Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Ham Gravy

Just as we often use the juices from roast beef, roast pork or roast chicken to make gravy, the juices from baked ham shouldn't be overlooked, and ham gravy is super. It should not be confused with "red-eye gravy," which is typically made from the drippings of ham fried in a skillet to which black coffee is added (the fatty ham drippings and coffee produce a reddish brown sauce that looks like a red eye).

 

These mashed potatoes are a great side dish next to some freshly baked ham. I like sweet potatoes to be sweetened further for sweet potato casserole, but I only use a small amount of sweetener when I have mashed sweet potatoes, and at times, I don't add any sweetener. So, you can certainly add sweetener in the amount you prefer. 

Ingredients:

 

1 1/4 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

2 to 4 tablespoons canned milk (evaporated milk, NOT sweetened condensed milk)

1 or 2 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or mace)

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

pinch of salt

 

For the gravy:

 

3 strips bacon, chopped

4 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups ham broth

1/4 cup canned milk

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped ham

salt not needed due to broth and bacon

 

Cover the peeled and cut sweet potatoes with water in a pan over high heat, add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium to maintain a steady, but not a rolling boil. Cook the sweet potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes, then use a fork to see how close they are to being done; and proceed until they are tender, but not mushy. 

When the sweet potatoes are done, drain them and return them to the same pan over very low heat. I add the butter, honey and the 2 tablespoons of milk to the pan. If you add more milk  than that right off, you may end up with runny sweet potatoes, so it's best to add it a little at a time, if or as needed. Stir the ingredients around until the butter melts, then remove from the heat. Add the nutmeg, white pepper and a pinch of salt. Use a hand mixer to mash the sweet potatoes until they are smooth and creamy. During this process, if you feel they need more milk, add one tablespoon at a time and continue with the mixer. 

For the gravy: Add the chopped bacon to a pan or skillet over medium heat. Let the bacon cook to render the fat, then sprinkle in the flour and stir to make a roux (if there is not enough bacon fat to make the roux, add a tablespoon of butter, let it melt, mix it around, then add the flour). Cook the roux for just a minute or two to remove the raw flour taste. Use the liquid in the baking pan from the ham; that is, the ham juices, and add enough water to it to make 1 1/2 cups. Begin adding the ham broth (about 1/4 cup to start), and keep stirring to get it incorporated with the roux; then, add 1/2 cup broth and repeat the process, continue until all the broth is used and the gravy is smooth (except for the bacon bits), then add the milk and do the same process. Add the finely chopped ham and the white pepper and stir well to mix it all in.

 

Serve the ham gravy over the mashed sweet potatoes ...   

  

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Trek-This word, related to "drag" and to "draw," both original English words from Old Germanic, goes back to Indo European "dhragh," which had the notion of "to pull." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "dragan(an)," with the same meaning. This "seemingly" produced a somewhat later West Germanic variant form, "trakjanan," meaning, "to drag, to pull roughly, to scrape." I say, "somewhat later," because apparently English did not have a form, and the Germanic dialects that became English left the continental North Sea areas beginning in the mid 400s and into the 500s AD. The variant form gave Dutch "trecken," with the meaning, "to drag, to pull;" thus also, "to travel by cart/wagon" (which, of course, was pulled by animals). This then became "trekken." The Dutch began a strong colonial involvement in southern Africa in the mid 1600s. Many Dutch colonists settled there, and a Dutch dialect gradually developed in southern Africa, more recently declared to be a language in its own right, Afrikaans. Dutch "trekken" was naturally carried to the Dutch settlements in southern Africa; thus to early "Afrikaans," by which time, the word had come to mean the more generalized "to travel, to move from one area to another," and this then became "trek," in Afrikaans, also meaning, "to travel, to migrate, to transport," which also then developed the like spelled noun, meaning, "a migration, a journey." The verb and noun were borrowed into English in the mid 1800s, as English speaking colonists were also present in southern Africa by that time. Other relatives in the Germanic languages: German has "trecken" ^ (Treck is the noun form, from Low German in the later 1800s), verb form meaning, "to hike, to move/travel in a migration;" Low German Saxon "Treck" (noun, "migration;" the verb seems no longer to be used); Dutch "trekken" (to pull, to drag, to migrate, to travel; noun "trek," meaning "draught (air flow 'traveling through an opening'), migration"); West Frisian "trekke" (to pull, to drag); Danish "trække" (borrowed from Low German, "to drag, to pull").

^ The original German form was diminished to dialectal use, but it was revived, to some extent, as something of a borrowing, or reinforcement from Low German. Also, the Germans were involved in southern Africa, which provided some reinforcement from Dutch/Afrikaans.

Roasted Spiced Delicata Squash

Like with zucchini, you can eat the skin of the delicata squash, but just wash the squash well. To my knowledge (ah oh, we're in trouble), delicata squash don't get really large like some other squash varieties, and when I have bought them, they were all similar in size (see photo of a whole delicata, below; I put my cellphone in front of it for comparison). Good as an appetizer, a side dish or as a snack.

