Fried Paneer & Fried Potatoes In Hot Chili Sauce

Paneer is a rather bland cheese that needs the help of seasonings to give it a boost, and chilies can help it a good deal, but you don't have to use enough chilies to sear your tongue. 

This is totally my own recipe, but here is the link to a "similar" recipe, but certainly not the same: 

https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/05/indian-fried-cheese-in-chili-gravy.html

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup paneer, cut into cubes

2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

2 hot chilies, chopped (if you like very hot food, use 4 hot chilies)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups thick ketchup

water (to thin the sauce, up to about 1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup regular olive oil for frying

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, then fry the diced potatoes, turning them often, until lightly browned. Remove the potatoes to a plate or bowl with some paper towels to drain some of the oil, but add a little salt. To the oil in the skillet add the onion and chilies and saute until the onion is softened and begins to brown. Add the finely chopped garlic and saute another minute. Reduce the heat to low and add the thick ketchup; stir well. Add the potatoes and paneer to the sauce. Add a little water to thin the sauce if it's too thick. Add the sugar and continue to cook on low heat for about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve on toast. 

  

WORD HISTORY:

Schedule-This word is a bit distantly related to the verb "shed" (to part with, to give up something, to give off something like skin, shell, hair, horns), a word from the Germanic roots of English, but it is more closely related to "schism," a word of Greek derivation borrowed by Latin and then borrowed by English via Latin-based French. "Schedule" goes back to Indo European "skei(t)," which had the notion, "to cut, to cut off, to separate (from)." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "skhĭzein," which meant "to divide, to split, to cleave." This produced the Greek noun "schéde," meaning, "a strip or a part from a sheet of papyrus." This was borrowed by Latin as "scheda," with the same meaning, but thus also, "a piece of paper." The later diminutive form was "schedula," meaning, "a piece or strip of paper;" thus also, "a note, a piece of paper with writing, leaflet." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "cedule" (also by some as "sedule?") with the same meanings. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s as "sedule/cedule," but about a hundred years later Latin influence made the spelling "schedule," later followed by the pronunciation as if "shed-yule," but then in the 1800s, the influence of Noah Webster in the United States saw American pronunciation change to as if "sked-yule," which took the pronunciation back to its Greek roots. The main modern meaning of "a timetable" originated in the mid 1800s for trains, but broadened in meaning thereafter. Also, the idea of "slips or strips of paper with writing" provided the basis of such pieces of paper being attached to official documents, now mainly used in U.S. income tax documents. The mid 1800s saw the development of the verb form from the noun and meaning, "to make a travel plan," "to set up an appointment." By the way, German also borrowed the word, which is now "Zettel," largely from Italian "cedola," but my guess is also with some French influence. In German it means "a small piece or slip of paper, a note or message, a label," and in some cases, "a publicly posted notice or leaflet."     

Savory Grilled Fontina Cheese Sandwich

Fontina is a cheese that originated in the Aosta Valley in northwestern Italy. Although similar types of cheeses with the name "Fontina" have come to be produced in other countries, including in the U.S., the cheese from Italy is designated as "Fontina val d'Aosta," and it is a protected product that offers consumers the assurance that the cheese is from the designated region of Italy and produced with traditional ingredients and procedures. It is a mild cheese and it melts easily.   

 

Ingredients (per sandwich):

 

2 slices fontina cheese

2 slices bread, not too thick

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, for the bread slices and to prepare the garlic and olives

3 to 5 olives (depending upon size), sliced 

1/2 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped (or you can use some crumbled dried rosemary)

 

Heat 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil in a small skillet over low heat. Add the minced garlic, sliced olives and chopped rosemary and saute for about 30 to 45 seconds (keep shaking the skillet). In another skillet large enough to accommodate the sandwich, heat 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 slices of fontina cheese to one of the slices of bread and place the bread slice right into the hot oil. Move the bread to coat the bottom with the oil. Now spoon the garlic-olive-rosemary mixture onto the cheese and smooth it out. Put another 1/2 teaspoon olive oil onto the other slice of bread and spread it out. When the cheese shows signs of melting, put the other slice of bread in place, press down lightly, and then turn the sandwich over and let the other side brown. Both sides should be nicely browned.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Spleen-This word for one of the organs of the abdominal area goes back to an Indo European form like "splelgh/splengh," which meant "milt/slpeen." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "splḗn," with the same meaning. This was borrowed by Latin as "splen" and was taken by Latin-based Old French as "esplen." English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "splene/spleene" and it gradually began to replace the native English word "milt" as the name for the organ, but then "milt" saw a shift in meaning to "male fish reproductive fluid." The spleen was long believed to be the organ of anger and bad temperament; thus, the expression, "vent your spleen;" that is, "erupt in anger, or let out anger about something." 

