Theme Recipe 1: Hare In Sauce A La Apicius

I have actually made this recipe.  I will give the recipe in the original Latin, but the translation (since my Latin sucks!) comes from a little book, long out of print, entitled Astrology In The Kitchen by Maria Kozslik Donovan--the translation is hers.  The book is set up for a chapter devoted to each star sign with recipes suited to what ever characteristics the sign is ruled by, fire, water, etc.  Each of these chapters is set up with an appropriate Roman recipe from the ancient cookbook author Apicius.  This, as it happens, comes from the section for Sagittarius, my own sign.

For the Latin:

ALITER LEPOREM CONDITUM

coques ex vino, liqumine, aqua, sinapi modico, anetho, porro cum capillo scuo.  cum (in) se coxerit, condies:  piper, satureian, cepae rotundum, dactylos,......vinum, liquamen, caroenum, olei modice.  stringatur amulo, modicum bulliat.  conditura lepus in patina perfunditur.

And Donovan's translation:

Cook (hare) in wine, fish sauce (liquamen)*, water, few mustard seeds, dill and a whole leek.  While it boils, make the sauce:  pepper, savory, onion, dates...wine, fish sauce OR salt, and moderate quantity of oil.  Mix this with flour*

Remnants of a Roman hare stew

Some notes on ingredients:

*liquamen or garum was Roman fish sauce, for the longest time it was claimed that the recipe was lost, but it has made a serious come back in recent years and never actually went away, as it's modern descendant is good old fashioned Worcestershire sauce.  Also there are numerous fish sauces available in Asian food stores and in the Oriental sections of the supermarket.  But you can also make your own.  It's even being sold commercially.  When I need the stuff in a hurry in the kitchen, I mix Worcestershire sauce, which is anchovy based, with some Asian fish sauce--if you add MSG, you get the exact effect that Roman garum had on the brain.

In regards to the thickener, Donovan advises using corn flour, which makes a really glossy sauce--it's nice.  The only problem is, and she points this out herself, Romans most certainly did not have corn flour (it's from the New World) so they thickened with wheat flour.  This makes the sauce cloudy but tastes terrific!

About the rabbit, I know A LOT of people have issues with eating little bunnies, even if they are not vegetarian.  Take my world for it, this recipe goes very well with poultry:  white meat chicken, turkey breast or (the best) Cornish game hens.