Potato Salad With Olives and Roasted Peppers

With late spring here, and summer not far off, there's nothing better than a good potato salad, although it's actually good all year long

Ingredients:

1 pound small red potatoes (available in microwaveable packages)
1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes (available in microwaveable packages)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
2 tablespoons seasoned salt (whatever brand you use)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
12 green olives, halved
12 black olives, halved (I often use Kalamata olives)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup roasted peppers, chopped  (store bought is fine, I used a mixture of red and yellow peppers)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 sweet gherkins, chopped
1 tablespoon black pepper
paprika for dusting

Cook the potatoes by whatever method you prefer. The microwaveable packages are great. Let the potatoes cool a bit,* then cut them into pieces, adding the potato pieces to a large dish. Since the potatoes differ in size, I generally quarter the smallest ones, and then try to cut the larger ones into similar size pieces. Add the onion, garlic, olives, celery, gherkins, and roasted peppers, plus the seasoned salt and black pepper, then add the extra virgin olive oil and mayonnaise, and thoroughly mix for a couple of minutes or more to get all the potato pieces coated. Dust the potato salad with sweet paprika, cover with plastic wrap or a lid and chill.

* When the potatoes are a little warm, they will absorb the flavors of the other ingredients much better, than if cold.

WORD HISTORY:                                                                                                                                 

Celery-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but it goes back to Greek "sélinon," which meant "parsley." This was borrowed by Latin as "selinon," meaning "parsley," but "seemingly" also, "celery" (celery and parsley are closely related). This gave the northern Italian dialect of the Lombardy region, "seleri," ^ which was borrowed into French as "céleri," and this was borrowed into English as "celery" in the mid 1600s. Close English relative, German, also borrowed the word in the 1600s as "Sellerie;" however, there "may" have been influence directly from the northern Italian dialect, which borders on the German speaking region of central Europe. Likely though, French was the "main" contributor to the German borrowing, with one reason being that French was quite popular in those times, especially among the nobility and well educated of Europe.

^ The Italian dialect "Lombard" is not the same as "Lombardic," a Germanic dialect of old, spoken by the Germanic tribe the "Lombards," after whom the Italian region was named. Lombardic died out centuries ago, as these Germanic settlers of northern Italy gradually became Italian speaking.    

Big Jake, The Conflict of Change

I first saw this movie many years ago, as it was released in 1971. As with some other pictures starring John Wayne in that general era, it had a theme of old versus new; a subject that really never goes away, as change and the fear of change drive many of the adversarial relationships in the world. With the movie, it is not only because of Wayne's age (he was in his mid 60s when he made this film), but also because of the turbulence of the mid to late 1960s and into the early 1970s, when talk of  "the generation gap" was quite common. The changing attitudes of society on many subjects, and the conflict with previous generations over these changes, are reflected in the movie. In this western, by this time a film genre itself straining under advanced age, and set in 1909, Wayne plays "Jacob McCandles," an aging rough and tumble cowboy, estranged from his wife, Martha, who is played by long time friend and often co-star, Maureen O'Hara (their last film together), who has made their ranch into a multimillion dollar operation. Here we have a successful businesswoman versus Wayne's not so financially successful character, who is seen wandering around on horseback, accompanied by his dog, which he calls, well, "Dog" (don't forget, Tarzan called his adopted son, "Boy"). Anyway, rising "feminism" was one of the great changes, and fears, of the era in which this picture was made, a change not easily accepted by many men, even to this day (think Donald Trump).

Anyway, Jacob's 8 year old grandson, played by Wayne's real life son, Ethan, is kidnapped by a ruthless band, led by John Thane, played by Richard Boone. McCandles is unaware he has a grandson... hey, I told you he was wandering around, which is likely a good thing, since if he'd been around, the boy might have been named ... "Grandson." Martha contacts Jacob, who has been ... oh, I think I told you he's been wandering around on horseback. He goes to meet Martha by train, and as his horse is being brought off, one of his sons, Michael, played by Robert Mitchum's son, Christopher, is riding along on a motorcycle (horse, motorcycle ... change, get it?). The kidnappers have demanded one million dollars, a staggering amount for 1909, but Martha reassures the questioning Jacob that, "we have that much, and many times that amount." Since Jacob's sons have not seen him since they were kids, Martha introduces Jacob to Michael and James, played by another of Wayne's real life sons, Patrick. Jacob's oldest son, Jeffrey, played by Bobby Vinton, has been badly wounded by the kidnappers and, thus, is not with Martha. Jeffrey is the kidnapped boy's father.