Ingredients:

2 delicata squash, halved, seeds removed, the halves sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

3 or 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling over the squash)

2 to 3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper, depending upon your preference for heat, but you can leave it out

Wash the squash well and dry them. Cut the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds, then slice each half into about 1/2 inch pieces (kind of like half moons). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and begin heating the oven to 400 F. Then place the squash pieces on the baking sheet. Make sure each is lying flat, no overlapping, just a single layer. Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the squash to make sure each piece of squash gets a little of the oil. Sprinkle the salt over the squash pieces. I use a storage container with a snap on lid for this next part, but you can use a bowl. Add the dry spices, snap on the lid and shake (ah, I mean, shake the spices, but you can shake too, if you'd like), or if you're using a bowl, stir the spices and mix them together well. I just use my hand to sprinkle the spice mix over the squash. Just make sure your hand is totally dry, or the spices will stick and your hand will quickly become a candidate for the next "dry rub barbecued hand party." Although you may win the "Gotta Hand It To You Award." Roast the squash for about 25 minutes, or until they are a little browned, but nice and soft in the middle.  

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Drug-First, "drug" is used "by some English speakers" as the past tense form of "drag," but likely many scholars do not accept it as being a part of standard English, as "dragged" is the accepted standard form. Regardless, "drug" is used by some, although I believe is was more commonly heard when I was a kid and teenager in the 1950s and 60s. There is an expression used when someone makes an appearance unexpectedly, especially if they haven't been seen for awhile, and that is, "Look what the cat dragged in," but years ago if someone, especially a guy, had been out drinking for a long period and he returned looking messy and red eyed, you'd often hear someone say, "Look what the cat drug in." The main forms of the word "drug" is the noun (for a substance used as medication or as an illegal substance, often addictive) and the verb (used to indicate the administering of a drug to someone to put them under the influence of the drug to limit mental and/or physical performance). The noun and verb forms are actually pretty close relatives of English "dry" ("dry" once had a "g" in it), see further. The noun came to English via French "droge," which meant, "a substance used to treat a medical condition." This was a borrowing by Old French from Dutch "droge," which meant "dry" ("droge" was a relative of English "dry," a word from the Germanic roots of English), and French speakers seemingly mistook the first part of the Dutch term "droge ware/waere," meaning "dry wares," as the word for substances used for medical treatments, especially when that belief was reinforced by the Dutch term "droge vate," meaning "dry vats/barrels." In the first instance, the "wares" were often dried plants and herbs often used in making various medications in those times, and in the second instance, in trade, those dried plants/herbs were often stored in vats or barrels. English borrowed the word in the late 1300s from French, originally as "drogge." The verb was coined in the early 1600s.        

What's In A Name: Max, Minerva

Max-While this name may well be used as a name in its own right, it is most often a shortened form of Maximilian or Maxwell in English. Maximilian was the name of a Christian saint of the North African part of the Roman Empire (now Tebessa in Algeria), known as Saint Maximilian of Tebessa. He was executed in 296 A.D. for not joining the Roman army; and as such, he is credited by some as being a conscientious objector. The name is based upon the Latin word "maximus," meaning "greatest," with the second part seemingly being based upon the Latin name "Aemilius/Aemilianus,"* which meant "rival," perhaps to simply combine the name of a saint and a Roman emperor (Aemilianus was emperor briefly in the 250s (A.D.). The feminine form is "Maxine," which, according to behindthename.com, only came into common usage in English in the early part of the 20th Century.

 

 

Minerva-"Minnie" is frequently used as a nickname for women named Minerva, but "Minnie" is sometimes used for other names too (like "Amelia" and "Wilhelmina"). The name seems to go back to the Indo European root "men," which meant "to remember, to think;"** thus, "Minerva" means "intellect, wisdom." It was the name of the Roman goddess of "wisdom and thoughtfulness," which seems to have been the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess "Athena" (spelled "Athene," by some). The name came into English in the late 1300s, initially as "Minerve/Mynerfe," from Latin "Minerva" (originally "Menerva").     

* For more about Aemilius/Aemilianus and the modern derived names, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/06/whats-in-name-emil-emilio-emily.html

 

** The Indo European root "men" lies behind the common English word "mind," a word from the Germanic roots of English.

I consulted the following in the preparation of this article: 1) behindthename.com  2) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003  3) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages" (Volume 7 of the Leiden Indo-European Etymological Series), by Michiel de Vaan, Brill (Publishing), Leiden (Netherlands), Boston (U.S.), 2008 4) https://www.catholic.org/saints/

 

WORD HISTORY:

Speck/Speckle-English has a couple of words spelled "speck," and I covered the other one, commonly meaning "bacon," before. This is a difficult word, and I can't give a definitive history here, although it was in Old English as "specca" (supposedly in Low German and Dutch, but sources are very scant on info), meaning "a small spot, a stain," but exactly where any of these forms came from is unknown. The Old English form then became "spekke/specke," meaning "a stain, a small spot,"  before the modern form "speck." "Speckle" showed up in the mid 1400s, and likely it was based upon the existing English word, but at least patterned after Dutch "spekel/spekkel," also seemingly meaning "spot," with a Dutch verb, "spekelen," meaning "to sprinkle." By the 1500s, English had developed the verb "bespeckle;" that is, "to mark something with spots." I'll throw out my own possible explanation, which would tie it to "speck," meaning bacon. Could the relatively thin layers of meat and fat in bacon have given some of the Germanic languages the figurative meaning "small amount;" thus also, "small spot?"

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."    

Indonesian Chicken Satay: Sate Ayam

There are many kinds of satays or kebabs from various countries, and with different names for the food product, but they are all based upon meat, fish, vegetables or fruits on skewers that are cooked, often by grilling or broiling. "Shish kebabs" and Peruvian "anticuchos"* are examples.

 

"Kecap manis" is a sweet and thick soy sauce, unlike most other types of soy sauce, and it is available in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. From my experience, it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, and while bamboo skewers are traditional, any wooden skewers are fine; just be sure to soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Of course, you can use metal skewers too. 

