Beware the Ides! Also, Roman Honey Cakes!

Alas, today is the anniversary of  the death of Julius Caesar. You know, the Roman general and politician...brought an end to the Roman Republic....if you don't know look it up then take a history class because he's kind of important...

That movie makes looking for Pins much more difficult. I like George Clooney and all, but really? Ugh....

Anyways, Julius Caesar! Conqueror of Gauls, destroyer of Pompey Magnus, lover of Cleopatra. This is a man who did what he wanted. And got stabbed in the back in the Theatre of Pompey, which is ironic on many levels. Look it up.

(Haha, I really want this knife set)

So in honor of this great figure of history, I give to you my 2-3 readers a recipe for Roman honey cakes.

Well, actually a few different ones can be found here, but I'm going to use one from NOVA. 

The honey cake, or Libum, is kind of like an ancient version of a cheesecake with lots of honey. It was used as an offering to household gods, or the Lares, but I feel that making them in honor of Caesar is a pretty decent thing to do since I don't have a cow to sacrifice....

Ingrediants:

1 cup flour, sifted

8 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

bay leaves

1/2 cup honey

1.) Beat the cheese until its soft, then add in the egg and flour. Form into a dough and divide into 4 equal portions.

2.) Put onto a greased baking sheet with a bay leaf under each.cook at 435 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

3.) Warm up the honey in a microwave or sauce pan. Lay the cakes in it and let it sit for 30 minutes so they can absorb the honey. Serve and enjoy!

I'm hoping I'll be able to make this  sometime this week, but they upped my hours at work so we'll see.

So, will you be honoring Caesar today?  Would you like to see more history stuff (in a more in-depth manner, not just me telling you to learn on your own) on the blog? As always, leave a comment below and please subscribe and share if you likey~

If you want more info on the Ides of March, check out the nice summary National Geographic does. 

*PInterest has waaay too much George Clooney under a Ides of March search...also, "ET TU BRUTE" is from Shakespeare...not Caesar*

Happy Birthday Oreo Cookies!!!!

Happy Birthday, Oreo Cookies!!! That's right, today the Oreo turns 102 years old. That's a lot of double-stuffed goodness! Originally called the "Oreo Biscuit", the cookie we know and love was created in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) and has since gone on to become the most popular cookie in the world, available in over 100 countries. People everywhere love Oreos, especially this girl!

The name "Oreo" may  come from the French word or for gold, or the Greek word oreo, which means beautiful. Or it might just be another silly product name. Like Haagen-Dazs. It isn't German or Danish, its completely made up so people would think its foreign and buy it. True story.

The Oreo we borderline worship has also changed quite a bit over the years. There were originally two varieties available, the regular cream ones we still enjoy today, and a lemon meringue that got discontinued in 1920.  Chocolate always beats fruit, its the law.

The cookie's filling was first made with pig fat, but has since been replaced with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. They are also Kosher and vegan, having no dairy or animal proteins in them. Go figure.

(This is the creamy filling....Its vegetable shortening)

Currently, there are quite a few flavors available besides the original and the Vanilla ones: Cookie dough, chocolate, berry, lemon, mint, marshmallow, and peanut butter. Not as delicious as the original, I'm sure. Well, except for double-stuffed, released in 1975. Those are the best variant.

Then there is the international flavors: Green tea ice cream, dulce de leche and banana, orange and mango, and strawberry and vanilla. 

If eating them is more of your thing than learning about them, Oreos are also a great ingredient for baking! You can out them in a cheesecake, 

Or bake them into brownies,

(Made these before. Amazing. Try them. Now!)

and, of course, put them in ice cream.

(You call yourself 'cookies and cream', but we all know what you really are...)

Still, Oreos took quite the blow last year when it was shown that they may be more addictive than a certain illicit substance. But whatever, I'll continue to eat the filling first for years to come.

If you want to try making some homemade Oreos, try this awesome recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. Its really fantastic!

So, what's your favorite kind of Oreo cookie? Do you make anything crazy out of them? Leave a comment below and, as always, subscribe and share if you likey~

*Pinterest has ALL the images of Oreos. Its crazy! So many oreos...*

Renaissance Festivals- Keep Calm and Drink Mead

In honor of all the Spring festivals starting up soon, I just wanted to highlight one of my favorites: Renaissance Festivals.

Pirates, Fairies, Scotsmen, the occasional Roman legionnaire. Even the Doctor shows up to enjoy the festivities.

(Where is Rose???)

All in all, the Renaissance Festival is a place where you can be anything you want, and no one will judge you. You can just judge those that don't go to RenFest.

There is a ton to do at them too. You can learn to joust or use a sword, get your fortune told, have high tea with the Queen. And of course, eat as many giant turkey legs as you can.

(So...good...can't....stop)

There's also more fried food than you could ever imagine. Fried twinkies, oreos, snickers, funnel cakes, and a new personal favorite of mine: Apple dumplings with ice cream and covered with caramel sauce. 

(Mmmmm, fried apples)

Another "Rebirth" -

As you can image, the Renaissance Festivals are based upon the Renaissance  ( French for "rebirth"), which occurred during the 14th-17th centuries in Europe. Also known as the time after the "Dark Ages" when everybody was like 'hey, the Greco-Roman period was awesome. Let's get inspired by them'. 

(Venus, we have company, put some pants on)

Then, in the Post-War Era of the 20th century, interest in all things Renaissance started up again (thanks G.I. Bill for paying for everyone's college!), culminating in Renaissance Festivals. The festivals as we know them have largely stayed an American phenomenon, being more like open air museums in other countries, but hey, 'Merica! 

The Best Part-

One of my favorite parts of the Renaissance Festival has to be the food, there's so much greasy goodness to choose from! And the highlight of any trip to the faire? Mead. 

(So pretty...must drink...)

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water. Automatically delicious, I know. You can also add more ingredients like raisins or some orange zest fro a richer flavor. Plus, the type of honey you use affects the flavor.

If you want to try making some yourself, check out a nice and simple recipe here.

Or, if you want something even easier with pretty similar results, try out Roman Mulsum. Its just white wine mixed with honey, and hey, the Renaissance was inspired by Greco-Roman culture, so its works. Right?

Just add 1/2 cup of warm honey to a bottle of slightly fry white wine. Let it get nice and cool and enjoy!

So, are you guys excited for your local Renaissance Festival? What's your favorite part of the festivities. Leave a comment below and, as always, share if you likey~

Also, CaptainBarnes wanted me to share this with you: Check it out and help USF Quidditch get to World Cup! Yay for World Cup!

*images are not mine, find them on Pinterest. Which is awesome. *

Birthdays with a Nerdy Twist

Happy Darwin Day everyone! Its Darwin's birthday and also Abraham Lincoln's! So in their honor this blog is going history nerd, a strain of nerd I wholeheartedly enjoy.

Ok....maybe I enjoy it a little too much...

Anyways, today we have two very important birthdays, and if you don't know who at least one of these gentlemen is...you should really tell your school system or something.They messed up (even if they/you don't agree with Darwin, its always good to know the opposite side's viewpoint. I did that with Twilight so I can rant about it). For reals. Especially you, 'Merica! Its Lincoln! He wasn't really a vampire hunter! *insert face-palm here*

 If you want to know more about these men, feel free to do some research. I'm sure Darwin, who spent literally decades researching, would approve. He would also enjoy playing Pokemon. Mew would be his BFFL.

Long story short, Happy Birthday you two! Have some cake on me!

*All images were found and re-pinned from Pinterest. I own none of them and appreciate their use*