Peasant's Feast

[Trinique_Fire]

How does one go about having one? Any ideas?

 

[glynndah]

Peasants are on the endangered species list. I think you need a permit or something before you can eat them

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Peasants are on the endangered species list. I think you need a permit or something before you can eat them

Thank you Oh good witch of the north. Now i need some real answers please.

 

[3113]

Thank you Oh good witch of the north. Now i need some real answers please.

Um...all the rich people have a feast and the leftovers get given away to the peasants?

 

[oggbashan]

You eat outside a la Bruegel.

You eat vegetables that you have grown yourself and basic food such as soups, stews, potatoes, with plenty of unsliced bread to tear chunks off.

You drink beer (not lager or anything 'Lite').

You cook the meat over an open fire.

It's called a barbecue.

Og

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Is this a theme party? You serve stew and bread, or good soup and bread. You wear a peasant skirt and sexy (rippable) bodice . You play lively folk music with an old county flair (beats me what that would be).

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Is this a theme party? You serve stew and bread, or good soup and bread. You wear a peasant skirt and sexy (rippable) bodice . You play lively folk music with an old county flair (beats me what that would be).

Yes, something along those lines, but literally: peasant. Not in the sense of costumes and all that, but literally flat-ass penniless. Looking for cheap stews and breads to make/buy, that sort of thing.

Recipes, cheap stores, good foods to purchase that won't cost much. That sort of thing. I don't want lists of stores and items I can't acquire where I live. So I'll give everyone a hint. I live in Western Maryland.

Suggestions, please.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Yes, something along those lines, but literally: peasant. Not in the sense of costumes and all that, but literally flat-ass penniless. Looking for cheap stews and breads to make/buy, that sort of thing.

Recipes, cheap stores, good foods to purchase that won't cost much. That sort of thing. I don't want lists of stores and items I can't acquire where I live. So I'll give everyone a hint. I live in Western Maryland.

Suggestions, please.

Potatoes. Onions. Bake bread. A stew or soup with a very small amount of cheap cuts of beef or chicken. Probably generic canned veggies are cheapest, or things like dried peas maybe (I haven't tried those). I'll bet you can whomp up a lovely feast for 6-10 people this way for $10 - $15. (

The wine you buy in the "gallon" jug for $8-10 is the just about the most alcohol per dollar, and happens to be the right beverage. Ask a guest to pick some up.

Home made chili that is mostly made from dried beans, with canned tomatoes and a small amount of cheap ground beef is good, but that gets you into peasants with Hispanic names. Beans and corn have complimentary amino acids that make them a good source of complete protein.

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Potatoes. Onions. Bake bread. A stew or soup with a very small amount of cheap cuts of beef or chicken. Probably generic canned veggies are cheapest, or things like dried peas maybe (I haven't tried those). I'll bet you can whomp up a lovely feast for 6-10 people this way for $10 - $15. (

The wine you buy in the "gallon" jug for $8-10 is the just about the most alcohol per dollar, and happens to be the right beverage. Ask a guest to pick some up.

Home made chili that is mostly made from dried beans, with canned tomatoes and a small amount of cheap ground beef is good, but that gets you into peasants with Hispanic names. Beans and corn have complimentary amino acids that make them a good source of complete protein.

Ah, Roxie dahlin...forever a genius in my mind. I adore you. Now about furniture. I have none, and I'm looking to do this either a week before or a week after Thanksgiving. Throw pillows? Keep scrounging on FreeCycle? Suggestions?

Also, I want to do another Peasant's Feast for Litsters...which means I need to start looking ahead NOW as to who can come to Maryland, who doesn't mind a crappy neighborhood...that sort of thing....

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Ah, Roxie dahlin...forever a genius in my mind. I adore you. Now about furniture. I have none, and I'm looking to do this either a week before or a week after Thanksgiving. Throw pillows? Keep scrounging on FreeCycle? Suggestions?

Also, I want to do another Peasant's Feast for Litsters...which means I need to start looking ahead NOW as to who can come to Maryland, who doesn't mind a crappy neighborhood...that sort of thing....

