Irish Coffee

The story is that Irish coffee was invented in the early 1940s in County Limerick, Ireland.

 

Use a tall type glass (capable of holding hot beverages), you can adjust the amount of the ingredients according to the size glass you use. Ideally you would make a pot of coffee of some 32 ounces, and whip 8 ounces of cream,* then dispense the coffee according to the glasses, cups or mugs you use. Add the brown sugar to taste; likewise, with the Irish whiskey, and top off with whipped cream.

 

Ingredients (per serving):

 

6 to 8 ounces strong, hot black coffee

1 or 2 teaspoons brown sugar (your preference for sweetness)

2 ounces Irish whiskey (Jameson and Bushmills are best known, but there are others)

2 ounces whipped cream (preferably freshly whipped)

Brew the coffee in your preferred way (boiled, automatic drip, French press, etc). Add the brown sugar and the Irish whiskey to the glass and then pour in the hot coffee. Stir to dissolve the sugar and to mix. Top the coffee with whipped cream.

* You can whip the cream with an ounce of Irish cream (Bailey's is the best known). Irish cream is a mixture of sweetened cream, whiskey, chocolate and sometimes vanilla. The alcohol content is typically below 20%. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Clock-This word is closely related to "cloak," a Latin-derived word (the basis of which came from Celtic) borrowed by English via Latin-based Old Northern French. The ultimate origin of "clock" is unknown, and even its later history is uncertain as to specifics. The idea has been that Irish monks ministering to the various Germanic tribes introduced the word into Germanic from Old Irish "cloc(c)," which meant "bell," and by extension, "a bell used to signal measurements of time." Old Irish was a Celtic language, and Welsh and Manx (from the Isle of Man), both also Celtic, had similar words, but whether this points to a Celtic derivation is uncertain. I've seen speculation that the word might have been borrowed by these Celtic languages from Latin; after all, it was monks who introduced the word to Germanic (it's certainly also possible that Latin got the term from Celtic). Anyway, Latin had the word "clocca," meaning "bell." Old English had "clucge," also meaning "bell," presumably from Latin, but why not from one of the Celtic languages like Welsh? "Clucge" died out by the second half of the 1300s and was replaced by, or at least altered to "clokke" by influence of Dutch "clocke," which meant a "time piece, a device used to measure time." Dutch had gotten this from Old Northern French "cloque," which had it from Latin "clocca." German also borrowed the word, but in German it is spelled "Glocke," and it still means "bell;" thus also, "Glockenspiel."^ The German borrowing seems to have come from the Irish monks (missionaries), but then later reinforced by Latin. The modern Dutch form is "klok," Low German has "klock," West Frisian has "klok." Old Norse got the term from Low German and today Icelandic has "klukka," Norwegian has "klokke," Danish has "klokke" and Swedish has "klocka." 

^ Generally, "Glockenspiel" is translated into English as "chime(s)," but it also means the instrument used to produce these ringing sounds, termed a xylophone in English, but the German Glockenspiel has a higher range of sounds, as they are made out of metal only, while xylophones are made of wood.

Not Always Easy To Recognize Mental Illness

For the average person, learning about mental illness in its many forms is an ongoing process from our earlier years right up into our later lives; and in most cases, its likely not a chosen "course of education," but rather a mandatory subject put onto us by life and by our day to day dealings with others and ourselves. As I've written here before, none of us is "sane," whatever that really means, and we all have our eccentricities, feelings of despair and moodiness, but everything tends to be more about degree and frequency of problems. Just to be clear, I'm NOT a mental health professional in ANY way, but I've encountered a lot of people with problems over the decades, so my "education" came from experience, not schooling. 

