Pork With Plum and Chili Glaze

You can make your own plum preserves/jam for this recipe, as it's easy to do.

Ingredients:

6 boneless pork chops
4 black or red plums, washed, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup sugar, depending upon the sweetness of the plums and your personal taste
(or store bought plum preserves)
1/2 habanero chili
1/2 serrano chili* 
about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt, to season the pork, both sides (I use adobo seasoning)

To make your own fresh plum chili sauce for this dish, put the chopped plums and chilies into a sauce pan with 1/3 cup sugar, mix in well. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Taste the mixture to see if it is sweet and hot enough. When I made this the last time, the plums were very ripe and sweet, and thus they required less sugar, but I've also made it with plums that were tart, so the amount of sugar is simply a base guideline, and you just adjust it according to your own preference. Cook until the mixture thickens well, remove from heat (it will thicken even more). If using store bought preserves, add about 6 to 8 ounces of plum preserves to a pan and then add the chilies (continue as for making your own preserves). Season the pork on both sides with seasoned salt. Heat oven to 325 F. Bake pork on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or on a rack in a baking pan/dish, until essentially tender (but it will be baked for a while longer). In a bowl, add the preserves and use a fork or tongs to then coat each pork chop with the plum/chili mixture. Return the pork to the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve extra plum/chili sauce on the side.   

* As I've noted here before, chilies vary in heat, even among the same type of peppers. When can always adjust the amount of chili pepper you add, according to the heat of the chili used and for your own personal heat preference.   

WORD HISTORY:
Glaze-This word, related to "glass," "gloss" (the form meaning "sheen, beauty") and "glow," goes back to Indo European "ghel," which had the notion, "to shine, to be bright." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "glaza/glasa," which seems to have originally meant, "amber," for the light and shiny fossil resin used for jewelry and decorative purposes. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "glæsen," which was an adjectival form, "made of glass, shiny like glass." This then was used to form the verb, "glasen/glazen," "to be like glass, to shine like glass," and these then produced the noun form, but not until the 1700s, "material used to make something shiny." This then became modern "glaze," which broadened the meaning to cooking and "shiny" sauces to coat food. German has the closely related adjective "gläsern," "glassy, glass-like" (Low German also uses the same word, but whether it came by way of standard German, or gave the word TO standard German, I'm not sure).

The Barrage of Illegal Calls Continues

For years now, we've heard how illegal and annoying telephone calls were going to be stopped. However, the amount of calls became so overwhelming, the Federal Communications Commission (the FCC, for short) held a competition for the private sector to submit ways to end the deluge of calls onto a beleaguered public. This was just issued today, July 26, 2017: (directly quoted from the FCC website)
"This Forfeiture Order imposes a penalty of $2,880,000 against Dialing Services for making robocalls to wireless phones using artificial or prerecorded voice messages without the prior express consent of the called parties, in violation of the TCPA." (TCPA=Telephone Consumer Protection Act)

How much, if ANY, effect this will have on calls will be seen in the coming months, but the call business is about MONEY, and thus far any fines have failed to instill fear in the moneygrubbers behind all of the calls. Technology is behind the curve, as the bad guys counter the tech used against them shortly after we hear how great the newest way to stop illegal calls is. These calls are so well orchestrated, it almost has to be mobsters from both the U.S. and abroad doing it. They will always go where the money is. Valiant efforts have failed. They now mask their true phone number with a number that will show on caller IDs as being from your area code, and also likely, with your same exchange, as they've learned people are far more likely to answer a local call. Still, this shows the "bad guys and girls" literally have access to the use of ALL phone numbers to disguise their own numbers. Blocking the phony number doesn't really help, because that's not the true number directing the call to you. The "Do Not Call List" was a government attempt to stop annoying calls by regulating who could call you and who could not. It worked to some extent, but only in the sense that it did stop legitimate and law abiding businesses from calling you, but since that time, the floodgates have opened with illegal entities making calls, and since they aren't legitimate businesses in the first place, they don't give a damn about the "Do Not Call List." 

"Hang 'em high" is now my slogan. They will have to be afraid, and at this time, they are NOT afraid. Let's not be a nation, or a world, of "making the world safe for telephone and cyber criminals, or ANY criminals." The only true way to stay safe is to stop answering your phone. That's how bad the situation has become. If you call a number back, they now know your number is active. NEVER call back. One trick they use is to have computer dialed numbers that allow a call to only ring once or twice. Some people's curiosity gets the best of them and they call the number to see who called. That's what they are counting on. There are all kinds of ruses to get you to answer your phone or to try to get information from you.

