Cudgel War is coming soon!! Food plans are almost done. Well the menu for the snacks and lunches are done and UlfR will modify the recipes and do the shopping list next. The event will start on next Friday (and we will be there already on Thursday and help with the event preparations). But this weekend we will attend once again Turku Medieval Market. Can't wait that!
I have ordered fabrics for our new clothing and I already have got half of them. I wish I could have everything done by Aarnimetsä Investiture which will be on end of September. It would be fun to have new and pretty clothes for our stepping down. So that's the dream now. I can reveal now that the blackwork collar for my new shirt is done. If I have time next week before Cudgel I might start making patterns for the new clothing.
Our friend Jon needs new clothing too but there are no actual deadlines for those. I will make a new shirt, Viking tunic, kaftan and similar kind of baggy pants UlfR has for him. Well I am planning also to make (and already have fabric) for UlfR's kaftan. Fabric for the tunics I have pre-ordered from Medeltidsmode and I will get those at Turku Medieval Market. Anyway Jon's kaftan has been cut and I have started to sew it last Sunday on our way from my father's place to home. I do lots of hand sewing in car while we are travelling from place to place.
This is what I usually do if UlfR is driving :)
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Niin, mitäpä seuraavaksi? Nuijasota tulee pian!! Ruokasuunnitelmat välipalojen ja lounaiden osalta ovat loppusuoralla. Enää tarvitsee suurentaa/ muokata ohjeet ja tehdä kauppalistat. Nuijasota alkaa ensiviikon perjantaina, mutta me mennään taas perinteisesti paikalle jo torstaina auttamaan valmisteluissa. Sitä ennen eli tänä viikonloppuna mennään Turun keskiaikamarkkinoille. Ihan mahtavaa!
Olen tilannut kankaita uusia vaatteita varten. Olisi hienoa saada uudet hienot vaatteet Aarnimetsän Investituuraa ja meidän alas astumista varten. Syyskuussa tulee siis täyteen kaksi hienoa ja erilaista harrastusvuotta seuran edustustehtävissä ja jonkun muun on aika ottaa puikot käsiin. Uudet vaatteet on nyt se unelma mihin tähdätään seuraavaksi. Sen verran voi jo paljastaa, että olen saanut valmiiksi omaan aluspaitani kaulukseen tulevat kirjailut. Blackworkkia tein, eli uusien vaatteiden tyyli sijoittuu renessanssiin jälleen kerran. Ehkä ensi viikolla ennen Nuijasotaa, kun on loma, ehdin jo aloitella tekemään kaavoja?
Sen lisäksi ja siinä sivussa ilman sen ihmeellisempiä määräaikoja teen Jontulle uusia vaatteita ja vähän Uffellekin. Kummallekin on tulossa ainakin uudet tunikat ja takit ja Jontulle samanlaiset pussihousut kuin mitä Uffelle tein talvella. Jontun takin olen jo pari viikkoa sitten leikannut ja viime sunnuntaina aikani kuluksi aloin ompelemaan takkia kotimatkalla. Ompelen aika usein autossa tai teen neulakinnasta. Joissain ääritapauksissa ja tasaisella pikatiellä voi vaikka tehdä yksinkertaista blackworkkiakin nimimerkillä kokeiltu on.
This might sound like a school essay titled “What did I do last summer” because it has been so long since I had time to write here and so many marvellous and wondrous things has happen!
Turku Medieval Market
Summer this far has been full of interesting events and medieval markets and unspeakable and awful heat a.k.a. scorchio (as someone has described it) anyway something hotter than hot never seen before in these latitude (or at least I haven’t seen). Week after Midsummer we and Elsa went to Turku Medieval Market. This time we didn’t spend long time at the market area. At Saturday we went to see TurkuCastle. At the HistoricalMuseum we saw an archaeological display of items they had found recently at one of the excavations at Turku. For me the most exiting finding for me was a piece of weaving heddle or rigid heddle or heddle for weaving simple bands (it’s very hard to find a good term in English for it) from 15th century. It interests me because I want to learn the technique.
