Lost Eggs

There are various recipes under the name "Lost Eggs," including in German, in which the name is "Verlorene Eier," which is literally "Lost Eggs." German 'verloren' (the v is pronounced f) is the close cousin of English 'forlorn.' I've seen "Lost Eggs" made with Parmesan cheese, Gouda, cheddar and havarti. Uncooked spinach or other greens always form a mountain in a pan or skillet, but they cook down to the point where you begin to ask yourself, "Am I going to have anything left to eat?" 

 

I generally use one poached egg per serving, but I'm fairly certain the roof won't fall in if you use more than one egg for a serving. (Ah, what's that creaking, cracking sound?) Serve with mashed potatoes.  

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

 

4 eggs

1 pound fresh spinach

1 cup chopped onion (=1 medium onion)  

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

For the sauce:

 

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cans evaporated milk

3/4 cup shredded white cheddar

 

paprika or ground red chili powder to garnish the finished dish 

Begin by heating water in a pan over medium heat to poach the eggs.

For the sauce: Melt butter in a skillet over low heat, stir in the flour to form a roux; cook while stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Stir in about a third of the first can of evaporated milk and keep stirring until it is incorporated into the roux, then add another third of the evaporated milk and repeat the process (you may want to change from a spoon to a whisk at some point), then add the final third and repeat, then add the half can of evaporated milk and stir it in well. You should now have a smooth creamy sauce. Get the spinach cooking, then come back to add the shredded white cheddar and stir to incorporate the cheese into the sauce. 

For the spinach: Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, then add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the minced garlic and saute the onion and garlic mixture for another minute, then add the spinach. It may look like a lot, but it will cook down. Add a lid or foil over the pan and when the mound of spinach shrinks in size, add the salt and pepper and stir to mix. 

For Serving: Poach the eggs, then put some of the spinach on the plate, then top the spinach with a poached egg, then spoon some of the cheese sauce over the egg/spinach

I spooned the cheese sauce around the egg yolk, so that the egg can be seen in the photo; after all, they don't call it "Lost Eggs" without reason. I put some sauce on the mashed potatoes too.

WORD HISTORY:

Hedge-This word is distantly related to "quay," a word English borrowed from French, which had it from Gaulish (a Celtic language), which had it from its Old Celtic parent, and to the first part of "hawthorn," a word from the Germanic roots of English (German has the closely related "Hagedorn"). "Hedge" goes back to Indo European "kagh," which had the idea of "to enclose, to seize (enclose with claws or fingers);" thus by extension, "fence, wickerwork (both used to enclose something)." This gave Old Germanic "hago," meaning "hedge shrub," which then produced West Germanic "hagjo" meaning "a hedge, a fence,"^ and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hecg" meaning "hedge, fence, enclosure." This then became "hegge/hege," as well as some other spellings, before the modern spelling. "Apparently," the meaning originally didn't necessarily just mean the "shrubs and bushes that enclose some piece of land," although that meaning was there too, but the meaning was rather simply the idea of an enclosed area and the material used to enclose it. The more specific meaning of "shrubs/bushes" finally became the main meaning and the word was used in the Old English compound "hegeræw," the earlier form of modern "hedgerow." The other Germanic languages have: German has "Hecke," and German also has the modern developed compound "Heckenschütze," literally "hedge shooter," from the notion of "a shooter from the hedges;" thus, the German term for "a sniper," Low German has "Hegg" and "Heeg,"^^ Dutch has "heg," West Frisian has "hage." In North Germanic, Danish has "hæk," Norwegian has "hekk" and Swedish has "häck," all "supposedly" borrowed from German in the Middle Ages, while Icelandic has the noun "hekk, which "may" well have been borrowed from Danish or Norwegian. ^^^  The verb form of "hedge" came from the noun in the second half of the 1300s as "heggen," meaning "to put hedges or fencing around an area of land;" thus also a little later, "to hinder with a barrier." The more common meaning in modern times seems to have developed in the latter part of the 1500s, "to protect oneself from loss," from the notion of hedges providing some security from harm.

 

^ The idea for many sources is that Old Germanic had a word, but that it did not survive in North Germanic, but it did pass into West Germanic in a slightly altered form; thus, English has "haw," the berry of the hawthorn tree/shrub, and a type of hedge, and also "hedge." 

