Thai Chili Rice Noodles

Regular readers know I like spicy food, but you can make these noodles far more adaptable to your heat tolerance either to the plus or minus side of the heat scale. Rice noodles are a flat type of noodle made from rice flour. They come in varied widths from very thin to wide. Thai red curry paste is available in supermarkets and Asian shops and it's not expensive.

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 pound (8 ounces) thin width rice noodles (not the super thin type)

2 tablespoons sesame oil (divided use, 1 tablespoon to start, 1 tablespoon near end)

8 green onions (divided use, 5 for early part of recipe, 3 near the end)

1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 or 2 red chili peppers, finely chopped

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (also known to some as coriander)

Soak the noodles in warm water for 25 minutes (you will drain the noodles before adding them to the recipe). While the noodles soak, add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to a large skillet (or to a wok, if you have one) over medium heat. Add 5 chopped green onions and saute for about 90 seconds, then add the chopped ginger and garlic, cook another 30 to 40 seconds. Add the red curry paste, finely chopped chili peppers, soy sauce, rice vinegar/sugar mixture and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, and as the broth heats, drain the noodles. When the broth boils, add the noodles. After 1 minute, reduce the heat to low and let the noodles begin to soak up the broth, stirring to prevent sticking or burning (adjust the heat to very low when the broth is nearly gone). Add and mix in the chopped coriander, remaining 3 chopped green onions and remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Serve.     

 

WORD HISTORY:

Castle-This word is related to "castration," a Latin word borrowed by English from that language, to "chaste" and to "chateau," Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French. "Castle" goes back to Indo European "kes," which meant "to cut," which gave Old Italic^ "kastro," which meant "a part, a share, a segment," which gave Latin "castrum," meaning "fort, fortified post, fortified town" (from the notion, "an area walled or fenced off;" that is, "cut off from"), which spawned the diminutive "castellum," meaning "fortress, stronghold." Old English borrowed this as "castel," initially with the meaning "village, town,"^^ but then later (1300s?) with the additional meaning, "walled town, fortified area," a meaning borrowed from Old Northern French "castel" (which had "castel" from Latin "castellum"). It was also in the Middle English period (seemingly in the 1400s?) that the spelling changed to "castle."

 

^ 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 own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others. Because these Italic languages and dialects originated from Indo European, they are related to English, but further down the family tree, as English is from the Germanic branch of Indo European. 

 

^^ The original English meaning "village, town" may have come from, or was certainly influenced by, scholars of long ago using "castel" to translate Ancient Greek "κώμη," transliterated as "kome," a generally "unfortified community;" thus, "a village," in translations of the New Testament.           

Shrimp Cocktail

This common and popular appetizer and party dish is easy to make. When I was a kid and teenager, there was a commercially made shrimp cocktail sold in supermarkets. I can't remember the company name, but it came in four individual servings (at least, I think there were four), and each serving was right in its own cocktail glass with the horseradish flavored sauce and several small shrimp arranged around the rim of the glass. Of course, once the shrimp was eaten, you could wash the glass and keep it for your own purposes, which was a common marketing pitch back then, especially for products like jelly, jam and peanut butter.  

 

I tend to use the 31 to 35 size shrimp (that simply means there are between 31 and 35 shrimp per pound), but you can use any shrimp you like. When I bought the shrimp for this article, I chose a few types and sizes (see pictures, below). It's naturally a lot easier if you buy shrimp that are peeled and deveined, but with the tails on, as that gives you a great way to hold the shrimp for dipping into the sauce. You can also buy 'peel-n-eat' shrimp, which have had the shells cut to devein them, and the cuts in the shell make them easy to peel. Shrimp are relatively mild in flavor, but professional chefs and cooks tells us that by cooking shrimp in their shells, it gives them more taste, and indeed, shrimp shells are used by professional cooks in recipes for seafood stock. I once was at a fancy restaurant where I had a few shrimp shells from my dinner, and I tried to sell them back to the restaurant, but they wouldn't take them. Hmm, I wonder what that was about? Some days, you can't make a nickel.  

