playdate food
For Friday fish day at the War (a brilliant theme) I made some smoked trout in cream, thusly:
Whacked up a red Spring onion bulb and sauted until limp, then added about half a small carton of 1/2 & 1/2 (I've done full on cream before too), maybe 3 T of chopped fresh dill, and a bunch of watercress, plus a little salt. When the greens were sufficiently wilted, I tossed in the smoked trout, sans skin and broken up into manageable pieces. Heated until the fish was warm, and dished it up. That was served with some barley pilaf that was just barley (pearled, 'cause that's what I had, hulless would be better) cooked until al dente, then in went a bunch of chard chopped up, plus 3-4 young carrots, diced, and salt to taste.
The bread I made Friday morning was Bob's Red Mill "Scottish Oats" (stone ground, rather than steel cut) soaked until softish in water, then salt, a bit of honey, and enough barley and green pea flour to make a stiff dough. Patted out thin and popped in the brick oven until browned. The went really well with the herring in horseradish sauce I got from Marina Market in Poulsbo.
For dinner Saturday:
The chicken dish started with a Walla Walla sweet spring onion, both bulb and greens, wilted in butter. Then came chicken thighs (whole) and a mix (maybe 50/50) of water and mead (a dryish one) to cover, plus sliced mushrooms, salt and a little cumin seed. When the chicken was well cooked, I pulled it out and got rid of the skin and bones, and added it back to the pot with some fresh fava beans that had been shelled/boiled/peeled earlier in the day. Heated until everything was warm.
The other dish was whole oat groats and French green lentils cooked in water until soft with some dried cherries and salt. I just kept simmering and adding water until gooey. I think barley would have come out more pilaf-like and less goopy, but live and learn.
All of the above was made with ingredients known from the archaeological record from Viking digs, and cooked using Viking technology (i.e. appropriately shaped pottery vessels over the fire). The only compromises I think are the pearled barley (I can't prove they pearled) and the cherries were probably sweeter than what they had. It would be interesting to try with sour cherries some time, or maybe dried cranberries/lingonberries.
Whacked up a red Spring onion bulb and sauted until limp, then added about half a small carton of 1/2 & 1/2 (I've done full on cream before too), maybe 3 T of chopped fresh dill, and a bunch of watercress, plus a little salt. When the greens were sufficiently wilted, I tossed in the smoked trout, sans skin and broken up into manageable pieces. Heated until the fish was warm, and dished it up. That was served with some barley pilaf that was just barley (pearled, 'cause that's what I had, hulless would be better) cooked until al dente, then in went a bunch of chard chopped up, plus 3-4 young carrots, diced, and salt to taste.
The bread I made Friday morning was Bob's Red Mill "Scottish Oats" (stone ground, rather than steel cut) soaked until softish in water, then salt, a bit of honey, and enough barley and green pea flour to make a stiff dough. Patted out thin and popped in the brick oven until browned. The went really well with the herring in horseradish sauce I got from Marina Market in Poulsbo.
For dinner Saturday:
The chicken dish started with a Walla Walla sweet spring onion, both bulb and greens, wilted in butter. Then came chicken thighs (whole) and a mix (maybe 50/50) of water and mead (a dryish one) to cover, plus sliced mushrooms, salt and a little cumin seed. When the chicken was well cooked, I pulled it out and got rid of the skin and bones, and added it back to the pot with some fresh fava beans that had been shelled/boiled/peeled earlier in the day. Heated until everything was warm.
The other dish was whole oat groats and French green lentils cooked in water until soft with some dried cherries and salt. I just kept simmering and adding water until gooey. I think barley would have come out more pilaf-like and less goopy, but live and learn.
All of the above was made with ingredients known from the archaeological record from Viking digs, and cooked using Viking technology (i.e. appropriately shaped pottery vessels over the fire). The only compromises I think are the pearled barley (I can't prove they pearled) and the cherries were probably sweeter than what they had. It would be interesting to try with sour cherries some time, or maybe dried cranberries/lingonberries.