Tag: cookbooks

We’re having a Season 7 Premiere party! (And other Season 7 things.)

So after many years of wanting to throw a GoT theme party, we are finally going to have one – complete with costumes.  The occasion is, of course, the premiere of Season 7 on the 16th of this month.  I am going to be preparing a dinner of some sort based on A Feast of Ice and Fire and maybe a few other recipes from the Inn at the Crossroads site.  Hopefully this will be the first of many.

So anyway… I have had Game of Thrones on the brain lately and have been thinking about what we might expect in Season 7 (and maybe Season 8).

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History, material culture and life at Downton

Kelly and I have been watching this final season of Downton Abbey.  I have to say, I have warmed to the show a bit, especially since they have developed some of the characters a little more fully.  I am particularly pleased that they have made Thomas Barrow out to be more sympathetic and less of a villain.

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1,260 books and counting

We don’t write about books around here as much as we probably should.  Life, politics, history, current events, and other interesting stuff tends to get in the way.  We’re OK with that, those things deserve our time and attention as well.

Not too long ago, Geoff wrote about some home reorganizing.  That has been a part of a much larger multi-month cull and organize project.  Part of that project has been BOOKS.

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A good Dornish meal to honor the Red Viper

 

I have been wanting to make a Dornish meal for some time, and now that I have had a long weekend home to help Kelly as she recovers from her surgery I have had some time to make it.   So here is my traditional Dornish meal of dates, cheese, olives, chickpea paste, and flatbread.  And wine, of course.

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A quick note on wine in ASOIAF/GoT

I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to make for my planned Dornish meal to honor the late Prince Oberyn Martell.  I haven’t tried doing any Dornish stuff yet, and I wanted to try since it all sounds so tasty.  Originally I wanted to do something before the big showdown with the Mountain.  The perfect time has passed,  I know, but I just didn’t have time to do it last weekend with all the server surgery.

The Red Viper also got me thinking about wine.  Especially those magnificent Dornish wines that get mentioned so frequently in the books.

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Trying to enjoy life one day at a time

Well, after taking some time to process it, I guess I can go ahead and say (officially) that I am not going to the police academy this year.  I just wasn’t high enough on the list, I guess.  But the people involved in the process have been highly encouraging and supportive towards me, and so I will make another effort whenever they put together another class, either later this year or early next year.

In the meantime, it has been a humbling experience to get back into the job hunt full-time.  And to be honest, a little depressing.  But since I am Mr. Silver Lining, I am trying to find the bright side of the experience and move on.

So there’s a few things I am doing to keep myself entertained while I continue the (seemingly eternal) job hunt.

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Two of my favorite things together in one web site

A few weeks ago my friend Teri sent me a link to something she thought would interest me – A Cozinha Mediaeval, or in English – the Medieval Kitchen.  I can’t believe I hadn’t discovered it sooner – a web site that combines two of my favorite things: Portuguese cuisine and medieval history.  Yet another reason for me to keep working on my Portuguese language skills, which are quite poor, sadly.

I have not yet had the chance to try any of the recipes that are on the site, but there are so many that look absolutely delicious: carne estufada (called stewed beef but actually a beef rib dish); and arroz frutado (a rice dish with fruit and almonds) are two of my favorites so far.  And the site doesn’t stop with just recipes.  There is a wealth of other information as well, such as senhor Djalma’s excellent essay on the myths of medieval cuisine and his review of a 15th century Portuguese cookbook that was reprinted in 1963 by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture.

Enjoy!

-Geoff

More medieval cooking on a snowy winter’s eve

This week has become one snow event after another, and we are starting to actually run out of places to put the snow when we shovel.  There are really only two piles: the big one on the other side of our trash and recycling bins, between them and the neighbor’s fence; and the small one in this little corner between the steps and the house, where there is a stump I want dead anyway.  So the little pile is getting close to its maximum practical size, and the other one has reached the height of the bushes.  And trying to chip away all the melted, compacted snow that had refrozen as ice all over the walk and steps took almost an hour of hard work.  Thirty degrees outside and I was sweating.

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