#colonial recipes

[deanmarywinchester]

just finished reading my second book this year about a mission to explore a habitable planet manned by graduates of a cutthroat training school (first one was Do You Dream Of Terra Two, this one was The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei) and. it was pretty good but the unexplored gender/interpersonal dynamics were CRAZY. ok so it’s about 80 people traveling on a generation ship where they are each expected to give birth to 1-2 kids, who went into the training program for this mission at around age 11

and it seems like in this future world they selected afab ppl who are okay with being pregnant — they mention that the mission is notable partly bc it’s basically all women which makes me think that the future the author imagines doesn’t have uterus transplants or anything or maybe cis men would be able to go — but I do think it’s CRAZY that a) these people made the decision that they would be okay with having kids at a really young age to go into the program and b) there is at least one trans guy and a few nb people on board who, again, are expected to carry children. and we don’t see people process the fact that they made this decision maybe too young and it’s not right for them, or that it would be dysphoria inducing, or anything. it does feel a bit like it’s the author processing infertility shit bc it’s only ever a sad thing for the characters to not be pregnant.

AND some of the women are having relationships with each other (on a generation ship with only 80 people! crazy!) but we never see bad breakups or the straight women mourning the fact that they’ll never have relationships or the odd dynamics that can arise when there’s one guy in a situation with basically all other women.

anyway. the whole time I was reading it I was like this is fun but Yume The Implications….

[aaajaxolotl]

Feast Your Eyes: Fandom Cookbook Recipe Review #1

Are These Smuggled Goods? - Star Wars: The Ultimate Cookbook

Suddenly finding themself employed on a high-class spaceship, our intrepid multiverse-traveling chef Aurum Leuci prepares a traditional dish from the fungal forest planet of Narqui— along with some questionably-sourced side dishes.

Tonight’s menu: sourced from the Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook

Appetizer: Cantonican Cactus Bites, pg 163

Main Course: Narquois Rolls, pg 45

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops, pg 95

Full review under the cut!

Aurum Leuci’s Log:

[Begin recording.] Hey, uh, Chef Aurum here. Sorry I’m late. I think I must have miscalibrated my dimensional portal generator, because I absolutely did NOT intend to wind up on a Neimoidian ship orbiting some random colony world— Narq, I think?— much less in a kitchen full of apparently-smuggled Kullgroon fruit and Cantonican vegetation. Luckily, I can handle myself in a kitchen— so let’s hope for my sake the politicians on this ship don’t know their kitchen staff by name. I can at least make some kind of fancy dinner for them before I find a safe place to reactivate the portal. And besides— I want to try that smuggled produce.

I’ll check in with you after the next jump, once it’s safe. Aurum Leuci out. [End log.]

The Feast Your Eyes Recipe Rating Scale

In this series, I’ll be rating each recipe based on five factors, each of which can receive up to five points. These reviews will be written out-of-character, detailing my (AJ) opinions and experiences with the recipes detailed in the post. I eat almost entirely plant-based, so any substitutions related to animal products will be denoted in the descriptions of dishes. The rating scale is as follows:

Difficulty: How easy or hard was this recipe to follow? Harder recipes will score lower in this category, while easier recipes will score higher.

Ingredients: How easy or hard were ingredients to source? This category will be scored similarly to Difficulty, and any substitutions made will be denoted in the recipe’s section.

Immersion: How well does this recipe fit the universe or world that it’s from? High scores in this category mean high immersion, while low scores mean that it’s not particularly immersive.

Time: How much time did this take? Recipes that take less time will score higher in this category.

End Result: With the recipe followed as closely as possible (according to my dietary restrictions/ingredient sourcing capability), how did the final dish turn out? Higher scores in this category denote a better final dish.

Side Dish: Cantonican Cactus Bites

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 3/5

Time: 3/5

End Result: 3/5

TOTAL RATING: 19/25

I came into this recipe REALLY wanting to give it a perfect rating. I love roasted brussels sprouts, and really, really wanted to like this recipe. It was straightforward to prepare, you could buy the ingredients at any grocery store, and it seemed like it would turn out really tasty. I was willing to put aside the fact that it’s just roasted brussels sprouts (not a terribly Star Wars-y dish) and was really hoping the taste would blow me away. Unfortunately, these turned out somewhat underwhelming. Despite following the recipe exactly, as you can see in the photo, these sprouts (and all of the tasty vegetables cooked with them, including fresh shallots and garlic) burned a little in the oven. This recipe definitely has potential- but as written in the cookbook, it’s somewhat middling.