WORD HISTORY:
Block-This word, related to "balk" (English word) and to "balcony" (borrowed from Italian, but Italian got the base from Lombardic, a Germanic language which died out), goes back to Indo European "bhelg/bhalg," which meant, "strong or thick beam;" thus also, "support beam," and the figurative, "pile or heap." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "blukah," meaning, "tree stump, log, tree trunk." This gave Dutch "blok," meaning, "log, tree trunk." French borrowed the word as "bloc," with essentially the same meanings, but with the extension, "large piece of word, or large amount or mass/lump;" thus also, "something capable of hindering or of causing a hesitation in advance." This was borrowed into English circa 1300, at first as "blok." Before borrowing the word from French, English had, "bolca," from the same Germanic source, and it meant, "a ship's gangway (thick plank) for boarding or disembarking;" and further, "balca," meaning, "ridge of earth between furrows" (from the notion, "a plank of earth that blocks one furrow from another"). German has "Block," the noun, directly from the Germanic source, meaning, "square or rectangular materials bound together, a number of allies bound together as a unit (former "Eastern Block/Bloc," of communist countries, for example, or, "The mayor has a large block/bloc of voters committed to his reelection"), and it is also used in compounds like, "Stenoblock" (stenographer's notepad) and "Wohnblock" (apartment complex). The verb form in German, "blockieren," was borrowed in the early 1600s from French "bloquer." Like the English verb, it means, "to block, to obstruct, to barricade."      

Latvian Alexander Cake

Latvia is one of the Baltic States. Latvian, the language, is from the Baltic branch of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo European languages. Its cousin, Lithuanian, resides next door, but the other relatives of these two languages have died out, including Prussian. *

Popular recipes can be shrouded in legend, and so it may be with this cake, which is a type of shortcake, with variations in the overall recipe, although the basic premise is the same: a kind of shortcake made in two layers with some fruit preserves or jam in between the layers. The cake is cut into squares, or other shapes for serving. I read many articles about this cake, and most mention it being made originally for Tsar Alexander upon a visit he made to Latvia, which was long part of the Russian Empire. The thing is, there were THREE Tsar Alexanders in Russian history, but only one history mentioned the cake being made for Tsar Alexander I, who ruled from 1801 until 1825, while another article mentioned the cake was made in honor of Tsar Alexander III, who ruled from 1881 to 1894. The cake's popularity spread throughout northeastern Europe, with versions in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and northeastern Germany (then known as the German state of Prussia). 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
2 sticks of butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 tablespoons sour cream 
1/2 teaspoon salt ONLY if you use unsalted butter
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (seedless is fine)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Beat the sugar and butter together with a mixer. Add and mix in the vanilla, salt (if using), sour cream and baking powder. Gradually mix in the flour to form the dough. Gather dough into a ball, cover  and let sit in refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough in two. Press one half the dough into a thin square layer on one part of the baking sheet; then repeat with the other half of the dough, making sure the two squares are close to the same size. Bake for 20 to minutes, or until just barely browning on top. Remove from the oven and let cool. Make sure the two parts are not stuck to the parchment paper. While the cake is cooling, in a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, the grated lemon peel and the confectioner's sugar until smooth; set aside. Smear a layer of the raspberry preserves onto one half of the cake, leaving just a small margin around the edge. Use a large spatula to carefully lift the other half of the cake onto the top of the first (the top of the second layer will now by the top of the cake). Press down gently just to the point where the raspberry preserves come to the edge of the cake (that's why you need to leave that margin I mentioned above). Spread the icing over the top of the cake. Carefully cut the cake into squares for serving.  

* "Prussian" is a term that came to be associated with Germans living in the territory of "Prussia," in northeastern Europe. That territory had been occupied by Baltic language speaking Prussians, who were gradually absorbed into the German population which settled there. The confusing thing was, the name "Prussia" not only remained as the name of the region, but it became famous as a German province and state, which became the entity ruled by the Hohenzollern German noble family. 

WORD HISTORY:
Scribe-This word, related to "scribble," goes back to the Indo European root "sker," which had the notion "to cut, to scrape." This gave Latin "scribere," which meant "to scratch, to carve, to write," which then produced the noun "scriba," which meant "writer of religious or official documents." This was borrowed by English from Latin in the 1300s.^ The verb form, "(to) scribe" (to write), has the same basic history, but the word itself tends to be used more in various compounds like, "describe," "inscribe," "prescribe." Modern German still uses "schreiben" as its verb form for "to write," Low German uses "schrieven," Dutch uses "schrijven" and West Frisian uses "skriuve."

^ Old English had "scrifan" from the same Latin source, but it was often used in the religious context of "hear confession, impose penance;" and it has evolved into modern English as "shrive;" thus, while its very initial meaning likely was "to write," that meaning died out having been overtaken by the religious meaning above, and by English use of it own Germanic word that is "write" in modern times. 

Polish Cabbage & Noodles

If someone were to ask you to name a typical Polish food, you'd likely say "pierogis" or "kielbasa," as these foods are very tied to Polish identity, but .... Back in the first half of the 1500s, the Polish king, Sigismund I (Polish: Zygmunt), married Bona Sforza of Italy as his second wife (his first wife had died after childbirth). The new queen helped to bring Italian cuisine to Poland, including the common use of pasta. In this dish, the pasta is paired with cabbage and mushrooms. The Polish word "łazanki," pronounced as if, "wah-zahn-kee," is a type of noodle; thus, pasta. There are numerous variations to this dish, including the type of pasta used, but I've used egg noodles. Polish cooking, as well as other cooking styles in Belarus, Lithuania and Russia, uses a good deal of sour cream in recipes, something that the Germans in eastern Europe, especially in East Prussia, picked up from these various national/ethnic groups over the centuries.   