The Rogues, Sixties Light Drama Series

This light drama television series had lots of humorous moments, but it was a crime drama. The series centered around a crime family, but not in the sense of what we usually think of as an underworld crime family that tries to keep control over liquor, gambling or prostitution; rather the members of this family were all related, with one member being from France, others from England, and still others from the United States. What made this family unique was, they had a standard to only rob wealthy people whom they felt deserved to part with some of their money because they had acted so poorly toward others. The main cast featured English actor David Niven, French/American actor Charles Boyer (he became an American citizen during the early part of World War Two), American actor Gig Young, English actress Gladys Cooper and English actor Robert Coote. Gladys Cooper lived in the United States for an extended period, but I believe she only retained her UK citizenship, as did Robert Coote, who also periodically lived in the U.S. A few episodes of "The Rogues" cast English actor John Williams as an inspector with Scotland Yard. John Williams is someone you would likely recognize by face, but perhaps not by name (if you watched the 1960s show "Family Affair," with Brian Keith, John Williams filled in for Sebastian Cabot for a time, when Cabot took a leave of absence. He also played the chief inspector in famous Alfred Hitchcock movie "Dial M For Murder," with Ray Milland and Grace Kelly). Further, then essentially unknown American actor Larry Hagman was in two episodes of the show to try to help ease scheduling problems for the trio of well known male stars (Niven, Boyer, Young), who had commitments elsewhere. Hagman would soon go on to become famous in NBC's "I Dream of Jeannie" comedy series, and then later still as J.R. Ewing in CBS's "Dallas" series. He was the son of then well known film and stage star Mary Martin, who is likely best known to my generation for playing Peter Pan on stage and on television.

 

The Rogues" aired for one season on Sunday nights from 10 pm until 11 pm from September of 1964 until April of 1965 on the NBC network. "The Rogues" had a catchy theme song, instrumental only, no vocals, composed by Nelson Riddle. I watched "The Rogues" often in those times, and I have long had good memories of the show. Although the show was canceled after only one season, it had a truly outstanding regular cast (see below), and "The Rogues" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Show, and two regular cast members, Gladys Cooper and Robert Coote, were nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievements. The show also featured a number of well known guest stars, like Broderick Crawford, Ricardo Montalban, James Gregory, Dina Merrill, George Hamilton, Jill St. John, Dana Wynter, Ida Lupino, Walter Matthau, Eddie Albert, George Sanders, Zachary Scott, and others. There are DVD releases of the show and the show has aired on TVLand, I believe, and perhaps on some other such stations.

 

Stars David Niven and Charles Boyer were two of the owners of Four Star Television, the company that produced "The Rogues." The original intention for the series was to have Niven, Boyer and Young each take turns playing the lead for a weekly episode, with one or both of the other two stars adding some support, and with Coote and Cooper being the main support for the lead actor. David Niven, Charles Boyer and Gig Young were all established, well known stars. The thing was, David Niven was often unavailable for full episodes due to other commitments, so Boyer and Young shared the lead in many of the episodes, although Boyer's schedule periodically also proved to be problematic, leaving Gig Young as the most common lead. Understand, David Niven did lead in a couple of episodes. "The Rogues" showed the difficulty of doing a weekly television series with three big stars, all of whom still had strong ties to the movie industry; and thus, they had periodic scheduling conflicts.      

 

Main regular cast:

 

David Niven as Alec Fleming

Charles Boyer as Marcel St. Clair

Gig Young as Tony Fleming

Gladys Cooper as Margaret "Meg" St. Clair

Robert Coote as Timmy St. Clair

Larry Hagman as Mark Fleming 

 

