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p-cook-child-msg - 9/27/08

 

Period cooking for children. Easy, fun recipes for children to cook.

 

NOTE: See also the files: children-msg, toys-msg, child-books-msg, teaching-msg, butter-msg, cheesemaking-msg, child-gam-msg, teenagers-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given by the individual authors.

 

Please  respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The  copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear at this time. If  information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                          Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 19:14:14 -0800

From: charding at nwlink.com (Cathy Harding)

Subject: SC - a recipe for kids to try

 

I have found that hedgehogs is a great one for kids.  I made a lot of these

for a feast a few years back and I had all the kids in the principality

making them.  One of them was serving the high table and had the prince at

the time (Georg - who is again prince,  that's for Morgana and any other

Oerthans on the list) rolling with laughter and almost in tears with the

tale of hunting and catching them (not to difficult) and preparing them

(they are the very devil to clean you know).  I made them this weekend for

a potluck feast and the 10 year old in our party took hers home to show her

mother before she would eat it.

 

Here is the original

Yrchouns

Take Piggis mawys & skalde hem wel, take groundyn Porke and knede it with

spicerye with pouder gyngere and salt and sugre, do it on the mawe, but

fille it nowt to fulle, then sewe hem with a fayre threde and putte hem in

a Spete as men don piggys, take blaunchid almaundys and kerfe hem long,

smal and scharpe and frye hem in grece and sugre, take a litel prycke and

prykke the yrchouns, an putte in the holes the almaundys every hole hald

and eche fro other, ley hem then to the fyre , when they ben rostid, dore

hem sum whyth Whete flowre and mylke of almaundys, sum grene, sum blake

with Blode and lat hem nowt brone to moche and serve forth.

It s from 2 15th century cookery books (i think that 's what my notes day)

 

Bascially, I don't do the Piggis mawys (that's like stomach or intestine,

you could use sausage casings).  I usually just do meat balls with spices

and bread crumbs and egg to hold it together, and bake them them with

slivered almonds that have been browned (with or without the sugar) as

spikes with cloves or currants as eyes.  I have glazed them with a flour

batter and also served them with out.

 

It is a very hands on recipe that kids like.

 

BTW

in Viandier the same recipe calls for finely chopped meat, grapes, crumbled

rich cheese placed in sheep cauls (stomachs) which are spitted and roasted

and then treated the same way.

 

Maeve

 

 

Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 01:16:25 -0800

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - teaching kids (was beerbread)

 

Puck asks:

>So, since I brought it up, I'll push the thread a little.  What

>recommendations would the list make re a first period dish for Puck and his

>11 and 12 year old tax deductions to cook as a team. For those of you that

>don't have kids, here's a few ground rules:  Must be very tasty, fun and not

>too complicated to prepare, though lots of unusual ingredients is a plus

>(remember the chemistry set), ummmm....time is sort of important; what was

>your attention span at that age?  Oh, and Pleyn Delit is currently our best

>resource, so if you suggest an idea from another source, recipe please?

>Nothing needing redaction, we need to work our way up.

 

How about fritters of some sort?  Such as:

 

Golden Morsels

Platina p. 148 (book 8)

 

Toast white bread crumbs, soak them in rosewater with beaten eggs and

ground sugar. Take them out, fry them in a pan with butter or liquamen

[chicken or pork fat], spread out so they do not touch each other. When

fried, put in dishes and sprinkle with sugar, rosewater, and saffron.

The version of this recipe in Martino's cookbook starts out:  Have some

slices of white bread pared that does not have crust and make the slices be

four (or square), a little toasted so much that every part be colored from

the fire. ...[end of original]

 

1 lb sourdough bread    5 T sugar       16 threads saffron

2 t rosewater (or more) ~1/2 stick (1/ lb) butter or lard      1 c more sugar

10 eggs         1 t more rosewater

 

Beat eggs. Beat in sugar and rosewater. Cut crust off the bread, slice

thin, put into egg mixture and let soak. Crush saffron into remaining

rosewater, mix with remaining sugar and set aside. Melt butter or lard in

frying pan; when hot enough (test with small piece of bread stuff) put

chunks of bread stuff into lard and fry until just browned on both sides.