A piece of rigid heddle/ kappale pirtaa
Also very interesting was two pieces of woollen fabrics which had kept their colours quite well.
A pieces of red twill and green tabby/ pala punaista toimikasta ja vihreää palttinaa
And this piece of leather belt (there was a pouch, but I don't have good picture of it/ lisäksi tämä nahkainen vyön kappale (lisäksi nähtävillä oli vyölaukku, josta minulla ei ole kunnollista kuvaa)
New clothes
After Turku Medieval Market I had one normal work day and then my vacation finally started. I sewed like a crazy again for the Cudgel War (the new smock and a new kercief I finished at the event) and finished the new wollen Flemish peasant underdress for me. UlfR also managed to finish his braies. At Thursday we left to the event site (to help the event crew to fix the site for Friday when the event started).
Couple pictures of the new Flemish underdress and partlet/ muutama kuva uudesta flaamilaisesta alusmekosta ja partletista:
Cudgel War
Was a great event once again! This time I looked the event from the other perspective than I used to see it (means I didn’t spend the event at the kitchen). The heat made the event little bit challenging for the people but we survived and enjoyed the event anyway! It meant that people didn’t wear their woollen clothes all the time and they spend more time at the lake and at the sauna. At evenings when sun went down and air cooled little bit people seemed to got their strength back. This Cudgel War was the first Cudgel War for me to have time to go and see the war at the battlefield. And I saw almost all the tournaments that were held during the event. And the greatest thing of all was of course Oliver’s elevation to knighthood. It is very rare event here at the Aarnimetsä.
Arts and sciences lectures and workshops was this year better than ever in my opinion. Helena’s Herjolfsnes gown workshop was very good. I didn’t start my own but I helped Kerttu to cut her one. I am sure that now when I have the instructions about how to cut it I will cut mine soon. I hope to get some help for the fitting (which is always the question for me because I don’t have anybody here living near to us to help me).
I also went to Katheryn’s reliquary pouch (or alms pouch) class and started to make one for me. It is not finished yet. I hope that it will not turn out to be an UFO at the end of the year. I was more than happy that Estrid from Shire of Harpelstane (Scotland) taught me some basics about rigid heddle weaving!! (I have now ordered a rigid heddle for me from Lankadontti, I want to start learning as soon as possible).
Couple photos from Cudgel/ muutamia kuvia Nuijasta
View from Tofa's tent / näkymä Tofan teltalta
War/ sota
Hollola Medieval Market
Only a week after Cudgel War we went to Hollola Medieval Market. The market are held only every other year and some of the arrangers are our friends and we are paid members of Hollola Medieval Society aka Medieum Aevum Hollolense. We don’t live near to them and that’s why we seldom have opportunity to participate their activities, so I think that we are more like support members. This was our first Hollola Medieval Market and I really have to say that it was the best medieval market I have attended. Why, well it has more heart and soul and better atmosphere than I have ever seen. This time we saw the market from kitchen and from fire place. It is not very often that we have a chance to do food for 50 people at the open fire. The food was simple and it was for the people that were selling their things at the “big camp”. I really enjoyed the market!
Couple photos from Hollola/ muutama kuva Hollolasta
So what next? We are having three weeks without any plans! I have some ideas what to do next… but before that I will make our Viking wardrobe better. This month we’ll go to Sahra’s and visit Hämeenlinna Medieval Market. And I will start making plans and probably some new things for Civil War at Nordmark which is held at the first weekend of October. Yes, it looks like that we are going there, Yay!