In one episode, guest star Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban plays the ruthless owner of a shipping company (the Rogues call him a "barracuda;" which is a type of ferocious predatory fish). He has the bow of one of his ships reinforced and it then proceeds to ram and sink a rival company's ship, but the authorities can't prove it. When he answers a British reporter's question as to why his ship had its bow reinforced, he says it was for protection against icebergs; to which the reporter asks, "In the Mediterranean?" (Hahaha) The "family," as they tend to call themselves, come up with a scheme to have the shipping owner part with some of his money by them buying some outdated U.S. Navy ships cheaply and then getting the shipping owner to buy them at a much higher price by making him believe one of the ships contains gold bullion from the World War Two era. In another episode, the family determines it will go after a London gambling house that cheated "Uncle Bertie" (played by Donald Foster), one of their elderly relatives, in a card game. The gambling house is led by guest star English actor Patric Knowles. Because the family fears the English part of the family may be recognized in London, they call upon their American relative, Tony Fleming, to get back Uncle Bertie's money, but complications arise, and family elder Margaret is called into action to bring the plan to fruition. (Note: I always liked Gladys Cooper, who was in her 70s when she was cast in "The Rogues," and she is totally delightful in several episodes, but especially in this one. In various episodes, when told of how the family plans to teach a wealthy scoundrel a lesson, she utters, "Lovely!" A number of years before, Gladys Cooper was a very well known actress in her native England and the rest of Britain, although she also lived in the United States for a number of years. Famous American actress Bette Davis adored her, and Gladys Cooper famously played Bette Davis's mother in the film "Now, Voyager.") Another episode has the family trying to sell a diamond manufacturing machine to a greedy diamond mine owner (played by American actor James Gregory). Of course, the machine doesn't work, but their job becomes trying to convince the man that it does work. The family drops hints about a machine that makes diamonds, which causes the stock in the man's company to lose value (why do you need a diamond mining company, if you can just make diamonds), and the family then gets stock in the company at a cheap price, believing that when the diamond machine is finally proved to be unable to produce the valuable stones, the company stock will again surge upward, making them a large amount of money. And another episode has veteran American actor Broderick Crawford as a hard nosed multi-millionaire who preaches "don't ever give away anything, unless you get something better back." He owns a Rembrandt painting, and the family intends to use a copy of the painting done 20 years earlier by their forger employee, Henri, to get money from the rich tightwad to help the aging Henri open a restaurant in the south of France, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (Henri is played by long time actor Steven Geray*).

 

* Steven Geray (an Anglicized version of his birth name) was born in what was then Austria-Hungary, but in the Hungarian administered area of what is now a part of Ukraine. The history and ethnic composition of that region is complex, so I'll just say that Geray came from an area with many Ruthenians, a Slavic people closely akin to the Ukrainians, but I'm not sure of his family background, and he is usually listed as Hungarian. In the 1930s, Geray appeared in many parts of Europe, including in London and Paris. His cabaret performances in prewar Paris saw him give unflattering portrayals of Hitler and Mussolini (GOOD FOR HIM!), which prompted protests from the German and Italian governments. He came to the United States during the early part of World War Two. If you've seen movies from the 1940s and 1950s, especially, chances are you have seen Steven Geray. As with many actors, he began to appear in television shows on occasion.  

 

 

The Skaryguyvideo multiple dvd set

 

Public domain photo of the cast of the NBC show, taken from Wikipedia. Gladys Cooper seated with the bulldog, standing left to right: Charles Boyer, Gig Young, David Niven and Robert Coote

WORD HISTORY:

Rogue-The history of the word "rogue" in English is tough, but it seems to be from Latin. The word entered English in the 1500s with the meaning, "a tramp, a beggar who pretends to be without money to earn sympathy and, thus, money." This seems to have formed the basis for the more modern meaning, "a scoundrel, a conman," and the secondary meaning, "an animal that roves outside the herd" (from the mid 1800s), and also, "a person who operates outside the rules or traditions of a system." This goes back to the Latin verb "rogare," which meant, "to ask (for something)," which goes back to Indo European "reg," which had the notion, "to move or lead in a direct line." The Indo European form is the source of numerous words including, "rich" and "right," from the Germanic roots of English, and of "direct," "correct" and "regulate," all Latin derived words borrowed by English, and of "rule," a Latin derived word borrowed by English via French. Latin "rogare" spawned a slang thieves' term, "roger" in English (pronounced with a hard 'g') with the meaning of "someone who pretends to be poor to get money from others because of sympathy." The term "rogues' gallery" started in the mid 1800s with daguerreotypes (and later photographs) of known criminals kept by law enforcement officials.   

