Fool's Paradise...The Fun, the Food and the Fool!

"Fool's Paradise", an event idea that had been my heart's desire since almost the beginning of my adventures in the SCA, finally came to fruition in April of 2017.  The name of the event describes the "Fool" that I am, delving into the realm of being the head cook (AND autocrat at the same time!), and the "Paradise" was my own paradise, in that all the food offered was 100% gluten-free!

The theme of the day was, of course, April Fool's Day.  Though no one knows for sure the origin of April Fool's Day, one theory goes back to 1582 in France, when Pope Gregory XIII decreed that all European countries would switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, thereby moving New Year's Day from April 1st to January 1st.  It is believed that the tradition of April Fool's Day began when people who hadn't heard about the change continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1st...these "fools" were mocked and ridiculed for their mistake, often being sent on "fool's errands" which is likely the origin of playing tricks on people on April 1st.  Another origin story comes from the Roman festival of Hilaria...also known as Roman Laughing Day, which is celebrated on the vernal (spring) equinox in honour of the Goddess Cybele, who was the personification of Mother Earth.  During the days of the festival no one was allowed to show any grief or sorrow, so there were lots of games and amusement and people were encouraged to dress in disguise.  For my "Fool's Paradise" event I dressed in my version of the Goddess Cybele (I'm standing next to a fairy mermaid fabric art wall hanging I made a few years ago...figured it went with the theme!):

The big part of the day, of course, would be the food...so to instead of having a regular dayboard and feast, we had a backwards day of silliness by having a "Dessert Dayboard" and "Breakfast for Dinner".  As I said before, the entire menu was 100% gluten-free and many of the selections were also made to be lactose or dairy free and nut free as well.  I really wanted to focus on those of us with major diet restrictions and prove that a "feast" could be done this way!

Fool's Paradise:  The Menu:

Dayboard Dessert:

“Châteaux” de Brie
"Fish” cakes (Shrewsbury cakes) –cookies

Gâteau de Savoie
Custard Sauce
Foole’s Paradise Foole
Whipped Cream Topping
Dairy Free Daryoles (Custard Tarts)
Subtlety Cake
Apple “Coronets”: (Apple tarts in crown shapes with clove decorations)
Eccles Cakes
Gingerbread People
Assorted Fruits and Cheeses 
Crackers, GF bread 
“Magic Potions”: Coffee and Tea with Cream, Sugar, Dairy free alternative

Breakfast for Dinner:

First Course:

·    Oatmeal Porridge

·    Fig and Raisin “Cream” 

·    Plain Yogurt

·    Berries

     Milk and/or Dairy Free option for oatmeal

·    Honey for yogurt/oatmeal

Second Course:

·    Sliced Ham

·    Sliced Melon

·    Bacon and Egg Tart (Spinach for Vegetarians) 

·    Green peas 

  

Third Course:

·    Bacon 

·    Scotch Pancakes

·    Butter/Vegan Margarine 

·    Honey and/or fruit syrup

Strawberry Jam

Fool's Paradise:  The Recipes:

Pastry:

 For most of my pie pastry I use the recipe or slight modifications thereof for “Pie Pastry” in the cookbook:  125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt, copyright 2003.  I do have a gluten-free period oat pastry I have developed myself but it was specifically made to prove it could be done.  As a pastry it is only appropriate for some recipes because of its taste and texture.  The recipe by Washburn and Butt contains flours and other ingredients that are not period, but I use it because it tastes and feels most like what one would expect when eating a period pastry dish while still being gluten free.

  

Tart de Bry:

Brie as a cheese can be traced back to the Middle Ages.  It is said that Emperor Charlemagne pronounced brie as “one of the most marvellous foods”.  The recipe for Tart de Bry calls for “chese ruayn”.  Many historians believe it means a soft English cheese made of “rewain” grass but considering the title of the recipe, others have deduced that it could mean the cheese could be FROM Reuil in Brie ie.  “Reuil-an”.  Either way, who wouldn’t want brie in a tart, all melty and yummy? (Gora and Shaw, 2013)

Original Recipe:  174. Tart de Bry. Take a crust ynche depe in a trap. Take yolkes of ayren rawe & chese ruayn & medle it & þe yolkes togyder. Do þerto powdour gynger, sugur, safroun, and salt. Do it in a trap; bake it & serue it forth.  (Hieatt and Butler, 1390)

My personal redaction:  I have listed sugar in the recipe as optional because I’m choosing to make my tarts savoury.  I tried the recipe first with sugar and then without and preferred no sugar.

