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#beef pottage
homunculus-argument · 8 months
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The more you look into it, the funnier the whole myth of The Grim And Depressing Dark Ages is, in the extent in which it covers everything. Like no matter what area of medieval life you look at, the common misconception of it is something bleak, drab, colourless, joyless and smelling like shit. Like at best, an average peasant's life was repetitive, boring, joyless and smells like shit, and at worst it was terrifying, hopeless chaos that smells like blood and rotting plague corpses. I mean okay it was like that sometimes, but not all the time. They had enjoyments in life. Like consider food.
Medieval peasants' food wasn't just grey wet gruel for every meal and hard bread if you were lucky. One major staple food that was commonly eaten by peasants across Europe was pottage. I think every time and culture has some variation of the "just throw whatever we've got at hand in there and boil/fry/cook that shit" sort of meal, and for medieval peasants, that was pottage. And as the name would imply, it's made by throwing the aforementioned whatever-you-have-at-hand ingredients into a pot and then boiling that shit. And that's what's for dinner every day unless it's a special occasion.
And yeah eating the same damn boiled mush every damn day probably doesn't sound much less depressing than just eating bland gruel, but that's the thing, the pottage wasn't the same thing all the time, every time. The ingredients varied by whatever was available at any given time, by harvests, by what herbs are in season and what produce happens to be in the most ample supply. Different ratios and combinations of the same ingredients, fresh or dried or otherwise preserved, changing from season to season.
Freaking imagine being a medieval peasant whose favourite food in the entire world is spring pottage with meadowsweet mead, best thing you can think of. You've heard talk of finer meals, roast boar with wine sauce that they cook for kings, but you're pretty damn sure that it can't better than the pottage you get on the first weeks of May. The one meal that you'd have every day year round if you could, but you can't, so it's the highlight of your year. The thing you look forward to for months at a time. You're sure that is what is served every day in Heaven, and not only are you 100% down to physically fight somebody about it, you absolutely have. You broke your nose, it never quite healed right, and you regret nothing.
And then spring finally comes, and you've been eagerly keeping an eye on how all the right ingredients start to reach their right time, and not only have you been looking forward to May ever since the snows started melting because that specific Best Goddamn Pottage is the only thing you can seem to think about, everyone in your household has been looking forward to it as well - because it's the only thing you seem to talk about, too, and they're sick of hearing about it.
And this year it tastes like shit.
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emblematicemblazer · 4 months
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World building and theories of Engage
The dishes of Elusia tend to have the following features:
A way to preserve food in a climate that is not ideal for agriculture.
Apples and potatoes can easily be grown in Elusia's environment.
A snack for breaktime.
Cheap and quick to make for peasants
A way to use up ingredients before they spoil
Showpiece food / beautiful food
Blood Sausage - The recipe refers to the version made outside of the UK. The UK version of blood sausage is known as black pudding and is often filled out with oats and herbs. Blood Sausage is used to describe foreign variations. Blood Sausage is an example of a farmer not letting any part of an animal go to waste. In the Old Testament eating blood is prohibited, many people in Europe refrained from eating blood sausage for that reason. 
Meat Filled  Potato Rolls - This recipe can also be called ‘scalloped potatoes’. This recipe is made from pantry essentials and is quick and easy to cook. Pork is used more than beef because pigs are less labour intensive to raise. Onions were valued in the Middle Ages and could be used as currency to pay for things like rent. The onion and the potato are quick and easy to grow as well as tolerate to wet and wintry climates.
Potted Casserole - This recipe is based on ‘pottage’ which comes from the Old French meaning ‘food cooked in a pot'. It would be a staple food in Elusia and could be made using any ingredients available. The pot is kept over the fish for a few days, during this time some could be eaten and ingredients added. The pottage of the Somniel features fish, this means it is a dish associated with wealthier people. Poor peasants would rarely have the luxury of meat. 
Mushy Peas - This recipe would normally be an accompaniment for meat, fish or a potato based dish.  The advantage of peas is that they can be dried and stored all year, essential for a kingdom whose climate would only have short openings for farming certain crops. 
Sandwich Cake - The fish flower on top is likely to be a chrysanthemum since it was a common way to cut filleted fish in England in the Middle Ages. The sandwich cake is inspired by the Victorian Sponge Cake which started life as jam sandwiches coated in icing sugar. The sandwich can be filled with anything that can be put between slices of bread or bread variations. Why make a sandwich look like a cake? The reasons could be to celebrate an occasion, to show off or just for fun. 
Roasted Salmon - Salmon is both a freshwater and saltwater fish. Sea salmon is bigger than the inland equivalent. Salmon is a fish that could survive the cold environment of Elusia.
Mashed Potato Stew - This is another example of a pottage recipe which uses whatever ingredients are available. The mashed potato stew could be made into a ‘perpetual stew'. Whatever ingredients are available are cooked in a pot, the pot is never emptied and is replenished as necessary.
Salmon Potato Gratin - With French origins, this recipe comprises layered vegetables with lashings of cream and cheese. This recipe can be made as extravagant as an Elusian may desire but can also be a simple and inexpensive way to elevate the humble veg. It can be adapted to include ingredients available in each season. The salmon version of the gratin would be made during salmon season or a salmon run in a local stream.
Clover Salad - Red clover has been used as an animal feed throughout Europe since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, the English considered the red clover to be a symbol of wealth and good health. The stalks and leaves would make up the made body of the salad. The petals of the red clover are difficult to digest so would serve as a garnish. The seasoning could be vinegar, oils and juices. For the wealthy, salads could be presented as works of art. 
Fish and Bacon Pocket bun - This is a reference to a pasty. Any ingredients found around can be used to create a variant, there are even sweet and vegetarian versions. The uncooked fishing is placed upon a pastry circle then the pastry is folded to create a half circle shape and sealed shut at the edges by crimping. It could be sold as street food with sellers carrying baskets of the fast food to hungry travellers and workers, or it could be a way to use up ingredients. The crimped edges enable people whose jobs create dirty hands (miners, option creates, some magic experimentation), to eat the main body of the pasty without contaminating it. It is like a pasty handle made of pastry.
Jam Thumbprint Cookies - This recipe comes from the Swedish ‘Hallongrotta’, which translates to ‘raspberry caves'. They are quick and easy to bake treats. They were designed as a snack to have during a break, or ‘fika’ in Sweden, where a person can relax and form bonds.
Cinnamon Roll - All the Scandinavian countries will claim to have invented this sweet treat. In Elyso, cinnamon would be grown in Solm, perhaps Lythos, because of the suitable climates. This snack was designed to have during a break. 
Cabbage and Nut Salad - This recipe is a ‘coleslaw’ variation. Cabbage would be a substantial peasant food in Elusia because it is easy to grow in their climate and to store. In Medieval Europe the cabbage gained the reputation of smelling bad and having unpleasant side effects. The nut involved would most likely be the almond since it would grow in Elusia's environment, pine nuts and chestnuts could also be available. Wealthy people may use exported nuts such as pistachios or walnuts.
Open Faced Sandwich - In this recipe, the bread is the plate with ingredients laid on top. This recipe originated in Medieval Europe where The toppings would often be discarded because the bread would absorb the topping’s juices and become the yummiest part.The poor could make versions with stale bread and any ingredients they had available while the wealthy could afford extravagant and decorative variations. 
Apple Pudding Pie - This recipe is based on a cold ‘Apple Charlotte ‘. The name comes from Queen Charlotte who was a patron of Apple growers. It is believed that her chef baked her a version of the recipe made with a cream filling. This would have been a useful dish as it is a way to use up stale bread. The wealthy could add ingredients to create a lavish version. 
Puffy Pancakes - This recipe is a way to use up pantry ingredients before they rot. The fish could be sweet or savoury, depending on what accompanies the pancake. Wealthy Elusian's could add a little theatre to this dish by flambeing.
Sauteed Apples with Bacon - This is a recipe introduced to the rest of Europe by the Vikings. ‘Æbleflæsk’ is usually eaten on rye bread and is a good compliment to beer and snaps. 
Berry Jelly - In medieval English, the elite would enjoy a wide variety of jelly flavours shaped in elaborate moulds. I imagine a berry jelly in the shape of a rose or a wyvern gracing the table of the Elusian Royal Family.
Soda Bread - The origins of this recipe is from Native Americans but soda bread has become associated with the Irish. It is a simple, affordable and quick bake with only four ingredients. Soft wheat is better for quick breads and grow better in climates similar to Southern and Eastern Elusia. 
Candied Fruit - This recipe is the early version of a lollipop. It was a dish eaten by nobles as an expensive treat. 
Fruit Smoothie - Most fruit would be dried, pickled, candied or fermented in another way to perverse the fruit. A fruit smoothie would be quite an unusual drink in medieval times. It would be a way to use over ripened fruit.