When alone, Martha shows Jacob a large trunk holding the ransom. Jacob is to take the trunk and follow a map left by the kidnappers for delivery of the ransom at a town in Mexico, and bring the boy home safely. After some trouble, which I won't get into,* both James and Michael accompany their father. It is then we see Michael has a new automatic pistol he brings along. It fires several shots in just seconds, and it is contrasted with the old fashioned six shooter. Michael also has with him a new rifle with a telescopic sight for long range targets. This is contrasted with Jacob's "Greener," a type of shotgun produced in England by a company of that name (still in existence). Shotguns are for short range targets. Jacob also is accompanied by his long time friend, Sam Sharpnose, an aging Apache, played by John Wayne's close personal friend, Bruce Cabot, who died within about a year of making this picture. He too carries a Greener, as well as a knife, and he tells Jacob his eyes are too old to see far off targets.

I won't go further, except to say, the little group sets off, but many people know about the one million dollar ransom, and when the leader of the kidnappers, John Thane, meets the group, he tells them they have to keep the ransom money safe, until they hand it over for exchange of the boy, or that they will kill the boy. Thane is unaware Jacob is the boy's grandfather. Jacob has been out of that part of Texas for so long (we're told 9 years and 4 months), that throughout the film, when people find out he is Jacob McCandles, they always say, "I thought you were dead," bringing various remarks from Jacob like, "That'll be the day," or, "Not hardly."

This is a good movie, and it shows the strains on society in those times, including the very nature of the overall movie; that is, there ARE bad guys in the world, and combatting them is dangerous and requires people who will risk their lives and be tough to defeat them. Both James and Michael are "squeamish," I believe was the word used by Jacob, about having to kill other men. This is an issue still with us today, as now decades later, the world is connected like never before, but this has also provided an opportunity for all sorts of "bad guys" to hurt others, through scamming, or outright killing, including terrorism.

* The Texas Rangers have bought several automobiles and a segment of the story covers the old versus new theme by contrasting the use of these automobiles with horses.

Photo is from the 2003 Paramount Home Entertainment DVD


 WORD HISTORY:
Old-This common word, related to the second part of wor"ld" (the ending was once spelled both "old" and "uld," before the contracted "ld") and it is also distantly related to the first part of "altitude," goes back to Indo European "altos," which had the notion of "grown up, tall." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "altaz," also meaning "grown up." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "eald" and "ald," depending upon dialect, and these later became "old." The other Germanic languages have:
German "alt," Low German Saxon "oolt," West Frisian "âld," Dutch "oud" (no "L"), Danish "ældre" (elder, older, elderly), Norwegian "elder" (elder, older), Icelandic "eldri" (older, elder), Swedish "äldre" (older, elder).

Sauerbraten, Marinated Beef Roast

If asked if they know the word "Sauerbraten," it is likely most people would answer "yes," but how many of them really know what Sauerbraten is, is another question. Hopefully I can remedy this, to some limited extent. Sauerbraten is not a dish you decide to have an hour before dinner, unless you plan to visit your favorite German restaurant. No, it takes days to prepare, but don't be intimidated by the time, because much of that time will be for marinating the meat, since Sauerbraten is marinated beef, usually a tougher cut, like rump roast, although other kinds of meat can be used. There are some regional variations in recipes among Germans, including in the Rhineland, where raisins are added. I have had this "Rhineland Sauerbraten," and liked it, but I prefer my own. Hey, what can I say? The word "Sauerbraten" means "sour, or pickled, roast." For the history of the word "brat(en)," I covered it in this article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/10/german-question-part-forty-five.html

