Wheat and Honey

fruitjuice

Cake: ½ cup honey 2 Tbsp butter 1 egg 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt ½ cup milk or nut milk ¾ cup cherries, pits removed ¾ cup chopped damson plums, pits removed ½ cup nuts, roughly chopped

Sauce: 1 cup cherry juice—I got cherry juice from pitting the cherries (add some water if you can't get a full cup) 2 tsp honey 1 Tbsp corn starch 1 Tbsp butter ½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325° degrees. Grease a square 9×9” baking dish.

Beat honey and butter until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Stir in cherries, plums, and chopped nuts. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and solid.

Make the sauce by combining cherry juice and honey in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with a bit of water to make a smooth liquid, then pour into the pan while stirring. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or until thick. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp butter and vanilla extract.

Pour the sauce over the baked cake and let sit while it cools, to soak in the sauce.

#bakingpowder #butter #cake #cherry #cornstarch #dessert #egg #fruitjuice #honey #milk #nut #nutmilk #plum #salt #vanilla #vegetarian #wheatflour

This is an ancient Roman dish.

Makes 2 servings.

½ cup farina (if you can't find plain farina, use unflavored cream of wheat or malt-o-meal) 1 cup water 1 Tbsp pine nuts 2 Tbsp blanched almonds 2 Tbsp raisins ¼ cup prune juice or grape juice dates figs extra nuts of desired variety

Simmer the juice over low heat until it is reduced to half. Set aside.

Over low heat, whisk together the farina and water. Add the pine nuts and almonds. Cook, stirring, until it reaches desired thickness. (I like it really thick and solid, some want it thinner.)

Stir the raisins and juice into the farina.

Mince the dates and figs, and crush the nuts. Serve in bowls with the fruit and nuts on top.

I got together with a friend to do some experimental Roman cooking.

The recipe we used interpreted apothermum as a pudding. I found a second recipe that considers it a sauce for meat. However, in the original text, apothermum is in the minced dishes chapter, not the sauce chapter. The two different translations are interesting. One recipe comes up with forcemeats, the other says nuts and fruit. (Latin is weird because isn't it all, “We're pretty sure this word means this” because there are no original speakers?)

Here are the recipes:

Pudding recipe

Spelt or Farina Pudding Apothermum

Boil spelt with Tor. pignolia nuts and peeled almonds1 [G.‑V. and] immersed in boiling water and washed with white clay so that they appear perfectly white, add raisins, flavor with condensed wine or raisin wine and serve it in a round dish with crushed2 nuts, fruit, bread or cake crumbs sprinkled over it.3

1 V. We peel almonds in the same manner; the white clay treatment is new to us.
G.‑V.: and — which is confusing.
2 The original: confractum — crushed, but what? G.‑V. pepper, for which there is neither authority nor reason. A wine sauce would go well with it or crushed fruit. List. and Goll. Breadcrumbs.
3 This is a perfectly good pudding — one of the very few desserts in Apicius. With a little sweetening (supplied probably by the condensed wine) and some grated lemon for flavor it is quite acceptable as a dessert.

For clarification, the blue text in the first recipe are extrapolations added to the recipe by the translator. The footnotes are also by the translator, and some refer to the text of a different translation.

Sauce recipe
To make Apothermum: Boil spelt with small nuts and blanched almonds. The almonds should previously been have been soaked in water with the chalk used as polish, so that they are perfectly white. To this add raisins and defritum or raisin wine. Sprinkle with ground pepper and serve in a bowl [with prepared forcemeats].

 Latin text:
10. Apothermum sic facies: alicam elixa nucleis et amygdalis depilatis et in aqua infusis et lotis ex creta argentaria, ut ad candorem pariter perducantur. cui ammiscebis uvam passam, caroenum vel passum, desuper ‹piper› confractum asparges et in boletari inferes.

As you see, the first recipe says that it's spelt or farina. Not sure where they're getting the farina bit, but, in my opinion, that would provide a way better texture than the boiled spelt berries that we tried the first time.

I looked up raisin wine to determine exactly what I needed to try for (because I don't use alcohol), and it's a sweet dessert wine. Defritum is a sweet syrup made by reducing grape juice (hence the translation into “condensed wine”).

