just fall to pieces.
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Erfaron »

Eofor wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 10:21 am I'm all for the dried sausages. I hunt down cacciatore and they are brilliant as both a snacking food and then added to the pot at the end of the day.

In a pinch I will still use dried beef but the fats and flavours of the sausages turn a bland stew into a savoury one.

As to the bannocks.... I am envious but I'm a coeliac and the GF version would just fall to pieces.
I think we have talked before but I also have celiacs and I’ve found some good flours for making bannock breads. If you try and find cheebe bread, it essentially is used for Brazilian style cheese bread but it holds together really well. In general mixes of rice and sorghum flower seem to hold together well for bannock bread. Then next time I make some, Will probably be soon, I’ll post the recipe and pictures
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Desert Loon
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Desert Loon »

A bit of a different method, but there are also hoecakes/johnnycakes you can make from ground maize.
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Desert Loon
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

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Parched grain, eaten plain or ground into flour, seems like it could fit quite well as provisions for travelers in Gondor.

One of my favorite hiking foods for the past five years is tsampa: toasted barley flour. I was going to get some pictures of me preparing and eating it but I'm just going to write about it.

Toasting or parching grain for portable quick eating is a practice found all over the world: I think I read that the Romans traveled with toasted barley or wheat, the Aztec warriors carried proto-tortilla chips, the Tarahumara of northern Mexico are famous for running and they sustain themselves with toasted maize flour. The Book of Ruth mentions eating parched grain.

My family and I like to eat parched grain just as it is - especially maize. I've made some pretty good trail mix with parched maize, dried apricots, pine and apricot nuts.

I like the tsampa too, and my youngest daughter loves it. I've made it with parched wheat, but I guess barley has some particular health benefits. I like it with either grain. Last time I made a batch I parched it over an open fire and I even managed not to scorch it too bad. I like stirring it into hot water and melted butter with some salt until it's like play-doh, then rolling or squeezing out little balls or dumplings - a variation on the Tibetan way. On hikes I've stirred it into a thick mush with hot water, and almonds and raisins added. On my last big hike I just stirred some into cold water to make a gruel, then I added some granola. It wasn't delicious, but when you're at 11,000 feet and have just been hiking for hours you don't care.
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And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. (Hopkins)
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Eofor
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Eofor »

Desert Loon wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:38 am A bit of a different method, but there are also hoecakes/johnnycakes you can make from ground maize.
Thanks for the tip. I suspect the reason I've not looked into maize before is due to its absence from the historical period i portray, I never considered it for Middle Earth cooking.
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Desert Loon
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

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Eofor wrote: Mon Apr 18, 2022 3:41 am Thanks for the tip. I suspect the reason I've not looked into maize before is due to its absence from the historical period i portray, I never considered it for Middle Earth cooking.
Yeah, that makes sense: harder to justify than potatoes.
Glory be to God for dappled things
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And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. (Hopkins)
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

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Desert Loon wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 2:39 am
Eofor wrote: Mon Apr 18, 2022 3:41 am Thanks for the tip. I suspect the reason I've not looked into maize before is due to its absence from the historical period i portray, I never considered it for Middle Earth cooking.
Yeah, that makes sense: harder to justify than potatoes.
Even they are new world so not for a 7th century Anglo Saxon plate!
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Elleth »

Oh I have fond memories of 18th c. parched corn! I don't use it for Middle-earth of course, but it is tasty!

Time for FOOD PICTURES!!!

