Cleopatra's Culinary Adventures: Roasted Chickpeas with Nuts and Seeds

Roasted Chickpeas with Nuts and Seeds

The following recipe is from Food Fit for Pharaohs by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

7 ounces cooked dried or drained canned chickpeas (garbanzos)

7 ounces mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts pine nuts, etc.) and seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc.)

Juice of 2 lemons

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put chickpeas with the nuts and seeds in a small pan. Add lemon juice and just enough water to cover them, plus a generous shake of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 to 6 minutes, then drain.

Spread mixture out on a flat ovenproof tray or dish and bake in preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes, shaking it every now and then to mix the peas, nuts and seeds around and checking to make sure that they do not burn.

Serve at once or store in an airtight container up to two weeks.

The following recipe was from Food Fit for Pharaohs by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

-Journal Sentinel

Cleopatra Paper Dolls

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Click here to buy Cleopatra Paper Dolls

'I Will Be Cleopatra' by Zoe Caldwell

Click here to buy I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey by Zoe Caldwell

I Will Be Cleopatra by Zoe Caldwell (awwwe...a girl after my own heart)

"An affecting, inspiring memoir, I Will Be Cleopatra serves as an indispensable guide for any reader who wishes to gain a clearer insight into Shakespearean theater, and will be one of the most vital books for actors and theater lovers for years to come.

This is a riveting account of a determined yet modest woman who became one of the leading classical and Broadway actors of our time, working with such luminaries as Paul Robeson, Laurence Olivier, and Tennessee Williams. Born the daughter of a plumber and a taxi dancer in Australia at the height of the Great Depression, young Zoe Caldwell first appeared on the stage at the age of nine in Melbourne in Peter Pan. So dyslexic that acting was the only way she felt she could communicate, Caldwell became a tried and true professional by the age of fourteen, performing on the radio. Soon she was playing roles under the legendary Elsie Beyer, who sent her to Stratford-on-Avon where she began a Shakespearean career that would culminate in her portrayal of Cleopatra, the Bard's greatest female role. "The Best Theater Book of the Year...touching and wise—and very unpretentious."—New York Observer "Hers is a vision for not only actors to ponder but anyone longing for greatness in this ancient art."—Arthur Miller "[C]lean, direct and magnificent. This is a book anyone even remotely interested in the theatre will insist on reading."—Terrence McNally, author of Corpus Christi "Caldwell's] book, like her acting, holds your attention from first to last, and again and again rewards it."

—New York

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Food fit for Pharaohs: An Ancient Egyptian Cookbook

Click here to buy Food fit for Pharaohs: An Ancient Egyptian Cookbook by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

"The great fertility of the Nile valley provided the ancient Egyptians with a delicious and wholesome diet ranging from staples such as bread and beer to herbs and spices like dill, mint and cumin. Using these ingredients the British Museum's 'chef du tempe perdu' has created 35 recipes for dishes the pharaohs and their people may have eaten, including soups, starters and snacks, main dishes, desserts and baking. Paperback reissue."

Click here to buy Food fit for Pharaohs: An Ancient Egyptian Cookbook by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

Ancient Egyptian Gardens

Click here to buy Ancient Egyptian Gardens by John Bellinger

In Ancient Egyptian Gardens, John Bellinger takes a look at the gardens of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, Assyria, and others. He explains how they were landscaped, the plants that were used, and the relevance of the designs to ancient culture and belief. You will discover what plants were grown, how they were cultivated, and the purposes, other than aesthetics, to which they were put. Finally, the author explains how to create your own Ancient Egyptian Garden, complete with a garden plan and suggested substitute plants for the British climate. This book is extensively illustrated, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in horticulture and ancient history and religion.