 

Ingredients (about 4 to 5 servings):

 

1 to 1 1/4 pound shrimp

4 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 lemon

1/4 cup chopped onion 

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons sugar 

Add 4 cups of water to a large sauce pan, then add the salt, half lemon, chopped onion, bay leaves and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer for about 3 minutes. Now add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Let the shrimp sit in the hot water for about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, until they are nice and pink in color (you don't want to leave them in the water too long, they will get rubbery, and you don't want to drop one, but it bounces back into the dish!). Drain the shrimp and put them under cold running water for a minute or two. Add some ice cubes to the water and let the shrimp sit in the ice water as you put together the sauce. Before serving, drain the shrimp and lay them out on a plate covered with some paper towels or napkins to soak up any water. 

For the cocktail sauce:

3/4 cup thick ketchup*

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 to 1 teaspoon your favorite hot sauce (or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

 

In a bowl, mix the ingredients together well. Serve along with the shrimp.

 

* When I'm feeling bold and I want to be a glutton for punishment, I use 1/2 cup regular thick ketchup and 1/4 cup "Cleveland Ketchup/Ghost Pepper Ketchup," as well as some Portuguese piri piri hot sauce, along with the other ingredients. If you do not like heat, please don't do this. If you don't like much spicy heat to your foods, you can cut the horseradish to 1/2 tablespoon and just use a couple of dashes of hot sauce, or even just use a sprinkle of ground red pepper (like cayenne pepper) in the cocktail sauce. If you live outside of the Cleveland area, here is the link to the Cleveland Ketchup site: https://www.clevelandketchup.com/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral    

 

 I had some Danish rye bread, but saltine crackers are common with shrimp cocktail ...

 

WORD HISTORY:

Dry-This word, commonly used as an adjective and as a verb, traces back to Indo European "druegh," which seems to have had the notion of "hardening, strengthened by hardening." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "draugiz," which more specifically added the idea of "dry, drying" to the "hardening, strengthening by hardening" notion, the connection to which is easily seen. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "dryge," which meant "dry." This also produced the verb "drygan," meaning "to dry." These later became "drye," although the "g" persisted in some dialects for quite some time, before everything settled on the modern 'g-less' version. The other Germanic languages have: German "trocken," Low German "dröög," Dutch "droog," North Frisian "driig" West Frisian "droech," Danish has "drøj" (meaning "tough," and the connection to "dry" is obvious), Swedish "dryg" (hard, enduring), Icelandic "draugur" (a noun, "dry tree trunk," but this is apparently antiquated). I could not find a form in Norwegian, but that doesn't mean there isn't one, as the North Germanic languages have tended to retain the general meaning "hard," and from that notion also came "lasting, ample, sufficient in quantity," from the idea that things like dried meats and dried fruits "last," thus also giving "ample" quantities.

Indonesian Chili Eggs: Sambal Telur

This is easy to make, and if you'd prefer, you don't have to fry the peeled hardboiled eggs. They can be served with rice or try them chilled and served as a salad. I assume most people outside Indonesia do not have kaffir lime leaves, so you can just use lime zest, but if you want to try using the leaves, contact your herb and spice outlets, and the leaves are definitely available online.