Ingredients (for 15 skewers):

15 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes, traditionally bamboo, but I'm sure Indonesians won't put you onto a skewer and then throw you into Mt. Krakatoa, although you will undoubtedly cook well, YEEEOOOWWW!)

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup sweet soy sauce (traditionally 'kecap manis,' or substitute slightly less than 2/3 cup regular soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup, but ... see the note in 'skewers' above about the potential 'penalty')

(optional) 1 teaspoon fresh chopped chili pepper or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek** 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce + a little more for basting the chicken when cooking

1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together the kecap manis (or soy sauce/molasses/syrup), chili pepper (if using), ground coriander, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper and tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss the chicken cubes in the sauce mixture, cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour, but 8 to 12 hours is better. You can grill or broil the chicken. Be sure to soak the skewers in water for 20 to 30 minutes before putting the chicken onto them. Let excess marinade drain into the bowl you used for marinating the chicken pieces and keep it (see further below). Put like 4 to 6 pieces of the chicken on each skewer, and allow a little space between the pieces. Grill or broil the chicken, turning the skewers often, and use a brush to baste the chicken pieces with a little sesame oil as it cooks. Cook the chicken until the pieces are getting a little charred appearance (I said "a little charred appearance," not burnt or ashes ... hahaha), likely 6 to 10 minutes. Pour the marinade liquid into a pan, then stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve the sauce in a separate dish for dipping the chicken and serve the chicken along with some rice.

 

* For Peruvian Anticuchos, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/09/peruvian-kebabs-anticuchos.html

 

** Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets. It is pretty common is the U.S.and it is not expensive, although the price may vary by brand. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cockatoo-This word for some of the prominently crested birds of the parrot family has an uncertain origin, although it may simply be a name derived from the imitation of the sounds made by such birds, as these birds are chatty. It goes back to Malay^ "kakatua," which was borrowed by Dutch as "kaketoe" (the Dutch were very involved in southern Asia from the 1500s until 1945. Indonesia was long a Dutch colony called "(the) Dutch East Indies" until 1945. Dutch "kaketoe" was borrowed by English in the 1630s (some sources say about 15 years earlier) as "cockatoo." Note: While the name may be from the sound of the birds, Malay "kakatua" pretty much literally translates to "older sister." If true, why the use of the term is difficult to understand, but far stranger words have developed among humans. Of course too, it could indeed be from the imitation of the bird sounds and the word adjusted to conform to the "older sister" term's phonetic spelling.

^  "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Czech & Slovak Fried Cheese: Smažený Sýr/Vyprážaný Syr

In Czech it's "Smažený Sýr," pronounced kind of like "shmah-zhawny seer," and in Slovak as "Vyprážaný Syr," pronounced like "vee-prah-zhawny seer," they both simply mean "fried cheese." Typically they use Edam cheese in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. Edam cheese is a round-shaped, off white colored Dutch cheese, encased in red wax, but Edam is also made outside of the Netherlands. If you can't find Edam, you can use gouda, another cheese originally from the Netherlands, but also produced elsewhere, or in the U.S. you can even try Monterey Jack, an American cheese that is pretty much available in any supermarket. The thing is, these cheeses all have relatively low moisture, which is what you want. I hadn't bought Edam cheese for many years. It's not that I don't like it, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't on my mind, but when I went to buy it recently, I couldn't find it at cheese shops or at the supermarket. I don't know if this is because of the pandemic, which disrupted the suppy of some items, especially from outside the country, or if Edam has fallen in popularity (of course, it's possible that your local store will have it). Anyhow, I ended up buying it online. Gouda is readily available in cheese shops and supermarkets, and I actually bought some of it too, just to have it.    

Serve with french fries, Czech tartar sauce and don't forget a nice cold glass of beer. The Czechs have a good reputation for pilsner beer.

Ingredients (2 to 4 servings):

 

4 pieces of Edam, gouda or Monterey Jack cheese, cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick, 2 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches long

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup breadcrumbs (fine type)

oil for frying

 

Add enough neutral flavor oil to provide a quarter inch of oil in a skillet, then heat the oil over medium high heat (NOT just medium heat). Spread the flour out onto a plate, then beat the eggs in a separate shallow bowl/plate, then spread the breadcrumbs out onto another separate place. Roll a cheese slice in the flour to coat it, shake off excess, then dip the cheese slice into the beaten egg to coat it, then roll the cheese in the breadcrumbs to coat. I dip my cheese slices back into the egg and then back into the breadcrumbs to make sure they are well coated (no need for another dose of flour). Do the same with each cheese slice. Fry the cheese quickly over medium high heat, turning the cheese pieces to brown them on both sides. Frying the cheese quickly helps to prevent the cheese from running out (the double breadcrumb coating naturally helps too). Stay alert, because the frying does not take long, and if you blink twice, the breadcrumb coating may become too dark, or even burn. Not that I know anything about that ... Actually, the first time I fixed this recipe, I turned around to simply rinse a dish off in the sink, and when I turned back to the stove, the breadcrumbs were so dark and burned, they looked like I had doused them in soy sauce, which gave me an idea, but that's another story. 

 

For the Czech tartar sauce:

 

1 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon vinegar

1/4 cup sweet gherkins, finely chopped (you can use somewhat less, to your own preference)

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped or grated

1/4 teaspoon chopped dill

1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, add all of the ingredients and stir well to mix. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour, but preferably for several hours. Stir the sauce before serving it.  

