Medieval Food Assignment

    Well, here it is. My assignment. For this assignment, I had to cook a Medieval European meal. Not by myself, of course. I had a group working with me. I won’t specify their names, but yeah. Here’s all the info about what I cooked for my part. For this assignment, I made mashed parsnips.

 

One more thing; images don't work no matter what I do.

 I submitted them via Edmodo.

Oh, and I took inspiration for my cooking from this video: http://youtu.be/oU2iwwui7y0

(seriously, check this guy out.)

I didn’t exactly use his recipe, but I did my own version of it.

Ingredients I Used:

• 1 parsnip
• A pinch of parsley
• My time and patience
• Some milk (to soften the parsnip)

    First, I peeled the parsnip. Simple. I like simple. While I was peeling it, I had this weird urge to just take a sliver off and eat it. It smelled really good, too; it smelled like ginger and carrots fused together. Kind of weird, but good. I would have it as a perfume or an air freshener if I could. Moving on.

    Afterwards I threw it in my small oven. Metaphorically. I actually covered a rectangular pan in tin foil and placed the peeled parsnip on top. I then pushed it in, closed the oven, and set it to 350 degrees fahrenheit. I left it in there for a good 15 minutes before taking it out. Yes, I took it out while it was scalding hot.

    After taking the parsnip out and burning my perfectly good hands, I took a knife and cutting board out. Just to be safe, I rinsed the cutting board. I started cutting the parsnip into quarters. It was a hot and potentially dangerous experience. I could either cut myself or burn myself enough that I get some kind of burn to such degree. Luckily none of that happened, and I was left with wonderfully cut parsnips.

    I threw all the pieces in a pot. I set the stove to medium and threw in some milk. I didn’t add too much, though; which I regret doing. I covered the pot and waited for at least 20 minutes. After taking the pot cover off, I was greeted by a rather unpleasant sight. Some of the milk had burnt. The smoke detector was going off and there was an odor in the air. In a frenzy, I turned the built-in fan on and opened the sliding glass door (which led to the backyard) to let some air in. It did the trick.

    After that crazy frenzy, I started mashing the parsnips. Or at least I tried to. The bits just wouldn’t mash. My impatient little self didn’t want to wait anymore, so after 10 minutes of trying, I stopped completely. I grabbed a nice plate and piled the half-mashed parsnips onto it nicely. I sprinkled some parsley bits on it and around the side. Voila!

Overall, it tasted exactly what it smelled like. Carrots and ginger. I wish I could've been more patient, though.

Comparing and Contrasting

Comparing and Contrasting the 

Magna Carta from the US Contitution

In this post, I will be comparing and contrasting the differences and similarities between the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution. I apologize if I do not add small details about the comparison. This is entirely from the back of my rather small memory, so again - I apologize.

• Starting off, they're both papers that have been signed. That's an easy one.

• The Magna Carta was forced onto King John by the people, and he was forcefully made to sign it. The US Constitution was not forced, and was signed because all the delegates wanted to.

• The U.S. Constitution had Amendments made across several years. The Magna Carta was signed there, made like that.

• Both the Magna Carta and the US Constitution allow freedom of religion.

• The king does not pay the taxes, as stated in both the US Constitution and the Magna Carta.

• The Parliament from the Magna Carta is similar to the branches of Government in the US Constitution.

• Both documents share the right of fair fines. The fine cannot be too big or too small; the situation has to be fined just right with the right amount of money.

U.S. Constitution Vocabulary

U.S. Constitution Vocabulary

Here is a collection of words I am not familiar with from the U.S. Constitution. These words are taken directly from the Constitution, and in advance- I apologize for my lack of understanding.

Ordain

To make someone a priest or minister.

Quorum

The amount of people at a meeting to be qualified as valid.
Emolument

A salary or profit from employment.

Reprieve

To cancel the punishment of a certain person.

Why The Constitution Was Signed

Why The U.S. Constitution Was Signed

Here is a timeline as to explain why the U.S Constitution was signed. It is simplified, and therefore some small things are not in the paragraphs. All that aside, enjoy the brain food.


1764 - 1769

• The British Parliament passed different Acts against the Colonists, such as the Stamp Act. These acts taxed colonists to pay for British expenses.

1773

• The Colonists held the Boston Tea Party (which is not a party at all.). They dumped cases of tea into the Boston Harbor in Massachusetts to rebel against the taxes filed against them.

1774

• The British Parliament created the Intolerable Acts Act as a punishment for the Colonists. The Continental Congress met up at the Carpenter's Hall in September 1774. They were there for one sole purpose; to make a Declaration of Rights.

1775

• This was the year that the infamous Revolutionary War started. It was April 19th, 1775. It had all started with the Battle of Lexington and Concord. In May, the Second Congress met in Philadelphia. The Second Congress kept meeting until 1781. At that time,  the Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.

1776

• Thomas Paine published Common Sense in January. In June, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. 

1777

• British soldiers occupied Philadelphia from September 1777 to June 1778. Many American prisoners died. The Second Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, after a very long debate.

1778

• Benjamin Franklin had the United States and France become allies.

1783

• In March, the articles accepted years ago went into affect.

1786

• Shay's Rebellion occurred during this year. 

1787

• The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17th, 1787.

info taken from: http://www.theconstitutional.com/field-trips/timeline-road-nationhood

Magna Carta Vocabulary

Magna Carta Vocabulary List

These words listed below are words I cannot define by looking at context clues. Excuse me for my rather small vocabulary understanding for my grade.

Liegemen

A vassal who owes feudal service to a nobleman.

Bailiff

A person who performs actions under (legal) authority.

Chattels

A personal item or personal property.

Scutage

A medieval English tax.

Disseisin

Wrongful removement of a person from their own property.

Ecclesiastical

Relating to the Christian Church.

Kydell

Another version of spelling "kiddle".

Bailiwicks

Someone's particular interests.

Definition Credits

http://www.dictionary.com/

Why The Magna Carta Was Signed

Why The Magna Carta Was Signed

To give a simpler explanation, I've made a few paragraphs here

 for information to  why the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.

     Richard, the King of England at the time, fought wars in the Middle East and France. He taxed the English people to fund for his war supplies. The taxes were not slim at all; they were huge. In 1199, Richard died. His brother John became king after his relative passed away.

     John, now the new King of England, continued his brother's wars. He fought in France, but he kept losing them. He needed more money than ever before, so his government taxed the English people even more than last time. He continued ravaging these peoples' pockets for war. 

     The people became extremely unhappy about the large taxes. They went to King John, and rebelled. The English were absolutely furious, and they took over London. They then forced King John to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter). The Magna Carta was the very first document to state that the king had to follow laws.

TL;DR: The Magna Carta was signed by King John, 

who was forced to sign it by the people of London.

info taken from here

My Personal Coat of Arms

My Personal Coat of Arms

I've already explained what a coat of arms is in my other post, so I'll move on.

For my personal coat of arms, I drew a fox. The fox is a symbol of wisdom, wit, and wisdom for the person's own defense. As for the color, I did the color\white. The color white stands for cleanliness, wisdom, joy, peace, and innocence.

 &

Kaitlyn/1st Child

• Is pretty intelligent
• Cares about cleanliness and personal hygiene 
• Wants peace and usually goes for peaceful decisions instead of violent decisions (but will resort to violence if necessary)

img creds: http://www.familytreesandcrests.com/heraldry-symbols.htm