Easy Spicy & Flavorful Spaghetti

Spaghetti sauce doesn't have to have 25 ingredients and cook for 10 hours. Sometimes... simple is more than adequate. This is my own recipe, but Italians have so many pasta sauce recipes, there is certainly a chance that this is a close match to some other recipe, but I use pitted Kalamata or Niçoise olives in brine, where Italians would likely use one of their own types of olive, of which they have several.

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic
1 chili pepper (seeded and chopped) or for more heat, 1 red chili pepper and 1 green chili chopped
8 to 10 pitted Kalamata olives with 1 teaspoon brine (halve the olives)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 14 to 16 ounce can tomato sauce

Cook the spaghetti per the instructions on the brand you use. Don't let it overcook, but keep it with a little firmness when you bite into it; that is, "al dente," as the term goes. In a large skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Slice the garlic into pieces and add it to the hot oil (keep the garlic slices big enough that you, your family or your guests can use a fork to move it to the side of the plate if eating garlic directly is not desired). Let it cook for about 30 to 40 seconds (shake the pan a time or two), and then add the chili pepper (I use both red and green hot chilies, and the sauce was not mouth-scorching). (NOTE: If you don't like much heat, just add a little sprinkle of red chili flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.) Add the olives and the teaspoon of brine and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. After about 1 minute, stir in the tomato sauce, and cook until the sauce is hot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. I put it into the skillet and mix it with the sauce. While I'm a lover of grated cheese on pasta (I especially love Pecorino Romano), I don't use cheese on this spaghetti and I've found that I much prefer it that way with this sauce. 

WORD HISTORY:
Duo-This word is related to "two," a native English word from its Germanic roots, whose relationship to "duo" is from Indo European. "Duo" goes back to Indo European "dwoh/dwah/duwo," which meant "two." This gave Latin "duo," which also meant, "two." This continued into Italian as "duo," with the same meaning, and it was borrowed by French as "duo," but with the somewhat altered meaning, "two things together, two items combined." This was borrowed by English, with likely reinforcement from Latin, in the latter part of the 1500s, initially with the meaning, "song for two people, song written for two singers." The meaning expanded to just about any activity done by two people working together.

Bangers & Mash with Onion Gravy

 Updated with gravy recipe and one new photo 4/5/22

 

This is a common dish in England and other parts of the United Kingdom. It seems the name "bangers" came to be used as a slang term for sausages in the World War One era in Britain, as meat shortages led to the use of more water and other fillers (grains or bread) in the production of sausages. When fried or grilled, the sausages would often burst with a "bang." Some people prick the sausages with a fork or a knife to prevent them from bursting, while to people with a more traditionalist side, such a thing is heresy. Besides "Bangers and Mash," there are some interesting names for food in British English, with "Bubble and Squeak" being another,* as well as, "Toad in the Hole."** I dare say, few Americans would know what these names mean in more recent times, especially as there aren't many men and women still around from the days when they may have been stationed in Britain during World War Two and they likely heard these names used.   

 

 

This is not really a recipe, as such, but rather the serving of three distinct parts, each of which can be readily obtained in prepared forms in supermarkets: mashed potatoes available in refrigerated sections, gravy available in jars or cans, and sausages available in already cooked form in refrigerated sections, sometimes in packages, but sometimes available at a per sausage price in deli sections or at butcher shops. In this case, you would simply need to heat the sausages, chop some onion and saute it until it's softened and browned at least somewhat, add the gravy to the onions and heat it through, heat the mashed potatoes according to the package instructions and you're ready to eat. Of course you can make your own mashed potatoes the way you like them, make your own onion gravy, and you can buy uncooked sausages, unless you like making sausages and stuffing them into natural casings.

My suggestion for 4 servings is that you buy uncooked or precooked sausages. You can use whatever kind of sausage you like, but pork sausage is traditional. In a skillet, heat about a tablespoon of oil and fry 4 sausages over low heat. Cook them until they are well heated through (especially if using uncooked sausages) and lightly browned (they will be reheated again, read on). Remove the sausages to a plate and add 2 chopped or sliced onions to the skillet. You can up the heat to medium. Cook the onions until softened, but it is nice to have the onions browned a bit for more flavor. Stir pork gravy mix into 2 cups of water (or follow the gravy mix instructions on the package). Add the gravy to the onions and mix well. Bring the onion gravy to a simmer, add the sausages to the gravy, and take the heat back to low. In the meantime, if making your own mashed potatoes, peel and dice some potatoes, put them into a pan, add a sprinkle of salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until softened, but not mushy. Drain the potatoes WELL, add some butter and mash the potatoes a little with a fork, potato masher or the beaters of an electric mixer (it doesn't have to be turned on, at this point). Microwave some milk until it is just warm (I use canned milk), then add it a little at a time to the potatoes as you mash them well (if using a mixer, now you need to have it on). Keep control of how much milk you add to prevent the potatoes from being runny. Add and mix in salt to taste, and pepper, if desired.  