Ingredients (for 3 to 4 lb. beef rump roast or boneless top round):

For the Marinade:

1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup dry red wine
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 lg. carrot, chopped
2 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
10 peppercorns

For Cooking the Meat"

2 to 3 tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup finely crushed gingersnaps + 2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional, for Rhineland-style)

In a non reactive pan, heat the marinade ingredients to boiling, reduce heat and simmer about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely to room temperature. Put the meat into a large glass dish, like a casserole dish, with lid.* Pour the cooled marinade over the meat, adding a little water (or more red wine), if needed, to completely cover the roast. Put on the lid or cover the dish, place in the refrigerator for 3 days, turning the roast 3 or 4 times a day. The meat will begin to turn brownish, grayish in color, but that's fine, as the acidic marinade is tenderizing (actually 'cooking') the meat. After three days, remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Heat the oil in a large non reactive pan you will be using to cook the meat (enamel coated is good). Brown the meat on all sides. Add 2 to 3 cups of the marinade. Cover and bring to a simmer, cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until tender. Remove the meat and strain the liquid. Melt the butter and mix in the crushed gingersnaps and flour to form a roux. Gradually add the roux to the liquid, stirring or whisking constantly until thickened, allowing a minute or two to cook the raw taste from the flour. [The gingersnaps (and raisins, if using) will add a touch of sweetness to offset a bit of the acidic taste of the vinegar.]

Regional accompaniments to sauerbraten are common. In the Rhineland, potato pancakes** are commonly served, while in the southwest, Spätzle (the small German-style dumplings/noodles) are served, but in many places potato dumplings, Kartoffelklöße, are the choice.

* Just as when you heat the marinade, you don't want to use any kind of reactive dish, as the acid content will work on the metal; that's why a large glassware casserole dish is perfect, plus it should already have a lid to cover the dish during its time in the refrigerator.

** Kartoffelpuffer or Kartoffelpfannkuchen are commonly used as the name for potato pancakes in German, but there are many regional dialect names: Reibekuchen," "Döbbekuchen," "Döbbekooche," "Dibbekoche," "Dippedotz," "Reiberdatschi," "Rievekooche," "Grumbeer Pannekuche," and believe me, there are even more!

I'm a mashed potatoes guy, so that's what I had with my Sauerbraten; and of course, lots of the gravy.

WORD HISTORY:
Cheese-This word for the soft to firm milk product "seems" to go back to Indo European "khwat/khwas," meaning, "ferment, foam up, bubble up." This gave Latin "caseus," which meant "cheese." The term was borrowed long ago by West Germanic as "kasijaz."^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cese/cyse," depending upon dialect, which then became "chese," before the modern version. The other West Germanic languages have: German "Käse," Low German Saxon "Kääs," Dutch "kaas," West Frisian "tsiis." The North Germanic languages use another word for "cheese," and apparently they were totally unaffected by the West Germanic borrowing.

^ Old Germanic developed into three branches, or large broad dialects: East Germanic, North Germanic and West Germanic. English is from West Germanic, but it later was influenced a good deal by North Germanic, through Old Norse.

Steak & Ale Pie

Steak And Ale Pie

While today many Americans would think of pies as being made with fruit or other sweet filling, meat pies have a longer history. Steak and Ale Pie (also made with stout, including the famous "Guinness") is well known in Britain, as well as in some former British colonies. I have included potatoes in this recipe, although they are not always used, but rather "steak fries" (called "steak chips," in Britain) are served as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS (for one 9 inch pie)
3/4 pound chuck steak, cut into bite size chunks
3 tablespoons flour
1 or 2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/3 cup carrots, diced or shredded
1/2 cup potatoes, diced
1 cup fresh kale or fresh spinach (loosely packed, it will cook down)
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock/broth (low sodium is fine)
1 cup dark ale
1 teaspoon Gravy Master
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons of flour mixed with the same amount of water
2 sheets pie dough (ready made is fine)
1 egg, beaten (optional, for coating the pie crust for browning and for a nice sheen)
steak sauce for serving