 

Fried cheese with fries, Czech tartar sauce and a glass of beer ...

WORD HISTORY:

Howitzer-This word is related to "heap" (both noun and verb), which are from the Germanic roots of English. "Howitzer" goes back to Indo European "k(h)oup," which had the notion of "raised surface;" thus, "hill." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "houpaz/haupaz," which "seems" to have reduced the meaning from "hill" to the lesser "pile or stack of something," although the reduced meaning may have first come in the West Germanic branch of Germanic. This gave Old High German "hufo" (heap), which then became "hufe (heap) (this also was used in the sense "group/band/crowd"). This was borrowed by Czech (often called "Old Czech" for the time period until the early 1500s) as "houf," which meant "heap, crowd, flock," and this gave Czech the noun "houfnice," initially a "catapult," seemingly from the trajectory (an arc) of the objects hurled by the device. German borrowed the word from Czech during the Hussite Wars (wars within Christianity in Bohemia, but before Christian "protesters against the Church" took the name "Protestants") for a "catapult" in the 1400s, apparently initially in German as "huffnitze," but also as an occasional name for some small Czech cannons. As artillery became more common, the name shifted to the shell-firing mortar-type gun that can be used to fire indirectly upon targets; that is, upon targets that cannot be seen by the gunners, as the shells are fired over all types of visual obstructions, and in German the term became "Haubitze," which was then borrowed by Dutch as "houwitser," and this was borrowed by English, initially as "hauwitser," in the latter part of the 1600s.   

Kenyan Rice & Salad: Pilau and Kachumbari

Kenya is a country in East Africa with a coastline along the Indian Ocean. It has a population of "about" 55 million and its capital city is Nairobi. Swahili and English (British style) are the primary languages used in government, schools and business, but other regional African languages are spoken on an every day basis, along with hybrid forms of English with numerous African dialect influences. Kenya came under British control in the latter part of the 1800s, initially as part of the "East African Protectorate," then later as an outright "colony." This brought a number of immigrants to Kenya from India, itself a British colony at that time. In those times, India included what later became the separate countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are lots of Indian influences in Kenyan food.*

 

I read quite a few recipes about pilau, and several used basmati rice, so that's what I chose to use. 

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

 

For the pilau:

 

1 cup basmati rice

1 red onion (tennis ball size), peeled and chopped (not finely)

3 garlic cloves, chopped or minced

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

2 inch cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 bay leaves

2 cups chicken stock

2/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (if the chicken stock has a lot of salt, you can omit adding this salt)

1/4 cup oil (vegetable or olive)

 

In a heavy bottom pan, add the oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes, stir the onion to prevent sticking or burning. Add the chopped or minced garlic and the fresh ginger and saute a further 45 seconds, then add the tomatoes and stir (doesn't have to be totally constant) as the vegetables continue to cook. Add the cinnamon stick, ground cumin, ground cardamom and bay leaves, stir again, then add the rice and stir to mix everything together well, then add the chicken stock, and stir some more. Add the ground black pepper and salt (if using) and let the mixture come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer (stove settings can vary, but likely you'll need "low" or "very low"). Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes, then remove the lid to see how much liquid remains. Replace the lid and continue cooking until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and ... guess what? Stir to fluff and mix again (remove the bay leaves).  

 

For the kachumbari:

 

2 tomatoes (baseball size), diced

1 red onion (tennis ball to baseball size), chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, or partially peeled (like stripes), diced

1 to 2 chili peppers (jalapeños are good for this), seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped/minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/3 cup fresh coriander (also called 'cilantro'), chopped

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to your taste)

(optional) 1 teaspoon honey

(optional) 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

This is mainly about chopping the ingredients; so, when that's done, add the tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, chili pepper, garlic, coriander (cilantro), black pepper and salt to a bowl. Mix everything together (I do it by hand). If you plan to serve the entire salad, then add the lime juice (or mix together the lime juice, honey and oil and then add to the salad), but once you add the juice, if you have leftovers, the salad will begin to lose its "crispness," so I add the juice dressing per serving, not to the whole salad. Also, if you use honey, pop it into the microwave for just a couple of seconds (only) and it will help when you're mixing it with the oil and lime juice. 

I had fried chicken with my pilau and kachumbari (see photos below). Someone told me to simply toss the chicken in seasoned flour and then fry it, which is what I did, but I didn't like it, the feathers were too much for me. So, I plucked the feathers from another chicken and repeated the process, which worked out much better. hahaha  You can serve another type of meat, or just have the pilau and kachumbari as a lunch dish.

* This is an example of Indian influence on Kenyan food: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/kenyan-potato-bites-potato-bhajias.html

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cricket (2)-This is the name of the sport/game, not the name for the insect, which has a different history. While the history of this word for a game of two teams played with a ball and bats is shaky,^ it likely is closely related to "crutch," and also related to "crook/crooked" and "creep," and these are all words from Germanic, and it is also likely related to "crochet," a word borrowed by English from French, but French had the word from Germanic, more than likely from Frankish, but perhaps from, or reinforced by, Old Norse. The game usage of the word "cricket" goes back to Indo European "ger/grewg," which had the notion "to bend, to turn, to twist," which gave Old Germanic "krukjon," which meant "crooked shaft." This then became "krukjo" in West Germanic with the further meaning of "staff with a crooked handle or arm support," which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "crycc(e)" meaning, "crutch, bent/curved staff." Now, this developed into modern "crutch," but its Flemish^^ cousin "krik" (bent staff, curved stick) "seems" to lie at the heart of the usage of the word "cricket," the game; at least the game that has been known by that name in England/Britain, although there may have been similar versions of the modern game long ago.^^^ "Supposedly" the word "krikets" developed in southeastern England from the Flemish word (there were quite a number of immigrants from Flanders there in the 1500s through the 1700s, many associated with cloth and weaving), and this was then anglicized as "cricket." The mid 1800s saw the secondary meaning develop in England of "the proper way to do things," likely from the notion of "play the game of cricket properly," although this meaning is often put into the negative for something being done unfairly as, "that's not cricket" ("that's not fair or proper").

