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MEDIEVAL FOODS

BRAWN WITH MUSTARD

The Pork

a pork shoulder
water
salt and pepper

Put the pork shoulder into a deep dish. Cover with water. Bake at 400 degrees 90 minutes or until done.

Slice the pork thinly and serve with the mustard.

The Mustard

See mustard recipe in herbs article below.

(NOTE: The roast will be quite bland without the mustard. You may want to smear some mustard on each slice when you serve it.)

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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.

leat: (Old English) an open watercourse for conducting water to a home, mill, pottery, etc.

nonce: (Middle English) present time or occasion, time-being, now

pease (pl. peasen or peases) Archaic British from Old English “pise.” peas

potted meat: meat or fish preserved in a closed vessel

pulse: (Old French) peas, beans, lentils

souse (meat) meat preserved in vinegar and spices

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NOTES

HARPERS AND HARPISTS

I was reading, in our local writers' group, a selection from Stones Seven, when my use of the word "harper" was questioned. This group has no experience with medievalism or fantasy, so to them one who plays a harp is a "harpist." Harpists we know. I have gone to dinners at upscale restaurants where harpists played as accompaniment to the dining. Lovely. Celtic harpists give concerts in church halls, at festivals and art shows, and sell their CDs to help scrape out a living.

But harpers, ah, they are from another age, another place. Harpers, bards, troubadours, traveled lands of romance, of castles, villages, heroic battles, and kings and queens. They were poets; they were musicians. They carried the news and entertained the people. Harpers were historians. They kept alive through the ages the folklore and history of their cultures.

Harpers disappeared though, with the last dragon. Their role as tellers of news and tales was supplanted by others. Their role as entertainers, though, lives in the Celtic harpists of today, the ones who give the concerts in church halls.

I knew a young woman named Abbey who even came closer to the ancient harper lifestyle. She was an American from New Mexico. She had studied Norwegian in college, and then gone to live in Norway for several years. From there she traveled around Europe, then came back to the U.S. Along the way she acquired a Celtic Harp, and taught herself to play it. Wherever she went, when a group of friends gathered, she would play her harp, often joining other musicians in impromptu concerts. I sang along with her harp at several get-togethers when we were both rangers at Acadia National Park. Then she left. And I left. The last I heard, she was teaching English in Taiwan, and probably teaching Celtic lays to the Chinese to sing with her harp.

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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.

grape: In the Middle Ages, grapes were credited with all kinds of medical properties. The leaves and shoots of the vine relieved headaches, heartburn, and joint diseases. The dried bark and dried leaves stanched bleeding and helped to heal wounds. The seeds settled the stomach, and the fruit treated diarrhea. In more modern medicine, the fruit is the basis for some blood-cleansing diets and the branch sap provides an eye wash. There is some evidence that chewing the seeds may stimulate anticarcinogenic activity.

Grapes, as food, are dried for raisins, eaten fresh, or crushed for jellies, jams, pies, juices, and wines. PB and J is a classic American sandwich, and the classic jam is grape. You can even buy jars of peanut butter with grape jam marbled through them. Grape leaves are used to wrap foods for cooking, and the seeds yield a light cooking oil. Wine, particularly red wine, is recommended as a tonic to aid digestion and benefit the heart nowadays. I have a glass every day, myself. Did it long before wine gained importance by officially becoming a tonic.

And here's a bit of culinary trivia for you. Cream of tartar is an acrid powder that precipitates on the walls of casks in which wine is aged. Combined with baking soda, it makes baking powder. Cream of tartar is also used to give creamier texture to candies and frostings, and to increase the volume of beaten egg whites.

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mustard: There are black mustards, brown mustards, and white mustards. Mother Nature was quite logical here. The black mustard seeds are the strongest, and the white mustard seeds are the mildest. Even then, white mustard seeds can pack a wallop, as in English mustards. I have a jar of English mustard in my frig right now that will make steam come out your nose. The bright yellow ball park hot dog mustard is made from white seeds.