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Tuntuu kuin kirjottaisi kouluainetta aiheesta “Mitä tein viime kesänä”, niin paljon kaikkea hauskaa ja mahtavaa on tapahtunut viimeisen päivityksen jälkeen. Mutta tässä vähän tiivistelmää:
Turun keskiaikamarkkinat
Kesä on ollut täynnä mielenkiintoisia tapahtumia ja asioita ja sitä kamalaa kuumuutta ja hikoilun määrää, josta on saanut lukea myös muista blogeista ja lehdistä jne. Juhannuksen jälkeen seuraavana viikonloppuna Turussa järjestettiin keskiaikamarkkinat taas perinteiseen tapaan, jonne me Elsan kera suunnistimme. Tällä kertaa markkinoilla tuli vietettyä tavallista vähemmän aikaa. Sunnuntaina menimme käymään poikkeuksellisesti Turun linnassa, jossa oli kaikenlaista kivaa nähtävää. Museossa oli näytillä jonkin verran uusia arkeologisia löytöjä Turun alueelta. Mielenkiintoiseksi asian teki mm. se, että esineet olivat esillä pöydillä (ilman lasia tms.) ja asiantuntijoilta pystyi kyselemään lisätietoja! Ehkä mielenkiintoisin juttu omalta osaltani oli esillä oleva pala pirtaa (pirtanauha pirtaa siis). Samasta pirrankappaleesta ja monesta muusta pöydällä olevasta jutusta minulla on kuva ”Elämää Hansa-ajan Turussa” näyttelyesitteessä (jossa on hyviä värikuvia). Vanhin Suomessa löydetyistä pirrankappaleista on näyttelyesitteen mukaan 1400-luvulta, mutta en yhtään ihmettelisi jos sitä olisi harjoitettu Suomessa jo aikaisemmin.
Uusia vaatteita
Keskiaikamarkkinoiden jälkeen minulla oli yksi päivä töitä, jonka jälkeen muutama päivä lomaa ennen Nuijasotaa. Loma meni lähinnä vaatteita tehdessä. Tein Nuijasotaa varten uuden villaisen flaamilaisen alusmekon, röyhelöllä varustetun partletin, aluspaidan ja huivin. Uffe sai valmiiksi omat ensimmäiset braiesit. Torstaina lähdettiin jo Nuijasotaan auttamaan tapahtumanjärjestäjiä ja Perjantaina tapahtuma alkoi.
Nuijasota
Oli mahtava tapahtuma kuten aina ja suosittu kuten aina. Tällä kertaa pääsimme katsomaan tapahtumaa hieman eri perspektiivistä, eli ei pelkästään keittiöstä käsin. Kuumuus aiheutti omat haasteensa tapahtumalle, mutta me selvittiin! Vaikka vaatteista niitä villaisia ei voinutkaan käyttää koko-aikaa. Suuri osa ihmisistä viihtyi kuumimmat hetket järvessä. Illan tullen, kun aurinko meni mailleen, muuttuivat ihmiset huomattavasti pirteämmiksi. Tällä kertaa minulla oli aikaa nähdä sotatoimiakin kentällä sekä taisin olla katsomassa lähes kaikkia turnajaisia, jotka tapahtumassa järjestettiin. Tietysti tapahtuman kohokohdaksi nousi Humalasalon ahkeran Oliverin ritariksi nimittäminen lauantaina kuninkaan hovissa. Se oli mahtavaa se ja harvinaista täällä Aarnimetsässä.
Tieteiden ja taiteiden määrä ja laatu oli tänä vuonna mielestäni parasta koskaan! Helenan Herjolfsnes työpaja oli erittäin hyvä. En leikannut omaa mekkoani työpajassa, mutta autoin Kerttua leikkaamaan hänen mekkoaan. Nyt kun hyvät ohjeet ovat olemassa, varmaan jossain vaiheessa leikkaankin omani.. tosin toivottavasti saan jostain sovitusapua, koska yksin tätä mekkoa on vähän turhan hankala tehdä.
Menin myös Katherynin ”almupussi”-työpajaan. Toivottavasti saan aikaiseksi tehdä pussin loppuun eikä se jää roikkumaan UFO:na jonnekin korin pohjalle. Kiinnostusta olisi, mutta en tiedä onko aikaa. Mutta siis joka tapauksessa ehkä parasta oli se, että vihdoin pääsin jyvälle pirtanauhan tekemisessä, kun Estrid opetti alkeita pirtanauhasta minulle. Tilasinkin jo Lankadontista pirran, ja toivoisin pääseväni harjoittelemaan pirtanauhan tekoa mahdollisimman pian.
