No Cook Stuffed Peppers

This is a dish that requires no cooking, as it is a good way to use already cooked ham. Bright red bell  peppers have lots of Vitamin A and Vitamin C and you simply remove the tops of the peppers, the seeds and the pithy ribs.

For the cream cheese, you can use the low calorie or low fat type, if you'd like, but the thing to do is to have it somewhat softened. You can let it sit out to come to room temperature, unless you live within in an igloo inside the Arctic Circle; in which case, bringing it to room temperature likely won't help, or you can put it into a bowl and pop it into the microwave for maybe 10 to 12 seconds. You want to be able to have the cheese soft enough to mix the other ingredients into it without having to rent a cement mixer; on the other hand, you don't want it to be almost liquid, although you'll be putting the finished peppers into the refrigerator to have the cream cheese firm up again. You can adjust the amount of filling ingredients a little, if you'd like, as I've made these to just give a basic guideline. One other thing, fresh herbs are pretty easily available in stores today, so get some fresh thyme to use. Dried thyme is great in soups, stews and gravies, because it has hot liquid to soften it, but in this dish, dried thyme could have some sharp and pointed stems that will not be fun to bite into, as in "YEEOW!" 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):  

3 large red bell peppers

1/2 cup finely chopped already cooked ham

1/4 cup white Cheddar cheese, chopped or shredded

3 green onions, chopped (including green part)

12 green and black olives, sliced

3 tablespoons finely chopped pickles

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 

1 1/2 cups cream cheese, softened

1 or 2 teaspoons milk or cream

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt 

mustard and horseradish for serving

Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove all seeds and and the whitish colored ribs or veins inside the pepper (it's called pith). In a bowl, add the softened cream cheese and 1 teaspoon milk or cream. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the cheese. If needed, add another teaspoon of milk or cream and whip. Now add the other ingredients; mix carefully, but well with a large spoon; this can take a little time. Spoon the mixture into each pepper, pressing it down with the spoon so that it is tightly packed in. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, if you are in a hurry, or preferably several hours otherwise. Cut the peppers into 1/2 to 1 inch slices for serving. Serve with mustard and horseradish on the side and I cut off the pepper parts around the stems and use them to garnish the pepper slices.  

 

 With some grainy mustard and horseradish ...

WORD HISTORY:

Icicle-This is a compound word formed from "ice" ^ and the addition of what was once spelled "ikel." This second part goes back to Indo European "eyhso" meaning, "frost, solidified water from cold." This gave Old Germanic "jeykilaz," which meant, "piece or chunk of ice," "seemingly" also with the secondary notion of  "cone or wedge shaped." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "gicel" (likely pronounced with a beginning "gy" or even "y" sound),^^ meaning, "piece of ice, icicle." This later became "ikil." It was put into a compound to give English "isikel," before the modern form, "icicle." There are (and were) Germanic relatives of the compound word and of the second part of the compound (naturally there are relatives of "ice" in the other Germanic languages, see link below): German once had "isilla, isel," and it has "Kegel" (cone, bowling pin, which is cone shaped), Low German has "Iesjökel" (icicle, Ies=ice + Jökel=icle), Dutch "ijskegel" (icicle), Icelandic has "jökull" (ice formation, glacier), Danish has the antiquated (dialect?) "jisegel" (icicle), Norwegian has "isjukel" (icicle). 

^ For the history of the word "ice," this is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/01/german-question-part-seventy-one.html

^^ Low German is a close relative of English and its "g" is typically pronounced "y," a characteristic carried over to the dialect of Berlin ("Berlinerisch"), a former Low German speaking area, where certain Low German elements have survived for centuries since High German spread to Berlin.

Chicken from Southern France: Chicken Provençal

The word "Provençal" tells us this dish is from the southeastern region of France, from "Provence," where the largest city is Marseille, and other well known cites are Toulon, Cannes and Nice. All of these cites are located along the Mediterranean Sea, although Provence also extends well inland. Italy is beyond the eastern border of Provence. Besides standard French, the language of Provence is Provençal, a dialect of the Latin-based Occitan languages, which include various southern French and Italian dialects and Catalan, spoken in the Catalonia region of eastern Spain. 

This is such a good dish. I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs for when I made the dish for this article, but you could certainly use chicken breast, and previously I've used chicken with the skin on. Please don't get all wound up about anchovy fillets in this dish. They will melt into the sauce and you will not experience the strong taste you recall from your first (and last) bite of anchovy pizza. Many recipes I've seen have far more garlic, like 8 to 12 cloves, so feel free to add more garlic. Serve with mashed potatoes and some good crusty bread.   

 

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into four pieces each

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, rub it with the thumb of one hand in the palm of the other hand

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, rub it as as thyme

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon olive oil + 2 tablespoons butter (I use extra virgin olive oil)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 anchovy fillets

2/3 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup crushed tomatoes and juice

1/4 cup black olives (preferably Niçoise or Kalamata)

1/4 cup green olives (preferably Castelvetrano or Manzanilla)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken pieces well with salt, ground black pepper, dried thyme and dried rosemary. Put the seasoned chicken pieces into the butter/oil mixture and saute until they are lightly browned all over (be sure to turn the pieces often to prevent sticking and to prevent the chicken from developing tough and dried spots). Remove the chicken pieces to a plate temporarily. Lower the heat and add the garlic and anchovy fillets and saute for about a minute or so, then add the white wine and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for just 2 to 3 minutes (adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer). Stir in the tomatoes and juice and bring everything back to a simmer. Add the chicken pieces back to the skillet, then add the black and green olives. Let the chicken simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, basting it with the sauce a few times. Stir in the chopped parsley. After about 2 to 3 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat. Serve with mashed potatoes and some good crusty bread.  

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Paradise-This is a compound word with the first part related, at least in part, to a huge number of words in English, including: "fore," "before," "forth" and "from," all from the Germanic roots of English, and to the first part of the following: "pardon," "perfect" and "permit," all Latin words borrowed by English via French, and to "percent," a word borrowed directly from Latin. This goes back to Indo European "per," which had the notion "in front of, forward, against, near." This gave Indo Iranian^ a transliterated form "pari," meaning "near, around, about." The second part of the word "paradise" is related to the first part of "dairy," from the Germanic roots of English (the ending, however, is from French/Latin), and to "dough," also from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "dheigh," which had the notion, "to shape, to form;" thus also, "to build, to knead." This gave Indo Iranian "dahyah," meaning, "wall," and together the parts gave the meaning "wall around;" thus, "an enclosure, a garden, a park" (from a verb like "paridahyiz," "to build or make a wall??"). Greek borrowed the compound word as transliterated "parádeisos," meaning, "walled garden or park," but it was used in the biblical religious sense for, "the Garden of Eden," but in New Testament passages it meant "heaven, the home of the blessed in the afterlife." Latin borrowed the word as "paradisus," also meaning "garden, park, orchard," but also with the 'heaven' meaning in Christianity. This passed into Latin-based Old French as "paradis," with the same religous meaning, and this was borrowed into late Old English (circa 1000?) as "paradis," which then became "paradys" and "paradise."     

