Kitchens

The Kitchens

Come smell the wonderful scents of the humble food being prepared for you, our guest. In the cupboards and ovens and over the fires there are to be found such delightful treats and wholesome satisfying and toothsome dishes as you have yet to dream of.

Surprises one could discover are a few of the dishes among my favorite camp cooking fare. Peruse the Culinary Shelves for a list of books to start with including the ones in my very small collection. In the Pantry thou wilt find links to the culinary websites that I liked. Website suggestions would be appreciated; comments on them for inclusion would be especially grand.

NEW!!! Now announcing the debut of Alys's Reciept Boke. If you wanted a reciept that is not longer on this page, don't despair, check here. Previous reciepts will be archived there.

Buttered Wortes or Alys's Spinach & Leeks - I never liked cooked spinach of any variety until I found this recipe. It's been a favorite over the
past few years whenever we had period potlucks at our house.

Cariota or Roasted Carrots - another favorite of period potlucks held at our house.

Oasis War Spanokopita - This is the recipe I developed while still a member of the Ephrata, Washington SCA branch known as the Shire of
    Ambergard. I made over 400 triangles for the Oasis War Tavern in 2001. They were enormously popular at that War. What
    was amazing was that there were leftovers to take home for my family to enjoy. They keep in the refrigerator really well for a week. I
    think they would also be good travelers for camping. Tip for when making: think dry-ish on the filling when making these. This recipe
    makes a lot!

Welsh Oatcakes - These have been served to family and guests and were well received. These are more a cracker. They taste good with jelly,
cream cheese, or a well aged Cheddar cheese. They are not hard to make and take very little time really.

Tourney Sandwich - Though not even remotely in period. It still makes a nice sandwich to make ahead and take with you to tourney. It's great fare for day tripping it or while attending a whole weekend event. I think 'twould make a great after-camp-setup nosh with an ice
cold beer!

Buttered Wortes Top

Based on experimenting with researched recipes found in Gervase Markham’s “The English Housewife”, another book named “Pleyn Delit”, and a couple of other sources.

Two bunches of Spinach (or combination of various leaf lettuces works well but I like best the spinach by itself.)

Handful of Parsley - Italian Flat Leaf has a good flavor
3 Leeks, sliced
Butter, a few dollops
½ cup Water
Herbs (thyme, marjoram, rosemary, dill, chives, etc.) to taste, minced
Currants, a handful or two
Sugar
White Wine Vinegar
Homemade Croutons, made from 4-6 slices of bread

1. Blanch greens and leeks in a large pot of salted boiling water for 3 minutes exactly.
2. Drain very well in a colander. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible using a potato masher, wooden spoon or your hands.

Roughly chop by running a knife through the mass or using a pair of scissors to cut up the cooked greens. Return greens to pot.
3. Combine with the butter and water. Add the herbs and currants. Stir in and mix well. Cover the pan and leave over low heat

for another 5 minutes.
4. Take off the heat and flavor to taste with sugar and vinegar. Toss well with the croutons and serve

Cariota or Roasted Carrots Top

This is recipe #40 from my copy of “The Pleyn Delite” Cookbook co-authored by three women. It is a go together quick and simple dish. A great potluck dish. Here is the original recipe from a period source along with the modern English translation:

1 pound Carrots (8 medium-large)
2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2-3 tsp. White Wine Vinegar, White Wine
2-3 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Herbs: Parsley, and a pinch each of any other fresh mild green herbs (e.g. Dill, Chives, Tarragon, Thyme,
                   Marjoram)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1.    Scrub and scrape carrots. Brush lightly with oil.
2.    Either roast in a 400 degree oven or arrange in one layer in a suitable dish for microwaving and microwave at full power,
        uncovered, for 15 minutes.
3.    Slice into a serving dish and dress with minced herbs, oil, vinegar, wine and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:
You can also scrape, not peel, and slice carrots and put them in a baking dish. Mix in the oil, vinegar, wine, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Oasis War Spanakopita Top

There are notes and helpful hints to be found at the bottom of the recipe.

2 ½ cups Onion (partial garlic)	Salt & Pepper to taste
1 ⅔ cups Parmesan cheese, grated	10 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 ¼ cups Bread crumbs	5 tsp. Nutmeg
5 10-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawedsqueezed as dry as possible	20 oz. Cottage cheese
20 oz. Feta cheese, crumbled	2 ½ pkg.. Phyllo dough
5 Eggs, beaten	5 cups Butter, melted

1.    In a large skillet, saute the onions in the olive oil until soft. Transfer onions and oil to a mixing bowl and stir in the drained
    spinach, crumbled feta, cottage cheese, beaten egg, grated Parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, nutmeg, and seasonings.
2.    Work with one sheet of phyllo at a time, keeping the rest from drying out with a dampened kitchen cloth over the top.   Use a
     pastry brush to dab patches of melted butter onto ½ of the phyllo sheet - do not coat the whole surface. Fold this sheet in half and
       add a few more dabs of butter on top. Using a pizza cutter, cut the folded sheet of dough into two-inch wide strips across the         short distance of the rectangle.
3.   To wrap the filling think of a “square section” at the end of each strip of dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of the chilled mixture     near the end of the strip and fold a triangle section of the dough over the filling. Press the filling down a bit then fold again and     again - flagroll style - back and forth the full length of the strip. Brush the upside of the finished triangle with butter and place           on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Notes, Hints, & Tips:
Onions: If substituting with minced dehydrated onions: soak 2 Tbsp. in the oil for a while before adding. Don’t use water because it

could make the triangles soggy.