I like that the second recipe says small nuts, which may not need to be pine nuts. Is “small nuts” the actual ancient Roman name for pine nuts? The translator for the first recipe seems obsessed with pine nuts because he specifies them pretty much anytime nuts are mentioned.

The nuts, fruit, bread or cake crumbs bit from the first recipe is hypothesized by the translator; so apparently no one really knows what the crushed stuff is that goes on the dish. I like the nuts/fruit idea.

I liked it. It is like eating fancied-up cream of wheat, which is basically exactly what it is.

#almond #breakfast #dairyfree #date #farina #fig #fruitjuice #grapejuice #historical #nuts #pinenut #prunejuice #pudding #raisin #vegan

1 pound beet roots ½ cup apple juice, or other fruit juice 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp minced chives 1 Tbsp minced mint 1 Tbsp minced thyme ½ tsp salt 2 cups, packed, chopped lettuce and beet greens

Scrub the beets and grate with a large-holed grater. Toss with the lettuce and greens. Combine the juice, olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with the beets and greens.

Serves 4.

#applejuice #beet #chive #dairyfree #fruitjuice #glutenfree #lettuce #mint #oliveoil #salad #salt #side #thyme #vegan

Crust:

½ cup flour ½ cup rolled oats ½ tsp salt ¼ cup cold butter, cubed 2 Tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Mix flour, oats, and salt. Cut in the butter until it's crumbly. Stir in the ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, then press together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze to make it harder.

Roll out the crust between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Press into a pie or tart pan. Prick bottom with a fork. Bake for 5 minutes, then let cool completely.

Filling:

¼ cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp flour 1 cup sour cream 1 Tbsp fruit juice 1/8 tsp ground cloves 3 cups of pears, cored and sliced thinly

Reduce oven to 350° F.

Combine flour, sugar, sour cream, fruit juice, and cloves. Mix well and spread most of it into the cooled crust, reserving about 1/3 cup. Lay pear slices over the cream, then spread the remaining cream on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is brown and cream is bubbling. Serve warm or cool.

#brownsugar #butter #clove #dessert #fruitjuice #oats #pear #pie #salt #sourcream #vegetarian #wheatflour

Duff:

2 eggs, separated ½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup butter ¼ cup cream cheese 2 cups plums, pitted and quartered 1 cup flour ½ tsp salt

Warm the egg whites in a double boiler with a bit of the brown sugar, whisking. When they are warm, remove from heat and beat until stiff peaks form.

Beat egg yolks and a bit of the brown sugar. Cream in the rest of the sugar, cream cheese, and butter. Stir in plums. Fold in the egg whites.

Fold flour and salt into plum mixture. Pour into a well-greased 1-quart mold or bowl, and tie waxed paper loosely over the mold, or cover with foil scrunched around the edges. This is to prevent water from dripping onto the pudding when it condenses on the lid of the steamer. Place mold in steamer and steam for 1 hour or until pudding tests done.

If you don't have a steamer, you can place the mold in a large pot with water. The pot needs to be large enough that the pudding mold doesn't stick out the top. If it floats, that's fine, if not, use something underneath to stabilize it and keep it off the bottom of the pot. Place a well-fitting lid on top of the pot.

When done, remove from steamer and let cool slightly. Loosen the edges of the pudding by running a knife between the pudding and the bowl. Turn out onto the serving plate.

Sauce:

½ cup water ¼ cup honey 2 Tbsp fruit juice (or other sweet, non-dairy drink) 2 tsp arrowroot powder 2 tsp water

Mix ½ cup water and honey in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Boil steadily for 5 minutes. Add fruit juice to taste. Reduce heat. In a cup, mix the arrowroot with 2 tsp water until smooth. Stir into the hot liquid. Increase heat to medium-high. Heat gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly as the sauce thickens. Remove from heat reaches a boil.

#arrowroot #brownsugar #butter #cake #creamcheese #dessert #egg #fruitjuice #honey #plum #salt #sauce #vegetarian #wheatflour

A classic and old-fashioned frosting that's thick and marshmallowy.