 

^ Indo Iranian is a branch of the Indo European languages; thus, with its component languages being related to English, but further down the family tree. There are many, many Indo Iranian languages, some of which are: Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Persian. 

German Shrimp Cocktail: Husumer Krabbencocktail

Husum is a German city way up in the north of Germany, not terribly far from the border with Denmark. It is a coastal city on the North Sea in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and it is a part of the region of North Frisia, called "Nordfriesland" in German, "Noordfreesland" in Low German (which has a strong presence in the area, and in northern Germany, in general), and "Nordfraschlönj" in North Frisian.* By the way, the nearby Danes call it "Nordfrisland." Husum and much of the German North Sea area economy is geared to tourism, as the connection to the sea has a strong pull. It was from this "general area" along the North Sea, that elements of several Germanic tribes left and sailed to Britain, where they founded what would come to be called "England," named after the Angles, and where their Germanic dialects melded into "English." Naturally, seafood is a big part of the cuisine of northern Germany, with both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea providing a variety of "Meeresfrüchte" (literally, "fruit of the sea;" thus, "seafood"). By the way, the word "Cocktail" (German nouns are capitalized) is a word borrowed by German from English, circa 1900.

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

1/2 pound cooked, peeled medium or small shrimp/shrimps** (in Husum they use small shrimp) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
juice of half a lemon
12 pimiento stuffed olives cut in half
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I'm including this, but I actually don't feel it even needs any salt, so it's optional)
chopped parsley for serving (you can also add a lemon wedge for each serving) 

In a bowl, add the chopped apple and sprinkle the lemon juice over it and mix to coat to prevent the apple from turning brown. In a cup (I used a measuring cup), mix together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, briefly set this aside. To the apple, add the halved olives, the shrimp(s) and the ground black pepper (and salt, if using). Now gradually add the mayonnaise mixture, mixing it into the shrimp and apple as you add it. Give the dish a little time in the refrigerator before serving, then sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top of each serving. Good with some crackers or crispy wafers. 


* There isn't a "standard" North Frisian language, but rather a number of dialects; thus, there are several renderings of "North Frisia" in these dialects, but I chose "Nordfraschlönj" for a very simple reason... it was FIRST on the list! North Frisian itself is a dialect of Frisian. 

** In the U.S., the plural "shrimps" is seldom heard, as "shrimp" is overwhelmingly used as both singular and plural.

WORD HISTORY:
Maiden/Maid-"Maiden" goes back to Indo European "maghu," which meant, "young person, unmarried person" (it seems not to have been gender specific). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "magaþi" (=magathi), a feminine form; thus, "young woman, virgin, unmarried woman." This gave Old English "mægþ" (þ=th), meaning, "woman, girl, wife," and the diminutive form, "mægden," meaning, "young unmarried woman, girl."  The "g" sound later disappeared, and the word became "maiden." Beginning in the second half of the 1100s, the "en" was dropped in some cases, leaving "maid," but it kept the  meaning of "maiden." "Maid" was used at times as part of a name or as a sort of title, as in the famous "Maid Marian," a character developed in the 1600s from the English folklore and legendary Robin Hood stories. "Maid," however, was "seemingly" historical in its usage dating to the 1100s and 1200s, the general time frame often given for Robin Hood. By the mid 1300s (?), "maid" had altered in its primary meaning to, "female servant to a noble woman," then this broadened to "female servant who performed household duties." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Magd" (maid, maidservant), "Mädchen" (once also spelled "Mägdchen," meaning mainly "girl"), "Mädel" ("girl, lass"), "Maid" (pronounced as if, "might," meaning, "young woman, maiden"), Low German has "Määk" (girl), apparently Frisian doesn't use a form of the word in modern times, but it had "mageth," Dutch has "maagd" (virgin, maiden, maid), "meid" (girl, lass, maid), "meisje" (pronounced similar to "may-zha," meaning, "girl, maiden"). I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but it "seems" the North Germanic languages did not develop the feminine form, or at least did not carry it forward. "Maiden" also developed adjectival use to mean, "previously undone;" thus also, "first time," as in "maiden voyage" or "maiden trip."  

French Pizza of Nice: Pissaladière

"Pissaladière" is a type of pizza that is a part of the cuisine of the city of Nice in southern France. The name is derived from French "peis salat," meaning, "salted fish;" thus, the anchovies in the recipe. Even if you don't like anchovies, you can give this pizza a try by simply adding a couple of anchovy fillets to the cooking onions, where the salty little fish will disintegrate into the onions, but they will not have the strong taste many people associate with anchovies used on salads or on some Italian-style pizza. "Pissaladière" seems to have been borrowed from the Liguria region of Italy, which is also known to some as "the Italian Riviera." The Italians used salted fish for their pizza, but later many recipes added tomatoes. Tomatoes came from the New World and Europeans at first thought they were poisonous, but once that idea was dispelled, tomatoes became a part of various European cuisines, and a major ingredient in Italian cuisine.

The easiest way to make Pissaladière is to simply buy some prepared bread/pizza dough, but if you prefer your own bread dough, go for it! I've read where some cooks now even use pie dough for Pissaladière. I bought black olives in olive oil, then pitted them myself, but you can certainly use green olives or a mixture of both black and green olives. I made a 10 inch round Pissaladière; so, the amounts below are for that size pizza, but you can use a pizza pan or a baking sheet of any size and then adjust the other ingredients accordingly. Good served with a glass of white wine. 