I hardly know where to begin. Mustard has been a standard in food and medicine for ages. Let's begin with the medicine, and with the traditional "mustard plaster." The "plaster" is a poultice, or paste, of crushed mustard seeds and water that warms and relieves chilblains and rheumatism. It also warms and relaxes bronchial spasms and relieves toothaches. The "plaster" should not be put directly on the skin, as blisters could result. Crushed mustard seeds stimulate circulation, and thus were popular in love potions. A footbath of the seeds in water soothes aching feet.

Mustard greens are one of the most popular greens. Cook them with ham or pork hocks. If you'd rather go meatless, season your greens with onions, brown sugar, mustard, and chopped tomatoes. In all events, be sure to have the Tabasco or Louisiana hot pepper sauce and jalapeno vinegar on the table to spruce up those greens, and don't forget the hot corn bread. Mustard greens are also good in soups, quiches, and casseroles. Use them any where you would use spinach. including fresh leaves in salads.

Mustard is used in making pickles, chutneys, chowchows —and mustard. My late mother-in-law made a killer chowchow (mustard pickle) out of gherkins, small onions, cauliflower, and her secret mustard sauce. It was spicy and vinegary, perfect for meats and for Cornish pasties. The nearest I've come to it in a commercial mustard pickle is Hayward's Piccalilli. Mustard is an ingredient in meat sauces and salad dressings. It's one of the four basic condiments of the American cuisine: salt, pepper, ketchup, and mustard.

Here's the translation of a medieval recipe for making mustard. The translator (in this case, Jeff Berry) changes the recipe into modern English, then experiments with modern ingredients to reproduce the medieval recipe.

The medieval author, Hugh Plat, recommended that people make their own mustard.
"I thought it very necessary to publish this manner of making your sawce, because our mustard which we buy from the chandlers at this day, is many times made up with vile and filthy vinegar, such as our stomacks would abhorre, if we should see it before the mixing thereof with the seeds."

The translation by Jeff Berry: "Begin with as much vinegar as you wish to have mustard. Add either dry mustard or ground mustard seeds to taste. Let it sit a couple of days to mellow. A rough ration is 3 tsp mustard to 1/4 cup vinegar. I used white wine (vinegar). I would suggest perhaps a cider or some other more strongly flavored vinegar."

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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).

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A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR (me, Ruth)

Have you started writing yet? I talk about writing a lot, I know. Have you started a day/log book? How about a poem or two? If none of these appeal, write about yourself, your childhood, your life. I belong to a couple of writing societies, and autobiographies are the most popular kinds of writing that's done in these groups. People feel comfortable writing about something they really feel they know. Everyone likes to talk about oneself.

If you have children or grandchildren, how many times have you told them what it was like when you were a child? Write it down for them. They may not remember what you told them, but written memories will be a treasure for years and generations to come. If you have no offspring, write your memories and thoughts down for your friends and family, and mostly, for yourself. You may not always remember the things in your life that you do now. Memories fade as times passes. Catch them and record them now.

Just get a lined notebook, and start writing. If you have a computer, get busy with your word processing software (be sure to back up your work every session). Maybe later you will want to formalize your writing by printing it out and making a folder or a little booklet, or even publish it. But you can't publish what you haven't written. Get to scribbling now. Don't try to be perfect. Forget the spelling and grammar, just get it down on paper. That other stuff can come later if you want to polish the work.

If you want some ideas about how to write things down, there is a very famous book about childhood. It is a tale of growing up in America as an Armenian immigrant by William Saroyan titled My Name is Aram. It is short, touching, and amusing. Your library will have it, as well as any bookstore.

Get started by just writing. Don't try to put your beginnings in any order of time or place. Like the grammar, that can come later. Just write the first thing that comes to mind. As you write, more and more will come to you, like opening the gates of a reservoir. Warm, fuzzy memories will wrap themselves around you. Don't let them get away.

R

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WEBSITES TO EXPLORE

Everything you wanted to know about Celtic music is on this website, as well as free tunes you can download.

Ceolas celtic music archive

http://www.ceolas.org/ceolas.html

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If you know nothing about Celtic harps, here's the place to start. There's photos of harps, explanations for the uninformed, and opportunities for learning to play the harp, even.

The Celtic Harp Page - Celtic Harp Info and Lin…

http://www.celticharper.com/

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

Good Fate Be Yours —
Ruth

All art work and text © copyrighted by Ruth McIntyre-Williams.