Hollolan keskiaikamarkkinat
Vain viikko Nuijasodan jälkeen järjestettiin Hollolassa keskiaikamarkkinat. Markkinat järjestetään vain kerran kahdessa vuodessa ja tämänkertaiset markkinat olivat meille ensimmäiset. Osa markkinoiden järjestäjistä on ystäviämme ja olemme myös Hollolan keskiaikaseuran jäseniä. Joskin ehkä enemmänkin statuksella kannatusjäseniä, koska matkaa Hollolaan meiltä on jonkin verran, joten pääsemme osallistumaan muihin seuran aktiviteetteihin harvemmin. Täytyy silti sanoa, että nämä markkinat olivat parhaimmat markkinat joihin olemme koskaan osallistuneet. Ehkä siksi, että näissä markkinoissa oli jotenkin enemmän sydäntä ja sielua sekä tunnelma kohdallaan. Harvemmin pääsee kokkaamaan nuotiolla 50 hengelle, mutta nyt siihen oli mahdollisuus. Se oli kivaa, joskin tietysti rankkaa, mutta etupäässä kivaa! Ruoka oli yksinkertaista ja sitä tehtiin isomman leirin tarpeita varten.
Mitäs seuraavaksi? Tässä kuussa on vielä Hämeenlinnan keskiaikamarkkinat, jonne olisi tarkoitus mennä. Paljon olisi kaikenlaisia ideoita, mutta ehkä kuitenkin keskityn viikinkivaatteiden paranteluun. Lisäksi aloitetaan valmistautumaan Civil War tapahtumaan lähtöön, joka järjestetään Nordmarkissa (Ruotsissa) lokakuun ensimmäisenä viikonloppuna :) .
So the Cudgel War is again over. It’s little bit odd that this time I didn’t feel sad when it ended. I think that it only means that there will be so much other great things to happen this year and my mind is already focused on the next events to come. It was once again fun and lovely event. I met once again some new people that I wish I could meet again soon. I think that I have never met any nicer persons in their first Aarnimetsä event than Torkill and Estrid from the Shire of Harpelstane. I will miss them greatly. I was busy as always at the kitchen but I had a change to do little naalbinding teaching for Estrid and I also gave her one of my bone needles so she have a good tool for the technique.
UlfR and Rikissa making food
The kitchen duties at the Cudgel War went reasonably well. At the beginning of the camp the kitchen’s new oven broke down and it made our job little bit harder for couple days. This time we had more help at the kitchen than other years for which I am very grateful. The best dish was in my opinion the meat stew we made on last Friday. It was the same recipe from the Scappi book that Sahra and I tried during the last spring.
People making handicrafts
About the other things… it is now all about the upcoming Baronial Investiture at 11-13th of September. We have tons of things to do before that and we are planning to attend to Hämeenlinna Medieval Market and a small medieval market at Verla.. and there are also a Viking market at Pukkisaari before the Investiture.. huh.. Yesterday I made my first Elizabethan coif. This was just a first attempt to make one. I try to find time to make another one… the better one. After writing this I will start to make a shirt for UlfR. I will be very busy before the Investiture but I try to find some time to write something here also. It sounds like UlfR got the flu from the Cudgel War… I hope that he’ll get better soon.
I am participating to Aarnimetsä’s 1000 m hand sewing challenge (don’t remember if I have mentioned it before ;) ). Some of the clothing I have already made is now dirty after the Cudgel and after I have washed them I’ll count how many meters I have. The challenge have a blog http://ompeluhaaste.blogspot.com/ .
Ugh, almost all packing for the Cudgel War is done. We are packing kitchen gear for the event and then it’s done. I managed to hand sew a new tunic to UlfR to wear at the kitchen. Yesterday we went to see Elsa and to do sewing together, she needed a new linen dress for the Cudgel War and she didn’t have proper pattern to make fitted dresses or at least somehow fitted. I am really no superb good with pattern drawing because I am not a professional seamstress but we were very lucky with making a very nice pattern for her and it only took about half an hour to make one (I was very surprised how quick we were). And the dress is done now and looks very good on her :D. I am happy.