Decades ago when I was in college (a branch campus), there was a female student named Louise. It's been so long ago, I can't recall some of the details, but she was a bit older than what most people likely think of as "typical college age," and by that I mean, if we say early 20s are "typical," she was more like mid to late 20s.* She had been a student at the school for a few years (I'm sure I once knew the exact number, but that knowledge has long ago slipped from the grasp of my mind), and she knew the teachers and the school administration. In fact, Louise even filled in for the main administrator's secretary on occasion (sickness or some vacation days). She also periodically worked in the school bookstore, which also involved answering the school phone when evening classes were in session. My point is, she was knowledgeable and trusted by the school's administration. I was president of the student body and many students were upset with the possibility of the school losing its affiliation to the main campus of the college. We protested! And as the matter was to be discussed in a committee of the state senate (not the United States Senate), we decided to charter a bus and go to the state capital and protest and try to have our say. Well, there was one problem ... MONEY! After all, we were students and like many students, then and I'm sure now, we weren't exactly rolling in money. Well, those were the days of privately-owned bus companies around the country facing serious financial problems, which eventually saw these transportation companies be reorganized and given a certain amount of public funding. The bus company we wanted to use was in bad shape financially (although the public didn't know all the details at that time), so the head of the company didn't want to make any discounted deals with us, or so we thought. 

 

Louise was not only a long time student at the school, she was involved in a lot of student activities, and she had a connection to this particular bus company because a family member worked there (or had worked there, I just forget), and she knew the head of the company. If I remember right, we were $50 short to charter the bus, an amount equivalent to more than $310 today. Well Louise came to us and said she had talked with the head of the bus company and he had agreed to give us a discount. We took the charter, I spoke to the state senate committee, the bill came, we paid it and everything seemed fine. Now ... when Louise told us about the deal with the bus company, she said the bill would be for the non-discounted amount, but that we only needed to pay the discounted amount and the head of the bus company would apply the discount then. So months went by and not long before the new school year started, the head of the bus company called me and wanted to know where the $50 balance was. I told him what Louise had told us and while he said he did talk with Louise, that he had never agreed to any discount. (Note: By that time, the financial problems of the bus company had become much more public, and the head of the company was asking city council for help, saying the company would go bankrupt if help weren't provided. Notice, there was no macho talk of "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps," or of "thoughts and prayers," trite sayings left to be dispensed to the poor ... oh, the bus company WAS poor! I wonder how all of this works then?) In the meantime over those months since we took the charter bus, but before the head of the company asked about the $50, Louise had also shown open signs of emotional/mental problems, but they were not obvious at first, and remember, we were young college students, generally lacking experience in any such matters.

 

Louise had a "crush" on one of the teachers, but nobody thought anything about such a thing, as other students expressed similar talk about teachers, even going back to junior high school and high school. The thing was, she started telling us "stories" about another professor, a married man, and the stories eventually became about the two meeting for sexual encounters. None of us was terribly shocked; after all, we had all been teenagers in the rambunctious 1960s and we were cool with all of the goings on, and the professor involved was known for making sex references in his classes, bringing chuckles from his students. Then one day the administration office and the neighboring conference room were closed off by police, and an ambulance was outside. It turned out Louise had used the school account at one of the florists to send flowers and plants to a number of faculty members. When there was a big meeting the school would typically order flowers for the conference room, and because Louise periodically worked in the office, she had access to the account at the florist shop. Louise suffered a nervous breakdown that day and they had to restrain her (straight jacket) to get her out of the building. At some point after she was released from the hospital, she slit her wrists, but someone found her before she bled to death. After that she was often very subdued and disengaged, perhaps from medication? I saw her once after college, but unfortunately, a few years after college, she succeeded in killing herself. The "affair" with the one professor was all made up and to my knowledge her stories about him never damaged his career, and he died not all that many years ago, age 90 or more. So this was a lesson I learned at a relatively young age about people with more than a little quirkiness or a few eccentricities. Louise could tell you a story that sounded totally real, with exact conversations she had with the head of the bus company, or with the college professor, but the gist of the conversations were made up; they were delusional. 

 

* Because this was an "urban branch campus," the students for day classes "tended" to be more typical college age, and the class offerings also tended to be more typical first and second year college classes, while a good percentage of evening class students were often anywhere from a few years older to several years older, with some of these students taking specialized classes to keep their particular work status within their profession, or to work toward advancement within their profession. The evening classes had a number of more typical third and fourth year classes, and even a few class offerings for graduate students.   

     NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE

                            1-800-273-TALK (8255)

                                                      

 

WORD HISTORY:

Din-This word goes back to Indo European "dhuen," with the notion of "to make sound or noise;" thus also, "to make loud noise, to roar." This gave its Old Germanic offspring the noun form "duniz," meaning "sound, noise," which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the noun "dyne/dyn," meaning "noise," and the verb form "dynnan," meaning "to make noise, to reverberate with noise." The noun form then became "dynne/dinne," with the ending 'e' being pronounced "ah/eh," before the more streamlined version "din." The other Germanic languages have (note: the Old Germanic form provided the basis for many of the forms in the continental Germanic languages, but they were also influenced in the Middle Ages by an entwining of the Germanic form with the form that became English "tone," which is Greek derived, thus some of these Germanic languages have at least some of the same meanings as "tone," and some spellings were influenced. English "tone" is from a completely different source): German "Ton" (once spelled "don"),^ Low German "Toon," Dutch "deun/toon," Icelandic had (still has?) "dynur," Danish had "døn," which seems to be dialectal for earthquake, perhaps from the notion of reverberating sound(?), Swedish has "dån" (boom, roar). 

 

^ German has two words "Ton" (all German nouns are capitalized), with the one related to English "din" meaning "sound, accent, shades of color."           

Thai Vegetable Green Curry

 A good curry with lots of vegetables, as well as just a little spiciness to tickle the tongue. Thai or Asian green curry paste is available in supermarkets or Asian markets, and it's not expensive.

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

 

2 tablespoons peanut oil

4 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup carrot, peeled and chopped or sliced

1 cup asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 hot red chili pepper, split or chopped (add another chili if you like more heat)

1 can coconut milk (about 14 ounces)

1 cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons brown sugar

10 to 12 medium to large basil leaves, torn or chopped

4 tablespoons green curry paste 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

chopped cilantro to garnish (cilantro is also known as fresh coriander)

In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over medium heat. Saute the chopped green onions, ginger and garlic for about 2 or 3 minutes, then add the carrots, asparagus, red bell pepper and chili pepper; cook for 7 or 8 minutes, then mix in the green curry paste and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and the vegetable stock, as well as the brown sugar; stir to mix everything. Simmer the mixture for about 10 to 12 minutes (the vegetables should be tender). Stir in the soy sauce and the torn basil leaves. After 2 minutes, remove from the heat. Garnish each serving with chopped cilantro. Serve over rice or with rice on the side.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Coco-A separate, but scarce word in its own right, mainly known for its use in the compound "coconut." It is not related to "cocoa," but the two words have long been confused in English; thus resulting in the word "cacao" becoming "cocoa" in English from the influence of "coco." Anyway, the ultimate origin of "coco" is unknown, but it is related to "cocoon," and it goes back to the transliterated Greek noun "kókkos," meaning "seed, kernel, berry." Latin borrowed the word as "coccum," with essentially the same meanings. Portuguese sailing expeditions encountered palm trees and their fruit in the Pacific and Indian Ocean areas and they used the word "coco" for the large shaggy looking, shell-encased fruit of the palm tree. The appearance of the coconut brought the comparison to a skull, with the openings and shaggy exterior looking like a face, although a scary face; thus also, "a bogeyman," and also, "monkey face." Spanish explorers also encountered this palm fruit, and seemingly used the same word for the Spanish terminology, although they picked up the "bogeyman" meaning from Portuguese. English borrowed the word in the mid 1500s likely from both Portuguese and Spanish.        

Rosemary Sloe Gin Fizz

About 50 years ago sloe gin was a common liqueur in American bars and restaurants. Back then a "sloe gin fizz" was known all over the U.S., even though not everyone made it the same way, as I recall, with some adding club soda to the sloe gin, while others added either Sprite or ginger ale. Nowadays it's still around, but when I went to the liquor store to buy a bottle recently, I had to explain to the clerk what I meant, because I didn't immediately see it on the shelves. She finally got the drift, but she too had a hard time locating it; so, you might say the whole thing was a "sloe" process. Obviously sloe gin is not as well known today. By the way, "sloe" is pronounced like "slow." Sloe gin typically has an alcohol content of 25% to 30%. For a little more, see the "Word History," below.     

I'm not much for shaken and strained drinks, so I use a tall glass with some ice cubes. Of course, you can always adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.

