Gladiator food shopping list

by Jrg Bellinghausen on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 12:44pm Here is a list of the main ingredients for the diet: Grains: wheat, spelt and barley, bought whole and ground to a coarse consistency (every organic food store has a grain mill) Legumes: white beans, red and brown lentils, chickpeas coarse bulgur (if time is short) canned beans, lentils and chickpeas Olives (the black ones with the stone still in) Olive oil onions garlic sea salt Thai sh sauce (as a substitute for Roman 'liquamen') freshly ground black pepper ground spices like cumin and coriander eggs (occasionally) soft cheese like Greek feta cheese (occasionally) hard cheese like Pecorino (as a seasoning) fresh and dried herbs: thyme, rosemary, lovage, mint, bay leaves coarse wheat our yeast Turkish pita bread (as close to Roman bread as it gets) fresh fruit like apples and grapes dried fruit like apricots, gs and dates almonds and nuts honey or 'defrutum' (apple or grape juice boiled down to a syrupy consistency) *addendum* cabbage, all kinds yellow turnips/ carrots radish leek zuccini mushrooms cucumbers asparagus

'Puls Africae' - millet and chickpea porridge

by Jrg Bellinghausen on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 12:50pm Here is one of my favorite 'puls' variations: 1 cup of millet 2 cups of water 1 large can of chickpeas 1 medium onion 2-3 cloves of garlic 1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme sea salt or Thai sh sauce freshly ground black pepper cumin, ground, to taste coriander, ground, to taste cilantro (optional) olive oil Peel the onions and cut into ne half or quarter rings, peel garlic and chop not too ne. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, pour the millet into a sieve and rinse as well. Heat a pot on medium to high heat. Add a very generous glug of olive oil ( I use a 'ooooone-twooooo-threeeee' count) and heat until it becomes fragrant. Add onions and fry until they start to brown, stirring frequently. Add garlic, fry for a bit longer then add the millet, stir thoroughly. Add water, chickpeas, thyme, season with salt and/or sh sauce, pepper, cumin and coriander (I use ca. 1 tsp. of each) and bring to the boil. Stir well, reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover and let cook on low heat until the millet has absorbed all the water (about 15 min.). Stir well, adjust seasoning if needed, turn of the heat, cover the pot again and let it stand for a couple of more minutes before serving. Sprinkle with some chopped cilantro (optional). Serve with 'moretum'. Anya de Voogd You can also cook the millet in water with a little bit of soy sauce, brown in the meantime onions and white beans and when the millet absorbed the water and soy sauce you mix it all... very jummy! Fast Food, but tasty and lling :)

'Moretum' - Roman cheese spread

by Jrg Bellinghausen on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 1:14pm A staple. Eat it with puls or with some homemade bread for breakfast 1 lbs. of feta cheese (please use real feta made from sheep or sheep and/or goat milk) 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed a bit of old Pecorino cheese, freshly ground white wine or apple cider vinegar olive oil herbs Crumble the feta into a bowl, add garlic and pecorino, vinegar and oil (I use 1 or 2 tsp vinegar and 1 tblsp of oil) and puree with a 'magic wand' (immersion blender) until the paste is homogeous but still rather 'dry', so be careful with oil and vinegar. Add the herbs and mix them into the spread with a fork. As for herbs, the authentic recipe calls for some chopped celery greens and rue (ruta graveolens), but I haven't managed to nd the latter yet. If I don't have celery greens on hand, I just use some fresh or dried thyme. Store in the fridge.