Ingredients:

bread dough (or you can use pie dough)
1 1/2 large onions, halved, then thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
black olives in olive oil, pitted (amount to your preference)
4 anchovy fillets  + more for garnish (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

I used a round 10 inch dish for this. If you buy frozen dough, be sure it is well thawed and brought to room temperature. I use a little olive oil to coat the dish or pan. Use enough dough to create a somewhat "thin," but not a "super thin" crust. You also don't want the dough to puff up the size of a loaf of bread (remember, pizza/bread dough will have yeast or a leavening agent and will "puff up" to some degree). In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onions until they soften, then add the anchovy fillets and sprinkle the sugar over the onions and mix it in. Lower the heat and let the anchovies dissolve into the onions, stirring occasionally. Let the onion mixture cook until the onions caramelize, stirring occasionally to prevent the onions from burning. During this process, add the thyme to the onions. Spread the onions over the dough, leaving a small edge around the dough. Place some olives on top of the onions and optionally, you can also add some anchovy fillets (whole or chopped). Bake at 400 F for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust edge is lightly browned.      

WORD HISTORY:
Jewel-The origin of this word is shaky, but it seems to be distantly related to "joke," a Latin derived word borrowed by English. It "seems" to go back to Indo European "yek," which meant, "to speak, to utter." This gave its Italic offspring "joko/ioko," meaning, "something said, an utterance," but also, "something said in jest." This gave Latin "iocus," meaning, "a joke, amusing entertainment," further, the broader, "that which brings happiness or rejoicing." This gave Latin the noun "jocale," meaning, "object that brings joy;" thus also, "decoration, adornment;" thus, "jewel, gemstone." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "jouel," meaning, "jewel, gemstone." Carried to England by the Normans as "juel," and then borrowed by English about 1300.  

Farmer's Salad With Yogurt Dressing

"Farmer salads" have been often and naturally thought of as mainly having ingredients many farming households might well have on hand: cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers and eggs. In addition though, some farming families made their own head cheese, as well as their own cheese, and these could be used to make a salad more substantial. In German areas of Europe, the homemade cheese was/is called by a variety of names, but in Hessen, it is called "Handkäse," * literally "hand cheese," because the whitish/light yellowish cheese was shaped by hand, while in the region of the Harz Mountains it is called "Harzer (Käse)," and in Austria it is often called "Quargel," a word "I believe" German derived from Slavic. In modern times head cheese and cheese (by whatever name) are more often commercially produced, but that doesn't mean that some individuals or families have abandoned making them at home. "Souse" is an American term for head cheese made with vinegar. In Britain, head cheese, with or without vinegar, is called "brawn."  
   
I "patterned" this recipe after Bavarian/Austrian salad recipes, and in Austria and Bavaria such salads are often served with rolls called "Salzstangen" or "Salzstangerl," which are rolls coated with coarse salt and (usually) caraway seeds. Certainly in the past, such a dressing for the salad would have been more likely to have been made with sour cream; again, a product readily available to farmers.   

Ingredients (5 or 6 servings):

1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 seeded or seedless cucumber, peel on, or peeled, or partially peeled (your preference)
4 chopped Roma tomatoes (also called 'plum tomatoes'), or 20 to 25 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 chopped red or green pepper
1/4 cup pitted black olives (Kalamata or niçoise), halved
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Toss all ingredients together well. 

For each serving:
1 or 2 thin slices of souse, cut into small pieces
1 or 2 thin slices Emmentaler cheese (Swiss cheese),** cut or torn into small pieces
1 hard boiled egg, halved 

For the yogurt dressing:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons oil (olive, canola, vegetable or even give extra virgin olive oil a try)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped   
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together well. If the dressing is too thick for you, add a little more oil. If you add more vinegar, you may have to consider adding more honey, but that depends upon your own taste.

* "Handkäse" ("Handkäs" is the common form in Hessen) is one of the specialty dishes of Frankfurt-am-Main in Hessen, where it is served in a dressing of cider vinegar, oil, hard apple cider, pepper, caraway seed and chopped onion, and called, "Handkäs mit Musik" (Hand Cheese with Music). It is "traditionally" accompanied with a glass of hard apple cider (in standard German called "Apfelwein," but called "Ebbelwoi" in the Hessian dialect of Frankfurt). "Handkäse" is not exclusive to Frankfurt, but rather it is common in other parts of Hessen as well. And I'm sure you're hanging by your thumbs wondering what the "with music" means. Well, there are two stories tied to the meaning, the most prominent of the two, but perhaps not originally the meaning, has to do with the onions causing intestinal gas; thus, "music," if you get my drift. This led to a little joke when people from outside of Frankfurt or Hessen would ask, "What and where is the music?" The standard answer became, "Die Musik kommt später" (The music comes later). The other story is that the oil and vinegar were kept in glass bottles for the person to pour on the desired amount of each. The bottles clinked together; thus, "music." When I've had "Handkäs mit Musik" in Frankfurt, it was always served that way, with the oil and vinegar bottles brought to the table with the onion topped hand cheese.

** In the U.S., "Swiss cheese" is the type of cheese in Switzerland and German cultural areas in Europe called "Emmentaler," after the area of its origin; the Emme River Valley (German: Emmental), near the city of Bern.

WORD HISTORY:
Shift-This word is distantly related to the verb "shed" ("to give off something, to get rid of something"), a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "skei(t)," which had the notion, "to cut, to cut off, to separate (from)." This gave Old Germanic "skiftjanan," meaning, "to put into order by separating, to arrange." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sciftan," meaning, "to separate, to divide up, to arrange, to place in order." This then became "schiften," then "shiften," before the modern version. The meaning, "to move from one place to another," as in, "The corporation will shift its headquarters from Dallas to Denver," came from the idea of "arranging, allotting" (but actually "rearranging, reallocating"). It also took on the meaning, "to be able to take care of oneself," as in the expression, "shift for oneself," perhaps from the idea of "to keep one's life in order?" The noun developed from the verb circa 1300 and with numerous meanings, including "a set time for work;" as in, "I work the day shift from 7 until 3," and this meaning seems to date back in time, as it is also in some other Germanic languages, and it remains as a primary noun meaning in English, along with "movement, change," as in "a shift in public opinion." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has the verb "schichten" (to stack, to layer), which was borrowed from Low German and the noun "Schicht" (a level, a layer, and also, a group of people doing the same general work during a given period of time, also sometimes rendered as "Schichtarbeit;" that is, "shift work"), Low German has the verb "opschichten" (to stack up, to build up; the base word was once spelled "schiften"^), West Frisian has the noun "skift" (classification, category), Dutch has the verb "schiften" (to divide or stratify), Danish has the noun "skifte" (a change over) and the verb "skifte" (to alternate, to exchange), Norwegian has the noun "skifte" (a change or turn) and the verb "skifte" (to switch or change), Icelandic has the verb "skipta" (to divide up, to switch or exchange), Swedish has the verb "skifta" (to change, to shift, to divide) and the noun "skift" (set working period).  

