A Book on First Century Fare

April 29, 2012

I know that it has been quite some time since I have posted on this blog.  Quite frankly, my writing energies have been focused somewhere else.  With my friend, Joel Pugh, I have finished my book on first century food: The Food and Feasts of Jesus; Inside the World of First Century Fare.  The book is being published by Rowman and Littlefield and will be released on July 16.  Pre-release copies are already available, at discounted prices, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  For those still checking this blog, I hope you are able to get a copy of the book.  It contains fascinating information and lots of my first century recipes.

In all you do, keep the feast.

The First Century Kitchen

A Bowl of Lentil Soup

This is not quite the age of Wolf gas ranges and Sub-zero refrigerators. You have to imagine, no electricity, no gas, no self-cleaning anything. Except during the winter rainy season, a typical first-century family used their courtyard for cooking. Households typically had a brazier, or large curved metal plate for building a fire and cooking supper. The brazier was small enough that it was moved inside during bad weather. I love the idea that someone could walk down a first century street and smell everyone’s dinner being cooked in courtyards. In addition, most families had a bread oven, too. This was a domed-shaped oven with an opening in the front. A family member built a fire every morning and by the time the dough was ready to bake, the temperature was likely well over 500 degrees.

Cities had neighborhood bakeries where people could buy bread or bring their dough to be baked. Many Mediterranean area cities and villages continued this tradition until quite recently.

Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooks used a variety of tools to prepare their meals, including mixing bowls, pots, kettles, and casseroles for stewing, braising, boiling water and for deep-frying. Some of the cooking vessels had narrow opening on top to keep the water from evaporating and escaping during cooking. These pots were ideal for making soups, porridges and were used to cook beans and lentils. First century casseroles were similar to a ceramic Dutch oven. Baking dishes were common in the Italy and Greece and were beginning to appear in Middle Eastern kitchens during the lifetime of Jesus.

Most cooking vessels were pottery, though some of them, especially those used by wealthier families, were made of metals such as copper or bronze. We know that metal pans are much better conductors of heat than clay pots, but pots and pans made of materials like copper were very expensive, just as they are today, and were well beyond the means of the average family. Pans were made by professional potters and metal workers and were made to standard sizes, such as they are today.

The home cook at the time of Jesus also had griddles for frying breads and meats. Griddles were constructed of some type of metal such as iron or copper. They also used kitchen aids and utensils such as mixing bowls, mortars and pestles, funnels, cooking and serving spoons and knives that were used to assist them with food preparation. First century cooks also had standardized measuring spoons and cups!

Another Sabbath

Another picture from my catering days

We have been out of town for every weekend this month. The first week I went to our diocesan convention. Then there was a statewide youth retreat followed by a rush trip to the other side of Colorado so my son could audition for All-state choir. Because of these trips, we have not been able to sit down for a Sabbath meal since my last Sabbath entry. Last night we finally were in town and able to join the Feast.

It was good to cook a nice meal. It was even nicer because my wife Sally cleans the mess I make while in the kitchen, an arrangement we have followed for twenty years. We ate meat. I have not had a lot of meat since beginning my culinary journey to first century, though probably more than the average Mediterranean family. Just several weeks ago, I went to a “Steak and Stein” gathering at our church where a friend cooked me a steak. To enjoy such delights at a banquet as a guest was certainly characteristic of the time and I took full advantage of the treat.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, for you nourish us and the whole world with goodness, grace, kindness, and mercy. Blessed are you, Lord, for you nourish the whole Universe. This is the translation of an ancient Jewish blessing for the food at the Sabbath. It certainly seemed appropriate for our feast. We had beef that was cooked with onions and my friend Joel’s regional spice mix; asparagus cooked with olive oil, thyme and kosher salt; and steamed cracked wheat.

One piece of news: a friend has let me borrow her pizza stone. Mine is in storage. I will need a pizza stone to make my own pita bread. Until now, I have been using “store-bought” pita, which is permissible. Unlike small farming communities, like Nazareth, large cities had professional bakeries. Some had neighborhood ovens where residents would bring the bread to be baked. So it is OK to buy bread, but better to make it.

Shabbat Shalom!

Honey, Dear

I don’t know about most blogs, but this one is bring me a lot of fringe benefits. I have already received wonderful gifts. First, someone in town gave me a box of fresh figs. They were wonderful. I certainly miss the fig trees that friends had in Dallas. Then there is honey. I have received honey from three sources. Tom Greenley and his Bee’s Knees bee keeping business is supplying me with my local Pgosa Springs honey. It is excellent and I had several quarts; I now have one quart left. I hope it lasts through the winter. One theory is that eating local honey can help cure hay fever. It works the same way as allergy shots. The shots inject small amounts of the offending pollen into your body and eventually your immune system becomes used to it. Locally harvested honey is loaded with the offending pollen and daily consumption produces the same results. Let’s see, weekly injection or two tablespoons of honey every day? I am leaning toward the honey cure.