Pita Bread Recipe

by Jessica Finley on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 7:19am 2 1/2 c. Bread Flour (I also use regular our)2 tsp salt 1 tbsp sugar 2 tsp yeast 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 c. warm water Combine 1 c. our, salt, sugar and yeast. Add oil and water. Beat vigorously for 3 min. Stir in rest of our, 1/2 c. at a time, knead for 6 min.Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll into balls. Lightly our and let rest for 30 min. Roll balls out to 3/16" thickness (about 6" diameter). Bake on foil pieces for 5-8 min in a 500* oven. When removed from oven, stack and wrap in foil to cool. Cooked pita may be frozen. Thaw at room temperature for 5 min and reheat in foil in oven at 375* for 10 min. ****I forgot to point out that if you have a kitchenaid mixer, you can do all of this in the mixer *without* doing any kneading by hand. Do the original 3 minute beating with the regular paddle, then switch to the dough hook and add our to do the "kneading". Makes this whole process easy-peasy****

Hummus Recipe

by Jessica Finley on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 7:12am So, since I am doing this "gladiator diet" thing, I thought I would post my hummus recipe for my friends who are also trying this and who may not have a good recipe for this food.2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups)1/3 c. Lemon Juice1/4 c. Tahini2 cloves garlic, crushed1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil1/2 tsp Cumin1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepperpinch Black Pepper1 tsp Salt1/3 c. cold waterAdd all ingredients but chickpeas into food processer and blend for 5 seconds. Add chickpeas and blend on high for 10-15 seconds. Add more olive oil to smooth consistency, if needed. Add more lemon juice to taste.Cost: About $4 for a huge amount of hummus. Even less if you use dried chickpeas, closer to $1.50

Cashew Chili

Jessica Finley Servings: 8 Preparation Time: 1:00 Categories: Vegetarian Ingredients

10:29am Nov 1

3 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion -- chopped 1 medium green pepper -- chopped 2 stalks celery -- chopped 2 cups cooked kidney beans -- drained 1 cups tomato sauce -- *see note 1 2 cups corn -- cooked 2 cups whole tomatoes -- * see note 2 3 teaspoons chili powder 3 drops hot pepper sauce 1 teaspoon cumin -- ground 2 cloves garlic -- minced 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 bay leaf teaspoon black pepper 1/3 cup raisins -- * see note 3 1 cup whole cashews Monterey jack cheese -- shredded In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Saut the onion, green pepper, and celery until crisp-tender, about ten minutes. Add the beans, tomato sauce, corn, tomatoes, chili powder, pepper sauce, cumin, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes to blend avors. Stir in the raisins and cashews; continue to simmer until the raisins are plump and the cashews are tender, about 20 minutes. To serve, ladle into bowls and top each serving with grated cheese. Serve with additional cheese. You can eliminate most of the fat by forgetting about the cheese, and replacing the butter with cup of water and using a non-stick (Silverstone or similar) pot. NOTES : Two 8-ounce cans 18-ounce can The original recipe calls for one cup of raisins, but I have a note in my book to use only 1/3 of a cup. I often also add a cup or so of an ale to make it yummy and tweak the amount and type of beans and peppers. Variety is GOOD! Enjoy!

Sopa Seca (mexican-style rice, means "dry soup" literally)

Jessica Finley 1c long-grained rice, 7 ounces canned tomatoes with juice, 1/2 onion, chopped, 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 cups vegetable stock 1/2 tsp salt 1 chili pepper (optional) 3/4 cup frozen peas (my grandma always used the frozen veggie mix with corn and peas) Pour boiling water over rice, let sit 10 minutes, drain and spread out on cookie sheet to dry somewhat. Meanwhile mix tomatoes, onion, garlic and chili into food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Heat olive oil in large saute pan, and cook rice until a light brown color. Then add tomato mixture and cook until moisture is absorbed *do not let this mix boil*. Then stir in stock, salt and peas and corn. cook on low-med heat until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, another 10 min or so. Cover and keep in a warm place until serving.

