This is how we camp…

What a weekend!

While last week’s roasted haunch of goat was incredibly delicious, and very fun to cook, we really outdid ourselves this weekend. We pulled out our canvas tents, packed up the cars, and set off for VT. We watched in amazement as the boiling thunderheads rolled to either side of us, and only had to duck under the tent for about thirty seconds of intense hail.

But what did we eat, you ask? A sample dinner: Game hens and rabbit roasted over an open fire, with a spread of ripe fruits, oatcakes, cheesy-meaty-biscuits, and a plethora of drinks.

Between six of us, we also neatly polished off: 1 specialty growler, 3 cases of beer, 13 ciders, 3 bottles of mead, 1 bottle each of plum, raspberry, and peach wines, 2 magnums of regular wine, and 2 bottles of home-made “Skittle Juice”. And that’s just what we drank in our own camp…

Oh, and there was also fire dancing. Epic win!

Wildling Roasted Haunch of Goat (on a spit!)

There is something deliciously primal about tearing into a roasted haunch of meat with one’s hands. We didn’t anticipate this adventure, but when the opportunity presented itself, we couldn’t say no. The purpose of the weekend had been to do a dry run for a camping trip the following weekend. So we gathered our tents and headed out of the city.

The girls spent the morning going farmstand-hopping, picking up a wide variety of incredible baked goods, ogling jars of vintage buttons, and sourcing quirky meat. Sariann espied the haunch of goat at a great place appropriately named “Blood Farm”, which has been run by the Blood family for 5 generations. Their bacon is terrific, and their lamb has won multiple awards. Another farmstand of note is that of John Crow Farm, where we hope to get goose and duck eggs in a few weeks. To tide us over, we got some potted herbs and some wonderful mixed tea. The then current shopkeeper, Jen, was very helpful, even offering a few tips on where we might look for lamprey and wild boar!

Needless to say, as soon as we were in possession of this large chunk of meat, the rest of the day sort of evolved around that. While it thawed on the front stoop, the girls met up with the guys for a picnic at an old ruined stone church (SO cool!), and did a spot of antiquing before returning to the house.

Gender stereotypes were out in full force at this point. The boys dug a fire pit and hacked down small trees with which they constructed a wild-looking spit for the meat. The girls, on the other hand, pitched tents, and made cozy nests of blankets and pillows, then set about preparing the meat. The goat got a rub of salt, black pepper, savory, marjoram, and cumin, and was set over the fire, getting turned once in a while for a couple of hours.

We could have brought the cooked meat indoors to properly carve and portion out. We could have, but we didn’t. Instead, we found ourselves hunched over the spit like a group of savages, gobbling bits of meat still dripping with juices. We felt like wildlings, and it was fantastic.

Between five of us, we devoured every bite of the goat, and several skewers of lamb and veg as well. Our favorite parts? The sizzle of fat dripping into the coals. The primitive spit outlined against a raging fire. An excuse to yell “HAUNCH” all night long. Needless to say, this weekend was a definite win.

Vietnamese Cinnamon

So, this is clearly an out of the ordinary post for us, but when you find something amazing, you share it. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to swing by the King Arthur baking store up in Norwich, V.T. I promptly filled a cart with goodies, and have been testing some of them out. One amazing find was a small jar of Vietnamese Cinnamon…

This simple little container holds a powerhouse of aroma and flavor that blows ordinary varieties out of the water. One whiff, and you know you are in for a treat. This cinnamon has a high oil content, which means the taste spreads all the way through your baked goods, drinks, and desserts. The flavor is wonderfully rich, with that distinctive peppery bite found in cinnamon gum or candy, warm and long lasting. Eating something made with this potent spice is a revelation, a sudden understanding of how cinnamon is meant to taste.

Conclusion? These Innkeepers will never settle for another cinnamon. And the best part is that a 2 oz. jar of the stuff will set you back a whole $5 with King Arthur.

Get some of your own!

Heraldic Banner Cake Toppers

What you’ll need:

printout of the heraldry, above
bamboo skewers
toothpicks
thread
craft glue
scissors

Carefully cut out the double shield images so that they can be folded down in the middle, making a shield shape with an image on the front and the back.

With the banner unfolded, run a line of glue along the inside of the crease, then lay a toothpick down in the glue. The ends should stick out past the edge of the paper. Run a few light squiggles of glue over one side of the shield, making sure to get near the edges.

