Carrot & Raisin Salad, American Style

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

 

Ingredients (5 servings): 

 

2 1/2 cups shredded carrot

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

1/3 cup pineapple bits 

2 tablespoons pineapple juice 

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

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

1/4 cup sour cream (or thick yogurt)

1 or 2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 teaspoon salt

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

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

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

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

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

Frozen Creamy Fruit & Nut Pie

A "no bake" pie for the hot days of summer...

Shortbread pie shells should easily be found in your local supermarket. 

Ingredients:

2 shortbread pie shells (9 to 10 inch)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 container (8 ounces) whipped topping 
12 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
11 or 12 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 banana, peeled and chopped 
pistachio nuts, whole, halved or chopped
fresh cherries, seeded and halved (or maraschino cherries)

It's best to let the whipped topping thaw first. Mix together the condensed milk and the whipped topping. Drain the pineapple well in a sieve over a bowl and do the same with the mandarin orange segments. You can save the juices for drinking. Add the various fruits and the pistachios to the milk mixture and fold it in gently, so as not to break up the fruit or to discolor the filling. I used fresh dark cherries, so some juice is bound to make some small patches of color on the filling. Pour the filling into the pie shells and smooth it over. Cover with the lids provided with the pie shells and secure them with the folded over edges of the pie pans. Put into the freezer (make sure the pies are level) for several hours, until completely frozen. If you'd like, you can slice the pies and put the slices onto serving plates and give them just a couple of minutes to soften just a little.   

WORD HISTORY:
Dense/Condense-This word has an unclear origin, although it seems to have ancient connections to Indo European, and transliterated Hittite, an Indo European language, had "dassus(h)," which meant, "strong." Ancient Greek had transliterated "dasys/dasus," meaning, "thick with leaves/foliage, or hair." Latin may have borrowed the Greek word, or perhaps it already had its own form, "densus," an adjective meaning, "cloudy, crowded, thick." English borrowed the word in the first half of the 1400s, certainly with reinforcement by Latin-based French "dense." The more figurative meaning, "not easily penetrated," developed in the 1700s (see the Hittite form above), and this led to the further meaning, "dumb, slow on the uptake," in the first half of the 1800s, from the notion, "slow to penetrate the brain." It is also the main part of the word "condense," a Latin-derived word, with the prefix "con" seemingly used as an intensifier, and the word meaning, "to make dense, to make thicker, to compact." This was borrowed in the 1400s from French "condenser" ("to make dense, to condense, to reduce to a compact form," which came from Latin "condensare," with the same meanings. 

Fruit Gazpacho

This is a fully fantastic dish for hot weather days, but it's really great anytime. While most people likely think of gazpacho as a cold vegetable soup, fruit-based gazpacho is also made, and there are a number of variations in the recipes. This is my own recipe, and before you get yourself into a frame of mind that feels that some of these ingredients will not work well together, give it a try. The natural sweetness of the fruits offsets the acidic tomato juice, while the onion and chili pepper add a little "zip" to the recipe (they both should be finely chopped). I like the "heat" of chili peppers, but please don't overdo it with chilies in this gazpacho, because the heat will overwhelm the tastes of the fruit. You can always add a little more juice, if needed, in a 2 to 1 ratio, pineapple juice to tomato juice. You need no sugar or salt in this soup, and you don't need to cook anything for it. It is easy to make, with the only time consuming part being the rinsing, peeling and chopping of some of the ingredients. This cold soup is best when given proper time to chill in the refrigerator; so a minimum of 3 or 4 hours is required, but longer is even better. Serve with a scoop of basil cream on top. And you can make the basil cream with low fat sour cream. *  

Ingredients:

1 cup tomato juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 serrano chili pepper (or jalapeño, or habanero), finely chopped
1 ripe mango, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks (you can halve large chunks) 
1 cup peeled, seedless cucumber, chopped (if using regular cucumber, remove seeds)
1/2 cup blueberries, whole
1/2 cup strawberries, quartered 
juice of 1 or 2 limes (I often buy small limes, so I use 2)

Add the juices to a non reactive bowl or pot, then add the the other ingredients. Stir very well to mix. Refrigerate the fruit gazpacho for several hours, then stir well once again before serving. Top each serving with a dollop of basil cream.   