Ingredients (4 servings):

4 sausages (pork or beef)
1 tablespoon oil 
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced (can be large dice)
5 tablespoons butter
"about" 4 to 6 ounces canned (evaporated) milk
salt to taste
(optional) black pepper to taste
2 chopped or sliced onions
2 cups water with gravy mix, or store bought prepared gravy***

* "Bubble and Squeak" originated in the 1800s in England as a way to use leftover meat and vegetables, which were cooked with mashed potatoes, causing a "squeaking" sound as it was cooking. In more recent times, while leftovers are still often used, the dish is also made fresh.

** "Toad in the Hole" is a dish of sausages in a Yorkshire Pudding dough. Here is the link to the article about "Toad in the Hole:" https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/02/english-toad-in-hole-sausages-in-pudding.html

*** I did the above article to keep things simple and relatively quick, but if you don't mind taking your time, this is a good recipe for onion gravy; so if you try it, you won't need the gravy mix and procedure mentioned above, but to be quite honest, it is very much dependent upon using good beef stock, and I'm not saying that you necessarily need to make the stock yourself, as there are some decent store bought brands. To be blunt though, if you're just going to use soup base, you just as well stick with the gravy mix in the main article.

Ingredients: 

 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1 1/2 tablespoons thick ketchup

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, according to preference

Add the oil and butter to a pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook, stirring often, but no need to stir continuously, until the onions soften, about 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir it in, reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook for about 2 minutes, to remove the raw flour taste. Add the stock, ketchup, Worcestershire and black pepper and bring the gravy to a steady simmer; turn the heat to low and simmer the gravy until thickened to your preference (about 3 to 5 minutes). 

 

 

WORD HISTORY: 
Shire-This word goes back to Indo European "sker," which meant, "to cut, to scrape," and it is distantly related to "scribe" and to "scribble," both of Latin derivation and borrowed by English, and more closely related to "shear," a word that goes back to the Germanic roots of English, and it is the first part of the compound "sheriff," initially "an official of a shire, now of a county." The Indo European form gave Old Germanic or West Germanic "skiro," which meant, "a division of land under a particular authority;" that is, "land cut up into areas of authority." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "scir," with the same general meaning. The spelling later changed to "shire," but its use for an official land division was replaced in England by "county," a word taken from French, as it was eventually established in England by the Normans, circa 1300. The word "shire," however, has lived on into the present in geographic names and it was even taken to the New World, as in "New Hampshire." German had "scira," with a similar meaning to its English cousin's original meaning, but unlike English, the German word has now died out, "apparently" as it has in other Germanic languages. Just a question: did the move of some Germanic dialects from the continental mainland to Briton as Anglo-Saxon (Old English) save the word "shire" from extinction?    

Albanian Bean Soup: Pasul

Albania is one of the countries of the Balkans, in southeastern Europe. When I was a kid, Albania was scarcely ever mentioned on the news, although for those younger folks nowadays who have grown up with the Internet, cable television and 24 hour access to news, it may be hard to imagine a time when news was MUCH MORE limited, and if you wanted to learn about a particular subject, like Albania, you had to actually go to the library and read information in books. hahaha!

Anyway, Albania was a communist-dominated country, run by Enver Hoxha (pronounced like, "en-vair hode-jah") from the time the Axis forces of fascism withdrew from Albania late in World War Two, until he died in the mid 1980s. As I've noted here before, when I was a kid, times were tense in Europe, as Soviet-dominated countries in eastern Europe faced off against far more democratic countries in central and western Europe, led by the three Western Allies of World War Two, the United States, Great Britain and France, all of which provided occupation forces in their respective zones of Germany in the postwar era. These forces increasingly provided a counterbalance to Soviet and Soviet satellite nations in Europe, although initially they were there to prevent the reemergence of Nazism in Germany and Austria. The one thing I remember about Hoxha's Albania was, it was not dominated by the Soviet Union, but in fact, it allied itself with China, then always referred to in the U.S. as "Red China," to distinguish it from Taiwan, which was always called "Formosa," back then, and which was recognized by many nations as "China." Are you confused yet? If not, I could go on, but I'll spare you (hahaha!), but such were the international politics of those times.