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
4 tablespoons butter + 4 tablespoons canola oil
10 to 12 ounces wide egg noodles
2/3 cup sour cream (low fat type is fine)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet or in a large heavy bottomed pot, then add the canola oil. Add the onion and saute for about two minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring further. Add the cabbage and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has cooked down and is tender. Sprinkle the paprika over the mixture, season with salt and pepper and stir. Meanwhile, cook the noodles per the instructions on the package. Drain the noodles and mix into the cabbage. Stir in the sour cream and serve.

With some sliced tomatoes and red onion...

WORD HISTORY:
Pierogi (Singular form: pieróg)-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, and its history is shaky in places, but "apparently" it goes back to transliterated Old Slavic "pireh," which meant, "feast, drinking and food celebration." This then produced the transliterated Slavic "piru," with the same meanings. In some Slavic dialects/languages, it then seems to have taken on the meaning, "pie," perhaps from a common food served for large occasions (feasts). With Polish and some other Slavic languages, it came to mean "filled dumpling," seemingly tying in with the notion of "pie;" that is, "a filled dough." English borrowed the word from Polish immigrants to America in the mid 1800s, with further reinforcement from Yiddish as Eastern European Jews immigrated into the U.S.

Brandy Alexander, A Favorite of Mine

This cocktail is well known from a variety of sources, but the 1962 movie, "The Days of Wine and Roses," starring Jack Lemon and Lee Remick, gave it a real boost. Back in the mid 1980s, I would go to John Q's Steakhouse, near Public Square here in Cleveland, and the bartender, Jim, fixed my Brandy Alexanders with ice cream. I haven't seen him for many years, but I hope he is well.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 1/2 ounces dark Creme de Cacao
3 ounces cream or vanilla ice cream (better)

nutmeg

If using cream, shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass, sprinkle nutmeg on top. For ice cream, blend ingredients, pour into a chilled glass and dust with nutmeg.

WORD HISTORY:
Brandy-This is a shortened form of the original "brandywine," which was borrowed from Dutch "brandewijn," literally, "burned or distilled wine,"  as it was distilled from wine into a stronger alcoholic drink (other fruit juices or grains with an alcohol content were also used). The shortened form "brandy" is from Dutch "branden," a cousin of English "burn," which goes back to Indo European "bhrenu," from the root "bhreu," which had the notion, "well up, boil up." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "brennanan," meaning "to burn," from the notion of "fire welling up." In English the "r" and vowel sounds were transposed, called,"metathesis," which also took place in other Germanic dialects and languages, including Dutch, which once had "bernen," but then went to the "r" before the vowel circa 1300 (perhaps by influence from German?).  

German has both "Branntwein" and "Weinbrand," with the latter meaning more specifically, "cognac," made from grapes, also at times spelled, "Kognac," in German, but German also borrowed the English word "Brandy," now a pretty common form. Swiss German dialect also uses, "Gebrannte Wasser," meaning "burned water," which puts it in the same category as English slang, "firewater" ( German slang also has "Feuerwasser," ="firewater") 

Indian Mint Chutney

Chutneys are common throughout the Indian subcontinent and this is another good one, featuring mint. As with other chutneys, there are variations to this recipe, with one variation being that some do not use yogurt, but use only water to make mint chutney.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plain yogurt (Indian or Greek style yogurt, which are thicker, will make it more authentic)
3/4 cup fresh coriander
1  2/3 cups fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 serrano or jalapeno chili pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Indian curry powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (or black salt, if you have it)*

Because everything will be processed/blended, the ingredients do not have to be uniformly chopped/cut. Add all ingredients into a blender/food processor and blend briefly to form more of a chunky paste.

* There are a few types of black salt, including one used in black magic and is not for consumption. Hawaiian black salt has charcoal mixed in. Indian black salt has a sulfur (British English: sulphur)  content. It is fairly commonly used in the cooking of the Indian subcontinent. Indian black salt is available in "some" supermarkets, "some" herb and spice shops, Asian shops or Indian/Pakistani product shops, as well as online. Both Hawaiian and Indian black salts are believed by some to have health benefits.

Mint chutney with some Indian style flatbread

WORD HISTORY:
Cummerbund-This is a compound word, with the first part going back to Indo European "khemm," which had the notion of, "bend, twist, curve." This gave Persian^ the transliterated "kamar," which meant, "waist" (get it? "curved part of the body"). The second part of this word, "bund," is related to "bind," "band" and "bound." It traces back to the Indo European root "bhendh," which had the notion of "tying up something." This gave transliterated Persian "band," "something that binds." The Persian compound was thus, "kamarband;" that is, "cloth that binds around the waist." This passed into Hindi and Urdu^^ as the transliterated "kamarband," and English borrowed the term in the early 1600s. German later borrowed the word from English as, "Kummerbund."

^ Persian is from the Indo Iranian branch of the Indo European family of languages. It is related to English, but much further down the family tree.

^^ Both Hindi and Urdu are Hindustani languages from the Indo-Aryan part of the Indo Iranian branch of Indo European. They are related to English, but much further down the family tree. 

Beau Geste

I first saw this 1939 movie, with much about "honor and doing right," way back in the early 1960s on television. One of the local television stations had a movie on at 4 p.m. each weekday. It made quite an impression on kids my age back then. I can't be certain as to the year, but it most certainly was around the time of the passing of Gary Cooper in 1961. The movie was based on a novel of the same name by English writer Percival Christopher Wren, published in the mid 1920s.