Only two more working days left before my summer vacation. My part of planning the Cudgel War’s foodstuff is done, UlfR is making the lists for the shopping today and then he’s work is also done. I might read the recipes once today just in case... I made a headscarf for UlfR to wear at the kitchen... it is more useful than a coif... although he looks like a pirate with the headscarf (no it is not red it is white.. but still). I also made a new (very simple) pouch for me... because I found out that my older pouch was dead. Also I have started slowly pack things for the Cudgel. UlfR doesn’t have enough tunics for the Cudgel so I have to make something simple to him... I will go to shop some linen today. We are going to meet Elsa at Wednesday... the plan is to do panic sewing together before the event.
We have been at Mikkeli to visit relatives and have a small vacation. It has been great because I can really do some work here. The work means counting the eaters and writing the recipes down for Cudgel War. It is very easy to work here because it’s quiet and I don’t have many distractions here like at home. But anyway it looks like that it take more time to write recipes down and do different kinds of small tasks before the event than last year mostly because we have more and more allergies in these days. It is almost impossible to provide versatile food for everybody for every day. And it really looks like that we have to make alternative choice for every dish! I only hope that we get enough help for the kitchen duties. Huoh.
I really don’t want to sound too negative.. I love to be at the kitchen but I am also very concerned about us and head cooks (feasts) and event steward’s wellbeing.
I have also picked a basket full of meadowsweet leaves and dried them and a basket full of blackcurrant leaves, (which are not yet completely dried yet) for next spring and our wedding (we are making mead and other non alcoholic beverages for the wedding). Also I have started to make meadowsweet flower liqueur and blackcurrant leaf liqueur for the first time ever (very exciting to see how tasty those will be… blackcurrant leaf liqueur is already same color than Fairy :D). The picking part was very difficult because I have quite bad hay fever. But I survived! (I couldn’t count how many times I sneezed after it).
It’s summer time and everything is relax... not. I have only one weekend not planned full at this summer. It is not a new situation... it’s like this every year. There is too much things to do at summer and summer is always too short. There are always some things that I would like to do but I have no time for it. It looks like we are not able to go to Tofa’s herbal party because it’s one week before the Summer Coronation. We need to plan Cudgel War’s foodstuff and time is running up very fast. Again we are going to make lunches and snacks at Cudgel War (nine days long event). It is also my only summer vacation so I am waiting for that very much. The situation with the foodstuff is not bad at all, we have many ideas written down but it takes quite lot time to write everything to the computer (every recipes and lists). And then there are the clothes I was planning to do before the Summer Coronation. I had hopes to have something new for UlfR for next weekend’s Summer Nights event.. I don’t have many days left. I have to harden our new leather shoes with beeswax before using them (I might need some tar for soles.. or something heavier than beeswax) and UlfR’s Kragelund tunic is almost done and his naalbinded socks but I haven’t started to make the pants yet. And my blue linen Eura style underdress is not even nearly done. I think that I am just little bit too tired today. I went to Helsinki yesterday because I had a work related meeting there (had to woke up crazy early … 5 a.m.). But I found some long pepper at Hakaniemi market place after the meeting so the trip to Helsinki wasn’t fruitless :D. I better go to sew little bit more and go to bed early. Next weekend is going to be fabulous. I am quite sure about it!
So it is over. And I am alive. I had two days off from work after the Cudgel which was a very good idea. I had a change to relax and I found my self cleaning the house and organizing the things here (weird.. I thought that I am full of cleaning after the Cudgel.. but I couldn’t stop cleaning.. well to be honest, I had a reason to clean because my father, Aaro and Outi came to stay a night with us after their travels to the Gotland).
But about the Cudgel. We were the first at the site. Beautiful, peaceful as Kavalahti is always we felt that we game home. I was very happy most of the camp. Everything went well. We didn’t burn the food etc. As I actually thought so before the camp I really didn’t have time to take pictures. I took only few at Wednesday when it was our day off from kitchen. It was too hectic. Sometimes 100 meters is too much to walk after staying in kitchen 10-12 hours.