Albania was long under the dominance of the Ottoman Turks, and indeed, it wasn't until the early part of the 1900s that Albania gained its independence, which was lost to Mussolini's Italy in 1939 and regained with the defeat of fascism. The Albanians have had many influences from their neighbors and conquerors, as the former Christian nation saw a majority of its people convert to Islam a few centuries ago, and many culinary influences came from the Italians, the Greeks and the Turks.

For decades there was a popular Italian restaurant in downtown Cleveland called, "The New York Spaghetti House," founded by an Italian immigrant who had spent his first couple of years in the U.S. in New York City. When he moved to Cleveland and opened his restaurant, he named it after his first American home city. I ate there often over the years, and there was a waiter there who was from Albania! I can't remember his name now, but my curiosity about other countries, other peoples and other languages led to some conversations with him. He never wrote down customer orders, he remembered each order. There may have been some other waiters there who did the same, I just can't recall now.... so don't ask me to remember your order!   

This soup, also seemingly made by some as a thicker stew, is one of the national dishes of Albania, although it is also called "fasule" or "grosh" by some Albanians, and there are numerous variations in recipes. You can certainly use dried beans to make this dish, but I like to "cheat" and use canned beans.If you want more of a stew, thicken the mixture to the desired thickness with some flour and water.

Ingredients:

2 cans (15 to 16 ounce cans) white cannellini beans (or great northern beans), drained
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil 
2 tablespoons sweet paprika (preferably Hungarian)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or a 14 to 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained)
1 lamb shank 
1 tablespoon mint
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
water to cover 
 
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens, then add the lamb shank, the tomatoes, the paprika and enough water to cover. Bring the mixture to a simmer and adjust the heat accordingly to keep the soup at a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until the lamb is tender, then add the beans, the mint, the pepper and the salt. Simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. I take the meat off of the lamb shank bone and add it back into the soup. Serve with pieces of crusty bread and a salad.  

Pasul with a kale salad ...

WORD HISTORY: 
Yearn-This word goes back to Indo European "gher," which had the notion of, "to want, to desire, to like to have or do." This gave Old Germanic a form like "gernanan," with the same meanings, but by extension further to, "to be eager for, to have a liking for." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "giernen" (also "geornan" in some dialects), meaning, "to long for, to desire, to seek for, to be eager." The beginning sounds came to be spelled as "y," and thus produced modern "yearn." The extensive nuances in meanings have produced numerous relatives of "yearn" in the other Germanic languages, including: German "begehren" (to desire, to wish for), gieren (to crave mightily, to greedily crave), and the common adverb "gern" (gladly, readily, willingly), English once had "georn" (desirous, eager); Low German "gieren" (to ask for something; that is, something desired); Old Norse had "gjarn" (desirous).    

Bette Davis Was Right About Aging

Unfortunately, some people suffer with medical problems throughout their lives, but there's no question, that once we pass a certain age, which varies by person, even people who have gone decades without major illness or injury start to feel the effects of just having lived. We often hear about "aches and pains," and much of this pain sort of creeps up on us; that is, it doesn't necessarily slug us in the jaw and knock us to the ground, but rather some people start to feel pain or achiness in some parts of the body, often like in knees, hands or shoulders. As time passes the achiness may intensify, and achiness may also flare up elsewhere. Generally speaking, when we're younger, and if we're fortunate, we won't have too many difficulties to deal with at the same time. When we get older, however, things can begin to happen in quick succession, giving the sufferers multiple health issues to deal with, and bringing with them necessary changes to the lives of people so afflicted. I mentioned "aches and pains," but remember, even if some are lucky enough to escape these problems in their early decades of life, as we age, many people have some change in their eyesight, their hearing, their teeth, their blood pressure, their digestion and their balance. Those "aches and pains" are likely that nefarious enemy ... arthritis; inflammation in the joints, which can also cause swelling. Of course the chances of far more serious conditions rise with advancing years, like heart problems, respiratory problems and cancer.  
 