Ingredients (per drink): 

 

1 1/2 to 2 ounces sloe gin

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 ounces rosemary syrup*

club soda (fresh, with lots of fizzzzzzz)

ice cubes

rosemary for garnish

 

In a tall glass (10 to 12 ounce), add the sloe gin, lemon juice, rosemary syrup, then stir well. Add some ice cubes, but don't fill the glass with ice. Add the club soda to nearly fill, then carefully stir a little to mix (if the soda is really fizzy, the drink may bubble up or even run over, so be careful). Garnish with a sprig of rosemary. (You: Hey, what's that stem with the green needles?  Me: That's rosemary.  You: What's that little stem with needles next to it?  Me: That's "rosemary's baby." YIKES!)    

* Real easy to make, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/herbal-syrup-rosemary.html

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sloe-This word is distantly related to "livid," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French. "Sloe" goes back to Indo European "sleihuo," which had the notion "blue, bluish, dark blue/purple." This gave Old Germanic "slaihon/slaihwon," which meant "sloe, the dark blue fruit/berry of  the blackthorn bush/small tree." (Note: Blackthorn bushes are related to hawthorns and plum trees, among many others.) The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "slah" (long a), with the same meaning, and this then became "sla," then "slo," before the modern form. The sloe berry is a tart, mouth-drying fruit that is common to parts of Europe, especially to England. The English began adding alcohol, one of those being gin, and sweetener to the berries and this became "sloe gin." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Schlehe," Low German once had "sle," Dutch has "slee," but now more commonly used in the compound "sleedoorn," literally "sloethorn," as the hedge-like bush has many thorns, Danish has "slåen," Norwegian has "slåpe," but now used in the compound "slåpetorn" (sloethorn), Swedish has "slån," more common in the compound "slånbär" (sloe berry), Icelandic "sló" (?).    

Kashmiri Pink Tea: Noon Chai

 "Noon" chai, also spelled "nun," is also called "Kashmiri Chai," and Kashmiris commonly have it with breakfast and again at afternoon tea, and at times in the evening.

 

Use a brand of green tea with no added ingredients like mint, vanilla, or bergamot (bergamot is a citrus fruit and an additive to Earl Grey black and green teas). Any good Chinese, Indian or Ceylon green tea should work well, and I tried three different types of green tea, but there were differences in the "pinkness" for each type. It seems the pink color is just for fun, because the taste of the tea is not really changed by how pink the tea is (at least in my opinion). In Kashmir they use Kashmiri green tea leaves, which have the unique name of "Kashmiri green tea leaves." hahaha What, you thought they'd use Argentine tea leaves, or "hojas de té argentino," which means, "Argentine tea leaves?" Wow, Argentina uses another unique name. 

 

There are variations to make Kashmiri chai, with some people using several spices, but I've just used green cardamom pods, which are available in spice shops and in some supermarkets, and you need to crush them a little to allow the flavor to be infused into the tea during brewing (although you can leave the shell on). Some people use ground cardamom, a small cinnamon stick and some cloves, as well as some saffron strands, and even star anise. Understand, not all Kashmiri chai includes all of these spices, as they are used according to individual preferences. Kashmiris simmer the tea for quite awhile to make a "tea concentrate," although again, the cooking process can vary as to how much water and milk is added and how long the tea is cooked. Once the cooking process is complete, salt and often some sugar are then added for serving, sometimes along with some chopped pistachios and chopped almonds. I want to note here, I prefer to add some sugar, as well as a little salt to this tea, but it's my understanding that it is common for Kashmiris to just add salt. The tea is often served with flatbreads specific to the Kashmir region.

 

Ingredients (4 smaller servings, 2 larger servings):

 

2 1/2 tablespoons green tea leaves

2 cups water, to start, then another 2 cups

(optional) 4 or 5 saffron strands

6 to 8 cardamon pods, crushed

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

For serving:

more salt, to taste, if desired

(optional) sugar, to taste

crushed pistachios and/or sliced almonds  

In a pan, let 2 cups water come to a boil, then stir in the green tea, cardamom pods, and baking soda (optionally also the saffron). Reduce the heat to keep the tea at a steady simmer, while stirring frequently, almost constantly. Simmer until only about 1/4 of the water remains, then add 2 more cups of cold fresh water to the tea. Increase the heat again until the tea returns to a boil, then as before, reduce the heat and keep the tea at a steady simmer. Let the liquid cook down again, but this time until 1/2 of the liquid remains, then add the milk. Let the tea return to a simmer and continue to simmer it for a total of about 12 to 15 minutes, by which time it should cook down a bit again. Serve with a pinch of salt, some sugar, if desired, and some added crushed pistachios and/or almonds.    

