Past Repasts

Bummer this blog didn't last. :-( It was a fun rea...

2009-09-05T00:59:46.804-04:00

Bummer this blog didn't last. :-( It was a fun read. I've actually gone back and reread all the entries a few times (and am still trying to convince myself to make the squid dish...)

I considered that it might refer to the quantity, ...

2009-07-16T19:56:01.583-04:00

I considered that it might refer to the quantity, but figured that even if it meant "enough cakes to last 3 months" the cakes still have to stay good for that period of time. Unless, as you say, they used the cakes as a punishment. But since Martha doesn't say anything about that, I'm going to assume that's not the case (I guess we'll see in November, though).

Do you think that the claim that these would last ...

2009-07-16T18:10:18.603-04:00

Do you think that the claim that these would last half a year had more to do with quantity than durability? I mean, 16 cups of flour might well produce enough cakes to feed a family for months and months--they just might not enjoy the things after about day 7, when everything goes bad. This would actually contribute to the longevity of the yield, since eating the cakes could become, say, a punishment for recalcitrant punishment.

Also, it's almost certainly Alex Tarzy complaining about being burned by dessert. Once I served him a lit briquette with some cherry cordial (cordial!), and he just bitched and bitched!

America can keep it's overwhelming orange taste. Y...

2009-07-15T12:56:34.160-04:00

America can keep it's overwhelming orange taste. Yaheard me - sucket America!

Rule Britannia, Britannia Rule the Waves!

I hope I pass my citizenship test later this year...

Would alex refer to the great alex tarzy? it soun...

2009-07-10T09:34:57.681-04:00

Would alex refer to the great alex tarzy? it sounds somewhat like his complaining.

Awesome post. Keep it up. I want to see this blog as a show on the food network.

I suggest that you investigate the cuisines of the...

2009-06-29T16:02:19.178-04:00

I suggest that you investigate the cuisines of the now extinct karankawa tribe, as outlined below:

"From the gulf waters - using dugout canoes - they took oysters, clams, scallops, mollusks, turtles, fish, porpoises, alligators and underwater plants..No foods were continously plentiful, when the harvest was good they gorged at repletion. "unique in their gluttony .... they eat locusts, lice, even human flesh ... raw meat, bear's fat .... passion for spoiled food ...". In spring they might subsist exclusively on oysters, "then for a month they ate blackberries"."

[From some website - which appears to be quoting some other site, or perhaps simply treats punctuation as a plaything useful for decorating interesting prose.]

Yeah, I was also certain this was going to taste g...

2009-06-29T12:12:05.824-04:00

Yeah, I was also certain this was going to taste great. WTF, indeed.

I hadn't heard of Midas Touch, but it's an awesome suggestion. I'll have to keep an eye out for it, in case I want to cook anything else from these tablets.

Man, I was all psyched for this to be delicious, a...

2009-06-29T12:03:37.646-04:00

Man, I was all psyched for this to be delicious, and then it wasn't. WTF.

Next time you try it, make it with Midas Touch beer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midas_Touch_Golden_Elixir). The recipe is based on the chemical analysis of residues found in clay vessels believed to date back to the 8th century BC, found in Turkey.

Drink 3, cook with 1, and everything will taste phenomenal.

Beet + lamb sounds like a pretty friggin' good com...

2009-06-29T03:25:20.251-04:00

Beet + lamb sounds like a pretty friggin' good combination, now that you mention it. Sounds like this may have just had too much going on due to the fractal tree of ambiguous ingredients...

Also, I'm exceedingly disappointed that you didn't choose to cover the timru ceremony slaughtered bird. I'm always looking for great new timru ceremony recipes. I guess we'll have to settle for handfuls of twigs in a pot of blood again this year.

May i suggest full meals for special occassions? ...

2009-06-23T17:51:49.733-04:00

May i suggest full meals for special occassions? I would love to see a traditional Christmas dinner / original thanksgiving / crazy other holiday feast of which i am unaware.

That's an interesting suggestion. I worry that a f...

2009-06-22T13:46:15.808-04:00

That's an interesting suggestion. I worry that a full meal might make a post that is simply too long for a blog format. After the tasting, we ended up turning the squid into a full meal by serving it over rice with some sauteed zucchini on the side -- I don't think this authentically Roman, though, and I would have to do a little deeper research to find out what might have been typically served with a dish like this.

That being said, if I can find a good recipe or series of recipes for a complete meal, I may decide to tackle it.

To Kat's comment: We tried to salvage the leftove...

2009-06-22T13:33:00.971-04:00

To Kat's comment:

We tried to salvage the leftovers for breakfast (reasoning that it's like oatmeal). We cut off a slice (gruel should never come in slices) and reheated it in the microwave with some extra water added. It reconstituted back into its previous gloopy consistency, and tasted about the same. After that, the thought of another gruel morning was too tiresome, and we tossed the rest.

To Bateman's comment: I think that this was upper...

2009-06-22T13:26:52.070-04:00

To Bateman's comment:

I think that this was upper-class gruel. Since the person writing the recipe could... well, actually write, I'm going to assume that they were pretty well educated for the time, and probably also could afford to fill their gruel with all sorts of exotic spices. I suspect Oliver-style gruel was likely just a bunch of water and liiiitle bit of barley. Maybe a raisin if it was Christmas at the orphanage (or Raisin Day, as the orphans in my imagination gleefully call it).

I was shocked and appalled by how placid and frank...

2009-06-22T12:36:15.139-04:00

I was shocked and appalled by how placid and frankly lovable this barley gruel sounded. Then I came upon the phrase "horrifyingly solid gruel brick," and oh yes, all was right with the world. Did you toss the leftovers?

Maybe I'll comment on everything. Maybe not. One q...

2009-06-22T12:27:47.971-04:00

Maybe I'll comment on everything. Maybe not. One question, and I think this goes for both the gruel and the squid: will we be seeing "full" meals in your blog? I like the individual pieces, but will we have any "odd combinations" as well as the well-suggested "odd ingredients"?

Well done Sir! While your gruel doesn't seem to ha...

2009-06-22T12:19:52.241-04:00

Well done Sir! While your gruel doesn't seem to have been without flavor, do you think that was common? The gruel described in literature (see my senior honors thesis: Barley in Books) tends to be flavorless and sad, as you mention. I suspect the proportions might have changed a little over time? i.e. Oliver might have been more likely to have eaten at a ratio of 2 gallons barley to 1 raisin to zero lemon. What think you?

Food, glorious food!