I expect Dunedain trail rations are the usual premodern mix of hard bread and dried cheese, sausage, and fruit, with fresher fare when they're close to home or other places of men -
merf-trailration-meat-bread.jpg
merf-trailration-meat-bread.jpg (149.47 KiB) Viewed 4953 times
I expect at home the normal diet of the Dunedain tracks fairly well to early-medieval Northern European. That is, basically a rolling pot of whatever's handy - some mix of grain, vegetables and meat. Since (especially in earlier periods) fuel was comparatively plentiful and the weather comparatively cold, an often-done thing was just to keep the fire going all the time, with the pot just always bubbling away in the corner. Things go in as they become available, and get ladled out at mealtime. "Pease porridge in a pot..." :mrgreen:

Here's a medievalish pottage I came up with for another context - barley, turnip, turnip greens, carrot, and salt pork. If memory serves I had some cress from the garden at the time, which adds a just wonderful peppery note -
merf-medieval-pottage.jpg
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For richer fare, here's some other pictures from the "Dinner at the Pony" fare I cooked up for the MERS newsletter last year. The recipes were all simple / improvised on the spot based loosely on what we hear described in the text.

Since a bite standing might have to do, we've got loin of beef and pork, roasted then served cold. Also boiled egg, cheese, and fresh carrots from the garden -
merf-meal-at-the-pony-00-pork-beef-cheese.jpg
merf-meal-at-the-pony-00-pork-beef-cheese.jpg (127.21 KiB) Viewed 4953 times
Also pastys of mushroom, onion and cheese, garnished if memory serves with carrot greens -
merf-meal-at-the-pony-02-pastys.jpg
merf-meal-at-the-pony-02-pastys.jpg (117.31 KiB) Viewed 4953 times
More of what came before, with fresh-baked bread and butter. Just out of frame a cup of dark beer and a bowl of hot cress soup -
merf-meal-at-the-pony-01-eggs-meat-bread.jpg
merf-meal-at-the-pony-01-eggs-meat-bread.jpg (157.34 KiB) Viewed 4953 times
And for dessert, blackberries and jam (sweetened with honey, of course), and rich cream -
merf-meal-at-the-pony-03-blackberry.jpg
merf-meal-at-the-pony-03-blackberry.jpg (116.22 KiB) Viewed 4953 times
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Eofor
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Eofor »

Forget Rangers, thats hobbit fare!
But the white fury of the Northmen burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter. Fewer were they but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by ForgeCorvus »

Eofor wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 3:41 pm Forget Rangers, thats hobbit fare!
Why do you think Rangers go to Bree?
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Iodo »

impressive selection Elleth, a lot of that does look like it came from the Shire :mrgreen:
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Jack »

Elleth wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 2:07 pm
Time for FOOD PICTURES!!!
My goodness Elleth that looks spectacular!
Desert Loon wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:06 pm
I've perfected a bannock recipe that's a bit more luxurious than its simplest form. I cook it fairly often:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour or oat groats ground in a hand-cranked mill (somewhere between flour and Scottish oatmeal)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
Dried rosemary and sage to taste - a few sprigs and leaves
Grind the herbs with the salt and mix with the flour and baking powder. Cut in the butter until the texture is crumbly - like pea-sized granules. Add warm water - maybe about a cup - enough to form a dough that's a bit sticky. Knead it for a minute or two until it's not so sticky. Form a ball, pat and/or roll the ball into a round flat cake about a half inch thick. Cook on a griddle - on medium heat over a kitchen stove - for about five minutes each side, or until it smells good and forms some golden brown spots.
That recipe reminds me me of what in South Texas is called "pan de Campo" (translated: "camp bread"), a hold over from the days of cow punching.
Recipe is virtually the same minus the oat flour and herbs but I believe the fat component can be whatever is on hand, shortening, lard, bacon grease, butter etc. Cooked on cast iron with butter till golden brown.
The ranch I worked on as a teen served it for breakfast and it was my favorite way to eat fried eggs and bacon. Ruined buttered toast for me lol
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Desert Loon
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Desert Loon »

I love these pictures!

Hi Jack, I was going to greet you in your introduction thread - I live in Utah myself. I like reading about the pan de campo. I love seeing how a basic theme of food comes out in variations. I completely understand how toast would fail to satisfy after.
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And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. (Hopkins)
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Re: A Rangers diet; Cuisine in Tolkiens world

Post by Cimrandir »

Elleth, that looks positively amazing! I'll need to hunt down that newsletter to refresh my memory.
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