Recipes

[MadGastronomer]

The tradition as I know it is that one takes a fruit -- in Trimaris (Florida), usually an orange, but traditions vary locally, and technically anything may be cloved -- and stick cloves in it.  Take this to an event, and hand it to someone you wish to flirt with.  The receiver of the fruit must then return a clove.  And here's where the fun comes in.
The receiver may simply pluck out a clove with fingertips and drop it into the giver's hand, signifying polite rejection.  The receiver may pluck out a clove and hold it out on his or her palm, inviting the giver to dabble fingers across the palm, which is a "Maybe; why don't you try to impress me?"  Most commonly, the receiver removes a clove and holds it between his or her teeth, inviting the giver to get it back in a kiss.  More extreme things are also sometimes done -- I've seen cloves swallowed, dropped down bodices (not necessarily those of the receiver, which can be quite entertaining), and tucked into other bits of clothing (although tucking one in a codpiece in public would generally be considered poor form).
The story continues to circulate that this was a late medieval courting game, developing from the clove-studded fruits often carried by the nobility to ward off bad smells, but while there's evidence of the pomanders being carried (I think), there is none of them being used in this fashion.

[tereshkova2001]

In the Outlands (Colorado and parts north and south of it), we would sometimes return the clove and sometimes the receiver would just get rid of it after the kiss. They were much more common at postrevels and parties, rather than events proper. I've never heard anyone claim that it's an authentic medieval game.

[VCorvidae]

My barony had a fad for cloved fruit. I will never forget the cloved watermelon and grape.

At one Twelfth Night revel, we had a cloven  cherry. That was... interesting.

[txanne]

Nothing about the game is period, as far as i can tell.  That doesn't prevent it from being a widespread and almost unassailable custom in many SCA groups.

Oh, sorry--I forgot to mention I used to be a herald. Thus: joke.

[tereshkova2001]

Oh, sorry--I forgot to mention I used to be a herald. Thus: joke.

Well, if you're a herald, then at least we're safe from puns. Because as SCAdians know, heralds don't pun; they cant.

(That's not a typo; 'cant' is the heraldic term for a pun.)

[MadGastronomer]

I used to be a herald, too, but not a very good one.  Mostly, I was loud.
I dunno, about 10 or 12 years ago, when I got involved, they were still trying to kill the idea that it was period.

[txanne]

Well, if you're a herald, then at least we're safe from puns. Because as SCAdians know, heralds don't pun; they cant.

Yes, I have to fess up, I bend over backwards to make punes, or plays on words.

[Cal]

Yes, I have to fess up, I bend over backwards to make punes, or plays on words.

Punes or, plays on words.  Please.   Mustn't omit the wanton cruelty to the common comma, or Captain Carrot will get upset. 

[Elizabeth Bear]

...I was a house herald.

Good lord. It's an infestation.

(To this day, I project very well.)

[Edmund Schweppe]

Yes, I have to fess up, I bend over backwards to make punes, or plays on words.

Oh, my. Was that also true in Roman times? It would suddenly provide a new reason for the Punic Wars.

[Bunny M]

Yes, I have to fess up, I bend over backwards to make punes, or plays on words.

Oh, my. Was that also true in Roman times? It would suddenly provide a new reason for the Punic Wars.

Ow. Ow. Classical pun-ishment. 

[AndrewJ]

Yes, I have to fess up, I bend over backwards to make punes, or plays on words.

Oh, my. Was that also true in Roman times? It would suddenly provide a new reason for the Punic Wars.

Ow. Ow. Classical pun-ishment. 

Persons with the Gaul to pun should not be allowed to Rome around unchecked, but instead should be confined to an Attic under Spartan conditions until they show con-Crete signs of remorse. 

[VCorvidae]

I used to be a herald, too, but not a very good one.  Mostly, I was loud.
I dunno, about 10 or 12 years ago, when I got involved, they were still trying to kill the idea that it was period.

That was the whole reason I was a herald. 

[dancing crow]

Ahem.

I am increasingly sorry I failed SCA. I would have loved to meet any one of you.

To return to artichokes, I found a package of 9 little ones recently. After peeling them down to the light yellow leaves, I split them in half and cooked them (gently - med/low heat) in a dash of olive oil, a quarter inch of water and a squidge of lemon juice in a large frying pan, covered, for about 20 minutes. Don't let them burn, and stay aware of how fast the water is evaporating, because they might not be tender at the same moment that you run out of water.

failure modes:
too little water - evaporated before they finished cooking and they are tough, Fix with a small amt additional water, see below
too much water - cooked through and still too liquidy, not beginning to be browned on the edges, fix by removing lid so evaporation goes faster
no lemon - doesn't brown so nicely, no biggie

[Mattador]

Am I the only one tremendously amused that a thread on these forums actually moved *off* the topic of food?  A thread that's meant to be all about food, nonetheless!