Steal a picnic table from the park. No don't! But - benches and some kind of table. Do you have a handy friend? Can you find some scrap lumber? If so, cobble up a bench and table. (Note - the benches must be genuinely sturdy, and the table mostly sturdy.) Or, thrift stores. Talk to them, tell them you want some real junk that they wouldn't even bother to put out that you can just have, or pay like $5 for a whole set. "Hard" furniture - table and chairs, not couches (you don't want a $5 couch - it's too gross. People are always wanting to get rid of old beat up furniture - you are an opportunity for the right person, Dahling!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Peasants are on the endangered species list. I think you need a permit or something before you can eat them

No their not I just happen to know someone who raises them for just this purpose. The only reall problem is getting up really early to milk them.

Wait...it says peasants not pheasants...nevermind.

 

[FallingToFly]

Yes, something along those lines, but literally: peasant. Not in the sense of costumes and all that, but literally flat-ass penniless. Looking for cheap stews and breads to make/buy, that sort of thing.

Recipes, cheap stores, good foods to purchase that won't cost much. That sort of thing. I don't want lists of stores and items I can't acquire where I live. So I'll give everyone a hint. I live in Western Maryland.

Suggestions, please.

Potato Soup. Bread. I'll give you the recipe for both, okay?

Soup:

1 large onion
2-4 stalks of celery
3-5 carrots
6-10 potatoes (roughly medium sized, variety doesn't matter)
sm can of sliced musghrooms, if you like
2 teaspoons chicken boullion
salt, pepper, garlic, mint, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, to taste and in any combination that pleases you. a dash of paprika doesn't go amiss either.

wash, peel (if you want) and cube potatoes. Start cooking in a large soup pot of boiling, salted water while you assemble everything else.
sautee diced onion and celery in about 2 tbsp. of butter (margarine in a pinch) over medium heat just until soft. leave the butter and juice in the pan, add veggies to the potatoes. lower heat and add two cups of milk to the sautee pan, cooking slowly. add in chicken boullion, and to thicken it, either add in a small amount of flour (I just scoop it up from where I was kneading the bread) or whisk in roughly 1/2 c of dried milk. This is the only part of the recipe you really have to watch- the miljk has to be stirred constantly so it doesn't boil and scald. When thickened, add it into the potato pot. slice carrots, add in. check seasonings, adjust as needed, and then turn heat down to low. simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour (although after about 10 it tastes pretty good). Around here we sprinkle cheese and bacon bits on top.

Bread:

(This is my grandmother's recipe, and it makes A LOT of bread)
in a small bowl:

2 packages active dry yeast (quick-rise)
2 tbs sugar
1 c. warm (skin warm, or a a little coler)
let work

1 c water
1 c sugar
1 c crisco (solid vegetable lard)

melt slowly together over low heat. In a LARGE (as in, bathe the baby in large) bowl, pour this melted mixture in, and add 1 qt (yes, quart) tap water. slowly stir in enough of a bag of all-purpose flour to make a gluey soupy mess. add in 1 tsp salt, stir, then add in yeast mixture. slowly stir in the REST of that bag of flour (and probably part of another) until you have a large (very large) ball of dough that isn't overly sticky and holds together well. turn out of the bowl onto a flat, floured surface (paper grocery bags, ripped open at the seams, are a lifesaver on clean-up) while you scrub the bowl out. dry, and grease (use the crisco), then quickly roll your dough up neatly and tuck it into the bowl. cover with a clean, dry cloth and let stand till double in size. punch down, let double again. turn back out onto floured surface, knead, and divide into loaf pans (I can usually get four French bread length braided loaves, four regular loaves, and a couple or three snail braids out of a single batch, depending on the size of the pans.) Cover, let rise to just over the tops of the pans, and bake in a 400F oven. 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top, and a loaf turned out of the pan and thumped on the bottom sounds hollow.

It looks like a lot but going by my grocery store prices it comes out to about 20 bucks and will feed an army, and feed them well.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Potato Soup. Bread. I'll give you the recipe for both, okay?


It looks like a lot but going by my grocery store prices it comes out to about 20 bucks and will feed an army, and feed them well.

20 bucks? That almost seems high for this? (Assuming you are not having to buy all the spices.)

These recipes are just the thing. One area to potentially save on the soup is to substitute canned veggies for fresh - but carrots and celery are pretty cheap, so maybe not. Compare prices.

Also, unless you are moving in for a while, borrow the bouillon, spices, even the crisco. (I might just substitute vegetable oil for the lard - it's cheaper, and no one has crisco to borrow anymore anyway.)

 

[FallingToFly]

20 bucks? That almost seems high for this? (Assuming you are not having to buy all the spices.)