The movie begins in the early 1900s with a column of soldiers of the French Foreign Legion* (French: Légion étrangère) stopping outside a "seemingly" occupied desert fort. Two shots ring out from the fort and the bugler volunteers to go forward to investigate. He scales the wall only to find the fort is "manned" by dead soldiers who have been propped up at their battle stations along the wall. The commander of the column also chooses to scale the wall and enter the fort. He sees no sign of the bugler, but he sees two dead men lying close to one another and not propped up along the wall. One man has an envelope in his hand addressed to Scotland Yard. Inside is a note confessing to the theft of "the great sapphire known as the 'Blue Water.' " The commander opens the gates and then goes to check the two bodies again, but they are missing. Some gunfire is heard, and the commander orders his troops to retreat to a nearby oasis. The commander and his men then see a large fire engulfing the fort.

The scene shifts to England some fifteen years earlier. At one point, four boys (3 orphaned brothers adopted by the estate owner, who is absent, and his wife, Lady Patricia, and the blood nephew of the estate owner) and a girl (the ward of Lady Patricia) conduct a "Viking funeral" by using a model ship and some figurines. One of the boys, Beau, says he wants a Viking funeral when he dies. **

We later learn that the estate also possesses a very valuable sapphire called the "Blue Water." During one of the children's games, Beau hides in a suit of armor inside the estate's mansion and he accidentally sees and hears a brief meeting between Lady Patricia, played by English actress Heather Thatcher, and a man wearing a turban. Lady Thatcher seems to hand something to the man, who then hands her an envelope. They leave the room and Beau says nothing when the other kids help him from the armor.

The scene shifts ahead nearly fifteen years, when the children are all adults: Beau, played by American actor Gary Cooper; John, played by Welsh actor Ray Milland (he later became an American citizen); Digby, played by American actor Robert Preston; Isobel, played by American actress Susan Hayward. Lady Patricia receives a telegram from her husband telling her he is returning home to sell the valuable sapphire. Beau asks that Lady Patricia show the sapphire one more time, before it is sold, and she agrees. During the showing, the lights go out and when they are put on again, the jewel is missing. The next morning Beau is also missing, although he leaves a note for Digby telling him he took the jewel. Digby and John know of their own and Beau's fascination with the Foreign Legion since childhood, so Digby too leaves to join the Foreign Legion and to find his brother. John follows not long after, leaving Isobel behind, as he had fallen in love with her.

The brothers end up with the Foreign Legion in Algeria, then a French colony. They are trained by sadistic Sergeant Markoff, played by American actor (Cleveland-born) Brian Donlevy, a Russian in service with the Legion.***  The brothers also meet another Russian in the Legion, Rasinoff, played by American J. Carrol Naish. Rasinoff, a thief, hears the brothers talking about the stolen sapphire, and each brags about having stolen it. Later, Rasinoff tells Markoff of the jewel and that he believes Beau actually is in possession of it. Markoff now schemes along with Rasinoff to get the sapphire. When the troops are to set off, Digby is sent to another fort, while Beau and John go with the troops to Fort Zinderneuf, along with Markoff, who makes the fort a living hell for the men, only made worse when the unit commander dies from fever, giving Markoff total control.

The men are so angry at their mistreatment by Markoff, they plan a mutiny, but Beau and John refuse to participate to maintain the honor of the Legion. Another one or two soldiers also want no part of the mutiny. Things all come apart when one of the men who sided with the mutineers ends up changing his mind and going to Markoff and telling him of the mutiny. As Markoff prepares to have men executed, the call comes that Tuaregs**** are preparing to attack the fort. Markoff now must give in and rearm the men to defend the fort. The Tuareg attack is repelled, and then a second attack also fails. Markoff takes those of his men who have been killed and props them up at the wall with their rifles, making the fort appear to be fully manned. Markoff says, "Everybody does his duty... dead or alive... The rest of the bullets you stop won't hurt as much as that first one." The two Geste brothers gain a certain admiration for Markoff's skills at defending the fort.

A final attack seems near, and during a pause in the fighting, Beau tells John that if he (John) survives, that he (Beau) has two envelopes on him, one of which goes to Lady Patricia, and the other is to stay with him. Beau asks what he can do if he survives John, and John tells him to say "something" to Isobel. Then Markoff tells the handful of survivors to laugh loudly to make the enemy believe the fort still has a large garrison. As the men laugh, the Tuaregs attack again. Markoff has the men move along the wall to fire to make it look as if there are still many Legionnaires alive. The attack falters and only John and Markoff remain, as Beau has been badly wounded, but presumed to be dead. Markoff feels he'll be commissioned as an officer after this battle. While the Tuaregs seem to have given up the attacks, Markoff goes about propping up the newly dead men to the wall. When he approaches Beau, John tells him not to touch his brother's body or he will kill him. Markoff sends John to get him some food and while John is away, Markoff searches Beau for the sapphire and finds it along with the envelopes Beau had mentioned to John a little earlier. John comes back and sees Markoff at Beau's body and he draws his bayonet, prompting Markoff to draw his pistol and tell John he's going to execute him for threatening him in the face of the enemy. Beau is barely alive, but he rolls over to hit Markoff behind his knees, giving John the chance to plunge his bayonet into Markoff, killing him. As the bugle of Legion reinforcements sounds in the distance, Beau tells John to give the one envelope to Lady Patricia and to put the other in the hand of Markoff. Beau dies and John does as told. He takes the other envelope, fires two shots toward the Legion column to give him a chance to escape, which he does by going over the back wall.

