Tequila Sunset

The "Tequila Sunset" simply seems to have been a follow up to the "Tequila Sunrise"

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

2 ounces tequila

4 ounces orange juice

1/2 ounce blackberry brandy

orange slice and a maraschino cherry for garnish

ice

tall glass (12 ounces)

Add the tequila and orange juice to the glass, stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again. (I put the the tequila and orange juice in first without ice, because it makes it easier to mix those two ingredients, then add the ice and stir again to help chill the drink.) Now add the blackberry brandy along the edge of the glass and let it begin to settle toward the bottom, DO NOT STIR! Garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry and watch the sun set, while you drink the "Sunset."

WORD HISTORY:

Orange-A common word in modern times, but it has an extensive and somewhat complicated history, as the tree, and more especially the fruit of the tree, spread beyond its original homeland in southern Asia. This word seems to go back to a Dravidian language,^ perhaps to transliterated Malayalam^^ "naranja," which seems to have meant "citrus fruit;" as it was used for both "oranges" and "lemons." This was taken by Sanskrit^^^ as transliterated "naranga," which meant "orange tree," which was borrowed by Persian as transliterated "narang," which was then borrowed by Arabic as transliterated "naranji." This came into Italian from a couple of ways, first, apparently via Venetian dialect "naranza;" likely borrowed as a result of trade, as Venice was a major maritime center with ships from elsewhere, but also with ships and their crews from Venice itself and other parts of Italy which returned from other countries, with the natural importation not only of goods, but of "words!" The Arabic form likely also entered Italian via Sicily, and the Venetians and Sicilians gave Italian "arancia," and yes, no beginning 'n,' and this was taken by Latin as "orenge," with the same form passing to Latin-based Old French, but this then became "orange" by "about" 1100. The Portuguese likely had some role in the development of, or reinforcement of, the word "orange," as Portuguese traders went to Asia, including to China and India, and returned to Portugal which likely helped promote the use of forms of "orange" in Spain and southern France (modern Portuguese uses "laranja," from Arabic, for "orange"). English borrowed the word in the late 1300s from French as the fruit and tree name. It was used for the color in the early part of the 1500s, and it pretty quickly overtook the native "yelwered" which came from Old English "geoluread," (literally yellow-red). 

 

^ Dravidian is a family of languages primarily spoken in southern India, but also to some extent in Pakistan and on the island of Sri Lanka. 

 

^^ Malayalam is one of the Dravidian languages, and it is spoken in southwestern India.

 

^^^ "Sanskrit" is an ancient language from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European; thus, it is related to English, although much further down the family tree. It is still in use to some degree, especially in India.  

Carrot & Raisin Salad, American Style

In the United States, carrot and raisin salad often is a dish more associated with the southern part of the country. I'm often an "overkill" guy on sauces, gravies and salad dressings; and what I mean is, I don't skimp on those things in recipes, but that's not for everyone, and some people just barely coat this salad with dressing.  

 

Ingredients (5 servings): 

 

2 1/2 cups shredded carrot

3/4 cup raisins (dark or golden or mixed)

1/3 cup pineapple bits 

2 tablespoons pineapple juice 

1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped green onion (mainly white part)

1/3 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)

1/4 cup sour cream (or thick yogurt)

1 or 2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons sunflower seeds (1/2 teaspoon for each serving), garnish 

In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, sour cream (or yogurt), honey, lemon juice, pineapple juice and salt; mix together very well. Add the shredded carrot, raisins, pineapple bits and green onion; keep folding to coat all of the ingredients with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Top each serving with some sunflower seeds.  

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Monkey-This has become a well known word for smaller primates in the English language, but its history is not easy; therefore, I'm going to work backwards. (NOTE: "Ape" had been the common word for primates, regardless of size, and it remains the word for larger primates to this day.^) The word "monkey" came into English circa 1530 as a noun. It is "likely" a borrowing from Low German "Moneke," the name of the son of Martin the Ape in "Reynard the Fox," a story from the Middle Ages. Low German likely got its form from a French diminutive, as French had "monne" (ape), likely borrowed from either Spanish "mona" or Old Italian "monna," with the later Italian diminutive being "monnicchio;" thus, "small ape, monkey." The story character name was rendered in Old French as "Monequin" and "Monnekin" 1300s (?). The source of these words is unknown, although some have suggested transliterated Arabic "maimum" (small ape), seemingly a euphemistic, indirect form actually meaning "highly favorable, advantageous, auspicious," as many Arabic speakers thought monkeys to be a bad omen and unlucky. The mid 1600s saw the verb develop from the noun, initially with the meaning, "to imitate," from a monkey's tendency to mimic actions of others, and later, with the imitations often being comic to humans; thus also, "to mock," and "to spend time with no particularly big purpose" ("monkey around"), but also, "to tease or taunt someone" ("to monkey with someone"), "to interfere with, to tamper with," after a monkey's curiosity to inspect, touch or bother things" ("to monkey with something").  

^ The history of the word "ape" is here at the end of the article at this link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/05/crab-louie.html

What's In A Name: Eugene, Jasmine

Eugene-This male name is from transliterated Greek "Eugenios," pretty much literally "good stock," but often translated as "well born."  This was taken by Latin as "Eugenius," and passed into French as "Eugène." behindthename.com says the name was not very common in western Europe until the time of Prinz Eugene of Savoy, who became well known in the latter part of the 1600s and the earlier 1700s. He was a military commander for the Old German Empire (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) and for the Habsburg monarchy, although he had been born in Paris when Louis XIV was King of France. He was of French and Italian descent. He is a pretty famous person in German/Austrian history. "Apparently" the name made its way into English via Latin, French, and perhaps, German (?). The name in German is Eugen and is Eugenio in Italian. The female form in English is Eugenia and in French it is Eugénie, a name that became well known in the mid 1800s as it was the name of Napoleon III's wife (he was Napoleon's nephew and Emperor of France).  

 

Jasmine-This name is from the plant/flower (from the "olive" family), which has long been used to make perfume. It goes back to transliterated Persian* "yas(a)min," the name for the plant/flower, but where the word comes from is unknown. Arabic borrowed the word from Persian as transliterated "yasamin," and Old French borrowed the word originally as "jessemin," which then became "jasmin," and English borrowed the word in the 1570s. In spite of this information, exactly where English got the female given name usage is unclear, although the name has become rather popular in English and quite a number of other languages, including forms in Persian, Arabic, French. Certainly the use of plants and flowers for given names is quite common (think "Rose," Holly," "Lily" and "Daisy," and there are more). The name is sometimes spelled with a "Y" in place of the "J" in some languages (for instance, sometimes in Spanish as "Yasmin") and the name sometimes is spelled without the ending "e" in English.

