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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Oct 24, 2008 9:37:05 GMT -5
Thread Orientation: With this thread we can exchange recipes for cooking food.
Yes thats right - I mean recipes for cooking food! 0_0 Not anything related to medical prescriptions and envolving donkey dung or what have you. I think when it comes down to it, writing an enenuru thread can sometimes be alot of work and a big strain on the faculties - it can possibly lead to complete mental exhaustion! Therefore, to ensure posting continues at an impressive pace, and the Mesopotamian obscurity is ever more deeply penetrated, I have begun the Enenuru Recipe of the Day/Month/Year thread: Because eating good food can keep the work going! The Special this time is: _____________________________ Frank Soup _________________ Ah - hoho oui oui, I use my Mystic Steamy Spoon, hau hau o_0 So Frank - or Sheshki, the dub-sar, has sent me an easy recipe since he knows I can't cook. In fact this was the first time I have cooked something that did not come out of a box or a can and I have to say with 2 hours and 45 minutes in the kitchen, I found it very challenging! But if I can increase my posting capacity with this Frank Soup it will all be worth it. I will now go in to a list of ingredients which are necessary: The Ingredients/ Potatoes Damn! So much work to peel potatoes! __________________ Carrots Damn! Also, so much work to peal carrots...arg... _________________ Peas(Thank god these came in a can) __________________ ChickenI added chicken to the recipe, which is an extra - optional. __________________ MushroomsThis is the second time I have intentionally eaten mushrooms in my life. My vision became blurry at the prospect. _______________ ButterFrank says to use "real butter" a substance I had not encountered before 0_0 _______________ ParsleyWhew. Choping parley - WORK! arg. ________________ GarlicSmooshing Garlic - most work of all. So tired now.... So we have potatoes, carrots, peas, chicken, mushrooms, butter, parsley and garlic. In addition, Chicken broth, as well as the water itself are important. Some spices to be added at the discression are also recommended. Making the Soup/ To start with I put 2 liters (8 cups) of water in a large pot and heating on medium heat. First I put the vegetables which need alot of time, the potatoes and carrots and peas in. Potatoes, carrots, peas Next as the water was approaching boil, I added chicken, mushooms, garlic. I let it boil together for about 15 mins, towards the end of which I added spices and the butter. As per Frank's instruction I added parsley to the soup on the plate itself: Soup boiling. Frank Soup a. Frank Soup b. And so that is Frank soup. It was much labor and I found it took me 2 hrs 45 mins, and then after eating it was exhausted and feell asleep for 9 hours - I was only supposed to get 4 hrs last night!! So I lost posting time. But will try and work it back. So who else has a enenuru recpie?? We need posting food! Final Result/ Cook time: It took me 2 hours 45 mins from start to finish Energy gained to post at Enenuru: 8 out of 10 energy bars Gas inducing: Yes Side effects: Drowsiness (from the labor) Taste: 'Not bad for first time cooking soup' Final Score: 8 out of 10 steamy spoons Stay tuned: next time, we try Mesopotamian cusine. Maybe some barley porridge? Eating gruel like it was 4000 BC = mmm
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Post by sheshki on Oct 24, 2008 12:31:28 GMT -5
i knew u make something out of this bill, your potatoes look like peeled with a machete, and , man, what is that leaf in the "frank soup a" picture? looks like bay leaf...if so, that is defnitly not part of the recipie! normal cooking time should be around 30 mins...maybe less...depends on how organized and skilled you are...but hey, 165 minits is a time to beat! here is a sample picture, but i think i made carrot soup here, but anyway, its almost the same as the "frank"soup... 1: my potatoe peeler...good one, flexible blade 2: the potatoes 3: cutted garlic 4: cutted onions 5: this time i used chicken soup with chickenmeat inside... and here is, tadaaaa, the soup. look bill, those small green things, thats the parsley i wonder how big urs was...
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Oct 24, 2008 12:52:14 GMT -5
Oh! Those are some very finely cut veggies there man! And that parsley: definitively miniscule! Du bist die Meister Frank ehehehe. Who can make a soup like Frank? Or go Canadian style, we like our parsley big I think.
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Post by phaewryn on Nov 1, 2008 0:22:51 GMT -5
BUHAHahahahaha! 2 hours?! OK, here's mad crazy inside tip.... save lots of time/effort. Don't bother washing potatoes. Don't bother peeling potatoes. Chop potatoes, throw in pot, BOIL (about 3-5 minutes). While potatoes boil, wash carrots with warm/hot water in sink to remove as much dirt as you can. CHOP (don't bother peeling). Set them aside. Potatoes will be clean/sanitized by now, so, pour whole pot of potatoes/water through colander (it's one of those metal things with holes in it that lets the water drain though but holds the big stuff). Rinse pot to remove dirt. Put potatoes back in pot, add water as before. Dump carrots in pot. Turn on heat, add the rest of the ingredients as you get them chopped up, starting with the most crunchy ingredient (like onion). Cook till carrots are not crunchy anymore. DONE. There's really no reason to peel potatoes or carrots. People do it cause it's what they've been told is "the right way". There is NO SKIN on a carrot, the darker part on the outside is exactly as the part on the inside, just darker cause it's been exposed to dirt/heat/water, etc in the ground.
Oh, and canned peas are already over-cooked from the can, always add them last in recipes. A food processor makes quick work of garlic and parsley. Dump it in, turn it on, turn it off, done!