As seen in the opening scenes of the film, the bugler, who we now know is Digby, scales the wall into the fort and finds Beau's body, but not John's. When the commander scales the wall, Digby stands at the wall like a dead soldier. The commander finds the letter in Markoff's hand and he sees Beau's body nearby. While the commander goes off to search the rest of the fort, Digby carries Beau's body down to the fort's barracks to give Beau the Viking funeral he had wanted as a child. He goes back and gets Markoff to place him at Beau's feet as the "dog" part of the ritual. He sets the barracks on fire and escapes over the back wall, only to find John, who had fired the shots that made the Legion's column believe the Tuaregs were attacking. The commander sends two men on horseback to bring back more Legionnaires, but they meet John and Digby and off they all go together. At an oasis, they see a group of Tuareg tribesmen, and Digby sounds the trumpet while the others fire their guns making the Tuaregs believe they are under attack by a substantial force from the Foreign Legion. As the Tuaregs flee, one turns and fires, killing Digby.

The scene goes to John's return home in England. He is back to Isobel and he gives Lady Patricia the envelope from Beau. She reads the letter which explains what Beau had witnessed all those years before while hiding in the suit of armor; that Lady Patricia had sold the sapphire to keep the family and the estate together, but she had not told her husband. When her husband wanted to sell the sapphire, Beau took it to protect Lady Patricia from the embarrassment and shame of having to explain why the jewel was a fake. So Beau had taken the fake jewel to protect Lady Patricia and as his way of repaying her for all of her kindness to him and his brothers. Lady Patricia says, "Beau Geste... we didn't name him wrongly, did we?" ("Beau Geste" is French for "beautiful or gallant gesture.")          

* The French Foreign Legion was a military formation with various subordinate units formed by France in the first half of the 1800s for volunteers from other countries, although French officers commanded most of the units, and French recruits also served. While the Foreign Legion is depicted in "Beau Geste" as being composed of criminals of various types, that was, and is, not really the case, although "Beau Geste" likely helped spread and reinforce that idea in the public mind.  

** In the film, the Viking funeral done by the children is shown as the body of the dead man (a figurine) laid to rest on a ship (a model ship they've built), with a dog at his feet (also a figurine). The ship is then set afire and set adrift on the pond, while the kids stand at attention. Historically, whether this is at all accurate, I don't know, as my studies of the Germanic tribes and their descendants never came across this exact ritualistic funeral.

*** Brian Donlevy was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Markoff.

**** While the film makes mention of "Arabs" several times, the Tuaregs are a Berber people, primarily of the Sahara Desert in western and northwestern Africa. The Tuareg language is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, which makes it related to the Semitic languages, to which Arabic belongs, but they are not mutually intelligible. Just for example, English and Greek are both part of the Indo European language family, but people speaking these languages cannot understand one another. When this movie was made, it seems many Europeans and North Americans mistakenly thought of most people from the Middle East and northern Africa as being "Arabs."    

 WORD HISTORY:
Legion-This word, distantly related to "legal" and to "legacy" (both are of Latin derivation and were borrowed into English from Latin, but with definite French influence), goes back to Indo European "leg," which meant, "to pick, to gather, to collect." This gave Latin "legare," which meant, "to gather, to select;" thus also, "to choose." This produced the noun "legio," meaning, "a collection of troops in a military unit, a Roman legion (an organized military unit of the Roman army)." Old French, a Latin-based language, took the word as "legion" ("apparently" from the ablative form in Latin, "legione"). English borrowed the word circa 1200.

Pljeskavica: Serbian Burgers

These are the SUPERSIZE burgers of supersize burgers, about the size of a salad plate. They come served on special large rolls/buns, called "lepinja" (pronounced as if, "lepeenyah," in Serbian, and they are sort of a flatbread. I bought some extra large rolls to make my "pljeskavica," which is pronounced as if, "pless-kah-veet-sah," but I wouldn't be surprised to find actual "lepinja" here in Cleveland in a couple of areas where fairly large numbers of Serbian and Croatian immigrants settled. Pljeskavica are somewhat spicy, but not terribly so, although you can spice up the meat with extra chili pepper flakes, and by using hot paprika.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika, regular (sweet) or hot, your preference
2 teaspoons (or to taste) chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
large rolls/buns for serving (+ butter, paprika and chili flakes)

Knead the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for 4 or 5 hours, then take it from the refrigerator about 30 to 45 minutes prior to cooking. Form into patties 6 or 7 inches in diameter (or according to the rolls/buns you will use), and about 1/2 inch thick. Grill or fry the patties on a griddle or in a large skillet. Melt some butter in a skillet, add a little paprika and some chili flakes. Season the cut side of the top of each roll/bun by dipping into the butter mixture. If you have fried the burgers on a griddle or in a skillet, you can just gently dip the bun into the already seasoned meat drippings instead of melting the butter. Place each burger onto a roll/bun and serve with cheese or "kajmak" (Serbian/Croatia cheese spread)* and ajvar/ljutenica, ** or your favorite toppings.