I consulted the following for preparation of this article: 1) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940  2) "A World of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003 3) behindthename.com

* Persian is an Indo European language making it a relative of English, although further down the family tree. 

WORD HISTORY:

Cosmos-I'm going to say the ultimate origin of "cosmos" is unknown, although there have been some Indo European forms proposed, but there is no general consensus about any one form. "Cosmos" and "cosmetic" are close relatives. What is known about "cosmos" is that it goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "kósmos," which meant, "order, arrangement;" thus also, "the universe" (seen as an arrangement or order); thus also, "decoration" (something added to give order to someone or something with the intent of improving its appearance). The famous Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras used "kósmos" as his word for the heavenly bodies and the universe. German scientist and thinker Alexander von Humboldt (he was from Berlin) used the Greek word used by Pythagoras and applied it to (then) modern times for his work "Kosmos," a multi-volume work published in the mid 1800s. English seems to have simply anglicized the word as "cosmos." English had taken the word in the 1100s (from Greek texts?), but it was very rarely used, "seemingly" even among academics. Humboldt's work appears to have been the catalyst for a re-borrowing, or a revival, of the word.

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous: Chicken Tagine

A "tagine" is a type of North African pottery dish used for cooking stews. The name of this cooking dish has given its name to the stews cooked in such a dish, and besides chicken, these stews may have lamb, beef, fish or vegetables as the main ingredient. In Tunisia, recipes generally are not stews, but rather much more of a type of omelette, like a frittata. Tagine cooking dishes are often, but not always, glazed and decorated with designs, some of which can be quite colorful. The basic dish is a shallow flat bottom dish, but there is a sort of domed top for the tagine. You needn't run out and buy a tagine for this recipe, as you can just use a heavy bottom pan (preferably with a lid, but you can use foil) and large enough to hold the contents.

Most recipes I've seen for this dish use boneless, skinless chicken, although I have seen a few recipes that use cut up skin on, on the bone chicken pieces. Skin on chicken has more flavor, but when a recipe uses boneless and skinless chicken, I often use that, BUT I also buy a bone-in, skin-on piece of chicken or two and cook it with the dish, then remove it at the end of cooking. 

 

This chicken tagine is usually served with Moroccan couscous, a type of pasta made with semolina flour. In Morocco the couscous is of very small grains of pasta, and it is smaller than the couscous of the Middle East, Israeli and Lebanese, which are larger and take longer to cook. Harissa is a paste of hot chili peppers usually seasoned with some spices. Both harissa and preserved lemons are often available in supermarkets, in spice shops and certainly in many Middle Eastern grocery stores. You can substitute some freshly grated lemon peel or strips of lemon peel for the preserved lemon, and you can add some cayenne pepper, sambal oelek (an Indonesian sauce of chopped chili peppers, also made in the United States), or any hot sauce to your liking, or you can just add an extra 1 or 2 fresh hot chilies as a substitute for the harissa.    

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (chicken breast or thighs, or mixture of the two)

1 whole skin on/bone in chicken thigh

1 whole skin on/bones in chicken wing

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch piece ginger, grated, finely chopped, or thinly sliced

1 cup of either butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin or peeled sweet potato, diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 two inch cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 or 2 whole chili peppers, slit cut in it/them

1 tablespoon harissa

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 2/3 cups chicken stock

1 14 to 16 ounce can chickpeas, drained (also known as garbanzo beans)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 small preserved lemon (or 1/2 regular sized preserved lemon)

1/4 cup pitted green olives, halved

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy bottom pan. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger for just like 2 minutes, then add the chicken pieces, including the whole pieces, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon stick, ground coriander, chili pepper, harissa, preserved lemon and chicken stock, cover and cook 20 minutes, then add the squash or sweet potato, honey and raisins; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for one hour. Add the slivered almonds and chickpeas, cook another 20 minutes, then stir in the green olive halves, and cook for two minutes. Check to be sure the chicken is done (it should be).

 

For the Couscous:

1 1/2 cups Moroccan couscous

1 2/3 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 

(optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan (with a lid). Add the butter, olive oil and salt (if using). Add the couscous and stir very well to mix. Let cook like 30 or 40 seconds, then shut off the heat and cover the pan with a lid for about 5 to 6 minutes. The broth should be completely absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork. 

 

  

WORD HISTORY:

Mattress-This word goes back to the transliterated Arabic root "tarh/trh," which had the notion of "throw, throw or toss away." This gave Arabic the verb "taraha," meaning, "to throw down, to throw away," which produced the noun "matrah" (the "ma" part was a noun forming prefix), which literally meant "the object thrown down," and which was used as "al matrah" for "the cushion or rug thrown onto the floor or ground to lie on." This was borrowed by Italian (via trade with North Africans in the early Middle Ages?) as "materasso," which was borrowed by French as "materas," and additionally reinforced directly by Arabic? English borrowed the word in around 1300 from French, initially in the French form "materas," but what became the modern spelling seems to have then been influenced by the Italian form. Of course too, modern mattresses are often made with springs and various padding.   

Macedonian Baked Beans: Tavče Gravče

I'd like to say my Macedonian is a little rusty, but I don't speak Macedonian, so that kind of shoots that in the rear end. Macedonian is a Slavic language of the South Slavic branch, and its closest relative is Bulgarian, with Serbo-Croatian also being closely related. Anyway, "Tavče Gravče" seems to be pronounced as if, "tav-cheh grav-cheh/tav-chay grav-chay." A "tava" is a type of skillet, and "grav" means "beans." The history of Macedonia is complicated, and it is probably best to say that Macedonia is more of an overall region in the Balkans, with sections forming parts of Greece, Bulgaria and the independent country of North Macedonia.* There is contentiousness about the name "North Macedonia" among people living there, and that name, actually the "Republic of North Macedonia," only became official in early 2019. Previously, the area had been part of Yugoslavia, as "Macedonia," until that country's breakup in 1991. Yugoslavia had been formed in the aftermath of World War One. North Macedonia has a population of about 2.1 million and its capital city is Skopje.   

 

Considered by many to be the national dish of North Macedonia, this bean dish is often meatless, but certainly not always, as some use pork chops or pork ribs to prepare it, and some also use lamb. Serve as a main dish with feta topped salad and crusty rustic bread or rolls. In Serbia the dish is called “prebranac.” I must have read 25 recipes for this dish, and with the exception of some using meat, they were all pretty close in the ingredients, except for the natural "this one used more of this, and that one used more of that." I've made this dish a couple of times, and the first time I did what most of the recipes I'd read had called for, and that was the use of a good deal of the seasoned water when preparing the actual dish, but I found it to be TOO MUCH WATER, and it made the beans "soupy," so I cooked the dish a little longer without the lid, which helped cook off some of the liquid. The next time I made the dish, I cut down on the water, and I liked that result. So the only "difficult" thing about this dish is getting the right amount of water, so that the beans are neither too dry, nor too soupy. It's best to add too little water at first, as you can always add more water to the beans while they cook if they are getting too dry. 