English Toad in the Hole: Sausages in Pudding

This dish with the funny name seems to have originated in England in the 1700s to use up leftover meat. The pudding was a way to make the meal more substantial, as this dish seems to have humble origins from poor families, where meat, or at least quality meat, was something of a rarity in their diets. The pudding for this dish is really a recipe for Yorkshire pudding. Many Americans will likely be confused by the term "pudding," as in the U.S., the every day meaning of  "pudding" is for a sweetened powdered mix one buys in a small box at a grocery or supermarket. There are "instant" varieties, where the contents of the box is mixed together with some milk, then refrigerated for a short time, when the "pudding" sets and it is then served as a dessert. There is also a "cooked" type, where the powder is also mixed with milk and cooked briefly in a pan, then emptied into a bowl or individual serving dishes, chilled, and then served as dessert. Typically these puddings come in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, butterscotch, and several others. These puddings are also commonly used as the basis for cream pies, like banana cream, strawberry and chocolate. In England, and in Britain in general, this type of flavored powdered mix is usually called "custard powder." 

 

Anyway, in England and Britain, the dish's humble origins seems to have had some elements of society look down on "Toad in the Hole," the name of which seems to come from the idea of the sausages peeking out of a hole, like a toad. Eventually the leftover meat began to be replaced by sausages, thus giving us the "standard" modern day version, and more and more parts of British society came to favor the dish, making "Toad in the Hole" one of the most popular of English and British recipes. As with many popular recipes, there are variations, and some people and restaurants use other meats besides sausages. Traditionally 3 to 5 inch long pork sausages are used, but other sausages are now not uncommon in the dish, and I'm sure Churchill's ghost won't flick cigar ashes onto your meal if you use sausages made of something other than pork. I've made this dish over the years with all kinds of sausages, and when I made it for this article, I used relatively large fresh bratwursts made here in Cleveland. Naturally, you can adjust the recipe to the number and size of the sausages, and for the size of the pan you use. I used a rather shallow pan of about 14 x 9 1/2 inches, and the ingredient amounts in the recipe reflect what I used for that size pan. In England I've read where some use smaller, but deeper pans, as they prefer the "pudding" to be puffed up more.   

  

Serve with mashed potatoes and onion gravy and green salad or peas. When I read over articles about this dish, some mentioned that mustard is served on the side, although the overwhelming number of articles and photos did not mention or show such.

 

Ingredients (serves at least 4): 

 

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon dried thyme (crushed in the palm of your hand)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 to 6 fresh sausages

2 tablespoons oil + 1 tablespoon butter (for cooking)

oil for greasing the baking pan/dish

1 tennis ball size onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Mix together the all purpose flour, baking powder, dried thyme and salt; then, add the eggs and 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix and continue to add and mix in small portions of milk until the milk is gone and the batter is smooth. Let the batter sit for about 20 or 25 minutes. (Note: A short time before you will need the oven, heat the oven to 400 F.) In a skillet over medium heat, add the oil and melt the butter. Fry the sausages until browned. Use some oil to grease the baking pan/dish. (Note: I've found that this helps, as one of the biggest complaints about Toad in the Hole is that the pudding sticks.) Pour half of the sausage oil (drippings) from the skillet into your greased baking pan/dish, then place the sausages into the dish. Return the skillet with the other half of the drippings to the stove and saute the onions until softened. Add the remaining drippings and onions from the skillet to the batter a little at a time and mix it in well. Pour the batter over the sausages and onions and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cricket-This is the name of the insect, not the game (it has a different history). "Cricket" is related to "crack," "creak," "crow" and "crane," all from Germanic. While the overall history of "cricket" is good, some of the specifics are tough to research. "Cricket" goes back to Indo European "gereh/gerohn," which meant "to shriek, to cry out in a rasping voice." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "krakonan," meaning, "to give out or give off loud sounds, noises." This gave Frankish, a Germanic language/dialect, a form like "krakon," and perhaps a variant form like "krekon," which gave Dutch the verb "kreken," meaning, "to creak, to screech," which produced Dutch "kriek," meaning "cricket, locust," seemingly a dialectal form in the Gelderland region of what is now the east central part of the Netherlands, with the more prevalent diminutive form "krekel." French borrowed the verb form as "criquer," with the same meaning. French then formed the insect name as "criquet," a diminutive form perhaps patterned after the Dutch form, with the "locust" meaning eventually prevailing, and the word "grillon" being used as the primary word for "cricket" ("grillon" traces back to Latin, then to Greek). English borrowed the word "criquet" initially as "crykette" in the early 1200s.        