^ While I'm uncertain of this, when German borrowed the word from Low German, it "seems" the standard German spelling and pronunciation as "schichten" may have eventually transferred to Low German; thus, no "f" in modern Low German and modern standard German. 

Tomato Tart

I think you'll love this wonderful tomato tart. You can serve it warm or cold. You can certainly make your own pie dough, but store bought pie dough is fine. When I went to buy the pie dough, they were out of the pie dough you find in the refrigerated case, but they had frozen 9 inch deep dish pie shells in aluminum pans, so that's what I used for this article. I've made this before with the refrigerated pie dough in my own pie dishes. Naturally, you may have to adjust the amount of the ingredients somewhat, depending upon the size pie dish/pan you use. While this is my own recipe, I must credit certain aspects of it to Clarissa Dickson Wright, an English food author and cook, who partnered with Jennifer Paterson for the BBC produced television cooking series, "Two Fat Ladies," from the late 1990s.* 

Ingredients (approximate amounts for one 9 inch deep dish tart):

pie dough/pre-made pie shell, or your own pie dough, if you're feeling ambitious
3 large tomatoes seeded, with any tough core removed, and then cut into 1/3 to 1/2 inch slices
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup basil, finely chopped
1/3 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream 
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup mix of pitted black and green olives
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 400 F. Bake the pie shell until it begins to brown (or follow the instructions on the pie crust package), then remove it from the oven, but keep the oven hot. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook until both the onion and garlic soften. Add the tomato sauce and stir to mix; cook until the sauce is thickened. Add the mixture to the bottom of the browned pie crust to form a base. Top the base with the tomato slices (you needn't use either end of the tomatoes). In a measuring cup, pour in 1 cup heavy cream, then add the beaten eggs, mix very well, then mix in the basil. Pour the mixture over the tomato slices in the pie shell. Add the chopped Cheddar and the olives to the top; season with salt and pepper. Bake the tart until the edges are golden brown and the custard is set (see Word History, below). Generally, the time can vary from anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour. If you plan to serve it warm, let the tart cool a bit before slicing. If you plan to serve it cold, let it cool considerably before putting it into the refrigerator.
   

* For more about the television series, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/11/two-fat-ladies-were-delight.html

Always one to give truth to the saying, "No one's perfect," when I took the tart out of the oven, I broke a small piece of the crust off. Hey, no one's perfect.

WORD HISTORY:
Custard-This word is related to "crust," a word borrowed by English from Latin. It goes back to Indo European "krus/kreus," which had the notion, "to form a crust, to begin to solidify, harden or freeze." This gave Latin "crusta" which meant, "crust, tree bark, scab, shell." This gave Old French "crouste" (crust), which produced Provençal "cro(u)stado," which meant, "a pie, a tart (food prepared with a crust as a covering)," which was taken by French as "croustade," and it was borrowed by English in the second half of the 1300s, initially as "crustade," but within a century the word had become "custard," but exactly why the spelling changed is unclear, although the change in positions of a vowel and "r," called metathesis, has happened, as in "bird," which once was "brid." Not only did the spelling change, but the meaning also changed, circa 1600; perhaps (?) from the use of boiled or baked tart fillings of milk or cream and eggs, and usually flavored and/or sweetened, the meaning it still has today.      

Dirty Martini

The history of the Martini is uncertain, although it seems to date to the mid 1800s and the days of the "California Gold Rush." Some "claims" to the beginning of the famous cocktail have connections to the city of Martinez, California, in the San Francisco area, with one claim being that the drink was invented in Martinez, and another claim being that it was invented in San Francisco for a man on his way to nearby Martinez. Of course, the name supposedly was taken from the city and eventually morphed into "Martini." Another theory has the drink named for the brand name of one of its component parts, "Martini & Rossi" Vermouth, which had the name shortened to simply "Martini" for the drink. Olives were a common garnish for a martini and later some of the brine was added to the drink, which made it a bit murky; thus, "the Dirty Martini." Some say this version of the martini started in New York City.    

When I went to buy some olives, I decided to go to a place that stuffs their own olives, of which they have quite a number of varieties. I asked the clerk about every variety and after a lengthy explanation by her, I took a a small of number of the pimento stuffed olives. She seemed a little miffed that after all of her explanations, I hadn't bought much, and when I commented how it's so interesting that her shop stuffs their own olives, she handed me a pitted olive and said, "Here... take this olive and stuff it!" I answered, "But you haven't given me anything to stuff it with," which drew her reply of, "You don't get it." By damn, I didn't get it and I still don't!

I'm not a big fan of gin, so I often use vodka for such drinks. I'm also not much for strained drains, so I prefer to have them on the rocks; that is, the drink is served over ice cubes in a glass. 


Ingredients (per drink):

3 ounces of gin (or vodka)
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce olive brine
2 stuffed olives
 
You can put the gin, vermouth and olive brine into a mixing cup, stir, strain into a glass and garnish with a couple of olives in the glass or on a pick. Or you can put the gin, vermouth, olive brine and olives into a glass with ice cubes, stir and serve. 

WORD HISTORY:
Vermouth/Wormwood-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, although it is assumed to be a compound, with the first part being related to "worm," or perhaps to "warm." The word "vermouth" is really just a form of the word "wormwood," the common English name for an herbal plant used in certain medicines and in the production of the alcoholic beverage "absinthe." The word "absinthe" is from the scientific botanical name of the wormwood plant. The word "wormwood" goes back to West Germanic, but again, what the West Germanic form was is unknown. Old English had dialectal forms "wermod" and "wormod," which then became "wermode," before the modern form "wormwood." Old High German had "wermuota" (meaning, "wormwood"), which then became "wermuot" and finally modern "Wermut." French borrowed the word from German as "vermout," and then "vermouth," which was used for a type of white wine flavored with wormwood herb. English borrowed the word "vermouth" from French in the early 1800s, with the same meaning. As I mentioned above, the first part of the word has long been associated by many with "worm," and the connection seems to be that the wormwood herb was used to treat people with worms (I would assume that was a common problem centuries ago). On the other hand, some have associated the first part with "warm," with the connection being the "warmth" brought on by consuming wormwood; and indeed, it was also used to induce sweating. Other West Germanic relatives: Low German "Wörm," Dutch "vermout" (seemingly borrowed from either French or English), and as already mentioned, German "Wermut."