 

Ingredients (multiple servings):

 

To cook the beans:

1 pound dried white cannellini beans or 3 cups canned (rinsed)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

2 to 3 whole dried or fresh hot chilies, if using fresh, cut a slit in the chilies

10 black peppercorns/slightly crushed to release their flavor**

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the dish:

2 cups chopped white onion (if you only have red onion, use it!)

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil  (for the dish)

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil for the skillet or baking dish

3 tablespoons sweet paprika 

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons crushed dried mint leaves

2 teaspoons salt

tomato slices, for the top of the dish

1/2 of a red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch x 1 inch strips, for top of the dish

 

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda stirred in. The next day drain the beans and add fresh water in a cooking pot and put over high heat. Add the quartered onion, whole dried chilies and 2 tablespoons oil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a good steady simmer, not so much of a rolling boil. Stir occasionally and skim off the foam that forms on the surface. Cook until the beans are almost tender (not too soft, as they are going to cook more). Drain the beans, remove the big pieces of onion (if you don't get it all, don't worry about it), but reserve the liquid, then stir the salt into the beans  For the dish: add the 1/2 cup oil to a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and saute for a few minutes, until it begins to lightly brown. Add the garlic and saute a further 2 minutes, lightly stirring. Add the red bell peppers (cut into bite size pieces) and the green bell pepper, also cut into bite size pieces. Cook until the peppers begin to soften (everything will cook further shortly). Sprinkle the sweet paprika over the onion/garlic/peppers mixture and stir well to coat everything. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons oil to the bottom of the baking dish (or pan) you are using. Add one third of the beans to the dish, then add half of the onion/pepper mixture to the top of those beans (spread it out as evenly as possible). Now add another one third of the beans on top of that and then add the remaining onion/pepper mixture to the top of that. Add the remaining one third of the beans, the bay leaves and the dried mint leaves and carefully pour enough of the reserved cooking liquid into the dish to come even with the beans (the second time I made this dish, I used 1 3/4 cups, but you can always add more if the beans are getting too dry during cooking). Top the beans with the remaining 1/2 uncooked red bell pepper, cut into strips, and a few tomato slices (see photos, below). Cover with foil or a lid and bake at 250 F for 3 to 4 hours, then remove the cover/lid and increase the heat to 400 F for 20 to 30 minutes to give the top a bit of a crust. Serve with crusty bread or rolls and a salad, if you'd like, or serve as a side dish for a more elaborate dinner. "IF" you have some fresh mint, you can also sprinkle some chopped fresh mint to the top of the dish.

 

* North Macedonia came from the former Yugoslavia, and a large majority of the population is of Christian religious background, especially Eastern Orthodox, but there is a substantial Muslim population too, a result of the Turkish involvement in the Balkans for centuries. 

 

** I usually put them onto a napkin, fold it over, and then run over them with a rolling pin or give them a couple of light whacks with my kitchen mallet. YEOW! Make sure you keep your fingers out of the way!

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sodium (Soda)-"Sodium" was coined in 1807/08 by Humphry (not a misspelling) Davy, an English chemist from Cornwall, which is the southwestern tip of England.^  "Sodium" was based upon the existing word "soda," a word with a shaky history. One theory is that it goes back to transliterated Arabic "suda," meaning "splitting headache," which was used as a base for the Latin noun "sodanum," meaning "headache remedy," but it also was used as a another name for "glasswort," a plant the ashes of which produced soda ash, which then were used to help make glass, but it was also used for headache medication. The word seems to have been shortened to "soda" in Latin, or perhaps first in Italian (and then picked up by Latin), and English borrowed the word circa 1500 (some sources say mid 1500s).   

 

^ Cornwall's basic population of more than a half million is of Celtic heritage. Likewise, the Cornish language is Celtic. In modern times, fluent Cornish speakers are extremely rare, as English is now spoken as the first language in Cornwall, although, from what I understand, some people in Cornwall know a few words or phrases in Cornish. When the Germanic tribes, generally known as the Anglo-Saxons, invaded Briton, these Germanic elements did not pursue the Celtic population with any major forces into Cornwall nor Wales; thus, these areas remain Celtic in basic heritage. 

Portuguese Tomato Rice: Arroz de Tomate

This is a pretty common Portuguese dish. I've seen recipes that use both short-grain or long-grain rice; so, use what you have or prefer. You can use any kind of ripe tomatoes. I used Roma tomatoes, which tend to be smaller, so I use 4 tomatoes, rather than the 3 I have listed in the recipe.  

 

Ingredients (4 to 5 servings):

 

1 cup rice

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro (or parsley), chopped

2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt (optional if you use "salty" broth)

3 tablespoons olive oil 

6 or 8 black olives, halved

In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and then saute the onion until it starts to soften, then add the minced garlic. Saute for about another minute or minute and a half. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook a further two minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rice, coating the rice well. Now stir in the broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low or very low and cover the pan with a lid or foil. Cook until the liquid is just absorbed, remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro (or parsley). Top the individual servings with some black olive halves.  

WORD HISTORY:

Monsoon-This word goes back to transliterated Arabic "wasama," which meant "to mark (something), to give a name, identity or description to something." This produced Arabic "mawsim," meaning "a time of year;" thus also, "a festival or holiday of a time of year;" thus also, "a season (time of year)." Portuguese sailors and explorers borrowed the word in the 1500s as "monção," with the "season" meaning pertaining to "the trade winds in the Indian Ocean." The next step has some uncertainty, as Dutch "seems" to have borrowed the word as "monssoen" from the Portuguese, but as the Dutch also sailed the Indian Ocean in those times, they could have borrowed it from Arabic speaking people in that region, just as the Portuguese had done. English borrowed the word from Dutch, but likely with Portuguese reinforcement, in the latter part of the 1500s. The winds associated with "monsoon" helped ships travel the Indian Ocean, but these winds also brought rains; thus, the meaning in English of "heavy rain," or "rainy season."    

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.

Moroccan Spice Blend: Ras El Hanout

"Ras el hanout" is a spice blend of varying combinations originally from Morocco, but also common in Algeria and Tunisia. Some recipes for "ras el hanout" can contain 2 or 3 dozen different spices! It is commonly used in these North African countries to season lamb, chicken, fish, rice and couscous (a type of pasta of small granules of semolina).  