Middle Eastern Black Tea & Sage

Tea is a common drink in area of the Middle East and North Africa. This black tea and sage is pretty common in parts of the western Middle East, including part of Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. I like tea and I like sage, so this is a drink made for me.

 

Ingredients (per serving):

1 teaspoon black tea (or 1 teabag)

3 or 4 sage leaves (or 1 heaping teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves, NOT rubbed sage)

1 cup boiling water

honey(or sugar)

Bring the water to a boil in a pan. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the tea and the sage leaves. Cover the pan and allow the tea to sit for about 3 1/2 to 5 minutes, depending upon how strong you like your tea. Add honey (or sugar) to sweeten the tea to your preference. (Note: some people add the sweetener, typically sugar, right in the pan to dissolve as the water heats up.)

 

Milder tea (reddish in color) ...

Darker and stronger tea...

 

WORD HISTORY:

Algebra-When I was in school, "algebra" was like a dirty word; in fact, I'd have rather said, "heck," "darned" or "dang it," than utter the word "algebra." The word "algebra" was borrowed into English in the mid 1500s from the Latin word of the same spelling. Latin had borrowed the word in the 1100s with the Latin translation from Arabic of transliterated, "al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala" (The Compendium of Calculation by Restoration and Balancing," which has other translations^). Transliterated "al-jabr," a noun, is from the verb "jabara," meaning, "to set, to restore," from Semitic "jbr/gbr," meaning,  "to become strong, to strengthen;" thus also, "to gain, to triumph."

  

^ By the way, the book also helped immensely in the adoption of Arabic numbers into Europe, an adoption that gradually replaced the use of Roman numerals as the main way to write and display numbers.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

This Hungarian soup is loaded with pieces of mushrooms. Try to get a couple of types of fresh mushrooms, like some button mushrooms and some cremini (also called "baby bella mushrooms"), and perhaps you can get some mixed dried mushrooms. The varied tastes and textures of the mushrooms is great for this soup, and those eating it will likely not believe it if you tell them there is no meat in it. Just be sure not to include any tough mushroom stems. Generally the stems of the white button mushrooms are edible, but crimini and portobella muchroom stems can be tough, even like wood. By the way, these three mushrooms are all really the same mushroom, with the difference being in their age, color and texture. White button mushrooms are the youngest; thus, the stems have not toughened. The crimini are a little older and they have turned brown, and the portobella (some spell it 'portabella') is the large fully matured mushroom. 

Ingredients: 

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped (no tough stems)

2 or 3 ounces dried mushrooms, soaked, then chopped (reserve strained soaking liquid, see further)

1 medium to large onion, chopped (red or white)

3 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup liquid from soaked mushrooms

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 heaping tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk (NOT canned condensed milk, which is sweetened)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce or other soy sauce

2 teaspoons Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet

1 tablespoon dried dill (or 3 tablespoons fresh chopped dill)

1/2 teaspoon salt (remember, the chicken broth likely has salt, so you may not even need to add salt)

In a bowl, soak the dried mushrooms for 20 to 25 minutes in about 1 1/4 cups water. In a heavy bottomed pan or pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and melt the butter. Add the chopped onion and saute for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the onions soften and the mushroom pieces cook down somewhat (initially, you will have a mountain of mushroom pieces). Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms, stir well to mix, then cook for another 2 minutes, then drain the soaked mushrooms and add the mushroom soaking liquid to the pan and stir well. Add the paprika, black pepper, soy sauce and Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet, then stir in the chicken broth and salt, if using, and mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer and adjust the heat to maintain that light simmer for 12 to 14 minutes. Stir in the milk, then after about just one minute add the lemon juice and stir in the sour cream. Keep the soup on the heat just for another 3 or 4 minutes. If you'd like, you can top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream dusted lightly with some Hungarian sweet paprika.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Avarice-This word is closely related to "avid," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French. "Avarice" goes back to Indo European "heweh," which had the notion "to enjoy, to enjoy immensely." This gave its Old Italic offspring "awe(o)," with the meaning, "to desire, to crave, to be eager (for)," a result of enjoying immensely. This gave Latin the verb "avere," meaning, "to be eager for, to crave," which produced the adjective "avarus," meaning, "greedy," and this gave Latin the noun "avaritia," meaning, "greed," also, "gluttony," in reference to food consumption. This passed into Latin-based Old French as "avarice," meaning "greed," and this was borrowed by English, circa 1300, meaning, "greed, excessive desire for money or wealth," also, "desire for power."     