Fold the top shield down and press the two halves together. Check to see that the edges more or less match up. Your banner should now look like this:

Cut your thread into segments about 2 1/2″ long. Place a dab of glue on either end of the exposed toothpick, and gently place the end of your string in the glue blob. It’s alright, and sometimes easier, if there is a little overhang; this can always be trimmed off later. Set aside to dry while you prepare other parts of the meal.

Once the glue is completely dry, you can trim the extra ends off the thread. The next step is to attach the banner to the bamboo skewer. If your skewer has a flat top, place a blob of glue on the end, and affix the center of your banner’s thread to the blob. If your skewer doesn’t have a flat top, place a blob of glue near the top, and attach the thread there. Make sure it is centered before leaving it to dry!

Your banners should be done! Stick them in a cake, a roast, or wherever they will best add to your Game of Thrones festivities!

Got Mead?

Our thoughts:

First of all, we LOVE mead. Like, would keep our own bees so we could make our own mead kind-of-love.

Mead comes in a wider variety than you might expect. All are honey-based, but that’s usually where the similarities end. Some meads are sweet and thick, like after dinner liquors; others are drier and spicier. Some meads, although still honey based, acquire their primary flavors from fermented fruits, or the casks in which they are aged. As such, you can find meads flavored with apples, pears, peaches, ginger root, whiskey casks, or rum casks.

Mead can be served any time of day, on its own, or with a meal. Most meads are best served at room temperature, but some of the sweeter, lighter varieties are also nice slightly chilled.

Our Recommendations:

Lurgashall English Mead is an excellent introduction to the beverage. It has a simple sweet honey flavor that is full bodied and easy to enjoy. Lurgashall’s other meads are also very good and easy to for a beginner. Typically, they cost around $21 a bottle in the US, and 8-10 pounds in the UK.

One of our personal favorites is Lurgashall Tower of London, which is aged in scotch barrels. The taste starts with spiced honey, has a hint of the best scotch flavors, then finishes with straight honey.

If you are feeling more adventurous consider anything by Dansk, especially their Viking Blood. This is a rich, serious, hearty mead that scotch drinkers will like. Another favorite is The GI. Dansk Mjod, which has a lovely ginger flavor. These are high quality and cost around $25.

A word to the wise where fruity meads are concerned: Some, especially the cheap ones, are reminiscent of cough syrup — too rich, and too sweet. The Redstone brand is fairly safe, although you are probably safest getting a straight honey mead that almost everyone will love. That said, I recently had a Honey Garden blueberry mead that was out of this world. Also, B. Nektar’s Wildberry mead is what humans taste like to vampires: intoxicatingly delicious.

Iqhilika is a South African mead that comes in bizarre flavors, such as coffee and fig. Again, interesting to try, but probably too big a risk for newcomers to the world of mead.

Overall, I highly recommend the Viking Blood, the Lurgashall, and the Honey Garden/B. Nektar if you are opting for something fruitier.

AVOID Chaucer’s mead; it’s horrible. Shame, because it has a great name and a pretty label. Unfortunately, Chaucer’s is the mead your local liquor store is most likely to carry. Don’t buy it, even if it is your only option.

Goat with Sweetgrass, Firepods, and Honey

Medieval Goat

“She brought back a haunch of goat and a basket of fruits and vegetables. Jhiqui roasted the meat with sweetgrass and firepods, basting it with honey as it cooked…” -A Storm of Swords

Modern Goat

Thoughts:

The argument was fierce over which of these dishes was better. Although different, both were very good. The metal skewers allowed the meat to cook perfectly so it was very tender, leaving all judgment hanging on the marinade.

The medieval goat dish was succulent and flavorful. The garlic, salt, and pepper are a tried and true combination, and one that in this case really complimented the slight gaminess of the goat. While it was tasty, it struck several of us as generically medieval (if such a thing is even possible). This dish seemed more appropriate to the clansmen in the Mountains of the Moon than the nomadic Dothraki.

In contrast, the modern dish made me feel like a princess on the plains of Vaes Dothrak. I could practically smell the sweat of horses and feel the wind blowing through grass tents. This dish had an exotic feel that was lacking in the medieval version, and that, for me, made the difference. The complexity of the ingredients, and the interplay of sweet, tart, savory and spicy is lovely, and I found myself tempted to lick the plate at the end of the meal.

Bottom line? Medieval if you want medieval, Modern if you want Dothraki.

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