½ cup sugar ¼ cup corn syrup 2 Tbsp water 2 egg whites 1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan. Cover, heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Uncover and keep boiling rapidly until it reaches 242 on a candy thermometer, or it forms a firm ball which holds its shape until pressed when dropped in cold water.

As mixture boils, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour the hot syrup very slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add vanilla, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Variations

Cherry Nut: Stir in ¼ cup candied cherries and ½ cup chopped nuts.

Chocolate Revel: Stir in ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or 1 ounce of baking chocolate, coarsely grated.

Cocoa: sift ¼ cup cocoa over finished frosting and fold in.

Fruity: Use any fruit juice instead of water.

Honey: Use honey instead of corn syrup.

Lemon: Substitute 1 Tbsp lemon juice for the vanilla and beat in ¼ tsp lemon zest.

Maple Pecan: Stir ¼ tsp maple flavoring and ½ cup chopped pecans into Satiny Beige frosting (below).

Peppermint: stir in 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy, or ½ tsp peppermint extract.

Pineapple: Substitute 1 tsp lemon vest for the vanilla, and stir in 1 can (8 ounces) of crushed pineapple, drained.

Pink Mountain: Use maraschino cherry juice instead of water.

Raisin Nut: Stir in ¼ cup chopped raisins and ¼ cup finely chopped nuts.

Satiny Beige: Use packed brown sugar instead of of white sugar and use ½ tsp vanilla instead of 1 tsp

Tea: Use any kind of strongly brewed tea instead of water.

Tutti Frutti: Fold in chopped nuts and dried and candied fruits equal to ¼-½ cup.

#brownsugar #candiedfruit #chocolatechips #cocoa #cornsyrup #dairyfree #dessert #driedfruit #eggwhite #frosting #fruitjuice #glutenfree #honey #lemonjuice #lemonzest #nuts #pecan #pineapple #raisin #sugar #tea #vanilla #vegetarian

2 cups of apples, pears, stone fruits, and/or berries—fresh, canned, or frozen ¼ cup honey 1 ¼ cup water, fruit juice, or a combination 2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs ½ cup applesauce 1 ¾ cup flour 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt ¾ cup milk or nut milk ½ cup honey

Preheat oven to 350° F.

If using canned fruit, drain the liquid. Use the liquid to partially replace the water, if desired. Place fruit in a buttered 9×13” pan.

Place water in a small saucepan. Add ¼ cup honey to taste and stir in the 2 Tbsp flour. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Pour over the fruit and set in the oven.

Beat together eggs, applesauce, and ½ cup honey.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in 3 alterations with the milk to the egg mixture. Pour over the fruit and bake for 35-45 minutes.

#apple #applesauce #apricot #bakingpowder #blackberry #cake #cherry #cobbler #cranberry #dairyfree #dessert #egg #flour #fruit #fruitjuice #honey #milk #nutmilk #peach #pear #plum #raspberry #salt #strawberry #vegetarian

From Legend of Luke, these scones are meant to resemble the bricks from which the abbey is built.

1 cup flour 1 cup oats 1/8 tsp salt ¼ cup butter 2 Tbsp crystallized honey ½ cup chopped nuts ½ cup preserved cherries with juice, or fresh cherries, pitted and mashed, or cherry jam, or cherry pie filling allspice

Optional colorants: 1 Tbsp beet juice, or beet powder, or mashed red berries (strawberries, raspberries, cranberries), or berry juice

Preheat oven to 425 ° F.

Stir flour, oats, and salt into a bowl. Cut in butter and honey until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add nuts, cherries, and optional ingredients. Add a few tablespoons more juice if necessary to make a dough, but not too sticky.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead a little until it's cohesive. Place the dough on a baking sheet that is either greased or lined with parchment, and roll or press it into a rectangular shape. Cut it into smaller rectangles. Sprinkle allspice on top.

Bake for 10 minutes.

#allspice #beet #butter #cherry #cranberry #fairyfeast #fruitjuice #honey #jam #nuts #oats #raspberry #salt #scones #snack #strawberry #vegetarian #wheatflour