Easy to make, as you're simply adding various dry spices to a container and then mixing them together. I kept the spices to the more easily obtainable types, but some types of ras el hanout in use in North Africa or imported into other countries may contain some truly exotic ingredients like "grains of paradise," "orris root," "dried rosebuds,'' and others. 

Ingredients (makes 1/2 cup spice mix):

2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet/mild Spanish paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper, like cayenne
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Use a jar, can or other container with a lid. Add all ingredients to the container, make sure to break up any "clumps" of spices with a fork or the back of a spoon, put the lid on and shake the container very well to mix. Shake the container each time before using the spice mix.   

WORD HISTORY:  

Magazine-This word goes back to the transliterated Arabic verb "khazana," meaning, "to store, to collect or amass." This produced a noun "makhzan," meaning "storehouse, warehouse," and its plural form was "makhazin." Italian borrowed the word as "magazzino" (1300s?), meaning "warehouse," which then expanded in meaning to include "goods stored in a magazzino." French took the word from Italian as "magasin" (likely reinforced by French contact with Arabic in North Africa), along with the meaning "warehouse," which then expanded to include "military materials' depot." English borrowed the word in the late 1500s with the meanings, "warehouse, storage facility for ammunition." The meaning of "collection of written articles" comes from the 1730s, but the idea "seems" to date to about a hundred years earlier when lists were made of items in "magazine storage facilities." Circa 1870 saw the spread of rifles capable of holding multiple cartridges, the gun's chamber being called a "magazine."    

Kenyan Curried Cabbage

Kenya is a country in eastern Africa. It has a pretty diverse population and its official languages are Swahili* and English. Kenyans have much Indian influence in their cooking, with "chapati,"** a type of flatbread, being one of those influences. In the first couple of decades of the 20th Century, thousands of Indians went to Kenya when both countries were under British colonial rule. This curry is another of the Indian influences on Kenya. This is not a spicy "hot" dish, but if you like spicy heat, you could add a chili pepper or two to the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 carrot, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over low heat, then add the onion. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the cabbage and carrot (it will look like a mountain, but it will cook down). Cook over low heat until the vegetables soften. Combine the milk, curry powder and flour, mix well, then add it to the cabbage/carrot and stir it in well. Cook for a couple of minutes, then season with salt and white pepper. 

* Swahili is a language of the Bantu family of languages, a branch of the broader Niger/Congo family of languages.  

** "Chapati" is easy to make:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/10/easy-flatbread-of-indian-subcontinent.html

WORD HISTORY:
Bwana-This word is distantly related to "abbot," a word borrowed by English from Latin long ago, but "abbot" is a word which traces back to the Middle East. While in modern times "bwana" has often been used in a comical or disparaging way in English, because of racism, its heritage is anything but comical or disparaging. It goes back to transliterated Semitic^ "ab," meaning "father," and "bna," meaning "our;" thus, "our father," "head of the family," and by extension, "leader." This gave its transliterated Arabic offspring "abuna," with the same meanings. This was borrowed by Swahili (see note * above) as "bwana," meaning, "leader, master." With European colonization of Africa and the exploration of remote areas of the large continent, English came into contact with the word "bwana" through Swahili, and it often came to be used by the African workers for the "white" leader of a safari. The word was borrowed by English in the last quarter of the 1800s.

^  The Semitic languages are a group of related languages "centered" in the Middle East and eastern Africa, but also spoken beyond those areas. The most common modern Semitic languages are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew and Tigrinya, but in ancient times Semitic included Assyrian and Phoenician, which was spoken in the Middle East and in North Africa by the Carthaginians.    

Chocolate Syrup

If you like chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk or to top your ice cream, here's a simple recipe to make your own syrup.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the water to a boil, mix in and dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and salt, making sure both are mixed in completely. Keep whisking at a moderate pace until the mixture begins to thicken somewhat. Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla. The sauce will not be all that thick until it cools completely. Empty into a jar or dish, cover and refrigerate.

WORD HISTORY: 
Syrup-This word is distantly related to "sherbet," an Arabic-derived word borrowed by English from Turkish. The ultimate origin of "syrup" is uncertain, but it goes back to transliterated Arabic "sharab/sarab," which meant, "a drink, a beverage," from a verb, "shariba," which means, "to drink," but for which I have no further history. Latin borrowed the word from Arabic as "siroppus/siropus," by which time one of the medical treatments of those days used thick sweetened fruit juices and herbs as a remedy for some illnesses, presumably intestinal. Latin-based Old French took the word as "sirop," and English borrowed the word from French, initially as "sirup," in the second half of the 1300s and the meaning gradually shifted away from "a remedy" to "a sweet thickened liquid used as a flavoring agent on food." By the way, there are 2 common pronunciations of this word: 1) as if, "sir-up;" 2) as if, "seer-up."    

Turkish Beyti Kebab

Kebabs are a common type of food for Turkish people. Kebabs are often grilled or baked on skewers, or sometimes they are just cooked as patties, with various meats, seafood or vegetables (or a combination of these). I couldn't find any good sources for the history of this type of kebab, "Beyti" (pronounced as if, "bay-ty"), with some saying it dates back to the days of the Ottoman Empire, but it then was revived in the 1960s, in Istanbul, while others seem to feel it was invented in the 1960s in Istanbul. Turkey's capital of Istanbul is certainly a common tie to the differing opinions. 

Ingredients (for 6 kebabs):

Kebabs:
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon serrano or jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
6 flour tortillas, the 6 inch type
melted butter for brushing
bell pepper (red, orange, yellow or green), baked, grilled or fried, cut into strips (or you can use store bought roasted peppers) 
Greek-style plain yogurt (about 1 cup)

Tomato Sauce:
1  15 ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup fresh tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a bowl, mix the lamb, onion, chili pepper, black pepper, cumin, coriander, breadcrumbs, salt and milk. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. For the sauce: In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and let cook about about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and chopped tomatoes. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in the tomato sauce and cook until the mixtures begins to bubble. Reduce heat to low and add the dried mint. Cook for about 2 minutes. For the meat: Roll the meat mixture into sausages of about 1 inch wide, 5 1/2 inches long and one inch deep. If you want to put the meat on skewers for grilling, you can soak wooden skewers in water for about 20 minutes, or use metal skewers, and put the meat onto the skewers. Grill, turning occasionally to make sure the meat cooks evenly. Otherwise, heat the oven to 350 F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Arrange the meat on the sheet (no skewers needed). Bake until totally cooked through, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Wrap each kebab in a tortilla, and brush with melted butter. Place seam side down and cut each wrapped kabab into three  pieces. On a platter, put about a cup of plain Greek-style yogurt in the center. Arrange the kebab pieces around the yogurt. Spoon the tomato sauce over the kebab pieces. Scatter the pepper strips over the top of the kebabs, or serve in a separate dish on the side. For individual servings, place pieces of kebab on a plate, add a couple tablespoons of yogurt to one side and spoon some tomato sauce over the kebabs. Add the pepper strips.