These recipes are just the thing. One area to potentially save on the soup is to substitute canned veggies for fresh - but carrots and celery are pretty cheap, so maybe not. Compare prices.

Also, unless you are moving in for a while, borrow the bouillon, spices, even the crisco. (I might just substitute vegetable oil for the lard - it's cheaper, and no one has crisco to borrow anymore anyway.)

You can't- it will absolutely not work- it has to be solid vegetable lard. Don't ask me why, but I tried to substitute oil once, and I swear to everything holy- it is an absolute disaster.

I always use the fresh carrots, because the canned ones turn into mush. the small bags are about .88-1.09 around here right now, and celery is $1.oo a sleeve.

ETA: I was counting in the cost of two bags of flour, yeast, sugar, milk, potatoes, carrots, etc. Total came out to a little under 20, but that's based on my market prices right now, lol.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

You can't- it will absolutely not work- it has to be solid vegetable lard. Don't ask me why, but I tried to substitute oil once, and I swear to everything holy- it is an absolute disaster.

I always use the fresh carrots, because the canned ones turn into mush. the small bags are about .88-1.09 around here right now, and celery is $1.oo a sleeve.

ETA: I was counting in the cost of two bags of flour, yeast, sugar, milk, potatoes, carrots, etc. Total came out to a little under 20, but that's based on my market prices right now, lol.

OK, the voice of experience speaks.

You can afford to spend a couple bucks on less popular chicken cuts, boil them, then shred them by hand nto the soup so the meat is evenly distributed. Boil them right in the pot with everything else before shredding. Don't leave the skin in after you boil and shred. Or the bones.

 

[R. Richard]

Peasants are on the endangered species list. I think you need a permit or something before you can eat them

Not if you're a dragon!

 

[poppy1963]

Find out the Rubbish Pick-up days for the "richer" neighborhoods close by. Get a friend who has a truck and you won't believe the things you will get for FREE~! Rich people throw out all kinds of things...perfectly good...PERFECTLY...they just don't like them anymore.

 

[FallingToFly]

OK, the voice of experience speaks.

You can afford to spend a couple bucks on less popular chicken cuts, boil them, then shred them by hand nto the soup so the meat is evenly distributed. Boil them right in the pot with everything else before shredding. Don't leave the skin in after you boil and shred. Or the bones.

People take their chances with my chicken soup, lol, I just boil everything in and leave it there. The bones make the stock richer- or at least that's how I justify my laziness.

Another recipe that my kids and I cam e up with is a pasta sald. The only ingredients are tri-color rotini (a dollar a box at our local market) Miracle Whip (the generic kind) canned tuna and spices that you happen to prefer. We mince a little onion and celery on occasion and throw it in, or spice it up Cajun style.

Fish'N Worms

boil pasta, drain and set aside.
spoon in salad dressing over pasta while warm, toss gently until evenly coated.
drain tuna
toss gently into pasta mixture.
season to taste

serve warm or cold. 1 box of rotini, 1 can of tuna, 1/2 c of salad dressing (a little more or less to taste) makes about 8 servings. My kids can demolish a double recipe in a day- given a choice they'll eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (It takes about ten to fifteen minutes to make, depending on how firm you like your pasta.)

You can substitute leftover chicken, chopped small, or imitation crab meat, or shrimp, depending on the fortunes of the day. Some of the interesting additions we've been known to throw in- roasted sunflower seeds, chopped hard-boiled egg, shredded carrot, chopped, seeded grapes (red), walnuts (with the chicken).

Another really easy recipe that makes a lot and feeds a lot, and is relatively inexpensive: Garbage soup. all you do is save all the leftovers (chop down beef, pork or chicken, and save the different types of meat in separate freezer bags) in a large, gallon-sized freezer bag. Beans, corn, peas, carrots, whatever- just open the bag and pour in the veggies right on top of the already frozen stuff. when you are in the mood for soup or just need a fast meal to feed a lot of people, throw the whole frozen chunk into a soup pot with a cup of water and a large can of regular V8 juice. then you can throw in the beef leftovers for beef/vegetable soup. We usuallly throw the chunked up pork into a rice and tomato base with cajun spices and chunks of kielbasa (which is dead cheap for us, at least) and do a improvised dirty rice dish, and the chicken gets thrown into a pot with some boullion and spices, and then rice or noodles and some chopped fresh veggies go in and make a quickie chicken soup.