 

^ Unraveling the shaky history of the word "cricket" is somewhat equivalent to unraveling the shaky history of the game itself, which "may" have come from various similar games that eventually produced the immediate forerunner of the modern game, but to which the name came to be applied. When I say the history of the word "cricket" is "shaky," I really mean the specifics are tough to determine, although the broad history of the word seems clear.  

 

^^ Flemish is the dialect of Dutch spoken in the Flanders part of Belgium. In times long past, Flemish was seen as its own language by some, but in more recent times it has been viewed as a regional dialect of Dutch. I watch numerous language programs, and I have noticed that Belgians from Flanders now often say they speak Dutch, although I'm sure there are some who still say they speak Flemish (Vlaams). Dutch, including the Flemish dialect, and many of the nearby German dialects (that western part of Germany, Luxembourg and Lorraine) all developed from Frankish, the Germanic language (dialect) of the Franks. 

 

^^^ Seemingly in the 1600s and up until the early second half of the 1700s, the ball was rolled along the ground (bowled) and batted with bent/curved sticks like modern hockey sticks, but in the second half of the 1700s the ball was thrown (pitched), leading to the abandonment of the curved stick in favor of a straight bat. 

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.

Olivier Salad: Russian Salad

The developer of this salad was Lucien Olivier, a chef from Belgium, who actually might have been born in France, and he developed the salad in the 1860s at the Hermitage, a popular restaurant in Moscow. Olivier either owned the restaurant, or he was one of the owners, but whatever the case, he did perform chef's duties at the restaurant. The thing is, the salad, which is really a type of potato salad, he put together changed a great deal over the years, and since Chef Olivier guarded the recipe, no one truly knew the exact ingredients, although the main items were obvious. Further, however, even some of the main ingredients changed over time and his presentation of the salad also changed, as for one thing, the sauce, which he originally used to top the salad, he later mixed it into the salad. The popularity of the salad brought numerous variations in recipes, including in areas beyond Russia. As such, this is my version, which I've given as vegetarian, but if you'd like, mix in some diced ham or diced chicken breast. Of course, you can use the meatless salad as a side dish to a serving of meat (see photos below). 

Ingredients (multiple servings):

1 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
1/4 cup sour cream (reduced fat type is fine)
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 medium potatoes, boiled in their skins, cooled, peeled and diced
1 medium to large carrot, peeled and diced
1 cup cooked peas, cooled and drained
1/4 cup diced gherkins
2 to 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
3 tablespoons capers 
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped dill, the ground black and white pepper and the salt. In a much larger dish, add the diced potatoes, diced carrot, peas, diced gherkins, chopped egg, capers and 1 tablespoon chopped dill. Gently mix the salad to distribute the main ingredients, then mix in the dressing (I add half of the dressing, mix, then add the other half and mix, but whatever you prefer to do).

NOTE: I consulted the article at the following link for some of the information about the history of this salad:  https://web.archive.org/web/20180718213638/http://www.sras.org/Russian_olivier_salad

"Olivier Salad" as a side dish for a smoked pork chop ...

WORD HISTORY: 
Mammoth-This word for "an extinct type of large elephant of shaggy hair and curved tusks" seems to come from Uralic, the language family with prominent members Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian, but with numerous other smaller and less well known languages. Uralic is thought to have developed in and around the Ural Mountains. Uralic languages have forms like "me, ma, meh, mah," having to do with "earth;" that is, "soil, land," with further Uralic forms like "ahnt," meaning "horn, tusk." The idea is that these two forms were combined to describe the large hairy creature with long curved tusks. As Russian moved northward and eastward it borrowed the word as transliterated "mamant," then later as "mamont," as tusks and fossils of mammoths were found in western Siberia in the 1600s and 1700s. English borrowed the word in the early 1700s from Russian, but likely with heavy reinforcement from Dutch "mammuth," which Dutch got from Russian. German borrowed the word in the 1700s, initially as "Mammuth," then "Mammut," but German borrowed it from French "mammouth," itself from Russian. English also developed usage of the word adjectivally to indicate "very large in structure, gigantic."        

Bermudian Codfish Breakfast

Bermuda is a group of islands which are a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean, about 650 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The territory is self governing on local matters, with foreign policy and military defense provided by the government of the United Kingdom. The British monarch is the head of state. Bermuda has been under English/British rule since the 1600s, but it has had influences from other cultures over time, including from the Portuguese, who brought salt cod (Portuguese: "bacalhau").

When I was a kid until a young adult, the term "Bermuda shorts" was commonly seen or heard for somewhat "dressy" short pants that came to just above the knee, but it's not a term heard much anymore in the United States, or at least not to my knowledge. Likewise, "Bermuda onions" was often heard in reference to sweet onions, but that's another term with scarce usage in the U.S. today. About 20 years ago, a student, a young lady, rented an apartment in a building I managed. When she moved, she gave me a gift (see photo #1, below), which I have kept. I hope she and her family are all well. I believe it was her maternal aunt I met at one point, but the young lady's mother remained back in Bermuda. Very, very nice people! 