 Apple Compote - This recipe could also be known as ‘Apple muse', the ‘muse’ means ‘mousse’ in this context, or ‘Applemoyse’. The recipe states that this dish is a beverage. The compote/mousse could be drunk and the texture would be thick and full of pulp. 
Orange Marmalade - This recipe would have been quite luxurious in Elusia. It is unlikely that oranges could grow in the climate (without magical assistance), so would be imported from elsewhere. Marmalade is one way of preserving the life of the fruit so the orange can be enjoyed for longer. 
Veggie Sticks - Without meal this could be considered a peasant's meal. This could also fall into the category of ‘snack to have during a break'. Ivy does seem the type of person to enjoy the Elusian version of ‘cafe culture', some veggie sticks and bean paste (humus) with a cup of black tea. 
 There are a few Pale Sand's dishes which are a reference to Kagetsu and his heritage but they do not originate from Elusia. 
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athinginmotion · 8 days
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Concerning your letter in which you ask    me to call a priest and in which you ask    me to wear The Cross that you enclose;    your own cross, your dog-bitten cross, no larger than a thumb, small and wooden, no thorns, this rose— I pray to its shadow, that gray place where it lies on your letter ... deep, deep. I detest my sins and I try to believe in The Cross. I touch its tender hips, its dark jawed face,    its solid neck, its brown sleep. True. There is a beautiful Jesus. He is frozen to his bones like a chunk of beef. How desperately he wanted to pull his arms in! How desperately I touch his vertical and horizontal axes!    But I can’t. Need is not quite belief. All morning long    I have worn your cross, hung with package string around my throat.    It tapped me lightly as a child’s heart might, tapping secondhand, softly waiting to be born.    Ruth, I cherish the letter you wrote. My friend, my friend, I was born    doing reference work in sin, and born    confessing it. This is what poems are:    with mercy for the greedy, they are the tongue’s wrangle, the world's pottage, the rat's star.
Anne Sexton, "With Mercy for the Greedy,"
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annachum · 13 days
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A typical dinner that I can see those Pocket Princesses can make if they cook a dinner for everyone else in that house ( these are just examples of what they may cook ) :
. Snow White : Bavarian Sausage and Veggies Pottage, Cinnamon Rolls, and Black Rye Bread
. Cinderella : Gooseberry crumble, roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin soup
. Aurora : Mixed Berry crumble, Chicken Fricassee and Leek and Potato Soup
. Belle : French Onion Soup, Rib Eye fillet with Ratatouille, and also creme Brulee
. Jasmine : Lamb Kabsa and Gulab Jamun
. Ariel : Smorrebrod platter ( with seafood ), Danish Sailors Stew and also Chocolate Braided Danish Pastry
. Pocahontas : Three Sisters Stew ( a Native American stew with corn and beans ), Fry Bread, and Grape Dumplings
. Mulan : Hui Wo Rou ( aka Thinly sliced pork belly stir fried with cabbage and Chilli - a Sichuanese classic ), Spinach with Garlic, Tomato and Egg Drop soup, and also Chinese dates stuffed with Nuts
. Tiana : Gumbo and Peach Cobbler
. Raya : Tom Yum Soup, Grapefruit and Papaya Salad, Thai Roasted Chicken with Gluttonous rice, and Coconut Jelly Cakes
. Elsa and Anna : Smorgasbord platter, Roast Boar with Apple Sauce, Honey Glazed Root Vegetables, Mead, and Fruit and Cheese platter
. Merida : Haggis, Scottish Vegetable Stew, and Scottish Black Pudding
. Asha : Paella and Leche Fritas
. Rapunzel : Squash Hazelnut Soup, Sausages and Sauerkraut, Beer, and Raspberry Strudels
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hjh-ceilo-monster · 11 months
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BTS Song drabble : D - day (MYG)
Summary : In this chasing game, one was at the top, another was at the bottom. To break the hierarchy, there should only be one winner.
The law’s hand 
or 
The outlaw
Who would win?
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Photos : All copyright reserved to the owners.
Gif. : Special thanks to @sugajimin​ for further inspo. There’re tiny subtitle that I put to create further engagement and imagination.(I hope so🤞🏽)
Plot : Special thanks to Psych-Hunter(iQIYI) and (Su)R-chwita ep.9😹
Ambience :  1930's Ambient City Soundscape, Vintage City Sounds 
Trigger warning : (quite) detailed violent scene, self-harm, death of characters
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This fanfiction is for entertaining purposes. The story has entirely written up from the writer’s imagination from different inspiration. None of this should be taken seriously.
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Switch over, time tickin' and over.
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Author POV.
Tick...Tick...Tick...
The water drips periodically, acting as an ambience inside the dusty room. 
The owner has been laying on his favourite couch for hours, diving deep into his thought. 
“Hyung!”
His door suddenly bangs open by someone. One of his crewmates runs inside with something in his hand. 
“We...found him...here.” The new comer hands a file, trying his best to get the message through while panting hard.
The owner flutters his eyes open. A stir comes out of his mouth before he finally becomes awake and accepts the paper.
The dark orbs skim through the file, catching the main idea out of the long paragraphs in the contract. At last, his eyes land on the bottom. Seeing familiar names with the signatures under neath them make him annoy.
“Huh? Seems like we need to give him a visit again.”
Clack...Clack..Clack..Clack..
He found out.
The end of a letter makes the man stops his footsteps. The feeling of frustration rises up, however, he can’t act out of his character here. Getting out of the building, he got into his car.
“Head back to the mansion.” He tells the driver.
“And about the case?” 
“I need to get another ‘case’.” 
Understanding what to do, he asks nothing more and leave immediately.
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“ 1 beef rice noodle pottage soup, beef pork.” 
Finishing his order, he take a seat near the glass window of the cooking station. Not so long after, his order serves.
“A tough day again, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, ma’am.”
“Quit calling me ma’am, boy. Your my vip customer here. You have been here since 10th grade.”
“Or you want me to call you ajuma?” He asks jokingly.
“Aish, call me what ever you want.” The old lady move back to her station.
Minutes later, his crewmates enter the shop, filling the entire floor. Seeing their boss enjoy his meal, no one dares to utter anything that is work-related. 
“ell e beore I et pis... Ou ares ar oo obious.” *Tell me before I get piss. Your stares are too obvious.* The boss speaks while munching his favourite noodle.
“They’re round the corner, hyung.” Someone finally speaks. 
The man taps his finger as if he applaud himself. Coming here today makes his plans flow. 
“Ma’am, I will come back later.” The man slips his money under the bowl. 
Everyone starts the operation. His crewmates head out of the place and prepare the vehicle for their boss. Some of them go ahead to clear their destination.
“And...I need your chopstick with me. I’ll buy a new pack in return.” He smiles at the owner who say nothing, but sighs and wave a hand as a sign to not do what he purposes.
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Phone calls have been hitting on the office’s phone none stop. The police try their best to accept every call and write down the reports, running back and forth.
“People were complaining the same case...I don’t think it’s  a usual case anymore.”
“We need them to handle it.” The cheif tell his subordinates.
Speaks of the devil, the figure appears in the office as if he knows someone call him. The guy in his black suit enters the room. His height is average. However, his aura and the M brooch on his right chest can make everyone who stand in front of him always feels as if they are getting towered by him. 
He is the supreme in this place, if not the supreme in the town.
A walking law.
“Seems like you guys get in some trouble, eh?”  The room falls into a silence, having only phone calls as a background ambience.
“Sir, we got a...” The cheif gathers his courage to explain the situation, but get interrupt by the walkie talkie.
“We found him, sir. Need more people.”
Paying no attention to the cheif, the leader of special crime force says nothing. His natural poker face let no one be able to read the situation. 
“Loud and clear, right? Get your ass up and do your job.” He then heads out.
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Flick...Shhh
A smoke comes out from an end of ivory-white cigarettes. He inhales the thin grey fog into his lungs, hoping it will calms his racing mind down a bit.
*Get everything ready.* He orders his right hand man back with his walkie talkie.
Huh...
A grey breath leaves his mouth along with his sighs.
“Seems like the almighty D is also a human.” A bicker from nowhere brakes his thoughts. D lifts his head up to finds the sound source.
“Shut it, Kim. Don’t piss me off even more.”
“Your brother, isn’t it?” Knowing no limit, Kim asks for more information. The man still stays silence.
“Alright, suite yourself.” 
D is by himself again in the silence. His minds is cumalating with plans. 
Shhsshhh...shhhshhh.... “Sir.”
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Half and hour ago : @ WNK building
“Where is it?” 
The loud crash echos inside the building. His subordinates are busy taking down their enemy with some help from his buddy.