Châteaux de Brie (Brie Castles)

·         Pastry for one pie shell

·         6 egg yolks

·         6-8 oz brie, rind trimmed, cheese chopped into very small pieces

·         Pinch ginger

·         Pinch salt

·         Pinch saffron

·         ¼ cup sugar (optional)

Beat the yolks until creamy yellow, with sugar if using it, otherwise beat them on their own.  Add salt, ginger and saffron.  Beat brie in a separate dish as smooth as you can.  Beat egg mixture and brie together.  You can fill a large pie shell with this and bake as a whole pie.  For “châteaux” (castles), cut the pastry into castle turret shapes. Cut the outside of the castle shape first, line the sides of the lined tart shell (paper cupcake shells in a muffin pan), pinch overlapping ends together.  Cut out circles and place them in the bottom of the tart shell making sure there is enough overlapping the edge upwards. One filling recipe yields approximately 12-16 tarts.  Bake 375 F for approximately 20 minutes…watch for browning.  May need longer baking time for a full pie shell.

Shrewsbury Cakes:

In Elizabethan times, “banqueting” was not what we think of it today; it was basically dessert served in a separate room and would include drinks and lots of ‘fine cakes’ and other sweet things.  Mention of Shrewsbury (or Shropshire) cakes go back to 1596 when, due to a shortage of grain, there was a ban on making these ‘fine cakes’ in Shrewsbury.  Shrewsbury Cakes are not really cakes at all.  They are cookies. In 1602 Lord Herbert of Cherbury describes them as “brittle, but the form of it, which is circular”.  One can take from this description that these cookies would be similar to shortbreads later on.  (“Shrewsbury Cakes.”  The Copper Pot, 2014)

First Recorded Recipe for Shrewsbury Cakes published in The Compleat Cook by W. M. in 1658:

To make Shrewsbury Cakes:  Take two pound of floure dryed in the Oven and weighed after it is dryed, then put to it one pound of Butter that must be layd an hour or two in Rose-water, so done poure the Water from the Butter, and put the Butter to the flowre with the yolks and whites of five Eggs, two races of Ginger, and three quarters of a pound of Sugar, a little salt, grate your spice, and it well be the better, knead all these together till you may rowle the past, then roule it forth with the top of a bowle, then prick them with a pin made of wood, or if you have a comb that hath not been used, that will do them quickly, and is best to that purpose, so bake them upon Pye plates, but not too much in the Oven, for the heat of the Plates will dry them very much, after they come forth of the Oven, you may cut them without the bowles of what bignesse or what fashion you please.  (M., W.  1658)

My personal redaction:  The original recipe calls for flour.  To make my recipe gluten free I have chosen to use rice flour which I have further ground in my blender to make it as fine as possible.  Rice flour was used in the Middle Ages making this recipe as period as possible while still being gluten free.  I have also left out the rosewater as I am not a fan of it.  When cutting out the shapes of the cookies, rather than circles I used fish shapes to go along with the April Fool’s Day “Poisson d’avril” theme for the Fool’s Paradise event.

Fish Cakes:

·         1 lb finely ground rice flour

·         8 oz  butter

·         8 oz caster sugar (known as superfine sugar)

·         ½ teaspoon cinnamon

·         1 egg lightly beaten

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter and rub through fingers until mixture resembles peas.  Add just enough egg to bring dough together (you need less than you think!).  Roll between two pieces of parchment paper VERY thin.  Cut into desired shape (fish for fish cakes!).  Bake at 350 F for 5-8 minutes until crisp.  Yield approximately 150.  (Shapes come out better if refrigerated for a time before baking.  It is also possible to freeze cut shapes ahead of time for easier prep.)

Here's a photo of some of the finished little fishies in a shell shaped bowl:

Gâteau de Savoie:

In 1358 Count Amadeus VI in Chambery asked his chef to make a cake “as light as a feather” for a dinner with Charles IV of Luxembourg.  Pierre de Yenne was the name of the chef who came from Yenne, located in the Savoie region of France, and suffice to say this is likely how the cake acquired its name. (Blackwell, 2013)  Variations on flavouring such as lime, cinnamon, orange and vanilla have been used over time. (Blackwell, 2013) Modern recipes call for many combinations of flours used including wheat, corn, and potato.  (Blackwell, 2013)  The corn and potato flour would be ideal gluten free flours to create a light cake, but they are New World ingredients. (Wise Choice Market Blog, 2015)  A gluten free ingredient available during the late Middle Ages was rice, with rice flour being found in many recipes. (Adamson, 2004) The most important ingredient in a sponge cake, however, is eggs.  To create the “light as a feather” consistency as Count Amadeus VI desired, air is the key, with the separation of the yolks from the whites, beating them separately, then folding the two together very gently so as not to lose any air volume. (Mommiecooks.com, 2010) For my creation of an appropriate recipe for a gluten free sponge cake I researched a modern gluten free version by Cecile Delarue from her French and Parfait blog:

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Cake!