North German Shrimp Cocktail: Husumer Krabbencocktail

Husum is a German city way up in the north of Germany, not terribly far from the border with Denmark. It is a coastal city on the North Sea in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and it is a part of the region of North Frisia, called "Nordfriesland" in German, "Noordfreesland" in Low German (which has a strong presence in the area, and in northern Germany, in general), and "Nordfraschlönj" in North Frisian.* By the way, the nearby Danes call it "Nordfrisland." Husum and much of the German North Sea area economy is geared to tourism, as the connection to the sea has a strong pull. It was from this "general area" along the North Sea, that elements of several Germanic tribes left and sailed to Britain, where they founded what would come to be called "England," named after the Angles, and where their Germanic dialects melded into "English." Naturally, seafood is a big part of the cuisine of northern Germany, with both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea providing a variety of "Meeresfrüchte" (literally, "fruit of the sea;" thus, "seafood"). By the way, the word "Cocktail" (German nouns are capitalized) is a word borrowed by German from English, circa 1900.  

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

1/2 pound cooked, peeled medium or small shrimp/shrimps** (in Husum they use small shrimp) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
juice of half a lemon
12 pimiento stuffed olives cut in half
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I'm including this, but I actually don't feel it even needs any salt, so it's optional)
chopped parsley for serving (you can also add a lemon wedge for each serving)

In a bowl, add the chopped apple and sprinkle the lemon juice over it and mix to coat to prevent the apple from turning brown. In a cup (I used a measuring cup), mix together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, briefly set this aside. To the apple, add the halved olives, the shrimp(s) and the ground black pepper (and salt, if using). Now gradually add the mayonnaise mixture, mixing it into the shrimp and apple as you add it. Give the dish a little time in the refrigerator before serving, then sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top of each serving. Good with some crackers or crispy wafers. 

* There isn't a "standard" North Frisian language, but rather a number of dialects; thus, there are several renderings of "North Frisia" in these dialects, but I chose "Nordfraschlönj" for a very simple reason... it was FIRST on the list! North Frisian itself is a dialect of Frisian. 

** In the U.S., the plural "shrimps" is seldom heard, as "shrimp" is overwhelmingly used as both singular and plural.

WORD HISTORY:
Maiden/Maid-"Maiden" goes back to Indo European "maghu," which meant, "young person, unmarried person" (it seems not to have been gender specific). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "magaþi" (=magathi), a feminine form; thus, "young woman, virgin, unmarried woman." This gave Old English "mægþ" (þ=th), meaning, "woman, girl, wife," and the diminutive form, "mægden," meaning, "young unmarried woman, girl."  The "g" sound later disappeared, and the word became "maiden." Beginning in the second half of the 1100s, the "en" was dropped in some cases, leaving "maid," but it kept the meaning of "maiden." "Maid" was used at times as part of a name or as a sort of title, as in the famous "Maid Marian," a character developed in the 1600s from the English folklore and legendary Robin Hood stories. "Maid," however, was "seemingly" historical in its usage dating to the 1100s and 1200s, the general time frame often given for Robin Hood. By the mid 1300s (?), "maid" had altered in its primary meaning to, "female servant to a noble woman," then this broadened to "female servant who performed household duties." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Magd" (maid, maidservant), "Mädchen" (once also spelled "Mägdchen," meaning mainly "girl"), "Mädel" ("girl, lass"), "Maid" (pronounced as if, "might," meaning, "young woman, maiden"), Low German has "Määk" (girl), apparently Frisian doesn't use a form of the word in modern times, but it had "mageth," Dutch has "maagd" (virgin, maiden, maid), "meid" (girl, lass, maid), "meisje" (pronounced similar to "may-zha," meaning, "girl, maiden"). I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but it "seems" the North Germanic languages did not develop the feminine form, or at least did not carry it forward. "Maiden" also developed adjectival use to mean, "previously undone;" thus also, "first time," as in "maiden voyage" or "maiden trip."    

Easy Spicy & Flavorful Spaghetti

Spaghetti sauce doesn't have to have 25 ingredients and cook for 10 hours. Sometimes... simple is more than adequate. This is my own recipe, but Italians have so many pasta sauce recipes, there is certainly a chance that this is a close match to some other recipe, but I use pitted Kalamata or Niçoise olives in brine, where Italians would likely use one of their own types of olive, of which they have several.

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic
1 chili pepper (seeded and chopped) or for more heat, 1 red chili pepper and 1 green chili chopped
8 to 10 pitted Kalamata olives with 1 teaspoon brine (halve the olives)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 14 to 16 ounce can tomato sauce

Cook the spaghetti per the instructions on the brand you use. Don't let it overcook, but keep it with a little firmness when you bite into it; that is, "al dente," as the term goes. In a large skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Slice the garlic into pieces and add it to the hot oil (keep the garlic slices big enough that you, your family or your guests can use a fork to move it to the side of the plate if eating garlic directly is not desired). Let it cook for about 30 to 40 seconds (shake the pan a time or two), and then add the chili pepper (I use both red and green hot chilies, and the sauce was not mouth-scorching). (NOTE: If you don't like much heat, just add a little sprinkle of red chili flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.) Add the olives and the teaspoon of brine and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. After about 1 minute, stir in the tomato sauce, and cook until the sauce is hot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. I put it into the skillet and mix it with the sauce. While I'm a lover of grated cheese on pasta (I especially love Pecorino Romano), I don't use cheese on this spaghetti and I've found that I much prefer it that way with this sauce. 

WORD HISTORY:
Duo-This word is related to "two," a native English word from its Germanic roots, whose relationship to "duo" is from Indo European. "Duo" goes back to Indo European "dwoh/dwah/duwo," which meant "two." This gave Latin "duo," which also meant, "two." This continued into Italian as "duo," with the same meaning, and it was borrowed by French as "duo," but with the somewhat altered meaning, "two things together, two items combined." This was borrowed by English, with likely reinforcement from Latin, in the latter part of the 1500s, initially with the meaning, "song for two people, song written for two singers." The meaning expanded to just about any activity done by two people working together.