Vegetarian "refried" beans

Jessica Finley 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained. 1 small onion, minced 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, minced 1/2 green pepper, minced 3-4 T olive oil 1-2 tsp cumin 1-2 tsp chili pepper bunch of cilantro, chopped salt and pepper to taste heat olive oil in heavy pan, add onion, garlic and green pepper. saute until cooked. Add beans and spices, and continue cooking, stirring constantly over medium heat, until beans are hot and breaking down to a paste. Spread on a plate along with sopa seca. garnish with fresh chopped onion and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Eat with rolled our or corn tortilla. This is the Mexican version of Hummus.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad & Lemon-Thyme Vinagrette

Sean W. Hayes 1 cup lentils (mixed colors is a nice presentation) 1 large tomato, cored & chopped 1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted & coarse chopped 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 2 stalks celery, thin-sliced 2 small shallots, chopped Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice 2 large cloves garlic, mashed & minced 3 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves 2 Tb olive oil (splurge for a good aromatic) Salt & pepper to taste Bring to boil in large pot of water & then simmer lentils 15-20 minutes to desired tenderness. Firm but not crunchy is best. Drain, toss in shallot & celery, salt & pepper to taste, allow to cool, & combine with tomatoes, olives, feta. While cooling, whisk lemon juice, garlic & thyme; then slowly whisk in olive oil. Salt & pepper to taste. Notes: Careful on the salt & pepper, as it goes into the lentils & the vinaigrette separately. Be sparing! You can easily scale this recipe up. If you have Lemon Thyme you can substitute that in for lemon juice, giving you an olive oil dressing rather than a vinaigrette.

Jrg Bellinghausen 'PVLS' with barley, cannelini beans and mushrooms, seasoned with marjoram, sh and soy sauce, black pepper, aged pecorino and a glug of ne olive oil. Life is good. Sean W. Hayes Today's lunch & dinner. Toasted buckwheat with northern beans, onions, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, oregano, and arbequina olive oil.

Christian Eckert An experiment: potatos with eggs, olives and feta. Very tasty!

Christian Eckert PVLS -Indian style- millet, beans, onions...Curry and Chili!

Sean W. Hayes Spelt, feta, currants, chopped almond, green onion, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (pinch), arbequina olive oil. Delicious. Gotta gure out a name for it.

Thomas Plath Todays lunch: PVLS with barley, red beans, red lentils and a lot of onions. And MORETUM! I love it!

Jessica Finley Beans, Rice, hard cheese and tortillas. MMMMM dinner. Also - the tortillas should be warmed directly on the gas burner of the stove to be the best.

Sean W. Hayes Chili with black beans, brown rice, vegetables, and a little pancetta for avor. I'm used to cooking in family-sized portions, so I'll freeze much of this for later.

Matthew Cacy Dinner last night (inspired by the puls recipe): Lentils with white beans, roman beans, onions, green onions, black olives, green olives, artichoke hearts, a little bacon, and a lot of pepper.

Sean W. Hayes Last night's dinner: squash soup with cannelini beans and peppers. From a traditional (peasant) Puerto Rican recipe.

Christian Eckert PVLS GLADIATORVM made with roasted barley, beans and old goat cheese

Sean W. Hayes I nd that small amounts of high-quality hard cheeses and olive oils go a long way to enhancing a dish. You can use them sparingly and get great results.

Christian Eckert PVLS GLADIATORUM 1/2 onion fried in a lot of oliveoil; 1/2 cup of barley and 1 cup of water; 1 can white beans (rinsed!); cooked low for 20 Minutes, add seasalt, pepper, majoran and thymian as you like it.

Sean W. Hayes Gladiator fast food: quinoa & precooked black beans, garnished with feta and a avorful olive oil. Good to go!

Sean W. Hayes *Finally* getting some quality kitchen time. Hummus complete, pita underway. Next: puls africae. Recipes from Jessica and Jorg.

Jessica Finley Tonight: A puls with Barley, Cannellioni Beans, Onion & Garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper, and olives. Mmmmmmm. Christian Eckert homemade bread and mushrom puls two hands of brown champions one big onion two hands of chestnuts one cup of barley oliveoil seasalt pepper