Ingredients

o    6 eggs, white and yolks divided

o    1 1/4 cup Cornstarch

o    3/4 cup sugar

o    Peel of one lemon

o    1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make it: Preheat your oven at 400F.  First whip the egg whites with the salt. When they start to really get big, add 1/3 cup sugar. Stop when they look like a bird’s beak (bec d’oiseau, when it’s very stiff ). Then beat the yolks and the sugar together for at least 10 minutes ( it’s going to change color and texture). Add the grated lemon peel. Mix again.  Slowly mix the egg whites to the the mixture. For each spoon of egg white, mix another spoon of cornstarch.  Pour into a buttered regular cake mold.  Bake for 5 minutes at 400F and then lower the heat to 250F, for 35 minutes. (Delarue, 2016)

My personal redaction:  To make my cake “as light as a feather” while still being gluten free and period I used rice flour I further ground in my blender to make it as fine as possible.  I also reduced the amount of flour to 1 cup.  For the sugar, I used superfine sugar instead of regular granulated to increase the lightness.  I also modified the flavour options.  The result was light and delicious!

   

Gluten Free Gâteau de Savoie à la Isolda

     6 eggs, separated

·         1 cup finely ground rice flour

·         ½ cup superfine sugar

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         Orange zest or vanilla

Mix the salt and ¼ cup of the sugar with the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.  Beat egg yolks and remaining sugar in a separate bowl until it is thick and creamy.  Add the orange zest or vanilla and beat again.  Slowly fold egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture, adding a bit of the rice flour each time until all is gently mixed together. Gently pour into a cake pan lined with parchment.  Bake at 400 F for ten minutes, then turn down to 300 F and bake until centre comes out clean…35 or more minutes.  Baking times may vary depending on the type of cake pan used.

Custard Sauce:

Custard dates back to the Middle Ages, the word being derived from the mid-14^th century crustade meaning meat or fruit pie. or a tart with a crust. (Harper, 2017) (Davidson, 1999)  Custard consumed on its own like a pudding became more popular after the 16^th century.  (The Nibble, 2014)  With that said, there are many types of custard, from baked custard (which is set) to stirred custard (which is pourable) to modern day gelatin set custards and cornstarch thickened custards.  (The Nibble, 2014)  For my purposes, I am most interested in pourable egg custard sauce and its relation to being part of the precursor to today’s traditional English Trifle.  A 15^th century recipe for Crème Boiled found in Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books , as my English Mum used to say,  is “as close as dammit is to swearing” to the custard used for the trifle we know today.  The original wording of the recipe in period language:

Crème boiled. ¶ Take mylke, and boile hit; And þen̄ take yolkes of eyren̄, and try hem fro the white, and drawe hem thorgℏ a streynour, and cast hem into þe mylke; and then̄ sette hit on̄ þe fire, and hete hit hote, and lete not boyle; and stirre it wel til hit be som̄-what thik; And caste thereto sugur and salte; and kut þen̄ faire paynmain soppes, and caste the soppes there-on̄, And serue it in maner of potage (Harleian, 1430-1450)

My Redaction:  From what I can tell it seems like this recipe may be an early bread pudding recipe but if you stop before adding the bread, it is simply a custard sauce, which is also naturally gluten free!

Custard Sauce:

Ingredients:

·         2 cups whole milk or cream

·         5 egg yolks

·         3 tablespoons sugar

·         Pinch salt

Directions:  Heat milk in a sauce pan (if you have a double boiler, use that) to a point when the milk begins to scald.  Remove from heat.  Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl with sugar until thick and creamy.  Very slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly until the eggs are tempered so they do not coddle.  Pour mixture back into saucepan.  Heat slowly on low to medium heat, stirring constantly (do not boil) until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the serving bowl to filter out any egg that may have congealed.  Serve hot or cold.  Yields just over 2 cups. *For a dairy free option, this sauce has been attempted with So Nice For Coffee dairy free alternative and the results were very tasty.