Drain briefly on paper towels, put into dish and sprinkle with sugar and

rosewater mixture.

 

or:

 

Losenges Fryes

Two Fifteenth Century p. 97/74

 

Take flour, water, saffron, sugar and salt, and make fine paste thereof,

and fair thin cakes; and cut them like losenges and fry them in fine oil,

and serve them forth hot in a dish in lenten time. [end of original]

 

2 c flour       a pinch of saffron      1/2 t salt

1/2 c water     1/2 c sugar     oil for frying

 

Crush saffron in water to extract color and flavor, put in a bowl and mix

in sugar and salt, add flour and mix lightly until moistened. Heat about 1

inch of oil in a frying pan. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut in

small diamonds, fry a few at a time since they cook very quickly.

 

(recipes from Miscellany)

 

Elizabeth/Betty Cook

 

 

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 00:19:40 -0600

From: "Debra R. Poole" <dpoole1 at airmail.net>

Subject: SC - Cooking in MOC

 

I hosted MOC activities at our local 12th night.  One of the activities I selected to do was redacting and cooking a period recipe.  Of the 23 kids in MOC only one did not like what we did.  We made Brown Fries from Take a Thousand Eggs or More II.  The Kids translated it into modern English and then we prepared the recipe.  It was by and far the most popular activity all day (and it had some stiff competition like calligraphy and gold leafing on vellum).  I have not up packed all the MOC stuff yet but when I do I will post the recipe if anyone is interested.  I was wondering if anyone else had ever done this with kids and what kind of success they had.

 

Meredudd

Barony of the Steppes

Kingdom of Ansteorra

 

 

Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:18:35 EST

From: DeeWolff at aol.com

Subject: SC - Children/ Food / Events  (long)

 

So, I saw a need to fill and decided to run with it. I really wanted to work

with this problem for the past couple of years, but never really had the

nerve to do it. I now have that nerve.

 

The problem:

 

1) unknown foods at events

2) children witn nothing to do

3) need for unskilled labor in kitchen (paring , mixing, chopping, washing,

etc.)

4) need for more  training for more active roles in kitchen

 

The positive influences:

 

1) A bored child is more willing to try anything to not be bored

2) A child is more often willing to eat something he has helped create.

3) What we see as unskilled labor is fun to children (Messy is good !)

4) Experience in a friendly atmosphere creates a liking for kitchen duties.

5) I work well with children ( teaching and nursing background).

6) My mom taught me how a kitchen can be made fun .

 

The negative influences:

1) Period food is often strange to a modern child

2) Previous help in the kitchen may have been unnoticed or unrewarded.

3) The decidedly adult atmosphere scares the timid child.

 

My response:

 

Small classes (of ten children) given out in areas requesting a University

style format.

 

Example: At our most recent East Kingdom University, I provided a workable

(albeit, not typical) kitchen in which a maximum of ten children could

create, and eat a small feast based on period sources. However, the cooking

itself was thoroughly modern due to the constraints of the working area (in a

conventional classroom). I have a portable oven (convection/broiler/microwave

acquired in the 70's), a  electric steamer, and a good quality crockpot.

The menu:  Hirchones     from Harleian  MS 279

            La maniere de faire compost  from The Menagier du Paris

             Applemoyl from Harleian  MS 279    

             Hot spiced cider  

 

The result: A class of six, one child under five (I had limited the ages

from 6 to 12), the father stayed to help the five year old. There were no

other adults present.

 

The chopping and paring took a great deal of time. The results were ill

formed and messy. They were incorporated into the final recipes with great

admiration of a job well done and smiles from all.

 

The spiced cider was a hit! I encouraged mortar and pestle use for the

spices and they also grated a nutmeg into the brew.  All pronounced it  

excellent!

 

The hedgehogs, ended up looking like space aliens (one done like Pikachu by

an older child who could not just make a hedgehog like the others), but

three were fully eaten, one had the almonds eaten off, and two went home to

show Mom how cool this was!

 

The compost (mostly carrots) were considered to be good. They really liked

the honey sauce (no surprise here) and were promptly eaten.

