Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Ships, hey! Can you dig it?
I got an early birthday present - The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy by Nicholas Blake & Richard Lawrence. There was much rolling of eyes and much making of resigned sighs, but such is a friend who will buy you the book even though it only means that she will hear endlessly about futtocks and how many stripes are on a captain's epaulette and naval tactics used in the Battle of Trafalgar, etc. etc. ETC.
So, dear ol' poop, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is a beautiful book and I am a happy, happy chappy.
I was perhaps going to rant on a little about ships, but I'm trying to win readers here, not bore them to death. I have to remind myself that the respective tonnage for each rated ship-of-the-line is of no consequence whatsoever so the average person. At least I do not go on at length in public. Not yet. Oh no, that pleasure is singularly reserved for people unfortunate enough to be my friends.
What I will do, however, is share a couple of naval recipies. Kindly bear in mind that this was in the early 1800s, when 'refrigeration' consisted of hanging meat out on a hook on the cathead, where the open air would slow down the rotting. If anyone actually attempts these, please report back with results and measures of dis/satisfaction. Here we go!
SPOTTED DOG (This is a pudding) - serves 12
450g flour, 50g sugar, 1/2 level tsp salt, 1 and 1/2 level tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 level tsp ground nutmeg, 250g currants (or raisins), 225g suet* (finely grated), 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the currants so that the flour coats them and keeps them from clumping togehter. Mix in the suet. Add the milk and eggs, and work the mixture thoroughly with your hands. Scrape the batter into a greased pudding basin, tie a well-floured cloth over it, and place in a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for 2 hours then unmould and serve with home-made custard.
CLARET CUP - serves 6
1 lemon, 1 level tbsp sugar, 1 bottle claret (though any other light french wine will do, I suppose), 50ml brandy, 280ml soda water, ice, 1 orange (sliced), a handful of borage**.
Rub the sugar well over the lemon until it is coloured, then place it in your jug and squeeze the lemon juice over it and mix well. Add the claret, brandy, and soda water. Add the ice, orange slices and sprigs of borage and serve.
*Q: What the hell is suet?
A : Suet is raw beef (or mutton) fat, especially the fat found around the loins and kidneys. It may is used to make everything from candles to Christmas pudding. Suet is solid at room temperature, but starts to melt at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is warmer, beef fat can melt or turn rancid, and it's safer to use cakes of hard rendered suet. You can buy commercial suet cakes, or you can make your own using rendered suet.
**Q: What the hell is borage?
A: A blue-flowered plant with hairy leaves that taste somewhat like cucumber; used primarily in salads. "Borage," Boorde says, "doth comforte the herte, and doth ingender good bloode, and causeth a man to be mery.
__________________________________
Enough? You want more?
"Nooooooo", they cried out en masse. ¶ 9:42 PM
So, dear ol' poop, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is a beautiful book and I am a happy, happy chappy.
I was perhaps going to rant on a little about ships, but I'm trying to win readers here, not bore them to death. I have to remind myself that the respective tonnage for each rated ship-of-the-line is of no consequence whatsoever so the average person. At least I do not go on at length in public. Not yet. Oh no, that pleasure is singularly reserved for people unfortunate enough to be my friends.
What I will do, however, is share a couple of naval recipies. Kindly bear in mind that this was in the early 1800s, when 'refrigeration' consisted of hanging meat out on a hook on the cathead, where the open air would slow down the rotting. If anyone actually attempts these, please report back with results and measures of dis/satisfaction. Here we go!
SPOTTED DOG (This is a pudding) - serves 12
450g flour, 50g sugar, 1/2 level tsp salt, 1 and 1/2 level tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 level tsp ground nutmeg, 250g currants (or raisins), 225g suet* (finely grated), 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the currants so that the flour coats them and keeps them from clumping togehter. Mix in the suet. Add the milk and eggs, and work the mixture thoroughly with your hands. Scrape the batter into a greased pudding basin, tie a well-floured cloth over it, and place in a pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for 2 hours then unmould and serve with home-made custard.
CLARET CUP - serves 6
1 lemon, 1 level tbsp sugar, 1 bottle claret (though any other light french wine will do, I suppose), 50ml brandy, 280ml soda water, ice, 1 orange (sliced), a handful of borage**.
Rub the sugar well over the lemon until it is coloured, then place it in your jug and squeeze the lemon juice over it and mix well. Add the claret, brandy, and soda water. Add the ice, orange slices and sprigs of borage and serve.
*Q: What the hell is suet?
A : Suet is raw beef (or mutton) fat, especially the fat found around the loins and kidneys. It may is used to make everything from candles to Christmas pudding. Suet is solid at room temperature, but starts to melt at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is warmer, beef fat can melt or turn rancid, and it's safer to use cakes of hard rendered suet. You can buy commercial suet cakes, or you can make your own using rendered suet.
**Q: What the hell is borage?
A: A blue-flowered plant with hairy leaves that taste somewhat like cucumber; used primarily in salads. "Borage," Boorde says, "doth comforte the herte, and doth ingender good bloode, and causeth a man to be mery.
__________________________________
Enough? You want more?
"Nooooooo", they cried out en masse. ¶ 9:42 PM
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