Kildonan Times issue 29 August 2002

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

MEDIEVAL FOODS

This is another one of those dishes that just calls for a glass of wine, a green salad, and some crusty bread!

PEURADE OF CHICKEN (CHICKEN IN WINE SAUCE)

Red Wine
Cinnamon
Cloves (powder)
Mace
Pepper
Small Onions, whole but peeled, & parboiled until just tender
Chicken, thickly sliced, preferably dark meat
Red food coloring (substituting for Sandalwood, which was used primarily as a coloring agent)
Red Wine Vinegar
Ginger

1. Place wine in a large pot; add the cloves, mace, & pepper and a cinnamon stick or two. Bring to a boil.
2. Add the parboiled onions; return to a boil.
3. Add the food coloring, vinegar, and meat, return to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Allow to cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced - you want a "pottage."
5. Place in a serving dish and sprinkle ginger on top. Serve forth!

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

GLOSSARY

I have had requests for definitions of some of the words I use in the text. The identification behind each word in parentheses indicates either the word is derived from a similar word in an older language, or that the word is used today in that language. Also, there are some words in the book that I just plain made up out of my head- (identified as "mine.") If you want to know about a certain word, please email me at clovenstone@aol.com, or look it up in your dictionary.

witch: one who performs magic

withe (withie-popular English): tough, flexible stem (as in willow or hazel) used to bind things or make snares, wave baskets, mats, for wattle

witling: stupid person

woad: blue dye from plant of the mustard family. Dye is from the leaves. Celtic warriors dyed themselves with woad to frighten their enemies.

wold: rolling clear uplands or moors (obs woodlands)

woodward: in charge of the woods of a manor

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

NOTES

FANTASTIC FOLK

banshee: Everyone's heard about the wailing of a banshee and knows the banshee's wail means there will soon be a death. To "wail like a banshee" is a common simile in our everyday language to describe loud screams or crying. Shakespeare uses the banshee wail for dramatic effect in a couple of his plays. Wailing, or keening, is an expression of grief over death in many world cultures. I see keening women following caskets often on the evening news.

The banshee is a Celtic Irish spirit. The word "banshee" is a combination of the old Gaelic words for woman and fairy. The banshee is a woman is white with glowing red eyes in hollow sockets, or with red hair, or a beautiful woman veiled in mourning. There are probably many more local variations in banshee descriptions. The wailing or keening to portend death, though, is a universal characteristic.

Where the banshee has become a familiar local spirit, she has been given a name. The banshee is Kildare in Wexford, while Waterford's banshee is Badhbh. Banshees can attend families, particularly families named with the prefix O' or Mac. These banshees will keen under the window of a family member about to die. Again, family banshees can have names. Cliodna attends the McCarthy family of South Munster, for instance.

So if ye're an Irish, pray that you don't hear the wail of a banshee drifting over the downs, or worse yet, under your window. It could ruin your day.

Sources: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins. An Encyclopedia by Carol Rose;
The World Guide to Fairies, Gnomes, Elves, and Other Little People by Thomas Keightley; Fantastic People by Allan Scott, and the scads of tales and legends that I have read over the years.

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

HERBS

In my discussions of herbs in all the issues of Kildonan Times, I present only general information. It is not intended to be a guide for the use of the herbs. If you wish to use any of the herbs described in Kildonan Times, consult an herbalist or a definitive guide book to using herbs.

garlic: We all know that garlic is good for the heart and also for getting rid of vampires. But there's much more. Science is continully coming up with new uses for this versatile herb.

Garlic reduces blood pressure, clotting, and cholesterol. Test have confirmed antibiotic action against a number of diseases such as salmonella and dysentery. Most recently, tests show it may also be helpful in treating diabetes. Garlic juice destroys various fungi, bacteria, and yeasts, which explains its usefulness through the ages as a healing herb. There is evidence that garlic may be helpful in treating stomach cancer.

In the garden, planting garlic next to roses may keep off the aphids. Garlic spray can also control aphids. Interplanted with cabbages, eggplants, tomatoes, and fruit trees, garlic can help control pests that attack these plants.