“Mr.Min...” 
“Speak wisely.” Min grits his teeth as a warning. 
Despite the size different, Min manages to pin down his huge enemy and threat his like a little prey. 
Weehhh...Woohhh...
The police siren comes from afar. His enemy smirks in victory.
“Who knows the genius Min will fall into my trap like a little rat too. Game over, Min.” Now the guy has a guts to speak casually.
“Now your brother will find out. Your big brother will find you.” The guy continues mocking Min, pushing him around emotionally.
“You will...ack.” Giving no chance to speak further, Min uses his chopsticks and stucks it onto the side of his neck. 
He pushes it deep as the red liquid gushing out like juice. IThe harder he push, the more it errupts out like a fountain. His other hand squeeze the neck tightly as if he is quenching an orange.
Bloody orange.
Min keeps tighten his grip onto the guy’s neck. The fountain is slowing down. Slowly and slowly, it turns into a stream of liquid.  
His shirt now paints with red splashes and spots. The paint leave its marks everywhere even on his face, creating some red blossom tattoos on his skin.
“Oh, you're so artsy.”
“No time for it, Jack.”
“I know, buddy. I get what you want. Let’s head out, yeah?”
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The two finally arrive the rooftop. Looking down the building, the see bunch of police enter in with commotion.
“Look how desperate they want to catch us.” 
Min sweep his eyes from the top view. His gaze then land on a familiar black grand mercedes among the cop cars. His mouth lifts into a smirk at the sight, knowing exactly whose it belongs.
“Not really. Someone is more desperate.”
Min replies and climbe down the stairs at the side. 
“Eh, eh, wanna get caught? Eh, man.” Jack yells from a far, but Min has already gone half way through.
Plop.
“Let’s tease you a bit.”
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D POV.
“No one inside.”
I stares at my subordinate. The young man stands there like statue, uttering nothing more.
“Where is the case?” I ask.
I don’t care much about the destruction of the building or the death of people inside. Fuck it, that isn’t my problem.
What I wants is the bag and a thing inside it.
I was planning to not invovle police. Moving around from the inside without making their suspicion was quite hard. It took me a few years I was to hold the power. 
A rat out of nowhere managed to get the case was out of my plan.
And now my brother get it.
“Retreat.”
I jumps into driver seat and drift his car out of the parking slot. Frustration fills me up, urging to explode. I roar the engine, filling its sound in the empty street.
“Brother, you won’t be free much longer.”
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Min POV.
Thud!
“That bastard. He really bet his life on this plan.” I drop the bag onto the coffee table.
“Chill. At least, you get it.” Jack speaks nonchantly and lit his cigarrete. He sways his head from side to side while humming.
Cling...cling...cling...
“Uh, I hate it. Why do you still wear that silly hat? Those bells irritates me.”
I point at the tips of his knitting hat with two spike at each end. The man sways his head even faster.
“This. You know it’s my lucky charm. So what’s next?”
Jack changes his position. Sitting with his feets cross on my coffee table, he cocks his head to the side. I stare back at him, replying nothing. I let the silence grows and engulps our conversation.
“Hyung. We...sorry, sir.” My right hand, who bangs the door open as his habit, enters the room with another file.
“I think I might need to speed things up. Now I get the case. He will soon make his move.”
“You mean...kill you?” Jack smiles. 
“Not yet. He still needs it.” I pat the stuff on a wooden table. 
As my eyes meets him Jack’s smile gets wider. 
“Then I shall act my part.”
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Author POV.
Uhhh....hmmmm.....uhhhh...hhhhmmmm......
Min sleeps soundly in his favourite place. The tiring day drains him a lot of energy, leaving the man a few muscles sourness. 
Ahhhh!
Bang! Bang!
The guy wide awakes from the sound. The screams and shouts are getting louder. He is about to stand up, however the ropes around his hands prevent him to do so.
Click.
A revolver taps behind his neck. He can feel the cold metal rubs gently against his skin before it forecfully press back onto the spot.
“Have a sweat dream?” A chill voice comes from behind.
“Should I be glad that we finally meet again?” Min answers back with a little cockiness.
“You sure want your head to be blown off.”
“And you are talkative, not like a usual you.” Min turns himself and grab a gun near him, but he meets with empty pocket.
“Oh, I borrow your rovolver by the way. I know if you die, at least you will love to die with this cutie.”
D walks around the tub for a moment, searching his eyes through the room. 
“So this is where you live. So shabby and poor...like you.” 
D grabs a plastic chair from the corner of the room and take a seat. He stares down his brother with the eyes of disgusted. 
“Rustic and cozy, isn’t it?”
Crossing his leg, D takes out his cigarrete and lit it. He wraps his lips and inhales a bitter scent from it a few times before he continues.
“Now, let’s make a deal. Those stacks of money are all yours. Just give me the case and leave this place. I’ll handle everything. You can live you life far away from here and me in...”
Min lift his hands, interrupting his brother’s talk. Despite the bond around his wrists, he reaches out and grab onto the white stick. He watches the little flame in silence, the sentences after turns muted as he pays no attention to them. 
Puff....
He throws the stick toward the shelf. The flame lits in a blink of an eye. Min give no care at those ‘valuable’ papers in front of him. Now they are burning bright red and blue. 
He thinks this is more beautiful.
“You...bastard....” D grits his teeth in anger. Now he grabs onto Min’s neck firmly.
“Tell me where’s the case.” He demand. Min keeps his poker face and answers nothing, pissing his brother further more.
“What you gonna do? Kill me?” Min smiles delightfully.
Running out of patient, D uses the revolver and knockes him off.
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??? POV.
“Hyung, wake up. Hyungie...don’t be like this.”
The voice comes from somewhere far away. However, the tone sounds familiar to me. 
Beepp...Beeppp...Beeeeeppppp....
The loud noise that rings in my ears is so annoying. 
What is going on here?
I try to open my eyes, but something stop me. I don’t know whether it is me or literally someone who stop me to do so. My body gets heavier and heavier.
I am drowning or so I thought.
My body sink down into the ocean, deeper and deeper. I feel a force strangle me around my neck, suffocating me alive.
No...am I even alive?
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D POV.
I have been waiting for my brother’s news for a day.
That little rascal was strong enough to go through ‘drowning’, but he hasn’t woke up yet since yesterday.
“Ah...I want to kill you so bad.” I mumble.
The dagger in my hand trails up and down in motion. I make it nice and clean this time, no defect mark on its pure silver skin.
“Master, He’s awake.”
Puck.
“Nice. It’s getting boring here.” I pluck my beauty onto the table.
Sadly, I can’t use her. Like I said before, to send him back home, the least I can do is to use his pretty revolver.
I am trying to be considerated, am I not?
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Min POV.
Hahhh...Huhhhh...
The fire lits around the corner. In front of me is a barrel full of water, reflecting my face. There are a few scratch with the blood seeping through.
I squint my eyes to focus the scenarios around me. The place look oddly like somewhere in my memory, but in a dusty and old version. My brain storms some idea to form an answer.
Soon, I get the answer, but from him.
“Look like my little boy didn’t remember this place.” I look up and meet his brown orbs, the scar on his right eyes fades a bit, but still visible.
“You give me the scar and try to kill me once here, remember?”
A flashback runs inside my head like a reel. The man with exact looks except his hair that was longer and blond-color. The scene is overlaping each other. 
There’s me.
There’s is him. 
In a different timeline...
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The palace that used to be vibrant with colors now became dull, towering my body with it shadow.
His men pin me down to the cold muddy floor, letting him look at me with those arrogant gaze. 
Smile in victory, the man finally got up from his seat and approached the balcony. 
The man was in a traditional robes. His light blond hair sparked under the moonlight. The fire around him and me make him more visible to my eyes.
“I am the owner of this place, engrave it into your skull, peasant.” 
His hand waved down, motioning his assassin to do the job. 
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Author POV.
“I cut heads of people for a reason, you know. That’s how I can make sure they died...painlessly.” 
D steps onto the circle. Grabbing tight onto Min’s hair, he force the man to sink down into a barrel again.
Ackk...ack....
“Wah...that sounds so satisfying.” He forcefully raises the head up from the water.
“How was it?”
The man who calm and collect is nowhere to be found. The true color finally comes out,. D laugh out in madness, satisfying with the scene in front of him.
“When I offered you, I’ve already got what I want. You were a fool to not accept my offer, brother.” 
D stepps back and walks up to another circle, preparing to watch Min’s final moment. Waving his hand down, the assassin get ready to do his job.   
“Now, execution.”
The man forces Min’s head back into dirty liquid again, wanting to drown him to death. Min’s body stuggle as his hands try to get out of the knot. 
