When I'm not bursting with my own ideas to blog about, I usually take a look at the blogs I follow - only that they seem to be in spring quiet (spring tiredness?), too!
There's one very interesting post about printing designs on cloth in the 14th century, though. The text is German, but you can look at the pictures (there are plenty) over here.
Otherwise, not much new hereabouts - spring is going on, work is still piled high, stuff is happening albeit not fast enough. I think I might add a second cool superpower to my wishlist - writing really good papers in an incredibly short time, and possibly several of them parallel. (The first one on my list, in case you want to know, is being able to read, understand and speak every language there is.)
Any more suggestions for really cool and useful superpowers, while I'm making that list?
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Season Preparations.
It's the time of the year when the first events come closer and closer, and with them the flurry of activity for preparation. We bought a new pot last year, for instance, and spent an hour on Sunday afternoon preparing it for use.
I was taught that iron cookware, whether cast iron or sheet iron, needs seasoning or breaking in ("frying in", the Germans call it) before use. This, of course, does not apply to stainless steel... but iron? It will definitely win by this.
The seasoning is done by frying potato in fat (I used sunflower seed oil) with salt, after previously cleaning the new pan or pot with hot water and some dish soap or other suitable detergent. The goal is to coat the small irregularities in the surface - and that can be done with polymerised fat and carbon black. There are instructions on the internet to use potatoes cut into slices, but you can just as well use potato peels for the frying, and then use your freshly seasoned thing to have some nice fried potatoes.
And in case you want them right here, right now, the short instructions for doing it: Heat up the clean pan, adding the fat (should be fat suitable to high temperatures!). Heat the fat until a potato peel dropped into it starts to sizzle; then add in all the peels and a generous amount of salt (which acts as a scrubbing agent). Move the stuff around in the pan, going on until all the potato is nice and black, and ideally, the bottom of your pan or pot should be darkened, too. That's all there is to it! The internet, of course, knows of a gazillion additional ways to do it, but that's the method I use, and it works well enough for me.
Plus I always get to remember that one time I was at a medieval market, and I went past the camp where a friend was... he hollered me and asked me if I would like to have some potato stew, they had plenty left over. Now, that group is one that usually cooks medieval-ish, so potatos were really surprising me. It must have shown on my face, as I was promptly told that a whole bunch of folks from that group had bought new frying pans on the market, and had wanted to break them in right away, for which they needed... potato peels. Which did explain the unexpected potato stew, since they ended up with a lot of peeled potatoes that way. (Very tasty, by the way.)
Oh, and once your thing is fit for use, clean the pan by wiping it with a rag or rinsing it with water. If there's stuff stuck to it, you can also salt it down: Heat a handful of salt in the pan, moving it around until it is brown and your pan is clean. That are the preferred cleaning methods for seasoned iron that I know.
You can use soap or dish soap if really necessary, but use it sparingly - it will take away from the seasoning. And use? Makes your cookware better. So bring on these fried foods...
I was taught that iron cookware, whether cast iron or sheet iron, needs seasoning or breaking in ("frying in", the Germans call it) before use. This, of course, does not apply to stainless steel... but iron? It will definitely win by this.
The seasoning is done by frying potato in fat (I used sunflower seed oil) with salt, after previously cleaning the new pan or pot with hot water and some dish soap or other suitable detergent. The goal is to coat the small irregularities in the surface - and that can be done with polymerised fat and carbon black. There are instructions on the internet to use potatoes cut into slices, but you can just as well use potato peels for the frying, and then use your freshly seasoned thing to have some nice fried potatoes.
And in case you want them right here, right now, the short instructions for doing it: Heat up the clean pan, adding the fat (should be fat suitable to high temperatures!). Heat the fat until a potato peel dropped into it starts to sizzle; then add in all the peels and a generous amount of salt (which acts as a scrubbing agent). Move the stuff around in the pan, going on until all the potato is nice and black, and ideally, the bottom of your pan or pot should be darkened, too. That's all there is to it! The internet, of course, knows of a gazillion additional ways to do it, but that's the method I use, and it works well enough for me.