I made an individual serving, with a few pieces of kebab covered in sauce, and with some pepper strips and yogurt to the side of the plate

WORD HISTORY:
Kebab-This word, also spelled, "kabob," "kebob," along with some others, has an uncertain distant history. It seems to go back to transliterated Afro-Asiatic "kahbah," which meant, "to burn, to roast, to cook." This "apparently" gave a similar form to its offspring, "Semitic," ^ which was passed to Aramaic, one of the Semitic languages, which was a common language long ago, as transliterated  "kahbaba" (?), meaning "burn(ing), (roast(ing), char(ring)." This gave Arabic transliterated "kabab," meaning, "cooked/roasted meat," which was borrowed into Turkish as "kebap." Borrowed by English in the latter part of the 1700s from Arabic, with reinforcement from Turkish.  

^ Semitic is a language family centered in the Middle East. The most common modern Semitic languages are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew and Tigrinya. Arabic and Hebrew are commonly known in much of Europe and North America, but Amharic is spoken in a large part of Ethiopia. Tigrinya is also spoken in parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, another East African nation. Aramaic, also a Semitic language, was once fairly widespread in part of the Middle East, but it receded with the spread of  Arabic. 

A Bit of Morocco: Taktouka

Morocco is a North African country that borders on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim nation, and Arabic* and Berber** are official languages, although French is commonly used in governmental business and within the business community, and Spanish is not uncommon. Both France and Spain controlled parts of Morocco until the mid 1950s; thus, the ability of large numbers of Moroccans to speak French or Spanish, besides Arabic, Berber, or both. This dish is referred to as a salad by some, and as a dip by others. There are variations in the recipe to this common Moroccan dish.   

Ingredients:

2 green bell peppers, roasted, skin removed, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon paprika
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
a pinch of cayenne pepper (or a squirt of hot pepper sauce)
pita bread

Heat the oven to 400 F. Wash and dry the peppers. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the peppers in the oven; roast the peppers, turning them about every 10 minutes, until they begin to darken (likely about 30 to 45 minutes). Let the peppers cool enough that they can be handled. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and stem and peel off the skin (much of it is will easily pull off), then chop them. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper; mix well. Let the mixture cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the chopped peppers; stir again. Add the parsley and cilantro and mix again. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve warm with toasted pita bread pieces or wedges. Can be refrigerated and served chilled. 

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

** The Berber language is a branch of the Hamito-Semitic languages. It is largely spoken in North Africa, with Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco having the largest numbers of Berber speakers.

WORD HISTORY:
Kasbah-This word, also spelled "casbah," goes back to transliterated Arabic "qasaba," which means, "fortified part of a city." Borrowed, sort of, by English in the 1700s, and later with the further meaning, "native part of a northwest African city," as opposed to parts of a city which had been more "Europeanized." The word is best known in English because of the late 1930's movie "Algiers," starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, which spawned the later Warner Brothers' cartoon character "Pepe Le Pew," which was patterned after Boyer's character, complete with references to "the Casbah."    

Gujarati Potato Curry (Batata nu Shaak)

While a common worldwide source of food today, potatoes came from the New World, more specifically from South America. The Spanish took them to Europe, where it took time for the potato to catch on and spread around the world, including to India (helped a lot by the Portuguese), when it still included what are now modern Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is a potato dish from Gujarat, one of India's western states. You can adjust the heat level: if you like spicy hot food, try this version before you increase the heat level, as it has plenty of heat, but if you like "some" heat, but not a lot, just use 1 dried chili and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you don't really like heat, just use 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, which should just provide a bare "kick" to the dish. The people of the Indian Subcontinent tend to eat their food with a pretty high level of heat. They then balance that heat, often times, with yogurt dishes to cool down their palates. Even though potatoes are starchy, rice is often served with this curry.

Asafoetida is a powdered spice pretty common to the cooking of the Indian Subcontinent and other parts of southern Asia. It is "typically" available in a jar with an opening in the lid to dispense the spice, and there is an airtight lid that closes off the opening to contain the smell. It is also called "hing." Asafoetida is known for its bad smell, but its mellow taste when cooked. When I was a kid, some people still used what were called "asafidity bags" to protect their children from various illnesses, mainly colds and influenza. The bag was worn on a string around the neck, and it contained various foul smelling ingredients, including garlic and asafoetida, which was available from drugstores in those times. It was all superstition from the Middle Ages, and my family didn't believe in it. My people believed an eye of a newt and the toe of a frog would cure you; otherwise, your days were numbered. Ah, or was that your days were numbered because of the eye of a newt and the toe of a frog? Hm...

Tamarind (see Word History, below) is a reddish brown spice from the fruit of the tree of that name. It is another common spice on the Indian subcontinent and in southern Asia and Africa. It is usually tart in taste.     

Ingredients:

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 dried red chilies (or you can use fresh chilies, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
good pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup (or more) water
2 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, aka coriander

Heat oil over medium heat, then add the mustard seeds. After about 30 seconds, add the dried chilies, cook a few  seconds, then add the asafoetida and turmeric, stir, and then add the cubed potatoes immediately, stir well to coat. Add the coriander, cayenne, cumin, salt, stir to mix well throughout the potatoes. Add the water, stir again. Cover and cook, removing the cover to stir to prevent sticking, and to add a little more water, if necessary. Cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in tamarind paste and brown sugar. Add the chopped cilantro. Serve with rice. 

WORD HISTORY: 
Tamarind-This is a compound word for a type of tree and its fruit used in some medicines and to flavor food and sauces. It goes back to some Semitic word which produced Arabic "tamr," meaning "date;" that is, "fruit of the date palm." The ultimate origin of the second part is unknown, but it goes back to transliterated Sanskrit "sindhu," which meant, "river, flowing water," which was picked up by Persian as transliterated "hind," which produced transliterated "Hindus" for the name of the Indus River. Greek borrowed the river name as "Indos," and called the region of the river, "India," which was borrowed by Latin. English borrowed the word (circa 1200???) as "Indea," later changed to "India." The compound form was translated by Latin in the Middle East from transliterated Arabic "tamr hindi" as "tamarindus," which was passed on to Latin-based French as "tamarinde," which was borrowed by English in the early 13th Century. The word literally means, "date of India."

