Emrys’s entry is in the category of Inspiration. In his words:
“It started at CF22 when I received a prize from the Fighter Auction Tourney, it happened to be a bottle of Limoncello crafted by Bear Bjarnylr.
“Gildenwick consumed most of this bottle at a Meade Society meeting, there must have been a couple of hundred mls left over that was decanted into a small “meade” bottle and was then forgotten about.
“This random bottle made it’s way back to a Meade Society meeting at CF23, once I opened this bottle and poured a little in to my vessel, I then remembered what it was. This Limoncello was delicious and Lord Kevin Ost had brought along a couple of buckets of lemons. With these lemons I decided to make a brew as tasty as Bears’.
“The method was fairly basic:
“Peel the rind from half a bucket of lemons ensuring that no pith is added. Put these rinds into 2 “milk bottles”. Fill the bottles with 80 proof Vodka over the level of the rinds. Leave for 2 months in a dark cupboard, inverting/mixing once a fortnight. After 2 months, strain the rinds from the alcohol and measure the quantity of alcohol (1.25L or 5 cups). Add to a saucepan 5 cups of boiling water and 5 cups unrefined golden caster sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the water then let cool. Once cool, add the infused Vodka and stir. Then pour into bottles and keep chilled in the fridge or freezer.
“This Limoncello was enjoyed at the Gildenwick Collegium during the feast.
“Another brew was made then enjoyed at the Gildenreef event, during the meade tasting and then the potluck dinner.”
Simon shares his linen hat in the categories of Imitation, Exploration, and Personification
“This is a hat based on as close as I understand materials and construction available to reproduce a hat dug up at the Birka archaeological site. Birka was a Viking settlement on the Swedish island of Björkö located on Lake Mälar.”This is a hat based on as close as I understand materials and construction available to reproduce a hat dug up at the Birka archaeological site. Birka was a Viking settlement on the Swedish island of Björkö located on Lake Mälar.
“I used the research and work of: Margaret “Mairghread” Wilcox Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon March 22, A.S. XLVIII (2014) Barony of the Rydderich Hael
“This informed the design and choices. I used a hounds-tooth weave linen, having discovered a damaged pair of trousers in an op-shop, sensing both an opportunity and the potential of a new hat. The band should show my victory or status, and thus should be archery related, however I had a gorgeous celtic braid so I used that on the first hat I have ever made. Maybe ösenstich or mesh stitch on a future hat.
“The hat made it’s first outing at the wee highland fling. Success if maybe a little loose. Should I defeat a bear in close combat the tension of the hat may be improved by a fur band.”
Ailith shares this entry where they, Eryl, Astrid Sudeying, and Emrys Grenelef undertook Wassailing an Orchard under the categories of Participation and Collaboration
On the 19th of July the four of us went wassailing in Eryl’s orchard to encourage a better crop for next year.
Traditionally wassailing in the country was often done on the 5th or the 19th of January just after dinner, near dusk. Pots were banged to scare off malicious spirits or fairies, trees were yelled at and threated into producing even better, and the same trees were wheedled and complimented for the same reason. Food and drink was shared with them. Every village had a different way of wassailing their orchards. In the towns and cities wassailing was a lot like carolling, where groups of poorer folks would go wassailing at peoples doors to bless the home and those within it, and in return the groups would receive food and drink.
We chose the 19th of July for our antics, though for various health reasons we went wassailing after lunch, instead of dinner. We made two wassails, one of cider and one of apple juice, since most of us had to drive home afterwards. The basic recipe for both was to heat the liquid through, adding sugar, chopped apple, orange, and ginger, crushed nutmeg and cinnamon, and whole cloves, all to taste.
We trekked out into the orchid with tankards full of wassail, and blessed every tree, sharing a sip of our drinks with each. Some of the larger trees we sang to, and some we even capered around, ringing bells to attract friendly spirits while driving off any mischievous ones.