This brings me to one of my favorite actresses ... Bette Davis. Besides her many roles in show business over the decades, Bette Davis was also known for being outspoken. In her later years she suffered with breast cancer and strokes, as well as, I'm sure, a number of conditions I mentioned above. She also uttered the line, "Old age ain't no place for sissies." There's a funny thing about this quote, while oft attributed to Davis, I can find no time or place for her quip, although I must admit, I haven't exactly made this my life's mission, especially since my neck hurts, my shoulder is bothering me, my hand is shaking, my blood pressure pill is due, there's ringing in one ear and there is tingling between my should blades. So whatever the case about who actually said, "Old age ain't no place for sissies," there is much truth in the line.

WORD HISTORY:
Quote-This word is distantly related to a whole series of common words from the Germanic roots of English: "who," "whom," "how," "why," "where," "what," and a number of others. It is also distantly related to "quorum," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. It goes back to the Indo European root "kwo," which produced the expanded form "kwo-ti," which had to do with "how many, how much." This gave Latin "quot" ("how many"), which produced Latin "quotus" ("what number in order," also, "which"), and this produced the verb, "quotare" ("to differentiate by numbers;" thus also, "to divide a book by numbers/chapters, to set an amount or value to some item). This was passed to Latin-based French as "coter" ("to set a price or value for items," "to give an evaluation of something"). This was borrowed by English as "coten" in the second half of the 1300s, seemingly from both Latin and French, but initially with the Latin meaning, "to divide a book by numbers/chapters." By the second half of the 1500s the spelling had changed to "quote," and the meaning had developed to, "to use or cite a numbered part of a book (chapter) as a reference." By the second half of the 1600s the meaning had moved to, "to cite sentences or particular passages of text." In the mid 1800s one of the old meanings returned, "to set a price or value for items," but whether this came from French or Latin, I'm not sure. The noun form seems to be both a use of the verb form as a noun, but also a shortened form of the closely related "quotation."

Salvadoran Filled Tortillas: Pupusas

If you've never had "pupusas," please give them a try. They are easy to make and they don't require any difficult to find ingredients or accompaniments. You can fill pupusas with meat, cheese, beans, vegetables or a little of each. For this article, I used refried beans and cheese to fill the pupusas. Salvadorans serve pupusas with "curtido," a type of pickled cabbage.* They are also often accompanied by hot sauce and crema, which is a kind of mild sour cream.** Besides making the actual pupusas, you can also make the refried beans yourself,*** or you can buy your favorite brand at local supermarkets or any Latino market, along with some "masa harina," a white corn flour.
   
Ingredients:

refried beans (homemade or 1 can)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 
2 cups masa flour (masa harina)
1 2/3 cups hot water
1 tablespoon salt

Combine the flour, water and salt into a dough. The dough should not be loose, so if you need to adjust either the amount of flour or water, do so. Roll pieces of dough in your hands into rounds slightly larger than golf balls. Let the rounds sit while you make the filling for the pupusas. For the filling: This is tough now.... Mix the shredded cheese into the refried beans. Okay... maybe it's not so tough. You might want to put a little oil on your hands, then flatten and pat the dough rounds into about 4 to 5 inch diameter cakes. These are not supposed to be the thin tortillas most people likely think of, but rather they are thicker. Put a heaping tablespoon or two of the bean/cheese mixture in the center of the cake, then pull up the edges of the dough around the filling to close it off. I rolled the cakes back into rounds, then carefully flattened them again. I had a small amount of dough left over, which came in handy to "patch" a place or two in some of the pupusas  where the filling tried to come out. Add a little oil to a skillet (cast iron is great for this) or to a griddle, over medium heat. Cook the pupusas for "about" 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they develop a little browning. You can serve them Salvadoran style with "curtido," as well as with crema or sour cream, and hot sauce.


* "Curtido" is also easy to make. Here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/03/salvadoran-spicy-pickled-cabbage-curtido.html

** You can find "crema," probably more as "Mexican Crema," in many supermarkets or Latino grocery stores. The tartness may differ slightly between Mexican crema and some other countries, but "creme fraiche" is essentially the same thing, and you can easily make it yourself, if you can't find "crema" near you, or just use some sour cream. Here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/make-your-own-creme-fraiche.html 

*** For the article on refried beans, here's the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/11/refried-beans-frijoles-refritos.html

The hot sauce is Mexican, but I'm sure Salvadorans won't mind ... and that's also some "curtido"

I pulled the pupusa apart ...

And with some crema ...