Click here to buy Ancient Egyptian Gardens by John Bellinger

Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon

Click here to buy Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon by Francesa T. Royster $19.95

"The Cleopatra icon has remained powerful over time because she signifies reinvention," Royster declares in this academic study of the Queen of the Nile. Divided into two parts, "Cleopatra and the White Imaginary" and "Cleopatra and African American Counternarratives," Royster's book makes frequent reference to Shakespeare's famous romance, Antony and Cleopatra, in which Cleopatra and Antony's relationship "might be viewed as a central paradigm for the ways that the multiple energy of black women's bodies can be appropriated and sold back to us." But the author's primary goal is to examine how modern film and stage depictions have functioned "as a means of performing and often deconstructing racial and gender subjectivity." Individual chapters, and close shot-by-shot analyses are devoted to the performances of Elizabeth Taylor, Josephine Baker, Queen Latifah, Tamara Dobson and Vivien Leigh. Royster, an associate English professor at DePaul Univ., has crafted a dense but readable book, especially appropriate for women in film courses. Photos.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Click here to buy Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon by Francesa T. Royster $19.95

Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends

Click here to buy Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di by Kris Waldherr

Illicit love, madness, betrayal--it isn’t always good to be the queen

Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Mary, Queen of Scots. What did they have in common? For a while they were crowned in gold, cosseted in silk, and flattered by courtiers. But in the end, they spent long nights in dark prison towers and were marched to the scaffold where they surrendered their heads to the executioner. And they are hardly alone in their undignified demises. Throughout history, royal women have had a distressing way of meeting bad ends--dying of starvation, being burned at the stake, or expiring in childbirth while trying desperately to produce an heir. They always had to be on their toes and all too often even devious plotting, miraculous pregnancies, and selling out their sisters was not enough to keep them from forcible consignment to religious orders. From Cleopatra (suicide by asp), to Princess Caroline (suspiciously poisoned on her coronation day), there’s a gory downside to being blue-blooded when you lack a Y chromosome. Kris Waldherr’s elegant little book is a chronicle of the trials and tribulations of queens across the ages, a quirky, funny, utterly macabre tribute to the dark side of female empowerment. Over the course of fifty irresistibly illustrated and too-brief lives, Doomed Queens charts centuries of regal backstabbing and intrigue. We meet well-known figures like Catherine of Aragon, whose happy marriage to Henry VIII ended prematurely when it became clear that she was a starter wife--the first of six. And we meet forgotten queens like Amalasuntha, the notoriously literate Ostrogoth princess who overreached politically and was strangled in her bath. While their ends were bleak, these queens did not die without purpose. Their unfortunate lives are colorful cautionary tales for today’s would-be power brokers--a legacy of worldly and womanly wisdom gathered one spectacular regal ruin at a time.

Click here to buy Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di by Kris Waldherr

Enroll in Cleopatra U!

Montclair State University is offering the rare opportunity to take a class on Cleopatra taught by world renowned expert, Prudence Jones. This class is taught completely online and is open to anyone interested!

Prudence Jones holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Wellesley College. She has published three books and numerous articles. Her two books on Cleopatra are Cleopatra (Life & Times) and Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Montclair State University. She has lectured widely on Cleopatra, including at the APA Annual Meeting in Dallas in 1999. In 2008, she traveled to Egypt as part of a BBC/Discovery Channel documentary, "Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer."

This course will examine Cleopatra VII both as she appears in the historical record and as later authors and artists have shaped her image. Issues considered include female power, east vs. west, and politics and propaganda. Cleopatra is not only a fascinating personality but also will afford us the opportunity to consider the Hellenistic period, the origins of the Roman empire, the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, and women’s roles in ancient society. In addition, the course will offer an introduction to the study of reception, the re-creation and re-interpretation of history, art, and literature in subsequent ages. Thus, in addition to studying the historical Cleopatra, we will examine such works as Chaucer’s The Legend of Good Women, Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and the decorative arts associated with the “Egyptomania” that accompanied the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt.Readings will include ancient sources (the historians and literary authors from the ancient world who wrote about Cleopatra), modern biographies of Cleopatra, and post-antique texts that portray Cleopatra.