 

 With some crushed pistachios and almonds ...

WORD HISTORY:

Cardamom-The ultimate origins of the parts of this compound word are unknown. It seems likely the word "cardamom" is a blending and overlapping of "cardamon" and the similar "amomon." "Cardamom" goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "kárdamomon," which seems to be a word that combined 1) transliterated "kárdamon," a word of unknown origin (although see more below), but which meant "cress," a type of spicy plant (with many actual variations), and 2) transliterated "amomon," another word of uncertain origin (some believe it to be from China or elsewhere in Asia), but which seems to have been applied to the black cardamom plant. The word "kárdamon" "may have" come out of one or more of the languages of southwestern Asia, including Hittite from Anatolia (essentially now Turkey, but before the Turks arrived there). Latin borrowed the Greek compound "kárdamomon" as "cardamomum," which by then meant "cardamom," in general, including both the black and green types, which are both from the "ginger family," but each from its own genus and both have pods containing seeds used as a seasoning. The Latin form "cardamomum" passed to Latin-based French as "cardamome," and English borrowed the word in the mid 1500s, likely from Latin, but perhaps popularized by French culinary usage.     

Saint Martin Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Pudding

Saint Martin is an island in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea. The island of Saint Martin, however, is home to two separate countries: "Sint Maarten," which is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and it is located on the southern part of the island, and "Saint Martin," yes, the same name as the overall island, which is a part of France, and it is located on the northern part of the island. The entire island has a population of between 76,000 and 80,000, with the Dutch part having a slightly larger share of the population. The island was named for Saint Martin of Tours, who was bishop of Tours in Roman Gaul (later to become France) in the second half of the 300s. He was born in eastern Europe, in what would later become Hungary (the Magyars, essentially the people who became the Hungarians, were not even in Europe at the time of his birth). He died in Novemeber 397 and he was buried on November 11. People began honoring him on that day (November 12 in Eastern Orthodox) and many Christians saw him as a saint, although he was not officially declared a saint in the Roman Catholic faith until 1962 (Pope John XXIII). English is the common language of many of the residents of the entire island, although French is the official language of the French part and Dutch is official in the Dutch part.

  

Use "pumpkin puree," which is pure pumpkin, whereas pumpkin pie filling has ingredients added to the pumpkin. While you're going to add spices anyway, you may wonder why it matters, and perhaps it doesn't matter to you, but by using pure pumpkin, you can then control the ingredients going into your dish. If you use pumpkin pie filling, you won't need to add the spices, except where you have a preference for a particular spice. This is a slightly altered version of a recipe from a recipe as part of this link: http://www.stmartinisland.org/st-martin-restaurants/culinary-traditions-of-st-martin.html

Ingredients: 

1 sweet potato, cut into chunks (or grated if you're not using a food processor/blender)

2 cups pumpkin puree 

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1 can evaporated milk (12 ounce can, NOT sweetened condensed milk) 

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg or mace

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons rum

3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Heat the oven 350 F. Mix everything together, except the raisins and the egg whites. Once the basic mixture is well combined, stir in the raisins. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in the egg whites. Bake in a well buttered baking dish for 90 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

I had the pudding with some vanilla ice cream ...

WORD HISTORY:  

Tin-The ultimate origin of "tin" is unknown, but it goes back to Old Germanic "tinan," which meant "tin," and there are no known relatives of the Germanic form in other language families, only forms borrowed from Germanic languages. The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "tin," the form that has endured for so many centuries in English, right up to the present (this is also true in Low German, Frisian and Dutch, which is quite remarkable^). Relatives in the Germanic languages: German has "Zinn" (pronounced as if, "tsin," and once spelled with just one "n"), Low German Saxon has "Tinn," Dutch and West Frisian "tin," Danish "tin," Norwegian "tinn," Swedish "tenn," Icelandic "tin."  (NOTE: For a long time people thought tin was a lesser form of silver, because of the mixing in of other metals. This brought about the use of "tin" in disparaging expressions like "tin ear" ("person with little or no ability to understand musical subtleties;" broadened to also mean, "a person unable to discern public sentiment on an issue") and "tinhorn" ("a person less than satisfactory in performance of a job, even though they act competent").    