Main Course: Narquois Rolls

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 3/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: 23/25

This recipe was AWESOME, and a hit with my family. It only loses points on the sad fact that I wasn’t able to source enoki mushrooms (the main ingredient of the dish) and had to substitute in a mix of other mushrooms. Having done some research on the planet of Narq (also known as Narqui?), I don’t think this was terribly immersion breaking, since it’s a foresty, swampy planet with… large fungal forests! I would love to make it again with actual enoki mushrooms to see how those would have affected the taste and texture— these were delicious.

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: A perfect 25/25!

I was really skeptical about this recipe— it’s literally just frozen grapes and Jell-O dust. Surprisingly, this is my highest-rated dish from this review! Super easy, super quick (the only time sink is letting them freeze) and they come out delicious, chilly, and beautifully alien! They’d be a believable find in a snow-covered environment like Kullgroon, and they were absolutely delicious.

Tune in this Friday (6/7/24) for another fandom cookbook review!

[everyonesfavoritebard]

A little fun fact about me is that back when I was a cringy ah 12yo I’d sometimes add really random tags that had absolutely no relation to the subject matter of my main post. Just for the shits and giggles.

And to annoy people and for attention ofc (can you tell I’m unemployed yet?)

Let’s see how many we can fit with this one (this is the only one I promise lol)

[digital-meat]

[ljones41]

Sweet Potato Pie

Below is an article about the dessert known as Sweet Potato Pie:

SWEET POTATO PIE

When it comes to holiday desserts - especially those for Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, many people tend to bring up the old favorite, Pumpkin Pie. But there is another pie that is also popular in the United States. It is called the Sweet Potato Pie.

Creamy vegetable pies date as far back as the Medieval era in Europe. But like the Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie can trace its origin to the early Colonial era, especially in the southern colonies. And like Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie can be traced to Native American cuisine. The sweet potato - called a "yam" by some (although it is not one) - is native to the tropical regions of the Americas. Namely the Peruvian forests. Spanish traders who had arrived in Peru, eventually introduced the vegetable worldwide - especially in North America and Europe.

The sweet potato became very popular in Europe, especially in Britain. Cookbooks like 1747's "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy" included recipes for tarts, other pastries and puddings that utilized sweet potatoes. The vegetable eventually attracted the attention of wealthy Southern plantation owners and eventually tasked their enslaved cooks to prepare or create sweet potato dishes.

Originally, the African or African-American slaves were accustomed to the textures and flavors of their native West African root tubers such as the starchy yam and cassava. They did not immediately embrace the sweet potato when it was first introduced. In the end, they regarded the sweet potato as a substitute for the yam and like their enslavers, embraced it. One of the dishes created by enslaved cooks during the Colonial period proved to be the Sweet Potato Pie. This especially tend to be the case in the American South. Since pumpkins grew in abundance in the Northeastern colonies - later states - the Sweet Potato Pie had never reached the same level of popularity in that region, like it did in the South.

Sweet Potato Pie was basically prepared as a dessert in an open pie shell. Its filling consisted of mashed sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs. Alternate ingredients include vanilla or lemon extract. The custard filling may vary from light to dense, depending on the recipe's ratio of sweet potato, milk and eggs. As I had hinted earlier, Southerners and African-Americans specifically, usually ate Sweet Potato Pies during the American holiday season, especially on Thanksgiving and Christmas, as a dessert.

Below is a recipe for "Sweet Potato Pie" from Rosie Mayes' I Heart Recipes website:

"Sweet Potato Pie"

Ingredients:

Pie Crust *Cold butter and butter-flavored shortening *Cold water *All-purpose flour *Salt *Vanilla extract *White granulated sugar

(Note: You can also purchase a ready-made pie crust as a substitute)

Pie Filling *Sweet potatoes or yams *Evaporated milk or half-and-half milk *Vanilla extract or Bourbon Vanilla extract *Cinnamon *Nutmeg *Ginger or lemon extract * Hand-crafted yams spice mix from Rosamae Seasonings *Two large eggs *White granulated sugar

Preparation:

Pie Crust *Combine flour, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter, butter-flavored shortening, and ice-cold water in a stand mixer. *Mix until well combined into a dough. *You’ll want to wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the fridge until you’re ready to roll it out. *You could also use a food processor to make the dough.