* To make basil cream, here is the link to the recipe, but for this soup, I would use sour cream or creme fraiche, but not Mexican Crema, because it is typically not as thick: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/06/basil-cream.html

WORD HISTORY:
Mauve-This word for "purple-like color," and "a dye of that color," is closely related to "mallow," the name of a genus of plant. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but it goes back to Latin "malva," which meant, "mallow" (plant name). This passed into Old French as "mauve," as the plant name, but by the mid 1800s a purple dye came into use which was given the name "mauve," due to its similarity in color to the flowers of the plant. The color was certainly popularized by England's Queen Victoria, who wore dresses of mauve on a couple of occasions. I've read, but can't recall where I read it, that the Queen wore a mauve dress for her daughter's wedding or at some point during the celebration of that wedding. This wedding was for her namesake daughter Victoria, who married German/Prussian Crown Prince Frederick. They became the parents of the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German leader during World War One. And yes, Kaiser Wilhelm II was the grandson of Britain's Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was also the grandmother of Alix von Hessen by the Queen's daughter Alice, who died when Alix was only 6 years old. Queen Victoria then helped to raise her granddaughter, who spent much time in England with the Queen, as well as in her native Germany. Alix would become the Tsarina Alexandra of Russia by her marriage to Nicholas II, and her grandmother's influence was evident, as she had her room colored in mauve, and it was called the "Mauve room." (Very original name; how'd they they come up with that?) 

Piña Colada

Back in the late 1970s, singer and songwriter Rupert Holmes released a song with the lyrics, "If you like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain..." Well, the name of the song upon its original release had nothing to do with "piña coladas," because its was called, "Escape." We in the public knew the song because of its reference to piña coladas, and so the record company and Holmes amended the song title to, "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)." The song and the drink were VERY popular!

The "Piña Colada," which literally means, "strained pineapple" (see Word History, below) was invented in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. As with many a popular invention, there is not total agreement as to this drink's naming, or more precisely, when the drink was given its enduring name. This is a very tough drink to make, as it will require you to be able to pour liquid, add ice cubes and then.... to push a button on a blender to make the blender operate, and then... to push another button to make the blender stop. There are college degrees issued for being able to do these difficult maneuvers, but unfortunately, I flunked out. I kept pushing the wrong buttons and it took me most of a semester to find out the buttons that operate the lights in the room are not the buttons that operate the blender. They have to make things complicated. Damn! And I wondered why the lights kept going off and on. 

Ingredients (per drink):

2 ounces light (white) rum
2 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces coconut cream
pineapple chunks
maraschino cherries
1 cup ice cubes

Put the rum, the pineapple juice, the coconut cream and the ice cubes into a blender. Blend until smooth. Garnish with pineapple chunks or slices and a maraschino cherry or two. You can adjust the ingredient amounts to suit your own taste. Hey! The lights just went out. Well, habits are hard to break. Cheers!
 
I've seen all kinds of glasses used over the years for Piña Coladas (short, tall, squat, narrow), so use what you have or what you think makes a nice presentation, if you are serving guests.

WORD HISTORY:
Colander-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, and part of even its later history is a little shaky. It goes back to the Latin noun "colum," a type of "woven wicker basket or fishing net used for fishing." This brought about the additional meaning, "sieve," and produced the verb "colare," "to strain or to put liquid through a sieve." This produced Latin "colatorium." This passed into Latin-based languages of the western Mediterranean in various forms, but while English borrowed a number of words from Latin-based French, this does not seem to be one of them. It was borrowed by English in the 1300s, "perhaps" from Spanish or Catalan "colador," but with an "n" inserted because of either misunderstanding or easier pronunciation in those times? It had several spellings in English originally, all with an "n" ("coloner," "cullender," for example).       

Polynesian Chicken

When I see or hear the term "Polynesian Chicken," I think of pineapple. I checked something like 25 recipes prior to writing this, and all but ONE had pineapple as one of the ingredients. I believe I'd only had "Polynesian Chicken" once or twice in my life, but it doesn't seem to be a recipe that is very commonly made today. My recollection is that when I was a kid the dish was much more common, perhaps because Hawaii had recently become a state. Hm, Hawaii and pineapple, gee who would have thunk... ah, thought it? Anyway, I was watching an episode of the 1960's comedy, "McHale's Navy," and "Polynesian Chicken" was part of the story. That made me wonder just what I knew about this dish. As I checked various recipes, I found that pineapple and pineapple juice were the ingredients that seemed to make the dish "Polynesian," although some recipes also included pieces of orange, while others used lemon peel, as well orange juice, lemon juice or lime juice. I fixed the "Polynesian Chicken" a couple of ways, as one had more vinegar and soy sauce than the recipe below, but I didn't really care for that version. I really like the version I put together below, and I will likely make it again soon.  

