You can bet your AZTEC this food was good...?

There's a good chance that you had dinner with one of the three sisters tonight, and we're not talking about the Kardashians.

The Aztecs along with other Central American civilizations relied heavily on maize, squash and beans (The Three Sisters). After the Spanish conquistadors reached the New World these key ingredients crossed the oceans to cast their nourishing spell over the masses.

It can be argued that corn has changed the world more so than any other food. The Aztec used to make tortillas and eventually their cuisine evolved enough for us to have Burritos!! Today you can find maize in everything from candy to hamburgers (corn = cow food, too).

Maize combined with beans and squash made up the core of a healthy diet for a people who didn't have many meat options. The Mexicas (Aztecs) included many other things like chillies, tomatoes, limes, cashews, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and of course chocolate. They domesticated dogs, ducks, bees for honey and turkeys for meat and eggs. They hunted and fished as well, using animals such as deer, rabbits, iguana, fish and shrimp for food.  Even insects, such as grasshoppers and worms, were harvested.  However, These various types of meat made up only a very minor part of the Aztec diet.

Speaking of chocolate (more appropriatly, chocolatl), it might have been one of the Aztec's greatest gifts to the world. The cocoa bean was highly treasured in the Aztec Empire. In fact, the bean was used as a currency AND drink. The "hot chocolate" they made is completely different from what we know today. Instead of sugar, they added peppers, cornmeal and spices. 

Let's give it a try! 

AZTEC "HOT CHOCOLATE"

-1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2/3 cup boiling water
-ground pepper of chilies to taste

Grate the unsweetened chocolate into a bowl and cover it with a little of the boiling water. Mash the mixture into a paste. Add the rest of the water and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the pepper and chilies to liven up the drink. 

Warning! The chocolate will not totally dissolve and will have a grittiness to it.

For the last night of our project, we ventured to Felipe's get a taste of something that used to be real Mexican. It was so good you'd give your life to Quetzalcoatl for a bite... maybe. 

You say Guotie, I say Pot Stickers.

Almost every single cuisine culture throughout time has had their own take on the dumpling. Italian has tortellini, Latin American has empanadas and Chinese has JIAOZI!

The signature dish of the Chinese New Years, jiaozi comes in three different types:

1. Shuijiao, water (boiled) dumplings

2. Zhengjiao, steamed dumplings

3. Guotie, "pan stick" dumplings... but we know and love them as Pot Stickers!

(There is also an egg dumpling, but it does not fall under jiaozi.)

Originating in Northern China, guotie is said to date back four millennia. However, it is first mentioned in literature during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 CE) when author said guotie was good for the soul. :)

It is true that rice was the first grain cultivated and was one of the most predominate foods in China, it did not grow everywhere. Due to the low temperatures and dry land in the North, the ancient peoples relied mainly on millet, wheat, and soghum. From wheat we get dough, from dough we get guotie and from guotie we get warm, happy bellies.

Luckily for the Chinese, they were blessed with lots of interesting and full-bodied flavors. They had lemons, oranges, peaches, apricots, ginger and anise to work with. Domesticated animals were around, but because meat was so expensive and Buddhists are vegetarians it didn't start showing up regularly until the Sung Dynasty. Instead they made due with tofu and bead curd.

We were not able to prepare guotie, but we did find a yummy looking recipe...

PORK GUOTIE

-4 1/2 cups flour
-9 oz lean boneless pork, minced
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-5 tsp rice wine
-1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
-1 tsp salt, or to taste
-3 1/2 oz hotbed leeks
-3 1/2 oz sesame oil
-1 tsp flour mixed with 2 tbsp water

1. Mix the pork with the soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and salt. Stir in one direction, adding 5 oz (150 ml) of water, a little at a time until the pork becomes sticky. Add the leeks and sesame oil and blend well, and divide into 60 portions. Set aside.