WORD HISTORY: 
Actual-This word is closely related to "act," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "ag/ak," which had the notion of "drive, move;" thus, "do some motion or process." This gave Latin "agere," meaning, "to act, to do an action," which spawned the noun "actus," meaning, "an act, an action, a deed;" thus also, "a performance." This provided Latin with the adjective "actualis," meaning, "relating to an action, pertaining to an ongoing action." This passed into Latin-based French as "actuel," meaning, "current, ongoing, up to date, in the present." This was borrowed by English in the first half of the 1300s, and the meaning extended from "ongoing, current," to "real." German, too, borrowed the word from French in the 1700s as "aktuell," also meaning, "current, in the present, real (presently, currently, as an adverb)."

Salvadoran Spicy Pickled Cabbage: Curtido

"Curtido" is a cousin to Korean "kimchi," as well as to "sauerkraut," because they are all types of fermented foods. In another sense, it is similar to coleslaw,* as it is a kind of slaw used as a topping for some Central American dishes, or as a side dish to accompany main dishes. While "curtido" has a strong connection to El Salvador, it is not uncommon in other Central American countries. I'm not a big fan of very sour foods, so I added a little sugar, and when I checked other curtido recipes, I found a few that added small amounts of sugar, although admittedly only 3 out of more than 20 I checked. While the amount of sugar is small, it does help to take a little of the sharp edge off of the high vinegar content. If you don't like "heat," you can reduce the amount of chili pepper, or just add a small amount of red chili flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper, but "curtido" is meant to have a "kick" to it.

Ingredients:

1 bag cole slaw mix of shredded cabbage and shredded carrot (or you can shred your own slaw: 1 small to medium head of cabbage, cored and thinly shredded; 1 small carrot, shredded)
1 small white onion, chopped
1 hot chili pepper (like serrano or jalapeño, but use what you have or like), finely chopped
1 heaping tablespoon non iodized salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons oregano (Mexican oregano, if you have it) 
2/3 cup cider vinegar
(optional) 1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup water

Use a non reactive bowl, like glass or stoneware. Add all of the ingredients to the bowl. Mix the ingredients together by hand, squeezing handfuls of the cabbage mixture, which will reduce the volume of the shredded and chopped vegetables. Make sure all of the mix gets bathed in the vinegary brine. In the picture below, the cabbage mix pretty much filled the bowl, at first, but some mixing and squeezing reduced it by about half. While you can't see it easily, most of the cabbage mix is in the brine. This slaw is best if covered with some plastic wrap and refrigerated for a few hours, or even better for about a day in advance of use.

* American coleslaw is a commonly offered side dish in many restaurants, diners and barbecue shops, but it is also made by many in their home kitchens. Most times, but certainly not exclusively, coleslaw is finely chopped cabbage and carrot mixed with a creamy sweet and sour dressing, with the creamy element usually coming from the addition of mayonnaise to the dressing. On the other hand, some individuals and restaurants use a vinegar-based dressing with no mayonnaise, that puts this type of coleslaw somewhat closer to "curtido." While coleslaw is most often used as a side dish or side salad, it is also added to various sandwiches as a topping.      

WORD HISTORY:
Tropic/Tropics-This word goes back to Indo European "trep," which had the notion of, "turn;" thus also, "change." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "tropē," which meant, "turn, change, the times of year when the sun reaches farthest north or south; thus, solstice." This gave Ancient Greek the transliterated adjective "tropikós," meaning, "having to do with a change," "of or about the solstice," and this was borrowed by Latin as "tropicus," initially with the same meanings, but only the solstice meaning continued, and it came to be applied to the region around the equator. English borrowed the word from Latin in the second half of the 1300s. 

Mecklenburg Sour Cream Potatoes: Schmandkartoffeln

This is a potato dish from the Mecklenburg region of Germany. Mecklenburg lies just east of Hamburg and vicinity, and after World War Two it was part of the Communist-dominated "German Democratic Republic" (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, abbreviated as "DDR," and don't be fooled by the "Democratic" part of the name, as it was a Communist dictatorship, with strong ties to the Soviet Union). As such, it was part of the state of "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (Vorpommern is literally "Fore Pomerania," but is more commonly called "West(ern) Pomerania," in English), a state that continued with the reunification of Germany. Within the Mecklenburg region itself, the best known city is Rostock. I had a German friend who lived in Rostock for a while as a child after World War Two, but fortunately, he and his family were able to make it to West Germany; then later, he emigrated to the U.S. 
    