Coat the meat in flour and fry in the oil over medium heat in a heavy pan until brown. Add the onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme, mushrooms, carrot, potatoes, salt and pepper, cook until the onions have softened. Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and stir well. Add the kale or spinach and let cook down just a little, before adding the beef stock, the Gravy Master and the dark ale. Let the stew come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Check the meat and potatoes for tenderness; allow for a few more minutes cooking time, if needed. Slowly add the flour and water mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce is very thick. Cook for just a couple minutes more, uncovered. Meanwhile, line a 9" pie pan with the bottom crust and put the crust into the freezer for several minutes to firm and chill it. I used store bought frozen pie crust, sold in their own pie pan. They generally come 2 frozen pie crusts to a package, so you let the second crust thaw a bit, and when ready, remove it from its pie pan, and place on top of the filled crust. Seal around the edges and cut a few slits in the top of the pie. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees (F) for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Let cool a bit before slicing. Serve with steak sauce on the side.

I "squished" the piece of pie to show the dark brown sauce and filling.

WORD HISTORY:
Beef-This word, distantly related to "cow," goes back to Indo Eiropean "gwou/gwous," which meant "cow, ox." This gave its Italic^ offspring "gwos," with the same meaning, and this "seemingly" gave Latin "vos," which then became "bos," under influence of a dialect variant or another Italic language, the genitive form of which gave Latin the adjectival, "bovinus," meaning, "having to do with cows, oxen." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "boef," and this was borrowed into English as "beef," in the late 1200s as the name for the meat of  "cows and oxen," although later in American English "cowboy jargon," the word was used for a steer, often in the plural of "beefs" or "beeves."

^ Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most which have died out. Latin's limited use today is mainly because its forms evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Another Great Movie

This is another good film from veteran director, John Ford. While dating to 1962, the film covered a major issue still being debated to this day, the role of force in law; more specifically, the need and use of guns to enforce the law. In the case of the movie, one of the main characters is a lawyer who was born, raised and educated in the eastern part of the country, who sees the written law as being most important, while the other main character is a western born and raised rancher, who is used to defending himself and others by force.

The basic story is about a highly respected U.S. senator, Ranse Stoddard, played by James Stewart, who returns to his western state* from Washington, D.C. for a funeral few people know anything about. He gives an interview to some newspaper men about his life and the life changing event from 25 years before; the killing of Liberty Valance, played by Lee Marvin, a brutal, gun slinging, whip brandishing leader of a band of outlaws, who controlled the town. This event propelled Stoddard to his eventual position in the U.S. Senate. Ranse and Liberty meet early on, as Valance and his outlaws rob the stage carrying Stoddard, and Valance severely beats the attorney, who is making his first trip out west. Stoddard vows to use the law to see Liberty Valance punished, but he finds the marshal, played by Andy Devine, is totally unable to enforce the law against such a ruthless man as Valance, as the marshal is merely a token of law who loves to eat. In fact, the marshal is TERRIFIED of Liberty Valance and his band. Only one man seems to have the respect of the outlaws, Tom Doniphon, played by John Wayne, a rancher who is a gunslinger in his own right. During the story, Doniphon is preparing to ask a waitress at the local restaurant, Hallie, played by Vera Miles, to marry him, but when Doniphon brings in the badly injured Stoddard, Hallie tends to the lawyer's wounds, and a connection begins to develop between the two.

As events proceed, the state is about to hold a convention dealing with statehood and the town's people select Stoddard as one of their two representatives to support the statehood effort. Many big ranchers don't want statehood and they hire Liberty Valance to intimidate the town and to force himself in as a convention delegate to vote against statehood. Valance humiliates Stoddard in a confrontation in the restaurant, and though he himself is then humiliated by Doniphon, the stage is set for some major confrontation between Valance and Stoddard, who eventually sees he needs to take up a gun to deal with Valance; that written law itself is not enough. While he practices firing a gun, and is also helped by Doniphon, Stoddard is woefully ill prepared to take on Liberty Valance in a gunfight.

