The Greeks

 

 

 

This week we studied the Ancient Greeks. So much history and culture to cover. My surname, Siracusa, is actually a Greek city-state in Sicily. My first name Dina derived from the Greek Name, Constantina-from the ruler Constantine. So, even though my family has always identified with our Sicilian/Italian roots, we probably have more Greek ancestors than anything else.

 

So, where do we even start with a country that has played such an  integral in civilization as we know it? Let's start with the basics. Ancient Greece is where we found the foundations of Philosophy, Poetry, Government, Architecture, and Mathematics.  

                                                                    

Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundational culture of Western Civilization. Greek culture was a powerful influence in the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe. Ancient Greek civilization has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe.

 

Citizens living in countries that employ democracy have Greece to thank, for Greeks pioneered beliefs in government by the people, trial by jury, and equality under the law. The ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, and comedy. In their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal of beauty that strongly influenced Western art. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cuisine of Greece is known throughout the world. It bears the fingerprints of many cultures that came into contact with Greece-Turkish, Roman, Middle Eastern. It was Archestratos in 320 B.C. who wrote the first cookbook in history. Greece has a culinary tradition of some 4,000 years. Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Mediterranean triad": wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common. This trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available.

 

This week, we cooked three dishes. Our first dish, Yemista, consists of baked tomatoes stuffed with rice, zucchini, dill, and mint. The juicy tomatoes were savory and delicious. The dill added a unique flavor which complimented the fresh vegetables and rice. Our second dish was a first for me. Octopus Stifado, whole octopus stewed in wine, tomatoes, vinegar, onion, and aromatic herbs. I must say, this was actually my favorite dish of all. The octopus was so tender and absorbed the wine and vinegar beautifully. Our final dish was a classic Santorini Style Shrimp. We simply baked the shrimp in garlic, wine, lemon, feta, and tomatoes. We finished with fresh flat leaf parsley and mint. It was light and delicious.

 

 

The Gauls

 

The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, present day France and Belgium, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish. Archaeologically, they were the bearers of the La Tène culture. In the 3rd century BC, the Gauls expanded towards the southeast in a series of invasions, including the Gallic Invasion of Greece, settling as far east as Anatolia, as the Galatians. They were conquered by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars in the 50s BC, and during the Roman period became assimilated into a Gallo-Roman culture. During the crisis of the third century, there was briefly a breakaway Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marcus Aurelius Marius, and Tetricus I.

 

                        

 

By the arrival of the Franks during the Migration Period (5th century), the Gaulish language had been replaced by Vulgar Latin. Gaulish culture developed out of the Celtic cultures over the first millennia BC. The Urnfield culture (c. 1300 BC – c. 750 BC) represents the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European-speaking people. The spread of iron working led to the Hallstatt culture in the 8th century BC; the Proto-Celtic may have been spoken around this time. The Greek, Phoenician, and Etruscan civilizations and colonies began to influence the Gauls especially in the Mediterranean area.

Why the Romans called the Celts in France “Gauls” has been debated, but never definitively explained. Caesar went further and called all the inhabitants of Gaul by that name, though some groups there had probably preceded the Celts and others (like scattered Germanic groups) come after them. By the time of his conquest, the culture of the Celts – including the Druidism they might themselves have adopted from Britain – was certainly dominant, but geography alone would have created strong distinctions between the various groups in France and quite possibly some had languages and traditions which have simply been lost along with most French Celtic history. While the Gauls themselves seem to have had at least rudimentary writing, the druids forbade the keeping of records; what we know comes from archeology and scattered classical writers whose accounts of the “Gauls” (or the “Keltoi”) may refer to any one of a number of groups and only fortuitously to the majority of Gaul's inhabitants.

                                   

 

Around 600 BCE, Greek Phocaeans founded Massalia (later Marseilles). Greek culture brought a number of influences to the Celts, though which exactly is often uncertain. The Gauls would later attack both Rome and Delphi and had had extensive contact with both Greek and Roman cultures by the time of the conquest. While Celtic culture remained distinct at that point, it already bore deep influences from such contacts. 

 

Caesar said the Gauls had been fierce but that “their proximity to the Province and knowledge of commodities from countries beyond the sea supplies to the Gauls many things tending to luxury as well as civilization.” Food and wine loomed large in such luxuries. Griddles and cauldrons were used for cooking; possibly small ovens too.   

 

                              

Roman writers commented on the Gauls' excessive love of meat. Though the druids were known for their worship of trees, the mistletoe ceremony was meant to protect pigs and cattle; a mistletoe potion was said to promote fertility in animals.

Some Gauls were said to use poisonous arrows (with hellebore) for hunting and to think it made the meat more tender. The Gauls had begun as hunters, but ate mainly domesticated animals in the centuries before the conquest.  

                     

 Sheep, cattle, and pigs were all farmed by the Gauls. They grew cereal crops like emmer wheat, spelt, bread wheat, barley and millet. They also grew peas, asparagus, beans, and lentils. Grain was stored in sealed underground pits, or in special granaries raised on stilts. They certainly made bread, and they also knew how to process grain and water to make alcahol.  Gaulish meals would very likely include roast or boiled meat of some kind, pork , beef or lamb. They often used to roast a whole pig on a spit.