This is an easy dish to prepare. I use beef stock to make it, but you can use vegetable stock, which will make the sauce somewhat lighter in color. The potatoes are often served with Rügenwalder Teewurst* and dill pickles (German: "Salzgurken" (literally, "salt gherkins"), also called "saure Gurken," literally, "sour gherkins"). "Teewurst" is a spreadable sausage available in some German delis, or online from sellers with German or German-style food products. If you don't have Teewust, you can try some ham salad or potted meat. By the way, the standard German word for "sour cream" is "Sauersahne," but in a number of regional dialects, the word "Schmand" is used.  

Ingredients:

2 pounds small to medium potatoes, cook with skins on
1/2 cup chopped smoked bacon
1 large (baseball size) onion, chopped
1 2/3 cups beef (or vegetable) stock
1/2 cup sour cream 
1/3 cup flour (or a little more, if you like the sauce thicker)
1 heaping teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons marjoram leaves (or oregano)
1 teaspoon salt (if your beef or vegetable stock has a good deal of salt, you can omit this)

Wash the potatoes well, cook them, skins on, in lightly salted water, until cooked, but still firm. Rinse the potatoes in cold water and peel them while they are still warm, set them aside for a little while. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the diced bacon for about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion softens. Sprinkle the flour over the bacon/onion mixture, then stir to mix in the flour, and let cook for just a minute or two. Gradually add the beef stock, stirring constantly, until the stock is all added and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the marjoram (or oregano), the salt (if using) and the white pepper, stir to mix in the seasonings. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure heat is turned low, then stir in the sour cream. Slice the potatoes and gently fold them into the sauce. Let the potatoes warm up over low heat, then remove the skillet from the heat. Serve with rye, whole wheat or multi-grain bread, slices of Teewurst and sliced pickles.

* "Teewurst" literally means "tea sausage," as it was often served with afternoon tea.

Schmandkartoffeln (Sour Cream Potatoes) with multi-grain bread, sliced pickles and Teewurst

WORD HISTORY: 
Cannon-This word is closely related to "cannoli," a word English borrowed from Italian, and also to "canon" (church law, standard or guideline for doing something, clergyman), also a borrowing by English. "Cannon" has a bit of a shaky distant history, but it "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed." Latin took the word as "canna," also meaning "reed," but also used for other "large woody plant stems;" thus also, "tube." This passed into Italian as "cannone," with the meaning "tube," which came to be applied to the barrel of artillery pieces when these weapons came into common use, but then this began to be used for the entire gun in general. This was borrowed by French (1300s?) as "canon," and English borrowed the word, also as "canon," in the early 1400s. The modern spelling "cannon" dates from the early 1800s. (Note: German borrowed the word as "Kanone" in the 1500s, but "perhaps" more so directly from Italian, and with reinforcement from French?)   

^ Sumerian was an ancient language of Mesopotamia in the Middle East from thousands of years ago. It has not been connected to any particular language family, although it came into much contact with elements of  the Semitic languages, especially Akkadian. 

Baja-Style Mexican Fish Tacos

Presumably tacos have been around for a long time; almost certainly, well before the Spanish set foot in Mexico; after all, wrapping food in cooked ground corn batter is not a terribly difficult concept to figure out. I, myself, figured it out last week. hahaha! While the history of tacos is sketchy, at best, the use of the word "taco" for this famous food is more than a little unclear. Quite some time ago I had a neighbor who was originally from Mexico. He told me the word taco, which actually means "plug, stopper," came to be used for the food by Mexican miners, who wrapped gunpowder in paper for use to extract minerals from the mines. I believe these explosive "tacos" were used more to extract silver, but I don't know that to be a fact. Anyway, the idea of wrapping fillings in tortillas led to the use of the word for the food, or at least that was my neighbor's story. On the other hand, tacos are a great snack, and could the word have been used because they act as a quick "stopper" for one's hunger between meals; thus, "a light meal?" Of course, there could be a simpler explanation proposed by some, that a word from one of the native languages for this already existent food was close to the Spanish word "taco," and so that is the word the Spanish speaking people took as the name for the food.

In Baja, the western part of Mexico, access to the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California eventually brought about fish wrapped in tortillas; thus, the fish taco, a "somewhat standardized" form of which spread to the U.S. side of the border and to San Diego and vicinity, although the tasty dish is much more widespread now. Notice I used "somewhat standardized" form for fish tacos, as with any popular dish, there will be inevitable variations, and so it is with fish tacos. Some people use red cabbage, some people use lettuce, some people use vinegar, some use chili peppers, some use white cheese, and I'm sure there are other changes. I like fish tacos with "Mexican rice,"* often called "Spanish rice" in the United States. 