^ Low German and Dutch briefly had a secondary spelling of "ten," but "tin" remained during that time and persisted until all speakers of those languages again used just "tin."

Italian Seafood Pasta: Spaghetti allo Scoglio

This dish is known throughout Italy, but as you can imagine, it is extremely common in communities along the sea. "Scoglio" means, "rock, reef, rock from the sea;" so it's easy to see the connection to various seafood that live in and around the rocks or reefs by the seashore.* It is not a cheap dish, as many, or perhaps most, seafood is expensive, and to buy such a dish in a restaurant, regardless of whether in your home country or in Italy, will likely lighten your wallet considerably or burden your credit card statement for a decent serving. You can save some money by making this wonderful seafood spaghetti at home, and it's really not hard to make, but there are steps to be followed. (NOTE: If you have had this in a restaurant, they may have had some other seafood included, like squid or scampis, or they may have just as likely excluded one or more of the seafood items I use for this recipe. Remember, Italian cooking is more about fresh ingredients available in a given area; thus, Italian cooking tends to be regional, although the basis of many recipes are the same.) This is not meant to be an actual tomato sauce dish, but rather a seafood and wine broth with some seasoned tomato flavor. This is a FANTASTIC dish!  

 

Serve with bakery fresh Italian bread ... 

 

Ingredients (4 large servings):

 

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, crushed, if you prefer to remove it easily later; otherwise, mince it

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

2/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 or 2 fresh red chili peppers, chopped

1 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon thyme

2/3 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups dry white wine 

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

12 medium size sea scallops

12 medium to large shrimp (shells removed and deveined, you can leave the tails on if you'd like)

12 mussels, scrubbed

12 clams, scrubbed

3/4 pound spaghetti or linguine

extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over each serving 

 

Add the olive oil to a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic and chili flakes (or chopped red chili) and cook another 2 minutes, stirring pretty much constantly. Add the halved grape tomatoes and continuing cooking until the tomatoes are well softened. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano, thyme, black pepper and salt. After about 3 minutes, add the white wine, stir well and let cook 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat down slightly. Add the clams and put the lid on the pot; let cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, then add the mussels and replace the lid. Remove the lid after another 4 minutes and see if the clams and mussels have all opened, if not, replace the lid and cook another minute or two, until they are fully opened (remove and discard any clams or mussels that have not opened at all). Remove the clams and mussels to a platter or bowl temporarily. (In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in simmering salted water until it softens somewhat, but it is still a little firm, about 7 or 8 minutes at most.) Drain the spaghetti, add it to the pot and mix it into the sauce very well (it will finish cooking in the sauce, thus taking on the flavors of the sauce). Add the sea scallops to the pot and cook for two minutes, then add the shrimp; cook until the shrimp are just tender (they cook pretty quickly). Check to be sure the spaghetti is cooked (you don't want it to turn mushy, though). Add the chopped Italian parsley and mix everything together well. Turn off the heat, add the clams and mussels back to the pot and replace the lid for about three minutes just to allow the clams and mussels to warm up. You don't have to pile every plate high with the seafood, as you can add more as you go. Drizzle just a little extra virgin olive oil over each serving. 

* Italian "scoglio" goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "skópelos," which meant "lookout point;" thus also, "high point, peak," which presumably led to the further meaning of "reef, rock rising from the sea, cliff." Latin borrowed the word as "scopulus," with the same general meanings. This gave Ligurian "scogiu" and then Italian took it as "scoglio." NOTE: Ligurian is an Italic language spoken along the coastal area of northern Italy and into southern France, although some refer to it as a dialect.   