Plus I always get to remember that one time I was at a medieval market, and I went past the camp where a friend was... he hollered me and asked me if I would like to have some potato stew, they had plenty left over. Now, that group is one that usually cooks medieval-ish, so potatos were really surprising me. It must have shown on my face, as I was promptly told that a whole bunch of folks from that group had bought new frying pans on the market, and had wanted to break them in right away, for which they needed... potato peels. Which did explain the unexpected potato stew, since they ended up with a lot of peeled potatoes that way. (Very tasty, by the way.)
Oh, and once your thing is fit for use, clean the pan by wiping it with a rag or rinsing it with water. If there's stuff stuck to it, you can also salt it down: Heat a handful of salt in the pan, moving it around until it is brown and your pan is clean. That are the preferred cleaning methods for seasoned iron that I know.
You can use soap or dish soap if really necessary, but use it sparingly - it will take away from the seasoning. And use? Makes your cookware better. So bring on these fried foods...
Monday, 7 April 2014
Monday!
Monday! Spring! My nose itches! There are links for you!
First of all, Doug's Blogging Archaeology Carnival has ended, and here is the final post.
Secondly, the Canadian Conservation Institute has Notes and Publications downloadable on their server. The Notes are all free (some of them are a bit older, but should still prove helpful), and the Technical Bulletins are available as a free pdf version once they are 5 years or older.
Thirdly and finally, in case you are looking for something small to knit for an unusual recipient, there's always penguin sweaters.
First of all, Doug's Blogging Archaeology Carnival has ended, and here is the final post.
Secondly, the Canadian Conservation Institute has Notes and Publications downloadable on their server. The Notes are all free (some of them are a bit older, but should still prove helpful), and the Technical Bulletins are available as a free pdf version once they are 5 years or older.
Thirdly and finally, in case you are looking for something small to knit for an unusual recipient, there's always penguin sweaters.
Friday, 4 April 2014
It's taxing. Which means... cat pictures.
Every quarter of the year, I have to file some tax stuff... and guess what? It's time for that. Which is... taxing.
Well, it's not that bad, but it will require some coffee, and possibly some chocolate. While I deal with this and with the backlog of emails and writing and stuff so I can finally get caught up (in my wildest dreams, this happens today), why don't you have a few photos?
... a closeup of the fillet in the Manesse-Style:
... and since you all seem to like those buttons as much as I do:
... and finally some gratuitous cat pictures. Because I know what the Internet wants (and I confess that I had a need for them as well).
That was the piccie part.
If you want more to read instead of cat and button pics, there's a list of 550 archaeological blogs over at Archaeologik - in different languages, many of them English.
Also, this Saturday is International Tabletop Day - see the tabletop day webpage if you want to find a game shop or gaming place in your area.
Well, it's not that bad, but it will require some coffee, and possibly some chocolate. While I deal with this and with the backlog of emails and writing and stuff so I can finally get caught up (in my wildest dreams, this happens today), why don't you have a few photos?
... a closeup of the fillet in the Manesse-Style:
... and since you all seem to like those buttons as much as I do:
That was the piccie part.
If you want more to read instead of cat and button pics, there's a list of 550 archaeological blogs over at Archaeologik - in different languages, many of them English.
Also, this Saturday is International Tabletop Day - see the tabletop day webpage if you want to find a game shop or gaming place in your area.
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Random stuff on Thursday.
Some bird relieved itself against the window of the study... resulting in a long and enthusiastically white diagonal across the glass. Well done, bird. NOT.
Otherwise, I am sneezing (thanks to nature exploding around here). The willows are budding, and I will probably not get peaches this year - the peach tree is making leaves, but no blossoms. I will survive. And I will make sure to tell the peach tree it's supposed to make peaches next year, or else. (Worked with the strawberries a few years ago, it did!)
