Black-Eyed Pea Spread

Dips and spreads made with ground beans, peas, nuts and seeds have been eaten by humans for many hundreds of years, and likely longer; after all, the ingredients for these dishes were all around long, long before anything like modern times, and just because they didn't have a Cuisinart food processor, didn't mean they they didn't know how to process food without such a device. By the way, Cuisinart food processors didn't go public until the early 1970s, although some electric blenders, the forerunners of actual food processors, began to make their public appearances not long after the end of World War One, and blenders gradually began to be enabled by add-on accessories to make them more like food processors, especially after World War Two.  

 

Black-eyed peas are really a type of bean originally from Africa and brought to the New World by African slaves. They are commonly eaten in several African countries like Senegal, Nigeria and some others, as well as on many of the Caribbean islands, in India and Pakistan, and they are popular in the American South and in parts of Brazil, especially in the Bahia region there. The Portuguese likely took black-eyed peas back to Portugal from Africa and also from Brazil, which was a colony of Portugal for over 300 years until the 1820s. This spread is "similar" to hummus.   

 

Serve with lightly toasted sliced baguettes, crackers, flatbread (pita or naan) and sliced vegetables. Certainly using the toaster is quick and easy, but sometimes I like to toast bread in a skillet, either dry, or with a little oil or butter. The baguette slices in the photos below were dry toasted in a skillet, as was the naan bread. The small amount of ground red pepper won't set your mouth afire; in fact, if you like "heat," you can toss a fresh chili pepper into the mixture before processing.  

 

Ingredients:

 

1 can black eyed peas (15 ounce), drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (after processing, if it's too thick add another tablespoon oil)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 inch piece of fresh lemon zest

2 large cloves garlic

1 slice (1/4 inch thick) from a medium red or white onion

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves (needles)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon teaspoon salt (per your preference)

(optional) if you like heat, 1 fresh whole chili pepper, like serrano

(optional) you can top the finished spread with a teaspoon or two of extra virgin olive oil   

 

Put all ingredients into a food processor/blender and process until smooth.

 

 

Black-eyed pea spread with some toasted baguette and cut up Indian naan flatbread ...

WORD HISTORY:

Furnish-"Furnish" is related to "from" and "frame," both from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to many of the words with the prefix "per," like "perform" and "permit," for example, and also distantly related to words like "proceed" and "produce," with all of these distantly related words being of Latin derivation and with "produce" borrowed by English directly from Latin, and "proceed" likely borrowed from Latin, but with French influence and reinforcement, "permit" a borrowing from French, but with Latin influence, and "perform" a borrowing from French. "Furnish" goes back to Indo European "per," which had the idea of "forward, before, in front;" thus also, "main, chief, first." This had the variant form "pro" meaning "to or toward the front, forward," and this had the suffixed version of "promo," with the same meaning. This gave Old Germanic "frumjanan" meaning, "to advance, to go forward" (Germanic rendered Indo European "p" as "f"). The Germanic form was borrowed by Latin as "fromire," and then altered to "fornire," which passed to Latin-based Old French as "furnir" (meaning "to carry out, to accomplish;" thus also, "to provide, to equip," all from the idea of "going forward, advancing"), which then became "fornir," the stem of a participle form of which was "furniss/forniss." English borrowed this in the middle 1400s as the verb "fornisshen/furnysshen," meaning "to provide, to equip," and when English began to conjugate verbs differently, the "en" ending was dropped and the spelling became the modern form "furnish," and the infinitive form "to furnish." 

Salmon Mousse

This can be a high fat dish, but you can lighten it considerably, as I note in the ingredient list. For parties or get togethers, some people prepare it in molds of various shapes, often of salmon (I can't imagine where they got that idea).

Serve with toast, sliced baguettes, sliced bread rolls, pumpernickel or rye bread, sliced cucumber, sliced radishes, crackers.

Ingredients:

 

1 pound salmon, skin and bones removed, or you can use canned salmon

8 ounces cream cheese (low fat is fine)

2 to 4 tablespoons cream (you can omit this, or use just a little 2% milk to help thin the mixture)

1/3 cup mayonnaise (low fat is fine)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped dill

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot sauce 

1 teaspoon ground white pepper 

 

If using fresh salmon, you can bake it until tender (this is what I do), then let it cool. Use a food processor and add the cream cheese, process for a few seconds to begin to smooth it out, then add cream, mayonnaise, onion, salmon, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and white pepper. Process the mixture until smooth, then stir in the chopped dill (this way the mousse will have some flecks of dill visible). Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours (if you're molding the mousse, you'll likely need several hours of refrigeration for the mousse to really set).  