It is hard to say which day was the best “food day”. I might say that I liked “the fish with herbs and aubergines in Moorish style etc.” day most. One of the highlights of the event was the first Saturday when Sahra brought my new pointy shoes for me! And of course the Wednesday was great also! Ulf went to see the Crown Turney event site with Vilhelm and Katheryn and I had some me time with book and white vine. I also had some time to practise some archery and get some sleep also. At Wednesday court Ulf got his third Aarnimetsä’s Marshlight this time the colour of the Marshlight was purple. Wednesday was also the first time that I wore my new Italian dress. Although it is made of wool I was’t that hot (it was very sunny and hot temperature but still). I think that at the last Saturday when I wore it again, was hotter than the Wednesday.
Rest of the event went as the beginning. Sunny days, sauna, lake, campfire etc. At the event I bought some new books and I got two small wooden benches. One of the book is Constance Hieatt and Sharon Butler´s Pleyn Delit (cooking book) and one is a book about Holbein paintings. I am not sure if I like the Pleyn Delit book yet. There are some very “interesting” things at the beginning of the book (maybe because it has been written in 1976). But there are “original” recipes also so I can always forget the redactions and just read the recipes. Ah and I really need to start making some embroidery with woollen threads… because I have two big bags of different kind of woollen threads now also.
White partlet for my Italian renaissance outfit is finally done. I finished it last night about 1 a.m. So now I am very tired and my shoulders are killing me but I am happy about that I don’t have to do anything else today than pack for the Cudgel War. Cudgel War starts tomorrow. I have almost reached my goals for this summer. I still don’t have hand made socks and drawers and I only have one chemise and I only have one renaissance outfit but I am slowly getting more and more non mundane things and I am slowly turning to the renaissance. I think that making renaissance outfits using only hands takes more time than making most of the other things I have made this far. And the best thing is I can wear my Italian outfit at winter times also when I make woollen sleeves to it.
So after Cudgel War I will start making those sleeves, socks, drawers and Flemish peasant outfit.
All the recipes for the Cudgel War’s lunches and snacks (except Wednesday snack) are written down. Tomorrow is the last day at work before my vacation. Saturday we will go to Turku to buy things with Ulf and Sunday we will have quests. I will try to remember to take my camera with me to the Cudgel and maybe take some pictures about the foodstuff also. It is of course different thing to make food for two people than making food for 70 people. I was thinking about if I have time after Cudgel I could put some of the recipes here with (or without?) the pictures.
Hihi.. Couple nights ago I had a very funny dream. I thought that it was real for some time but it is not real… yet. In my dream I was reading my blog and someone has written into my blog that he or she doesn’t like my blog because there are so many writing errors :D… hih hih.
I need to go to sew my white partlet now… after tomorrow I will be FREEEeeeee…for awhile.
The Italian dress is done. When I have more time I will make sleeves to it. But now I need to make a white partlet. Also Cudgel War’s menu is almost done and the recipes are fixed. Some of the vegetarian alternatives are not yet decided but I have lots of ideas what we might do. I am not physically exhausted anymore like I was yesterday. But I admit that I am just a little bit mentally exhausted right now because it has been though weekend. Doing things at advance, not at last day, makes me enjoy the event more so having little mental exhaustion right now is worth it I am sure.
I am very excited that Cudgel War is coming soon. I think about it a lot. These days I hate more headaches and pain (in my shoulder) because these things make me do things slower and I need and want to be fast now. Today I will sew more than yesterday. I hope that the dress is done by Monday. I have some decoration undone and I need to finish the hem. I am going to write some recipes down also today like yesterday and day before that and day before that and so on. I am glad that Ulf helped me today because we still have lots to do. Almost everything is in my head and in papers and books. I still haven’t decided some of the dishes. We want all the recipes fixed and enlarged by next Monday too. I have to send some emails and make some phone calls today also.
As always it is hard to find good dishes for the vegetarians for that long event (9 days). I don’t have anything against the vegetarians but when you want to be as accurate as possible it might be a problem to find good food without meat (or meat stock…). Well I might have limited point of view in this situation because I love meat. I can only try my best to make them happy also.