Twilight Zone Episode: Night Call

 "The Twilight Zone" was a weekly television series on the CBS network from 1959 until 1964. It was revived in the 1980s and again later. The original show had no regular cast, unless you count the show's creator, Rod Serling, who typically appeared a couple of minutes after the show began to give a little explanation of what was to come, and then he appeared again at the end to close out the show. Each episode was a different story, with no common storyline, except that they all involved ventures into mysterious and bizarre happenings, with some being a bit light and comical, and some others being downright chilling.   

 

This episode was first broadcast in February 1964. Its star, Gladys Cooper, was a long time English actress of stage and film both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. American actress Nora Marlowe is one of those people the public would recognize by sight, but not likely by name, and she made many an appearance, especially in television shows in those days.   

 

Cast: 

 

Gladys Cooper as Elva Keene 

Nora Marlowe as Margaret Phillips, the housekeeper

Matine Bartlett as Miss Finch 

The episode opens with a darkened room brightened at times by flashes of lightening, followed by crashes of thunder. We see an empty wheelchair, and then we see an older lady tossing and turning in her bed, as the rage of the storm makes it hard for her to sleep. The telephone rings and the clock shows a couple of minutes past two. The lady answers, but there is no voice on the line, only the sounds of some crackling and buzzing. She hangs up, and the phone rings again. Again she answers, but the same thing happens. Rod Serling's initial narration tells us the woman's name is Elva Keene and that the story is set in London Flats in a rural part of the state of Maine. (Note: Rod Serling was the creator of "The Twilight Zone," whose comments both introduced and ended the episodes.) The next morning the housekeeper, Margaret, arrives to find Elva on the telephone to the telephone company about the two overnight calls. Miss Finch, the telephone company representative explains to Elva that the company has been overwhelmed with complaints about disruptions of service by the storm. Elva and Margaret talk, and we learn that Elva is terribly lonely. A little while later the telephone rings and Elva answers. As during the night, there is no voice on the line, only a little buzzing. Elva calls for Margaret and hands her the telephone, but Margaret says there is no one there and she hangs up. Elva is concerned, but Margaret tells her not to worry about it, and that there must still be trouble with the telephone line from the storm. 

 

After making sure Elva is safely in bed for the night, Margaret leaves. After she goes out the door, the phone rings. Elva reluctantly answers, but this time there is the sound of moaning. Elva demands to know who is on the line and finally the voice says, "Hello ... hello." Elva lets go of the phone and the receiver hangs down by her bedside. The next morning Elva calls Miss Finch again at the telephone company and explains what happened. Miss Finch tells her she will have a serviceman check the line, but that it could take a little time, as there are still many problems needing repairs from the storm. Elva tells Margaret that Miss Finch likely doesn't believe her and that she thinks it is something in her imagination. Later, with Elva in her wheelchair, Margaret nods off in the other room and the phone rings. Elva answers and the voice repeatedly says, "Hello." Elva hangs up, and then she decides to leave the receiver off, but then she says that if they can't call, she'll never find out who it is. As soon as she replaces the receiver, the phone rings. She answers and the voice again keeps saying "hello," as Elva begs for the caller's identity. She hangs up and calls out for Margaret and tells her it is a man who has been calling her. Margaret tries to calm Elva, and indeed, she takes the receiver off and lays it on the stand, but a visibly worried Elva keeps asking why he is calling her. Later, Margaret puts Elva to bed and again she lays the receiver on the nightstand, but the dial tone keeps Elva from sleeping, so the distraught Elva puts the receiver back on the phone and just seconds later the phone rings. She fearfully picks up the receiver and she hears a man's voice ask, "Where are you? Where are you? I want to talk to you." Elva screams, "No! No! Leave me alone," and she cuts off the connection. 

 

The next afternoon Elva sits and plays cards with Margaret, but she can't concentrate, as she waits to hear from Miss Finch and the phone company. The telephone rings, but Elva lets Margaret answer. It's Miss Finch and Margaret gives the phone to Elva. Miss Finch tells Elva that a serviceman traced the calls to a fallen line "on the edge of town." Elva is upset, and she says it could not have been a fallen line, because a man has been calling her and that there must be a telephone there. Miss Finch tells her there is no one at the location of the fallen line, because it's the cemetery. (Note: Obviously a 'dead line,' and a cause for 'grave' concern.) Elva has Margaret drive her to the cemetery where they see the wire hanging from a utility pole. The wire rests on the grave of a Brian Douglas, 1905 to 1932, who it turns out was Elva's fiancé. Elva tells Margaret the two of them were out for a ride just a week before their marriage and that she (Elva) had insisted on driving, and that she always had to have her own way, and that she was dominating, and that Brian always did what she wanted. She lost control of the car and it hit a tree, throwing Brian through the windshield killing him, and that she was crippled in the wreck. She says Brian is now trying to reach her, "I can talk to him and I won't be lonely anymore." 