I have another really easy beginner recipe you might want to try! Chicken and dumplings!
Indredients: raw chicken with skin on it (what anatomy, how much, etc, not important at all)
two packages of "chicken", "creamy chicken" or "chicken and mushroom" flavor ramen noodles
one can of CHEAP canned biscuits. (get the generic ones, from the refrigerator section, usually close to the eggs, butter, etc)
pepper
parsley (just a little, dried works fine too, no need to chop, it comes in a jar in the spice aisle)
Directions:
Cut as much of the chicken off the bones as you can, or buy de-boned chicken, but make sure it HAS SKIN. Throw it in a pot, add water (about an inch over all the chicken). You can throw the bones in too, but then you'll have to fish them out later, (I recommend it, for the flavor, but it's a pain to fish out the bones later). Open the ramen noodles. Take out the seasoning packets. Add the ramen seasoning packets from both ramen noodle packs to the water in your pot. Throw the noodles in the trash (they only cost like $ 0.20). Cover and boil on medium to medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, adding more water if needed, to keep the water level over all the chicken. Just go peek at it every 5 minutes or so, you can chat in between. Uncover, and add parsley, stir in. Dig out any bones, if you threw them in. Open can of biscuits (the kind that come uncooked, in a cardboard tube with metal caps on either end, that you peel open and it goes "POP". Take one biscuit, and pinch off a tiny piece of the dough. Drop dough wad in pot. Watch it for a few seconds, see how big it gets (it grows as it cooks). Adjust the size of your pinches so that the cooked dumplings are reasonable (use common sense). Continue to do so until the biscuit is gone. Stir gently. Repeat with another biscuit, until you have as many dumplings as you want and it's fairly full, and you're having trouble finding places to drop the dough in without hitting other dumplings in the process. Let boil for about 3 minutes. DONE. Add pepper to taste. Don't tell anyone it's ramen noodle seasoning and canned biscuits, they will never know! Optionally, to make it fancier/healthier, you can add chopped celery (and even diced carrots, if you want) at the beginning, with the chicken/water.
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Post by phaewryn on Nov 1, 2008 0:25:45 GMT -5
Dig out any bones, if you threw them in. I forgot, dig out any chunks of skin at this point too, they add flavor while it's boiling, but should be removed after that point.
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Post by ummia-inim-gina on Nov 1, 2008 12:46:50 GMT -5
YOS II 25
twenty-five recipes: 21 (kinds of) meat broth and 4 (kinds of) vegetable (broths)
1(1) Meat broth. meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ], (2) meshed leek and garlic and a corresponding amount of raw šuhutinnu.
2 (3) Assyrian style. Meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ], garlic, (4) and zurumu with ... blood (?), and (mashed) leek and garlic. It is ready to serve.
3 (5) Red broth (?). Fresh meat is not used. prepare water; add fat [ ] (6) salt [as desired, cake crumbs (?)], intestines or stomach; (7) onion, samidu; cumin; coriander; and mashed leek and garlic [ ]. (8) Soak the meat in the reserved blood, and assemble all the ingredients in a pot.
4 (9) Clear broth (?). meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ], milk (?); (10) cypress (?) as desired, and mashed leek and garlic. It is ready to serve.
5 (11) Venison broth. Other meat is not used. prepare water; add fat (12) some crushed dodder, salt to taste; cake crumbs (?) [ ]; (13) onion, samidu; cumin (?), coriander (?); leek; garlic; and zumumu [ ]. (14) Soak the meat in the reserved blood. assemble all the ingredients in a pot.
6 (15) Gazelle broth. Other meat is not used. prepare water; add fat (16) salt to taste; onion; samidu; leek and garlic [ ]
7 (17) Kid broth. singe head, legs and tail. Other meat is used. (18) prepare water; add fat onion; samidu; leek and garlic, bound with blood [ ]; (19) mashed (?) kisimmu. Then a corresponding amount of raw šuhutinnu
8 (20) Bitter broth (?) meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ]; milk; cypress [ ]; (21) onion; samidu; leek; garlic; zurumu. Bring to a boil, remove the cooked meat; (22) and stir leeks, garlic, šuhutinnu, and mint into the broth in the pot; then add (?) zurumu.
9 Broth with crumbs (?). meat is used. (there is probably an error by the copier here who writes "meat is not used.") prepare water; add fat [ ], šuhutinnu; coriander; (24) salt to taste; leek and garlic. Crush and sift spiced grain cakes, (25) sprinkle into the pot before removing it from the fire.
10 (26) Zamzaganu. Scatter cut-up pieces of meat in a kettle and cook. clean some baru and to the kettle. (27) Before removing from the fire, strain the cooking liquid and stir in mashed leek and garlic, and a corresponding amount of raw šuhutunnu.
11 (28) Dodder broth. Not fresh meat but rather "salted" meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ], (29) some crushed dodder; onion, samidu, coriander; cumin, leek and garlic. (30) With the pot resting on the heat, the broth is ready to serve.
12 (31) Lamb broth. other meat is used. prepare water; add fat; salt to taste; (32) cake crumbs (?), onion, samidu, Also add some milk and some mashed [ ]
13 (33) Ram broth (?) Other meat is not used. prepare water; add fat; some [ ]; (34) dodder as desired; salt to taste; onion, samidu [ ]; (35) coriander; leek and garlic. put the pot on the stove (36) and, after removing it, mash in kisimmu. It is ready to serve.