This is generally a Sunday breakfast or a breakfast for some special day.

Ingredients (4 servings):

1 1/2 pounds salt cod (or boneless fresh or thawed cod)
12 to 15 small potatoes, washed and halved (or you can cook larger potatoes and then cut them into chunks)
1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes with some juice
2 tablespoons regular ketchup
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 hard boiled eggs, halved lengthwise
1 or 2 avocados
4 bananas 

If you're using salt cod, soak it for about 24 hours, changing the water 4 to 6 times, then cook the cod in a pot with fresh water over medium heat. Maintain a good steady simmer until the cod is tender, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending upon the size of the cod pieces. Drain the cod, let it cool a bit and use two forks to flake the cod and remove any bones. Of course, if you use fresh or thawed cod, you needn't soak it, and you can check for any bones before cooking it. When you cook fresh or thawed cod, add a little salt to the water, something you will not likely have to do if you use salt cod.

(When I made this dish for this article, I fully intended to buy some small potatoes, and cook them with the peels left on, but as this was during the covid pandemic, I had bought a large amount of bigger potatoes to have them on hand, and I thought it best to use those up, so that's what I did. I peeled the larger potatoes before cooking, and almost all of the recipes I read for this dish called for peeling the potatoes.) So, while the fish cooks, in another pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring them to a boil, cooking them until tender (about 20 to 30 minutes). You can boil the eggs separately, but I just let them cook along with the potatoes for about 10 minutes. Now I know there are various recommendations about boiling eggs, like bringing the eggs to a boil for a couple of minutes and then shutting off the heat and letting the eggs sit in the hot water for a certain number of minutes, but I cooked them with the potatoes and I haven't died, although my funeral is set for 2 days hence. hahahaha ... Hey, what the hell am I laughing about?

In a skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, yellow pepper and celery. After about 2 minutes, add the garlic. Continue to saute the vegetables, then add the diced tomatoes. Cook until the vegetables are softened, then add the tomato sauce, ketchup, thyme and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring to mix and to prevent sticking.

To serve: add some flaked cod and some potatoes or potato pieces to each plate. Top both with some of the sauce (in the photos below I used just a little of the sauce, so that the cod and potatoes could be seen), add some slices of avocado and banana to the plate, along with a halved hard boiled egg (which I forgot to add for the pictures, but I must admit, the notice that my funeral is 2 days off did shake me a bit).   

WORD HISTORY:
Scrod-This word is related to "shred," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and it is somewhat more distantly related to "shear," another word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to the Indo European root "sker," meaning "to cut," which produced an extended form "skreu," meaning "to cut up, to cut." This gave Old Germanic "skraudanan," meaning "to cut up, to cut off." This gave Old Dutch "scrodan," meaning, "to cut off," which then became "scrode," meaning "to cut off in pieces, to shred," and this produced the noun "schrood" meaning "a piece of something cut off." English borrowed the word around the mid 1800s (as "schrod?") with the meaning, "white fish split or cut into pieces for cooking or salting," perhaps influenced in that meaning by the unrelated fish name "cod" (for quite awhile the meaning was applied to split young/small codfish, but then broadened to simply "whitefish"). Some relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Schrot" ("coarse meal or split or crushed meal," thus also, "shot;" that is, "pellet in a shell or cartridge"), German also has "Schrott" ("piece of scrap metal," also, "rubbish" (both in the literal sense and the figurative sense of 'nonsense'), Low German has "Schroot" ("coarsely milled grain"), Dutch "schroot" ("scrap metal"), Frisian had "skred/schred." 

Garlic Soup

I've seen some claims that garlic soups (various recipes) can "help" prevent some illnesses, like colds and influenza. Whether there is actually scientific evidence to support this line of claims, I don't really know, but if you like garlic, or if you have beliefs in garlic as a health supplement, this is a soup for you. Of course, since the garlic is cooked, the sharp taste of raw garlic isn't present, but you'll still get your garlic "fix," if that's one of your taste cravings. I've found that letting the soup cool, then refrigerating it until the next day gives it a more developed flavor. So all you have to do is to reheat the soup, which you can even easily do for just a bowl or two in your microwave. Note: You can use your own homemade chicken stock, or buy some form of canned or packaged chicken broth, some of which are available in reduced salt versions, and there are some powdered forms that are no salt, to which you simply add water. Unless you are on a severely restricted salt diet, if you use the no salt version, you will likely want to add at least some salt to the soup. I've suggested 1/2 teaspoon in the recipe, but I use chicken broth with salt, so I do not add this extra salt. I only add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the garlic when sauteing it (see below).   

Ingredients:

30 to 35 whole cloves of garlic, skins removed, then slightly crushed
6 cups chicken stock/broth (homemade, canned, bouillon, or packaged)
1/4 cup white wine
2 large potatoes, peeled, chopped (naturally, the smaller you chop them, the faster they'll cook)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, for sauteing the garlic
(optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt for the soup, but remember the chicken broth likely has salt, perhaps a lot
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup cream or evaporated milk
garnish with chopped chives and croutons

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat. Add the whole slightly crushed cloves of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then saute the garlic until it starts to lightly brown, stirring to keep it from burning or becoming too dark. This can take a little time. In a large sauce pan, add the chicken stock, wine, thyme, oregano, potatoes (also salt, if using), and the lightly browned garlic and the oil used for sauteing; bring to a good simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Either transfer to a blender or use a stick blender (also called an immersion blender). Blend until smooth, then, if using a regular blender, pour the soup back into the pan over low heat, then add the black pepper, and stir in the cream or milk. Let the soup heat up briefly, but do not boil. Serve with croutons and some chopped chives on top. 