* Here is the link to my recipe for "kajmak:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/06/serbian-cheese-spread-kajmak.html

** Here is the link to my recipe for "ajvar/ljutenica:"  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/red-pepper-relish-serbian-croatian.html

1) Pljeskavice with just grilled red sweet peppers and with tomatoes and onion on the side  2) With ajvar/ljutenica  3) With kajmak and ajvar/ljutenica

WORD HISTORY:
Cravat-The distant origins of this word are uncertain, and its history is a bit shaky, but it goes back to transliterated Serbo-Croatian "Hrvat," which means "Croat" (where this came from is uncertain). During the 1600s some Croatian cavalry served in the French army as mercenaries. These Croatian troops wore a kind of scarf or cloth around there necks, which was called "cravate," by the French, a term which then spread to German, as "Krawatte," and to English, as "cravat," in the mid 1600s. There "seems" to be an alternate idea that the word originally was picked up by German as "Krawatte," and then spread to French. My German sources indicate the word came TO German FROM French; thus, my history above.

Red Pepper Relish: Serbian & Croatian Ajvar/Ljutenica

Ajvar, essentially pronounced as if "eye-var," and "ljutenica," pronounced as if, "loot-en-eetsa," are types of relish often used as condiments in Serbia, Croatia and in other parts of the Balkans. Recipes vary somewhat by region, but "ljutenica" is the spicy hot version of the relish in most areas. So you can make it mild or spicy hot, as you wish. It is used on sandwiches and burgers, as well as just spread onto slices of bread. When I was a kid, Serbia was often written as, "Servia," and Serbian was often written as, "Servian," but those variant spellings ceased decades ago; at least, to my knowledge. 

2 pounds roasted sweet red bell peppers, or store bought roasted peppers
1 small to medium roasted eggplant (aubergine), about 1/2 to 3/4 pound
1 medium ripe tomato, roughly chopped 
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon hot (or mild) Hungarian paprika
1 hot chili pepper 
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon black pepper
pinch or two of sugar

To roast the peppers and eggplant: heat the oven to 450 F. While the oven is heating up, wash and cut the peppers and eggplant in half. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. You can rub a little olive oil onto each, if you wish. Place the vegetables cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Roast for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the skin on the peppers begins to blacken in spots (the eggplant skin will get a wrinkled look to it). Let the peppers cool a bit, then peel off the skin. You can scoop out the eggplant and toss the skin away, along with the pepper skins.
   
Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until still a little chunky, although some make it into a smooth paste. Often used in the Balkans on burgers there called "pljeskavice." For that recipe, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/pljeskavica-serbian-burgers.html

WORD HISTORY: 
Aubergine-There is some slight uncertainty about the history of this word, and its ultimate origin is not known, although a Dravidian language may be the source. ^ It goes back to transliterated Sanskrit "vatigagama," ^^ which meant "eggplant." This gave Persian "badingan/badengan," which was borrowed by Arabic ^^^ as transliterated "al-badinjan," and with the continued meaning "eggplant." Large parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) were conquered by the Arabic speaking Moors, from northwestern Africa, and this brought the word to the various languages/dialects of Iberia in sometimes slightly different forms. French borrowed the word as "alberge/albergen(?), "perhaps" from a form in Catalan, which then became "aubergine," and English borrowed the word in the very late 1700s, and it finally overtook the word "eggplant" in England and Britain, although "eggplant" remained as the main word, and still does, in the United States and, I believe, in Canada, although "aubergine" is likely used by French speaking Canadians. I dare say that quite a number of Americans would be at a loss if someone told them, "We just bought a nice aubergine." German, a close relative of English, used "eierpflanze" (egg/eggs plant), before borrowing "aubergine" from French in just the past century, although some southern dialects use "Melanzani," a borrowing from nearby Italian. The idea behind the naming of the produce as "eggplant" comes from the oval shaped white eggplant looking like eggs, and the name carried over to the purple color produce too.   

^ Dravidian is a language family of southern Asia, principally with languages spoken in the south of India. English belongs to the Indo European family of languages, and then the Germanic branch of Indo European.
  
^^ Sanskrit is an ancient language from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European; thus, it is related to English, although much further down the family tree. It is still in use to some degree, especially in India.

^^^ Arabic is from the Semitic languages, the most common of which are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew and Tigrinya. Arabic and Hebrew are commonly known in much of Europe and North America, but Amharic is spoken in a large part of Ethiopia. Tigrinya is also spoken in parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, another East African nation. 

A Friend in West Virginia, Part Twenty-Two

My Clarksburg friend began writing negative things to me about an acquaintance of mine, whom he knew from online. To my knowledge, this guy never did anything to him, it was all in his mind about the guy somehow being jealous of him. The two had been emailing periodically, I assume, including a time when I had a medical emergency. The negativity didn't last, just a day or two, but it shows how he could get something on his mind and then attack. No big deal and he settled down. I never let my other friend know anything about it; although I've only communicated with him like twice since then, and he never mentioned anything about my friend in West Virginia.  