14 (37) Bidsud (?) broth. other meat is not used. prepare water; add fat [ ], (38) dill; crushed dodder; onion; samidu; cumin [ ]; leek and garlic. (39) Bound with blood. It is ready to serve.
15 (40) Spleen broth. Other meat is used. prepare water; add fat [ ], (41) Scatter pieces of "salted" stomach and spleen in the cooking vessel and add milk to it. (42) Some crushed dodder; cake crumbs, (?), salt to taste; onion; samidu [ ]; (43) bits of roasted qailatu-dough šuhutinnu; high-quality mint; mashed leek and onions, bound (?) with blood. (44) it is ready to serve.
16 (45) Elamite broth. Meat is used. prepare water; add fat; dill; šuhutinnu; (46) leek and garlic, bound (?) with blood; a corresponding amount of kisimmu; and more garlic. (49) (before using). soak these herbs in milk. It is ready to serve.
17 (47) Amursanu-pigeon broth. split the pigeon in two; (other) meat is also use. prepare water; add fat; (51) salt to taste; bead crumbs; (?); onion, samidu; leek and garlic, mashed with kisimmu.
18 (50) Leg of Mutton broth. (?). With fresh meat from the leg of mutton. Other meat is also used. prepare water; add fat; (51) salt to taste; onion; samidu; leek and garlic, mashed with kisimmu.
19 (52) Halazzu broth. Meat is used; prepare water; add fat;salt to taste; onion, samidu; (53) leek and garlic, mashed with kisimmu. Crush the corolla (?) of some of the cultivated plant called halazzu, (54) Assemble all of the ingredients in a pot.
20 (55) Salted broth. Leg of Mutton (?), but no (other) meat is used. prepare water; add fat; (56) dodder as desired; salt to taste; cypress; onion, samidu; cumin; coriander; (57) leek and garlic, mashed with kisimmu. It is ready to serve.
21 (58) Francolin broth. Fresh leg of Mutton is also used (?). prepare water; add fat. Trim the francolins, (59) add salt to taste; cake crumbs (?); onion; simidu, leek and garlic mashed with milk (?). (60) Once the francolins have been cut up, put them into the broth in the pot, but they should first be cooked in the kettle [ ]. (61). Then return them to the pot. It is ready to serve.
22 (62) Tuh'u beet broth. Lamb meat is used (?). prepare water; add fat. Peel the vegetables. Add salt; beer; onion; (63) arugula; coriander; samidu; cumin, and the beets. Assemble all the ingredients in the cooking vessel (64) and add mashed leeks and garlic. Sprinkle the cooked mixture with coriander, and šuhutinnu.
23 (65) Kanasu broth. Leg of mutton (?) is used. prepare water; add fat [ ]; (66) samidu; coriander; cumin, and kanashu. Assemble all the ingredients in the cooking vessel, and sprinkle with crushed garlic. (67). The blend into the pot šuhutinnu and mint [ ].
24 Hirshu broth. Leg of mutton (?) and "salted" meat is used. prepare water; add fat; [ ] (69) onion; arugula, the best chopped coriander. and hirshu [ ]. (70) Assemble all the ingredients in the pot, and sprinkle leeks and coriander on top. It is ready to serve.
25 (71) Garden turnips broth. Meat is not used. prepare water; add fat [ ]; (72) onion; arugula; coriander and cake crumbs (?). bound with blood; (73) add mashed leeks and garlic [ ] (?).
(74) 21 Meat broths (75) 4 vegetable broths
"The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia" by Jean Bottero, The University of Chicago Press, 2004
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Nov 2, 2008 19:14:26 GMT -5
Phae: Thanks for recipe! This sounds like lots of fun and will see what I can do I think Chicken Dumpling soup is within my abilities hmm. Might even beat my old cooking time and maybe not fall asleep of exhaustion after 0_0 Ummia: Nice addition man THANKS I love this post - Bottero`s cooking recipie`s alright! This is just pure fun, Ive challenged 3 people to make Pigeon Broth since I read this this morning hehehe. Its just obnoxious and intrigueing at the same time. I smell an enenuru challenge of the month 0_0 Who got a pellot gun!!
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Nov 11, 2008 21:46:56 GMT -5
The Special This Time Is: ______________________ POTATOES mit BUTTER _________________ Yes thats right - Potatoes with butter! This time my friend Frank has noted my long suffering over the soup - 2 hr 45 mins. and has challenged me to make something even easier. As it turns out this was a tasty dish and I almost served it with a side of porkchop (see pictures below). Of course, the potato cooking was not without it's challenges.. The Ingredients/ Potatoes 5 roommates make for alot dishes... well..Their not all mine!! 0_0 _______________________ Butter I have used again real butter - seems like it can keep 2-3 weeks Making the Potatoes - How to/ - Wait for Roommate to do some dishes: That's my roommate and friend Ben. More orderly than me I guess I admit hm. _________________________ - Brandish new Potatoe peeler: It's actually Ben's but it did the trick nicely. Maybe even worked well! _________________________ - Peel/slice Potatoes: Whew! That was still a fair amount of work. But, not as bad as when I made the soup and peeled with a knife.. _________________________ - Boil Potatoes: Ben's friend um.. Leslie? Im not sure her name 0_0.. stepped in for me as it actually took longer to cook these than I thought it would! _________________________ - Butter and Spice potatoes: Yes! Finally cooked - buttering potatoes is important, and also I added some salt, pepper and parsley to increase visual impression. _________________________ - Don't drop the porkchop on the floor: Ack! dammit. OH well they were taking to long anyway! _________________________ End Result/ Cook time: It took me 1 and 1 half hours from start to finish Energy gained to post at Enenuru: 7 out of 10 energy bars Gas inducing: No Side effects: Drowsiness (from the labor) Taste: 'Tasty! ' Final Score: 8 out of 10 spuds Overall impression: Mmm - Potatoes mit Butter were good! The whole operation was not too arduous although I did have some help along the way. Good call Frank And next time, very exciting, very exciting, enenuru takes on a Mesopotamian mystery broth - Yeahaw! 0_0
Still to come... Mesopotamian Mystery Broth.