WORD HISTORY:
Beaker-Although this word's origin is uncertain, it is related to "pitcher," a word borrowed by English from French and which has the rest of its known history matching that of "beaker." Its origin is thought by some to be Middle Eastern, as there are similar words from that area meaning, "vase, jug, container." The idea for supporters of this origin is that Ancient Greek borrowed the word as transliterated "bîkos," for "earthenware jug or container." Then Latin borrowed this term in a diminutive form as "bicarium," meaning, "wine jug or container." This was borrowed by some Germanic language, and passed to some other Germanic languages, but the exact process is unclear. Old High German has the word circa 1000, as "behhari," and meaning, "cup, wine goblet, jug, pitcher," and this then became "becher," and then modern "Becher" (cup, mug, tub) with a capital "B," as in modern German all nouns are capitalized. The thing is, other Germanic languages had forms around the same time as Old High German, and it's important to remember, the Germanic dialects that formed English, collectively called "Anglo-Saxon," had already left northwestern Europe by that time, and the Anglo-Saxons had long before firmly established themselves in the part of Britain named after the Angles, "England." So a form of the word was not taken with the Anglo-Saxons to Britain. English seems to have borrowed the word in the mid 1300s either from Old Norse "bikarr" (cup, drinking vessel), or from Dutch "beker" (cup, goblet). The most common meaning in modern English, "a round open mouthed glass container, without handles, used in science laboratories," developed in the second half of the 1800s.   

Austro-German Dessert Pancake: Kaiserschmarrn

I often had Kaiserschmarrn at the "Wienerwald" Restaurant in Frankfurt back in the 1980s. If I remember right, the restaurant was on Kaiserstraße, not far from the main train station, and it was located in a split level space, so you had to walk down a few steps (not many) to enter. "Wienerwald" means "Vienna Woods," and the restaurant was part of a large restaurant chain in Germany and Austria, one of the largest in Europe at the time, as I recall. They specialized in chicken dishes, with particular emphasis on "Backhendl;" that is, "fried chicken." The chain had financial difficulties and they later closed the restaurant on Kaiserstraße, but after some restructuring, they opened at a new location around the intersection of Kaiserstraße and Weserstraße. The chain was much scaled back a number of years later, as financial problems continued, and this resulted in the closing of the restaurant in Frankfurt. I believe the restaurants in Austria were sold off, so that they have a separate owner from those in Germany, but they all have similar menu offerings. 

Anyway, Kaiserschmarrn are a type of sweet pancake that is torn or cut into pieces and dusted with powdered sugar before serving. They are often served with a side dish of plum compote (German: Pflaumenröster or Zwetschgenröster) or apple sauce (German: Apfelmus), but I like to put a little glaze on my Kaiserschmarrn. The German word "Schmarren/Schmarrn" is related to English "smear," which in German is "schmieren" (verb), and the noun from that is, "Schmer," meaning, "fat of a swine;" thus also, "lard," and the connecting thought was likely because the original pancakes would have been cooked in lard. The word seems to have only come into use in southern German dialects in the 1500s, and the meaning became, "piece(s)," perhaps from the idea that the pancakes cooked in lard were then cut up into pieces. Besides its use for a cut up pancake (a pancake in 'pieces'), it also took on the slang meaning of "nonsense/rubbish."* This may have come from the idea of regular pancakes being cheap; thus, with little value. 

The history of this dessert is not really known, but the "Kaiser" part has long tied the dish to Kaiser (Emperor) Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, who ruled for some 68 years, before his death in late 1916 at the age of 86. Over the years I've read several theories about the name of this pancake dish, with one simply being that it had originated from a simple pancake recipe from the countryside, but that by the mid 1800s, it took on added ingredients, like raisins, sugar, vanilla and sometimes, cinnamon, which were not available to common people, thus making it "fit for the Kaiser," or perhaps, "fit for a Kaiser." Other stories "claim" it was a favorite dessert of Franz Joseph and that this is, therefore, the source of the name. 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour, sifted
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
few drops of vanilla 
1/3 cup golden raisins
pinch of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons butter for frying (or mix of half butter, half neutral oil)
powdered sugar for dusting

Mix together the sifted flour, sugar, salt, egg yolks and milk to make a batter. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter. Some people use a large skillet and make one large pancake, but I prefer to use a smaller skillet and make two pancakes, one after the other. Melt the butter in a smaller skillet over low heat. Add enough batter to the skillet to make a 6 to 7 inch pancake, tilting the skillet back and forth to even out the batter. Sprinkle some raisins on top once the bottom of the pancake sets. Fry the pancake until it is nice and brown, then fry the pancake on the other side. Remove the pancake to a dish and keep it warm, while you repeat the process for the second pancake. Cut or tear the pancakes into bite-sized pieces. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, or pour on a little powdered sugar glaze... enjoy.


Powdered sugar glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons warm milk

Put the butter and 2 tablespoons milk in a microwave safe dish. Heat for a few seconds until the butter melts. Mix in the powdered sugar. You can add a little more milk if the glaze is too thick.