And last, but not least, garlic is delicious. Who can resist a warm hunk of garlic-topped bread? Not I. Garlic appears in so many recipes and dishes that it would be impossible to list them all. I keep a large jar of minced garlic in my frig, and add a generous amount to any recipe that I can. It makes the food taste better, and has some health benefits as well. You can't beat that.

**************
chervil: Chervil is a delicate plant with a delicate flavor. If you have a developed taste for herbs, you will want chervil available. It is one of the French "fines herbes." It is best used fresh, and added at the end of cooking. Cooking it too long turns it bitter. Also, it loses its flavor if dried. Chervil is not well known in the American cuisine, though I have seen it packaged as a fresh herb at my local supermarket.

Medicinally, chervil tea has been used as a remedy for many ills, but the most popular through the ages has been as a tonic for high blood pressure and as a blood purifier. It is also a stimulant for digestion and circulation.

From a gardener's viewpoint, chervil is plant that likes light shade, and tends to bolt in hot weather like cilantro does. It does flower, and is an attractive plant.

My basic herb reference books for the herbs I use either for food or medicine in Clovenstone and Stones Seven are: The Herb Book by John Lust (Bantam Books), Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden by Robin Whitman (Bullfinch Press) and Herbs by Lesley Bremness (DK Publishing).

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR (me, Ruth)

The corn belt rolls away in front of us as we travel across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and right now, into Iowa. We drive and drive along flat roads that stretch off into infinity. Farms line the road with their geometric fields and their neat farmhouses with precise, green, perfectly mowed lawns. Around the edges of the houses are carefully trimmed evergreen bushes in symmetrical plantings. Drive through a village, it's the same, pleasant and picturesque.

These people live precise lives—for generations. They keep their fences painted, their towels piled neatly beside the ironed tablecloths, wash on Monday and mow on Wednesday. I know the people in those houses. I have lived amongst them. Life is predictable, patterned, and secure.

Miles and miles of neatness, and do you know what's missing? There are almost no flowers, much less flower beds in the yards. There are no piles of color, no eye-catching excitement. Everything is staid and green. These people need flowers, not just in their yards, but in their lives. They need some color and frowziness.

How about you? How long has it been since you did something new, adventurous, or creative? Are you plodding along in a precise green life? If so, frowse it up a bit. Begin looking, each day, for things to add color to your life. Are you still canning peaches in simple syrup the same way your mother did? The same way you've always done, because that's how you can peaches? Break the mold. Pop a cinnamon stick into each jar, and maybe a couple of drops of red food coloring.

Have you always mowed the lawn by going all around the outer edge, then working your ways inward in rectangles? Try diagonals, and see if you can keep them straight. Eat vegetarian for a while. Look around your personal environment; your home, your yard, your office cubicle at work. How can you "color" it up, make it more personal, make it more exciting? Try shopping at Goodwill or a thrift shop and wear what you buy with panache. Have pie for breakfast (my favorite is pumpkin).

You can do what the Macintosh computer slogan urges; you can "Think Different." Plant some colorful flowers in your life and, if you have a yard, put some out there, too.

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

WEBSITES TO EXPLORE

Here's an encyclopedia of medicinal uses for herbs. They also have information on vitamins and minerals. All this is a vehicle to sell their herbal products. But putting that aside, the information they offer is vast, interesting, and may answer some of your questions.

Reference Guide For HERBS

http://www.realtime.net/anr/herbs.html

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•T

This is an extraordinary site, interesting and educational. The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has an herb garden! Not only that, but it is planted with medieval herbs! Here's the website for pictures of and information about the Bonneville Cloisters garden and its herbs.

Medieval New York: Cloisters Herb Garden

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/herbgdn1.html

>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•>•<

And, as always, tell your aunts, uncles, cousins and friends about the books of the Clovenstone Chronicles. Give them an adventure!

Good Fate Be Yours —
Ruth

To sign up for Kildonan Times Ezine, please fill out the information below and click on "submit."
Name
Country
E-Mail Address