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A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)

us Offline Alan K.

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Instead of posting pictures in front of my grills in the back yard I thought it would be interesting to show you all some living history cooking.  I've been a historical re-enactor since 1990 and have portrayed life in everything from the Renaissance to the Seminole Wars.  Here I'm with a living history group that portrayed a group of Burgundian archers under Charles the Bold.  The thing of it was that most groups re-enact battles but to be different my group decided to demonstrate the drudgery of everyday camp life.  It's not always about battles, sometimes its sewing and cooking and doing laundry.  So, I became a cook.  Our clothing is authentic in detail and all hand made out of natural materials, and the recipes were used in Renaissance cooking.  So, here I am cooking in what could have been a 15th century field kitchen.  When I wasn't cooking I was talking about Renaissance cooking and the spices that were used.  Last picture is me in front of a scout group.
 
spitroasting.jpg
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fire blowing.jpg
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the pit.jpg
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History lesson.jpg
* History lesson.jpg (Filesize: 135.91 KB)


nz Offline zoidberg

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #1 on: January 02, 2016, 10:24:13 AM
Excellent thread sir.   :tu:   :tu:   Congrats on your first badge.   :cheers:


wales Offline Smashie

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #2 on: January 02, 2016, 11:21:53 AM
Now that is earning a badge in style! :salute:
“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” - Socrates
"I'm not feeling very talky today, off you smurf". - Smashie
Complaining is mental preparation for failure.
Si vis pacem, para bellum


no Offline Grathr

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #3 on: January 02, 2016, 11:45:41 AM
Great pics and info! :tu:
-Knívleysur maður er lívleysur maður.
 "A Knifeless man is a lifeless man" old Faroese proverb.


ie Offline eamo

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #4 on: January 02, 2016, 12:27:01 PM
now this is yet another fascinating topic - over the last few years i've developed a curiosity about how previous generations preserved food - until about 1953 Ireland had no rural electricity and while i haven't started any serious research yet, from talking to the older generation, all ive been able to find out do far is pretty much everything was salted.

Great pics, great topic, please tell us more :)
It is never too late to be what you might have been - George Eliot


us Offline Alan K.

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #5 on: January 02, 2016, 07:17:11 PM
Salted, brined, smoked, or sealed in a barrel of fat.  You can look those up, they are all still used today.  The development of pottery did much to advance early humans from strictly hunter gathering nomads, living in tents, to farmers who stayed in one area and built permanent settlements with domestic crops and animals, and solid structures for homes, because it meant that foods could be stored for a long time without spoiling and you could save seeds to plant in the future.


us Offline Alan K.

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ie Offline eamo

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #7 on: January 03, 2016, 03:10:01 PM
It is never too late to be what you might have been - George Eliot


us Offline Aloha

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #8 on: January 03, 2016, 04:19:03 PM
Awesome way to earn the badge  :tu:.  I'd imagine camp life was as if not more important that the battle  :think:.  I mean if there wasn't a steady source of food and shelter how could one be in their top fight mode.  Anyway those kids looked totally into it and hungry  :D
Esse Quam Videri


us Offline Alan K.

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #9 on: January 03, 2016, 08:35:29 PM
Thanks all. I loved teaching about life in the Renaissance.  We always ate what we cooked and made our formal meal part of the presentation.  The funniest part was people asking'  "Is that real food?" and, "Are they really eating that?"

Here's a little history for you to enjoy.
On the table in front of the scouts you can see a large, round, yellow pastry.  It is a thick pie shell called a coffin that was prepared for nobility.  Coffins were pre-baked, then filled with savory meat and fruit such as pork with figs in a sauce, and it would then be baked again to cook the contents.  When it was done the coffin would be cut open and the contents served to the nobility.  The coffin itself was not eaten as part of the meal, as it was not considered fit for the nobility.  However, having absorbed much of the juices from the meat and fruit while it was cooking, the coffin was still nutritious and filling, so it was often eaten by the servants or given to the poor.  On festive occasions when the nobleman wanted to amuse his guests, a coffin might be prepared and then filled with live birds which would all rush out when the coffin was cut open.  Hence, we have the nursery rhyme about the 4 and 20 black birds baked in a pie.  Speaking of the origins of nursery rhymes, I also make a pretty mean pot of peas pottage (with leeks) which can be eaten hot or cold, but is seriously not recommended if still in the pot, 9 days old.


wales Offline magentus

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #10 on: January 11, 2016, 04:26:46 PM
Fantastic post Alan! This forum is crammed with amazing people.
'Use the force Harry' - Gandalf


us Offline Alan K.

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Re: A different type of outdoor cooking (and for the badge too)
Reply #11 on: January 12, 2016, 06:10:23 AM
Fantastic post Alan! This forum is crammed with amazing people.

Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.  I've always been interested in history, so that much was never a problem.  It would be a whole lot easier portraying a late 15th or early 16th century Englishman if I was actually in England.  When I'm wearing multiple layers of linen and wool for the sake of historical accuracy, but it's 85 degrees and humid in south Florida, I spend a great deal of my time just thinking cold thoughts and trying not to pass out.  I do it for the kids and I do it with a smile on my face.

* the spices.jpg (Filesize: 52.26 KB)


 

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