Greek Farmer's Salad: Horiatiki

This is a common salad with some regional variations in Greece, among which are: some add capers and some use red wine vinegar to dress the salad instead of lemon; often too, the olives are not always pitted and in some areas they peel the cucumber. I've had Greek salads in the U.S. and in Germany, and they had red or yellow bell peppers  and the cheese was crumbled over the salad.

Ingredients (about 6 good servings):

4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, I partially peeled the cucumber, making it sort of "striped," chopped
1 medium red onion, sliced into rings, then quarter the rings
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into about 1 inch strips
15 to 20 Kalamata olives, I used pitted olives
about 2 to 3 inch long by 2 inch wide by 1/2 inch thick slices of Feta cheese, per serving
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (pretty easily found in markets or supermarkets)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano per serving
1 to 2 tablespoons drained capers
salt to taste, but remember the cheese, olives and capers have salt, so you may not need ANY salt
6 to 8 lemon wedges

Into a large bowl put the chopped tomato, the chopped cucumber, the red onion, the green pepper strips and the olives. Add the olive oil, the lemon juice the fresh oregano leaves, the capers and the salt (if using), mix together well. Place a small "block" of cheese on top of each serving and nestle a couple of lemon wedges into the side of each serving too. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano over each serving. 

WORD HISTORY:
Brine-This word for salty water used for pickling; and thus, preserving some foods, has an unknown ancient history, although there have been attempts to connect it with forms in Indo European, but I'm not terribly convinced by these connections. Further, while "brine" has forms in Dutch (brijn) and Flemish (brijne),^ there seem to be no other connections in the Germanic languages. It is an old word, as Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "bryne," but whether the word was taken along with the Anglo-Saxons from the Continent to Briton, or whether it was acquired after they established themselves in what became England is unclear. With the Germanic dialects that became Dutch/Flemish right across from Anglo-Saxon England, did one provide the word to the other? If so, there is still the question of where it came from originally. The spelling "brine" has been in English for hundreds of years. Of course too, the idea of sea water being salty gave the word the slang meaning for water from the sea.

^ Modern linguists classify Flemish as a dialect of Dutch, but in the past, Flemish was usually seen as a separate language, likely because Belgium and the Netherlands became separate countries, and before that, there was a "general" religious divide during the Reformation times, where Dutch was associated more with Protestantism and Flemish was associated with Catholicism. English, Dutch and Flemish are all close cousins. 

Peruvian Potatoes In Creamy & Spicy Sauce

This is a common Peruvian dish called "Papas a la Huancaina" ("Potatoes of Huancayo") in Spanish. Huancaina refers to the city of "Huancayo," which is located in the middle part of Peru.
 
Ingredients (about 6 servings):

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (I used the golf ball size potatoes)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 heaping teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound queso blanco, crumbled*
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or, if you're ambitious, 1 teaspoon Amarillo chili paste **
3/4 cup canned evaporated milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pitted cured black olives
hard boiled eggs, halved
red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into rings or strips
lettuce leaves

Wash and rinse the unpeeled potatoes, then put them into a pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, so that the potatoes simmer until just tender, but NOT mushy or ready to crumble. Let the potatoes cool a bit, if you want to peel them, but I prefer to leave the skins on. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for two or three minutes before adding the turmeric and cayenne pepper (or chili paste), stir well. Cook for just one minute. Turn the heat to low and add the evaporated milk. Let the milk heat briefly (do not boil!) and add the cheese. Stir to mix well and continue stirring slowly until the cheese melts. Now stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. The sauce should be yellowish. You can put the sauce into a blender or use a stick blender to make the sauce very smooth. Place a lettuce leaf on each plate and serve some potato slices on the lettuce. Spoon some of the sauce over the potatoes, then top the potatoes with a few cured black olives, hard boiled egg halves and a couple of yellow bell pepper rings.

* Queso blanco is literally "white cheese," which it is, but it can vary somewhat in texture and taste from country to country. It is a mild fresh cheese with a salty and slightly tangy kind of taste and it generally crumbles pretty easily, and that is the type most used in Peru, where it is extremely common. Queso blanco is easily available in many supermarkets and Latino grocery stores, and some likely even have Peruvian queso blanco, if you seek authenticity.

 

** Amarillo chili paste is often available in Latino grocery stores, or in Latino food sections of some supermarkets, as well as from online sources.

WORD HISTORY:
Prompt-This compound word is formed with the fairly common Latin prefix "pro," meaning "in front, before, forward," which is related, through Indo European, to English "fore" and the prefix "for-," which are original English terms from its Germanic roots. The second part goes back to Indo European "em," which had the notion, "to take, to take on." This gave Latin "emere," meaning, "to take by acquisition;" thus also, "to buy." The two parts gave Latin "promere," meaning, "to take or bring forth, to bring into the open." Its participle form was "promptus," which meant, "evident, visible," and this gave Latin-based French the adjective "prompt," but with the meaning, "ready, quick" (from the idea of "brought forth, made visible"). English borrowed the word in verb form as "prompten" from Latin in the mid 1300s, and meaning, "to lead (bring) someone to do something." By the 1400s, the additional meaning of, "to help someone recall words in a play" ("to help them bring forth words") was added. The adjective form seems to have been borrowed from French (perhaps with Latin reinforcement?) in the first half of the 1400s, with the meaning, "quick, ready to do something," which then also provided the meaning, "on time," as in, "Please be prompt for work." 

Salad Niçoise, Sort Of

The word "niçoise" (pronounced: nee-swaz) simply refers to olives cured in the French city of Nice, which is located in the well known resort region of the French Riviera in southeastern France, along the Mediterranean coast.* So "niçoise" essentially means "from Nice, of Nice." The small dark olives are commonly grown in that general area of France. There are many variations on this common French salad, but I'm using my own "no cook" recipe. Often in France, fresh green beans are briefly cooked, keeping some crispness, for this salad, and boiled potato slices or chunks may also be added. Further, the dressing used is a vinaigrette, which includes Dijon mustard, but I used a little different homemade dressing. (Note: The mark under the letter 'c' in the French rendering of "niçoise" is called a 'cedilla,' and it indicates that the 'c' is pronounced as an 's.' Besides French, it is most notably used in Portuguese and Catalan, a language of eastern Spain and a part of southern France.)  