Lives of a Bengal Lancer

This 1935 film is set in India's "North West Frontier" area in the early part of the 1900s, when India was a British colony.* It focuses on the lives of three men of the 41st Bengal Lancers; and while the film is loosely based on the autobiography of the same name by Francis Yeats-Brown, much of the film is fictional (Yeats-Brown did serve in India, but he did not serve in the 41st Bengal Lancers, for instance). Another interesting thing is, the film is about men of the British Indian Army, but it was an American production, and the three main roles were all played by American actors (Lieutenant Alan McGregor, a Canadian serving in India, played by Gary Cooper, Lieutenant John Forsythe played by Franchot Tone, Lieutenant Donald Stone, played by Richard Cromwell), but two of their superior officers are played by English actors: Colonel Stone, played by Guy Standing and Major Hamilton, played by C. Aubrey Smith. ** Further, the political feelings in more modern times would not likely accept a story of a colonial power fighting elements of the native population to keep control in the hands of colonialists. Further still, especially for Americans, who can't get out from under the burden of racism, but other countries too, the filming of dominant white colonialists doing battle with darker skinned Indians to retain that dominance would probably not even be filmed today; at least, not from that perspective, but rather if the Indians won a battle, or even a political battle. *** (NOTE: I will not put every little detail in this review and synopsis, but be aware, not all matters are quite what they seem to be in the film, as the director and script have us leaning one way, while the truth is in the other direction. A great device to keep us and the characters, too, off balance.)

The British are trying to keep down rebellion in northwestern India, as the tribes there periodically go into open revolt, so the 41st Bengal Lancers **** are in a dangerous region (which was very true historically). Lieutenant McGregor is a bit rebellious himself, and he receives Lieutenant Forsythe and Lieutenant Stone into the unit. Lieutenant Stone is the son of Colonel Stone, a British career officer to the core; "Ramrod," McGregor calls him, whose standoffish behavior toward his son, damages the young officer's spirit, as he thought his father wanted him in India, so they could serve together. His father, however, is trying not to show favoritism to his son, but he carries it too far ("there's no room for sentimentality in the army," he says a couple of times). The first real private meeting between the two is awkward and painful, as Colonel Stone can't stop being Colonel Stone for three seconds to give his son a kind word.  

The core of the film comes when a disguised British spy, Lieutenant Barrett, played by New Zealand born Colin Tapley, reports that Mohammed Khan, played by Canadian actor Douglass Dumbrille, is planning to unite the border tribes against the British by providing them with machine guns and ammunition. The British fear that one of the Indian emirs,***** played by Armenian, but Russian-born actor, Akim Tamiroff, who asks for, and gets, various munitions and supplies from the British, is then passing on those munitions to Khan. The 41st, led by Colonel Stone, goes to a meeting and  gathering (pig-sticking) with the emir, with Mohammed Khan in attendance, accompanied by Tania, played by American actress Kathleen Burke, whom Khan uses to seduce men to lure them into capture and to get information. In this case, young Lieutenant Stone becomes the target.

In the meantime, during the chase for pigs, the colonel had instructed those unfamiliar with such a chase to always remain mounted, as the pigs could be very dangerous with their sharp tusks. His son, however, disregards the order and dismounts to pursue a pig he has wounded. This prompts the old colonel to try to protect his son, but the pig goes after him instead, and he is saved by McGregor and Forsythe, although he had told them to remain mounted. Colonel Stone has humanity in him, but he has trouble letting go, even briefly, of his military protocol, or to showing any weakness. He orders his son from the hunt, because he disobeyed orders, and he struggles to thank McGregor and Forsythe for saving him, though he has to take the parting shot of telling them they disobeyed his orders to stay mounted. The two men see a flicker of the humanity in "Ramrod," especially when he thought his son was in danger.

Tania gives young Stone a note saying she wants to see him, and he is then captured by Khan's men. Khan has also found out about Lieutenant Barrett, the disguised spy, whom he has tortured and killed and then sends him back to the camp of the 41st. The British capture Khan's man who brings Barrett back and they get some information from him about Lt. Stone. McGregor and Forsythe think the unit will go into action to free the lieutenant, but Colonel Stone tells them, "This incident will not change our plans in any respect." Hotheaded McGregor spouts off to the colonel, who tells McGregor that Khan took his son for the very reason of trying to draw the British out to save him. The colonel places Forsythe in charge of McGregor, who is considered to be under arrest for insubordination. McGregor and Forsythe then slip out of camp to go after Lieutenant Stone. They disguise themselves as Indian merchants and cross the border into Afghanistan, which is where Khan holds Stone as prisoner. It isn't long, and McGregor and Forsythe become his prisoners, too. Khan wants information about the ammunition shipment and where the 41st will meet that shipment, but the men say nothing. He tells them, "We have ways of making men talk," and he has them taken to a room with a table with bamboo strips lying on top. He tells them the strips will be put under their fingernails and lighted. We see the beginning of the torture on McGregor,****** but we then see him locked in a dungeon, followed then by Forsythe, where they hear Stone screaming. Next, the door opens and Stone is led in, but he's not crumpled in agony, but rather he walks in under his own power.

