Push the ides aside

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow included a poem in “Ultima Thule” (published 2 years before his death), called “The tide rises, the tide falls”. It’s a sad poem of a person who comes to a town with the tides, and never leaves as the tides wash away all footprints. If one could push the tides aside, then they couldn’t erase the past. Indeed, Moses, historically, pushed the tides aside to save his people from Pharaoh’s troops. But, we aren’t talking about either of those instances. For, today is the “Ides of March”. While they are very different things, Both the tides of Moses and Longfellow, and the Ides of March signify impending doom. Caesar probably wished he could push the ides aside, like Moses did the tides. But, alas, t’was the Ides that saw his demise.

Thanks to the assassination of Julius Caesar on the ides of March in 44 BC, the term is indelibly tattooed on our consciousness. But, before the death of Caesar, it was actually a hopeful time for Romans. The ides is actually a descriptor of the time of the month. Romans didn’t use dates the way we do. A month had three phases, corresponding to the moon. The Nones is the 5th or 7th day. It falls 8 days before the Ides. the Ides falls on the 13th in most months, but the 15th in March, May, July, and October. Then comes the Kalends, the first day of the following month. So, It’s not when Irish Ides are smiling or anything of the sorts. It’s literally, the middle of the month.

Push the ides aside for the Vernal Equinox

The Ides of March was a more celebratory day, though. Being adjacent to the Vernal equinox, it served as a sort of New Years day. Romans had several observances and celebrations. One involved beating an old man and running him out of the city, as a representation of chasing off the old year for a new one. While the ritual may be bizarre, the holiday actually makes sense as a start to the new year. Our own new year on January first is a fabricated day. Starting the year with the budding of spring makes much more sense. December and January mark dormancy in temperate zones. Meanwhile spring represents rebirth. Celebrating New Year in the depths of winter is depressing. As the late, great Richard Lewis said, at Midnight, “we’d watch our hopes drop.” (watch around the 4 min 20s section of the routine).

So, maybe it’s time to reclaim the Ides of March as a celebration. Do we really have to Push the Ides aside? St Patrick’s day comes close. But, even that has it’s tainted side. St Patrick was actually A native of England and born to Roman Parents. His involvement with Ireland started when he was a slave there, and later returned to convert Irish people to Catholicism. Thanks to his fellow English countrymen, Ireland has seen centuries of unrest between Catholics and Protestants, while the Celtic religion, native to the land, has become a quaint artifact diluted by the Christian orthodoxy. And, the day everyone celebrates is his death, not birth. Being Roman Born, The Ides of March would have special meaning to Patrick. So, in a way, the Irish did, actually, push aside the ides of March for their own celebration.

All roads lead to Rome

Besides the horrific death of Julius Caesar, and, the subsequent revenge killing of his detractors by the succeeding Emperor Octavio Augustus, the Ides of March is actually a good day. At least, it was, in Ancient Rome. So, why not celebrate in traditional Roman Style? Thanks to Shakespeare, we all know the term “Beware the Ides of March”. Because of this association, we have pushed the Ides aside. But, the Ides used to be a celebration of Jupiter (the highest of the gods). The high priests would lead a procession down the Via Sacra (main road of Rome) to the Arx (citadel). There would be sacrifices and rituals. And, Romans would have a great feast in celebration of the day. So, literally, you follow the road to the center of Rome.

And, since it’s such a high holiday, why not have a celebration on this day. As mentioned above, it really marks the beginning of the season of rebirth. So, let’s re-visit the Ancient Roman Festival, but, with a modern twist. Some of the food of the time may not have such a great appeal today. Yet, some items are very tasty. Garum is a fermented fish sauce, common in these recipes. It may be hard to find, in which case, substitute Asian fish sauces like nuoc cham or even Worcestershire sauce. Honey, wine, sausages, and cheeses are other common ingredients. There are a lot of different ways to go. We want to keep it more on the simpler side. So, we have a couple recipes for you, that hark back to Roman Times.

Some recipes to Push the ides aside

Start with a simple beverage: Honeyed wine. This was a favorite in the bath houses of Ancient Rome. Warm 1/2 cup of Honey to make it more liquid. Stir it into a bottle of white wine. Chill, then serve. You can add some spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and/or nutmeg if you’d like. Or just the honey and wine. It’s kind of like making your own dessert wine. By adding spices, it’s basically a mulled wine.

Another popular item in Ancient Rome was Lucanian Sausages. They hail from the boot region of Italy, where Roman Soldiers would bring them back home from the battlefields. You could make your own. But, modern day Linguica is a pretty similar product. And, you can use all kinds of meat, although, pork is usually the standard. While you can eat it plain, we like using it as part of a dish, try sauteing with onion, garlic, and white wine, sprinkle in some herbs and tomato, and toss with pasta. Yum.

And, here are a couple more ancient Roman staple to start your celebration:

Honeyed Roma Eggs

cheffd

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

soaking time 2 hours hrs

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Roman

Ingredients

  

• 4 Large Eggs
• 2 oz Pine nuts
• 2 oz White Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Oz Honey
• 1/8 tsp Fresh Ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme and Parsley

Instructions

 

• Boil the eggs in salted water with a splash of white or cider vinegar for 8 minutes. Cool fully in water, peel and cut lengthwise in half. Refrigerate until service time.
• Soak the pine nuts in vinegar for at least 2 hours. They should soften nicely.
• Blend the nuts, vinegar, honey, and seasonings in a blender until well pureed.
• Serve the eggs either drizzled with the sauce or with the sauce on the side for dipping.

Keyword boiled, eggs, honey, Pine Nuts, roman

Roman Libum Cakes

cheffd

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

soaking and cooling 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Dessert

Cuisine Roman

Ingredients

  

• 1 Cup AP Flour (sifted)
• 8 Oz Ricotta Cheese
• 1 Egg Beaten
• 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• Several Bay leafs, preferably fresh
• 1 Cup Honey
• 1 Each Vanilla Bean

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425
• sift flour into a bowl and mix with salt and sugar
• Beat the Cheese in a mixer with the Eggs and flour until a smooth dough forms.
• Divide the dough into 4 even balls and form them into thick Disks.
• Spray a pan or clay dutch oven with pan spray and place bay leaves down. Place the Cheese disks evenly on the leaves. Cover with a clay oven top or a stainless steel bowl and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. They should be golden brown. You can remove the cover toward the end if they aren't browning enough.
• Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the honey in a small pot. Heat until running thin and the vanilla infuses the honey. Allow to partially cool, but not fully.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and soak them in the honey for at least 30 minutes until it fully saturates them. Add more honey of needed. Allow to fully cool before serving.

Keyword cakes, Cheesecake, honey, Libum, roman