Ingredients (8 servings):

1 bag shredded cabbage/carrot cole slaw mix 
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 pound cod in 4 fillets, then halve each fillet (8 pieces total)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup beer, more if needed to thin batter (light color, a Mexican brand if you desire more authenticity)
oil for cooking
corn tortillas 
chipotle sauce **
lime wedges 

In a bowl, add the slaw mix, the onion, the cilantro. In a cup or small bowl, mix together well the olive oil, lime juice, salt and honey. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix in well. Best if refrigerated for a minimum of a couple of hours. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, the ancho chili powder, the salt, the baking powder and the beer to form a batter. Add enough oil to a skillet to give you about 1/2 inch of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Drop a cube of bread into the oil. If the bread sizzles and starts to brown, you're ready to go. Dip the fish pieces into the batter, then let the excess batter drain off. I fry 4 pieces of fish at a time. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so. Put a piece of fish into each tortilla, add some of the slaw mixture, then drizzle on some chipotle sauce. Add a lime wedge to each serving.  

* The recipe for Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) is at the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/mexican-red-rice-arroz-rojo.html


** To make the creamy chipotle sauce, this is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/creamy-chipotle-sauce.html

Baja Fish Taco with Mexican rice...

WORD HISTORY:
Canon-This word has a number of meanings, the most common of which are: "church law issued by religious authorities," which broadened into, "law, principle, rule, guideline, standard accepted as proper;" "a list of people deemed worthy of sainthood;" "the collected validated works of a writer;" "a clergyman living under the principles of certain religious orders and often serving in a cathedral." "Canon" is related to "cannon," the gun, a word borrowed by English. It "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed," which were used for measurement and keeping things in a straight row; thus, "ruler (the implement);" thus, "a standard." Latin took the word as "canna," with the same meanings, but which then developed into "Church issued decree" ("rule to be followed"), as "canon." "Canon" was borrowed into Old English from Latin, but certainly reinforced by French, which had had the term passed to it from Latin. Latin had developed the adjective "canonicus," meaning, "by the rules of the Church, according to the rules of the Church," and this came to be used as a noun for the "clergyman" meaning ("a man who lives by the rules of the Church"). This passed into Old French as "canonie," and it was either taken to England by the Normans or developed among the Norman nobles in England as "canun/canoun." It was borrowed by English, at first as "canoun," in the late 1100s.     

Canary Islands Potatoes: Papas Arrugadas

NOTE: The Canary Islands are a part of Spain and are located about 60 to 65 miles off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean

"Papas Arrugadas" means "wrinkled potatoes." The name comes from the tendency of the potato skins to wrinkle during the cooking process. In Spanish, potatoes are primarily called "patatas" in mainland Spain, while they are called "papas" in the Canary Islands and in the large Spanish speaking communities of Central and South America. "Mojo picón" is a sauce often used on the Canary Islands. It can be red ("rojo," as below) or green ("verde," usually made with garlic, cilantro and parsley).

Often dried red peppers are used after first being soaked in water for a period of time. You want to use small potatoes, and the color is not important; in fact, I used a mix of small white potatoes and small red potatoes. Fingerling potatoes, also just called "fingerlings," by some, would also be great.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/4 pounds small potatoes
1/3 cup coarse sea salt
water to barely cover

For the mojo picón:

1 1/2 to 2 cups roasted red bell pepper (well drained, if using from a jar)
2 hot red chili peppers (like cayenne peppers)*, stems removed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 slices white bread (lightly toasted)
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika 
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (your preference) 

It is best to make this sauce a few hours before cooking the potatoes. Use a food processor or blender for the sauce. Put all of the ingredients into a blender/food processor. Blend/process until smooth. Best when refrigerated for at least a couple of hours before using. The sauce should have some "heat," but not blazing heat, although you can make it as hot or as mild as you like. For mild, I'd recommend using just 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. 

Leave the skins on the potatoes. Wash the potatoes well then put them into a pan and barely cover them with cold water. Sprinkle in the sea salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook them until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes and return the pan to very low heat until the potatoes are dried. Do not remove the residual salt that is left on the potatoes. Serve the potatoes with some of the sauce drizzled over them.

* While I prefer to use fresh chilies for this sauce, dried chilies, red pepper flakes, or ground cayenne pepper can be used.

You can see some of the salt residue on a few of the potatoes, but there is more salt that is unseen...

With mojo picón... 