Meanwhile, the publisher of the town's newspaper, Mr. Peabody, played by Edmund O'Brien, and the town's other pro-statehood delegate to the convention, publishes a front page story at great risk to himself about Liberty Valance's lawlessness, something Valance retaliates over, and this sets up the major confrontation between Valance and Stoddard. So as not to spoil the story for those who haven't seen the movie before, I will stop here, but this is a movie well worth seeing.

* The state's name is never given, nor is the state of his birth, only "back east."

Photo is from the 2009 Paramount Home Entertainment DVD

Word History:
Shoot-Like its close relative "shot," this word goes back to Indo European "skeud," with the notion "to project, to throw, to thrust outward, to move quickly." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "skeutanan," with the same general meanings. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sceotan," with the meaning, "hurl an object, cause an object to thrust outward, to move quickly," and also "to make a payment," likely from the notion of "handing over (projecting) money or goods to someone." This then became "shoten," before the modern form. The noun meaning, "a young plant," came from the verb in the 1400s, again with the notion of "thrusting up through the soil." The other Germanic languages have: German "schießen," Low German Saxon "scheten," Dutch "schieten," West Frisian "sjitte," Danish "skyde," Icelandic "skjóta," Norwegian "skyte" and Swedish "skjuta." Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish have all kept the "k" sound, while the other Germanic languages have all softened the beginning of the word.

"The Train," Lancaster & Scofield Star

"The Train" is a suspenseful black and white film by MGM from 1964 starring well known American actor Burt Lancaster and acclaimed English actor Paul Scofield.* John Frankenheimer took over directing the movie after filming had already begun, replacing demoted director Arthur Penn. The film is set in France in August of 1944. The Allied armies, having broken out of Normandy, are heading for Paris and the German border. An art-loving German colonel, played by Paul Scofield, seeks to transport a large number of pilfered French paintings from their place in a French art museum to Germany. Although the military situation for the Germans is dire, the colonel's quest to get the paintings out of France is an obsession. While transport is scare, he is able to get a train, with a French crew, for the transport of the precious cargo to Germany. Meanwhile, the museum's curator contacts the French Resistance for help in recovering the stolen paintings, with the idea that if the train can be delayed for a few days, the Allied forces will overtake the Germans and return the paintings to French custody without damage. The local Resistance leader Labiche, played by Burt Lancaster, is reluctant to risk the lives of his men for "paintings," but he and the French train crew, all members of the Resistance, set out on the trip with the paintings, along with heavy German troop security, including the obsessed Colonel Waldheim.

So as not to spoil anything, I won't go into all that happens, but the train's journey is fraught with suspense and clever maneuvers by the Resistance to delay the train, as the desperate and ruthless Colonel Waldheim presses forward, even when the Allies are only a few miles away. The film is "loosely" based upon the historical fact that a train in August of 1944 was loaded with stolen French artwork to be shipped to Germany. Scofield's performance as the icy Colonel Waldheim is superb, as in many ways he symbolizes what so many people have asked about Germany over the years since Hitler: "How could such terrible things have been done by people of a cultured country like Germany?" Waldheim sees himself as so cultured, he even looks down upon the Frenchmen trying to delay the train, feeling they don't really understand the great paintings they are trying to save from his grasp. But Waldheim's deeds speak far more than his culture, which is exactly what happened with so many Germans during that era.

* Scofield would win the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More in the 1966 film, "A Man for All Seasons."

Photo is from the 2015 Kino Lorber DVD release.

WORD HISTORY:
Train-This word, related to "tractor," goes back to Indo European "tragh," which had the notion of "drag, pull." This gave Latin "trahere," meaning "to pull," which then produced Latin "tragere," and from that, "traginare," again meaning "pull, drag." This gave Old French "trainer," with the same meaning, and this produced "train," which meant "trail," including "a long cloak that 'trails' behind." English borrowed the word in the 1300s and the notion of "trailing behind" soon led to the idea of things moving in succession, which eventually led to the word being used for "a succession of rail wagons or cars," in the early part of the 1800s. The verb came from the noun, with the notion of "pulling the stems or branches of growing plants into a particular shape;" thus, the "train" of physical activity ("to pull oneself into a certain physical condition), but also of mental instruction. The idea of directing a cannon or gun gave the meaning of "to take aim" (1840s?), as in, "The sniper trained his rifle on the enemy captain." 

