[SG Faire: The KIN] Hobbies in Rand-land!

[U4ea]

So, what do these people we've fallen in love with do when they're not kicking butt and riding horses? You know, when it's too dark to herd sheep? Come join the Kin as we explore some of the things we think they may have enjoyed doing when they think we weren't watching... or, you know... reading!

 

 

Ladywordsmith is going to be the mistress of ceremonies over here and I know she's got a GREAT collection of goodies to share and discuss with you!

 

Our tentative schedule with this thread looks like this:

 

Week 1 (Crafts!) "Viking Wire Knit" and "Kumihimo Braiding" (Crafts for Borderlanders and Seanchan)

Week 2 (Drinks!): Butter beer and Senkajabin (Drinks for Cold and Hot weather and locations)

Week 3 (Food!): ***Recipes coming soon***

Week 4 (Lively!): ***not telling you, you have to show up to find out! ***

 

 

Lady will be here in just a bit to get you started! Until then, what do YOU think our Randlanders did while we weren't watching?

[Kivam]

Well, I've got an idea what Saldaean farm girls did, but I'm guessing that's not what you meant

 

My guess is a lot of 1800s type rural games - rolling a hoop with a stick, etc. - and cards

[Torrie]

Singing and dancing! There might have been some snipe hunting done too! :) I'm sure they enjoyed story telling also.

[Moon Sedai]

I always kinda pictured some of the people embroidering and making quilts.

[LadyWordsmith]

Greetings everyone!

 

So, what do these people we've fallen in love with do when they're not kicking butt and riding horses? You know, when it's too dark to herd sheep? Come join the Kin as we explore some of the things we think they may have enjoyed doing when they think we weren't watching... or, you know... reading! In truth, tons of things; any craft that could be done enjoyably out of wood (carving, bow making), clay (pottery), weaving and sewing and embroidery, the making of enjoyable food and beverages (just because you can)... many of the things we enjoy today in concept would have been highly enjoyable in the world of Rand-land, though not necessarily in the same form. I look forward to the variety of suggestions and discussion that gets going here!

 

For this first week, we're offering up a couple of enjoyable crafts as a starting point!

 

The first is a form of wire knit (known to us as Viking Wire Knit in our place time in the Wheel) that might be popular in, say, the Borderlands. While simple in concept, the product can be subtle or dramatic, tiny knit or large, masculine or feminine. You can choose from a variety of wires (or put wire around stone) to create a large number of really nice pieces.

 

Directions can be found here:

http://www.fineartbyrocio.com/vikingknitdirections.html

 

Images of finished artwork: (not done by myself, though the artist is a friend of mine)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/11058661/braided-viking-knit-necklace-teal-fuscia?ref=pr_shop

http://www.etsy.com/listing/20538700/the-fire-within-viking-knit-sterling

http://www.etsy.com/listing/32819746/lavender-ice-pale-amethyst-and-sterling

 

 

The second is a form of weaving known as Kumihimo, which would have been a craft likely seen in Seanchan.

 

Directions and examples can all be found here:

http://www.weirdollsandcrafts.com/kumihimo/kumihimo.html

(A note: When starting out, you can make a kumihimo disk out of cardboard and cut the slits and hole in it if you do not wish to purchase a disk right off. The small version is best for starting.)

 

Have fun crafting!

[LadyWordsmith]

Week Two on Hobbies: Drinks!

 

One of the oldest enjoyable hobbies, coming up with tastier and more interesting things to drink than water and milk.

 

The first drink recipe we'd like to offer up is Butter Beer! (The real deal, and yes, it existed long before Harry Potter, this particular recipe is from the reign of Henry VIII).

This drink would be popular in cold weather climates, but most often made in the mid-lands where grain grows in abundance. So this drink would be something probably enjoyed from the Borderlands down to Cairhein and Andor.

 

Butter Beer

500ml ale

Yolks from 2 medium eggs, whisked

60g sugar

Dash of nutmeg (other spices such as Mace and cloves may also be used, spice according to your taste and spice availability)

15g unsalted butter

 

- Pour the ale into a pot on a medium heat.

- Meanwhile whisk two egg yolks in a bowl until they become light in colour.

- When the beer begins to come to the boil (100 degrees F) take off the heat. Turn the heat down to minimum.

- Add one tablespoon at a time to the eggs in their bowl. (tempering the eggs).

- Add sugar and nutmeg

- Return pot to the heat (minimum) so as to dissolve the sugar and cook the eggs very gently.