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cubed (I used 1/2 pound white + 1/2 pound dark)
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 cup chopped green onion (with some green)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 tablespoons butter 

2/3 teaspoon ground white pepper (black pepper is fine too)

3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (depending upon desired thickness) mixed with an equal amount of water

2 tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable oil)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the ginger, the green onion and the red bell pepper. When these ingredients begin to soften (they will cook further), add the pineapple juice and let it heat. Add the chicken, the pineapple, the brown sugar, the honey, the vinegar, the soy and the ketchup; stir to mix well. Cook until the chicken is tender. Add the white pepper and the lime juice, stir to mix. Gradually add the cornstarch and water mixture, stirring constantly, and maintaining the heat level until the desired thickness is reached. Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted and mixed in. Serve with rice.

WORD HISTORY:
Ukulele-The more distant history of this word for a small guitar type of instrument is tough to track down with any certainty, but the first part of word is related to "cootie," a general slang English word for "louse." The word "cootie" was borrowed in southeastern Asia from Malay "kutu" during British involvement there,^ and during the trench warfare of World War One, and the resulting lice infestations, the word became popularized as a slang term in English. "Kutu" meant "small insect, flea." "Lele" meant "jump, leap," so the compound literally meant, "jumping flea or insect," perhaps from the notion of the fingers "jumping" from string to string? The ukulele seems to have been a Hawaiian version of a similar instrument, the machete, they'd seen and experienced from the Portuguese who brought it to Hawaii in the mid 1800s. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1800s. When I was a kid, ukuleles were very popular, helped along by Arthur Godfrey, an American television personality, who played the ukulele on his show. In the 1960s, along came musician Tiny Tim, and he too became famous for his ukulele play, especially his signature song, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."       

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

Blueberries & Cream Pie

I've known and used this recipe for more than 25 years, but how I got it, I don't recall, and I don't even have it written down. Over the years, besides blueberries, I've done this pie with strawberries, peaches, blackberries, and one time, I even used pineapple. It was good! I've simply chosen to use blueberries this time, because that's what I just bought at the market. The pie has no crust for the top. Very simple to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries, well rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup heavy cream + 1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
9 inch pie shell (homemade or store bought)

Heat the oven to 375 F. Place the pie shell in the oven for about 6 or 8 minutes, to firm it up for the cream/milk component that will be added. Remove the crust from the oven and add the blueberries. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the blueberries, then do the same with the cinnamon. One more time, sprinkle the flour evenly over the top. Mix the cream and milk and then gradually pour it over the pie. Some berries may not be fully covered, but do not fear, civilization has never ended over such trivial things. Bake the pie at 400 F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cream has essentially set (it should not be runny). Let the pie cool a bit, then place in the refrigerator to chill it, before serving, as it will set further as it cools/chills. 

 WORD HISTORY:
Bramble-This word, related to "broom," goes back to Indo European "bhrem," which meant, "bristle, thorn, sharp-pointed object." This gave Old Germanic "breme," meaning, "bush with thorns (often specifically used in reference to the blackberry bush)," and the extended, "bremel," as a diminutive form.^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bræmel," with the same meaning. The "b" appeared to make the word, "bræmbel," but still with the "thorny bush" meaning, including the reference to "blackberry bush," and the derived word "bremel" was compounded with "berie," the then form of "berry," to make the Old English word for "blackberry."^^ "Bræmbel" then became "brembel," before the modern version. Forms in other Germanic languages have tended to remain connected to words for "blackberry" in modern times: German "Brombeere," Low German Saxon "Brummelbeer," West Frisian has "brommel" ("seems" little used nowadays), Dutch "braam" (meaning, "blackberry"), Danish "brombær," Icelandic "brómber."   

^ A diminutive is a form that conveys a sense of something as smaller or dearer.

^^ Besides "bremelberie," the color of the berry brought about the development of "blaceberian," also, "blæcberie," both of which are forms of modern "blackberry," but "bramble berry" also developed. German too has had various names for the blackberry, with "Brombeere" being proper, but there are many dialectal forms, a few of which are: "Schwarzbeere" (literally "blackberry"), "Dornbeere" (literally "thornberry"), "Brommelbeere" ("brambleberry") and "Kratzbier/Kratzbeer" (barb berry, after the thorns/barbs. "Kratz" is related to English "scratch").