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Post by sheshki on Nov 12, 2008 20:11:24 GMT -5
haha, thats great! all you need now is such a stylish white cook hat btw, traditionally we eat liversausage with potatoes and butter. and quark, which contains pepper, salt, onion and maybe garlic. i made this for my friends from california who visited me and they loved it well, they loved all german food
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Post by amarsin on Nov 25, 2008 14:11:11 GMT -5
While in grad school, some friends of mine and I made a whole Mesopotamian mean. Eventually (and I'm not sure how/why this happened) the whole thing was written up in the popular-ish (but, it seems, now defunct) archaeology journal Archaeology Odyssey, from the Jan/Feb 2006 issue. I've cut-and-pasted it here:
A Mesopotamian Feast Ancient Recipes for Modern Cooks By Adam Maskevich
Mesopotamia (as everyone who writes about it is required to state) is a land of firsts: the first cities, the first writing ... and the first cookbooks. Apparently, the Mesopotamians included cooking among the arts of civilization. Along with commemorations of royal deeds and epics of their gods, they saw fit to inscribe the first-known recipes onto clay tablets around 1700 B.C.E., during what is known as the Old Babylonian Period.
Today these tablets are housed at Yale University and provide a fascinating glimpse of the culinary practices of almost four millennia ago. For a graduate student in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University who loves to cook, the tablets present a rare opportunity to get inside not just the mind, but the palate, of the people I study. Some of my fellow graduate students and I recently decided to go on a gastronomical adventure.
As all good scholars do, we started with the primary sources: descriptions of meals written by the Mesopotamians themselves. These are found in a book called Textes Culinaires Mésopotamiens by the great scholar and gourmand Jean Bottéro. In his book Bottéro provides translations of the Old Babylonian recipes recorded on the Yale tablets.
Somewhat surprisingly, many of the most frequently mentioned ingredients—mint, cilantro, coriander and cumin —are still staples in many kitchens today. This continuity is nicely illustrated by the fact that the word for cumin in Akkadian (a Semitic language used by both the Babylonians and the Assyrians) is kumunu, from which our word “cumin” derives.
One of the most daunting challenges we faced was that we simply don’t know the meanings of many words, particularly those that referred to ingredients used in the recipes. This problem became especially apparent when we attempted to identify the numerous alliums used in ancient Mesopotamian cuisine. Alliums are piquant bulbs—such as onions, scallions, leeks and garlic—found in cuisines around the world and throughout history. Lacking ingredients like chilies (a New World crop) or ginger (which served a similar purpose in late-Medieval European cuisine) to perk up their food, the ancient Mesopotamians relied heavily on various types of onions to give the foods they ate a kick. Such varieties as leeks (karašu) and garlic (šūmū) we can be fairly sure of, but others, such as šuhutinnû and samidu, we can only guess at. Virtually all of the recipes call for at least four different alliums.
In the end, we had to rely on a combination of scholarship and intuition to fill in the gaps in our understanding of Mesopotamian gastronomy. For instance, an articled titled “The Philadelphia Onion Archive” by the Assyriologist I.J. Gelb, dealing with cuneiform tablets housed at the University of Pennsylvania, was quite helpful. These late-third-millennium B.C.E. tablets helped us to identify some (but by no means all) of the alliums, as well as to understand what role they might have played in the ancient Mesopotamian economy. We also relied on our intuition, as does any cook worth his or her salt, and found ourselves saying things like, “Mmm, this tastes good, and there’s no reason why the Mesopotamians couldn’t have used this kind of onion.”
Many of the recipes’ ingredients, including types of birds, vegetables and spices, were equally elusive. The meanings of most of these words have been simply lost to time, and it would take other avenues of research to fill up our Mesopotamian plate.
One of these methods was based on ethnoarchaeology, the study of present-day cultures to illuminate how people in the past lived. In the case of 4,000-year-old recipes, this can be quite difficult, but we were able to find some echoes of ancient cuisine among the culinary traditions of the modern Middle East. We came up with the dessert course, a crucial part of any meal, this way. While looking through a Middle Eastern cookbook, we found a recipe for a dish called a’amoul. This consisted of a pastry made with butter, flour and milk and then stuffed with a paste made of crushed dates. Interestingly, this sounded almost exactly like a sweet mentioned in the cuneiform texts called mirsu, which is often found in reference to offerings to deities. With the exception of wheat flour, for which we exchanged the ubiquitous Mesopotamian staple, barley flour, all of the ingredients meshed perfectly with what we know about the ancient diet from archaeological and textual sources. Besides being authentic, this dessert also happened to be quite tasty, maybe even fit for a god.