“Sink deep and fake your death. The revolver is at the bottom.”
“a..ack?” *Jack?*
“I can only help you this much, buddy. I even take off my lucky charm for you.”
Min does according to Jack’s plan. Sinking himself deep into the cylinder and stopped moving, he successfully fakes his death. 
“Oh, faster than I expect.” 
With the revolver in his hand, D steps down from his circle to come and onspect Min’s body. Seeing the guy freezes in his place, D laughs again with contentment. 
He takes out a ruby human-heart.
Bang! Cling!
The glass shatters.
D crashes down the fire barrels, letting the oil slatter all over the place while the fire chase down the thick black liquid. He throws his lighter, adding more fire.
“Switch over, time tickin'...”
“but not over.” 
Just then Min raises his head up with the revolver in his hand. Aiming at the head of his brother, D does nothing, but smirk.
“Agust, you shouldn’t underestimate me.” 
“If you kill me without the hear, it will be the same result like last time.”
“Let’s bet then.” Min pulls the trigger.
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The ruckus at the back of them appears, however Jack’s men are faster. Doing everything according to their bosses’ plan, his men has already mixed in the group from the beginning. Agust’s people soon end up laying lifeless on the floor.
Agust dashes to Min in anger, but someone lock him from behind. His own right hand man lock tight onto the master before revealing himself.
“Ack...Kim.”
“I told you, didn’t I...suite yourself.”
Jack takes out the real heart and shatters it with his dagger.
Cling!
Click.
Bang! 
Agust doesn’t last long.
“Switch over, time tickin' and over.”
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“Dr.Kim, when will he wake up?” Hoseok asks the doctor. It has been a year since Yoongi fell into a coma.  
“His personality disorder is critical, now they are inflicting themselves.”
He have hidden his mental condition so well that not even Hoseok, his best friend, knew about it. When he knew everything, it was nearly too late. 
The man nearly cut himself...in his own eyes.
Hoseok took him to hospital. Thankfully, Kim Namjoon, the doctor of his case, was still working. If not because of him, Yoongi would be gone by now.
Hmmm....
A little stir makes both of them look at the body. It is the first time that the lifeless figure makes a move or a noise. 
Hoseok’s eyes brims with tears of hope, looking back and forth between Yoongi and Namjoon. 
“Hyung...” Hoseok calls softly.
Namjoon walks to the monitor and checks the screen. 
Like a miracle, everything comes back to the normal rate. Namjoon notes down everything onto his metal clipboard before he calls nurses inside. 
“Doctor...he...”
Surfacing from the bottom of the darkness, Yoongi finally gains his conscious.
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A/n note : And that’s it everyone. I hope you enjoy the story. I finally have a little vacation so here is the tribute for you guys. 
This is the first time I write my story with y/n. Hope you guys not disappointed.
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Before ending this, I want to give a few explanation to the story.
After listening to the interview, what I comprehended from the music videos was that Yoongi were fighting with his own personas. Like Namjoon said, he was the only one so far with 3 names. And, the fact that Yoongi devided his personalities accordingly to them made it sometimes difficult for himself to make music.  “If I make it, will this represent suga bts, agust d or me as Yoongi?”
Sum up events : Yoongi faced personality disorder to the point he went into the coma due to self-infliction. His personas, D (The dark past with anger and agressiveness) and Min (The real yoongi), fought over to control the body during Yoongi unconscious inside his mind. The ruby human-heart like that made out of glass was the core, the conscious. Destroying it mean you kill the consious of that persona. Different timelines, I came up with this idea from daechwita, thinking what if he failed to mute (killed) the tyrant king back then. Looking it in that aspect, personally, I think it somehow fit the explanation of Yoongi’s triology. Letting the strong and fury persona control you to handle hate and prejudice, but at the same time, you were the one who deepen your own scars. What if it is getting out of control?
I wrote this story with a retro vibe because of the Haegeum’s settings. From the research I’ve read, the location was age around 1930 - 1960. Starting in 30s, the market hit its peaks around 40s - 50s before the fire incident in 60s. If I was wrong, I sincerely apologized for the mistakes.
Jack and Kim in the story, I used the image of Hoseok from Jack in the box album and Namjoon from Sexy Numkin. I saw a twitter about what if the three cross path. I didn’t capture the account nor remembered the name. If the idea owner come and see this, I apologize for not crediting you on the top of my ff🙇🏽‍♀️
I think that’s all. Thank you for your attentive reading, see you next session.
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thejoyofseax · 9 months
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Féile na nÚll Options
My kitchen crew are currently discussing which of the three possible cuisines we're going to go with for Féile na nÚll. So far, we're not even close to a decision. Here's (mostly) some cut-and-pasting from the Discord conversation.
If we go with Arabic, I have found fantastic looking recipes for an apple and saffron stew (from the Kanz), an apple pudding, and something that I think should probably be described as an apple chutney, both from al-Warraq. We can build that out into a pretty solid menu, and it covers our vegetarian and coeliac requirements pretty easily.
If we go with English, we get pies. And it's kind of easy to make a good havest-feeling spread of stuff when you have pies. At that time of year, we should have apples and also blackberries, pears, and plenty of other fruit, and as much in the way of meat and fish for savouries as we like. We will need to work out a gluten-free pie crust, but I'm hopeful
Irish gives us cheese and flavoured butters as a major component, and we can use cabbage, kale, garlic, and plenty of berries. We could also hit the pottage-with-purple-berries, which is at this stage becoming more of a comedy bit than a specific dish. Irish also allows for large roasts of pork, which goes well with the apple theme. Not, that is, that medieval England wouldn't have had roast pork, but they were legendarily obsessed with roast beef.
More, I guess, after we decide!
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thedoctorlivesey · 1 year
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Dr. Livesey, what do you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
Hmmm! Ahahaha what an interesting question!
Oh, you see it all depends on my mood and tastes for the day, but my breakfast is generally modest. Preserves, bread, butter and tea. Occasionally eggs.
Then I may sit for a meal during the day and dine of simple things such as meat pies, cheeses, fruits and the like.
For the evening my cook will have prepared something warm to enjoy in stark contrast to my usually cold lunch. Hearty stews, pottage, honeyed chicken, beef with beer.
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genuinemilk · 1 year
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Not all fruit is forbidden.
And so they fed her soft, ripe peaches, tart plums full of sweetness, and cool crisp apples. The pastor himself supplied them with cherries from his tree, helping every step of the way. It's not impossible to cure a vampire, he told them. Your daughter still has a chance to be free.
Grains too, ground, baked, boiled. But the vampire turned aside the bread, the porridge and the pottage. She did not crave another's birthright, but her own was too terrible to be claimed.
Even the body and blood of Christ they offered every Sunday had to be forced down her throat, the wafer and the wine. She did not thirst after salvation. But her parents craved it for her, and so she sputtered and choked it down.
The symptoms showed up in other ways, regardless. The vampire's distaste for human food (that wasn't humans) was one thing. But all knew of her guilt, as she could not hold another's gaze. As the pastor's screaming for repentance from the pulpit led to her sobbing and shaking, hands over her ears to keep the dread noise out. As she flinched from the holy water her parents sprinkled over her each night before bed.
"She is of the age at which vampires choose a mark," the pastor eventually warned. "Her desire for blood may make it entirely impossible for her to eat. You must keep her from drinking. You must starve the devil out."
But her soft hearted parents could not watch her wither away. So when neighbors chickens went missing, they kept their silence. When the dog died, they buried it in secret. They brought her beef and bacon and bird and lamb, cooked so rare it was still twitching. "Just don't choose a mark," they begged her. "We will keep you from starving, just don't let your desire control you. Surely this will be enough. It has to be."
Try as they might, they were wrong. Their offerings could never be enough. Her birthright called, and with it the forbidden knowledge of what she was and what she could become called also. Maybe heaven could never claim a killer, but what was heaven to her hunger?
In the end the vampire did not choose a mark. The mark chose her.
The vampire found the woman outside a chicken coop during a midnight blood run.
The woman was tall. Her skin was the color of sun-ripened wheat. Her lips were the shade of a pomegranate.
"You look thirsty," the woman said. "Come and drink." The woman offered the vampire an arm, and she accepted it.
She drank and she drank, draining every ounce she could. Eating had always been painful, grating, holding back nausea. But this was easy. She had never expected it to be easy.
And it tasted so familiar. Not apples or plums or stew or gruel. But something right. Something she knew, but different.
For the first time in her life, she was full and could drink no more. And the woman was not dead. The woman only smiled back at her, with teeth as sharp as her own.
She knew what it was, what blood tasted like.
It tasted like wafers and wine.