Ingredients: 

6 eggs, hardboiled and then shells removed

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 kaffir lime leaves (or 1 teaspoon lime zest)

6 or 8 tablespoons sambal oelek (Indonesian style hot ground chili paste)

2 tablespoons oil

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the whole peeled hardboiled eggs and keep turning the eggs until they get a little color on them (they will kind of blister), then remove them to a plate with a paper towel. To the same skillet with the oil, add the chopped onion and saute until it softens. As the onion softens, keep stirring to prevent browning and reduce the heat to low. When the onion is soft, add the sambal oelek and stir to mix, then add the kaffir leaves or lime zest and keep stirring (you don't have to stir continuously, but frequently). When the sambal begins to reduce and thicken, add the eggs back to the skillet to warm again in the sauce. Slice the eggs lengthwise, serve with some of the sauce over each serving. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Stir-This word is actually related to "storm," and it goes back to Indo European "stur," which had the notion of "move, twirl, whirl, turn." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "storjanan," with the same basic meanings, but with figurative meanings of "destroy, disrupt." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "styrian," meaning "incite, agitate, stir." This then became "stiren," before the modern version, and the meanings have remained the same, with the primary emphasis on the meaning "mix together by using a spoon or utensil" (that is, "making it whirl"), but the meanings "incite, agitate," are still very much in use, keeping it close to some of its Germanic cousins which mean "disrupt." The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German Saxon "stören" (bother, disturb), ^ Dutch "storen" (disturb, bother), Danish "styrre" (disturb, disrupt), Norwegian "styrre" (mix), Swedish "störa" (disrupt, disturb). I could not find a form in modern Icelandic, nor in West Frisian. The noun form is from the same Germanic source, but it likely came into use in English in the latter 1300s from Old Norse, which had the noun "styrr," meaning "tumult, commotion, disruption."

^ German also has the prefixed form "zerstören," which means "to destroy," going back to the original figurative Germanic meaning.

Chinese Cucumber Salad

This dish is also at times called, "(Chinese) Smashed Cucumber Salad." Like most popular dishes, the recipe for this cucumber salad can vary a little.

Ingredients:

2 English (aka seedless) cucumbers
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh hot red chili pepper, finely chopped* 
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

Wash the cucumbers very well and dry them. Cut the ends from the cucumbers and then very loosely wrap the cucumbers in plastic wrap, but do not peel them. Use a kitchen mallet or a heavy skillet and hit the cucumbers until they are split (now you see why the salad is often called "smashed cucumber salad"). Remove the cucumbers and slice them lengthwise a couple of times, then cut those long pieces into pieces of about 1/2 inch or so. Put the pieces into a strainer and add the salt and sugar. Put the strainer over a bowl and let the cucumbers drain for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix the other ingredients together well. Add the drained cucumber pieces to the mixture and stir well, making sure all of the cucumber pieces are coated. You can serve the salad immediately or refrigerate it for about an hour.

* Instead of fresh chili pepper, you can also use chili pepper flakes or sambol oelek chili sauce (Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets). If you don't like any heat, just use some red or yellow bell pepper.

WORD HISTORY:
China-This word's history is a bit uncertain, although it "seems" to go back to the "Qin" dynasty, which ruled in China during and around 220 B.C., although the word "might" predate that time. This then was taken by Sanskrit as "cinah," and "cinas," as the name for the people of the area of China; thus, this would also be the direct ancient source of "Chinese" in English and other European languages. This "likely" became part of Hindi, as transliterated "cin" (long "i"), and this was picked up by the Portuguese as "China," as they explored, traded and set up outposts in the Indian subcontinent. The Portuguese took the word back to Europe, where it was taken by English in the first half of the 1500s. The 1600s saw the term "china" used for porcelain dishware in English, as these were originally brought in from China. 

Trinidad & Tobago Dish: Pepper Shrimp

Trinidad and Tobago is a Caribbean nation of two main islands and several other smaller islands, with Venezuela as the country's closest neighbor. It was a British colony from the early 1800s until the early 1960s, when the islands gained independence. The islands have a highly diverse population of slightly less than than 1.5 million, with many people descending from slaves or laborers from Africa and India. English is the official language of Trinidad and Tobago, although other languages have influenced the spoken form of English, as the original native people, along with Europeans who spoke Spanish, Portuguese and French, all have made contributions to the language and culture of the islands. This shrimp dish shows the Chinese influence on Trinidad and Tobago, but also how the island culture has added its own features to the recipe, one of which is the use of ketchup.