2. Stir 7 oz of water into the flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let rest for 30 minutes. Roll into a long cylinder and cut into 60 portions. Flatten each piece and roll into a circle about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Place 1 portion of the filling on each circle and fold over. Pinch tightly to seal the edges and form a squat bonnet-shaped pouch. Repeat until all the dough and filling are used.

3. Arrange the pouches in a large pan. Heat to moderately hot, then add water to cover the pouches one-third of the way up. Cover the pan and cook over high heat until the water is almost absorbed. Trickle the flour-water mixture around the pouches. Cover the pan and saute over low heat until the flour forms a crisp film that link the dumplings together. Sprinkle the dumplings with a little sesame oil, cover again, and saute until the pouches are browned on the bottom. Remove with a spatula and serve. Saute and serve the dumplings in batches.

Oh! And don't forget the dipping sauce! Just whisk together some soy sauce, rice vinegar and (if you'd like) chilled oil and some minced ginger.

 

The gods ate ambrosia. And the morals? Not so much.

What comes to mind when we think of Greek food? Maybe yummy gyros or a crisp "Greek" salad? Wrong! Most foods that we typically think of as "Greek" come from a larger tradition of Ottoman cuisine. In fact, most Ancient Greeks only ate meat when it was being slaughtered for public sacrifice, and no one would have lay eyes on a tomato until about 1540 CE!

So let us tell you what the Hellenes really ate...

Their diet might seem "healthy" today, but really it was just a product of general poverty. It focused on olive oil, bread, fish, and veggies.

We chose to do a fish and fritter meal...

COD WITH CORIANDER
-2 tbsp of coriander seeds
-1 tsp salt
-2 cod steaks
-white wine vinegar


Preheat the oven in 375 F. Place the coriander seeds in a baking pan and bake them for 10 minutes. Mash them with a mortar together with the salt. Drain the fish steaks and remove any tiny bones you can find. Sift them with the coriander mixture and place them in a baking pan (baste the baking pan with oil). Cover the pan and place it in the oven. Bake the fish for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with vinegar and serve hot. 


We weren't joking about their skimp nosh. Needless to say, we now know why either of us have never eaten cod... it's terrible! You'd think coriander would have a ton of flavor given that it flowers cilantro (the Spanish name for the plant), but the fish was very bland. About the most exciting dish that went down in Ancient Greece was the Spartans' "black broth"... a soup made partly with blood. 

HONEY AND SESAME FRITTERS
-1 cup flour
-1 cup water
-2 tbsp honey
-oil for frying
-1 tbsp baked sesame seeds

Mix flour, water and one spoon of honey and make a dough. Heat oil in a frying pan and pour ¼ of the mixture. When it thickens turn it upside down 2 -3 times to fry it in both sides. Prepare 3 more fritters following the given instructions. Serve them hot, pour over the rest of the honey and dredge sesame seeds over them.


With no sugar around, honey was their one and only sweetener. The fritters were a step up from the fish, but nothing extraordinary. 


All in all, our Ancient Greek foodventure was an EPIC fail! But don't feel too bad for the Hellenes, they compensated for their gastronomic austerity by being total oenophiles!!!

Getting down with Bacchus, nbd.

Rome Wasn't Fed in a Day!

"If you're striving for world domination, you should probably eat healthy and often." -Ryan Seiter


These wise words stand as true today as they did a week ago when I said them...and even more true around 115 C.E., the height of the Roman Empire. 


There were four meals throughout the Empire's history: 
Ientaculum- breakfast
Prandium- light, cold lunch for the wealthy
Cena- afternoon meal, but later moved back to be evening meal
Vesperna- evening meal until it was eliminated after Cena became larger and more diverse


Ientaculum was not very important to most Romans, and was often consumed around noon (my kind of schedule). It typically included things like bread, wine, cheese and fruit and usually wasn't a family meal. The Roman upper class often had more options like eggs, honey, and milk. 