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idontrunafoodblog · 1 year
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german pottage
German Pottage Ingredients 1 diced beef Polska Kielbasa 1 small corsely chopped green cabbage 1/2 tbsp caraway seed 2 tbsp butter 1 can cream of potato soup 1/2 soup can of milk 1/2 soup can of water Directions In a large pot, melt butter down and toast caraway seed over  medium heat. Add kielbasa dices and begin to brown them. Once mostly browned, add cabbage and cook until…
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madibe16 · 1 year
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William Alexander Gowen (1634-1686)
My 8X great-grandfather
On September 3, 1650, my Scottish, 8x great-grandfather, William Alexander Gowen, was captured at the Battle of Dunbar by Cromwell’s army. He was only 16 years old.  
The Battle of Dunbar was where Scotland squandered an incredible opportunity to defeat Cromwell and change the course of British history. It was Scotland's best and last realistic chance to chart its own political and religious destiny though the opportunity was wasted by a committee of Presbyterian ministers blinkered by religious fanaticism. The fiasco ended in an English-controlled death march of 5,100 Scottish prisoners of war. One of the most unsavory pages of British history. 
William was one of about 9,000 Scottish soldiers captured, and one of the 5100 prisoners on the 100+ mile march from Dunbar, in Scotland, to Durham, in England in just over 8 days. The mortality on the march was very high. The Scots were beaten, starved, and when too sick to continue, left to die or killed outright. On the march, as they were coming to their first stop in Newcastle, many were dying by the dozens as uncontrolled dysentery and typhoid fever swept through the Scottish soldiers. When they arrived in Newcastle they were put into St. Nicholas Church, where more prisoners died among the pews. The following morning, about 500 of the prisoners could not continue the march and were left behind to die. Few prisoners made it out since most of the men who tried to escape were caught and shot. 
Disease swept through the prisoners, killing off at least 1500 in the course of a few weeks. The “flux”, what we now call dysentery, was responsible for over 500 of those deaths.
The prisoners were put under the care of Sir Arthur Heselrigge, who wrote on October 31, 1650, that “1600 died altogether in 58 days”.  
With very little for the English foot soldiers and cavalrymen to eat, there was virtually nothing for the prisoners to eat. Civilians along the way occasionally risked English vengeance and tossed them bread or whatever else they could spare, which wasn’t much after a summer of fighting in the area. The prisoners quenched their thirst, on the march, from puddles of rainwater and fetid ditches.  
Late in the afternoon of September 11, 1650, about 3000 survivors staggered into Durham Cathedral. They were given no fuel and little food, but Sir Arthur Haselrigge wrote to Cromwell, telling him that the men had been given braziers and coal, and had been fed too. Haselrigge proudly told his fellow members of Parliament that his cathedral prisoners were provided with “pottage made with oatmeal, beef, and cabbage~ a full quart at a meal for every prisoner”. He also mentioned how his officers set up a hospital for the sick and wounded in the adjoining Bishop’s Castle, where patients were stuffed with “very good mutton broth, and sometimes veal broth and beef and mutton boiled together. I confidently say that there was never the like of such care for any such number of prisoners in England”. 
It may have been what Haselrigge, in Newcastle, thought was happening, but his English guards in Durham were getting rich quick, by getting away with murder. Tons of supplies coming in from Newcastle and “60 towns and places” in the Durham area were being stolen by the cathedral guards. Some of the food was being sold to the prisoners for whatever money or personal jewelry they had managed to retain. Most of the prisoner's rations went at cut-rate prices to merchants and grocers in the area. It is believed that Haselrigge did his best for the prisoners, and had no real idea of what was actually going on. The harsh reality is that very little food ever found its way into Scottish stomachs. Many died of starvation, but most of the deaths were from the “flux”, or dysentery. 
A very perplexed Haselrigge wrote, “some were killed by themselves, for they were exceedingly cruel one towards the other. If any man was perceived to have any money, it was two to one he was killed before morning and robbed. If any had good clothes that [a prisoner] wanted, he would strangle the other and put on his clothes. They were so unruly, sluttish, and nasty, that it is not to be believed. They acted like beasts rather than men”. No wonder, the prisoners were dying at an average rate of 30 a day in the cathedral. That rate probably hit close to 100 or more daily by the middle of October, as starvation and murder set in and the dysentery infection rate peaked. In actuality, they were trying to survive, but the English soldiers didn’t leave them much room for that; a truly horrendous situation. 
The English Commandant also insisted, from Newcastle, that his prisoners were getting an ample supply of coal to warm them as winter was getting closer~ at least that's what the men in charge of the cathedral were telling him. “They had coals daily brought to them, as many as made about 100 fires both night and day and straw to lie on”. But it appears the coal like the food, was ending up everywhere except Durham Cathedral. 
Simply to stay alive, the Scots burned every sliver of wood in the church~ the pews, the altar, anything that would keep them warm, regardless of religious significance. 
By the end of October 1650, approximately 1600 Scots had died horrible deaths in Durham Cathedral. Only 1400 of the 5100 men who started the march from Scotland in September were still alive less than 2 months later when they were being transported away. 
Far more Scots died as English prisoners than were killed at Dunbar.
To this day, there is no memorial of any kind to these unknown Scottish soldiers. They rest in anonymity, in what they would have regarded as foreign soil, far from their homes.
After three months of hardship ~ confinement, disease, bad food and no food, it was remarkable that our William managed to survive, and in many respects, thrive. For a 16-year-old boy, who could survive the march, the diseases and terrors at Durham Cathedral, the horrors of the ocean trip below decks in winter, and the rigors of lumbering in Maine, he thrived and became a man.
William Alexander Gowen was #38 on George S. Stewart's “Captured At Dunbar” list. 
The prisoners were sold as indentured servants at about 30 pounds each ($4790.02 in current dollars). The average passage at that time was only 5 pounds each ($798.34 in current dollars). The captain of the ship “Unity”, that William came over on, made a “killing” on the amount of money he made transporting 150 prisoners to New England. 
The Rev. Joseph Cotton referred to this indenture as “apprenticeship” for a period of 7 or 8 years, although some served for longer periods. When these indentured workers were set free, they were destitute, so the town of Kittery granted them parcels of land.
It’s been recorded that William was one of 15 ‘sold’ to the Great Works sawmill at South Berwick Maine. Dr. Emerson Baker, of Salem State University, who has done extensive research and an archeological dig, believes that one or some of the 15 also possibly worked for Humphrey Chadbourne, at his sawmill at Salmon Falls, which was just a short way along the river from Great Works. It would have been my 8X great-grandfather, William Gowen, working for my 7X great-grandfather Humphrey Chadbourne. (The Humphrey Chadbourne story will come later.) 
After William's indenture, he settled at South Berwick and found work as a carpenter. But in 1659 he was convicted of “frequenting the taverns and being in a “quarrel” with fellow Scot, James Middleton”.
 He first appeared in Kittery, Maine (now Eliot) in 1666. 
In May 1667 it was recorded that Major Charles Frost, brother of one Elizabeth Frost (1640-1733), filed a complaint against William for “bastardy” with regard to his, and Elizabeth's son Nicholas. William and Elizabeth were married one week later, on May 14, 1667, at Kittery, York, Maine. Elizabeth brought a sizeable dowry into her marriage of 105 pounds 12 shillings and 6 pence, for a total of about $21,251.47 in current dollars. A big windfall for the boy from Scotland. Marrying Elizabeth put him into the more well-to-do strata of society. 
Along with their son Nicholas, they had a total of 8 children. My family comes down through 3 of those children, Nicholas (1667-1741) John (1668-1732), and Margaret (1678-1751), our 7X great-grandfathers and 7X great-grandmother.  
In June 1668 William was fined “for fighting and bloodshed on ye Lord’s day after ye afternoon meeting”. He was sentenced to pay a fine of 3 shillings 4 pence for breach of place and 5 shillings for breach of ye “Saboth”. Also fees of 2 shillings and 6 pence, in all 10 shillings 10 pence, $108.98 in current dollars. (NH court records)
1670, he was granted a house lot in Kittery
1674, he was a constable in Kittery
1676 he bought land on the Kennebec River, including Small Point.
1679- was in court for idling away time and drinking.
William Alexander Gowen died on April 02, 1686, Kittery Maine
Elizabeth Frost died in 1733, Kittery Maine
When William died the amount of his estate was over $53,000.00 in current dollars; a healthy amount for the times.
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lennart11412 · 1 year
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Libation
POS
: Noun
HYPHEN
: li=ba=tion
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CIDE DICTIONARY
Libation
, n. [L.
libatio
, fr.
libare
to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering: cf. F.
libation
.].
The act of pouring a liquid or liquor, usually wine, either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice, in honor of some deity; also, the wine or liquid thus poured out.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]"A heathen sacrifice or libation to the earth."  [1913 Webster]
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OXFORD DICTIONARY
Libation
, n.