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Fine-English has more than one word of this spelling, all connected, but this is the noun meaning, "a monetary penalty, a payment implemented as punishment," also the verb, meaning, "to issue a penalty requiring payment of a specific amount (as in, "There is a fine of $25 for littering"), sometimes issued along with other forms of punishment (as in, "Your punishment is a fine of $250 and you must also serve 10 days in jail for dumping trash on your neighbor's property"), or as a penalty to avoid further punishment (as in, "You can pay a fine of $100 or serve 48 hours in jail." "Fine" is related to "finish," but the origin of these words is more than a little uncertain. Latin "figere" and "findere" have been suggested, with "figere" meaning "to fasten, to fix (in place)," with the idea being of "fixing a boundary or limit," tying the words to the meaning "end;" thus, "finish." "Findere" means "to split, to divide, to separate," with this then tied into "separating into boundaries;" that is, "limits" (ends); thus also, "finish." Latin "figere" is from Indo European "dheigw," which meant, "to pierce, to stick (in or through), with the beginning rendered in Latin as "f." If "fine" is from this source, it is related to "fix," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French, and it is distantly related to "ditch," a word from the Germanic roots of English. "Findere" is from Indo European "bheid," which meant, "to split," with the beginning rendered in Latin as "f." If "findere" is the source of "fine," then it is related to "bite," a word from the Germanic roots of English. ANYWAY... Latin had "finis," meaning "end, boundary (also, "death")."  This was taken by Latin-based Old French as "fin," meaning, "end, boundary," and later also, "fee or tax paid at the end of a settlement," thus signifying "the end of proceedings," a meaning also found in Latin, so did French get this meaning from Latin or did Latin get it from French? English borrowed the word from French, circa 1200, as "fine/fyn(e)," seemingly at first meaning, "end," but also, "death, the end of life," but by the mid 1300s, the legal meaning of "amount paid as a penalty or a punishment" had been taken on. Both Latin and French were used in the English legal system that developed after the Normans began ruling England; so, at least for me, it's not always easy to say from which language a particular word or meaning came, and it's likely there was reinforcement of such words and terms from both Latin and French.         

Creamy Chipotle Sauce

This sauce goes well with all kinds of things, including with fish, on sandwiches, with veggies and on tacos. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat is fine)
1 or 2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce from the chipotle peppers*
1 teaspoon (dry) adobo seasoning**

Add the ingredients to a bowl and stir to mix well. Best when refrigerated for at least an hour (longer time period is even better) to allow the flavors to develop.

* "Adobo sauce" is not the same as "adobo seasoning." Adobo sauce is a mixture of ground dried chilies (not necessarily super hot chilies), along with various seasonings and some vinegar and often, some oil. Chipotle peppers come packed in adobo sauce.   

** For more about "adobo seasoning," and for an easy recipe for home use, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/11/adobo-seasoning.html  

Great to add a "kick" when used as a dip for vegetables...

WORD HISTORY:
Deter-This word comes from a prefixed word, the main body of which is related to "terrible," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English from French. The prefix here is "de," which goes back to Indo European "de," which had the notion of, "away from, down from, from." This was also taken by its Latin offspring, with the same meanings. The main part of "deter" is from Indo European "tros," with the meaning, "to be afraid, to fear, to tremble with fear." This gave Latin "terrere," meaning, "to frighten, to make afraid, to make fearful." The two parts together gave Latin "deterrere," meaning, "to frighten from," with the figurative sense being, "to discourage or stop someone from (doing something out of fear)." English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1500s, with the figurative sense, although over time the meaning has, "in some senses," softened somewhat to "discourage through persuasion," but "fear" still lurks behind other uses.     

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."    

Greek Tzatziki & Turkish Cacik: A Sauce & Dip

Greek "tzatziki" (pronounced as if, "taht-zeekee") and Turkish "cacik" (pronounced as if, "jaw-juk") are really the same thing, a dip or a sauce, typically for use with grilled meat, with gyros or with sliced vegetables and pita bread. Other cultures in the eastern Mediterranean and the greater Middle East have similar recipes. The dish is quick and easy to make, although you can salt the cucumber first to draw out some of the liquid, if you'd like. I must have looked at 25 to 30 recipes, from both Greek and Turkish sources, and there were not great differences, but I've put the "basic recipe," and then the more notable variations below that. The Turks seemingly "tend" to use mint and olive oil more often, sometimes in combination with dill, but I also found Turkish recipes essentially like the basic recipe. A few recipes used vinegar in place of lemon juice, but only a few.       