Foole:

Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats gives us some insight on the word “Foole”. “The oldest meaning of fool in English cookery, long since obsolete, is a custard dish.  There is some dispute over the derivation of the word; a cook might opt for French fouler (to press or crush) … The word fool came to be applied to a puree of fruit, typically raspberries or stewed gooseberries, sweetened and mixed with custard…and finally, more often simply with heavy cream.”(Washington, 1996)

My interpretation:  I tend to believe that fooles can be any combination of fruit and cream or egg custard.  With that said, my personal recipe is as follows:

Fool’s Paradise Foole:

·         2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed

·         2 cups sweetened egg custard, cooled (recipe discussed earlier)

Gently fold the two together so as to create a swirled visual effect.

Trifle...the Beginning?:

Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats states that there is some dispute over the meaning of the word fool as the Oxford English Dictionary does not agree that the word fool came from the French “fouler” but that it is actually linked to the word trifle.  (Washington, 1996) A reference from 1598 by John Florio in his Italian/English dictionary A Worlde of Wordes ties the word trifle to fool as a clotted cream, with the Italian word being Mantiglia: “a kinde of clouted creame called a foole or a trifle in English” (Florio, 1598)  Further supporting the idea that the words trifle and foole are related, a recipe appears in the The Good Huswifes Jewell from 1596:

To make a Trifle.

Take a pinte of thicke Creame, and sea-

son it with Suger and Ginger, and

Rosewater, so stirre it as you would then

haue it, and make it luke warme in a dish

on a Chafingdishe and coales, and after put

it into a siluer peece or a bowle, and so serue

it to the boorde. (Dawson, 1596)

As the daughter of British immigrants, I can attest that trifle definitely evolved from a simple bowl of cream, but one of the best parts of today’s trifle IS the cream on top!  So In honour trifle’s “trifle” beginning, our menu includes my personal favourite perfect trifle topping:

Whipped Cream Trifle Topping:  Whip 2 cups of whipping cream with sugar to your taste until thick and fluffy.  That’s all folks!

For more on Trifle…please ask to see my documentation on my recent Arts and Sciences project:  “The Trouble With Trifles.”

Here's a photo of the "Trifle Deconstructed" from the event...top:  Gâteau de Savoie à la Isolda, bottom left: Custard Sauce, bottom middle:  Fool's Paradise Foole, bottom right:  Whipped Cream Topping.

Daryoles:

Original Recipe from The Forme of Cury:  DARYOLS. XX.IX. III. Take Creme of Cowe mylke. oþer of Almandes. do þerto ayren with sugur, safroun, and salt, medle it yfere. do it in a coffyn. of II. ynche depe. bake it wel and serue it forth, (Forme of Cury, 1390)

Redaction from Pleyn Delit:

Custard Tarts:

Pastry to make an open pie shell or 12 tart shells

2 cups light cream, or a combination of cream and milk

4 eggs (or 8 egg yolks, if you prefer)

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

Optional:  pinch ground saffron (for colour); ¼ tsp almond extract or a pinch each ground cloves, ginger, mace (or other spices:  nutmeg and cinnamon, for example); or ½-1 cup chopped dates or other dried fruit, or fresh strawberries.

Beat eggs and sugar together, and then beat in cream and seasonings.  Pour into prepared pie shell or tart shells, over fruit (if fruit is used).  For one large tart, bake 10 minutes at 450 F then about 30 at 300F-325F; for small tarts, about 20 minutes at 400F.  (Hieatt and Butler, 1976)

My personal redaction uses gluten free pie pastry, lactose free coffee cream or So Nice for Coffee.  I choose to use a pinch of saffron and a pinch or two of nutmeg for flavouring.  No addition of fresh or dried fruit.

Apple Tarts:

Excerpt from The Forme of Cury, 1390:

XXIII. FOR TO MAKE TARTYS IN APPLIS.

Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and

wan they are wel ybrayed colourd [1] wyth Safroun wel and do yt in a

cofyn and do yt forth to bake wel. (Forme of Cury, 1390)

Redaction from Pleyn Delit:

Apple Tarts:

Ca 2 lbs tart apples

Optional:  1-2 very firm pears may be substituted for some of the apples, but not all varieties of pears are suitable:  avoid Bartlett pears, which are too soft when they are ripe

Ca ½ cup dried figs or prunes, stoned and chopped

1/3 cup raisins

½ cup sugar (brown, white or combination)

¼ tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, salt

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Pinch saffron

Pastry for one pie shell

Peel and core apples (and pears, if used) and chop:  pieces must be much smaller than the slices used in a normal apple pie today.  Or, put all the fruit (fresh and dried) through the coarse blade of a meat grinder.  Put the fruits in prepared pastry shell;  mix sugar and spices and spread them over.  Cover the tart with a sheet of aluminium foil;  bake about 45 minutes at 375F, removing foil cover towards end of cooking time.