Ailith presents this entry of an evolution of possets in the category of Degustation
“As some people are aware, I ran a tea tent some afternoons at Canterbury Faire 2023. This led me to put a bit more research into what people further to the west of Europe and in Britain drank to warm themselves of an evening. What I found was Possets. Used as a warm drink, a dessert, and the base for many other recipes, I kept running into the issue of recipe books that would simply say “start with a posset”. But how did I start with a posset when it was too well known for them to even write the recipe down? Limited to Google books and the Gutenburg Project (and similar websites) I eventually found The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Kenelm Digby, published 1669. The book had been written in the 4 or so decades before, and had been published by the author’s son. I reasoned that as a philosopher and not a cook, Sir Digby had almost definitely written down older recipes rather than creating his own versions, and therefore it is extremely likely that his posset recipes are, in fact, period. So, under the sign of the Dizzy Bee, I used his “To Make a Sack Posset” (from page 111) as a base to start trialling possible recipes.
” And so we come to this. What actually is a posset? Well, a posset is a drink that sometimes had solid curds on top of it that could be eaten. It is make from milk or cream, eggs, a white wine or ale, sugar, and varied spices. There were as many different variations as their were cooks. The best description I have been able to come up with is that it is a drinkable custard mixed with a mulled white wine or ale. For those who can read scrawl, I have included my notes from the first few times I tried it, until I came to something simple that I felt was right for me. The notes were written specifically for myself and sometimes reference cooking utensils I have at home, so if something doesn’t make sense, that’s why…” I presented my final experiment with this particular posset recipe at the A&S showcase at Yule 2023. Many people tried it, and some even came back for seconds :)”
The original recipe:
TO MAKE A SACK POSSET Boil two wine-quarts of Sweet-cream in a Possnet; when it hath boiled a little, take it from the fire, and beat the yolks of nine or ten fresh Eggs, and the whites of four with it, beginning with two or three spoonfuls, and adding more till all be incorporated; then set it over the fire, to recover a good degree of heat, but not so much as to boil; and always stir it one way, least you break the consistence. In the mean time, let half a pint of Sack or White muscadin boil a very little in a bason, upon a Chafing-dish of Coals, with three quarters of a pound of Sugar, and three or four quartered Nutmegs, and as many pretty big pieces of sticks of Cinnamon. When this is well scummed, and still very hot, take it from the fire, and immediately pour into it the cream, beginning to pour neer it, but raising by degrees your hand so that it may fall down from a good height; and without anymore to be done, it will then be fit to eat. It is very good kept cold as well as eaten hot. It doth very well with it, to put into the Sack (immediately before you put in the cream) some Ambergreece, or Ambered-sugar, or Pastils. When it is made, you may put powder of Cinnamon and Sugar upon it, if you like it.
Digby, K. (1669). The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened (p. 111).
Recipe I settled upon:
For 1 cup of cream, use:
half a cup of white(ish) wine
2 egg yolks
1 egg white
1/2 a stick of cinnamon crumbled
1/4 of a whole nutmeg roughly chopped
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
Mix wine, spices, and sugar into a small pot and put on to heat over a medium heat. In a medium pot simmer the cream for a few minutes, do not allow it to boil. remove the cream from the heat and beat in the egg yolks and white. Strain the hot spiced wine and mix into the cream, pouring from a height for aeration purposes.
“I am presenting this as a “completed” A&S project, but as any good cook will know, a project like this will never be entirely completed. Since testing this recipe I have since found actual period sources, plus I want to try it with different types of wine and especially mead. Possibilities are endless with a recipe as open as this.”
Ailith Ward presents this entry of a cashmere tunic in the category of Luxuriation
Ailith describes the entry:
“This luxurious blue tunic is made from cashmere wool and is very cosy and fun to touch! Trimmed and trimmed some more, it is bound to become my new bling shirt for every important occasion! Inspired by the Yule event, where I wanted to be able to look nice as well as be practical, I realised quickly that a new tunic was required when I found all my other practical cool weather garb was just a bit meh. Unfortunately, my sewing machine had just recently stopped working correctly, so I undertook to sew this tunic by hand, and now it is my second ever piece of garb to be entirely stitched by hand.”