Ingredients:

Basic recipe

2 cups plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
1 1/4 cup seedless cucumber, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper pepper
(Optional) 1 or 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil mixed in, or drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top

Combine all ingredients, mix well. Best when chilled for at least a couple of hours, but not mandatory. 

Variation:

To the basic recipe add: 2 tablespoons dried mint, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, in which case you can omit the dill completely, or reduce the amount of dill to 2 teaspoons

Top photo with the basic recipe/bottom photo with mint and olive oil/fresh mint leave for garnish

WORD HISTORY:
Psyche-This word, related to a number of words borrowed by English, including "psychosis" and "psychic," goes back to Indo European "bhes," which had the notion, "to breathe, to blow." This gave Ancient Greek the transliterated "psykhein," with the same meaning, but also, by extension, "to cool down, to refresh or rejuvenate." This then gave Greek the transliterated noun "psykhe," meaning, "the mind, spirit, life force, breath." This was borrowed by Latin as "psyche," and English borrowed the word from Latin in the mid 1600s. The idea of  "a person's thought process, behavior, character," all developed in psychological study by the early part of the 20th Century.  

Special Sauce, Dip or Dressing

This is simple to make and you can use it on sandwiches, or use it as a dip for veggies, or use it on salads, including as the dressing for potato salad or egg salad ... it's EXCELLENT! With asparagus  common this time of year, it's also good served with roasted asparagus.

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat is fine)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons adobo seasoning (a Latino seasoned salt)*
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric  
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon chives

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Chill the sauce for at least an hour, preferably longer, before serving.

* Adobo seasoning is a type of Puerto Rican/Latino seasoned salt, easily available in supermarkets, although perhaps in the "Hispanic/Latino Foods" section. Recipes vary somewhat, but generally it includes, at a minimum, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, dried oregano.  

So I had it at this time with some veggies: carrots, celery and green pepper.

WORD HISTORY:
Chive-The origin of this word for a plant from the same family as onions, garlic and leeks, is unknown, but English borrowed the word from the northern dialect of Old French "cive" (chive) in the late 1300s. Old French, a Latin-based language, had its form from Latin "cepa," which meant "onion," but where Latin got the word is unknown, although the transliterated Ancient Greek word "kápia" (onion, but no longer used in Greek) is a likely source, but where Greek got the word seems to be a dead end. German too borrowed from Latin "cepa" in the 11th Century, although from a diminutive form "cepola," which became German "Zwiebel," meaning "onion."

Guacamole

This now common dip, sometimes also used as a spread for sandwiches, has become ever more popular. It is typically served as a dip for tortilla chips, but I like it with regular potato chips or pretzels. 

Ingredients:

2 avocados, flesh scooped out and mashed coarsely (or smoothly, if that's your preference)
4 green onions, including part of the green, sliced then roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
2 serrano chili peppers, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon salt

Cut the avocados and remove the pit. Scoop out the avocado flesh into a bowl, then mash it. Immediately pour the lime juice over the mashed avocado, mix in well; otherwise, the avocado will begin to turn brown. Add the other ingredients and mix in well. Cover the guacamole with plastic, so that the plastic literally touches the mix. Then put another piece of plastic tightly over the bowl. Chill the guacamole before serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Guacamole -This compound word for a common dip goes back to Old Uto-Aztec "ahwa," which "seemsingly" meant, "avocado." This gave Nahuatl (one of the Aztec languages) "ahuacatl." The second part of the word also goes back to Nahuatl "mulli," which meant, "spiced broth." The compound came from "ahuacamolli," which was borrowed into Spanish as, "guacamole," then borrowed by English in the early part of the 20th Century. 

Homemade Clam Dip

Clam dip was once quite popular, and there was even a commercial brand or two, and maybe that is still the case, but I haven't seen it for quite a number of years, and it tasted "commercial," in my opinion. It is very easy to make, so don't worry about a store brand. I've made this super easy by using onion and garlic powder, but you could use fresh onion and garlic, but be aware, clams are relatively mild tasting, and strong flavors, including too much Worcestershire sauce, can cover up their flavor, which is the whole reason for the dip. 