If you were thinking about getting the early modern Austrian tailoring books via Kickstarter, you have about 9 hours left to pledge.
Finally, just in case you are interested in my plans for today: putting together the documentation for the garments I made, taking a few last photos for my own documentary purposes, and packing it all up to send it off. Squeee! (I'm a little torn between wanting to keep the beautiful clothes and being happy to have it off my hands at last, but it's made much easier by the fact that a) I know where I can get the stuff these garments are made off and b) the woman's clothes won't fit me anyway.)
Otherwise, I am sneezing (thanks to nature exploding around here). The willows are budding, and I will probably not get peaches this year - the peach tree is making leaves, but no blossoms. I will survive. And I will make sure to tell the peach tree it's supposed to make peaches next year, or else. (Worked with the strawberries a few years ago, it did!)
If you were thinking about getting the early modern Austrian tailoring books via Kickstarter, you have about 9 hours left to pledge.
Finally, just in case you are interested in my plans for today: putting together the documentation for the garments I made, taking a few last photos for my own documentary purposes, and packing it all up to send it off. Squeee! (I'm a little torn between wanting to keep the beautiful clothes and being happy to have it off my hands at last, but it's made much easier by the fact that a) I know where I can get the stuff these garments are made off and b) the woman's clothes won't fit me anyway.)
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Welcome to April.
April is one of the special months for me - a few people that I really like have their birthday in April (three of them on one day, actually), it's peak hayfever time for me, the garden needs some attention, and preparation for the start of the season gets done (more or less, like you do).
The taxes also start to feel more urgent in getting done, and it's lovely to sit outside in the warm sun, and my craving for ice cream becomes much stronger again. This year's April has a few additional deadline sprinkles to its name, and I think it will be a while before I am back to normal levels of stuff to be done.
What April also brings, though... is the funny stuff. When I opened my HabitRPG yesterday, I found that my avatar now looks like this:
Very springtimey!
If you want more of the kind, look at the April calendar page on the Medieval Manuscripts blog, or have fun with the list of pranks put together at Archaeologik (partly German, partly English).
Another list is here - have fun!
Meanwhile, I will try to tackle my task list without making the tasks cry too much. These oniony charms, you see...
The taxes also start to feel more urgent in getting done, and it's lovely to sit outside in the warm sun, and my craving for ice cream becomes much stronger again. This year's April has a few additional deadline sprinkles to its name, and I think it will be a while before I am back to normal levels of stuff to be done.
What April also brings, though... is the funny stuff. When I opened my HabitRPG yesterday, I found that my avatar now looks like this:
If you want more of the kind, look at the April calendar page on the Medieval Manuscripts blog, or have fun with the list of pranks put together at Archaeologik (partly German, partly English).
Another list is here - have fun!
Meanwhile, I will try to tackle my task list without making the tasks cry too much. These oniony charms, you see...
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Buttons!
This
is what I did yesterday.
No, not making buttons, but taking photos of the finished (and almost-finished) pieces. The pictures are now hanging out on my computer, waiting to be sorted and processed, but you are getting the very first one as a treat. Here you are.
The photo session planned for the afternoon made yesterday a quite hectic day, but it was totally worth it, and the end of this project's hectic phase (which has dragged on for weeks altogether) is finally drawing to a close. And high time for that it is, since a lot of other stuff has accumulated, clamoring for attention and being taken care of. But not before I get some coffee. And possibly some chocolate... because life is just so much better with both.
No, not making buttons, but taking photos of the finished (and almost-finished) pieces. The pictures are now hanging out on my computer, waiting to be sorted and processed, but you are getting the very first one as a treat. Here you are.
The photo session planned for the afternoon made yesterday a quite hectic day, but it was totally worth it, and the end of this project's hectic phase (which has dragged on for weeks altogether) is finally drawing to a close. And high time for that it is, since a lot of other stuff has accumulated, clamoring for attention and being taken care of. But not before I get some coffee. And possibly some chocolate... because life is just so much better with both.
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