Sweet Potato Patties, with a Kick

I got the idea for this from a recipe I saw on Saveur.com . As is usually the case with me, I altered the recipe, although their basic recipe is intact. This is easy and DELICIOUS!

Ingredients (for 8 patties)

"about" 30-32 oz. canned sweet potatoes, mashed* (naturally, you could also cook your own)
4 green onions, chopped, including most of the green
1 small jalapeno, finely chopped (for more heat use a serrano, or part of a habanero)**
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
(optional) 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil (peanut, canola, sunflower are all good choices)

Mix the sweet potatoes, 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, the flour, green onions, chopped chili pepper, egg, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Heat the oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Form eight 1/2 inch thick patties from the mixture and coat each in the remaining breadcrumbs. Fry 3 to 4 at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt. Yogurt is a good accompaniment to cool down from the spicy patties.

* I used two 15oz. cans, but sweet potatoes come in a variety of can sizes.

** You can make the patties as spicy hot as you like. I used 2/3 of a serrano + 1/3 of a habanero. If you don't like heat, or your stomach can't tolerate the heat, leave out the chili pepper.

WORD HISTORY:
Sauté-This cooking term for "frying something quickly and causing it to 'jump' by tossing it around the pan," goes back to Indo European "sil/sel," which had the notion of "leap, jump." This gave its Latin offspring "salire," with the same meaning, which then produced "saltare," still with the same meaning. This gave French "sauter," also meaning "leap, jump," and its participle form gave French "sauté," which was borrowed into English in the early 1800s.

Spicy Squash Soup

Recently I saw the basic recipe for this dish online, although I don't recall just where, at that time. I later found the original article (see below). The word "spiced," along with a nice picture, really caught my attention, as I tend to like spicy food. While this would typically be thought of as a fall (autumn) dish, soup is really good at any time of year, in my opinion, although butternut squash is not always easily obtained at just any time of year. But with foods now available from all over the globe, produce once limited to certain seasons, can now be enjoyed at other times of year. I found the butternut squash I used for this soup at the supermarket right up the street. This is my adaptation (there are some differences) from the recipe in the Daily Telegraph, London, November 22, 2014, by Stevie Parle: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/11245424/Spiced-squash-soup-with-sage-and-chilli-butter-recipe.html

INGREDIENTS (6 servings)
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
about a 2 to 2/1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks (or you could use like acorn squash in the equivalent amount)
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained 
1 habanero chili, seeded and chopped (if you're daring), or 1 serrano chili or jalapeno chili, seeded and chopped *
1 quart (32 fluid oz.) chicken or vegetable stock
6 oz. crème fraiche, sour cream (regular, reduced fat or non fat) or plain yogurt (use half for the soup and divide the other half to provide a dollop for each serving)**

TO SERVE
2 oz. butter
fresh sage leaves, which are also available in supermarkets. Allow about 3 leaves per serving.

Heat the oil in a deep heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, garlic and the salt, cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the squash and tomatoes, stir well. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 45 minutes until the squash is very tender. Pour into a food processor or use your motor boat motor (immersion stick blender) and process until smooth, or you can leave it a little chunky, if you like. Add the crème fraiche, sour cream or yogurt and stir well. Melt the butter in a small skillet and add the sage leaves. Sauté lightly until a bit on the crisp side. Dish the soup into serving bowls, add a dollop of crème fraiche, add a few of drops of melted butter and place the sage leaves around on top.

* You can make the soup as spicy hot as you want, but remember, it is a good deal of soup, and one jalapeno or serrano chili will not likely give you too much heat. I used one habanero, which gave the soup a nice kick, but it didn't overwhelm the taste with heat.

