Preparations - 18th century gravy

So, I’ve been trying to get ready for this event next weekend, and I’ve been failing miserably. The riding habit? Not even cut out. I think I’ve lost about 15 pounds since my fitting, and I’m not putting that much time, effort and money into something that’s not going to fit. The cooking competition? I couldn't get my head wrapped around the amount of research I needed to do, and that's usually my favorite part.

Albemarle Soundings managed to get my food planning kick started, thank heavens, and I’m testing recipes (or “receipts” as they were called) this weekend.

Last weekend, I made gravy. Lot's of "made" dishes require gravy which isn't the thickened stuff we're used to today. Samuel Johnson defined it as "The serous juice that runs from flesh not much dried by the fire." This receipt is neither, but more like a broth.

Gravy for turkey or fowl or ragoo.*

TAKE a pound of lean beef, cut and hack it well, then flour it well, put a piece of butter as big as a hen's egg in a stewpan; when it is melted, put in your beef, fry it on all sides a little brown, then pour in three pints of boiling water, and a bundle of sweet-herbs**, two or three blades of mace, three or four cloves, twelve whole pepper corns, a little bit of carrot, a little piece of crust of bread toasted brown; cover it close, and let it boil till there is about a pint or less ; then season it with salt, and strain it off.

The description of the beef sounded a lot like cube steak to me, and being pressed for time, that's what I used.

Here it's been floured well, and is browning in butter.

Here are the herbs and spices I used - rosemary, sage, oregano, pepper, cloves and blades of mace.

Here's the pot before the water got added, including the toasted English Muffin I used.

Here's the pot after everything's been stewed to rags.

I covered the pot for a while, and then took the lid off so the liquid could reduce. It doesn't look very appetizing, but we'll see how it works out.


* Hannah Glasse, the Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy, 1774, page 121

** Sweet Herbs: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme. I didn't have parsely, and my thyme was dead so I threw in a little oregano that I found peeking out of the ground. I'd use the parsely and thyme if it was an option.

Front Sight

So THAT's what happens when you focus on the front sight. It seems so counter-intuitive to me.

Look! I'm not wandering to the right. That's 15 rounds of .177 wadcutters @ 30 feet. A slighty different technique than what I use with a .75 caliber smooth bore with no sights.

Here are the next 15 rounds.

These were all done seated, resting my elbows on my knees.

Now I just might have to adjust my sight picture a little more, and I may be good to go. I think what worked for me was breaking the process down so I was dealing with fewer variables at a time. I hope the skills will transfer to something with a little more oomph.

Aiming update

I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing differently except aiming a little lower, but it seems to be working.

Both targets at 25', seated.

First 15 rounds at 25'.

Last ten rounds at 25'.

Farby.

I found this picture from 1993.  It was in the newspaper. Shall we list what's wrong?

"Tunnel" hat held on by polyester ribbon.
Bangs.
Wearing stays without a sleeved garment over them. (But hey! At least I was in stays and not the mythical "bodice".)
And ... I'm using a lucet.

I've come a long way.

Aim small, miss small.

I’ve been taking my Crosman pellet rifle out for a little recoil therapy in the eveninigs now that it’s not dark at 5:00. I love that I can be outside shooting less than 10 minutes after I get the urge. Being a n00b, I love that I can practice the four rules without worrying about being *that* person at the range. And in the event of a catastrophic failure of the 4 rules, it’s unlikely I’m going to do all that much damage.

So, I set up along the garage and at a range of 25 – 30 feet I can work on using those strange things called “sights”. (The closest thing I’ve got on my flintlocks is a bayonet lug. The matchlock takes a plug bayonet, so I don’t even have that.) The problem is that my Crosman has a lovely fiber optic sight that appears bigger than the thumbprint sized targets I’m aiming at so I end up having to guess at the last second. My groups at that range are averaging 1 ½” – 2” per 5 shots, but I’d really like to be able to see what I’m trying to hit.

Does anyone have any low cost suggestions?

Manchester Banyan, part 4 - collar

I using the piece I'd pinned on earlier as a pattern, I cut out another collar piece so I had two -- one for the inside and one for the outside. I also cut out some stiff interfacing to sandwich in between do the collar (hopefully) won't collapse.

The interfacing is basted to the collar, and the collar is machine sewn to the neckline.

Next, putting the right side of the two collar pieces together, I basted around the outer edges.

Then I trimmed off the excess interfacing.

Then I turned the collar right side out, and prick-stitched the outer edge.

I still have to sew down the inside, but it's getting there.

A bandolier

Thanks to Michael W., I am finally getting the last pieces together to go with my matchlock. He made this bandolier for me, and is currently working on the last 6 bottles. I need to lay in more powder and ball, and probably little more slow match. It must be my inner pyromaniac that loves holding burning match and a musket in one hand while pouring loose powder down the barrel from a wooden bottle with the other.

Then I need to practice the gazillion steps to the Caliver Drill. (I don’t have a musket rest, and my hands aren’t big enough for holding the musket and rest for the Musket Drill, which is longer, anyway.) That way if a certain blogger who has mentioned an interest in matchlocks hasn’t fired one, I’ll be ready if we ever meet.