 

The applemoyl  had the best result of all, it was inhaled! The spices (now

, all familiar: I explained what they were and we "sampled" them before

adding them) mixed with  the apples and the other ingredients were very good.

While it did not look as visually pleasing to the adult eye (due to the

chopping episodes) it tasted better than it looked.

 

The downside: While I had brought games to occupy them during the cooking

phase, I had forgotten that some do not participate well in group games. Next

time I will bring solo activities too.

 

Final Note:  All in all, we had a good time. I learned a lot, and so did

they. I think the best thing that happened to me is that when I asked them if

they would do this again, EVERY ONE said yes!  My next class is this weekend

and I already have two on the schedule for Pennsic!! And at Pennsic, we will

be using  camp fire cooking  techniques and be discovering how to use a turf

oven!  

 

Andrea MacIntyre

Ostgardr, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 18:35:19 EST

From: ChannonM at aol.com

Subject: SC - Re: Food for Children

 

How's about Dulcia Domestica, a Roman date stuffed with nuts, my kids love em

and eat them like candy,

 

Here is the recipe, very "Child Do-able"

 

Original Recipe #294 Flower and Rosenbaum edition of Apicius

Little home confections(which are called dulciaria) are made thus: little

palms or (as they are ordinarily called) dates are struffed- after the seeds

have been removed- with a nut or with nuts and ground pepper, sprinkled with

salt on the outside and are candied in honey and served.

 

Redacted Recipe

3 1/2 oz walnut halves

13 oz pitted dried dates

1 tsp fresh ground long pepper

3/4 cup honey plus 1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

 

Roast the walnuts on a baking sheet in a hot over(425 degrees) for 5 minutes.

Prepare the dates by gently prying open and inserting walnut piece

(approximately ¼ walnut). Close and set aside. When complete, sprinkle salt

over dates.

In a heavy skillet combine honey/water and pepper. Heat to a boil and reduce

to a low simmer.

Place the dates into the honey and cook about 3-5 minutes or until just soft.

Remove dates and set aside to cool. Can be stored in a cool dry place. Makes

about 80 treats.

I would remove the honey from the hot pan and put into a measuring cup for

the children to pour over the dates, mix them up and place on waxed paper to

cool. Yum.

 

Hauviette

 

 

From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Mission Impossible

Date: Wed, 05 Sep 2001 13:07:31 +0000

 

>    Being child-less myself, I'm a little at a loss to know what your

>average five-year old can handle as far as cooking goes--for example, we

>were putting the tins in the oven, and his arms are too short to reach

>the racks easily (Doh!)

>

>    Any suggestions?

>

>    Elizabeth

 

Adding ingredients, mixing, measuring (never too early to start math),

selecting recipes (pictures help and beginning the reading skills), fetching

dry ingredients, stressing the "clean as we go" skillsets, the rolling pin

is a friend, cookie cutters, clock watching, shopping.  Starting with food

that only takes a short time to cook.  Young folks have a shorter attention

span and can loose interest if they are say, waiting for a 3 pound roast

beef to cook.  Garnishing is always fun.  Wiping up and sweeping. Best not

to let them get too close to the stove.  There are some really good and fun

kids cookbooks at the library.  I get a lot of ideas from them.

 

Olwen

 

 

Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 11:47:37 -0600

From: dailleurs at liripipe.com

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Fw: [Medievalacademy] Recipe Question

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

hey all from Anne-marie

kid friendly food? no problemo!!!!

 

1. yrchons! the little hedgehogs are as much to make as they are to eat.

2. ruzzige cake. aka "pizza bread" (15th c. german, IIRC?)

3. marchpanes (sugar cookie like objects with marzipan decorations)

 

the small kids that camp with me live off hard boiled eggs, meat with

mustard, bread, rice pudding with whatever fruit goo we have that day,

honeyed carrots, ruzzige cake, herbolade (eggs, cheese and herbs, like

a frittata), applemouse, cookies and fruit tarts.

 

fun food activities...

1. molding fruits and thingies out of marzipan

2. bake a pile of shield shaped sugar cookies and let the kids decorate

them with their "arms"

3. have 'em make the yrchouns.