1 a the pouring out of a drink-offering to a god. b such a drink-offering.
2 joc. a potation.
EtymologyME f. L libatio f. libare pour as offering
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THESAURUS
Libation
beverage, bumper, burnt offering, collection, draft, dram, drench, drink, drink offering, drop, ex voto offering, gargle, gulp, guzzle, heave offering, hecatomb, holocaust, human sacrifice, immolation, incense, infanticide, jigger, jolt, lap, mactation, nip, oblation, offering, offertory, peace offering, peg, piacular offering, portion, potation, potion, pull, quaff, round, round of drinks, sacramental offering, sacrifice, scapegoat, self-immolation, self-sacrifice, shot, sip, slurp, snifter, snort, spot, suck, sup, suttee, sutteeism, swig, swill, thank offering, tot, votive offering, wet, whole offering
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ROGET THESAURUS
Libation
Worship
N
worship, adoration, devotion, aspiration, homage, service, humiliation, kneeling, genuflection, prostration, prayer, invocation, supplication, rogation, intercession, orison, holy breathing, petition, collect, litany, Lord's prayer, paternoster, beadroll, latria, dulia, hyperdulia, vigils, revival, cult, anxious meeting, camp meeting, ebenezer, virginal, thanksgiving, giving thanks, returning thanks, grace, praise, glorification, benediction, doxology, hosanna, hallelujah, allelujah, Te Deum, non nobis Domine, nunc dimittis, paean, benschen, Ave Maria, O Salutaris, Sanctus, The Annunciation, Tersanctus, Trisagion, psalm, psalmody, hymn, plain song, chant, chaunt, response, anthem, motet, antiphon, antiphony, oblation, sacrifice, incense, libation, burnt offering, heave offering, votive offering, offertory, discipline, self-discipline, self-examination, self-denial, fasting, divine service, office, duty, exercises, morning prayer, mass, matins, evensong, vespers, undernsong, tierce, holyday, worshipper, congregation, communicant, celebrant, worshipping, devout, devotional, reverent, pure, solemn, fervid, Int, hallelujah, allelujah!, hosanna!, glory be to God!, O Lord!, pray God that!, God grant, God bless, God save, God forbid!, sursum corda, making their lives a prayer, ora et labora, prayers ardent open heaven.
Food
N
food, eating, deglutition, gulp, epulation, mastication, manducation, rumination, gluttony, hippophagy, ichthyophagy, (appetite), mouth, jaws, mandible, mazard, gob, chops, drinking, potation, draught, libation, carousal, drunkenness, food, pabulum, aliment, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, sustentation, sustention, nurture, subsistence, provender, corn, feed, fodder, provision, ration, keep, commons, board, commissariat, prey, forage, pasture, pasturage, fare, cheer, diet, dietary, regimen, belly timber, staff of life, bread, bread and cheese, comestibles, eatables, victuals, edibles, ingesta, grub, grubstake, prog, meat, bread, bread stuffs, cerealia, cereals, viands, cates, delicacy, dainty, creature comforts, contents of the larder, fleshpots, festal board, ambrosia, good cheer, good living, beef, bisquit, bun, cornstarch, cookie, cooky, cracker, doughnut, fatling, hardtack, hoecake, hominy, mutton, pilot bread, pork, roti, rusk, ship biscuit, veal, joint, piece de resistance, roast and boiled, remove, entremet, releve, hash, rechauffe, stew, ragout, fricassee, mince, pottage, potage, broth, soup, consomme, puree, spoonmeat, pie, pasty, volauvent, pudding, omelet, pastry, sweets, kickshaws, condiment, appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, main course, entree, alligator pear, apple, apple slump, artichoke, ashcake, griddlecake, pancake, flapjack, atole, avocado, banana, beche de mer, barbecue, beefsteak, beet root, blackberry, blancmange, bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey, chowder, chupatty, clam, compote, damper, fish, frumenty, grapes, hasty pudding, ice cream, lettuce, mango, mangosteen, mince pie, oatmeal, oyster, pineapple, porridge, porterhouse steak, salmis, sauerkraut, sea slug, sturgeon ("Albany beef"), succotash, supawn, trepang, vanilla, waffle, walnut, table, cuisine, bill of fare, menu, table d'hote, ordinary, entree, meal, repast, feed, spread, mess, dish, plate, course, regale, regalement, refreshment, entertainment, refection, collation, picnic, feast, banquet, junket, breakfast, lunch, luncheon, dejeuner, bever, tiffin, dinner, supper, snack, junk food, fast food, whet, bait, dessert, potluck, table d'hote, dejeuner a la fourchette, hearty meal, square meal, substantial meal, full meal, blowout, light refreshment, bara, chotahazri, bara khana, mouthful, bolus, gobbet, morsel, sop, sippet, drink, beverage, liquor, broth, soup, potion, dram, draught, drench, swill, nip, sip, sup, gulp, wine, spirits, liqueur, beer, ale, malt liquor, Sir John Barleycorn, stingo, heavy wet, grog, toddy, flip, purl, punch, negus, cup, bishop, wassail, gin, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, the cup that cheers but not inebriates, bock beer, lager beer, Pilsener beer, schenck beer, Brazil tea, cider, claret, ice water, mate, mint julep, near beer, 2 beer, non- alcoholic beverage, eating house, diner, hippophage, glutton, eatable, edible, esculent, comestible, alimentary, cereal, cibarious, dietetic, culinary, nutritive, nutritious, gastric, succulent, potable, potulent, bibulous, omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, granivorous, graminivorous, phytivorous, ichthyivorous, omophagic, omophagous, pantophagous, phytophagous, xylophagous, across the walnuts and the wine, blessed hour of our dinners!, now good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both!, who can cloy the hungry edge of appetite?.
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thewordwideweb · 1 year
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Another fine mess
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With apologies to Laurel and Hardy, today’s Word of the Day is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into. I can’t recall what I was reading, watching or listening to that made reference to a bunch of military folk dining in a “mess hall.” So what makes a mess hall, um, messy?
Now, you might think they call it a “mess” hall because, after a long day of marching, standing at attention and saluting, tired soldiers can get pretty sloppy while chowing down. Or perhaps you think the mess refers to a big, gloopy ladleful of, say, creamed chipped beef being plopped onto a tin tray. And, of course, you’d be almost completely wrong.
We may not know which came first, the chicken or the egg (It’s obviously the egg, but that’s an argument for another day), but we know for sure that the mess in “mess hall” came first and general messiness came later. Much, much later.
The word “mess” came into English around 1300 and originally meant a portion of food, enough for one meal. In modern French, “mets” means “dish, or dishes.” (Insert your own “Let’s go mets” joke here.) But once upon a time, old Frenchmen speaking Old French spelled “mets” as “mes.” And both “mets” and “mes” trace their roots back to the Late Latin word “missus,” meaning to put or send (which is where we get the word “mission”), but also “a course at a meal; something put on the table to be eaten.”
By the early 1500’s, “mess” came to mean not just the meal, but a group of people (usually numbering four, we’re told) eating at the same communal table. Those folks were your mess-mates, and the meal was eaten in the mess-room. It took until the early 1800’s for the mess-room to join the military and become a “mess hall.”
And it appears the mess wasn’t just any food - it was usually a semi-liquid meal, like a stew or thick soup. That’s where we get the Biblical tale of Esau selling his birthright for a “mess of pottage.” Pottage is another word for soup or stew. Today, a “mess of pottage” can refer to anything that is “valueless or trivial or of inferior value —used especially of something accepted instead of a rightful thing of far greater value.” (Merriam-Webster). But I digress.
That semi-liquid mess – the term was also applied to mushy animal feed – is what finally gave rise to the mess we know and love (and probably live with) today. The animal slop gave “mess” the meaning of “a jumble, a mixed mass” as well as a “state of confusion, a situation of disorder…condition of untidiness.” (Online Etymology Dictionary)
It only took 500 years to go from “a portion of food” to “a dirty or untidy state of things…a state of affairs that is confused or full of difficulties.”
What a mess!
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bardic-tales · 2 years
Note
Happy WBW!
Tell me about the food in your world!
i.e. what are delicacies unique to your world, what is food that everyone can get or make, what is most popular, if there are different regions/countries/kingdoms what are the differences foodwise, what do the characters eat, are there any food significant to the story and does it play a role in the plot, etc etc.
Make me hungry <3
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Happy belated WBW, Anna. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Thank you so much for the question.
I love to talk about the foods that are featured within my work.
Are there any food significant to the story and does it play a role in the plot?