WORD HISTORY:

Swain-This word is distantly related to "self" and to the adverb and conjuction forms "so," all from the Germanic roots of English, and it is also distantly related to "sole" (adjective for "single," but not related to the noun for "part of a shoe or a foot"), a Latin derived word borrowed by English via French. Further, it is closely related to the name "Sven" (also "Swen"), which is from the North Germanic languages. "Swain" goes back to Indo European "swe," meaning "oneself, self, separate." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "swainaz," meaning "herdsman, one who looks after animals," then later, "a young servant boy." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "swan" (long 'a,' and not to be confused with the bird), meaning, "a herder, a swineherd, a warrior" (the "swineherd" meaning has led some to believe "swain" is related to the similar word "swine," but they are from different sources, although our ancestors may well have conflated the two because of the similar pronunciation). The Old Germanic form gave Old Norse "sveinn," meaning "boy, servant." Old Norse speakers settled in much of northern England, and the Old Norse word certainly influenced the spelling of the English word to "sweyn" and then "swain," but also in the meaning to "a servant to a knight" in the middle 1100s. It later was used in compounds "coxswain" and "boatswain" (once spelled "batswegen," where the 'g' melded with 'e' to produce the 'ai/ay' sound), types of officers on boats/ships, and the latter came to be pronounced as if "bo-son." Many relatives of "swain" in the other Germanic languages have died out or experienced very limited usage, although Swedish "sven," in the sense "a young male servant," is still around, but not common. 

The Beverly Hillbillies Episode: Military School

"The Beverly Hillbillies" was a highly popular television show on the CBS network from 1962 until 1971. During those years, a few of the episodes of the weekly series recorded some of the highest number of viewers in television history. The basic idea to the show was that oil was discovered on the land of a poor family, the Clampetts, from back in the hills of rural America. The family's newly found wealth took them to Beverly Hills, in suburban Los Angeles, and one of the wealthiest communities in the country. The family had been so poor and so removed from much contact with modern outside influences, the new people around them found it impossible to get the Clampett family to adjust to a high society lifestyle, which led to many a hilarious situation. This episode was first broadcast in December 1965.

 

Cast for this episode: 

 

Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett (widower, father of Elly May)

Irene Ryan as Granny (mother-in-law of Jed; thus, grandmother of Elly May)

Max Baer, Jr. as Jethro Bodine*

Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett

Raymond Bailey as Milburn Drysdale (head of the Commerce Bank, where the Clampett money is deposited and he's also their next door neighbor)

Nancy Kulp as Jane Hathaway, Drysdale's secretary (the Clampetts call her "Miss Jane")

John Hoyt as Colonel Hollis

John Reilly as Captain Hogan

 

Jethro tells Jed and Granny that he wants to become a five star general in the army, to which Granny replies, "Not ours, I hope." He wants to start by attending West Point. Jed and Jethro go to see Mr. Drysdale at his bank office and tell him the plan. Drysdale talks Jethro into staying home and attending a local military school called Havenhurst, which is a boys' school. When Jed and Jethro leave, Drysdale puts his secretary, Miss Hathaway, onto making sure that Havenhurst will accept Jethro, but Miss Hathaway fails to persuade the school's commandant to accept Jethro without Jethro passing an entrance exam and then meeting him for a personal interview. Drysdale heads to the school himself to get Jethro accepted. Meanwhile, Jethro is excited about going to school, and his Uncle Jed is happy for him, but Granny is against Jethro going to school again, as in her opinion, he's already got too much education. Granny's attempts to convince Jed to keep Jethro from going to Havenhurst are unable to accomplish that task. 

 

Mr. Drysdale arrives at the office of Colonel Hollis, the commandant of Havenhurst Military Academy, where the Colonel has been meeting with Captain Hogan, a young student, to plan a defense of Beverly Hills in a military exercise with Havenhurst as the "Blue army," and another school, Lexington Academy, as the "Red army." Hollis steps out of the office to get some maps, and Drysdale only sees the kid behind the desk, so his courage is bouyed, and he strides up to the desk and begins lecturing the kid captain about accepting Jethro without an extrance exam or an interview. Hollis is just reentering the office, hears everything and he introduces himself to Drysdale, who has become much less boisterous now that he's facing an adult. Drysdale is fearful of telling the Colonel Jethro's real age and he bluffs along until Hollis finally tells him to bring Jethro in. 