You can make this is as hot and spicy as you choose, but it's my understanding the islanders like it very spicy hot, even providing bottles or dishes of hot pepper sauce (made from scotch bonnet or habanero chili peppers) for those who want to intensify the heat. Calm down if you don't like the heat. I've added some notes on how to lessen the fiery tastes. I've only made this dish once, but I intend to make it again... and again. All of the ingredients are readily available in supermarkets, although on the islands, a healthy dose of "green seasoning" would replace some of the individual ingredients. Green seasoning is a mixture of seasonings, with various green elements, like cilantro, being the main component. Ah, so that's why they call it, "green seasoning!" They can't fool me. Trinidad and Tobago "green seasoning" is not necessarily something you will find easily on a worldwide basis in supermarkets, although I bought some I found online. I also bought some real Trinidad and Tobago hot pepper sauce, which has some mango and other ingredients. After first tasting just a small drop, I wondered, at what temperature does glass melt? But the bottle survived and feeling returned to my mouth after a short time. 

Ingredients:

1 pound large or medium large shrimp, already cooked shrimp sold in markets are fine
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup mild red pepper (red bell pepper is fine)
1 habanero or scotch bonnet, finely chopped*
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, chopped
half of a well chopped green onion (primarily the light green part)
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2/3 cup tomato ketchup
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
garnish with 3 chopped green onions (scallions), with some green

Mix the lemon (or lime) juice in with the rinsed and well drained shrimp, set aside. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, then turn the heat to low. Saute the onion, ginger and hot chili pepper for about 2 minutes. Now add the cilantro, the garlic, the green onion half and the thyme leaves; saute a further 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, the ketchup and the sesame oil, mix in well. Now add the shrimp with the lemon juice. Mix and turn the shrimp to coat with the sauce. Make sure the shrimp get heated through, then season with salt and pepper. The sauce was nice and thick, but don't be afraid to adjust it to the way you want it. You can add a little water to thin it (many of the recipes I checked used some water), or you can add a little more ketchup or even some cornstarch and water to thicken it. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve with rice.    

* If you like "some" heat, but not an inferno, use just 1 teaspoon finely chopped habanero or scotch bonnet. If you don't really like much heat at all, skip the fresh chili pepper and just add a good pinch of cayenne pepper. When mixed in with the other ingredients, this should keep any serious heat from the dish. As I've noted here before, chili peppers can vary tremendously in heat, even habanero type chilies, with some being mouth numbing, while others lack much heat intensity.

WORD HISTORY:
Lent-This noun, related to "long" and "length," both words from the Germanic roots of English, goes back to Indo European "dlonghos," which meant, "long." This gave Old Germanic "langaz," with the same meaning, and this was coupled with the Old Germanic word "tinas/tinaz," which meant "day" (it is related to Latin "dies") to form, "langitinaz," literally, "long(er) day," which was the West Germanic word for "spring" (the season), as it referred to the lengthening amount of daylight during that part of the year. This gave Old English "lencten," which meant, "spring." By the 1100s, the English had used the term to designate the 40 days of fast before Easter and the word had by then become "Lenten," and the meaning for "springtime" began to be overtaken by "spring" by about 1400. To my knowledge, English is the only Germanic language to have used the word with the religious meaning. By about 1400 the word had been often been shortened to "Lent," but English retained both forms. The other West Germanic languages have: German "Lenz," Low German "Lent" (whether this spelling was influenced by English, I'm not sure), Dutch "lente." I could not find a form in hard to research Frisian. These Germanic forms all mean "spring," although only Dutch uses it as their standard word for that time of year. By the way, German once used "Lenzing" as its word for the third month of the year, before settling on "März," as the standard word. Like its English cousin "March," März is a word going back to Latin and relating to the Roman god "Mars." 