Food does play a significant moment in the story, as the betrothal of the Crown Prince is announced over a feast. This event does move the plot forward as Vaene is talking about how he met with the stewardess over how he met his betrothed. Vaene is unhappy with the situation as he is being forced to marry Catrina as she is with his child, and he is trying to do "right" by her and the child, but the truth was that Catrina was only a one-night stand.
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What are delicacies unique to your world?
As meat was an expensive and rare item, it was considered a delicacy. During any feasts hosted by the emperor of the Olessan Empire, there would be a casserole prepared with doe, beef, and pork. This casserole would also have potatoes, onions, white wine, and berries.
Emperor Graeme was proud of everything that he would offer his nobility, but this placed a strain between him and the new stewardess. The nobles feasted while the poor starved. This is something that Cyras would strive to change when she befriended the Crown Prince.
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What is food that everyone can get or make?
What, how, and where people ate in the Olessan Empire depended on where they fell within the social hierarchy. While meat was limited, the nobility enjoyed it more than the peasants.
Bread, pottage made from oats or barley, and vegetables were available for everyone. It was typical for people to add a smear of butter to the bread. The wealthier would also add a little bit of jam.
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What is most popular?
There were some vendors within the Olessan Forum that will serve a frozen product that was made with milk, cream, and fresh fruits or nuts. This frozen treat would have more milk than the Glorendt's copycat version.
It wouldn't be uncommon for those who pursue the other merchandise within the Forum to eat this as they ventured from each stall.
This was the case when the Stewardess of the Olessan Empire met the Crown Prince. Her lady-in-waiting and the boy who was her deceased husband's charge were enjoying such a treat made from strawberries.
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If there are different regions/countries/kingdoms what are the differences foodwise?
The cuisine between the Olessan Empire and the Glorendt Kingdom are similar. They both are known for their love and appreciation of food.
Olessan cuisine tends to influence most of the kingdoms surrounding it as it has recently undergone a cultural revolution, focusing on art, food, and other things.
The biggest difference between the two main countries was how each eat their vegetables. Glorendines like to enjoy their food in raw or cooked lightly in lots of butter.
Olessan meat dishes consists of land-based animals, such as oxen, sheep, and deer. This is because Olessan's capital, where most of food dishes are inspired, is landlocked. Glorendine is a coastal-based country. They love to eat shellfish and other marine animals.
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cw: pregnancy.
What do the characters eat?
This depends on the novel.
In a later novel proceeding Pale Fire, Brennan will go hunting in his dragon form to provide meat for Alystin. Alystin is thick with his children, and he knows she needs lots of protein to support the development for their dragon Halfbreeds. If they are not satiated within the womb, they will consume their mother's energy.
Without enough protein, the twins would start to consume their mother's life force. This is something that Brennan fears will happen, anywhere.
In Cold as Ice, the Crown Prince has Cyras stay at his estate to protect her from the Wraith. During this time, he has his servants make a special chocolate pudding that is topped with a white cream and sprinkled with gold flakes.
In this scene, it is snowing. It's Cyras's first time she has seen snow. Vaene tells her not to worry about the Wraith and holds her. He comments that she is shaking like a leaf and makes a promise to always protect her.
Like Cyras, Anabelle Vasser has been raised among the nobility. She and Cyras would serve as a way for the Shadow Council still maintain power after Emperor Graeme's passes away. They were both to assimilate into nobility, but that is where the similar plotlines stop.
Since the Duke of Avis adopted Cyras, she never had to cook. Jackson, Anabelle's foster father, would bring in a tutor from a finishing school. She would be expected to learn how to cook and mend cloths.
Annie cooks a bread dish for Seamus. Anabelle usually makes the bread for this dish, leaving it out to make it "stale". She will add extra cream to the custard before soaking the bread until it absorbs all the liquid. Annie usually fries it in butter before serving it with a dusting of sugar or a spice similar to nutmeg.
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the-world-that-was · 3 years
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Medieval Irish Beef Pottage
This week was St Patrick's Day, an Irish holiday - and so I decided to make some medieval Irish beef stew to celebrate. Ireland, being a huge producer of beef and dairy products, relied on these foodstuffs in antiquity to modernity. This recipe is an adaptation from a reconstruction made by Maeve L'Estrange - a culinary archaeologist from UCD!
youtube
In any case, let's now take a look at the world that was! Follow along with my YouTube video above!
Ingredients
500g lean beef 1 onion parsley cloves salt pepper 2 tbsp butter wine vinegar (or just regular vinegar) 50g breadcrumbs thick slice of bread
Method
1 - Chop Ingredients
To begin with, we need to prepare our onions. Halve and mince a whole onion. Toss a few pads of butter into a large pot. Place this over a medium-high heat until it melts. Toss your chopped onions into this, and let them cook away for a few minutes.
Also roughly chop some parsley by rolling it into a ball, and mincing it. You can leave the leaves whole, but I prefer chopping them so they have a better texture in the final dish.
2 - Cook Beef
While your onions cook, go cut your meat into small cubes. Cattle was a sign of wealth in early medieval Ireland (and still is). So this is definitely a recipe suited for richer palettes (at least in antiquity). In any case, toss your beef cubes into your pot with the onions when the onions are translucent. Let your beef sear for a couple of minutes per side, until you can no longer see red meat. At this point, pour in 500ml of water on top of everything, so the water just about covers the meat.
Bring this to a rolling boil over a high heat. When it hits a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer away for about an hour. Foam might form on the surface of the soup, this is still edible! You can ladle this off if you want to pretty it up, which I didn't do.
3 - Add Seasonings
After an hour, add your salt, pepper, and cloves to the pot, and give it a stir. Also toss in your head of parsley. Leave this to simmer for about 10 minutes, while you combine your breadcrumbs and vinegar in a small bowl. Depending on your tastes, you can add more or less vinegar than I did - I used about two tablespoons here.
Toss your vinegar-soaked breadcrumbs back into the pot, and stir it around. The pottage should take on a lighter colouration - but this is fine! Let this simmer away until the meat is tender, and the breadcrumbs absorb water and makes it act like porridge.
Serve up over a chunk of bread - preferably stale, hard bread - and dig in warm!
The finished dish is super filling, and has an extraordinarily meaty flavour - really amplified by the vinegar. It's fairly simple to make, and requires very little time to prepare - and since its a pottage, it can be left on a low heat for hours, to tenderise the meat, as was common with many pottages from the medieval period.
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breelandwalker · 3 years
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Recipe Roundup in Review
In years past, I posted a two-month series of recipes suitable for the autumn season, which everyone seemed to enjoy very much. I’ve been too busy this year to make up a new queue, so I thought I’d compile a big long list of links for anyone who’s looking for recipe ideas this fall.
Update: I’ve posted more recipes since the original roundup and I’ve added those additional links to the list below. I’ve also done my best to mark which ones are vegetarian (🌿) or could be easily altered to be so. (Some could also be altered for a vegan diet using egg, milk, or butter substitutes.) Recipes which may include alcohol as an ingredient are also marked (🍷).
Some are fall-themed, others are for more wintry occasions. But all are designed to make the most of the season and keep our hearts and bellies full as we face the coming cold. Enjoy!
