What's for Dinner, Chief?

As mentioned in yesterday's post (if you haven’t seen that one, scroll down (or look at yesterday's email), it is pretty interesting) after I visited the archeology site at the City I went over to the college and Cole Cinema to listen to a talk given by Dr. Helen Rountree, a highly respected expert on the Native Americans of the Middle Atlantic and the Powhatans in particular. She has written many books on them.  Pretty colorful lady who apparently doesn’t suffer fools easily.  When asked by Disney Studios to consult on their production of Pocahontas, she found they were more interested in drama than history.  After the romanticized version was released, she tried to “set the record straight” and was quoted as saying: “Pocahontas was no “Buckskin Barbie,” as one reporter wrote, but a short, bald and naked 11-year-old laborer.”

Anyway, her subject for the day was (and I borrowed the title from her) “What’s for Supper?”, and was centered around foods of 17^th century Indians.  And most of the talk was placed before the Colonists introduced animals (pigs, cows, etc.) from the Old World.  Her theme was what you would eat if you were a guest of a “Chief” for a formal dinner at this time of year (March – the “Hungry Season”)  So didn’t really deal with day to day food, although in a response to a question later she replied “they would eat anything that crawled, flew or swam”. 

After washing your hands (unlike the English, the Indians were big on hygiene) and saying a form of grace (no translations found) you would be seated either on a mat or perhaps a low bench (smoke rises), eat with your fingers from shared bowls.  She didn’t mention if somebody announced “they would be taking care of you”.  It would be a multi course meal, starting with “appetizers” that might include oysters and cornbread.  She emphasizing that they didn’t eat what they didn’t have: no beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, cheese, goats, sheep, and so forth.  No cream sauces!  For main courses there might be venison, more corn (a precious commodity at this time of year commandeered by the chief), perhaps fish, and maybe wild turkey.  The dinner would take a long time because things were prepared a la carte, meaning they might be skinned right before cooking.  Oh, water would be the beverage.

So it was an interesting talk, but she was limited to about 45 minutes, so it couldn’t be with much detail.  One thing she mentioned that caught my attention.  During a remark about how their food would by our standards “bland”, because no spices/salt used (or available) she remarked that perhaps texture was more important than taste. She said “texture vs. taste” in various cultures was an interesting study.

 

So just more of nothing to do in St. Mary's County..

 

weather!

am sitting here watching whitecaps on the river, and have been out twice, once to retrieve the Weber from the fence, and again to secure a piece of flashing by one of the windows.  The nice little weather website from the Solomon's is still down, but the weather app on my clever phone says 35 mph.  I believe it.  So far, no snow... And I can't but help wondering about all those romantic people on Facebook hoping for snow!   why?  you like shoveling?  Chiseling your way out of the driveway?  Slipping and sliding on the roads?  A dusting is pretty, maybe an inch or so, but not multiple inches..

 

Southern Living

MFO reports that things are going well in Lafayette (pronounced "Laffy - ette").  had Oyster Po'Boys for dinner last night along with a lecture on Louisiana history.  She was surprised it took almost 20 years for the evicted Arcadians to reach Louisiana.  Today a concert/talk by a fiddler, and also a visit to an Accordian Factory.. (Lady of Spain....).

 

Sure she will be appropriately

DFD