Historical, rather than Seasonal

Subject: Historical, rather than Seasonal Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:32 pm

There was a not-very-serious tv programme recently with a couple spendign a week eating "17th century" foods - only they were eating the really rich foods. My boyfriend wanted to know what most people would have eaten, so for tonight we're being a 1640s farmer and wife on a small farm!

I'm baking bread now; then later I'll make oatcakes hot off the girdle. He's making the butter because I can't shake a bottle half-filled with full-fat Jersey milk for half an hour! Then it's washed in cold water and slightly salted and patted to shape. We'll have honey and I bought some old-fashioned cheddar (half-price too!) with a rind, so it's the right shape of wedge ;-) There'll be a hot roast ham, and some bread sauce made the proper way - not dead smooth, a little lumpy: break bread up into milk, add a clove, add a finely-minced onion and a LOT of ground black pepper, simmer til no liquid is visible and it's a mush. A salad of rocket, lettuce, watercress, chives, parsley and with pot-marigold petals scattered over it, with an oil and vinegar dressing. Raspberries (also reduced in price!) in a dish lined with raspberry leaves from the garden.

All of it goes on the table at the same time, so it shoudl look wonderful!

laura

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:00 pm

Sounds yum Laura! God I miss a nice ham roast. They don't do them here like you get back home. It's the first thing I'm going to cook when we move back!
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Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:35 pm

I agree Ali....gammon roast doesn't cut it does it?!! I too miss the good hams you could get in Canada...no chance I'll be moving back there though so I'll have to settle for the gammon.

Your meal sounds most generous in variety Laura. Quite an effort to make your butter too! Hope it's a very enjoyable meal and evening for you...I'd love to be a fly on the wall and see how it all goes.

Jacquie x
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Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:56 pm

It went brilliantly!

He was a bit taken aback on arrival to be handed a plastic bottle half-full of milk and was very very scathing about it "miraculously" turning to butter and kept plaintively saying "but it's STILL just milk..." - but then when I started carving the ham and saying to give it up and stick it in the fridge and we'd use it as milk, he got really protective about his churn-bottle and kept saying "look! look! see - there! see?" and sure enough he'd made butter! I think he was really excited about it ;-)
He's not - as far as I've seen - at all creative (well apart from being a professional musician, obviously!) - he doesn't make things or, well, any of the things that many people do, no hobbies, just music. I think it mgiht be the first time he's had the joy of "I made this!" ;-)

We had a gorgeous meal and then watched a video set in C18th Ireland, so only a century later, and I've just given him a lift to meet friends.

I'll wash up tomorrow!!!

laura

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:54 am

Laura,

Wow, I'm impressed by your meal....and the butter....didn't realize you could shake butter...I'll have to have someone try it for me LOL..It does feel good to make something and see the results...
My mother always talked of her grandmother making homemade butter, bread and garden onions made into a sandwich. They sound wonderful....

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:40 am

That all sounds like so much fun!!!I would love to do that. Could you post any recipes? I homeschool and that would just be a fantastic learning activity. Also, what was the video you watched on Ireland? I would love to see something like that! Plus it would help teach the kids (me too) some about our heritage. Thanks!
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Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:15 am

Sounds great Laura, I watched that show, 'The Supersizes' right? I watch it every week, the one that on was last Tuesday was the Victorian period, and they ate some awful things, calfs head, calf ear fritters, candied maggots, really vile things. This Tuesday coming they are doing a diet from the 1970's, which will be fun, I love watching shows like that.

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:55 am

I'll post the butter recipe in the Recipes section - the oatcakes one is already there!

The film was called The Abduction Club and it was a funny romantic exciting story with great acting and the clothes were fabulous... men in breeches, long boots and big linen shirts... ouch, sorry just swooned to the floor there!
It's based on real history - by law, only elder sons could inherit and he would inherit everything, so any younger sons got nothing - so they needed to marry well... but the girl's father wouldn't want a penniless son-in-law, so would forbid it... so for decades a Club existed to evade the fathers!
It sounds terrible, but actually they were VERY careful to be just within the law and NO violence to the lady, NOTHING other than unforced totally voluntary marriage, or the lady returned safely home at dawn, unscathed in any way...

I really enjoyed it and am keeping the videotape to watch again!

laura

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:17 pm

Oh, I've got the abduction club on dvd, I thought it was good but not great.
Laura, if you like watching documentaries ect... about the past, try getting 'Tales From Green Valley' on dvd, it was on tv afew years ago, I watched it and got the dvds, it is great. A group of historians go to a 16th centuary farm house and spend a year there living as a farming family from the 16th centuary, you see them farm the land like they used to back then, cook and eat the foods of the day, have seasonal celebrations, it is just great. BBC2 made it so you should be able to buy the dvds from there, or try amazon, or even your library, well worth a look though.
Here is the link for it from the bbc shop.

http://www.bbcshop.com/History/Tales-from-the-Green-Valley-DVD/invt/av9400

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:58 pm

Melanie, the Tales from the Green Valley programme is the ONLY reality-tv show I will watch!

It is filmed at a place that Stuart Peachey (the bearded chap) runs more or less full-time as a historical research place. Many of the historical re-enactment people I know have been there for training and workshops and we all use his publications on food and cooking, as well as some people buying the cloth he sells, hand-woven, dyed with natural dyes from the period and from the sheep his farm has!

It's set in, iirc, 1620, so it's 17th century. I would really really love to spend a week there one day!!!

laura

Subject: Re: Historical, rather than Seasonal Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:38 pm

Me too, it would be great to spend a week there. I just love that show, that is why I got it on dvd and have watched it quite afew times, did you see A Tudor Christmas when it was on tv? Afew of the people from Green Valley were on there.