Appetizers, Sides, & Snacks
A Pair of Stuffing Recipes 🌿
Asparagus Salad 🌿
Baked Apples 🌿
Beets with Cloves and Cinnamon 🌿
Bree's Cheddar-Garlic Mashed Potatoes 🌿
Bree's Homemade Colcannon 🌿
Carrot Fritters 🌿
Cheese & Bacon Pinwheels
Cheese Toasties 🌿
Cranberry-Orange Sauce 🌿
Fish Cakes
Irish Stout Apple Fritters 🌿🍷
Oatmeal & Potato Bread 🌿
Parsnip & Apples 🌿
Pumpkin Seeds 🌿
Sprouts au Gratin 🌿
Soups
Butternut Squash and Pear Pottage 🌿
Cheese Soup & Dumplings 🌿
Chestnut Soup 🌿
Garlic Soup 🌿
Gingered Pumpkin Soup with Molasses Cream 🌿
King's Arms Tavern Cream of Peanut Soup 🌿
Mashed Potato Soup 🌿
Mushroom Soup 🌿
Entrees
Acorn Squash with Cinnamon and Honey 🌿
Bree's Baked Ziti
Bree's Crockpot/One-pot Chili 🍷
Bree's Fried Chicken Parmesan
Bree's Honey Baked Salmon
Bree's Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole 🍷
Bree's Roast Chicken with Apples and Potatoes 🍷
Bree's Sesame Ginger Chicken
Bree's Turkey Hash Casserole
Dill-Crusted Salmon
Irish Stew 🍷
Meat Patties in Crust
Michaelmas Goose with Sage & Onion Stuffing 🍷
Pan Haggerty
Pumpkin Plenty 🌿
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Orange & Onion Sauce
Rosemary-Orange Beef
Savory Yuletide Pie 🌿
Spiced Pot Roast 🍷
Stuffed Acorn Squash 🌿
Stuffed Braised Beef
Surry Sausage, Squash, & Apple Bake with Savory Streusel Topping
Xanodrian Beef Stew 🍷
Welsh Potato Pie 🌿
Welsh Trout in Bacon
Baked Goods
Applesauce Buttermilk Biscuits 🌿
Barm Brack 🌿
Beer-Bacon-Onion Muffins
Caerphilly Scones 🌿
Christiana Campbell's Tavern Sweet Potato Muffins 🌿
Drop Scones 🌿
Gingered Pumpkin Muffins 🌿
King's Arms Tavern Apple Cheddar Muffins 🌿
Tea Table Goodies
Apple & Potato Cake 🌿
Apple Raisin Cider Teabread 🌿
Bree's Cranberry Pumpkin Bread 🌿
Faerie Cakes 🌿
Irish Apple Cake 🌿
Irish Apple Teabread 🌿
Irish Whiskey Cake 🌿🍷
Isle of Wight Farmhouse Cake 
Marmalade Loaf 🌿
Porter Cake 🌿🍷
Seed Cake 🌿
Shortbread 🌿
Welsh Crumpets 🌿
Desserts
Apple Fritters 🌿
Baked Apples 🌿
Bramble Dessert 🌿
Bree's Easy-Peasy Molten Chocolate Cake 🌿
Bree's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Chocolate Liquer Glaze 🌿🍷
Chranachan 🌿
Christmas Plum Pudding 
Beverages, Jams, and Sauces
Eggnog 🍷
Hot Buttered Rum 🌿🍷
Mulled Cider 🌿🍷
Samhain Wine Cup 🌿🍷
Wassail 🌿🍷
Blackberry & Apple Jam 🌿
Irish Whiskey Marmalade 🌿🍷
Bree's Dad's Sauce Recipes 🍷
Delectable Dressings 🌿
Sources
Celtic Folklore Cooking (Asala)
A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook (Telesco)
A Witch’s Brew (Telesco)
Kitchen WItch’s Guide to Brews and Potions (Telesco)
The Kitchen Witch (Soraya)
Witch in the Kitchen (Johnson)
The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook (Gonzalez)
Favorite Meals from Williamsburg (Turgeon)
Holiday Fare: Favorite Williamsburg Meals (Gonzalez)
The Very Best of Irish Traditional Cooking (Lennon and Campbell)
An Irish Country Cookbook (Taylor)
And of course, a selection of family recipes, shared with all of you for the joy of the season.
Happy Cooking!
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asweetprologue · 3 years
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Food of the Continent
Alright kids this is a little different from my normal stuff and entirely self indulgent! I recently worked on a fic that involved mention of quite a bit of food, and me being myself, I put a decent amount of research into it. I decided to compile that for those who, like me, get to a scene where the boys are eating and find themselves at a loss. What would a medieval witcher and bard eat on an average day? I’ve based my findings on medieval Poland, which isn’t, obviously, the Continent. If you want to add potatoes to your fantasy world, go ahead! The Witcher 3 certainly did. But if you’re looking for accuracy, please see an extensive list of medieval appropriate foods below the cut! 
Medieval Polish Cuisine
Meat
Pork
Beef
Poultry
Fish
Royalty/Nobility only: Venison
Most common: Pork, Beef
Breads
Rye bread - Used mostly commonly for trenchers
Common white bread - Often used for harvest feasts
Rusks or binavice - A hard tack-like bread used for soldiers' rations
Manchet breads - Essentially wheat rolls
Boiled breads (bagels, ring pretzels) -  Also called circuli or bracellus if you don’t want to say that Geralt is eating a bagel, but he could have! They were a very common street food.
Rogale or crescent rolls
Most common: Trenchers, white wheat rolls
Vegetables  
Field peas
Cabbage
Onions
Fava beans (used for animal fodder, peasant food, and flour)
Mushrooms
Leeks
Beats
Kale
Lentil (lower class food, often stewed)
Parsnips
Cucumbers (treated as a fruit, a type of melon)
Skirrets
Rutabagas
Turnips
Radishes
Lettuce
Alexanders
Carrots (VERY rarely)
Most common: Peas, cabbage, onion; parsnips and skirrets in the winter
Notes: Pickling and dry storage were extraordinarily important for surviving the winter months. Peas could be saved dry and reconstituted by soaking them in water, and cabbage was turned into sauerkraut. Also note the lack of potatoes! Anytime you think of potatoes in a meal, substitute them for turnips.
Fruits and Nuts
Apples
Pears
Plums
Cherries
Hazelnuts
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries, sloes, cranberries, and rowans (all used to make juice or in fermented beverages)
Raisins
Almonds (expensive)
Figs (expensive)
Most common: Apples, pears
Notes: Serves always after the main meal, fresh or cooked. Apples were often dried and eaten year round, or made into a butter and jarred. While not part of the Polish diet, I posit that more exotic fruits like oranges (used for cooking, not eating), peaches, lemons, and dates could probably be brought north from Nilfgaard, but they would be more rare and expensive the further north you went!
Herbs
Parsley (helps kill the onion smell)
Dill
Garlic
Mustard
Fennel
Most common: Parsley and dill
Oil
Lard
Butter
Poppy and hemp oil
Notes: Butter and lard were extremely important. Medieval people burned a lot of calories, so fats were a critical part of their diet. Almost every meal would have been smothered in some kind of animal fat, unless it was a Friday.
Drinks
Honey water/milk
Hydromel (similar to mead, less alcohol)
Mead
Ale
Wine
Desserts
Placki, flat cakes
Tortae, high quality desserts made only with high grade bolted flour. Could have been a type of strudel with rich cheese based filling. Also could refer to small, flat cakes. Also could have been similar to cheesecake.
Marzipan (expensive)
Notes: In a contradictory fashion, when you read sweetmeats, that means desserts. It usually refers to a highly sugary confection, such as candied fruits or nuts. Sweetbread on the other had, does refer to meat, and is made from offal. I know. 
Common Dishes Gruel of mixed grains - Side dish, served with meat and a wheat bread Courtier's Pottage - One pot dinner made with millet, peas, bacon, onion, vinegar and parsley. Would have been quite thick due to the millet. Extremely common. Parsnip, Leek, and Alexander Stew - Common in early spring, typical one pot meal for a noble family. Served with cheese dumplings. Pears stewed with Cucumbers and Figs Chicken baked with Prunes - Common in noble establishments. Either cooked in a covered pot, or wrapped in dough to form a kind of giant turnover on festive occasions. Ham stewed with Cucumbers - A rich dish made with butter, onion, beer, and cucumber, raisins, and cranberries. Sour cream was added to the stew to thicken it. Lentils and Skirrets with Bacon - Stew Beer Soup - A classic stew made with leeks, cabbage, flour, beer, eggs, and cheese Fish Aspic - A kind of savory gelatin, usually used as an ornamental component of a larger banquet display Game stewed with Sauerkraut - Bigos, served at royal banquets. Peasants probably had their own versions using pork or beef instead of venison. Crepes - Probably served not as a dessert but during dinner, with beer soup and cheese or fish aspic. Krepel - Flat cake of layered cheese and bread, fried and served with strawberries or fruit Praskury - Wafers Apple flat cake - Essentially like an apple pizza Honey cakes - Kind of flat cake saturated with honey.
If your characters are eating Breakfast, they're probably eating millet porridge, eggs, or bacon. If they are eating Lunch, they are probably eating trencher bread with lard or cheese or soaked in beer, or stew. If they are eating Dinner, they are probably eating some kind of meat, usually pork or beef, with vegetables like cabbage, peas, onions or parsnips, either in some kind of one pot stew or plain. Desserts are almost always sweetened with honey, and include fried breads and wafers.
Roadside meals would probably consist of fresh meat from hunts (mostly poultry and rabbit), either roasted or put in a stew; rusks, eaten plain or soaked in water or ale; wild berries or apples; reconstituted peas; sauerkraut; and root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, radishes and onions that would save well over several days. Wild parsnips could probably be found easily in the Northern Realms.
I hope this was helpful to someone! This is meant to help you generate ideas, not to be used as a strict guide for what to include in your fics. This is fantasy, so you can absolutely do whatever you want, and besides that it will always be hard for us to be accurate about what exactly went on in the medieval kitchen. However I hope this helps give you an idea about what the average tavern might be serving, and you can worry a little less about what to include in those pesky meal scenes. 
Source: Food and Drink of Medieval Poland by Maria Dembinska, English translation by William Woys Weaver
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