Very merry seventeenth century punch recipe found in Yorkshire

Oh, just imagine making a batch of this stuff! From the Guardian: Very merry seventeenth century punch recipe found in Yorkshire.

A recipe for a very merry Christmas drink for 17th century monks, beginning with ten pints of brandy, has been rediscovered by a Durham university academic, in the archives of Ampleforth Abbey in north Yorkshire.

The recipes – there were two similar versions, one for a punch, one for a drink known as “shrub” – were written down for English Benedictine monks who were in exile in France after the dissolution of the monasteries. Both were flavoured with orange and lemon peel, with added sugar and water, and involved days of steeping and mixing the ingredients. [continue]

The Guardian article’s link to the Monks in Motion site is wrong. The correct address is:
https://www.dur.ac.uk/mim/ .

Cake in a mug

OK, who has a microwave oven? I don’t, so I’m relying on you to test this recipe and let me know how it goes. From howto.wired.com: Make cake in a mug.

You’re working at home and your mind starts to wander to snack possibilities. There are probably some prepackaged, good-until-the-next-millennium baked items in your cabinet, but you’re in the mood for something warm from the oven. Something chocolate. However, your compulsion to work is just strong enough to keep you from leaving the computer long enough to make something from scratch. Guess it’ll have to be another stale Twinkie after all.

But wait! With Cake in a Mug, you can have a hot, delicious, fresh-baked chocolate cake in minutes! And all it takes is a microwave, some hot chocolate mix, and a couple of ingredients you’ve probably got in your kitchen.

Ready to make your own Cake in a Mug? Everything you need to know is below. [continue].

How to cook a whale found dead

From hallman.com we have a translation of a old Kwakuitl recipe: How to cook a whale found dead.

A kettle of water is set to boil on the beach, and the strips are boiled to render the oil. The oil is ladled off and stored in watertight storage boxes. Whale oil is best stored in the corner of your house.

Then, you take cedar bark, and split it into long strips. Poke holes in the middle of the boiled pieces of whale blubber, and thread them onto the long strips of bark. When finished these strings of blubber are called "tied-in-the-middle."

Dry these strips in the smoky rafters of your house for at least a month. When you want to eat some "tied-in-the-middle" take it down from the rafters, and [continue]

Of course, these days people in charge of whales found dead are more likely to get some dynamite and blow a whale up than eat it, but such is life. Good to know there are still traditional recipes one might try.