But there is more, honey that is. Bob Pohly, the friend who recommended that I use WordPress and helped me set up this blog, has a brother who is a beekeeper in Berthoud, Colorado. His brother John sent me a delicious jar of his honey. So did Kay Beatty’s son-in-law. Kay belongs to a sewing group that meets in our church. Her son-in-law has a farm in East Texas, near the town of Tyler, and keeps hives. All three of the honeys are distinct, yet each is very delicious. I may not get to drink coffee or eat sugar, but I do get to eat a lot of honey.

Honey was the primary sweetener in the ancient world. It was used for desserts, sweet breads and pastries. Honey was mixed with yogurt or fresh fruit to make a simple, sweet dessert. A little honey added to bread dough helped it to rise and gave the loaf a little sweetness. Several tablespoons of honey and a handful of raisins transformed the bread into dessert. Cakes had honey poured over them after they came out of the oven. Adding a little honey to a stew or other savory dish adds balance to the finished product.

I have been given yet another wonderful gift … lamb. A member of my church bought a whole butchered lamb and has given me several packages of the meat. You will be hearing more about lamb in later blogs. Another friend, Nancy Williams gave us a bowl full of delicious lamb meat balls. She left the recipe in the “comments” section of my blog site. The recipe includes several ingredients that were not available in the first century: Bisquick that can probably be replaced with regular flour and red peppers which can be deleted. You might use lemon zest instead of the lemon pepper, but use a little extra black pepper. Better yet, if you are not strictly following a first century Mediterranean diet, then I recommend that you leave the recipe exactly as Nancy developed it.

Lamb Meat Balls
 2 pounds of ground lamb
 1/2 of a small box of Bisquick
 2 garlic cloves, minced
 Herbs de Provence
 organic lemon pepper
 red pepper
 black pepper
 sea salt
 sage
 8oz of grated cheddar cheese
 1 small purple onion chopped
 3 celery stalks chopped

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Pinch roll into small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 until brown.

More Cheese, And Organic Farming

Yesterday was another cheesemaking day. Once again, I made a batch of fromage blanc, a spreadable creamy cheese that is simple to make. I made over two pounds of this cheese for around $3.50 which is significantly cheaper than the market. My next project will be a farmer’s cheese. For more information on home cheese making, you can google “cheese queen” or use this link: http://www.cheesemaking.com.

I do have some sad news. Our steady stream of fresh organically grown vegetables has closed for the winter. We are members of a community supported agriculture (CSA) program and the farm we support is called Chimney Rock Farm. We received a large box of vegetables and fruit every week during the summer. This is the type of program that all my readers should consider. Support of a CSA farm guarantees that small farms stay in business and that fresh, local organic fruits and vegetables are readily available to consumers that value them. I will especiall miss the fresh plums and apricots. Both were incredible. Like almost all businesses, Chimney Rock Farm has a web site: http://co.laplata.co.us/Employeeweb/wellness/csa/CSA.List.2008.pdf. Please search for the community supported farms in your area.

Speaking of incredible tasting fruit, I have been eating fruit and yogurt for breakfast almost every day. Try this:
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 teaspoons of honey
sliced fresh fruit (I suggest apricots, plums or whole grapes)
Garnish with roasted, sliced almonds or pomagranate seeds.
Instead of cheese, maybe I’ll make yogurt next time.

Happy feasting!

Thank You

I want to thank each and every one of you for visiting this blog. Somewhere between last night and this morning I received view number 1,000. I think that it is amazing that so many old and new friends are this interested in ancient food and my crazy intent to live on a first century diet. Please keep checking and responding and do share this blog site with your friends that love food and history.

The Olives Are Done … Almost

After twelve days of soaking my olives, ten pounds of them, and changing the water every day, they were ready to store in brine. There are several ways that olives can be processed. The ancient Romans were the first to use lye to soften and cure olives. Olives can also be salted and dried, another ancient technique. I am partial to olives that are brined and this technique is not that complicated. All these procedures for curing olives are still used today.

After soaking them in water for ten to twelve days and changing the water daily, your olives are ready for the next step. I store my olives in one-quart jars that are made for canning vegetables. To prepare for the brine: wash the jars, lids and seals in soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and then sterilize in boiling water. The jars are then ready.

The brine is simple: four cups of water, ¾ cup of red wine vinegar and five tablespoons of salt. Stir this mixture until the salt dissolves. Flavorings are then added to the brine and olives. I added one or two cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of dried thyme, a sprig of rosemary and two very thin slices of lemon to each quart of olives. Put the garlic and herbs in the bottom of the jar. Fill the jar about a third full and add one lemon slice and the other slice when the jar is two-thirds full. Finish filling the jar with olives and top off with the brine. Put the top and seal on the jar and then store in a refrigerator. Feel free to try other seasonings to your olives. One of my favorite combinations is a garlic clove, one or two Thai chilis, one teaspoon of ground cumin, one teaspoon of dry mustard or mustard seeds and a tablespoon of lemon zest. The chilies are not on this diet, but these olives are delicious. My olives will be ready to eat in four to six months.