My personal redaction with a twist:

Apple “Coronets”:

Gluten Free Pastry

2 pounds tart apples

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg

Pinch salt

Pinch saffron

Optional:  Whole cloves to decorate points of coronets

For “coronets”:  Roll out the pastry as you would for a pie.  For each tart, cut a crescent shape approximately 6 inches long and approximately 2 inches high.  Cut 5 points to make a crown shape along one edge.  Carefully place into one cup of a muffin/cupcake tin lined with a paper cupcake liner and pinch the ends together.  Cut a circle just slightly larger than the bottom of the cupcake liner and carefully place in the bottom of the liner, lightly pinching up the sides of the crown piece.  Gather leftover pieces and roll out again until you have enough “coronets” to fill your muffin pan.   Press whole cloves into each point of the “coronet” for fancy decoration.  *These are best done ahead of time and frozen just before filling and baking.  For filling:  Chop peeled and cored apples very fine.  Fill each prepared pastry tart with some of the apples.  Mix sugar and spices.  Sprinkle over fruit.  Bake 375F for approximately 30 minutes or until pastry is just starting to brown.  Yield:  12-18 tarts.

Eccles Cakes with Puff Pastry:

Eccles Cakes are wonderful sweet currant filled pastries originating in Lancashire, England.  Eccles means church and is derived from the Greek word Ecclesia which means assembly.  (“The Origins of Eccles Cakes”) The actual date of origin of Eccles Cakes is not known, but it is thought that the town from which they originate got its name “Eccles” as a result of the church constructed there in 1111 AD.  Each year a celebration service of the church’s construction was held which came to be known as the “Eccles Wakes” which included a fair following the service where food and drink could be purchased…it is thought the name “Eccles Cakes” came from the goodies available. (“The Origins of Eccles Cakes”)  History tells us that when Oliver Cromwell came to power in 1650 the wakes and cakes were banned because they were thought to be far too rich and related to paganism.  (“The Origins of Eccles Cakes”) But they returned!  Each Lancashire family would have their own recipe for Eccles cakes which could include raisins or currants, mincemeat, rum, or brandy but the first recorded recipe for Eccles Cakes is likely from Elizabeth Raffaid’s 1769 book:  Experienced English Housekeeper but in this book they were called sweet patties. (Copeman, 2005)

Eccles Cakes are very close to my heart as one of our British family’s favourite treats that Mum used to make.  So my recipe for Eccles Cakes originates from her recipe.   My recipe uses gluten free puff pastry…as Mum would have said, “As close as dammit is to swearing” to the original gluten-filled puff pastry.  To be honest, I actually got choked up when I took my first bite.  You can make Eccles Cakes with regular pastry and they taste great, but once you’ve had them with puff pastry you’ll never want them any other way!

Gluten Free Eccles Cakes:

Puff Pastry:  Bob’s Red Mill has published a recipe for gluten free puff pastry which I have tried and it was amazing!  LOTS of work, but worth it!  And you’ll have arms of a body builder after you’re done all the rolling!

Gluten Free Puff Pastry Ingredients:

16 oz Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix

12 oz Butter, cold, divided

6-8 oz Ice Water

Check out the website to see pictorial step-by-step instructions.  http://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/recipes/step-by-step-gluten-free-puff-pastry/  (House, Sarah.)

Mum’s Eccles Cakes with Gluten Free Pastry Option:

½ pound puff pastry (gluten free if desired)

2 oz brown sugar

2 oz butter

6 oz currants

Superfine sugar for dusting

Heat slowly until butter is melted.  While filling is cooling, roll out pastry dough (from the refrigerator).  Cut into circles approximately 3-4 inches in diameter.  Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle.  Bring up the sides and pinch pastry together in the middle.  Turn over onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and press down with your hands to flatten slightly.  Cut 2-3 air holes in the top of the pastry.  Bake at 425 F – 450 F “t’il its done” as Mum would say…approximately 20 minutes.  Be prepared…your smoke detector may go off when you open the oven!  Cool slightly, then dust with superfine sugar.  Eccles Cakes are best eaten while still warm, but wait a few minutes or you’ll burn off your tongue! *For those who are dairy intolerant, I’m sorry to say that this recipe is best with butter…you won’t be able to make puff pastry with anything BUT butter.  However, if you’re lucky enough to find it, there is lactose free butter available if lactose is the only part of butter that bothers your belly.

Eccles Cake up close...they don't last very long!

 YUM!

YUM!