Red Pepper Relish: Serbian & Croatian Ajvar/Ljutenica

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spanish Butter Bean & Chorizo Stew (Fabada Asturiana)

The Spanish name for this dish is "Fabada Asturiana," as it originated in the Asturias region (capital: Oviedo) of northwestern Spain, but the dish is not uncommon in other parts of Spain. I looked at so many recipes for this dish, I lost count, but 25 would be a good guess. Some used smoked pork belly or smoked pork hock or salt pork, but I chose, as I saw in some recipes, raw pork belly, but I added a small smoked pork hock, just to add a slight smoky flavor to the smokiness of the Spanish paprika. I used dried, and thus firm, Spanish chorizo,* which is also seasoned with paprika. I like to bake many dishes that others cook on the stove top, and this recipe was no exception. It would also be a good dish to fix in a crock pot. Frequently served in Spain with hard cider or red wine and good crusty bread. 

1 pound white beans (fabada beans, butter beans or cannellini/white kidney beans)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium tomato, chopped 
3/4 pound raw pork belly (you can trim off some of the fat)
1/2 pound firm chorizo, cut into about 1/4 inch slices 
1/2 pound Spanish morcilla blood sausage (also called, "blood pudding"), cut into two inch pieces
1 small smoked pork hock (also called "ham hock")
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sweet paprika, preferably Spanish, or Spanish-style
2 tablespoons olive oil
a good "pinch" of saffron threads (saffron is an expensive spice derived from the crocus flower. Many supermarkets or spice shops have it. The spice is a common addition to dishes in Spain; thus, I have used it in the Word History, below)
water

You can soak the dried beans overnight, or put them into a pot, cover them with water and bring the water to a boil. Add no salt to the water. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the beans soak in the hot water for 60 to 75 minutes. Drain. Heat the oven to 325 F. In a pot or casserole, put the beans, the onion, the garlic, the salt, the pepper, the paprika, the tomato, the olive oil and the saffron. Stir to mix the ingredients a bit. Add the bay leaf, and snuggle in the pork belly, the chorizo slices, the morcilla and the pork hock. Add enough water to almost cover everything. Cover and bake for 75 minutes. Check to see if the dish needs water added (the beans won't cook properly if they don't have water). Bake until the beans and the pork belly are tender. The paprika from the chorizo and the loose paprika, along with the saffron, will give a reddish color to the stew. You can further slice down the morcilla blood sausage before serving.  

* Americans and Canadians are much more familiar with the soft chorizo which is common in Mexico, but most Spanish chorizo is more the texture of salami or pepperoni. 

WORD HISTORY:
Saffron-The ultimate origin of this word for the expensive thread-like spice taken from the crocus flower is unknown, although an Indo European or a Semitic origin seems likely, due to the plant's history in the general area of the Middle East, where people speaking Indo European and Semitic languages interacted, sometimes peacefully, but sometimes violently. Arabic, a language from the Semitic family of languages,^ had the transliterated "zafaran," as the word for the spice. Latin borrowed the word as "safranum," and this became "safran," in Latin-based Old French. English borrowed the word in the early 1200s. Spanish has azafrán.

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

The Producers: Gene Wilder & Zero Mostel

I first saw this movie on television, perhaps on NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies," or another of the weeknight movies by one of the networks.* This had to be in the 1970s, as the film had its theatrical debut in late 1967, with its main release to theaters in the spring of 1968. I do recall I was a little bored with some of the first part of the movie, but that changed as I watched further. "The Producers" was the baby of Mel Brooks, and he won the Academy Award for the screenplay. Brooks also directed the movie. At that time, Brooks, in collaboration with writer-director Buck Henry, was well known for the successful television comedy spy spoof, "Get Smart," which often featured lead actor/comedian Don Adams talking into his shoe phone, which was thought to be kind of crazy in those times. Nowadays.... well, never mind!

The general idea behind the picture is a scheme by a once successful Broadway producer, Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel) and his accountant, Leo Bloom (played by Gene Wilder), to make a bundle of money by overselling shares in a Broadway production; a production they will make sure fails, leaving them lots of money, because they believe no one will check the books of a failed production. Boy do they oversell! There is only 100% of anything, but they sell 25,000%!!!

In order to guarantee failure, they choose a script by a former nutty Nazi soldier (played by Kenneth Mars), who still wears his helmet around everywhere. His play is called "Springtime for Hitler," a script which glorifies the "misunderstood" Führer and war. Obviously, the idea of such a show was ahead of its time, because it might be a hit with a part of the American population today. But in those days, Americans overwhelmingly opposed fascism, in spite of any flaws we had, which were numerous, but at least we were trying to make things right. Ah, anyway...

The two money hungry schemers choose a director who has had nothing but a string of failures. Then they try to further guarantee failure by choosing a 1960s "flower power" hippie, nicknamed, "LSD" (played by Dick Shawn), as their man to play Hitler. When the show opens, the house is packed, and Max and Leo watch as the audience is appalled by the Nazi Party-like rally being performed on stage, complete with goose stepping dancers, who fall in line to form a twirling swastika. Then there's the music, with lyrics, "we're marching to a faster pace, look out, here comes the master race ... Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi Party." The two decide to go celebrate with some drinks, and to avoid being mauled by the audience as they stomp out of the show at intermission.

As the shocked and angry audience begins to leave early, out comes the hippie-like Hitler, spouting groovy terms like "cool baby," and, "far out." The audience returns to their seats, barely able to control their hysterical laughter. At intermission, some of the now delighted audience goes to the bar where Max and Leo are celebrating. The two conspirators are stunned to hear how these members of the audience cannot say enough good things about "Springtime for Hitler," and saying how it will run on Broadway for years. These people can't wait to get back to see the second half of the show. Max and Leo are shaken, with Leo wanting to turn himself in to get a lighter sentence. (Remember, no matter how successful the show is, the two can never pay off all the investors.)

During the remainder of the show, the scriptwriter, the Nazi nutcase named Franz, is so upset with the show, he tries to halt it by going backstage to drop the curtain. He then goes out to tell the audience how the show is misrepresenting Hitler, and that his Führer never said things like "baby." The audience assumes this is all part of the show and continues to laugh hysterically, even when Franz is conked on the head by someone behind the curtain.

With the two conspirators at odds over what to do, Franz comes after them with a gun. After firing and missing Max and Leo, Franz can't even commit suicide, like his Führer, because the gun is out of bullets. Max and Leo talk Franz into working with them to blow up the theater to halt future performances. Franz is willing to do anything to stop the ridicule of Hitler and the distortion of his Führer-praising script. The three are injured by the blast and then arrested. At the trial, Max tells the court how the two have learned their lesson, and that they will never do any such thing again. The scene shifts to the prison and Max and Leo have a new prison show they are funding by overselling shares in it, with one of the investors being the warden himself! 