 

--Anne-Marie

 

 

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 15:55:47 -0400

From: "Christine Seelye-King" <kingstaste at mindspring.com>

Subject:RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Seeking Kid friendly period recipes

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Below are the the recipes I included in my "The Accomplisht Childe" booklet

Christianna

 

Another (8.60 Fried Cheese) - Platina 8.61

50. Snacks - Platina

Macaroni - Platina, from the E.. Andrews translation

23. Eggs However You Want Them Cooked, But First About Scrambled Eggs -

Platin Herbolat - Curye on Inglysch

26. Boiled Eggs - Platina

Sippets in mustard (Soup en moustarde)  - Taillevent

79. Browne fryes. -  Harleian MS. 4016 (1450)

Golden Balls - Platina  8.63 Panperdy - Markham

28. To make the best panperdy

To fry the best kind o Pancakes. - "De Verstandige Kock"

Lesenges Fries - Harleian MS. 4016

Caboches in potage.  - Curye on Inglysch

Funges - Curye on Inglysch

Sallet - Markham

Yrchouns -  Harleian MS.279 Leche Vyaundez

Sallet of Cold Capon Rosted - Digby

14. Red Mustard Sauce - Platina

15. Mustard Sauce in Bits , - Platina

Verde Sawse - Curye on Inglysch

  81. Appulmoy  - Curye On Inglysch

To Make Sepponi - Digby

A Very Pleasant Drink of Apples,- Digby, The Closet Opened

To make gingerbrede. - Curye on Inglysch

16. To help a ace that is red or pimpled. - Plat

23. How to take away the freckles in the face.  - Plat

How to Keep the Hair Clean and Preserve It. - Hannah Woolley,  The Compleat

Servant-maid.  London: For T. Passinger, 1683. (The HousewifeÕs Rich Cabinet)

For the Bah. - Thomas Jeamson, Artificiall Embellishments. Oxford: By

William Hall, 1665. (The HousewifeÕs Rich Cabinet)

 

 

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:49:38 -0500 (CDT)

From: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cooking with children

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> Gingerbread.

 

Hais, which doesn't require cooking, might be a better option. (I've made

gingerbrede both ways and am convinced that the part where you cast the

bread into the boiling honey means you have to heat the honey.)

Hais is in Cariadoc's Miscellany:

===

Hais

 

al-Baghdadi p. 214/14 (GOOD)

 

Take fine dry bread, or biscuit, and grind up well. Take a ratl of this,

and three quarters of a ratl of fresh or preserved dates with the stones

removed, together with three uqiya of ground almonds and pistachios. Knead

all together very well with the hands. Refine two uqiya of sesame-oil, and

pour over, working with the hand until it is mixed in. Make into cabobs,

and dust with fine-ground sugar. If desired, instead of sesame-oil use

butter. This is excellent for travellers.

 

2 2/3 c bread crumbs

2 c (about one lb) pitted dates

1/3 c ground almonds

1/3 c ground pistachios

7 T melted butter or sesame oil

enough sugar

 

We usually mix dates, bread crumbs, and nuts in a food processor or

blender. For "cabobs," roll into one inch balls. Good as caravan food (or

for taking to wars). They last forever if you do not eat them, but you do

so they don't.

--

-- Jenne Heise / Jadwiga Zajaczkowa

 

 

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:27:59 -0400

From: "Nick Sasso" <grizly at mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cooking with children

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

-----Original Message-----

Does anyone have any ideas out there for a food item that

could be made by children as part of a class using period

techniques, but does not require any actual heating or cooking?

We will be in an indoor room with a table but without any

kitchen facilities as far as I am aware.  It will be too hot at that

time of year (August in Texas)  to go outside and do a fire.

I am thinking yogurt, cheese or marzipan or something like that.

 

Christianna  > > > > > > > >

 

Any number of mustard recipes would do well . . .

Beverage syrups . . .

Stuffed dates / figs . . .

Almond milk and its derivatives COULD be done with preheated water in a

thermos . . .

 

niccolo difrancesco

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
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Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org