Gingerbread:

Medieval gingerbread is nothing like the modern day gingerbread cookies we have come to love today other than the addition of ginger, although other spices were used as well in medieval times.  (Davidson, 1999)  Medieval gingerbread is a mixture of honey, breadcrumbs and spices with addition of saffron or powdered sandalwood for colour and results in something of a candy or other confection.  (Davidson, 1999)  It was often made into shapes using wooden moulds and the gingerbread was often gilded with gold leaf.  (Davidson, 1999)

There are a few choices for gingerbread recipes from the Middle Ages but the one from which I have chosen to create a gluten free redaction comes from Two fifteenth-century cookery-books:

.iiij. Gyngerbrede.—Take a quart of hony, & sethe it, & skeme it clene; take Safroun, pouder Pepir, & þrow þer-on; take gratyd Brede, & make it so chargeaunt*. [stiff. ] þat it wol be y-lechyd; þen take pouder Canelle, & straw þer-on y-now; þen make yt [leaf 28.] square, lyke as þou wolt leche yt; take when þou lechyst hyt, an caste Box leves a-bouyn, y-stykyd þer-on, on clowys. And ȝif þou wolt haue it Red, coloure it with Saunderys y-now. (Harleian 1430)

My redaction:  The most important ingredient here is the bread crumbs.  DO NOT use the pre-packaged gluten free bread crumbs.  They don’t have the correct consistency and some have added cornmeal which doesn’t give you the results you want at all.  My preference is to use Udi’s gluten free white bread or burger buns left out on the counter for about 2-3 days until they’re stale and then break them up and grind them in a blender.

Gluten Free Gingerbread People:

3-4 oz honey

4 Udi’s Gluten Free White Sliced Bread, stale and broken into very fine pieces

½ -1 teaspoon of ground ginger (to your taste)

¼ - ½ teaspoon of cinnamon (to your taste)

Rice Flour for Rolling Out

Bring the honey to a boil on medium heat.  Add spices.  While stirring, add breadcrumbs gradually until the mixture becomes thick and stiff but workable.  Let cool slightly until mixture can be handled with bare skin.  It will thicken upon cooling but if it is still too runny, you can add more breadcrumbs while on low heat.  Turn mixture onto a piece of parchment paper.  Add another piece of parchment on top and roll out to desired thickness.   Cut the gingerbread into desired sizes and work into desired shapes.  The use of a cookie cutter is helpful but you can mould it into very cool designs with your hands!  Cool in the fridge and store in a covered tin…use pieces of parchment paper for each layer of gingerbread pieces so they don’t stick together.

Subtleties:

The historical definition of “subtlety” from Dictionary.com is as follows:  “an elaborate confection, ornate in construction and ornamentation, sometimes edible but more often made and used as a decoration for a table or buffet.”  (Dictionary.com, 2017)  In the middle ages subtleties could be made from sugar, pastry and even meat.  (Hieatt and Butler,1976)

The subtleties I presented for Fool’s Paradise are part of the dessert table.  Various fruits have been arranged to resemble fish, a peacock and an owl.  I used some of my leftover gingerbread to create a “Cedric” shape (from our Canton of Seashire arms), using raspberry juice to give it a red colour.  The Châteaux de Brie pastries have been shaped into castle turrets and the Apple Coronets have been shaped into coronets.  There are fish shaped cookies and gingerbread people.  And finally, since the mermaid is part of my personal device I have made a “mermaid sitting on a rock” cake.  I used the Gâteau de Savoie recipe for the cake which is covered with naturally dyed icing (using blueberry juice, raspberry juice, ground spinach and saffron steeped in boiled water).  The remaining decorations are not “period” but since this cake is meant to enchant the children I decided to use the popular “Swedish Fish” candy, “Fruit Rollups” and white chocolate moulded into shell shapes  (again, dyed with natural colouring).  The sand is actually brown sugar.  And the mermaid herself is a purchased toy decorated with icing and a white chocolate crown!

Check out the freaky fruit:

Here's "Cedric" the Seadrake surrounded by his minions (gingerbread people):

And behold "Mermaid sitting on a Rock"...she rocks that crown!