I am happy about that we don’t have so many recipes this time that we would need to try before making them at the event. Medieval recipes tend to be quite similar. That makes planning easy. I admit that we also tend to use same kind of recipes over and over again (ok, well last year we did lots of stuff we hadn’t done before that… and usually there is one or more things that we haven’t tried). But anyway the basics are the same all the time. One of the reasons is that if we know that people like something we want to make it or something like it again. And we of course cannot use expensive stuff when making food for lunches and snacks at the Cudgel. Well anyway the main thing is to get people full enough.
I think that some of the recipes, although they are very good, different, interesting etc. are too hard to make when you don’t have enough cooking space, people to help at the kitchen and the time. Having only few hours to prepare the foodstuff etc. are different things at our events comparing to Medieval times when the time/place/number of kitchen workers wasn’t the issue it they wanted to for example start preparing the “big” feast weeks advance.
I have started to make plans for the next Cudgel War event. The event is going to be in July so there isn’t that big hurry yet. We (Ulf and I) are going to make all the lunches and snacks (besides Wednesday snack. I try to find someone to do that so we can have one day off from kitchen. It is good thing since the event is going to last about nine days). But anyway I don’t have theme for lunches yet. Last time we made food from different time period and area starting in Anglo-Saxon food (or was it Viking? Yes it was and the seckond day was Anglo-Saxon, silly me) and closing in Elizabethan times. It was fun and I learned a lot. This time I was thinking about maybe to make food only from certain time period and area. I am not sure yet.
But anyway today I decided to try made some poached eggs. I have not actually made poached eggs before, but I have been in a kitchen while someone else has made them. So I know that it is not the easiest thing to do. This time I decided to use a recipe from Cindy Renfrow’s book Take a thousand eggs or more: A collection of 15th century recipes. Here is the recipe from the second volume and some thoughts about it.
Poached Eggs
Take Eggs, break them, and seethe them in hot Water; then take them Up as whole as thou may; then take flour, and mix with milk & cast thereto Sugar or Honey, & a little powdered Ginger, and boil all together, & color with Saffron; and lay thine Eggs in dishes, & cast on powder enough. White powder is best.
My thoughts: eggs water (salt)
Sauce: 1 c milk (about 2,5 dl.. I am not good with measurements I usually don’t use them) 2 T flour 1 T honey (I decided to use honey) pinch of ginger pinch of saffron
Mix all the sauce ingredients together and boil carefully. Make poached eggs in boiling water with salt. And that’s all. Garnish with a little ginger. There isn’t any mention about salt in the recipe from the collection. The dish tastes better if you put salt into water and you can also sprinkle little salt on the top of the dish as well. Some of the modern recipes of poached eggs suggest that you should put some vinegar into boiling water as well because that way egg stays better together. I didn’t use because I wanted to try this without the vinegar.
It is hard to say which day was the best “food day”. I might say that I liked “the fish with herbs and aubergines in Moorish style etc.” day most. One of the highlights of the event was the first Saturday when Sahra brought my new pointy shoes for me! And of course the Wednesday was great also! Ulf went to see the Crown Turney event site with Vilhelm and Katheryn and I had some me time with book and white vine. I also had some time to practise some archery and get some sleep also. At Wednesday court Ulf got his third Aarnimetsä’s Marshlight this time the colour of the Marshlight was purple. Wednesday was also the first time that I wore my new Italian dress. Although it is made of wool I was’t that hot (it was very sunny and hot temperature but still). I think that at the last Saturday when I wore it again, was hotter than the Wednesday. 
Rest of the event went as the beginning. Sunny days, sauna, lake, campfire etc. At the event I bought some new books and I got two small wooden benches. One of the book is Constance Hieatt and Sharon Butler´s Pleyn Delit (cooking book) and one is a book about Holbein paintings. I am not sure if I like the Pleyn Delit book yet. There are some very “interesting” things at the beginning of the book (maybe because it has been written in 1976). But there are “original” recipes also so I can always forget the redactions and just read the recipes. Ah and I really need to start making some embroidery with woollen threads… because I have two big bags of different kind of woollen threads now also. 