Pie Filling - Boil Sweet Potatoes *Wash and peel the skins of the sweet potatoes and chop them up into about 1-inch cubes. *Put the sweet potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover them completely (about 4-6 cups). *Boil the sweet potatoes until they are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Pie Filling - Bake Sweet Potatoes *Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. *Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork, then place on a baking sheet and cook—with the skin on—until fork-tender. The time really depends on how big they are, but it should take about 35 minutes. *Scoop out the insides of the sweet potatoes into a large bowl, and allow them to cool completely.

Preparation (continued) *In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip the sweet potatoes until they’re fluffy and creamy—no lumps! You can either use a hand mixer (electric mixer) or the whisk attachment of your stand mixer. *Next, add the rest of the sweet potato pie filling ingredients—eggs (make sure they’re at room temperature), sugar, spices, vanilla, evaporated milk, and butter (also at room temperature). Mix these ingredients until well combined. You want your pie filling to be almost fluffy—that gives this sweet potato pie its iconic texture. *Next, roll out the cold pie dough. For best results, you should use a 9-inch pie plate. I do blind-bake my pie crust at 350 degrees for just 10 minutes before adding the filling. *Finally, add the sweet potato pie filling. Smooth it in that crust, then bake for 45-50 minutes. It will look weird and puffy when it comes out but allow it to cool, and it’ll settle. *Let the sweet potato pie cool for at least 30 minutes, up to 2-4 hours, until it’s at room temperature. This will allow the pie filling to set completely, so it’s the perfect fluffy texture.

[crisp-autumnal-air]

The Poor Man's Pumpkin | Townsends

Who would have thought pumpkin would be an important survival food? In 18th century America, it was a staple for poor folks. Watch to see how they prepared pumpkins for food and what sort of folks were using them.

[syncrovoid-presents]

Researching for my hazbin fic (A Cannibal's Guide on Living Comfortably) has also made me realize that my adoptive family (and me in relation to my birth family) actually suffer from cultural loss. And this ties to my adoptive family being half french like Alastor.

This is sort of a personal ramble about my experiences and how it relates to cultural loss. Just thoughts I've been having that's making me rethink a lot of things from my life.

(Technically I'm not but that's a whole other thing. I was found as a kid and never allowed to learn about my birth family or heritage so yeah. I'm just whatever people say I am. Means I have double the cultural loss, both from the people that raised me and my own! Yippee! <- sarcastic)

Both my parents are half french and grew up in small communities where there was very very high English vs French tensions. Both of my parents parent's decided that it would be best to give their children the easiest life they could so they raised them as English as possible.

They weren't allowed to learn french and were punished if they tried (both by family and the community. It was a lot worse where my mother grew up), and weren't allowed to continue any traditions, songs, or anything culturally French. Assimilation was the best chance at a future, but meant that they lost all ties to culture that wasn't acceptably English/colonial.

They were born a long time ago, so this was during the era of corporal punishment in school, my mother wasn't allowed to wear pants, my father was punished repeatedly for using his left hand, etc. They were also forced into churches because that's what The Good English Do, even though neither are religious now nor would they have been forced to if the hatred against the french hadn't been so strong.

The small town my mom grew up in had a segregated neighbourhood for the french, and her family fought to cut all ties. Her mother was french but was forced to only speak English and cut all ties to her family.

I don't know as much for my father, but it was his father that refused to teach or share anything French because of the hardships he went through growing up (he also ran away and lied about his age to fight in the war too young, so he likely faced heavy trauma too)

While neither of my parents are half english, they were able to pass as english at the expense of their cultural identity and connection to their family. I've spoken to my mother about it and she says white culture is genocide, but I don't know if she realizes how it hurt her too (not to say the french did nothing wrong. They were colonialists and took part in genocide as well)

It's weird to realize. I was put in french immersion and while my french isn't great, I've realized that my parents did that to give me the only opportunity I could have to learn about their lost culture. They learned a bit from me and would use french words and sometimes share translation quirks their parents had caused by learning english after french.