As the evening of our Mesopotamian feast drew near, it was time to synthesize our research and experimentation and transform it into dinner. My main challenge as both scholar and chef was to recreate the ancient recipes as faithfully as possible, while at the same time making something that modern diners would enjoy. To slavishly follow an original recipe by including ingredients that wouldn’t be particularly pleasant for today’s palates (spleen, blood, or salted entrails, for instance) might be technically accurate, but certainly wouldn’t convey to us the gustatory pleasure experienced by the ancient Mesopotamians! Compounding our problems was the fact that some parts of the tablets were damaged, resulting in the loss of words, phrases and sometimes whole sections of a recipe.
In the end, we decided that we could produce the most accurate and most enjoyable dishes by choosing one or two recipes to use as guides, relying on others to help us fill in anything that wasn’t clear regarding ingredients or techniques. Our main dish was mê puhadi, or lamb stew (literally, “lamb water”). This is a fairly straightforward recipe, in which lamb is simmered in water with mashed onions, leeks and garlic, and then thickened with fresh bread crumbs. Though not specifically indicated in this particular recipe, we decided to grill the lamb over a charcoal fire first, which is an instruction given in another recipe for cooking a young goat. This decision was also based on many of our own experiences working in the Middle East, where a smoky, charred flavor is prized in dishes from lamb to eggplant—another example of the use of ethnoarchaeology. Also, to the cooking liquid we added cumin and coriander, two spices that are called for in most of the other recipes. In this way we were able to create a dish firmly rooted in the textual evidence.
The other recipe that we decided to make was the very last one inscribed on the first tablet: laptu erisetim, or as Bottéro translated it, “garden-variety turnips.” This tasty recipe also included the ubiquitous mashed onion, leeks and garlic, as well as what Bottéro identified as arugula. Luckily, we had arugula growing in our garden. The recipe also called for blood, which we (not surprisingly) decided to omit. This braised dish turned out to be one of the surprise hits of the evening. To all of this we added fresh bread from a local Middle Eastern grocery store and, of course, the true staff of life for ancient Mesopotamians: beer. When the appointed evening finally arrived, the house was filled with the rich aroma of stewing lamb and the excited chatter of scholars about to see the final results of all of their research. The guests (whose invitations had been written in cuneiform on clay tablets) sat themselves down, beer and wine (an expensive import in ancient Mesopotamia) began to flow, and for a little while we savored the past.
***
The article also included the recipes of the stuff we did-- here's one:
Lamb Stew Serves 4 1½ lbs. lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes ½ to 1 Tbsp. light (not dark) extra virgin sesame oil (available at Middle Eastern grocery stores) or a neutral oil (such as canola oil) plus a few drops of dark sesame oil salt 1 leek, halved, thinly sliced, and well rinsed to remove grit 1 onion, sliced 2 scallions (both white and green parts), sliced 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 tsp. dried dill 1 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. ground cumin chopped cilantro and mint
Coat the lamb with oil and lightly salt. Thread the cubes of lamb onto a skewer and grill until browned. This can also be done under a broiler or on the stove, but the taste won’t be the same.
Put the lamb, leek, onion, scallions, garlic, dill, coriander and cumin into a baking dish with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bake at 325 degrees for 1½ to 2 hours or until the lamb is very tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.
***
It was an interesting evening, to say the least. But the food was good!
Serve with chopped cilantro and mint to taste.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Nov 26, 2008 12:21:17 GMT -5
Amarsin: Wow - this is wonderful reading! Thanks very much for sharing - I should have suspected that a fellow who helped bring back the Mesopotamian kitchen to the modern realization would indeed have tried a Assyrian broth or two heh. I can hardly purport to challenge you and your colleagues on matter culinary, however reading this experience and research is fascinating as I also celebrate it with my, admitedly less savory, effort. Particularly I enjoyed reading some analysis of the Alliums (onions etc) the Mesopoamians relied on for flavor and wonder why I didnt crush more garlic? 0_0 Naomi: Thanks very much for your contribution - barbeque sauce and sweet potatoe pie? Sounds very interesting, kind of a local speciality maybe! A puzzle for the senses and the festive occasion I think ;] Maybe deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwichs for dessert?
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Nov 26, 2008 22:29:13 GMT -5
The Special this time is _____________________________ Tuh'u beet broth [/color][/size][/center] ______________________________ The moment of culinary truth is upon us - with this addition to the "Enenuru Recipe of the Day/Month/Year" thread, we exit the world of modern culinary risk and enter the world of ancient culinary risk. In what I'm calling an "experiment in applied Assyriology", I have this week attempted to create (with assistance from Frank and my weary room-mate Ben) an authentic Assyrian Broth: I have this week tasted history, for the first time in four thou- oh. Uh I guess there was Bottero. And then that team of Assyriologist's with impeccable chefery (see Amarsin above.) Well I did make it on a Monday, so it was definitely the first time this week! (that I ate Tuh'u beet broth). Victims: Before getting started, I would like to mention my taste testers, all of which could have died during this experiment, yet with generally bemused or puzzled countenances, endured their danger perhaps nobly. Their verdict was unanimous and is represented at the end of this thread in the "end results" section. ____________________________ ____________________ The Ingredients/ As seen above in reply #6, Ummia has supplied us with Bottero's translated instructions: 22 (62) Tuh'u beet broth. Lamb meat is used (?). prepare water; add fat. Peel the vegetables. Add salt; beer; onion; (63) arugula; coriander; samidu; cumin, and the beets. Assemble all the ingredients in the cooking vessel (64) and add mashed leeks and garlic. Sprinkle the cooked mixture with coriander, and šuhutinnu.