WORD HISTORY;
Sherry-This word for a fortified wine from southwestern Spain comes from the name of the Spanish city of Jerez, which had been spelled "Xeres." It was used for "Vino de Xeres" (wine of Xeres), but the Spanish name was mistaken by English speakers to be a plural; thus, "sherry," which was borrowed into English circa 1600. The name of the city is a derivative of "Caesar," a word of unknown origin, although of course it came to be used as a name and ruling title.        

Danish Liver Pâté: Leverpostej

"Leverpostej" is pronounced like: "layver-post-eye."

You don't have to chop the liver, pork fat and onion into some exact size, just into somewhat smaller pieces, as these will all be put into the grinder or food processor. And please don't cringe if you don't like anchovies. This is not a pizza. The anchovies are blended into the mixture and you will not get the strong taste, at all.

Often served on Danish whole rye bread (rugbrød),* with all or some combination of pickled beets, fried mushrooms and bacon. Finding Danish whole rye bread outside of Denmark will likely be a problem, although "perhaps" some specialty bakeshops may have it, or similar. Of course you should be able to get it online, but German "Vollkornbrot" ** is "essentially" the same thing (if I were running for dog catcher in Copenhagen, I just lost), and it is available in some stores in parts of the U.S. and Canada, including here in Cleveland. Some Vollkornbrot is imported from Germany (typically it comes sliced), while others are made in Canada or the United States (usually sliced, but in larger loaves). Both Danish "rugbrød" and German "Vollkornbrot" are types of dark rye bread with various cracked grains and seeds in them. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork liver, cut into somewhat smaller pieces
1/3 pound pork fat, cut into smaller pieces
2 1/2 cups roughly chopped onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour
6 anchovies
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

Grind the liver, pork fat and onions to a fine consistency. The ground mixture will be runny and will look yucky. Add the other ingredients and mix in well. Put mixture into a loaf pan or loaf pans. Put the pan (or pans, if preparing all together) into a shallow pan and add some warm water to make a water bath for the loaf pan, also known as a "bain-marie" (see Word History, below) Bake in a 350 F degree oven. The baking time will solely depend upon the size loaf pan or pans you use, so it might take 45 minutes for a small pan, but 60 to 90 minutes, or even 2 hours, for a larger pan. The juices from the leverpostej should be fairly clear to signal that the dish is done. During baking, if the top of the leverpostej begins to become too dark, just lay a piece of foil over it. Danes at times use small disposable aluminum baking pans for their leverpostej and they fill some such pans and then freeze them. They need only remove a pan from the freezer and bake it, when desired. 

* The words of the Danish compound "rugbrød" are closely related to English "rye bread," as both words are Germanic in derivation, and English is from the West Germanic branch of Germanic and Danish is from the North Germanic branch. "Rye" was once spelled with a "g" in English, but the sound morphed into "ay/eye" sound, as happened similarly (somewhat different sound of simply 'ay') in a number of other English words like, "may," the verb, once spelled "mæg," and "day," which was once spelled "dæg."

** "Vollkornbrot" is literally "full corn bread" in English, but in English we say "whole grain bread." In North American English the word "corn" has come to mean the usually yellow kernels from a cob (synonym: maize) during the last couple of hundred years or so, but this word is from Germanic and it has long been the general word for grain throughout the Germanic languages, and it still retains that meaning in the UK, where "corn" and "grain" are essentially synonyms. The word "grain" is not an original English word, but it is rather a Latin-derived word, that was borrowed into English.
    
Slice of whole rye bread (I used Vollkornbrot) with "leverpostej," topped with bacon, with pickled beets and fried mushrooms on the side ...

WORD HISTORY: 
Bain-marie-This term is used for "a water bath of a large, shallow pan of water with one or more smaller containers of food placed inside the pan, then put into an oven to cook gently and with less threat of the food sticking to the pan(s)." English borrowed the term from the same expression in French in the first half of the 1800s. This was the French rendering of Latin "balneum Mariae" ("bath of Maria"). French "bain" was derived from the verb "baigner" (to bathe, to have/take a bath), from Latin "balneare," with the same meaning, derived from the Latin noun "bal(i)neum" (a bath), which had been borrowed from Greek "balaneion," which meant, "warm water bath;" thus also, "a place for bathing, a bathroom." Where Greek got the word is unknown. The use of "Marie" seemingly goes to "Maria the Jewess," who was an alchemist in Egypt some time in the early centuries of the Christian Era. Such water baths were used in science, and she seems to have been mistakenly credited with the invention of these baths, at the time, so her name was applied to the process. "Marie" is simply the French rendering of "Maria."