This course is conducted on Blackboard, completely self-paced and no scheduled meetings. Assignments include readings, Blackboard quizzes, and short papers.

June 13, 2011 - July 7, 2011.

Click here to for more information on this online class on Cleopatra.

Cleopatra's Culinary Adventures: Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: Ancient Festivals, Significant Ceremonies, and Modern Celebrations

Click here to buy Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: Ancient Festivals, Significant Ceremonies, and Modern Celebrations by Amy Riolo

"From classics like Fava Bean Puree, Yogurt with Honey, and Egyptian Whole-Wheat Pita Bread, to tempting Lamb-Filled Phyllo Triangles and Peanut, Coconut, and Raisin Baklava, "Nile Style" spans the range of the Egyptian kitchen with recipes that will appeal to every palate! It includes 23 full menus showcasing, 150 easy-to-follow recipes and much more."

Click here to buy Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: Ancient Festivals, Significant Ceremonies, and Modern Celebrations by Amy Riolo

Cleopatra's Daddy Issues by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Click here to buy Cleopatra Rules!: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Everyone's parents are embarrassing when you're kid. But Cleopatra's dad? Totally cringeworthy.

See, her dad played the flute. All the time. In place of ruling. So people called him Ptolemy the Piper, and not in a good way, either. Turns out choosing to play a wind-instrument over taking charge of your kingdom doesn't inspire confidence. Imagine that.

And then, to add to the embarrassment, Daddy sold out to the Romans. He borrowed so much money from a Roman loan-shark--squeezing his people dry to pay off the interest--it was a wonder the entire economy didn't collapse. Rome then took some of Egypt's territories (because they could) and Daddy did nothing to stop them. His people were furious and let him know it with riots in the streets.

At one point, Daddy Piper took a little trip to Rome, taking 11-year old Cleopatra with him. He needed more support (*cough* money) from Rome, you see. So the king of Egypt swallowed his dignity and trolled for cash up and down the Tiber.

Everybody, including his own daughter, Berenice, was furious. So, in typical Ptolemy fashion, Berenice poisoned an older sister and took the throne. Daddy was sucking up to the Romans, after all, right? It was time for new leadership!

Only one problem. Daddy Piper wasn't ready to give up his throne. He convinced yet another rich Roman to "loan" him a Roman army. Yup, Cleopatra's dad used a Roman army to invade his own kingdom. Then he had his daughter Berenice killed as a traitor. He quickly resumed squeezing his people dry with even more ridiculous taxes in order to pay off even more Romans.

Young Cleopatra had...er, a "nose" for sniffing out political strategies designed to fix what her forefathers broke. Young Cleopatra VII somehow kept Daddy's favor and he named her queen when she was 17. She inherited his great big Roman mess when he died a year later, leaving her to rule with her pre-pubscent little brother.

Is it any wonder then, that Cleopatra evolved a strategy of pairing off with Rome (via unions with leading Romans Julius Caesar and later, Marc Antony) rather than continuing the unhealthy, economy-sapping strategies that her father and grandfathers promoted? She was smart enough to know things had to change.

And change they did.

How? You'll have to find out by reading my book, Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen.

(Yup, I did. I went there. Did it work? Are you going to read it now?)

Click here to read more from the blog History With A Twist by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Click here to buy Cleopatra Rules!: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen by Vicky Alvear Shecter

