Post by jackoat on Dec 12, 2017 16:23:30 GMT -5
I'm sure we'll get an email about this shortly but I happened to be on the webpage and saw this newly posted:
The Dark Wassail
In a cauldron (1), place ye three trenchers of darkest bread, dressed with good butter
Upon these, let lie:
- 3 sticks of cinnamon from distant Ceylon
- 1 radiant star anise (2) from exotic Arabie
- The grated flesh of a quarter of a nutmeg
- The peeled and seeded flesh of 3 sweet apples
- A piece of honeycomb 2 inches in size (3)
- The eviscerated pod of the Vanilla plant from darkest Madagascar
As your cauldron heats over a good fyre, add gently but with purpose sufficient hard dry cider to come two thirds of the way up the walls of your vessel. Top with good strong ale.
Let heat over a low fire until the scent of spices does fill your chamber, and the taste of the liquid is reminiscent of both a humble pie and the distant orient. (4)
Take cauldron, ladle, and sufficient drinking vessels for all into the woods, and place the cauldron on some logs to keep it out of the snow. Serve to each an equal measure, and drink hearty, proclaiming “Wassail!” with each mouthful. No drink may remain within the cauldron when drinking is done, refill your vessels as needed to reveal the bread. Once done, each drinker must take up a stout stick and with it give an old tree a solid whack, proclaiming “Awake and be fruitful, tree!” Once this is done, take the bread from the cauldron, break it into small pieces, and scatter it at the roots of the trees. Return to the safety and warmth of your hearth, firm in the knowledge that the spirits of the woods will bring you bounty in the coming year.
1 A slow cooker set to low will do in a pinch
2 You can use two teaspoons of allspice instead
3 You can use two tablespoons of honey
4 About an hour.
The Dark Wassail
In a cauldron (1), place ye three trenchers of darkest bread, dressed with good butter
Upon these, let lie:
- 3 sticks of cinnamon from distant Ceylon
- 1 radiant star anise (2) from exotic Arabie
- The grated flesh of a quarter of a nutmeg
- The peeled and seeded flesh of 3 sweet apples
- A piece of honeycomb 2 inches in size (3)
- The eviscerated pod of the Vanilla plant from darkest Madagascar
As your cauldron heats over a good fyre, add gently but with purpose sufficient hard dry cider to come two thirds of the way up the walls of your vessel. Top with good strong ale.
Let heat over a low fire until the scent of spices does fill your chamber, and the taste of the liquid is reminiscent of both a humble pie and the distant orient. (4)
Take cauldron, ladle, and sufficient drinking vessels for all into the woods, and place the cauldron on some logs to keep it out of the snow. Serve to each an equal measure, and drink hearty, proclaiming “Wassail!” with each mouthful. No drink may remain within the cauldron when drinking is done, refill your vessels as needed to reveal the bread. Once done, each drinker must take up a stout stick and with it give an old tree a solid whack, proclaiming “Awake and be fruitful, tree!” Once this is done, take the bread from the cauldron, break it into small pieces, and scatter it at the roots of the trees. Return to the safety and warmth of your hearth, firm in the knowledge that the spirits of the woods will bring you bounty in the coming year.
1 A slow cooker set to low will do in a pinch
2 You can use two teaspoons of allspice instead
3 You can use two tablespoons of honey
4 About an hour.