Beets, Leeks, Coriander [ (I, like a lush garden, like a pure garden, carried abundant greenery..) ___________________________ Arugula (I'm told "Arugula" may also be the name of a Orc leader in the game "World of Warcraft") ___________________________ Onion (Cried for 10 mins..) ___________________________ Lamb (Yuck. This one wont be following Mary to school anymore thats for sure 0_0) ___________________________ Fat or Lamb Fat (mmm pure lamb fat. I may go on a diet after this.) ___________________________ Not pictured above: Garlic, Beer, Salt.. Making the Broth - How to!- Boil the Fat in the water for approx. 2 hours (After two hours water will seem frothy and a bit gross.) ________________________ - Chop all the relevant items (Arugula, Coriander, Onions, Lamb, Beets etc.) (This step seemed to take hours. I almost feel asleep after chopping the meat 0_0)
________________________ - Skim excess fat from water, add hard vegetables and meat (The beets give an interesting color: I may need to try a blood broth next time!)
________________________ - After 20 mins or so, if hard vegetables and meat are cooked, add the Garlic, salt, beer, coriander and arugula for flavor. If you still don't taste much, inserting the remainder of the leg of lamb for flavor is optional: ((Yuck again. It was a last resort to induce flavor - and waving a whole limb about seemed Mesopotamian enough! )
End Result: ________________________________
Cook time: It took me six hours from start to finish Energy gained to post at Enenuru: 1 out of 10 energy bars Gas inducing: Yes Side effects: Drowsiness (from the labor) Taste: 'Tastes kind of basic..' Final Score: 3 out of 10 little lambies
________________________________ Overall Impressions: I would say the Tuh'u Beet Broth was a really challenge to cook - all those ingredients.. It was definitely a learning experience encountering all those strange 'Alliums' as they call them in the professional domain (or in other words Onions, Garlic and Leeks etc. see above.) In retrospect I may have gone a bit light on the Garlic as even after throwing the leg in the pot, it was 3 out of 10 little lambies. But we got a taste of history - bring on the spleen broth! muhhehheh ______________________________ Still to come..... ASSYRIAN SPLEEN BROTH!
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Post by oipteaapdoce on Nov 29, 2008 1:54:29 GMT -5
This is an awesome thread. 6 hours!?! Well at least it soaks in a lot of flavor when cooking it that long . When I try this one I think I'll cheat and get pre-chopped up lamb, and uh maybe less pure lamb fat. You wouldn't have any idea what samidu or šuhutinnu are? I'll just have the emergency 10 spice pack pre-made and handy just in case it really is only a 3 out of 10 and guests are over. Athena
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david
dubĝal (scribes assistent)
Posts: 43
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Post by david on Dec 3, 2008 20:39:36 GMT -5
I like this thread, would anyone happen to have any recipies for deserts, particularly ones involving dates?.
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Post by oipteaapdoce on Dec 4, 2008 13:38:49 GMT -5
I like this thread, would anyone happen to have any recipies for deserts, particularly ones involving dates?. Yes I do . You take some dates... almonds cashews walnuts cranberries raisons figs some more dates currents honey molasses Jeigermeister (optional but it really does add very good flavor to this) Put it all into a food processor and blend until smooth. Then you can put it into the fridge to harden it. You have to get the right amount of honey and molasses so that it's not too runny. It's also favored for offerings . ------- Btw, I received the Bottero book yesterday, and can't wait to try out a few old recipes. Athena
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Post by ummia-inim-gina on Dec 4, 2008 15:04:06 GMT -5
Bottero on date cake:
"Before the Yale culinary tablets were discovered, we had only two recipes in our possession: one that had been restored indirectly, the other explicitly. The first, which concerns a "cake" called mersu in Akkadian, is not actually developed as a recipe anywhere; but we can easily gather a few scattered, lexicographical or economic details of it which enable us more or less to reconstruct its formula. The term mersu etymologically refers to a sort of "mixing" (marasu) of a flour that has been soaked in a liquid; the end product is justifiably called "bread". According to the various, more explicit Sumerian equivalents, the liquid used in the mixture could be water (a); milk (ga); beer (kaš) or oil (i), even "clarified butter" (i-nun). Our "indirect sources" (primarily delivery notices of the type illustrated above), add a certain number of complementary elements to this basic operation. Thus in Mari, notably:
(Received) liters of dates and 10 liters of pistachios, for making mersu. Meal of the king, the 14th of the month of Kiskissu, of the year that followed the seizing of Ašlakka by King Zimri-Lim.
The last three lines show how the documents were dated then, as there was no universal era for chronological reference. We learn through such partial notices that in Mari, at least, the task of preparing mersu was often conferred upon a specialist (epišat mersi: "maker of mersu"), which no doubt possessed a secrete technique for making it. We are also informed of large pots (diqaru) were used for mixing, and that to enhance the flavor and richness of the dish's various complementary elements - dates, pistachios (see above), dried figs, raisins, apples (?), or condiments such as nigella (?), cumin (?); coriander (?), and even something that to our palates seem somewhat unlikely, garlic - Incorporated into the duly blended flour mixture. Once the mixture was cooked - we know none of the specifics concerning the way of how long it was cooked - it could be presented as something like a cake."