** I used homemade crème fraiche, which is slightly less tangy than sour cream, and which is easy to make: in a glass jar (with lid), add one cup of heavy cream and 3 tablespoons of buttermilk. Put the lid on and shake the hel... ahh, devil out of it. Remove the lid and place a paper towel on top, even folded is fine. Just sit the lid on top to hold the paper towel in place and let the mixture sit at room temperature, assuming you don't live in an igloo, or in the middle of Death Valley, until the mixture thickens up. Stir, put the lid on and refrigerate until cold, before using.

                                      
WORD HISTORY:
Sage-English has two words of this spelling, which apparently are unrelated. This is the name of the herb plant, which is related to both "safe" and to "solid." It goes back to Indo European "solw," which had the notion, "whole, well, uninjured." This gave its Latin offspring "salvus," which meant "whole, safe;" thus also, "well, healthy." This produced, "salvia," the Latin name for a plant thought to provide "health benefits," and this gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "sauge," which was borrowed into English as "sage" in the 1300s.  

Mushroom Ragout & Spaghetti

The basis for this recipe is from a recipe I cut out of the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer quite some time ago, but exactly when, is unknown. The newspaper noted, "adapted from Everyday Foods via Associated Press." The word 'adapted' is important here, because I found what seems to be the original recipe, and there are differences. So this is my version, although heavily based upon the two other versions. This may appear to be a lot of mushrooms, but remember, mushrooms cook down. For those interested, this is the link to what seems to be the original recipe:

https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1454228

Ingredients 6 servings):

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 lb. white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 cups water + 1/3 cup water with 3 tablespoons flour mixed in
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 lb. spaghetti
shaved parmesan

First, in a 5 quart saucepan, with lid, cook the bacon over medium heat, without the lid. Cook until crispy and then remove to a paper towel to drain. Add the onion to the hot bacon fat, cook until browned, which should only take a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan, cover and reduce the heat a bit, removing the lid to stir regularly. Cook for about 15 minutes, by which time the mushrooms should be cooked down substantially. Add the tomato paste, thyme and the 1 1/2 cups of water, mix well. Cover and cook another 5 to 10 minutes. Add the parsley and red wine vinegar, mix in well. Add the flour/water mixture gradually, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and to cook out the raw flour taste. Add the bacon and mix further. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the instructions of the brand you are using, making sure not to overcook the pasta, drain. Either in a large serving bowl or in the pot used to cook the spaghetti, mix the ragout and the spaghetti together. Serve individual portions topped with shaved parmesan cheese.

With some shaved pieces of cheese atop the ragout and spaghetti

WORD HISTORY:
Ragout (Ragu)-This is something of a compound, although the first part is really a prefix, rather than a stand alone word. The main word goes back to Indo European "gews-tu," which had the notion of "taste, sensation of taste, pleasure of taste." This gave its Latin offspring "gustus," which meant "taste." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "goust," with the same meaning, which then became "goût." ^ The Latin prefix, "re-," meant "over again, once more, repeat," ^^ and this gave French "ragoûter," meaning, "bring back the taste, revive the taste." It was borrowed by English as "ragout" in the 1600s. Italian borrowed the word from French as "ragù," and English borrowed this, without the accent mark, as another spelling of the word, although an American commercial pasta sauce uses the spelling with the accent as its brand name.

^  The "^" mark used by French, called a "circumflex," is a more modern way of showing that there is a missing letter from the original spelling of a word, often an "s."

^^ The origin of the Latin "re-" prefix is uncertain.