Later Elva is in bed and Margaret is hesitant to leave her, but Elva tells her she can go. Elva looks at the telephone and waits for it to ring, but nothing happens. She takes the phone and picks up the receiver and calls out for Brian. The voice comes on and says, "You told me to leave you alone, and I always do what you say." Elva bursts into tears. Rod Serling's voice can now be heard saying about men and women sometimes create their own particular private Hell. "A case in point, Miss Elva Keene, who in every sense has made her own bed, and now must lie in it, sadder, but wiser, by dint of a rather painful lesson in responsibility, transmitted from the Twilight Zone."

  

     

Photo is of the CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment 2020 DVD box set

WORD HISTORY:

Cemetery-This word is somewhat distantly related to "city" and to "civil," words of Latin derivation borrowed by English via French. "Cemetery" goes back to Indo European "kei/key," with the notion of "to lie down, to be settled in." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "koimáō," meaning, "to sleep, to put to sleep," and this gave transliterated Greek the noun "koimētḗrion," meaning, "place for sleeping, room for sleep, dormitory," but also, "chamber for the dead." Latin borrowed the word as "coemeterium," meaning, "burial ground," with the meaning seemingly getting heavy influence from Christianity (graveyards were often on church grounds) and this later became "cemeterium," and this passed into Latin-based Old French as "cimetiere," meaning, "burial ground, graveyard." English borrowed the word as "cimiterie," circa 1400, and it then became "cimitery," before "cemetery" circa 1500.            

Fried Oysters

When I was a kid in the 1950s and 1960s, Friday fish fries at bars and restaurants was a very common tradition, and a religious practice for Catholics, but even many non-Catholics ate fish or other seafood on Fridays. Even bars that did not sell freshly prepared food other days, set up deep fryers and stocked up on fish for their weekly ritual on Fridays (some even continued the fish fry on Saturdays). Besides offering fish on Fridays, a few other places offered baskets of shrimp, or ... FRIED OYSTERS!       

 

Serve with remoulade,* or cocktail sauce (easily made with ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper), or tartar sauce,** and lemon wedges, french fries, coleslaw.

 

Ingredients:

 

about 25 medium to large shucked oysters

1/2 cup buttermilk (or more) to soak

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (fine, not panko)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or other ground red pepper)

2/3 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

olive oil 

parsley for plate garnish 

In a bowl, soak the oysters in 1/2 cup buttermilk (or a little more, if needed) for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a skillet with about a quarter of an inch of the oil. Heat the oil over medium heat until it is hot, but NOT smoking (if you have a thermometer, 350 to 360 degrees F). Meanwhile, I then use a large food storage container with a lid, but you can just use a bowl. Add the flour, breadcrumbs, ground red pepper, black pepper and salt. Mix the dry ingredients together (if you use a container with a lid, just shake it until mixed). Remove the oysters to a sieve temporarily to allow the buttermilk to drip off of the oysters. Put the oysters into the coating ingredients and shake or mix to coat them. Shake the oysters of excess coating and add the oysters to the hot oil (you might want to up the temperature one notch to keep the oil hot), and you're likely to need to add the oysters in a couple of batches, as you don't want too many oysters in the skillet at any one time. Fry the oysters until they are nicely browned all over, which should be 'about' 2 minutes per side. Remove the oysters to a plate covered with paper towels or napkins to remove excess oil. If you'd like, add a little sprinkle of salt. You may need to add a little more oil to the skillet to fry all of the oysters, and if you do, add the oil first and let it heat up, then add the oysters.    