 

[FallingToFly]

gah! Before I forget- freeze any bread you don't use right away. since it doesn't have preservatives, it'll only last a couple of days before it starts getting moldy. if you fereeze it, you can thaw it on the counter overnight and it'll be ready to slice in the morning. And don't forget to grease the bread pans! And if you want softer crust, rub the top with butter or crisco as it comes out of the oven to cool.

Okay... i think that everything. How are you set up for sweet stuff? Need a quick recipe for that as well, that's pretty inexpensive?

 

[3113]

OH, you want a cheap, big meal! Why didn't you say so?

Find a place like Costco (don't know if Maryland has the equilivant)--sells stuff in huge bulk cheap. Buy pasta and rice. Make sauce for pasta (tomato is dirt cheap), and something to put atop the rice. Paella is a good way to go if you want some actual meat. You cook up rice with sausage and chicken. If not, go for a veggie stew to top the rice.

Rice and Pasta are cheap. And in bulk you can buy huge bags of frozen chicken cut up cheap--especially legs, wings, thighs.

Alternately, chicken and dumplings are a good, cheap way to make chicken soup go a very long way. You toss in dumplings into a huge pot of chicken soup (including chicken and veggies), and you have this hearty meal for next to nothing--as dumplings are dairy, flour and some rising agent that makes them expand and stick to the ribs.

3 pounds chicken pieces
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 sprigs fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk

1. Place chicken in a Dutch oven with onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add enough cold water to cover. Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour.

2. Remove chicken, and let rest until cool enough to handle. Skin and bone chicken, leaving the meat in large chunks; set aside.

3. Remove bay leaves from the broth, and discard. Skim as much fat as possible from the surface of the broth. Heat broth to a slow steady boil. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in milk, and beat until stiff. Drop batter 1 tablespoon at a time into the boiling broth. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Add reserved chicken, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. The dumplings should be puffed and the meat warmed through. Garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

This serves 8. So...however multiply the recipe by however many people you're having, or augment it with salad.

 

[Aurora Black]

Costco is great.

 

[oggbashan]

Og family recipe for feeding hordes...

Ingredients:

1lb beef (or other meat) mince
1 medium onion chopped
1 15oz tin baked beans
1 15oz tin tomatoes
1 12oz tin peas
1 7/8oz tin sweetcorn
Freshly ground black pepper
Worcester or brown sauce to taste.

Drain liquid from tin of peas.
Empty all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Stir well.
Put into casserole pot.
Put in oven at 200C for one hour surrounded by potatoes being baked in their jackets.

For each extra pound of meat add the same amount of ingredients and increasing cooking time by half an hour.

Can be served on rice instead of with baked potatoes.

Og

 

[glynndah]

Thank you Oh good witch of the north. Now i need some real answers please.

Sorry, that was my last post before bed and I didn't mean any offense. I'd serve a hearty soup, either vegetable or bean so there's not much meat involved. Bread is always good, especially a whole grained variety. People generally enjoy bringing something so you can take advantage of that if anyone volunteers.

As far as furniture goes, a thrift store is always good. Depending on where you live, dumpster diving might be an option. That's how I furnished my first apartment. There are probably lots of information of the net about constructing makeshift furniture out of very basic materials. Tell your guests what the limitations are and let them bring their own chairs. Maybe they'll abandon them and your room gets furnished cheap!

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as the company's good, your friends will make do with whatever you've got. Have a great time!

 

[glynndah]

No their not I just happen to know someone who raises them for just this purpose. The only reall problem is getting up really early to milk them.

Wait...it says peasants not pheasants...nevermind.

Wow! You milk your pheasants?!?

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Hi everyone. I'm in a slightly better mood now (I forced myself to take a nap), so I'm ready to play with the grown-ups now.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I saw some recipes that I like, that really work for me. This is sort of going to be an alternative to Thanksgiving. I don't have the means to do a traditional holiday (obviously), and I thought of the peasant's feast from a documentary type thing I watched. If anyone wants to know about living bohemian, poor, starving, and trying to make it as a writer, I suggest you come live with me for a while.

So....maybe a spring Lit visit to Trinique's apartment? Hmmm.....

No, we don't have Costco, but we do have Sam's Club, and Sav-a-lot, which isn't bulk, but it's very cheap, so I've heard.

I've never baked my own bread before. Is it fairly easy?

As for sweets, I haven't thought about that. Anything too sweet seems mildly inappropriate with the spread you've created here for me. Something with just nuances of sweetness...sugary goodness.

Any ideas?