I have started reading a quadrilogy that a friend has turned me onto. It concerns an EMP incident that affects electronics worldwide. I will get into the book more after I finish reading them and give a comment on each book. Suffice it to say for now that there is a wee bit of farcical fantasy in the storyline.

Wicca is mentioned heavily in this book and one item that has caught my eye in particular is what is referred to as "The Eternal Stew".

An "Eternal Stew" consists of a large stew pot kept simmering over a fire at all times. As it is consumed, additional meat and vegetables, sauce(s), and water is added so that it is always ready to be consumed and refrigeration is not needed because it is kept heated and is constantly being recycled/replenished.

I would think that I would prepare enough rice, pasta noodles, cornbread, or other things to pour the stew over at mealtimes and it would be available at all times for a mid-afternoon snack, MidRats, etc.

What expertise on this custom is here at ETS, as I would like to know a few specifics about the "Eternal Stew"!!!!

If it starts with Dies the Fire by S.M. Sterling, I've read the first four books. I will not provide any spoilers except that the fifth in the series starts the next generation. I haven't read it yet.

Hi Wildman800,

Concerning the "Eternal Stew" idea I have some experience.

I have been to many hunt camps or logging camps where the eternal stew (or it is often soup) is kept going and it is usually terrific.

But,

My lifetime best friend worked at a very run-down farm when we were in high school, the farm wife was not much of a housekeeper (I am being polite) and her husband had a good paying shift-work job off the farm, so he often came home at odd hours. In the farm house at the rear of the woodstove there was always a pot of stew and the contents varied depending on what was put in that day. The husband would often miss regular meal times so he ate this stew and was just as often sick with food poisoning; the problem was that it was not kept hot enough or just the general sanitation in the residence was bad.

My friend would always bring his lunch with him to the farm and would eat in the barn with the livestock, it was cleaner.

Later,

Mike

I read Dies the Fire...not bad. All the blessed mother stuff got old after a bit though.... I do wanna finish the series despite the short comings of the 1st book.

Especially the "Alien" cause of the EMP and Gunpowder failures. That's a bit too far out for me and would be a direct violation of "The Prime Directive" as issued by the "Council of Worlds"!

I am enjoying the story though.

What exactly are the books in this quadrilogy? I like Sci-Fi fantasy books (along with most other books) and would like to find these for myself

The three apparently out of the five written/being written are:

Dies The Fire A Meeting At Corvallis The Protector's War

by S. M. Stirling

I don't know the names of the 4th book or the 5th book that is still being written.

i heard of the eternal stew at a Renn Faire last year, though I'm sure the lady called it something else, can't remember what though.
No rules or specific ingredients; just toss in whatever you've got at hand when it stew starts to get thin. I'd advise always adding ingredients to one side of the pot and serving from the other, to ensure that what you served was cooked. It's a great idea if you're running an inn, but in a survival situation, I think it would be more economical to cook food as it's needed, rather than keeping the pot simmering constantly, as the latter would consume a lot more fuel.

Original Series
Dies the Fire
The Protector's War
A Meeting at Corvallis

2nd generation
The Sunrise Lands - published September 2007
The Scourge of God - to be published Sep(?) 2008
The Sword of the Lady - to be published 2009(?)
The High King

I spend the last weeks re-reading Stirling's books, including the Nantucket serie... finished the Oceans of Eternity this evening, in fact.
And I discovered one hour ago, that Stirling was born in Metz,
France, just like me (but I then lived there for 35 years).

I'm about to order "The Sunrise Lands".
Do you know if there is any sequel to that Nantucket serie ??

Sterling web page

thanks !

Or as Frenchy would say within the four walls of his home:
Mercee' beaucoup por la langiappe!!!!!

for the something extra,,,,,,,,,a Cajun Frech expression meaning a little something extra at no charge

Baen Free Library

If you're looking for good series check out the Dahak, Honor Harrington, Legacy of the Alldenata, Lt. Leary, March Upcountry, Starfire, and Vorkosigan Saga series (sp? what's the plural of series)

If you can find a copy, At All Cost by David Weber has a CD with a lot of his works in various formats. Baen has done this a couple of times with his works along with several other authors.

Ah !?! live and learn !

I can't find from which french word/expression this is coming from ....

Thanks again. I didn't have this site in my Favorits...
I will have to check some of these books.

I've heard of the "Eternal Coffee Pot" at different offices where I've worked, but not the eternal stew.

When I was in the Boy Scouts we had a camp event where everyone would bring in a can of soup. The cans would be collected, added together, water added for the condensed ones and cooked for dinner. Strangely enough, it always turned out well. Then again, I didn't have a discriminating palate when I was a teenager.

Sounds like a good series. I do love the "alternate history" stories and presently working on book 9 of Turtledove's series on the American Wars: How Few Remain, American Front, Walk Through Hell, Breakthroughs, Blood and Iron, The Center Will Not Hold, The Victorious Opposition, Return Engagement, Drive to the East, The Grapple, In at the Death...

The Nantucket series books by S. M. Stirling are some great reading. I have all three of them. The guy has done a great job with them. I think any person with a survivalist interest would like these books.

The character with the machine shop is based on a guy who is a regular on a list that I read - Only Machine shop that WAS on Nantucket. A year or 2 back, he got fed up with the cost of living, and moved to Maine