Ingredients:

1 6 1/2 ounce can chopped clams, drained, but add back one tablespoon of liquid, reserve rest of  liquid
1  8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (reduced fat type is fine) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat is fine)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 Mix all ingredients together. If too thick, add some of the reserved clam liquid, a teaspoon at a time, stirring well, until desired thickness is reached. Best if chilled for an hour or two before serving. "If" you have any dip left over, cover and refrigerate, and you can add a little of the juice to thin it slightly when ready to use, so keep the juice refrigerated too.

I used my clam dip with potato chips and pretzel thins. 

WORD HISTORY:
Clam-The ultimate origin of this word, closely related to "clamp," is uncertain, but the meaning of its Old Germanic ancestor, "klamm," was "press/clamp together." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the noun "clamm," meaning, "a grasp, a bond, a band (a band that ties or secures something), a fetter." This then became "clam," and the idea of "holding, grasping, binding" continued, with the meanings, "clamp, pincers, clasp." Later the word was paired with "shell," as "clam shell," in Scotland, but then was shortened to just "clam" for the "hard-shelled creature that lives in water, whose shells clamp shut." This meaning spread into English, in general, during the early 1500s. The verb, meaning "to dig for clams in the sand," seems to have developed in the North American colonies about a hundred years later. The American usage for "dollars" (the term is almost always used in the plural), "may" have come from "clams" being used for barter, with the term then extending to money. The verbal usage "clam up," meaning, "to keep quiet," is obviously from the notion, "close the lips tightly like clam shells, so as not to be able to speak." Containers in modern times, often used for food, are also called "clamshells," because they can open and close on a hinge. Forms of "clam" in the other Germanic languages did not develop the modern sense of their English cousin, but rather many still have the meaning, "clasp, clamp," in the noun form, and "to clamp, to clamp shut," in verb forms. I will do the history of "clamp" soon, and I will then put the related Germanic language words. Just a little note also: "clam" MAY be related to "climb," and also to, "clay."

Good Provençal-Like Dip or Spread

Photo added 6/18/2016

If you like olives, you'll love this mixture, which can be used as a dip for veggies or chips, or you can spread it on toast or crackers. I took the basic recipe from "Fresh Herb Cooking" by Linda Dannenberg, 2001, which had a recipe "Provencal Olive-Rosemary Butter,"* but I substituted cream cheese and sour cream/mayo for the butter. I use the soft whipped cream cheese, because it's easy to mix with the other ingredients, but you could use the packaged cream cheese and let it sit out to soften. This is simple:

1  8 ounce tub of plain whipped cream cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped black olives, preferably Kalamata olives
splash of brine from the olives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

To a tub of whipped cream cheese mix in about a tablespoon of sour cream and one teaspoon mayo. Add about a teaspoon of minced garlic, 3-4 tablespoons of pitted and chopped black olives (I use Kalamata olives in brine, and I add a splash of the brine to the mixture**), a tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary (or you could add a little less of  dried rosemary), and about a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper. No salt is needed because the olives and brine have enough salt. Let it sit briefly, or put it in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

* Provençal means it comes from "Provence," a region of southern France with such well known cities as Nice, Cannes, Toulon, and Marseille. "Provençal" also is the name of the language from that region, which has several dialects, all now being overtaken by standard French, to which Provençal is related, as it too is Latin based, but with fewer influences from Germanic Frankish.  

** I use a brand of Greek Kalamata olives called "Krinos," which I buy in a small clear plastic container. In my opinion they have the best flavor for this recipe, because they haven't added all sorts of other spices to the brine as some other brands do. Those added spices then conflict with the recipe in my opinion; then again, you may like it that way.

On some toasted wheat bread and along with some potato chips.

WORD HISTORY:
Olive-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but it is assumed by many to have come from some ancient eastern Mediterranean language, where olive trees were indigenous, and where the oil from the olives was highly important, and this then provided a basis for the word "oil."^ Ancient Greek had "elaiva/elaiwa," which meant both "olive tree," as well as its fruit "olive." Latin borrowed the term from Greek as "oliva," which then was inherited by Latin-based Old French as "olive." English borrowed the word from French during the 1200s. 

^ For the history of the the word "oil," see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/05/oil-debate-spills-over.html