¿Que Cocina?

While we were exiled from our home for almost half a year, my wife found a box for me that I could transport my spices.  It turned out to be the perfect size.  The box can fit 12 glass Spice jars from World Market and my cast iron grinder, if need be.  This beats taking them to events in a cardboard box and a mish-mash of containers.  

The proposed Feast Menu for the cancelled event:   Cynagua Winter Feast and Cancer Tournament Tapes Olives Verdes Alinades (Marinated Green Olives) (V) Olives Negres Alinades (Marinated Black Olives) (V) Ametlles de romaní (Rosemary Almonds) (V) Primer Curs Amanida – Amaniment de vinagre i oli (Salad - Vinegar and Oil Dressing) (V) Pa amb tomàquet (Bread) Segon Curs Morterol (Chicken Stew) Espàrrecs (Asparagus) (V) Cirons Tendres (Chickpeas) (V) Tercer Curs Porc (Pork Shoulder)      Choice of Sauces:      Salsa Camillina (Cinnamon Sauce)      Salsa de Cervo (Pepper Sauce)      Llimonea (Lemon Sauce) Bolets amb Salsa de Bolets (Mushrooms) (V) Espinacs (Spinach) (V) Quart Curs Toronjas de Xativa que son Almojavanas (Fritter Balls)

Remodeled Kitchen When last we left our intrepid hero, his home was flooded and he was evacuated to a hotel for who knows how long. We now know how long:  5 1/2 months.  March 30 - Labor Day Weekend. It was a rocky road, but we are back in our home.  The mitigators, Service Master, did a good job.  CRBR who handled the restoration, not as much.  I am not going to get into a bashing session regarding it, but we had issues with indifference and their not taking care of our property.  Items were broken and we didn't get the last (hopefully) of our stuff back from their storage until almost Thanksgiving.  The glass broken tabletop didn't get fixed until this month.  January.  Needless to say, we are finally getting fully settled back in.  Peg's Crap Room is still the last to be finished.  Furniture pieces from IKEA are still not available due to Supply Chain issues, but once we get those, we should make quick work of the room. Just afte...

Kitchen Sink area and Dining Room Both of you, who have been following this blog may have wondered about the pause in the updates.  After the beginning of the year, we got busy with various issues, but coming up to April, things settled down enough to begin refocusing on cooking.  However, that came crashing down March 30.   That morning, I woke up and took my shower.  When I got out, Peg asked me if the water was warm.  I responded, "Meh, luke warm."  She got up and headed into the Living Room.  "Oh, No!!"  A river was flowing down the hallway.  I quickly throw on some clothes, rush outside, and turn off the water to the house. I come back inside and we found that the Hot Water Heater busted and flooded Peg's Crap (Craft) Room.   View of the Kitchen and Dinette taken from the Living Room We quickly moved as much of her stuff out of the room and called the insurance.  The Mitigators came in and started drying out.  We...

Original: Si vols fer limonea áb brou de galliiies, fets let de nietles pelades e mit la a coure en uiia bella olla ah species moltes, gingibre e saffra e molt sucre blanch e such de gallines, e fe la molt bollir. E si hi vals metra millor comollat, pots hi metra una ala de gallina be fortmeiit picada que no y parega. Aquesta salsa deu esser acolorada e deii se donar ab gallines d ast ho de olla, e deu hi haver molt sucre e such de limons, eii guisa que la uiia tir 1 altra, e assabora ho de ." sal e de agror e de dolcor. [El Llibre de Sent Sovi, LXI, Ed. Luis Faraudo de Saint-Germain, c.1325, 1952] Translation: If you want to make lemon sauce, make almond milk of peeled almonds with chicken broth.  Cook it in a good pot with ground spices, ginger and saffron, and a lot of white sugar and lemon juice.  And let it boil a lot.  If you want to put in a better ground substance, you can put in a chicken wing that is well minced, strongly enough so that it is not noticeable....

Original: Broiez gingembre et poivre ront, pain brulé, deffait de verjus et de vi aigre. [The Viandier of Taillevent, edited by Terence Scully] Translation: Crush ginger, burnt bread and pepper, steep in vinegar and verjuice, and boil. [Le Viandier de Taillevent, 165, Vatican Library Manuscript, 208, Trans: James Prescott] Ingredients: Red Wine Vinegar Verjuice Ginger Pepper Bread Redaction: Toast bread until blackened.  Steep Bread in Red Wine Vinegar and grind bread into Vinegar.  Grind Ginger and Pepper and add to Vinegar.  Boil to reduce and strain. Notes:    I do not have Verjuice onhand.  Other varients of this recipe do not include Verjuice so I omitted it.  I used pre-ground Pepper and Ginger and Herr Oster to mix with the Vinegar and Bread.  After boiling, the sauce needed straining.  I believe that this step would have been assumed as necessary.  I used this sauce as a reference when I made Salsa de Cervo fro El Llibre de Sent ...

Original: Take a Pumpion, pare it, and cut it in thin slices, dip it in beaten Eggs and Herbs shred small, and fry it till it be enough, then lay it into a Pie with Butter, Raisins, Currans, Sugar and Sack, and in the bottom some sharp Apples; when it is baked, butter it and serve it in. [The Queene-like Closet, 131, Hannah Wolley] Ingredients: Pumpkin (Sugar/Pie) Eggs Herbs (Fresh Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley) Butter Raisins Currants Sugar Sack (Sherry) Apples Pie Crust Redaction: Take a Sugar Pumpkin, peel the rind and remove the seeds and stringy interior.  Cut Pumpkin into slices about ¼ inch thick.  Core and cut Apples into ¼ inch wide slices.  Make a Pie Crust and place it into a pie plate.  Put a single layer of Apple Slices in the Pie Crust.  Beat Eggs in a bowl and add the Herbs to the Eggs.  Heat up frying pan and add Butter.  Dip Pumpkin Slices lightly into Eggs and fry until soft.  Remove Pumpkin Slices to a bowl and mix in Butter, Raisins...