Harvest festival - part 1

It has been a long time since I have last posted. I have been busy working with the scribal community for the last couple years, but now I am undertaking a new project that I want to document.

I am very excited about a plan that has been hatched out. I have decided to cook the feast at a Harvest Festival event. We are going to grow as much of the food as we can during this summer. I enjoy gardening, and farming so I thought this would be right up my alley. This is however, the first time I have cooked in the SCA. I will admit I specifically looked for recipes that used vegetables that I know I could grow. I didn't want to get too exotic on my first attempt at cooking a feast.

Having gotten some advice on the recipes, I have chosen the following as a stepping off point for the food.

1st course:
Gourd and pork soup (I am substituting squash this time around eventhough I know it is new world)
Cheese and bread

2nd course:
Chykens in Hocchee
Parsnips and Carrots
Barley

3rd course:
Pies of Paris
Warts
Pottage of Raisins

From this list we can produce Parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, leeks, Barley, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, thyme, marjoram, sage, parsley, gourds (actually squash) and chickens. We also plan on making the cheeses and isolating our own sea salt. The bread will be made by us (and here I mean others in the barony), but we are buying the ingredients.

We will also need to procure a few items including: beef, pork, apples, raisins, spices, dates, currants and grapes. The people in my barony wanted me to grow a cow and a pig too, but I drew the line there.

So for the first step. I have started the thyme, marjoram and sage seeds in the house to get them ready for the planting season. They are doing well. I should thin some of the thyme plants.

We have also planted the onion and leek plants and the barley seed. I will follow the garden progress in the upcoming months.