Galinha Mouresca

This recipe comes from the Livre de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria, believed to have been written between 1540 and 1570,  Imprensa National – Casa de Moeda, Lisbon 1987. I have given the original text, then my transcription into modern Portuguese, and finally my interpretation of the dish in English.

Rreçeyta da galynha mourisqua

Tomaraõ huã galynha muito gorda e cortalaam ẽ pedaços e deytarlheam demtro nuã panela boa cantidade de coẽtro e salsa e ortelam e a salsa seja mais pouca q̃ eses outros cheiro [Sic] e huãcebola por grãde q̃ seja e deytarlheaõ huã posta de toucinho ẽtalhadynhas e hũ par de colheres boas de mãteiga de vaquas e porlheaõ hũ testo ẽ syma e polaaõ no fogareiro ou ẽ brasas e sempre abafada e de quaõdo ẽ quaõdo lhe daraõ hũarrevoldedura asy no testo abafada e depois de afogada nestapanela com o q̃ dyto temos deytarlheaõ agoa dẽtro q̃ a cubra e ẽtaõ depois q̃ feruer temperalaam de seu sal e uinagre e deytarlheaõ os mesmos adubos q̃ deytaõ no coelho e como for esta galynha cozida deytarlheaõ hũ par de gemas douos batidas e ẽtaõ poraõ huãs fatias no prato e ẽtaõ ẽborcalaaõ ẽ syma das fatias.

Tomarão uma galinha muito gorda e cortá-la-ão [em pedaços et deitar-lhe-ão, dentro numa panela, boa quantidade de coentro e salsa e hortelã, e salsa sera mais pouca que esses outros cheiro[s], e uma cebola, por grande que seja; e deitar-lhe-ão uma posta de toucinho em talhadinhos e um par de colheres boas de manteiga de vacas, e pôr-lhe-ão um testo em cima e pôr-lhe-ão no fogareiro ou em brasas, e sempre abafada; e de quando em quando lhe darão uma revoltadura, assim no testo abafada e, depois de afogada nesta panela com o que dito temos, deitar-lhe-ão água dentro que a cubra; e então, depois que ferver, temperá-la-ão de seu sal e vinaigre e deitar-lhe-ão os mesmos adubos que deitam no coelho; e como for esta galinha cozida, deitar-lhe-ão um par de gemas de ovos batidas, e então porão umas fatias no prato e então emborcá-la-ão em cima das fatias.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken
• 1 onion
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 c c cilantro
• 1/2 c fresh mint or 2 Tbsp dried
• 1/2 c or less of fresh parsley
• 1 slice back bacon or several slices of side bacon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 egg yolks
• bread for serving

1. Cut the chicken into pieces.
2. Place the chicken, cilantro, parsley, mint, onion, bacon and butter in a pan and cover with a snug-fitting lid, then cook on the stovetop until the onion is soft and the meat is starting to brown, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
3. When the greens and onions are cooked, add enough water to cover them and stir in the salt, vinegar and other spices.
4. Cover with lid. Bring back to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
5. Stir a small amount of cooking liquid into the beaten egg yolks to temper them.  Then pour over the chicken and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Serve the chicken on slices of bread.

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Christmas trees in the Middle Ages

There are many legends and stories about the origin of the a Christmas tree, with the story of St. Boniface cutting down a sacred oak in about 723 or 723 in Gaesmere, Hesse being among the earliest to make a connection between evergreens and Christianity. According to the 8th C Vita Bonifatii by Willibald, Boniface cut down the oak and said he would not be struck down by Thor for doing so, in order to convert pagan Germans. A fir subsequently grew on the spot.

There are many variations of a claim that the earliest reference to Christmas tree was in 1419 Freiburg, where a tree was set up by the Bakers Guild and decorated with apples, nuts and lebkuchen (or some other kind of gingerbread or cookies). The treats were eaten to celebrate the new year. Although there is supposedly written documentation of this, I was unable to track it down in English or German.

The next written reference appears to have been in account books from 1492, when the cathedral foundation in Strasbourg ordered nine pine trees, one for each of the parishes in the city “to welcome the new year”. The first written record I have definitely been able to confirm is from 1521 in the town of Selestat in Alsace, also an account book. This one is important because it takes the trees from a religious or communal setting into private homes. In this case, the account was for four schillings to hire guards to protect trees starting at the festival of St Thomas, celebrated at that time on December 21. From that date, people had the right to cut down Christmas trees, and the guards were hired to regulate the cutting and prevent abuses. (https://www.lesechoirduried.com/un-peu-dhistoire/). From 1555 there is a record of Selestat’s magistrates deliberating punishments for those who cut down Christmas trees, and in 1600 a description of how to decorate Christmas trees in the city (https://best-of-upper-rhine.com/selestat-alsace-real-history-of-the-christmas-tree/).

