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.