 

Drysdale gets Jethro some old type school clothing for kids, complete with a hat, and he has Jethro change into the clothing at the bank, where he also has Jethro practice squatting down to walk so that he'll appear smaller and younger. Off they go to Havenhurst where Jethro meets with the commandant who then wants to see Drysdale alone in his office. It turns out the Colonel learned from Jethro that the Clampett mansion occupies some high ground right where the military exercises will take place. Hollis explains to Drysdale that Lexington has beaten Havenhurst nine years in a row in the military exercises, but that if the school can occupy that Clampett land, the referees will likely give Havenhurst the win just based upon their strategy. Drysdale, now sensing he's in the stronger position, begins bossing around the commandant. 

 

The day of the military exercise arrives and the Clampetts await the arrival of Jethro and the soldiers, for the ever resourceful Granny wants Elly May to meet some of the men with hopes of a possible romance developing for her granddaughter. A school bus pulls up in front of the mansion, with two more expected, and a bunch of 8 and 9 year old boys in uniform line up under the command of nine year old Captain Hogan. As Jed and Granny look on, they are surprised at the small size of the men in the military unit. Jed talks with the captain briefly, and he is told how these "soldiers" are about to defend Beverly Hills against the Red army, an item of news that puts a worried look on Jed's face, as he believes Beverly Hills is in actual military danger. (NOTE: In those times, many Americans saw communism as THE major threat to the country and to the world. Communism was most prominently and powerfully represented by the Soviet Union, the army of which was known as the "Red Army," and by mainland China, commonly known in the U.S. as "Red China" back then.) Jed and Granny go into the house to tell Elly May that the soldiers are too young for her, with Jed adding, "them youngins are goin' to have their hands full." (NOTE: 'Youngins' is a pretty common word for "young ones" in English, but it's not a proper form.) Out at the front ... ah, I mean, outside, the Havenhurst boys get the Red army on the run, and they follow up with a pursuit attack. Jethro is in charge of passing out "ammo;" that is, rolls of caps for the cap guns they are using. Jed and Granny come out and Jed fires one of the guns and sees it's only a cap gun, bringing him to tell Granny in the southern dialect of the Clampett family, "... we don't have to worry about the U.S Army. They is little but uncommon spunky. Them youngins is whippin' the whole Red army with nuthin' but cap guns."

         

* Jethro was the son of Pearl Bodine, who was played by Bea Benaderet for a number of episodes early in the series (she then joined the cast of "Petticoat Junction"). The parents of Pearl and Jed were brother and sister; thus, Pearl and Jed were first cousins (Jed often refers to Pearl as "Cousin Pearl"); so, this made Jethro and Jed first cousins, once removed, a term not always understood by people up to this very day. The use of "removed" simply refers to the people being from different generations. Jethro calls Jed, "Uncle Jed," seemingly the writers' way of conveying the misunderstanding of the relationship by the family, but perhaps simultaneously also a way of openly displaying respect toward the much older Jed by Jethro. When I was a kid, I called my oldest cousin "Aunt," because I didn't understand these things back then, but I finally learned; of course, by then I was 29, but hey, I'm a slow learner.   

 

 

Photo is of the 2014 CBS/Paramount "The Beverly Hillbillies" Fourth Season DVD

WORD HISTORY:

Tall-The history of this common word is difficult, mainly in the meaning development. "Tall" goes back to Indo European "del/dal/dol," which had the meaning of  "to count, to count off (recount) events of a story." This gave Old Germanic "getala," but what its meaning was is tough to tell. Its Old English (Anglo-Saxon) form was "getæl," which meant "quick, ready," and its Old High German cousin at that time, "gizal," also meant "quick." English then dropped the prefix and the word became "tal," meaning "handsome, fitting (that is, appropriate), valiant, lively in speech, big," and the word then became "talle" and finally "tall," seemingly with many of the meanings developing into "lofty of character," but then used in the more literal sense of "lofty;" that is, "high in height;" thus, "tall." Almost all sources cite other adjectives that move further and further from their original meanings, with "pretty" once meaning "crafty, skillful, clever," far from its modern meaning of "pleasing to look upon," and the German cousin of English "clean" is "klein," and it too meant "clean" until a few hundred years ago when the meaning became "little, small." "Tall's" use in "tall tale" for a made up story or exaggeration came about in American English in the mid 1800s.