In the first century, the vast majority of olives were pressed for their oil. Olive oil was not only the primary fat used for cooking, it was used as a fuel for lamps and as ingredient for cosmetics and medicines. By the time of Jesus, large screw presses were used to extract the oil. First the olives were crushed to a mash and the mash was then pressed. The remaining mash, called the lees, was used as fertilizer for fruit and olive trees and kept insects away from the fruit, a clever alternative to insecticides. Just as today, the mash was pressed several times to extract as much oil as possible.

You may never choose to process your own but I hope you do locate high quality Mediterranean style olives and add them your first century table. I certainly will.

Happy feasting!

Shabbat

Our friends' home in the mountains

I took two day off last week and escaped from Pagosa Springs. Some friends in the church are out of town and let us use their log house on the upper Blanco River. I arrived late Thursday and woke up Friday morning to a beautiful fall day. The surrounding peaks were all covered with fresh snow. The river is only twenty-five yards from the back door. I built a fire, gazed at the mountains and the water, and lost myself in the beauty.

The rest of the day I spent fly fishing and cooking. Yes, cooking. The Sabbath would begin at sundown. In the first century, the Sabbath feast was a time to join with friends and neighbors and eat a special meal. The law and tradition required no work on the Sabbath, but neighbors that brought food to share at the dinner were allowed to carry their empty dishes home after the feast. With a diet that was primarily vegetarian, the Sabbath was one of the occasions when fish and poultry were added to the menu. After a week of legumes, I wanted my special meal. So we celebrated the Sabbath on the banks of the Blanco River.

The Sabbath special was chicken braised in white wine. Instead of rice or potatoes — neither were part of the Mediterranean diet yet — we had bulgar and mushrooms. The side dishes were freshly picked leaf lettuce with oil, vinegar and feta cheese; pickled vegetables; and pita bread. It was a delightful feast in a wonderful place.

The Upper Blanco River

Shabbat Shalom!

Studying the Blanco River

TEMPTATION!

I have been eating first century cuisine for only three week, full time for nine days, and already I have had to fight back temptation. Last Sunday it reached a critical point. First, instead of doughnuts after church, we served ice cream sundaes. I love ice cream. I am especially fond of vanilla with fruit toppings and/or chocolate sauce. A little boy in the congregation, who was wearing a robe and told me he was dressed like Jesus, had chocolate on him from ear to ear. He told me that he was fixing his second bowl. I believed him and began to wonder, “Since this Jesus is eating ice cream, then why shouldn’t I consider it part of my first century cuisine?” I was strong and passed on the sundaes.

Later the same day, after the requisite Sunday afternoon nap, my wife and I went to see Julie & Julia. The movie was wonderfully fun. Julie was absolute correct when she commented that she loved braised cucumbers. I developed a recipe for them several years ago and will eat them as part of this diet (and will then share my recipe). They are wonderful. But back to my point: Sally bought a large bag of popcorn and a Diet Coke and proceeded to consume them both right in front of me! I know for a fact that Jesus did not face this kind of temptation.

Right now I am eating a first century lunch: olives, fresh dates, a small bunch of grapes and a piece of pita bread. Delicious! Even though I am not doing this to lose weight, you might be amused to know that I have already dropped six pounds.

Bon Appetit.

The Olives Are Here

Two days ago, UPS left ten pounds of manzanilla olives on our doorstep. The olives came from Penna Gourmet Olives in California (their web site is http://www.greatolives.com). Now comes the fun part. I plan to begin curing the olives tonight and will tell you more about the details of the process in the future.

Olives are naturally extremely bitter, so bitter that I wonder why anyone tried to eat them more than once. To cure them, I will have to break the skin, either by cutting each one with a knife or by bashing them with a cast iron skillet. Then I will soak the olives for weeks, changing the water every several days. Finally I will store them for months in a flavored brine.

In the first century, the vast majority of olives were pressed for their oil. Olive groves and presses existed all over ancient Israel and the Mediterranean region. Archaeologists believe that a major area of Greece was deforested so that olive trees could be planted. Their roots are not nearly as deep as other trees and the result was massive erosion. Even though some cultures liked the slightly bitter flavor of oil pressed from green olives, most farmers waited until the olives ripened and turned black. I suspect that the first olives cured for eating were the green ones that were harvested along with the ripe ones.

A Gift from UPS and Penna Olives

I have been eating well and though I have been tempted by modern and ethnic foods — my wife ate popcorn and drank a Diet Coke in front of me last night — I have not strayed from first century cuisine. Last night I had a light meal of fresh figs and apricots, flat bread and provolone cheese. No I did not make the provolone. Yes, ancient Romans and others were making and eating provolone.

Wish me luck with my olives!