Photo source: https://www.lesechoirduried.com/un-peu-dhistoire/

In the 1500s the Christmas tree tradition spread throughout the Rhine region of Alsace and across the river in the Freiburg area. There is evidence that in 1576 a stone lintel above a door in the town of Turckheim, Alsace, was carved with a Christmas tree decorated with pretzels.

By 1570, it appears the Christmas tree had spread as far North as Bremen. A Bremen guild chronicle from 1570 tells of a small Christmas tree that stood in the guild house and was decorated with fruits, nuts and paper flowers. (https://www.baumpflegeportal.de/sonstiges/geschichte_weihnachtsbaum_tannenbaum_christbaum/#:~:text=1570%20in%20Bremen&text=Diese%20berichtet%20von%20einem%20kleinen,und%2018.)

The only other location that claims a pre-1600 tradition of Christmas trees is even further north in Riga, Latvia. According to Latvian historian Dr. Gustavs Strenga, there is a manuscript from 1510 in which the Shrovetide Ordinance of the Riga Blackheads is recorded in detail. And there – at the very end – under “Des dynxtedages in der vasten” (Shrove Tuesday): Item wen de clocke to eynen offte to twen is, so bryngen de Bemerwoldeschen eren bom aff up dat market myt alle deme spele unde vorbernen den bom dar myt vrouwen unde syn dar vrolik wen an den lychten roof; unde dar mede is de vastelavent beslaten. “The Blackheads were sales assistants, young men who completed their training as Hanseatic merchants and then worked as employees until they had enough capital to start their own business. It is possible that the “Bemerwoldi”;were people from the Bohemian Forest, but they do not appear in any other texts from the time, doing in Riga? We also do not know what kind of tree was burned on the market square on Shrove Tuesday to mark the end of Carnival. So why does is there a steel sculpture of a fir tree in front of the House of the Blackheads in Riga every winter? For Gustavs Strenga, the solution is quite simple: “It wasn’t until the 20th century that someone took this tree, took it out of the context of the carnival order and reinterpreted it as a Christmas tree. ( https://www.nordisch.info/lettland/wo-steht-der-aelteste-weihnachtsbaum-der-welt/)

Destroying the decorations on the tree also seems to be a long-standing tradition. In 1601, Selestat resident Balthazar Beck wrote about the customs observed in the Herrenstube (common room of the town hall at Christmas. He described the ceremony of forest guards bringing the trees, and their decorations made of apples and wafers (possibly symbolizing original sin and forgiveness). He also describes the ritual of inviting the children of magistrates, city councillors and municipal employees to shake the Christmas tree and strip it of its decorations and treats. (https://www.selestat.fr/se-divertir-a-selestat/noel-a-selestat/selestat-et-son-sapin.html)

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The A&S ADD struggle

I feel like a demented squirrel on meth. Although I only have about 20 minutes of work left on each of a hand sewing project and my rigid heddle weaving project, today I abandoned both and decided I needed to make a new pincushion right now using saved hair and a piece of bone (somewhere, years ago, I read that the hair helps keep pins sharp and not rusty). So I cut a piece of bone. When it was mostly done, I dropped it to start de-barking a wooden whisk that came from last year’s Christmas tree. Eventually I went back and finished cutting the bone, and even started smoothing the outside – all the while being tempted to drop it in favour of cutting out dice from the leftover bone. Needless to say, the pincushion is not done (nor is anything else).

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Fencing silliness

A friend of a friend posted this image on Facebook, and I was amused. It shows how medieval/renaissance fencing has been interpreted by different groups (if fencing equipment was a bicycle).

ACL is Armored Combat League, SCA is Society for Creative Anachronism, WMA is Western Martial Arts and HEMA is Historical European Martial Arts.

Naturally, what caught my eye was the last image. It turns out to come from the Rochester Bestiary. It is a wonderful source of images of lions, camels, elephants, unicorns, and more – including a beaver, cat, and hedgehogs. You can admire them all here: http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=95&CollID=16&NStart=120613

There was much discussion among my friends about whether the horses are also fighting. Their ears are up, so they don’t look angry, but look at those eyebrows!

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November is the time to butcher and preserve meat

In my case, it is not because I need to deal with animals I can’t feed over the winter, but simply because I need the freezer space and my storage room is now cool enough for the meat. About a month ago, I started making a bone-in leg of ham. I used the instructions in Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. I put my pork in a plastic bin, coated it with kosher salt (especially around the bone), wrapped it in plastic, weighted it, and let it sit for about one day per pound of meat. I drained off the liquid every day or two, and re-coated with salt as needed. I ended up using almost 2 kg of salt.

Best use ever of my bocce set

This week, I brushed soft the salt, rinsed the meat, coated it in lard, covered it in freshly ground black pepper, then wrapped it in cheesecloth and hung it up. The room is well insulated but not heated, so I am hoping the temperature and humidity will be acceptable as the meat hangs for the next five months. If it gets too chilly, I do have a back-up plan with a spot in my basement.

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