Spicy Spanish Potatoes: Patatas Bravas

This dish is common for "tapas" in Spain, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, and there are variations in recipes. "Tapas" are "snacks," which in Spain are something of a whole segment of the Spanish food and beverage business, as tapas bars specialize in the serving of a variety of snacks, or "appetizers," if you prefer another word for this type of food. "Patatas Bravas" are crispy fried potato pieces served with a spicy tomato sauce (salsa brava); and in Barcelona, they are served with aioli (garlic mayonnaise). In Spain, the potatoes are most often fried in extra virgin olive oil. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups olive oil + 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons salt (divided use)  
1 teaspoon mild smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small fresh red chili, or 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1  14.5 ounce can tomatoes, drained
aioli* 

Simmer cubed potatoes in salted water until just beginning to soften. The potatoes should not be cooked through; thus, they will still be relatively firm. Drain and put the potatoes on some paper towels to help dry them. Fry potatoes in 1 1/2 cups of olive oil over medium heat until browned and crispy (the inside should still be sort of creamy), which will finish cooking them through. Remove potatoes to paper towels and season with one teaspoon of salt. In the meantime, in a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about a minute. Add the garlic, the chili (or chili flakes or cayenne pepper), saute for another minute. Add the sweet and hot paprika, one teaspoon of salt and the tomatoes. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add all to a blender or food processor; combine until it's a relatively smooth sauce. Serve the potatoes with some of the tomato sauce poured over it, and then with some dabs or streaks of aioli on top.  

* Aioli is essentially a garlicky mayonnaise, although in some parts of Spain it is more olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Here's the link to the article for "aioli:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/10/aioli-is-it-garlic-mayonnaise.html
  

WORD HISTORY: 
Brave-For what is a pretty common word today, the history of "brave" is more than a little shaky, and, to be totally honest about it, I must say the word's overall history is "uncertain," if not "unknown." One theory, which I like, has it going back to Ancient Greek "barbaros," which meant "not of Greek background;" that is, "foreign," and further, "uncivilized, wild." There is a theory that this may go back to an Indo European form "bar bar" or, "barbar," with the notion of being "unintelligible, incapable of being understood." Anyway, the Greek form, also the basis of "barbarian" and "barbarous," two other words borrowed by English, was borrowed by Latin as "barbarus," also meaning, "foreign, uncivilized, wild;" thus also, "fierce." This then produced Latin "brabus," then the altered, "bravus," meaning, "wild, fierce," and where "barbarus" was not only contracted, but where the "ar" reversed to "ra," a process called metathesis, a linguistic change that is not totally uncommon.^ This then gave Italian "bravo," where the "wild, fierce" meaning was coming to indicate "bold;" thus, "courageous (brave)." This was borrowed by French as "brave" (pronounced "brahv") and this then was borrowed by English in the late 1400s. 

^ For example, "bird" was once "brid/bridd," in English.

Pork With Plum and Chili Glaze

You can make your own plum preserves/jam for this recipe, as it's easy to do.

Ingredients:

6 boneless pork chops
4 black or red plums, washed, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup sugar, depending upon the sweetness of the plums and your personal taste
(or store bought plum preserves)
1/2 habanero chili
1/2 serrano chili* 
about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt, to season the pork, both sides (I use adobo seasoning)

To make your own fresh plum chili sauce for this dish, put the chopped plums and chilies into a sauce pan with 1/3 cup sugar, mix in well. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Taste the mixture to see if it is sweet and hot enough. When I made this the last time, the plums were very ripe and sweet, and thus they required less sugar, but I've also made it with plums that were tart, so the amount of sugar is simply a base guideline, and you just adjust it according to your own preference. Cook until the mixture thickens well, remove from heat (it will thicken even more). If using store bought preserves, add about 6 to 8 ounces of plum preserves to a pan and then add the chilies (continue as for making your own preserves). Season the pork on both sides with seasoned salt. Heat oven to 325 F. Bake pork on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or on a rack in a baking pan/dish, until essentially tender (but it will be baked for a while longer). In a bowl, add the preserves and use a fork or tongs to then coat each pork chop with the plum/chili mixture. Return the pork to the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve extra plum/chili sauce on the side.   