Brazilian Salted Tapioca with Ham & Cheese Filling (Tapioca Salgada)

First, "tapioca" is a starch made from cassava root. Cassava is a plant commonly grown in tropical and subtropical parts of South America, especially Brazil, parts of Africa and also southern Asia. Americans and Canadians, also likely the people of Britain, would almost surely think of pudding upon hearing the word "tapioca." The pudding is sweet and usually made with vanilla and pearl tapioca, a form which looks like fish eggs, and the pudding is even commercially produced for sale in supermarkets, typically sold in little tub-like containers. In some parts of the world, however, tapioca is an important starch, often used as flour in cooking. Unlike wheat flour, tapioca is gluten free, an important dietary consideration for people with digestive reactions to gluten, which is a protein in wheat and many other grain products. Tapioca flour, also known as tapioca starch, can be found in Latino markets, or in many supermarkets, often in the Latino/Hispanic section, although I found it in the "gluten free" section of one supermarket.

This recipe is from Brazil, where Portuguese is the language. This is unlike the other countries of South America, and Central America, for that matter, where Spanish is the common language.* The second word of the name of the dish comes from the meaning "salted," from the ham, which like true "country ham," tends to be dry cured by salting, and not necessarily by smoking of the ham. In fact, the Portuguese word for ham, "presunto," is from the same Latin source as "prosciutto," the Italian word for "ham." These are not difficult to make at all, as making the crepe is the only real work to it, and it's not much.

Ingredients (4 servings):

9 to 10 tablespoons of tapioca flour (depending upon your skillet size)
a pinch or 2 of salt
3 to 4 tablespoons of water
8 thin slices of ham (I used the very thin deli sliced ham, and it was smoked, but finding dry cured ham, like prosciutto, is not always easy, and it can be expensive, but if you have it, use it)
4 slices of mozzarella cheese or you can use it shredded
4 teaspoons of ricotta cheese, thinned very slightly with some milk (Brazilians have "requeijão," a type of  creamy cheese
slices of tomato
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Put the tapioca flour/starch into a bowl and mix in a pinch or two of salt. Add 1 tablespoon water at a time and mix lightly, until a sort of crumb or streusel mixture forms. Not all of the starch has to be in one of the clumps, which can vary in size. No rocket science here. It should not be wet or runny AT ALL. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, do not add any oil! Brazilians do the next step right into the skillet, but I used a separate large plate. Use a sieve with relatively small openings and rub the starch clumps through the sieve to reduce the clumps to about the size of fine cornmeal or grits. Add about two + tablespoons or so of the starch mixture to the skillet, making sure to even it out in a round thin layer. Within about 30 seconds, the mixture should begin to meld together into a crepe or thin pancake. Layer on 2 thin slices of the ham, then a slice of mozzarella, then some tomato slices, then drizzle on a teaspoon of the thinned ricotta, and sprinkle on a little oregano. The mozzarella should be melting slightly by then. Fold the crepe over in the skillet. Ready to go. Repeat the process for the others. Serve warm.

* Portuguese and Spanish are both Latin-based languages from the Iberian peninsula in southwestern Europe. They are similar in many ways, and mutually intelligible to "some" degree, more so in writing, and I'm sure speakers of each find it pretty easy to learn the other language. Actually, Portuguese is much closer to Galician, a language of northwestern Spain, although it is perhaps thought by some to be a Spanish dialect.

The top picture shows more of the filling, and the bottom picture a bit more of the tapioca wrap.

WORD HISTORY:
Crepe/Crêpe/Crisp-These closely related words go back to the Indo European root "sker/skre," which had the notion of "bend, turn, twist." This gave Latin "crispus," which meant "curly, wavy," and this was "seemingly" borrowed into Old English directly from Latin, as "crisp," and with the meaning "curly, wavy." Later the meaning began to change to the modern sense of "crackly, brittle," "perhaps" from the idea of some foods being grilled or fried to the point where they, or the skin of meat, "curled, became wavy," which often then resulted in them being "crackly." In England later, the noun form, "crisp/crisps," was used for what Americans call "potato chip(s)." In the meantime, going way back again, Latin "crispus" was inherited by Latin-based Old French as "crespe," with the "curly" meaning. The French later used the term for a thin pancake which "curled" when fried. English borrowed the word as "crepe," still the preferred spelling in American English, but it later also borrowed the modified French form "crêpe," with the "^" mark, called a "circumflex," which is a modern way of showing that there is a missing letter from the original spelling of a word, often an "s."