Thai Iced Tea

This iced tea is transliterated as "Cha Yen" in Thai, a language of the Tai Kadai language family (also known as Kra Dai languages) of southeastern Asia. Use black tea for this recipe and the tea should be fairly strong, as the ice will dilute the tea. Real loose leaf "Thai tea" is available in some supermarkets and Asian stores, and from what I understand, most, if not all, brands contain the food dye that gives the tea its "orangish" color. I've tried to duplicate the color by using regular red and yellow food coloring, but it didn't work. Understand, the dye doesn't really change the taste of the tea; it just alters the color, and certain types of food dye makes some people uneasy about health side effects. Of course the sight of food does influence our perceptions, and if you've bought Thai tea in bottles or cans, it has the orange color to it. Also, chances are, if you've ordered Thai tea in a Thai restaurant, it likely had the orange color. When I first made the tea, I added some red and some yellow food coloring (just regular food coloring), but it didn't really make the tea orange in color. Now I don't use food coloring very often, so I thought my coloring might have been  in the kitchen cabinet too long, so I went out and bought some fresh food coloring, which was also another brand from what I'd had. I made the tea again, but the food coloring just didn't do it. No matter the color, Thai iced tea is sweet and sort of creamy.   

Ingredients (per cup):

1 tablespoon black tea
1 cup + of boiling water
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
dash of vanilla
(optional) red/yellow food coloring
ice cubes or crushed ice

In a pan, bring the tea and water for whatever amount you are making to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the tea steep for 15 minutes. Strain the tea into a large dish or a large cup (whatever can hold the amount you've made, and remember, it needs to be able to hold HOT liquid) and add the sugar, the vanilla (just a drop or two per cup only) and the sweetened condensed milk, then stir to dissolve the sugar and mix the ingredients. You can also try food coloring at this time, if you'd like (good luck!). Let the tea cool for about 10 minutes, then fill each glass about 2/3 of the way with crushed ice (about half way, if using ice cubes), and pour in the tea. Add the canned evaporated milk on top. Best to use a straw for drinking. I read 20 to 25 recipes for Thai iced tea, and some people drizzle in both the sweetened condensed milk and the evaporated milk, leaving a bottom layer of the dark tea. Other people whisk the tea to give it some froth. 
  

WORD HISTORY:
Chest-This word is closely related to "cistern," a word borrowed from Latin-based French, and Latin  borrowed it from Greek. "Chest" goes back to Indo European "kisteh," which meant, "container of woven twigs;." thus, "basket." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "kiste," meaning, "basket, box." Latin borrowed the word as "cista," meaning, "box, chest (having a hinged top);" thus also, "casket." It was borrowed by Germanic in the 3rd Century as "kistah," with the same meaning. This later gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) both "cest" (box, chest) and "cist" (casket, chest), which melded into "cheste," before the modern version. By the second half of the 1300s, the word also began to be used for "upper torso," from the idea, "protective box for the upper torso," which gradually began to replace "breast" as the word for the upper torso (German still uses their form of the word breast, "Brust," with that meaning). Relatives in the Germanic languages: German "Kiste" (box, chest, crate), Low German "Kist" (chest, box, casket), West Frisian "kiste" (chest, crate, box), Dutch "kist" (box, chest, casket), Swedish "kista" (casket, chest), Danish and Norwegian "kiste" (chest, crate), Icelandic "kista" (chest, trunk). 

Thailand... A Win For Humanity!

The rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand is a highly visible win for humanity, but there are other wins EVERY DAY, performed by any number of people, although we may not hear much about them. The nastiness of the few makes the news, and at times, it may make things seem that the world is crumbling, but there are still MANY good people, people who put themselves in danger for others, with some suffering injury or even death in their efforts to do good. The need for such efforts is never ending, so while this is a moment to cheer for the task just accomplished, goodness cannot take a bow for long, as there are so many other challenges to be overcome in all parts of the world.

WORD HISTORY:
Cave-This word, closely related to "cavity," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English, goes back to Indo European "keuh," which had the notion "to swell, to grow larger;" thus also, "to hollow out, to make deeper." This gave Latin the adjective "cavus," which meant, "hollow" ("hollowed out"). This then provided Latin with the noun "cavea" (a hollow). This gave Latin-based French with "cave," which meant, "underground chamber, cellar." English borrowed the word "seemingly" in the first half of the 1200s, but quickly developed the meaning, "underground hollow, underground room." Whether this meaning was influenced by Spanish "cueva," which meant "cave, underground den," is unknown to me, but it is certainly possible, and perhaps even likely, given that Spanish was spoken along the then southern colonial border regions in Florida and Texas. In spite of the similarity, it is not related to English "cove," an original English word from its Germanic roots. The verb form of "cave" developed in the early 1400s, initially as "caven," and meaning, "to hollow out," but by circa 1700, the meaning, "to fall in, to collapse," "seemingly" developed in the American colonies from the idea of the "a collapse forms a hollow."     

Thai Cucumber Salad

Great salad with "some" spicy heat, but only as much as you'd like. I use English cucumbers. These are the long, slender cucumbers, often marketed in the U.S. as "seedless cucumbers," although I have seen signs in markets saying, "English cucumbers," or "English cukes." They often come in plastic wrap. If the cucumber says, "Parlez vous français," just say, "Hey, you're not fooling me, you're no English cucumber!" If for some reason you can't find these, use regular cucumbers, split them lengthwise, scrape out the large seeds with a spoon, then slice the cucumbers. The skin can be pretty thick on some regular cucumbers, and it is often coated with wax to preserve them and to make them shiny, so it may be better to peel them, or partially peel them (after washing them well), so that you'll have stripes of dark green and very light green. As for the chili pepper, if you're not fond of much "heat," use just a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper, instead of the fresh chili. Or, if you don't mind the heat of black or white pepper, add up to one teaspoon of either. At least "some" spicy heat is a part of what makes it "Thai," but you don't have to scorch your mouth, either.

Ingredients:

2 English cucumbers, cut lengthwise, then sliced fairly thin (peeled or unpeeled)
1 to 2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (red or white)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce (readily available in supermarkets and not very expensive)
1 or 2 jalapeno or serrano chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I don't seed mine, but I like heat)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
peanuts, coarsely chopped, then roasted briefly in a skillet (no oil)

Spread the cucumber slices out on a large platter, sprinkle the salt over them and let them drain 30 to 45 minutes, rinse in cold water, pat dry. Mix the vinegar, fish sauce, chili sauce and sugar well, making sure to dissolve the sugar. Add the onion, cucumber, cilantro and chili pepper and toss well to coat the mixture. Top with the briefly roasted chopped peanuts.

WORD HISTORY:
Cucumber-The origins of this word are unknown, but from what I've read over the years, it is thought to have been from some non-Indo European language of the eastern Mediterranean region. What is known is, the word goes back to Latin "cucumis," one of the case forms (ablative) of which was "cucumere." English borrowed the word from Latin as "cucumer" around 1400, although it was already present somewhat earlier, but not commonly used, as English had its own term "earth apple" (then spelled as the compound, "eorþæppel"). French had their forms of the Latin word (French is a Latin-based language) as "coucombre" and "cocombre," which then influenced the spelling and pronunciation in English later on. (Modern French has "concombre.")