- Finish with butter

 

The second drink option (which involves no alcohol) is an ancient recipe known as Sekanjabin. This recipe (known as oxymel in ancient Greece, Sekanjabin is the Iranian name), is a refreshing drink, great for hot weather climates and would likely have been popular in Tear, Illian, Ebou Dar, and the rest of those warm, southern climes.

 

Sekanjabin

4 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar (white, or red wine vinegar)

1 cup fresh mint leaves, plus 1 sprig per glass

 

Dissolve the sugar in water; when it comes to a boil add vinegar. Simmer 1/2 hour. Add handful of mint, remove from stove, let cool. Dilute the resulting syrup to taste with ice water (5 to 10 parts water to 1 part syrup). The syrup stores without refrigeration.

 

Sekanjabin is also great for road tripping (since you can mix it with bottled water) and camping.

[LadyWordsmith]

Week Three: We have crafted and well drunk, and now, we eat! A favorite pastime for many, turning out delicious foods for enjoyment.

 

This first dish is an "olde" rendition of a modern favorite.. Given the needed ingredients, a logical favorite in Randland as it would be for us.

 

Macrows

 

Original Recipe:

ſeeþ

 

Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh. mad kerve it on peces, and caſt hem on boillyng watret ſeeþ it wele. take cheſe and grate it and buttr caſt bynethen and above as loſyns. and sūe forth.

 

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

 

For the dough:

5 eggs

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp salt

700g flour

 

450g grated cheese

100g melted butter

 

Method:

Preparation

 

To make the egg pasta dough put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add the beaten eggs, salt and melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together then use your hands for the final mixing. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about five minutes. Cut into about ten pieces, roll out roughly then pass through a pasta machine at least six times, until the dough becomes elastic. Use the pasta machine to thin the dough then cut into strips. Place the raw pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook for about two to three minutes, until done.

 

Remove the pasta from the water and in a pre-warmed bowl add a layer of pasta to the base. Spoon some of the melted butter over the top and add a layer of cheese. Continue alternating pasta, butter and cheese until you finish the dish with a final layer of pasta on the top. Serve immediately

 

This recipe comes out of the following book.

http://www.amazon.com/Forme-Cury-Ancient-Compiled-D/dp/1426425759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308343890&sr=8-1

 

Recipe 2: Mushroom Pasties

 

A likely favorite in the Two Rivers itself!

 

Original recipe:

Mushrooms of one night are the best, if they are small, red inside, and closed at the top; and they should be peeled and then washed in hot water and parboiled, and if you wish to put them in a pasty add oil, cheese, and spice powder.

 

Book note: Perhaps it was necessary to peel mushrooms and wash them in hot water in 14th-century France, but we doubt that the kind of little button mushroom here described need be treated so today: a scrubbing in cold water should suffice. Medieval pasties were made like turnovers: put the filling on top of thinly rolled pastry, then double the pastry over and pinch the edges together. The pastry must be 'very' thin, or there will be too much in proportion to the filling. Or you can use open tart shells.

 

Modern Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

Pastry dough rolled thinly and cut into pieces a little over the size of the desired pasties; or 12 small tart cases.

3/4 lb of small button mushrooms

1-2oz cheese (eg, 11 oz each of cheddar and parmesean) (use cheeses of your choice)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground pepper

 

Wash mushrooms and pare away the bottom of the stems, but leave the whole. Parboil in salt water 3-4 minutes. Drain, and mix with oil and seasonings. Make turnovers or fill the tart shells. If you are using turnovers, mix the cheese in with the mushrooms. If you prefer the tart shells, reserve the cheese to sprinkle on top. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

 

 

This is a recipe from 14th century France and is found in Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookier for Modern Cooks.

http://www.amazon.com/Pleyn-Delit-Medieval-Cookery-Modern/dp/0802076327/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308344054&sr=1-1-fkmr0

[LadyWordsmith]

For the Final Week of the Faire. Now that we are all well stuffed on food and drink we offer.... dance and festivity!

 

Korobushka (A Russian Folk 'inspired' dance done in the Society for Creative Anachronism).

 

This dance is a lot of fun. It's done with couples in a circle.and the steps are fun, but not complicated, at least until you speed it up. Normally done starting slowly and moving faster and faster each time through until it's couples versus live musicians (If you know musicians, you can probably find sheet music for Korobushka online. It's a Russian folk song). There are other more historical dances to this piece, but they often involve some of the more challenging Russian steps (like the squat-kicks) than many people just can't do. This one is more not-much-of-a-dancer friendly, but can challenge even good dancers if you pick up the speed.

 

For practice, we recommend using the Tetris Theme (which is a modification of the Korobushka melody)!