* For a little more on the word "Schmarren," and also about Kaiserschmarren," here is the link:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/09/its-none-of-your-pancake-business.html

Click to enlarge

WORD HISTORY:
Speck (2)-This word, meaning "small spot," has a very uncertain history. It is related to "speckle," both the noun and the verb forms. In Old English (Anglo-Saxon) it was "specca," which then became "spekke," before the modern form. It is related to the Dutch verb "spekelen," which fell into disuse, but which meant, "to sprinkle." The Dutch word in this case is the likely source of English "speckle," and it was influenced in meaning by English "speck," then still spelled "spekke," to produce the meaning "make small marks on something." Whether "speck/speckle" are from Germanic; that is, derived from some Germanic base word, is unclear.    

Thai Shrimp Soup, Spicy or Mild

This is a GREAT soup. If you like "heat," you can add another tablespoon of chili paste, but if you do not like "heat," use just one tablespoon. Thai chili paste or sambal oelek chili paste are available in supermarkets and Asian markets.  

Ingredients:

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 
1/2 cup rice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cups vegetable stock 
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 ounce can)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons Thai chili paste or sambal oelek chili paste
3 green onions/scallions, including most of the green part
1 stalk lemon grass or 1 teaspoon ground/powdered lemon grass (optional) *
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

In a heavy bottomed pan, add the broth, the rice, the fish sauce, the red bell pepper, the chili paste, the scallions, the ginger, and the fresh lemon grass (if using, or add ground form in next step). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low heat. Simmer until rice is almost tender. Add the shrimp, the lime juice and the cilantro leaves (also the ground lemon grass, if using). Cook just until the shrimp are about done, then immediately add the coconut milk, stirring well to mix. Let the soup heat up again, and then remove it from the heat. (Note: If the soup gets too thick, you can always add some more vegetable broth, a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.)   

* Lemon grass is a plant that grows in long stalks. It is used to some degree on parts of the Indian Subcontinent, but it is used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisine. In more recent times, it is available in some U.S. supermarkets or Asian stores. The outer layers of the stalk will need to be peeled off and discarded, and the more tender interior can be chopped up for use in cooking. It has something of a citrus flavor and aroma; after all, it IS called "lemon grass." It is also available in ground (powdered) form, and it is something you might want to try using, either fresh or ground.

WORD HISTORY:
Slurp-The origin of this word is presumably imitative of sound, and there are similar words in other Indo European languages that have to do with taking in food or liquids. In Old Germanic the imitation produced "slurphan/slorphan," with the meaning, "to sip, drink or eat noisily." This gave Old Low Franconian (the Germanic dialects that became Dutch) "slorpen," with the same meanings, and this then became "slurpen." English borrowed the word from Dutch in the first half of the 1600s. Because of the word originating as an imitative word for sound, there are a number of relatives, with varied spellings and slight variations in meanings: German has "schlürfen" (to sip or drink noisily), but also, "schlurfen" (to drag your foot or feet along noisily when walking), Low German Saxon has "slubbern" (drink noisily) and "slarpen" and "slurren" (drag your feet noisily), Danish "slubre" (slurp), Norwegian "slurpe" (sip/drink noisily), Swedish "slurpa" (drink/sip) and seemingly "slurka" (drink in big gulps).

Mexican Breakfast: Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles (pronounced as if, "chee-lah-key-lays") is a common dish in Mexico, especially for breakfast. It can be made with red sauce or green sauce. I've streamlined the process here "a little," as traditionally, Mexicans have used tortillas and chicken leftover from the day before to make this dish. The tortillas were cut into wedges or pieces and then fried until crisp. Store bought tortilla chips cut down on the time needed. You can find cotija cheese in many supermarkets, cheese shops, or most certainly in Latino shops, but you can easily substitute feta cheese. Further, Mexican Crema is commonly used, but again, if you can't find it, the mixture I've listed is a quick and easy substitute.

30 tortilla chip triangles (white or yellow)
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, red or green, homemade* or store bought
1/2 cup crumbled Mexican cotija cheese or feta cheese
1/4 cup Mexican Crema **

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Put the tortilla chips in the skillet and spread them out. Add the enchilada sauce and bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Let tortilla chips soften slightly, remove from heat. Place on serving dishes and add crumbled cheese, then spoon some Mexican Crema over each serving. Serve with fried egg(s), sliced avocado sprinkled with a little lime juice, shredded chicken or bite sized pieces of chicken, or refried beans. 

* For homemade red enchilada sauce:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/05/red-enchilada-sauce.html

** To make a quick "version" of Mexican Crema, 3/4 cup sour cream thinned with 5 tablespoons of buttermilk and with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt stirred in.

Click to enlarge photo... Chilaquiles with chicken and refried beans

WORD HISTORY:
Corral-This word, distantly related to "car," "carriage" and "course," all of Latin derivation, and borrowed by English, goes back to Indo European "kers," which had the notion of "to run, move swiftly." This gave Latin the verb "currere," meaning, "to run," which produced the noun "currus," which meant, "chariot." Hey, when you've got a chariot, you've got to have a place to park it, and that was a Latin "currale," meaning, "an area for keeping a chariot." This gave Spanish and Portuguese "curral/corral," and it later simply meant, "enclosure, usually for cattle." The word was borrowed by English from Spanish in the late 1500s, with "perhaps" later reinforcement from Dutch/Afrikaans "kraal," in southern Africa, a word Dutch borrowed from Portuguese "curral/corral," as both the Portuguese and the Dutch were involved in southern Africa before heavy British involvement there. "Kraal" meant "a fenced in area for animals."      

The Barrage of Illegal Calls Continues

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

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

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

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

Brandy Alexander, A Favorite of Mine

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

Ingredients:

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

nutmeg

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

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

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