Five days pass, and the men look out and see Khan and his men bringing in the machine guns and the ammunition from the captured shipment. Lieutenant Stone admits that he told Khan the info he wanted, because of anger toward his father. We see Colonel Stone leading his troops towards Khan's fortress in an effort to disrupt Khan from fulfilling his plan to arm other border tribes, which will be a disaster for the British. Mohammed Khan comes to the dungeon to tell the men that the 41st will be there soon, and that if Colonel Stone succeeds in getting away, he will let the men go free; otherwise, the colonel and the prisoners will all die. Forsythe tries to take take down Khan, but Khan's men surround him and knock him to the floor. Khan leaves, but what appeared to be Forsythe's foolish act was really a trick for Forsythe to get several bullets from the ammunition belt of one of Khan's men. The gunpowder from the these bullets can be used to blow the lock on the dungeon, which they do. They overpower the guard, but not before Stone is knocked unconscious (that's a change, a stone usually knocks others unconscious .... haha). McGregor and Forsythe capture a machine gun, and as the 41st proceeds to attack, Khan and his men now have an enemy behind them. McGregor takes a torch in an effort to blow up the gunpowder stocks of the fortress, and he is mortally wounded in doing so, but he throws in the torch and POW! Forsythe is pinned under some of the rubble. Lieutenant Stone now gains consciousness and makes his way outside, where Khan and his men have fallen back, as the troops of the 41st breach the fortress. Stone gets Forsythe from the rubble and he grabs a dagger. He gets to the wall above Khan, who is now on a horse, and he jumps and kills Khan. Seeing their leader dead, the resistance breaks and the battle ends.

Back at the post of the 41st Bengal Lancers, both Forsythe and Stone are awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and McGregor is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic action. The medal is fixed to the saddle of the dead soldier's horse. Tears stream down the face of Lt. Stone as he watches and "God Save the King" is played.        

* Both Pakistan and Bangladesh were still part of India back then, and indeed, the Indian North West Frontier was in what is now Pakistan. Across the border lies Afghanistan, and this border area is where the action takes place.

** You should easily recognize C. Aubrey Smith, as he was in many films of the 1930s and 40s, and the 1960s television cartoon character, "Commander McBragg," was based on the, by then, late actor.

*** I want to note that, when this film was made and released in the mid 1930s, Mohandas K. Gandhi (better known to some as Mahatma Gandhi), Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other Indian leaders were trying to free India of British colonialism and gain Indian independence.

**** The Bengal Lancers were from Bengal (hmm, imagine that!), way on the other side of India, the northeastern region. Today part of Bengal is in Bangladesh, and part is in India. The 41st was a battalion of the Bengal Lancers, which was the regimental name, but I don't know if, historically, the 41st served on the North West Frontier during the setting of the film in the early 1900s.

***** When India was a colony of Britain, local and regional "princes" helped them govern the immense country, while these Indian leaders kept power in their own regions, usually referred to as "princely states."

****** Even today, the full torture would not likely be shown in such films, but in the mid 1930s, that would never have been permitted.

Photo is from the 2015 Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD

 WORD HISTORY:
Lance-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, although from reading over the years, many linguists seem to believe it is Celtic; thus, Indo European, and that the meaning passed down through the centuries developed in Iberia, which was occupied by Celts in ancient times. If this is accurate, the word would have been borrowed by Latin as "lancea," which meant, "short, light spear." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "lance," meaning, "spear, lance." English borrowed the word from French in the second half of the 1200s. English cousin, German, also borrowed the word as, "Lanze," from which it spread into some other Germanic languages.

Make Your Own Creme Fraiche

Creme fraiche (French: crème fraîche=fresh cream) is a type of thickened cream with a slightly less tangy taste than sour cream, and it is also usually not quite as thick as sour cream. It is high in fat, and thus, also high in calories. You can use it as a substitute for sour cream or yogurt, and it is a common dip or topping for fresh fruit, but it can also be used in cream soups or as a garnish for soups. It is generally pretty expensive in American supermarkets and not all supermarkets even sell it. It's so easy to make, you won't have to go looking for it. 

8 ounces of heavy cream
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cultured buttermilk

In a well cleaned glass bowl, mix the two ingredients, then cover with a clean towel or even heavy duty paper towels. Let the mixture sit out in a warm, but not hot place, like your kitchen counter, for a minimum of 12 hours, but a full day is better. The mixture should have thickened considerably, so stir, cover and refrigerate for another day before using. The creme fraiche should keep well in your refrigerator for 10 to 14 days.  

Creme Fraiche is generally unremarkable in appearance, usually white, but at times, especially if, after you refrigerate it, you continue to let it sit, it may have a slight "yellowish" tint.

WORD HISTORY: 
Garner-This word, distantly related through Indo European to "corn" and to "kernel," and more closely related to Latin derived "grain" (borrowed by English) goes back to the Indo European root "ger," which had the notion, "wear down;" thus also, "to mature, to grow older," which produced "gerhanom," which meant "grain" ("matured part of a plant"). This gave Latin "granum" (grain) and then "granarium" ("place for storing grain, granary"). This passed to Old French as "grenier" (granary), which somewhat later became "gernier" (the "r" and "vowel" changed places). English borrowed the word from French circa 1190, initially as "gerner" ("granary," but also, "a supply of grain"). The verb form developed from the noun, circa 1600, to mean "to store grain," but later broadened to mean, "to accumulate, to gather in;" thus the more modern usage as in, "The Olympians want to garner some medals."