I grew up thinking that because I don't know anyone I'm related to that i had no culture. I've realized that part of the reason it feels that way is because anything non-English was forced out of people. The more you could pass as english the heavier the assimilation is. To join the oppressors is to sacrifice culture, history, and family, but that's a choice both my parents parent's made and it's one we all struggle with.

As far as I go, I don't know my precise ancestry, but I do know my birth grandparents fled from a country that was dealing with fighting for independence and a highly struggling economy. I'm not supposed to know that or know anything more, but from what I can guess and based on what people have said I look like (closest thing I got) my ancestors dealt with fighting against being colonized for centuries, their culture and history actively being destroyed and demonized, and the language borderline dead because of it (isnt the british imperialism great? <- sarcasm). A bit over a century ago it would have been the cause of much prejudice and hatred, but like my adoptive parents parent's they traded culture for assimilation.

It's.... weird. There's not much I can change nor not much I can do with this information movie forwards. It has helped me connect my experiences more with that of cultural loss, especially those felt by others who don't know any birth family. Because I pass as white (I do not know my genetics, so I'd rather say that than call myself white. Especially because what ancestry I do know I have weren't historically called white and faced discrimination by white folks) I previously thought these experiences could not apply to me.

As a side note, I do hold the belief that orphans like me, or others that lacked any family for much of their lives are part of a "hidden" minority. I faced a lot of extra difficulties, social pushback, and was treated worse than my peers because I am an orphan, as did different foster siblings I had over the years. Adoption means either never speaking about my life to pass as "normal" or speak about it and face the consequences. Every person's experiences are different when it comes to this, but it really changed the expectations adults had on me and forced me to be more mature, resilient, perfectionistic and less reactive to my peers. The expectation was if you acted bad you didn't appreciate having a home and therefore didn't deserve it. What others kids could get away with can be what loses your home when you grow up an orphan.

Anywho, circling back to my fic I'll be adding some elements of my experiences in there too. Not as the main focus, mind you, but some of the struggles of adapting/assimilating to the majority to avoid discrimination will be present (as well as some French (more focused on Creole French history. It was something a few of my french teachers focused a lot on) ). Just background info, I'm as of yet undecided on how much of a character study it will all be, but if it does go into it more then these themes will be present

[venacoeurva]

Brook is a spores druid and in the underdark it's perfect for him, the tower is great because it's damp as well. He's got living home security in the form of fungus everywhere. He probably cultivates and sells mushrooms as a hobby and good reason to get out of the house (bc he normally would just. not.) too

This mean Kruessakt also watches him argue with mushrooms because they're annoyed that he usually feeds them bodies sans brains and want something else like "yeah that's a thing. I guess"

[silverselfshippingchaos]

LOOK AT HOW CUTE HE IS!!

[streetsofsalem]

What the Judge Ate

And drank. Today I have a new source (to me anyway) for food history: the diary of a Colonial judge who rode the circuit, keeping accounts of his tavern food and drink along the way. I’ve been immersed in Salem diaries for the past few weeks, preparing a talk I’ve giving for Salem Ancestry Days and the Pickering House on April 23. I’ve got diaries from the seventeenth century to the twentieth,…

[ich-theosaurus]

treasure planet is the romanichal movie ever i will not elaborate

[ultimateinferno]

Where the fuck was that one moment of clarity for research I experienced when I decided to debunk the etymology of French Toast in random fucking Reddit thread?

[lowpolyotakuconvention]

This is one of my favorite foods ever. It sounds a little weird but I love it! I'll have it on any occasion with a little worcestershire sauce. It's vegetarian too.

[devonellington]

Tues. Nov. 14, 2023: The Joy of a Flexible Schedule

image courtesy of  Nick Collins via pixabay.com Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Waxing Moon Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde Snowy and cold Yes, it snowed! Just a dusting, making the neighborhood look very pretty. Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain: Episode 137: Jed and Sebastian Face Their Realities Love can’t always conquer all. Legerdemain Serial Link Legerdemain…

[mikaelaromero]

Colonial Brown Bread A sweet brown bread no eggs or fat added. Best served warm from the oven.