The Garden in Ancient Egypt

Click here to buy The Garden in Ancient Egypt by Alix Wilkinson

"Ever wondered how the monuments really looked in ancient Egypt? That is to say, how they were part of the natural environment, or more properly, how the natural environment was brought to the architecture? This is the first English-language book to go beyond the identification and classification of ancient Egyptian plants and discuss the gardens and gardeners of ancient Egypt. The book focuses on garden design, as evidenced by archaeological remains, written documentation on stone and papyrus, and visualization in models and paintings. It covers the entire history of Egypt, from Predynastic times to the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egyptian rule. When faced with the deserts of modern Egypt it is sometimes hard to realize how beautiful and lush this landscape once looked. In this beautifully written book, Alix Wilkinson brings back to life what the glorious greenery of a lost civilization. REVIEW: Wilkinson's The Garden in Ancient Egypt is both well-written and instructive, and is nicely illustrated with drawings and black-and-white and color photos...This evocative book will be read with gusto by the gardeners among us, and it will also be a handy reference book for anyone with an interest in seeing yet another-in this case living-dimension to the culture, history,art and architecture of ancient Egypt (KMT, Spring 1999)"

Click here to buy The Garden in Ancient Egypt by Alix Wilkinson

Cleopatra's Culinary Adventures: Food in the Ancient World (Food through History)

Click here to buy Food in the Ancient World (Food through History) by Joan P. Alcock

"An introduction to the food and eating habits of four ancient civilizations: the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Celts. Alcock divides the book into six sections: historical overview, foodstuffs, food preparation and food professions, food by civilization, eating habits, and concepts of diet and nutrition. She also provides a time line and brief biographies of the classical authors mentioned in the book. The prose is clear and there are illustrations. Because this book is written as an introduction, it reads more like a series of encyclopedia entries than a cohesive narrative, but this makes it an easy source for locating general information on the culinary aspect of each civilization"

Click here to buy Food in the Ancient World (Food through History) by Joan P. Alcock

Cleopatra's Beauty Secrets: An Ancient Egyptian Herbal

Click here to buy Dr. Lise Manniche's An Ancient Egyptian Herbal

About the Book
Revised edition. A reconstructed herbal of 95 species of plants and trees known to be used before, during and after the pharaonic period in Egypt. The author, a skilled Egyptologist, draws on classical and other texts, and explains the special properties of each plant, quoting authentic recipes for cosmetics and remedies. This updated edition includes an extended section on perfume, which draws on the latest research into the ingredients and uses of Egyptian scents.

About the Author
Dr. Lise Manniche, a leading Egyptologist, is the author of many books, including City of the Dead and Music and Musicians in Ancient Egypt. She also regularly broadcasts on television programmes such as Gardener's World.

Click here to buy Dr. Lise Manniche's An Ancient Egyptian Herbal

Cleopatra's Culinary Adventures: A Taste of Ancient Rome

Buy A Taste of Ancient Rome

Follow the ancient Roman recipes of Apicius, Cato, Coumella, Juvenal, Martial and Petroniussics as you eat like Cleopatra did on her romantic visits to Rome to see Caesar at his estate in Trastevere.

Neither an update for modern palates nor an anthropological study, this engrossing collection reproduces a two-thousand-year-old cuisine to "tempt the reader to explore some appetizing dishes from forgotten historical sources."4 Relying primarily on the writings of Apicius, Cato, Coumella, Juvenal, Martial and Petroniussics , Giacosa recalls the foods and practices of the Roman meal, or cena , the banquet and the tavern. Though established centuries before the introduction of the tomato, eggplant or pasta, ancient Roman cuisine depended on some elements familiar to modern Italian cooking: eggs, vegetables, fish and poultry. Less familiar elements included dormice (served stuffed), thrushes (served roasted) and the widely used sun-fermented fish-based sauce called garum . The 200 recipes here for such representative selections as seasoned mussels and duck in prune sauce are offered in their original Latin and in English; Giocosa also provides additional instructions, as for stuffing pigeons, or substitutions for ingredients like silphium, which is no longer available. The dozens of line drawings of ancient foodstuffs and color plates of Pompeian taverns and food shops complete this culinary portrait. Useful for food historians, a treat for food buffs, the book takes a welcome new look at the origins of a familiar cuisine. Illustrations not seen by PW.
-Reed Business Information, Inc

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