The Romans found some Gallic pigs huge (some were described as “as dangerous as wolves”), but their own might have been very small; also the Gauls had both small and very long breeds. In general, Gallic swine were said to be the biggest and much exported to Italy. Supposedly the pigs got so fat in spring they could no longer walk. The Cisalpine Gauls (those settled in Italy) were said to call their foraging pigs with horns, each of the intermingled pigs recognizing its owner's horn. The Gauls made numerous pork products (charcuterie) which were exported to Rome.

                                      

This week we grilled rack of lamb chops over fire with white asparagus. We dressed the lamb very simply, only salt, pepper, rosemary, and a touch of olive oil. The white asparagus were cooked with olive oil, salt, pepper, butter, and parsley.

 

 

 

Ancient Egypt

 

This week we cooked Ancient Egypt. We started off with a very traditional appetizer or "Mezze" of Hummus with Tahini. Hummus is blended chickpeas with garlic, spices, and sesame tahini. It is usually eaten with pita. We served ours with falafel. Falafel are said to have originated in Egypt then spread to the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean then gradually to the rest of the Middle East. They are a very common street food in Egypt since they are easy to eat, keep you full, and very affordable.  These tasty balls made usually from chickpeas,  onions, parsley, garlic. Egyptian falafel are made slightly differently. They substitute yellow fava beans instead of chickpeas. We fried them in Grape seed Oil, which is also very traditional in Middle East. For dessert, we finished with Sesame Halva. This is a very milk, slightly sweet made from sesame and sugar.

 

 

 

Dalmatia

Dalmatia was an ancient Roman Provence encompassing much of present day Croatia, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Serbia. Much of Dalmatia was part of the Roman Empire, and during Medieval Times, the Republic of Venice controlled the region.

 

Dalmatia  has a unique history that has influenced its gastronomy. The Dalmatian coast is known for its fresh seafood and homemade pasta-influences from its neighbor across the Adriatic Sea, Italy
The  region, which encompasses the cities of Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik, is now a tourism hot spot. Croatian cuisine is extremely diverse, owing to multicultural influences from centuries of occupation.

                                  
Throughout Dalmatia, you will find green Tagliatelle with shrimp or other seafood on most menus. Tagliatelle, from the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut", is a traditional type of pasta from the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions of Italy. This week we cooked a specialty of Dalmatia-Zeleni Rezanci sa Plodovima mora which translates into "Green Noodles with Sea Fruits". Spinach Tagliatelle Pasta with Shrimp, Mussels, Clams, in Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil.

Ancient China

China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, dating back thousands of years with its continuous history. The Yangtze River is considered to be the 'cradle' of Chinese civilization. Ancient historical texts have provided some proof of the possible existence of the Xia Dynasty that existed even before the Shang Dynasty of 1700-1046BC. The first period in ancient China was the Neolithic Period, followed by the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty, and Western Zhou. The last time period considered to be included in the Ancient China time-period was Eastern Zhou. Imperial China followed Ancient China beginning with the Qin Dynasty. 

We cooked a very traditional Barbecue Pork Ribs dish with a Ginger Chili Garlic Spicy Black Bean sauce. We seared the ribs first in sesame oil then slowly braised them with fresh Ginger, Scallions, Red Chilies, Garlic, Star Anise, Chinese Five Spice, and Black Bean sauce for 4 hours. They were so tender and delicious! The entire house smelled amazing.

Here are some fun facts we learned about China this week.

 

The Xia Dynasty ruled from the 21st to 17th century BC. Its founder was Yu the Great. 

The Shang Dynasty ruled from the 17th century BC to 1046 BC. They ruled a lot of the area along the Yellow River. Its founder was Tang. 

The Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1046 to 256 BC. This was the longest ruling dynasty in China's history. 

The Western Zhou, the first part of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 1046 to 771 BC. Its founder was King Wu. 

The Eastern Zhou, the second part of the Zhou Dynasty ruled from 770 to 256 BC. 

 

 

The 'Peking Man' that was discovered in 1923-1927 is the most famous Homo erectus specimen of Paleolithic man in ancient China. 

Chinese people have been using chopsticks as utensils for more than 4,000 years. 

The last Emperor of China became the ruler when he was only three years old. His name was Puyi. 

Emperors in China have often used the dragon as their symbol as it signifies strength, power and good luck. 

Ancient Chinese were the first people to drink tea and its use was often medicinal. 

The first known Chinese calendar was called the Oracle Bone Calendar, dating back to 1200 BC. 

 

The earliest writing example of human writing that has been found was a scroll that was unearthed by archaeologists in 1969 near Feng To in China. It is called 'The Ancient Chinese Secret'. 

The Great Wall of China was built during the Chang Dynasty. The Emperor at the time was Tsu. 

The three main Chinese religions include Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. 

Giant pandas are considered to be a symbol of bravery and clout and have existed in China for as long as three million years. 

The royal physicians of Ancient China were not permitted to touch the emperor. This was forbidden. 

 

Natural barriers protected Ancient China from being invaded. These natural barriers include the Himalayas, the Yellow Sea and the Chinese Sea. 

Many ancient Chinese people referred to rivers as 'The Great Sorrow', because of the fact that they would flood the area around them and cause great destruction. 

There were more than 100,000 rivers in Ancient China. 

Bamboo strips were used by writers as paper in Ancient China before paper itself was invented. 

The Chinese were responsible for the invention of paper and for the science of printing. 

It was Chinese astronomers who first spotted Halley's Comet, in 240 BC. 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Chinese Music【31】Traditional【The Red Plum Blossoms】