Autumn Greens and Ginger Soup

“…her young hostages Miklaz and Kezmya were laying out a simple supper of autumn greens and ginger soup for her…” (Dance with Dragons)

Autumn Greens and Ginger Soup

Our Thoughts:

This is a wonderful pairing of dishes for late autumn, or unseasonably warm winter days. Light enough to satisfy a between holidays diet, yet with enough oomph to see you through to the next meal. The small amount of ginger in the salad dressing compliments the heavier ginger in the soup, while the fig flavors in both dressing and on the salad lend the dish an exotic flair.

The soup pairs exceptionally well with some crusty bread and sharp cheese.

Continue reading →

Acorn Flour

“When an oak-tree is felled the whole forest echoes with it; but a hundred acorns are planted silently by some unnoticed breeze.”

-Thomas Carlisle, 1795-1881

Our Thoughts:

The smell of boiling acorns is entirely unexpected. From the bubbling pot, tendrils of steam curl up, bearing the familiar oakey scents of brown sugar and vanilla that are found in some wines, compliments of the cask they were aged in. Together, absurdly, the boiling mixture smells like creme brulee.

The resulting flour also tastes sweeter than we anticipated, with a subtle nutty flavor. It is very rich in protein, so a little goes a long way. We began mixing some in with our oatcakes, and have been very happy with the result.

We had expected this post to be a grueling sort of undertaking, and were pleasantly surprised to find how straightforward it is. It is a nice project to have going on the side while you prepare the real meal of the day. We boiled and strained ours three times just to be sure we got rid of the bitter tannins, but two times probably would have been sufficient.

So, with relatively little work, acorn flour is a definite win in our book! How to Make It!

Honeyed Chicken

“‘Hungry again?’ he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence.” -A Game of Thrones

Thoughts:

Yum. The sauce reduces down to a thick, syrupy consistency, which melts ever so slightly when drizzled over the hot chicken. The raisins soak up the sauce, and become absolutely delicious little morsels. Combine a bite of the chicken, dripping with the juice from the plate, with a plump raisin, and you’re golden.

Bottom line? Omnomnom!

Medieval Roast Chicken Recipe

This was a recipe that gave us some difficulty; Absurd, when it seems so straightforward. However, there appear to be no recipes for “honeyed chicken” from a surviving period cookbook. At last, we found a recipe that we could work with. Thank you Ancient Romans! Now, you say that ancient Rome is not the Middle Ages, and you are correct. However, we use what we can. And really, it’s honeyed chicken. Are you really going to hold that against us?

Our changes: Since this dish is mentioned in The North, we took out a few things that were more Roman than Stark. We started with Apicius’ recipe for Chicken in Honey and Dill Glaze (Apicius, 6.8.2). Instead of white wine vinegar, we substituted apple cider vinegar, and added raisins, assuming that raisins are easier to come by in The North than are grapes. We eliminated the dill and date syrup for the same reason. Also, absolutely no fish sauce with our chicken. This left us with ingredients as follows:

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken for roasting
olive oil/butter (~1 Tbs)
salt

Sauce:

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
Dash of mint, dried or fresh (abt. 1 tsp.)
Small handful of raisins
~1 Tbs. butter

Rub the chicken down with olive oil/butter and salt. This makes the skin crispy and delicious. Cook in an oven at 450 degrees F for approximately an hour, or until the juices run clear, and the thick meat of the breast is no longer pink.

While your chicken is roasting away in the oven, combine all ingredients in saucepan and allow to simmer until the raisins plump and the sauce reduces slightly. Remove from heat, and when the chicken is done, spread the sauce and raisins over the bird.

Enjoy!