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The importance of herbs
Jan. 6th, 2009 08:40 pmI dunno how many folks on my friends list have ever played Conquest of Camelot. I recall playing it and snickering at Merlin's descriptions of herbs in his tower. After telling you what a certain herb was good for medicinally, he'd add that it was good in soups. Or with beef. Or really tasty with chicken.
I recall wondering out loud how much Merlin thought about food.
These days, however, I really do care about which herbs are good with which meats. I cook more than I did as a kid. I don't think of herbs as just medieval flavor text, but as actual flavor.
And it's significant that quite a few of my mystically and medically inclined characters also seem quite comfortable in a kitchen. They spend a lot of time with herbs and plants and odd meats, and it's not always because they need to brew up a mystical potion or come up with a good poultice.
In fact, most of the time, it's because they're hungry, and they know that certain veggies are not only really tasty cooked up in a broth with the right herbs, but that the meal is also good for the digestion and will help boost one's defenses against sickness.
It no longer seems silly to me that Merlin would tell me all about food when discussing his herbs. That's what herbs are for. Sure, they're also for stomach disorders and heart palpitations and all that, but that's for special occasions. Every day, a man needs to sit down and eat.
Eat hearty, Garanemu.
I recall wondering out loud how much Merlin thought about food.
These days, however, I really do care about which herbs are good with which meats. I cook more than I did as a kid. I don't think of herbs as just medieval flavor text, but as actual flavor.
And it's significant that quite a few of my mystically and medically inclined characters also seem quite comfortable in a kitchen. They spend a lot of time with herbs and plants and odd meats, and it's not always because they need to brew up a mystical potion or come up with a good poultice.
In fact, most of the time, it's because they're hungry, and they know that certain veggies are not only really tasty cooked up in a broth with the right herbs, but that the meal is also good for the digestion and will help boost one's defenses against sickness.
It no longer seems silly to me that Merlin would tell me all about food when discussing his herbs. That's what herbs are for. Sure, they're also for stomach disorders and heart palpitations and all that, but that's for special occasions. Every day, a man needs to sit down and eat.
Eat hearty, Garanemu.