* For those too young to know this, in those times there were only three commercial networks: ABC, CBS, NBC. There was also, by 1970, PBS, which came about from a number of previous educational television stations joining (becoming members). There were no cable stations, and in those times "cable" was a system of a relatively few providers, which offered television service in generally smaller markets, where programming from all of the 3 networks and educational television (later PBS), plus some independent stations, was not easily available otherwise.

Photo is from the 2013 blu-ray/dvd combo release by Shout! Factory 

WORD HISTORY:
Zero-This word, related to "cipher," has an uncertain origin, although that origin "might" actually be Indo European. It goes back to Arabic (transliterated) "safara," which meant, "empty;" thus, "nothing." It is "possible" the Arabic word was borrowed from Indo-Aryan, "perhaps" Sanskrit.^ Anyway, the Arabic word then gave Arabic (transliterated) "sifr," meaning, "nothing." This was borrowed by Latin as "zephirim," which meant the mathematical "zero, " and which then became "zerum," with the same meaning. This became "zero" in Italian, which was borrowed into French as "zéro." English borrowed the word in the early 1600s from either French or Italian, with likely reinforcement from one for the other.

^ Indo-Aryan is a sub branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo European languages. These languages, therefore, are related to English, but much further down the family tree. The modern Indo-Aryan languages are chiefly spoken in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Spinach & Kale Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pound baby spinach
1/2 pound kale
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 teaspoon salt (if you use canned or carton vegetable stock, you may not want to add any salt)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
32 ounces vegetable or chicken stock
2/3 cup Riesling wine (a Spätlese is good, but certainly not mandatory)
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons flour + 3 tablespoons water
3 slices white bread, cubed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter or oil (or mixed)

In a pan, heat the butter and oil until the butter melts. Add the carrot and let cook for a minute or two. The carrot will be the only thing that really needs to cook much to soften it. Tear or cut the kale and spinach into somewhat smaller pieces, making sure to remove the thicker stems from the kale. Keep a small amount of the two greens to top the soup when serving, and add the bulk to the pot, let it wilt. Add the vegetable stock, the salt and the Riesling wine, stir well. At the first sign of bubbling, remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the canned milk. Mix the flour and water well. Return the soup to the heat, until it bubbles lightly. Gradually add the flour and water mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. You want the soup to thicken some, but not too much. To make some croutons, add the butter or oil to a skillet, then add the bread cubes, turning to coat and brown them. Add some of your freshly made croutons and a few fresh leaves of spinach and kale to the top of each serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Spinach-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, although it goes back to Persian, an Indo European language, which had, "aspanakh," which meant "spinach," and it is "possible" that Persian developed the word on its own. This was borrowed into Arabic as "isbanakh." Now we get back to difficult again, as tracing the history of this word is very difficult. How the word got into Europe? It is possible it came from different routes, as the Latin of the Middle Ages had "spinachium," "perhaps" from Saracens (Arabic people). Did this then pass to into Latin-based languages, Provençal ("espinarc") and Old French ("espinoche"), and then into Spanish ("espinaca")?  Did the Moors, a Berber people of the Muslim faith (with heavy influence of Arabic) from northwestern Africa in the Middle Ages, carry the word with them when they invaded Spain (a form there was "asbinakh," which eventually passed into Catalan ("espinac") and Spanish? Still more questions, and how did the word actually get into English? Via French ? Via Dutch ("spinaetse"), which had borrowed it from French. It came into broader use in the 1500s in English.

Kale Salad With Artichoke Hearts

This is purely my own invention, although I have no idea how similar it may be to any other salad recipes. I'm using ingredient amounts for two large salads, so you can adjust ingredient amounts for the quantity you want to make.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups light green (Curly) kale, rinsed, dried, removed from large stems and leaves torn into smaller pieces
1 1/2 cups dark green (lacinato) kale, rinsed, dried, removed from large stems and leaves torn into smaller pieces
16 grape tomatoes, halved
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 long Hatch green chili pepper, sliced into about 1/4 inch thick pieces (they are usually very mild)
1  6 to 7 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
your favorite salad dressing, to taste (I used homemade Honey French*)

Mix all ingredients and top with your favorite salad dressing.

* For the recipe for Honey French dressing, here is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/08/homemade-honey-french-dressing.html

On the left is the light green "Curly Kale;" on the right is the dark green "Lacinato Kale," also known as "Italian Kale" or "Tuscan Kale" 

WORD HISTORY:
Artichoke-This word goes back to Arabic "al kharshufa," which meant "artichoke (a type of thistle plant). This was borrowed by Spanish as "alcarchofa," which then was borrowed by Italian as "arcicioffo," which was rendered as "articiocco" in dialect of part of northern Italy. This was borrowed into English with varied spellings, which ended up as "artichoke." 

Iraq and Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty comes from an English rhyme dating from at least the late 1700s. As I'm sure most people know, Humpty Dumpty was an egg sitting on a wall, and an egg is held together by a shell. A shell is generally fragile, and when Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and broke, he could not be put back together again.

The area that "generally" is modern Iraq, Mesopotamia, has a prominent place in the story of mankind. Just briefly and superficially, modern Iraq had been part of the pre World War One "Ottoman Empire" of the Turks. The British fought the Turks there during World War One, when the Turks were allied with the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The victorious British controlled the area after the war until the early 1930s, when they granted independence to Iraq, which became a kingdom; that is, ruled by a king, and the monarchy was Sunni Muslim. A revolution in the late 1950s ended the monarchy and replaced it with several military leaders over the next few years. Another revolution in the late 1960s brought the Ba'ath Party to power, which eventually brought military leader Saddam Hussein to rule Iraq. As you can see, Iraq has not been an easy country to govern.

Iraq is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, with a relatively small Christian segment, but its Muslim population is divided between a Shia sect majority and a Sunni sect minority. Ethnically, Iraqis are heavily Arabic,* but with a regional Kurdish population in the majority in the far northern area of the country.**

Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim, and although he was a secular leader, religious division in Iraq was important, as was ethnic background, especially for the Kurdish population. Saddam ruled Iraq with an iron fist, invaded neighboring Iran (an overwhelmingly Shia Muslim majority country), invaded and occupied neighboring Kuwait, and ruthlessly suppressed Kurdish attempts at independence. Saddam's occupation of Kuwait in 1990 brought large scale military action against his forces by an American led coalition, which included other Arab and Muslim nations. After his defeat and a ceasefire, there were uprisings in Kurdish and Shia areas of the country, but Hussein responded with military actions to successfully put down the insurrections and keep himself in power, although through the United Nations, "no fly zones" were set up, which prohibited Iraqi aircraft to fly in certain parts of the country, thus limiting attacks on certain groups. The ceasefire agreement ending the war imposed tough trade sanctions on Iraq and called for Iraq to destroy all chemical weapons and to abandon any attempt to develop nuclear weapons. U.N. inspectors were to verify compliance with the destruction of chemical and biological weapons and production facilities, as well as verify that there was no development of nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minster Tony Blair launched air and missile strikes in the late 1990s on a number of targets in Iraq, as Saddam interfered with weapons' inspectors, accusing some inspectors of being spies for the U.S.  