The Roman upper class got all of their business obligations out of the way early in the day so they had plenty of time to visit the baths  ...

...and then make it home for Cena.

Cena usually started around 4pm and could last late into the night depending on the number of guests. For the rich, it was about impressing your guests with hospitality and diverse food. Greek culture greatly influenced the Roman upper class, which is where the three-course meal was derived. 

The meal was consumed in a triclinium (dining room) where everyone reclined on a special couch surrounding a round table in a horseshoe so that slaves could easily serve.

some Roman elite looking pretty comfortable

The list of typical dishes consumed at Cena is endless, and for the most part, includes items more expensive than my entire grocery budget. For this reason, we chose to cook a dish often consumed for Ientaculum.

OVA SPONGIA ex LACTE

Ingredients

3 tbsp honey
4 eggs
275 ml milk
25g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Twist of black pepper

Instructions

1.Beat eggs in olive oil and milk.

2. Heat more oil in frying pan, then add egg mixture when sizzling.

3. Stir around until it solidifies, or scrambles.

4. Pour honey and dice it up and mix it around, then add black pepper.

After cooking this dish, it seems that simplicity was key in world domination for the Roman Empire. Although the honey was a touch exclusively used by the upper class, Ova spongia ex lacte was a very standard dish eaten by most for Ientaculem. 

So next time you feel like cooking Roman cuisine for your parents....consider making some Ova Spongia for-um!!

Great Pyramids of Giza? More Like Great Pyramids of Can-I-Please-a Have Some More

We all know how to walk like an Egyptian, but how about eat like one? Well if your part of the 97% of the world who have no idea what Egyptians eat, it's ok...let us enlighten you.

Establishing their civilization along the banks of the Nile, the Ancient Egyptians set themselves up to eat very very well. The fertile soil provided by the Lady Nile, along with new innovative irrigation techniques, allowed them to cultivate basic crops like cereals, vegetables, and fruits. The most common items used in Egyptian Middle Kingdom cuisine were onions, different types of beans (i.e. lentils, chickpeas) and fruits served with some variety of cereal food. 

Egyptians as whole, were crazy about dates...and not the kind involving drive-in movies. Rich in sugar and protein, dates were significant to the diets of the poor lower class and the noble upper class. However, the nobles coated their dates with honey, a luxury good at the time, while the poor ate them as is. 

Since this diet led to imperial domination...of a very solid portion of Africa and Middle East, we decided we had to make something from this fascinating civilization. We decided to prepare Egytpian Koshary Pasta...along with Tiger Nut Sweets for dessert. Are y'all excited? Because I sphinx this dish is going to be quite tasty!!

Egyptian Koshary Pasta, a meatless dish which layers common grains (rice, lentils, and pasta) with a tomato-cinnamon flavored sauce. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups cooked penne pasta

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin , divided

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 cup cooked lentils

1 can (15 ounces)  crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon  Crushed Red Pepper

3 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups), optional*

mmm lentils

Instructions:

1. Combine rice and pasta; spoon into the bottom of a shallow serving platter. Keep warm.

2. Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Add cooked lentils and stir to combine. Spoon over rice and pasta.

3. Combine tomatoes, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in squash. Spoon tomato mixure over lentil layer. Partially stir tomato mixture into other layers, but do not completely combine all layers. If desired, prepare crisp-brown onions as directed below and add as a topping.

*Cook onions in large skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over high heat, stirring frequently, until brown and slightly crispy, about 10 minutes.

Tiger Nut Sweets, recipe from 1600 BCE.

 

Ingredients:

1cup of fresh dates

1t of cinnamon

1/2 cup of fresh ground walnuts 

small amount of warm honey 

dish full of fine ground almonds

Instructions:

1. Mix the dates with some water to paste 

2. Mix in cinnamon and kardemon seeds 

3. Kneed in the walnuts 

4. Form balls, spread with honey and cover in the ground almonds.