"The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia" by Jean Bottero, The University of Chicago Press, 2004
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david
dubĝal (scribes assistent)
Posts: 43
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Post by david on Dec 4, 2008 20:22:01 GMT -5
Thanks both of you for that info, I'm definitely going to try those recipies out, and hope you enjoy that book (it's one I want to get as I love cooking).
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Feb 17, 2009 4:07:10 GMT -5
The Special this time is: ______________________________
McDonald's
______________________________ I know what your thinking. "The special this time is McDonalds?? What???" Yes. Yes, it is McDonalds, but, there is a perfectly rational explanation for that. Here it is: I want to be a cuneiform monk. My life has led me to this conclusion in the most irritatingly slow yet reassuringly consistent manner - hardly bred to walk amongst the worlds intellectual elite I have nevertheless disdained conventional society since I first stepped foot on the school playground; my only hope of fitting into this dubious existence lies in pure and unabashed eccentricity. Basically, a true eccentric not only establishes their own mode of existence and methods of interpreting that existence, not only wraps themselves in a sort of innate feeling of self-contentment, but feigns surprise when their oddity is observed, or, in extreme cases, that surprise is real. I have been a little nutty and had in December periods of uncontrollable moodiness at work, where my mind sometimes works against me in the middle of the night. I started dreaming I must become a cuneiform monk, and let go of all earthly want - I must stop working so much! I am now working 2 days a week and am a good way towards pious poverty as I am now: - - - - - - - - - BROKE ASS - - - - - - - - - So blowing $50 on ingredients for Mesopotamian broth isn't as likely at the moment. I actually can afford to go grocery shopping, however as today was Canada's most irritating holiday, "Family Day", all the stores were closed forcing me to adhere to one of our national sterotypes and eat donuts all day (coffee shops stay open.) Donuts just make you hungrier somehow, so Frank gave me a great recipe for Family Day Rice which I will include below...somehow I didn't make it though! ACK 0_0 eventually, I was so spent from writing long mails like this one all day to a small horde of people (half of which will respond), that I ran out of energy and rushed to the nearest McDonalds figuring it would be just as good if I take a picture of the McDonalds food.. and here we go: NICE. Cuneiform monk poverty: Check. Cuneiform monk excellence: pending. Dammit! 0_0 Frank's Family Day Rice
HERBST9: boil rice...ad some insant broth to it...maybe a teaspoon full or two...and salt and a bayleaf HERBST9: then fry the cutted onion til its brown...in butter would be nice....but oil will work too HERBST9 (5:21:34 PM): then put rice on teller and add ketchup and onions
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Post by sheshki on Feb 17, 2009 6:18:05 GMT -5
Bah....mc stupid.....i hate that....stuff, that looks like something to eat. just horrible...how can you eat such a crap....cooking that rice and frying that onion takes 10-15 mins and then ur fine....as a cuneiform monk you should include healthy nutrition to your daily life. Not such crap! Seriously Billy...
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Apr 21, 2009 8:44:53 GMT -5
- - Soon to come - - LEAK SOUP FRIDAY HERBST9 (6:36:06 AM): well HERBST9 (6:36:12 AM): you need HERBST9 (6:36:46 AM): some leek HERBST9 (6:36:48 AM): oh HERBST9 (6:36:52 AM): i just see its leek not leak HERBST9 (6:38:10 AM): so u need 2 or 3 leeks, an onion, 2 oe 3 carrots, 2 or 4 garlictoes, a piece of celery HERBST9 (6:38:41 AM): we have stuff called soupgreen here...its a bundle of pieces of leek, carrots, celery and parsley HERBST9 (6:38:48 AM): oh HERBST9 (6:38:48 AM): and HERBST9 (6:39:01 AM): u need 2 or 3 potatoes dvldeedz (6:39:21 AM): hmm HERBST9 (6:39:26 AM): and that instant soup stuff HERBST9 (6:39:40 AM): and a small sharp knife HERBST9 (6:40:13 AM): cut everything into small pieces....garlic and onions into very small ones, leek into discs...know what i mean dvldeedz (6:40:22 AM): yep HERBST9 (6:40:35 AM): also potatoes into small parts... HERBST9 (6:40:42 AM): put it into a topf HERBST9 (6:41:01 AM): add water, add instant soup till it tastes good HERBST9 (6:41:03 AM): boil dvldeedz (6:41:03 AM): topf = bowl? HERBST9 (6:41:08 AM): pot dvldeedz (6:41:14 AM): right HERBST9 (6:41:37 AM): oh and HERBST9 (6:41:39 AM): of course HERBST9 (6:41:45 AM): a bit butter HERBST9 (6:41:57 AM): u can add that into pot or on plate HERBST9 (6:42:22 AM): i also add sour cream like stuff to my plate HERBST9 (6:42:26 AM): and a bit of parsley HERBST9 (6:43:26 AM): i also added a bit of kümmel HERBST9 (6:43:30 AM): not too much HERBST9 (6:43:50 AM): caraway
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Post by sheshki on Apr 22, 2009 5:22:07 GMT -5
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Post by sheshki on Apr 22, 2009 17:07:24 GMT -5
There is also booze made of caraway seeds, and oil for babybelly that hurts.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Apr 28, 2009 12:25:59 GMT -5
The Special this time is: _____________________________ Leek Soup _________________ Welllllll - I looks like I'm running late (not surprising in itself) because it has turned out to be "Leek Soup Monday" and not "Leek Soup Friday" as previously promised! 0_0 Well, it's another fine soup masterminded by our very own Frank (Sheshki) and you all know what that means - Yes, I get to break out my MYSTIC STEAMY SPOON again..! Ah - hoho oui oui, I use my Mystic Steamy Spoon, hau hau o_0 This soup was surely a good suggestion as it was the first time I've really been able to apply my growing culinary skills since the Tuh'u Beet Broth experiment (which so over-taxed me that I have been in a slump ever since: forced to eat fast food and drink to much coffee for months..) Luckily, the leek soup was fairly easy to make, with the exception of chopping the vegetables etc. as you will see... On with the Ingredients! Rabbit food
HERBST9 (6:36:06 AM): well HERBST9 (6:36:12 AM): you need
2 leeks It was about this stage in my cutting of the leeks that my Roommates friends decided to have their party in another room - ah the aroma - I love you leeks.________________ 1 onionBig damn onion. Eyes watered - Combined with the thick poignancy of leek, I was sure cooking up a smell! ;D ;D ________________ 2 or 3 carrotsYES!! Those carrots were super thin! 500 experience points - I am now progressing to chef skill level 3!