Breakfast in the Middle Ages:

Ironically, the idea of “Breakfast for Dinner” is more medieval than breakfast itself.  Breakfast in the Middle Ages was not the meal we know today.  In fact, people rarely ate anything before the middle of the day.  The word breakfast comes from “break the night’s fast” due to the rituals observed in monasteries but it was rare that anything was consumed until after morning Mass. (Winterman, 2012)  Eating early in the morning was frowned upon so the only people who might have something to eat before the mid-day meal would be peasants or  craftsmen who would find it difficult to wait until later in the day to eat, as well as children, the lderly and the sick.  (Adamson, 2004)  Some of our well-liked breakfast foods did originate in the Middle Ages due to religious observance as would be the case before Lent, when much of the meat needed to be used up and since many people had pigs, pork and bacon were on the menu with eggs being a popular accompaniment to meat.  (Winterman, 2012)

With all the said, my menu has been prepared with the inspiration of what we might normally eat for breakfast today using recipes and menu items that would have been available in the Middle Ages but with the added caveat that it be gluten free and in some cases, lactose free/dairy free.

Porridge:

Oats have been grown in Scotland since late medieval times and became a staple food in that region.  Porridge was made as a way of keeping oats edible as long as possible.  A thick paste of oats and water with a little added salt would be cooked in a heavy saucepan with a wooden utensil called a spurtle and then stored in a wooden “porridge” drawer so it could be eaten over several days including being cut into thick slices like bread.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Porridge

3 cups pure uncontaminated oats

6 cups water

salt

Bring water and salt to boil.  Add oats.  Reduce heat and simmer 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and let stand for 2 minutes.

Fig and Raisin Cream:

A perfect topping for hot cereal or yogurt, this recipe originates from the 14^th century Forme of Cury (accessed through The Medieval Cookbook)

Rapey.  Take half fyges and half raisouns;  pike hem and waishe hem through a straynour.  Cast hem in a pot and therwith powdur of peper and oother good powdours;  alay it up with flour of rys, and colour it with saundres.  Salt it, seeth is & messe it forth.  (Forme of Cury, 1390)

Maggie Black’s redaction:

Fig and Raisin “Cream”:

4 oz well-soaked figs

4 oz stoned raisins

1 ¼ cups red wine

Pinch ground black pepper

1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Sugar to taste

3 teaspoons rice flour

A drop or two of red food colouring

Salt to taste

Drain figs, reserving the soaking liquid.  Discard stalk ends and put them in a saucepan with the raisins and wine.  Add spices and sugar and bring to boil.  Take off heat, cool slightly, then blend until smooth.  Add a little of the soaking water if necessary.  Cream the rice flour with a little more soaking liquid or wine and brighten the tint with a drop of food colouring.  Blend the “cream” into the dried fruit puree.  Return whole mixture to saucepan and simmer until it thickens slightly.  Season with salt and sugar.  Can be served hot or cold over a sweet cereal dish or ice cream.  (Black, 1992)

My redaction:  Use grape juice in place of wine.  Soak the figs in the grape juice instead of water.  For a natural food colouring use raspberry juice.  1 recipe yields approximately 600ml. 

Yogurt:

It is not clear exactly when the consumption of yogurt began, but the first mention of it seems to originate in the 11^th century AD in Turkey where “yogurt” is, in fact, a Turkish word.  (Maskevich, 2015) 

Coffins, Tarts and Pies, Oh My!

As discussed earlier, the recipe I use for pastry does not used period ingredients but it resembles the taste and texture we are looking for in our medieval feasting.   Early pies were called “coffins” or “coffyns”, meaning basket or box. (Stradley, 2016)   It is interesting to note that the original “crust” was not meant to be eaten at all; the purpose of the coffin was to prevent the ingredients inside it from burning during many hours of baking.  (Stradley, 2016)  To withstand the heat, they were often made very thick, so were quite inedible.  (Stradley, 2016)

As I said earlier, pork and eggs were popular at this time, so here are my “coffins” of pork, eggs, and of course, nothing is better than cheese!

Gluten Free and Lactose Free Bacon and Egg Tart:

·         1 small gluten free tart shell

·         2 eggs

·         2/3 cups LF Blend Cream

·         1 cup LF shredded Swiss cheese

·         4-6 slices cooked bacon broken into bits

·         Teaspoon parsley

·         Pinch nutmeg (optional)

Beat all ingredients together, pour into shell and bake at 375F  for approximately 35-40 minutes.

  

Gluten Free and Lactose Free Spinach and Egg Tart:

  

·         1 small gluten free tart shell

·         2 eggs

·         2/3 cup So Nice for Coffee

·         1 cup LF shredded cheese

·         Spinach

Beat all ingredients together, pour into shell and bake at 375F  for approximately 35-40 minutes.

Can't say no to bacon!