INGREDIENTS:

Niçoise olives (or other black olives in olive oil, or Kalamata olives)
3 Roma tomatoes, quartered (or about 12 to 15 grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise)
1 small can chunk tuna in olive oil
5 anchovy fillets in oil, rinsed, left whole or chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thinly
salt & pepper to taste
a few basil leaves, torn into thirds or quarters
lettuce to line the serving plate
dressing (see recipe link below **)

Line a plate or platter with lettuce leaves (you can use any type: head lettuce, butter lettuce, Boston lettuce). Place the tuna in the center, then arrange the tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, and olives around the tuna. Top the arrangement with the egg quarters and anchovies, then add the torn basil leaves, finish with salt and pepper, or leave this to the individuals to add per their own taste. I used no salt, as the anchovy fillets and dressing add salt, so I would be careful how much salt you add, if any. The salad dressing can be placed on the table in a dish with serving spoon, and the individual servings can be topped with the dressing per the person's own taste.
 
* On the Italian side of the border is the Italian Riviera, located in the Liguria region of Italy, but within the French Riviera is one of the world's smallest countries, Monaco.

** This is the link to the recipe article I did for French salad dressing: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/07/homemade-creamy-country-french-dressing.html

I used some whole black olives in oil, but the store was out of the other cured black olives they carry in their olive bar. I also added some Kalamata olives (the smaller brown colored olives), but they are in a brine. Niçoise olives might be difficult to find, so you may have to substitute other types. I kept the anchovies whole, so they could be seen in the photo, but you can chop them.

WORD HISTORY:
Sumptuous-This word, related to "consume," is a compound meaning, "splendid, seemingly expensive;" thus, "luxurious."  I will do its history from more recent to ancient. English borrowed the word from French "somptueux" in the second half of the 1400s. French, a Latin-based language, had the word from Latin "sumptuosus" (expensive), itself from Latin "sumptus," which meant "expense." This came from the Latin verb "sumere," meaning "to take, to acquire;" thus, "to buy." This came from the prefix "sub" (under, from below), the origins of which are unclear,^ and from "emere" (to take), "likely" from Italic^^ "emer/emo," derived from Indo European "em/um," with the notion of "take, acquire."

^ I "may" do a separate history of the prefix "sub," which "may" be an Italic form related to the Old Germanic word which gave English the modern word "up."

^^ Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most of which have died out. Latin's limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others.

Caponata Crostini, Sicilian Eggplant Appetizer

Caponata is an eggplant based dish from the Italian island of Sicily. It can be used as a topping for bruschetta, or as I've done here, for crostini, or it can be used as a side dish, and it can be served warm or at room temperature. There are a lot of variations in recipes, so as always, this is my version. Crostini are small slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, then toasted by grilling, in the oven, or in a skillet, and then topped with any variety of vegetables, cheeses, meats, or some combination thereof.

Ingredients (using just one eggplant):

1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon salt
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
6 to 8 medium to large pitted green olives, roughly chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, chopped 

1 large garlic clove, minced or finely chopped 

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Small Italian bread slices, brushed with olive oil, toasted, then halved

Cut the eggplant into bite-sized pieces, then spread it out on a large plate covered with a paper towel. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant, then cover with another paper towel. You can also place another plate or two on top to add weight. Let the eggplant sit for 30 to 45 minutes. This will draw out some of the liquid from the eggplant. In the meantime, heat 1/2 cup oil in a heavy-duty skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook about 5 or 6 minutes, the until onion and celery are softened. Add the garlic, olives, anchovies, chili flakes and tomatoes and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar and then stir in vinegar. Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. In another skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Wash off the eggplant pieces (you can discard the rendered liquid). Squeeze the eggplant by hand to remove water and other juices and then add it to the fresh skillet. Cook until lightly browned. Remove to a plate with a paper towel and allow excess oil to drain. Add the eggplant to the other mixture and stir well. Spoon some of the caponata onto the crostini (the plural form of "crostino").

Great as an appetizer, or add a salad for a nice light lunch.

WORD HISTORY:
Isle-First, in spite of the similarity in spelling and meaning, this word is NOT related to the word "island," which is a Germanic word essentially meaning, "water land," or "land on the water," although the spelling of "island" with an "s" (which had not been part of its spelling), was definitely influenced by the Latin spelling (see below). On the other hand, the ancient origin of "isle" is uncertain, but it "may" be related to "salt," with the general notion being "(land) in the salt water (sea)," but this is far from certain. Latin had "insula," meaning "island" ("insula" is indeed the second part of the word "peninsula"). "Seemingly" a later Latin variant spelling "isula" gave Old French the greatly contracted form "isle," which was contracted further to "ile." This was borrowed into English in "about" 1290. The influence of the Latin spelling, however, had French restore, and English add, the "s" to the word circa 1500, although modern French spells it "île," with the "^", called a circumflex, indicating there was once an "s" in the spelling. Close English relative German uses "Insel" as its primary word for "island;" a borrowing long ago directly from Latin "insula," although it also has "Eiland," pronounced "I-lahnt" (long "I" sound), the close form to English "island," but it is stylistically very high sounding, used more in grand writing and poetry in modern times.

Potato Salad With Olives and Roasted Peppers

With late spring here, and summer not far off, there's nothing better than a good potato salad, although it's actually good all year long

Ingredients:

1 pound small red potatoes (available in microwaveable packages)
1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes (available in microwaveable packages)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
2 tablespoons seasoned salt (whatever brand you use)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
12 green olives, halved
12 black olives, halved (I often use Kalamata olives)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup roasted peppers, chopped  (store bought is fine, I used a mixture of red and yellow peppers)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 sweet gherkins, chopped
1 tablespoon black pepper
paprika for dusting

Cook the potatoes by whatever method you prefer. The microwaveable packages are great. Let the potatoes cool a bit,* then cut them into pieces, adding the potato pieces to a large dish. Since the potatoes differ in size, I generally quarter the smallest ones, and then try to cut the larger ones into similar size pieces. Add the onion, garlic, olives, celery, gherkins, and roasted peppers, plus the seasoned salt and black pepper, then add the extra virgin olive oil and mayonnaise, and thoroughly mix for a couple of minutes or more to get all the potato pieces coated. Dust the potato salad with sweet paprika, cover with plastic wrap or a lid and chill.

* When the potatoes are a little warm, they will absorb the flavors of the other ingredients much better, than if cold.