* For Louisiana Remoulade Sauce, here is the link to the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/08/louisiana-remoulade-sauce.html

 

** To make your own tartar sauce, here is the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/09/homemade-tartar-sauce.html

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cardigan-The use of this word for a garment dates to circa 1860 and to British General James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who wore a waistcoat in combat (he served in the Crimean War of the mid 1850s). "Cardigan," the word itself, is the anglicized form of Welsh "Ceredigion," a place name in Wales meaning, "Ceredig's land." Ceredig was a Celtic chieftan in the 400s A.D. and he helped to fend off Irish invaders in what was to become a part of Wales named for him. As for the "cardigan," the waistcoat was originally knitted of wool and fitted with buttons in the front. Later the term "sweater" became common for its description (perhaps for marketing purposes? Or perhaps because they tended to make them much more loose fitting than the typical waistcoat?) 

Baked Bean Curry

A few years ago, a stand opened at Cleveland's West Side Market featuring English food products. It was called "English Treats," and one of their main products were Heinz canned baked beans in a variety of "flavors," one of those being "curry." I tried a can of these curry baked beans, and I liked them, but I just really assumed it was a "flavor" of beans developed from the British close association with the Indian subcontinent dating back to British Colonial India, but later I learned the beans are actually Indian. I don't often mention brand names, but in England and other parts of the British Isles, "Heinz" canned baked beans are VERY popular. One of the ladies who worked at the food stand told me this, and she is from England. "It is my understanding" that similar is true in India, where, I believe, the Heinz baked beans are vegetarian. In the U.S., this brand of baked beans is marketed by Heinz as "Vegetarian Baked Beans" (you've got to admit, it's a catchy name that undoubtedly took someone at least 3 or 4 seconds to come up with). Anyway, if you like baked beans with meat, typically bacon, do it! And if your last name's Pruitt, "do it, Pruitt!" I use the vegetarian beans, but if you use the beans with meat, just don't tell me, I won't sleep for a week; other than that, it won't bother me. Understand too, use whatever brand name canned baked beans you prefer, and there are many good ones to choose from, and I only mentioned the Heinz brand, because that's how this all started. (Okay Randy, we get the point! Now YOU get TO the point! Geez!)

    

Baked beans come in various size cans, but use one that is between 14.5 to 16 ounces (415g to 450g). Use ground red pepper to suit your taste, but heat lovers will want a full tablespoon of red pepper, and Indians generally use that amount. This bean curry is often eaten on toast or with Indian breads like naan or chapati.

 

Ingredients: (about 4 servings)

 

1 can baked beans (14 1/2 to 16 ounce can)

1/3 cup chopped onion (white or red)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 or 3 green chiles (jalapeño or serrano are great), split lengthwise (or chopped)

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground red pepper (cayenne or other type)

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

 

 

Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet or a sauce pan. Add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the chilies and saute until the onions soften, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning. Add the ginger, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground red pepper, mix well and saute for about 1 minute. Add chopped tomato and cook until the tomato is mushy (use a fork or spatula to press down on the tomato pieces). Add the beans and salt, mix well and cook for 5 more minutes (still medium heat). Stir in chopped coriander.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Stint-This word is closely related to the verb "stunt," and it is somewhat more distantly related to "stutter," both words from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "(s)teu," and its extended form "steud/steut," which had the notion "beat, hit, pound, knock." This gave Old Germanic "stuntijanan," which meant "to make shorter, to make blunt." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "styntan," which meant, "to make blunt;" thus also, "to make dull;" thus also figuratively, "to dull the mind." Over the centuries the verb extended beyond "making dull" to "stopping (something)," then "limiting (something)," likely from the idea of "shortening," a meaning likely either added to or reinforced in Old English by Old Norse influence.^ The noun came about circa 1600 with the meaning, "a job limited in duties and/or time," which then broadened to mean things beyond work, as in, "Mary had a stint at home when her company closed for three weeks," or, "Joey's parents ordered him do a 3 hour stint studying, after he failed his arithmetic exam." (But he only studied 2 hours. Hey, I told you he failed his arithmetic exam. hahaha). Relatives in the other Germanic languages are tough to untangle from the verb "stunt" (to hinder growth), but German has the noun "Stint," meaning "smelt" (the fish that looks like a small salmon or trout, which is perhaps the reason for the name?).

 

^ Old Norse was another Germanic language, but from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. Its most prominent descendants are Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish. Old Norse speakers settled in parts of northern and eastern England about 1000 years ago, which added Norse words, meanings or grammatical influences to English. The direct "to shorten" meaning has not been found in Old English, although the "to make blunt" meaning common in the English of those times implies "shortening." Old Norse had "stytta," a relative of the English word and meaning, "to shorten, to reduce," and that's why it's main meaning may have influenced the English word.