* As I've noted here before, chilies vary in heat, even among the same type of peppers. When can always adjust the amount of chili pepper you add, according to the heat of the chili used and for your own personal heat preference.   

WORD HISTORY:
Glaze-This word, related to "glass," "gloss" (the form meaning "sheen, beauty") and "glow," goes back to Indo European "ghel," which had the notion, "to shine, to be bright." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "glaza/glasa," which seems to have originally meant, "amber," for the light and shiny fossil resin used for jewelry and decorative purposes. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "glæsen," which was an adjectival form, "made of glass, shiny like glass." This then was used to form the verb, "glasen/glazen," "to be like glass, to shine like glass," and these then produced the noun form, but not until the 1700s, "material used to make something shiny." This then became modern "glaze," which broadened the meaning to cooking and "shiny" sauces to coat food. German has the closely related adjective "gläsern," "glassy, glass-like" (Low German also uses the same word, but whether it came by way of standard German, or gave the word TO standard German, I'm not sure).

Eggs in Hades

This is a simple recipe that will awaken the taste buds of anyone. Serve with good bread, toasted or with just butter.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
2 cloves minced garlic
2  16 ounce jars chunky salsa (mild or hot)
1  14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 or 2 hot chili peppers (jalapenos, serranos, or cayennes, if using hot salsa, skip this unless you like    food hot as... ah... Hades)
2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
parsley or basil leaves for garnish

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium low heat and saute the garlic and chili peppers (if using) for a couple of minutes. Add the salsa, tomato sauce, oregano, salt and black pepper, mix well. Heat sauce until it lightly bubbles, then add each egg separately, leaving some space between the eggs. You can cover the pan and let cook for a few minutes until the whites are firmly set, or you can cover the pan briefly, until the whites are set, but still not completely cooked, then complete their cooking with the pan uncovered. I first tried covering a smaller skillet, using just 2 eggs in sauce. Interestingly, one yolk ended up almost completely cooked, while the other was runny, which is the way I wanted both, so I next covered the skillet briefly, then left it open to finish cooking the egg whites. This gave me the runny yolks I wanted. Sprinkle on some parsley or basil before serving.  

WORD HISTORY:
Hades-This word for "the infernal regions, the place of torment for those who have lived wicked lives," goes back to the Indo European negating suffix, "n," which was rendered in Greek as "á/áv" (related to Germanic "un-"), and to Indo European "weid/uyd," which had the notion "to see;" thus also, "to know how to go, how to proceed." "Hades" is distantly related to English "wit" (both noun and verb), to "wise" (noun, verb and adjective forms, although the verb form is not as common anymore, except in "wise up"), and to "wisdom," all of these words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "advice" and to "advise," both Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French. The main Indo European form gave transliterated Ancient Greek "eídesthai," which meant, "to be seen," and with the negative prefix, as 'a' + 'idein'= "unseen, invisible." Together this gave Ancient Greek a couple of forms, depending upon dialect, one being the transliterated "Haídes," meaning, "place unseen;" thus, "the underworld;" thus, "place for the dead." The place name was also applied to the Greek god of the dead. English borrowed the word from Greek, circa 1600.      

Filipino Spicy Chicken Soup ("Tinola")

This common dish from the Philippines is actually sort of a combination soup and stew. I made it as a soup (that is, very thin), and I removed the chicken pieces as the vegetables finished cooking, and took the chicken meat off the bone, then returned it to the soup. It is my understanding that rice is often served on the side, or the soup/stew is served over rice, and the chicken meat is left on the bones. Typically, Filipinos use hot pepper leaves, but I've substituted fresh spinach. If you don't like spinach, this is not going to taste like the gob of spinach you were served as a child, trust me. Also, don't worry about the fish sauce overwhelming the soup, it will just add a subtle taste to the broth. Further, the hot pepper is not likely to make the soup too hot, but rather just give it a little "kick." I like hot and spicy food, and this was far too mild for me, so next time I'll add more serrano pepper.