WORD HISTORY:                                                                                                                                 

Celery-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but it goes back to Greek "sélinon," which meant "parsley." This was borrowed by Latin as "selinon," meaning "parsley," but "seemingly" also, "celery" (celery and parsley are closely related). This gave the northern Italian dialect of the Lombardy region, "seleri," ^ which was borrowed into French as "céleri," and this was borrowed into English as "celery" in the mid 1600s. Close English relative, German, also borrowed the word in the 1600s as "Sellerie;" however, there "may" have been influence directly from the northern Italian dialect, which borders on the German speaking region of central Europe. Likely though, French was the "main" contributor to the German borrowing, with one reason being that French was quite popular in those times, especially among the nobility and well educated of Europe.

^ The Italian dialect "Lombard" is not the same as "Lombardic," a Germanic dialect of old, spoken by the Germanic tribe the "Lombards," after whom the Italian region was named. Lombardic died out centuries ago, as these Germanic settlers of northern Italy gradually became Italian speaking.    

Puttanesca Sauce And Its Real Meaning

Puttanesca sauce is something of a famous Italian pasta sauce, seemingly developed in the 1950s, but in my opinion, no one really knows, and like most recipes, there are variations, often regional. The word "Puttanesca" is derived from the Italian word "puttana," which means "prostitute, whore." The sauce is spicy, so you can draw your own conclusion, although I read somewhere that some of the "ladies" made such a pasta sauce for their "clients," so some theorize it received its name from that. But how did they all know the same basic recipe? Did they attend cooking school in their "off time?" Whatever the case, it is a great pasta sauce, but then again, any dish with chili peppers will pretty much earn that accolade from me. I believe spaghetti was the pasta of choice for this sauce originally, but you can use just about any pasta and I'm sure, if you ever go to Rome, you won't be banned from entering the Vatican or singing "Arrivederci Roma."
   
Puttanesca Sauce
quarter cup olive oil (if you want to add some 'irony' to the sauce, use 'extra virgin' olive oil)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 to 8 anchovy fillets, chopped (please don't be afraid to use anchovies, as they add a great flavor to the sauce, but are not strong, like you might associate with the time you bit into one on your pizza)
1 or 2 fresh small hot peppers, finely chopped, or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (you can make this as hot as you want, or less so, but use at least 1 fresh pepper or 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes to keep to the authentic side of the recipe)
about 14 to 16 pitted olives, halved or coarsely chopped (Kalamata olives are good, or cured black olives, or the larger green olives, or better yet, use some of each) 
3 tablespoons of capers, drained
1 28 oz. can chunky or diced plum tomatoes with some juice
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
tablespoon chopped parsley
(variations: some use onion, some use chopped basil or dried, some use dried oregano, some add a little red wine)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, saute the garlic, peppers and anchovies until the garlic and peppers soften a bit and the anchovies begin to melt and mix in. Add and mix in the other ingredients, except the parsley, and simmer for about ten to fifteen minutes or so, letting the sauce thicken a bit. Stir in the parsley. Italians do not typically serve any kind of cheese as a topping for this sauce, so be careful, or no "Asti Spumante" for you!

This time I had fettuccine with Puttanesca sauce and
a small cucumber salad and Italian bread

WORD HISTORY:
Sauce-This word goes back to Indo European "sal," which meant "salt." This gave its Italic/Latin offspring "sal," a relative of English "salt," but the English form was derived from Germanic, which had also gotten its form from Indo European, its parent language. From Latin "sal" came the adjective "salsus," which meant "salted," and from that was derived a noun form "salsa," which meant "brine," but later the more general "flavoring agent." This was passed on to Old French, a Latin-based language, as "sauce," and this was then borrowed by English during the 1300s.

Fried Potatoes Sicilian Style

I cut this recipe out of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, apparently in 2002, as they took it from what they call "a good new book" by Clarissa Hyman called "Cucina Siciliana," which means "Sicilian Cuisine," and it was published by Interlink, 2002. The dish is called "Sauteed Rosemary Potatoes With Cherry Tomatoes and Black Olives," and if you want the recipe, that WAS the recipe! Just joking. I love fried potatoes and when I tried this, I was just completely sold. I fix it fairly often. I rarely follow recipes to the letter, and I don't completely follow this one either, as I slice the potatoes, like home fries, rather than use "chunks," which is what the recipe calls for, and I add some fresh hot peppers, like serranos, as well as the black pepper. You certainly could use some hot pepper flakes as a substitute, although fresh hot peppers are now commonly sold in most supermarkets. 

8 medium red-skinned potatoes (you can use other potatoes)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper or peperoncino (or any hot chili pepper, to taste, chopped)
12 cherry or grape tomatoes (see text below)
12 black olives, quartered (Kalamata olives are good for this, or Niçoise olives, halved or whole)
fresh parsley

While the author says to peel the potatoes, I don't, I leave the skins on. Cook the potatoes in water for about 12 minutes and drain them well. Slice the potatoes, or cut them into "chunks," as in the actual recipe. Add the olive oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, rosemary, garlic, salt, and the hot peppers + black pepper. (While the recipe doesn't say, I chop the garlic.) Stir the potatoes to make sure the other ingredients coat the potatoes. Cook for 10-15 minutes (I lean more to 13-15 minutes), stirring occasionally to keep the potatoes from sticking (I usually add a little more olive oil, too). Add the tomatoes and olives at about the 7-8 minute mark. Again, while the recipe doesn't call for this, after the tomatoes heat up, I usually take a large spoon and mash them down so the liquid mixes in, although sometimes they begin to split open on their own. When finished, the potatoes should be nice and browned and somewhat crisp. Add the parsley just before removing the potatoes from the heat.

Just a GREAT dish, with the browned potatoes, the hint of garlic and rosemary, a little heat, the brininess of the olives and the little tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:  

Potato-First, potatoes, like true sweet potatoes (not yams, which came to the New World from Africa) and tomatoes, are from the New World and their popularity as a great source of food only spread to the rest of the world gradually, often by way of Spanish and Portuguese traders. Potatoes became one of the main sources of food in many countries, and in Ireland, the little nation was so dependent on potatoes, a blight on the potato crop in the mid 1800s cost the lives of hundreds of thousands from starvation. Between deaths and emigration (often to the United States), it is estimated that Ireland's population decreased by as much as one quarter during that era. To put that into perspective, imagine a decrease in the current U.S. population by about 80 million. Spanish got the word "patata" from "batata" from one of the Taino dialects of the Caribbean islands. Taino is now largely extinct, as other languages, primarily Spanish, replaced it on the various islands. Originally the word meant "sweet potato," but later the similarly looking (on the outside) white potato had the same word applied to it. English got the word from Spanish in the mid 1500s.

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