________________ 2 or 3 potatoesThese sliced potatoes were squarer then an elite philologist - unstoppable 0_0 ________________ In addition, I forgot or else forgot to photograph the following ingredients: - parsley - a piece of celery - caraway - butter - Broth - 2 or 4 garlictoes Making Leek Soup - How to Making the Leek soup is simple - as you can see in the ingredients photos above, STEP 1, is to chop each individual ingredient into the right size. STEP 2: Empty ingredients into the pot - the vegetables (Leeks, Onion, potato, carrot, garlic, celery) and the butter. Whew - that was ALOT of work chopping...______________________ STEP 3: Fill pot full of ingredients with water, bring to boil and continue boiling for approx. 20 mins (until vegetables cooked). Broth and spices should be added as boil is completing. Looks a little like "Frank soup" come to think of it... ______________________ STEP 4: Remove from heat and serve - parsley should be added to the bowl directly. Here I have added a Canadian secret to the otherwise Germanic seeming dish - I call it "chunky style" parsley. Chunkier then ever! Thin parsley eaters just wouldn't understand.. Cook time: It took me 2 hours from start to finish Energy gained to post at Enenuru: 8 out of 10 energy bars Gas inducing: HOLY COW - Let me just say, that I wish I was inclined in the right direction - I could have known space travel.. *sigh* Side effects: Room clearing. Taste: 'Tasty! Though I did forget half the ingredients.' Final Score: 8 out of 10 smelly leeks Overall impression: Mmm - Leek Soup was good! The whole operation has gained me a level in my chef cookery - and further more, I almost knew space travel - lastly I crashed a party with my smelly leeks, forcing the gathering into an entirely different room. Muahahah. Good call Frank! Still to come... Level 3 chef cookery
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Post by sheshki on Apr 28, 2009 14:18:38 GMT -5
Very nice Bill, sous-chef apprentice. And look, how well all is chopped. Ok you forgot butter, and you know what i think of cooking without butter....,but all in all it looks like your cooking skills did raise. Did you secretly practice somewhere without telling us?
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Post by sheshki on Apr 29, 2009 13:12:33 GMT -5
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alvean
dubsartur (junior scribe)
Posts: 19
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Post by alvean on May 8, 2009 14:50:50 GMT -5
Base per Risotto o Risotto alla Parmigiana This is a basic "risotto" and it does not have a decise taste, but a genlty one. Mushrooms, potatoes, vegetables... many things can be added inside, but it's also good with nothing I use for this receipe a rice called "vialone nano" (rare) that is ready in ten minutes. It can be substitued with Carnaroli Rice (more easy to find). No basmati, no venus, no chinese rice because they don't keep the right consistency. Explanations on photos. Buon appetito! Alvean
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Post by sheshki on May 8, 2009 15:57:20 GMT -5
Hey, very nice post. I should look if i can find such rice anywhere. I normally use basmati. Damn, now im hungry... oh, reminds me , i taught my son(11) how to make tomatoe salad today. I helped him with the spices, he did the cutting. He didnt like the onion cutting part. But he did a good job.
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alvean
dubsartur (junior scribe)
Posts: 19
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Post by alvean on May 21, 2009 8:01:45 GMT -5
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Post by sheshki on May 21, 2009 8:18:35 GMT -5
I must try that one. Too bad stores are closed today. Well, tomorrow then.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on May 24, 2009 18:01:24 GMT -5
Silvia: Wow! This "UOVA ALLA MONEGASCA" presentation is wonderful - very nicely done! You make it look easier then It's probably going to be for me, but thats because your a much better cook hehe. I love your Italian phraseology and if I don't totally destroy the dish when I make it I will try and remember "bon apiteto" as well hmm... I'm having a friend on Wednesday to try the Rizzoli dish - maybe I'll try and make the Uova in the morning as a side. Sounds exhausting - but fun nonetheless. Will take pictures hehe.
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