Spinach: If using frozen, squeeze out the excess water until very dry. I got a 16 ounce package and only used part of it.
Feta: The smallest amount that I could get was a 7 ounce package. Here you could use the entire package for more of these because
     they are soo good.
Cottage Cheese: Same thing as for the feta, only in this case the smallest amount was an 8 ounce carton.
Bread Crumbs: The recipe did not say to use toasted, dried or fresh bread crumbs. I found just crumbling up part of a slice of regular
        fresh white bread worked just fine.
Garlic: The recipe originally did not call for garlic but I didn’t feel that it would be really Greek without it. Use lots.
Phyllo Dough: This is found in the frozen food section of most grocery stores. Be careful to distinguish the paper-like dough from the
    wrapper when using. Keep a lightly dampened cloth or paper towel and plastic wrap to help prevent dry out of the dough. Unused     phyllo can be re-wrapped in parchment, sealed in a plastic bag and re-frozen for use at a later time or kept in the fridge for up to 4     weeks.

Welsh Oatcakes (Bara Ceirch) Top

Serve these crisp, savory cakes with butter or cheese at tea time. They’re also good spread with butter and jam or honey. They’re almost a cracker so I use them as such. Below is my adaptation of a recipe I got from somewhere. When I make these I always double or triple the recipe depending on why I am making them. I’ve even quadrupled the recipe and they turn out well.

½ - 1 cup Oats	1/2 tsp. S alt
2 cups Oats	1/3 cup Hot Water
2 Tbsp. Butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1.    Grind up the ½ cup to 1 cup oats in a food processor until very fine and reserve. This will be used for rolling out and sprinkling the
    baking sheet later. For authenticity you could probably hand grind them on your own but it takes FOREVER! And it's a lot of
    work.
2.   Grind up the remaining oats in the food processor very finely. Add in the butter and salt and grind some more. With the motor
    running gradually add the water and process a little more until the dough comes together really well and is thoroughly
    combined.
3.   Sprinkle your table or work surface with the a little bit of the reserved oats. Flatten dough into a 5-inch circle. Sprinkle with a
    little more of the reserved oats. Use enough and add more as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin and
    work surface. Roll out into 1/8-inch thickness.
4.   Cut into 2 ½-inch circles using a biscuit or cookie cutter or a glass. Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with a little bit of the
    reserved oats. Reroll the scraps and make more circles until all the dough is used up.
5.   Bake in preheated oven until the edges are crisp and light brown, about 20 minutes.

Makes around 22 oatcakes.

Notes, Tips, & Hints:
Oats - the original recipe called for quick oats but I’ve used old fashioned rolled oats with very good results.
Butter - here the original called for unsalted butter. I’ve used salted butter and even margarine. When I do so I cut the salt in half.
Rolling out -
    1.    When rolling out the dough, you can also use regular oats instead of the finely ground reserved oats to achieve a more rustic old         fashioned look.
    2.    You may also find that you may need to add more water as you roll out the dough. If you need to, only use a drop or two at a         time. If you find that you have used too much water then add a little bit of oats (ground or not, your choice) to take up the             extra moisture and get the dough back to proper rolling consistency.

Tourney Sandwich Top

This is an adaptation from a recipe that I found on FoodNetwork. This is a family favorite to traveling or just to have while at home.

1 round loaf country-style crusty bread (about 1 pound)	1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss, Monterey Jack or cheese of choice
1/2 cup pesto sauce (purchased or homemade)	2 large red or green bell peppers,fresh
1/2 pound deli sliced Ham or smoked Turkey	2 ripe tomatoes, sliced

Place the loaf of bread on a board and with a sharp knife, cut a large circle in the top of the bread, about 1-inch in from the edge, creating a ?lid?. Remove lid and pull out insides of bread from both base and lid, creating a bread ?shell?. (Reserve pulled-out bread for breadcrumbs or to feed the birds!). Spread about 2/3 of the pesto sauce over the inside of the bread base, covering as evenly as possible. Spread the remaining pesto on the underside of the bread lid. Layer 1/3 of the sliced meat in the bottom of the bread base, tucking it into the sides. Top with 1/2 of the sliced cheese, then 1/2 of the peppers, then half the tomato slices. Repeat layers, ending with the final 1/3 of the meat on top. Be sure to tuck meat, cheese, and vegetables into the sides of the bread base as well as in the center. Replace the bread lid so it lines up with the cut marks. Wrap the sandwich in plastic or a bandana, sealing tightly so it holds together. To serve, cut the sandwich into 4 wedges with a sharp knife.
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time:

WELCOME TRAVELER, or THE MAP ROOM

This page and all other pages found herein on this site were designed by the Lady Alys de Trois Rivieres herself.
As such they are maintained and updated by her as time allows. Her hand last touched this page on November 17, 2006.