Green Peas:

Original recipe for “Grene Pesen” from  Ancient Cookery (Arundel, 1425):

Take Yonge grene pesen, and seethe hom with gode broth of beef, and take parsell, sage, saveray, and ysope, and a lytel brede, and bray all this in a morter, and sume of the pesen therwith, and tempur hit wyth the broth, and do hit in a pot to the other pesen, and let hit boyle togedur, and serve hit forth.  (Arundel, 1425)

Pleyn Delit redaction ingredient list:

Green Peas:

3 lbs fresh green peas, shelled, or, if peas are out of season, 2 packages of frozen peas

1 cup beef broth

2 sprigs parsley

A few leaves of mint, or ½ tsp dried mint

1 or 2 sage leaves and a bit of savory

1 slice bread

(Hieatt and Butler)

My Redaction:

Gluten Free Green Peas:

2 lbs frozen green peas

Vegetarian beef broth to cover peas

Teaspoon dried parsley

½ teaspoon dried mint

½ teaspoon dried sage

¼ teaspoon savoury

Boil peas in broth for about 10 minutes.  Drain some of the broth and about 1 cup peas into a dish.  Add herbs and spices.  Mash peas until they are mixed well with the broth.  Drain the rest of the broth from the remaining peas and add the mashed pea mixture to the remaining peas.  Heat through and serve warm.

Pancakes:

Recipes for pancakes have been around since the collection of Roman cookery recipes written by Apicius which includes a batter recipe comprised of eggs, milk, water and flour that was fried and served with honey and pepper. (The Guardian, 2017)  The word pancake was first used in a 15^th century cooking manuscript from 1430.  (The Guardian, 2017).

.lxiiij. Towres.—Take & make a gode þikke bature of ȝolkys of Eyroun, & marow y-now þer-on, pouder pepir, Maceȝ, clowes, Safroun, Sugre, & Salt; & ȝif þou wolt, a litel soþe Porke or vele y-choppid; þer-to take þen þe whyte of Eyroun, & strayne hem in-to a bolle; þan putte a lytil Saffroun & Salt to þe whyte, & sette a panne with grece ouer þe fyre, & be-war þat þin grece be nowt to hote; þan putte a litel of þe Whyte comade in þe panne, & late flete al a-brode as þou makyst a PANCAKE; þen, whan it is sumwhat styf, ley þin comade of þin Eyroun, þat is to saying, of þe ȝolkys, in þe myddel, & caste by þe cake round a-bowte, & close hym foure-square, & fry hem vp, & serue hem forth for Soperys in Somere. (Harleian, 1430)

A pancake, as its name suggests, is a “cake” cooked on a heated flat surface such as a griddle or pan and are known for being a food eaten before Lent in order to use up all the luxury food…where Shrove or Pancake Tuesday originates.  (Spencer, 2011)  Also known as drop scones, dropped scones, and Scots Pancakes, Scotch pancakes are a thicker, cakier version of the pancake we know today.  (Davidson, 1999)  My favourite pancake growing up, Scotch pancakes are sweet and very rich and demand a huge dollop of butter melted on top to enjoy, though there are those who enjoy jam and honey on it as well.  I have managed to develop a recipe for the Scotch pancakes as close to the taste I remember that are also gluten free.  They can also be made dairy free if using vegan margarine and soy milk.

Gluten Free Scotch Pancakes:

·         1 ¼  cups Paneriso Gluten Free Mix for Bread

·         1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

·         Scant ½ cup sugar

·         4 tablespoons Becel Vegan Margarine or Earth Balance margarine

·         Pinch salt

·         2 eggs

·         1/2 cup-ish Soy Milk

·         canola oil for pan

Mix together dry ingredients.  Work the butter/margarine into the mix with your fingers until it is crumbly.  Using a fork, beat the eggs slightly and then mix into the dry mixture.  Stirring again with a fork, add enough milk to bring the mixture together into a thick batter…it should not be as thin as regular pancake batter.  Heat your griddle or frying pan to medium and add a tablespoon or so of oil.  Once the oil is heated, drop dollops of batter onto the pan.  Once the pancake has crisped enough on the bottom, turn it over and flatten it out slightly with the back of the spatula.  Cook until browning and crisp on both sides (you may need to flip once more) and there is no uncooked batter in the middle.  Serve hot off the griddle with lots of butter or topping of your choice.  Makes approximately 16-18 small pancakes.

A few of the toppings available for the Scotch Pancakes...including the Fig and Raisin Cream on the far left.  So much yum!

And just to give you an idea of how much work this entailed, here are "before" and "after" shots of the contents of my refrigerator:

***Please feel free to use any of my recipes/redactions for feasts of your own, but please give me the courtesy of mentioning me in the origin of the recipes used.

*For a full list of references please contact me at:  Christine.colin@ns.sympatico.ca*