 Ingredients:

3 lb. whole chicken legs
1 serrano pepper, chopped (you can use jalapeno pepper)
1 papaya, cut into small wedges
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped or torn, but not too finely
4 cups water
3 tablespoons chopped ginger root
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
salt/pepper to taste (the fish sauce is salty, so beware how much loose salt you add)
2-3 tablespoons canola oil

Add the oil to a skillet or large pan and add the onion, garlic, serrano pepper and ginger root. Cook for a couple of minutes to barely soften, stirring to keep it from sticking. Add the chicken and brown lightly, this will also further soften the onion, garlic, etc. If using a large pan, add the water and fish sauce, bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for about one hour. (You can then remove the chicken, let it cool for a couple of minutes and then take the meat from the bone, if you like.) Add the papaya and spinach and cook a few minutes until the papaya is tender (return chicken meat to the pan, if using this method). Add salt and pepper. 

WORD HISTORY:
Have-This extremely common and essential word, related to "heave," goes back to Indo European "kahp," which had the notion of "seize, grasp, take." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "habjanan," essentially with the meaning, but also with a developing sense of "possession;" that is, "the result of seizing or grasping something." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "habban," meaning "to hold, to keep, to possess." This then became "haven," before the modern version. The word is often used by the Germanic languages to form the perfect tense of verbs (example: "I have eaten already.") German has "haben," Low German Saxon has "hebben," West Frisian has "hawwe," Dutch has "hebben," Danish has "have," Icelandic has "hafa," Norwegian has "ha" (obviously a contracted form), and Swedish has "ha" and "hava."

Kimchee or Kimchi, A Korean Staple

Kimchee or Kimchi is a very common dish of fermented vegetables, usually spicy, in Korean cuisine, used as a side dish. In Korean restaurants I have gone to over the years, including in Germany, the server has always put out several small dishes of vegetables. I naturally can't recall every vegetable used at every location, but I believe napa cabbage has always been included, as well as daikon (a type of radish).  Recently I decided to give a try to making my own Kimchi, and it turned out quite well. You can also naturally get it at Korean restaurants, and there are versions sold in jars in some supermarkets nowadays, in the refrigerated section (with varying amounts of 'heat'). Making Kimchi is quite simple, with cleaning and cutting of the vegetables being the only real time consuming part. I made my own version using the cabbage and daikon only, with added green onions. You can always alter the amounts, but here's what I used:

1 head of napa cabbage, core removed and cut into strips about an inch or two wide, then cut these into about 2 to 3 inch pieces
1/4 cup of no iodine sea salt
water to cover
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
about 10-12 oz. of daikon radish, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
6 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I only discarded any wilted green part)
8 oz. Korean red chili paste ("gochujang," available in some supermarkets and Asian specialty stores, the type I buy comes in a little tub-like container, with a flip-top lid) 
1 teaspoon sugar
(I like spicy food, so I added about a one inch piece of serrano chili pepper, finely chopped ...YES!)