(Tetris Theme) The steps move at about 'half' the pace of the beat under this version so don't panic if it seems 'too' fast. Though you can speed it up that much.

 

Dance Instructions:

From: www.terpsichory.org/DanceSheets/korobushka.doc

Korobuska is not a period dance. It was created by an individual, in the SCA, who saw traditional Russian dancing on TV. The period of the original Russian dance is unknown.

 

Partners going counter-clockwise around a circle, ladies on the outside

(the two couples opposite each other keep in a line through the whole dance)

 

Step R together, step R together, pause

Step L together, step L together, pause

Step R together, step L together

Using 3 stomps, lord spins the lady under his left arm, turn to face partner

 

Spinning away from your partner, step L, R, L (in line with the couple opposite)

Pause facing your partner, clap

Spinning back to your partner, step R, L, R (in line)

Pause facing your partner, clap, clap

 

Facing, take hands (left hand on top)

Step together

Step apart

Change places with your partner (lady spinning under the lord’s hands)

 

Spinning away from your partner, step L, R, L (in line with the couple opposite)

Pause facing your partner, clap

Spinning back to your partner, step R, L, R (in line)

Pause facing your partner, clap, clap

 

Facing, take hands (left hand on top)

Step together

Step apart

Change places with your partner (lady spinning under the lord’s hands), back to place

 

The dance repeats 4 times (or as long as you want) with the music & the steps going faster

 

End with the lord going down on his left knee, the lady sits down on his right knee ((Or if you're going for the musicians versus dancers for speed version...until everyone falls over. ))

 

The Beltine Pole!

 

http://www.earthwitchery.com/maypole.html'>http://www.earthwitchery.com/maypole.html

 

The Pole

 

The traditional Maypole is a fir tree that has been stripped of all but its uppermost branches (often the trunk of the Yule tree was saved for the Maypole), but traditions vary. Some use oak; others pine. It may range in height from a few feet to as large as you care to make it. (Bear in mind, ribbon will need to be twice as long as the pole.) With unlimited space outdoors, ten feet is a good length. Of course, in a pinch, even a flagpole would do.

 

The Ribbons

 

However many ribbons you use, you will need equal numbers of at least two colors, depending on the number of dancers you'll have. I recommend at least 6-8 dancers. Ribbons for the pole should be twice as long as the pole and about two to three inches wide. Colors vary according to preference. Traditional colors are red for the God and white for the virgin Goddess. Some use colors of the season -- hunter green for the forest, gold for the sun, or purple for the color of grapes and wine. I've even heard of people using a rainbow of colors to represent the signs of the zodiac. Some traditions request that dancers bring a ribbon in a color representing a certain blessing they might wish for.

 

(information on the pole and ribbons from http://www.earthwitchery.com/maypole.html)

 

How to dance: Form two circles, walk/skip in opposite directions, with the inside circle going under the ribbon of the person parallel to them and walking to the outside circle where they hold their ribbon up for the next person to go under.

 

 

*********

 

I hope everyone enjoyed this month's thread, and if you haven't had a chance to try out any of the above this month, feel free to do so in the future!

[Red2111]

we have a dance up in Maryland called the Booty Call. it's kinda like the ChaCha slide or Mississippi Mud Slide.

 

 

this isn't my reunuion or even people i know. but it's a reunion in MD doing the Booty Call

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsduIJJxSHQ

 

 

this dance has been popular up there since 2000 but i always remember a different song being played during Highschool Dances tbh.

[LadyLiliana]

Thank you, Ladywordsmith (now I have a central source for all the fun stuff),

I really need to find the time to make butterbeer....or rather a good ale to make it from. Autumn is the best time of year for that in my opinion (thought the first time I had it was in the heat of a prairie summer). I also want to try those mushroom pasties. I am making pumpkin later this week.

 

Did the rest of you know that Viking Wire Weaving can be used to trim men's clothing? It looks AMAZING. That is actually the original purpose of it and it was always found in double or greater weaves. I don't remember all the stitches. It is such a peaceful quiet pasttime. Definitely something the knitting circle could sit around practicing without being noticed. ;) A useful thing at times. Working with thread takes more thought for me unless it's finger loop braiding. I can't think of a reason Randland would have this...but I can't think of a reason they wouldn't other than limitations on lengths of braid which can be woven. I shall have to ponder that some more. A good place for info on those patterns is fingerloop.org Those ladies did an amazing research job and it is so simple!! If only I had more time to practice and my hands hadn't grown soft again. ;) The longest I've been been able to make is 36 in. Oooooo.....pretty trim and sash ties and hair ties! Yes! That's what they would do with it. :D :D

 

Have a great day.