[MR] FW: [sca-ae-cooks] Give me a recipe with humour

[JBRMM266 at aol.com]

A recipe with humour, or with humours (as in the four humours: Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatic, and Sanguine)?

I have a copy of "The Four Seasons of the House of Cerruti," which was originally a medical treatise, addressed not to physicians but to consumers, explaining the perceived benefits and hazards of different foods and drinks, and recommending in what combinations they should be eaten and who should and should not eat them.

It also contains recommendations for what they thought was a healthy lifestyle, including fabrics, exercises, and what rooms to occupy in what season.

Its author was an Arab physician who converted to Christianity. His background can be seen in the inclusion of the meat of camels in the list of foods.

It was originally written in Latin in a very straightforward and dull outline form. The translator has rendered it into a very readable English narrative.

The balance of humours was an important aspect of the book. Each season was related to one of the humours, which were also related to the four classic elements of earth, air, fire, and water.  The Mediaevals seemed to be fond of the number 4.

Your servant aye,
Donal Mac Ruiseart