First, rinse the cabbage repeatedly a little at a time, then put the cabbage pieces into a large bowl or even a stainless steel pot. Add the salt and mix very well, making sure the cabbage is well coated, if you need a little more salt, use it. Add water to just cover. Let the cabbage sit overnight, do not cover. Mix the cabbage and salt solution around again in the morning and let it sit. The total time the cabbage should be in the salted water is about 8 to 10 hours. Empty the salt water solution and fill the container of cabbage with fresh water. Stir the cabbage around to rinse, repeat this step, then taste the cabbage to be certain it isn't too salty, but if it is, repeat the rinse step and drain the cabbage (it SHOULD have a somewhat salty taste, as the salt is a preservative). Add the ginger, garlic, green onions, the hot chili pepper (if using) and daikon. This is how I made my Kimchi, although many Koreans would likely make the daikon separately and serve it in its own dish, but if you do it this way, I doubt they'll make you have to stand watch on the border with North Korea. Mix everything well. I mixed it by hand. If using the chili pepper, be sure to wash your hands well after mixing and don't rub your eyes. Now gradually stir the sugar into the Korean chili paste (it has moderate heat) and add to the vegetables. Mix to be certain there is a coating on all of the ingredients. I added about a quarter cup of water. Cover the bowl or pot with plastic wrap and place it in a cupboard or somewhere where it will not be in your way. Within a day or two it should start to ferment and you can then store it in the refrigerator. Any bubbling is normal, as it is the fermenting process.* So now you have your own Kimchi with both cabbage and daikon radish together, rather than the likely separate dishes .... ahh, what's this rifle for? What do you mean my watch at the border with North Korea starts in 15 minutes?

* I believe more so in the past, but perhaps some Koreans still do it, and that is, the Kimchi was put in a crock and put into a hole in the ground and buried for a period of time. 

In this picture, I had added some larger pieces of red (mildly hot) chili pepper, besides the serrano.

WORD HISTORY:
Radish-This word, related to both English "root" and "wort" (meaning "herb plant," as in St. John's wort, and also "spice," thus "liquid of the beer making process"), goes back to Indo European "wrehd," which meant "root" (perhaps also "sprout"). This gave Latin "radix" ("root"). This then seems to have been borrowed directly from Latin into English circa 1050 to 1100 as "rædic," which indeed meant "radish." 

Simple Grilling Recipe, Cornish Hens

Updated June 3, 2017


If they haven't already done so, many folks break out the grill and start grilling this time of year. I'm not going to give all of the specifics for this recipe, but rather give you the ingredients, which you then can adjust to your own tastes and for the amounts you fix. I've had this recipe for nearly 20 years, but I don't know where I got it, and I likely changed the original anyway, something I'm wont to do.

This is for some good spicy grilled Cornish hens, or chicken. Now, if you don't like spicy, don't stop reading, just adjust the heat level. The best way to grill the Cornish hen or chicken is to cut it in half or butterfly it. Combine the following in a bowl for each hen or chicken:

4 tablespoons thick ketchup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon diced fresh hot peppers of your choice and to taste (some like milder types, some like in between Serrano peppers, some like to go for it and use habanero peppers)
a sprinkle of chili powder (whatever type you like)
1 small clove of garlic, minced

Mix it all together and use it to cover the bird halves or butterflied bird. Cover and put in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, but for a couple of hours, at least. Take the bird out of the refrigerator about a half hour or so before you grill it. Scrape as much of the coating off of the chicken as you can, but keep the sauce to baste it during grilling. Place the bird skin side up on the grill and don't go mow the lawn, or it's apt to burn. After about 15 minutes turn the bird over to the other side. Eventually you want to get the skin side back up and baste it with the sauce mixture. Heat the remaining sauce to serve on the side. Remember, any sauce you used on the raw bird must be cooked sufficiently to kill any bacteria. I don't want the "salmonella police" grilling you over unsafe food handling practices. Cooking the sauce will also soften the peppers and garlic and give the sauce a better taste.

I used a butterflied Cornish hen

WORD HISTORY:
Hen-This goes back to Indo European "k(h)an," which meant "to sing." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hanjo," which meant "hen, female bird," but the idea behind the word was "singing bird." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "henn." By the way, the same source also gave Old English "hana," which meant "male singing bird." While this male form died out in English, it is still alive in close cousin German, which has "Hahn." Old English "henn" then became "henne,'' before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Henne," Low German Saxon "Henn," Dutch "hen," West Frisian "hin," Danish "høne," Norwegian "høna," Icelandic "haena," and Swedish "höna."