Following the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the U.S. and its allies commenced military operations in Afghanistan to chase the ruling Taliban from power, along with Al Qaeda operatives and trainees, who had been given sanctuary there by the Taliban. President George W. Bush and members of his administration, most notably, Vice President Dick Cheney, then tied Saddam Hussein to the Al Qaeda attacks of 9/11.*** With Saddam's interference with weapons' inspectors, the fear developed in the Bush administration and elsewhere, that Hussein was hiding various weapons and that he would get biological, chemical, and perhaps some type of nuclear weapon, all of these collectively known as "weapons of mass destruction, or 'WMD,' " into the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists. The administration began a concerted effort to present a case for war against Iraq to the American, and even the world, public. The 9/11 attacks had shaken not only the United States, but much of the world, as the attacks demonstrated the commitment of religious fanatics to wage war on those, even other Muslims, who did not share in their beliefs. This mindset led many Americans and others to assume the worst from the "evidence" provided by the Bush administration.**** Vice President Cheney assured Americans that invading forces would be greeted as liberators. (See NBC's "Meet The Press" for March 16, 2003)

The invasion of Iraq quickly toppled Saddam Hussein, who was found months later hiding in a hole outside his hometown of Tikrit. It didn't take long for the jubilation over Saddam's fall to turn to anger and despair, as the war ravaged country saw the emergence of armed religious factions and Al Qaeda groups fighting not only the occupying forces, but each other, creating a civil war type situation, with occupying forces and humanitarian personnel caught in the middle. Bombings and kidnappings became common, with many a terrible death attributed to both. So now there was an Iraq of Sunnis, an Iraq of Shia, and a northern region of Iraq of Kurds. All of this combined with an element of a nation unaccustomed to any form of democracy. Gradually "a general sense of order" came to be restored by the occupying forces, which also took to providing training for Iraqi police and military units, but periodic attacks on installations, occupying troops and Iraqi police and military units continued. A national election was held and a new Iraqi government, led by Shia Muslim Nouri al Maliki, as prime minister, was installed. With Iraq a majority Shia country, Sunnis feared exclusion in governing the country. The Kurds successfully secured regional self government, while remaining as a part of Iraq.***** With Americans growing increasingly disenchanted with American involvement (and mounting casualties) in Iraq, and with many Iraqis wanting to take full control of their country, President George W. Bush negotiated an agreement to withdraw all U.S. forces by the end of 2011, which indeed took place.

Prime Minister Al Maliki has maintained close relations with neighboring Shia majority Iran, and his relations with other Middle Eastern nations is more sketchy, especially with those, like Saudi Arabia, which have a Sunni majority. Since the withdrawal of occupying forces, attacks on public places and on military and police installations have continued, seemingly more by some radical and militant Sunnis.****** More recently, "ISIS" ("Islamic State of Iraq and Syria"), a highly radical Sunni militia group and offshoot of Al Qaeda, has been advancing deep into Iraq from Syria, threatening the capital of Baghdad. This has brought a call to arms by Shia religious and public leaders to defend the city and to defeat ISIS, which, if reports are correct, and they certainly seem to be, has massacred untold numbers of Iraqis in the areas they have captured. In the north, the independent minded Kurds have a substantial army of their own to guard their territory, and their forces have generally been deemed to be much better than many of the Iraqi forces that have thus far faced ISIS. Many Iraqi units collapsed with barely a fight, and reports indicate that many men discarded their uniforms and threw away their weapons. The U.S. is in the process of sending about 300 "advisers" to Iraq to provide further training and such to Iraqis. To me, the idea that 300 men with such a task will have a major impact is ridiculous. "My guess" is, the men will act as "spotters" to call in American airstrikes (or missile strikes), if the President decides to so act.

Recent polls show that Americans now think the invasion of Iraq was not worth the cost. The problem is, the invasion, which found no weapons of mass destruction, may have toppled Saddam Hussein, but it also toppled the Humpty Dumpty of Iraq from his wall, and while the rhyme dates from the 1700s, no one has yet figured out how to put Humpty back together again. The situation is terrible, with few, if any, good options, but the sending of any major U.S. forces has so far been ruled out by the President and it seems even some typically bellicose members of Congress are reluctant to call for armed intervention, but we'll see, since if some had their way, the U.S. would have troops stationed in far more places around the world than we already do.

* The Arabic language is part of the Semitic family of languages, which includes Hebrew, among others.

** The Kurds are closely related to the Persians, and the Kurdish language (and its dialects) is Indo European, making it related to English, but further down the family tree.

*** For a little more on the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/its-about-coalitions-not-purity-part_25.html

**** To be clear here, not all Americans were convinced by the administration provided "evidence," nor were the leaders of many other nations, as the military coalition assembled by George W. Bush was nowhere near the size of that put together by his father in 1990. "Generally," polls showed around 60% of Americans supported a war against Iraq with U.N.approval, but slightly less than 50% supported such a war without U.N. approval. (See prewar polls by Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, CNN/USA Today)

***** In theory, the Kurds had been granted a form of regional self rule by Saddam long before, but he never adhered to the agreement, instead using force against the Kurds. Such "semi-autonomous" setups are not unknown, as the long contested German majority areas of "Alsace-Lorraine" in France achieved such after World War Two, and likewise, as did the German majority area of South Tyrol in Italy after World War Two. In these cases, much self government was granted, which guaranteed the German language and cultural heritage of the regions, but the areas also remained a part of France and Italy, respectively, and the people were citizens of those respective nations. Finland too was a largely self governing grand duchy of the Russian Empire during the 1800s and up until 1917.

****** Just from news reports I've seen, not all Sunnis support ISIS, and indeed many fear ISIS, which has a reputation for atrocities, and has been imposing strict Islamic law in conquered areas. Americans take note! This is what can happen when super reactionary groups want to take a country far back in time.

WORD HISTORY:
Far-This word goes back to Indo European "per," which the notion of "beyond." Its Old Germanic offspring was "ferro," ^ which meant "beyond, further." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "feorr," which meant "distant, far, remote" (also used in terms of time), and this later became "far." The other Germanic languages have: German has "fern," Low German "feern," West Frisian "fier," Dutch "ver," Danish and Norwegian "fjern," Icelandic "fjar-," and Swedish "fjärr."

^ The Indo European "p" often became "f" in its Old Germanic offshoot.