 

^^ There is no "standard" Low German language, rather Low German is a collection of dialects which are not necessarily always mutually intelligible; thus, spelling variations (and pronunciations) are common for many words.

^^^ The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish forms all are close to the German form, but the borrowing came at a time when the Low German form in some dialects was "heck/hecke." Just my feeling, but the North Germanic languages were in constant contact with the Germans of northern Germany, where the language back then was Low German. Unfortunately, the German dictionary of the Brothers Grimm doesn't shed any light on this. Icelandic also has "limgerði" (=limgerthi), which means "leafy barrier or fence;" thus, "hedge." The "lim" part is related to English "limb," while the "gerði" part of the word is related to English "yard." 

Azerbaijani Herb, Yogurt & Rice Soup: Dovga

Azerbaijan is a country of about 10 million people located in the Caucasus region just north of Iran. Its capital is Baku. The primary language is Azerbaijani, one of the Turkic languages. It was part of both the former Russian (Tsarist) Empire and of the former Soviet Union. Azerbaijan is pronounced as if, "awzer-buy-zhawn." I can happily say I have met an Azerbaijani, a man who was attending one of the universities here in Cleveland.

This is a tangy soup, which can be served hot or cold.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice
1 2/3 cups water, more, if needed (for rice, more, see below)
1 beaten egg
2 1/2 cups thick yogurt (Greek or Indian style)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped dill
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to your taste)

Rinse and drain the herbs, remove any big stems, then chop the herbs, set them aside. Add the rice and the 1 2/3 cup of water to a pan (I actually used a large skillet). Cook over medium heat, uncovered, until the rice is tender. If you need to add a little more water to finish cooking the rice, do so. Let the rice cool down, then add the well beaten egg and stir it into the rice (if the rice is still hot, it will cook the egg). Stir in the yogurt a little at a time, until it is all mixed well with the rice. Add 2 1//2 cups water, over low heat, bring just to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the herbs and mix well, cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and then add salt.

Click to enlarge

WORD HISTORY:
Patent-This word is distantly related to "fathom," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "pace," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. "Patent" goes back to Indo European "pethe," which meant, "to spread open, to spread out." This gave Latin the verb "patere,"  which meant, "to be open, to lie open;" thus also, "to be evident/obvious, accessible." Its present participial form, "patens," was used as an adjective to mean, "open, lying open," and it became part of the expression, "litterae patentes," meaning, "letters lying open (for public view);" thus, the use of letters (documents) to grant certain privileges. The "patentes/patens" form became a noun in its own right, and it was passed to Latin-based Old French as both a noun and as an adjective as "patente," along with the expression, "lettre patent." English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1300s.

Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

1  8 ounce bag fresh spinach
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons adobo seasoning*
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1  12 ounce can evaporated milk (can be the lower calorie type)
4 ounces sour cream (can be low calorie type)
3 ounces regular or 2% milk (the actual amount is dependent upon the thickness of the sauce, as this helps thin the sauce, see below)

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion generally softens. Stir in the flour, making sure to not let the flour brown. Cook just for about two minutes. Gradually stir in the canned milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly. The mixture will need to simmer to properly thicken, but you will need to keep the heat low, or there could be sticking and scorching. Add the sour cream, the adobo seasoning and black pepper, stir well again. The sauce may be very thick, so you can use some regular or 2% milk to thin it out a bit, but it should not be too runny; stir well. Now mix in the spinach in handfuls. Cook for just a few minutes, keeping the heat very low, like 3 to 5 minutes total. 

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

WORD HISTORY:
Bag-For what became a common word in English, the history of the word "bag" is very limited, with many questions. It was borrowed into English as "bagge," from Old Norse (North Germanic) "baggi," which meant "bundle;" that is, "something to be carried;" thus also, the figurative, "burden." Where Old Norse got the word is puzzling, as it is not in other Germanic languages, but relatives do appear in some Latin-based languages, although "seemingly" not until the Middle Ages, leading some linguists to believe it was originally of Celtic origin. The interesting thing is, Old Norse, in northern Europe, had a form of the word, and some southern parts of Europe had forms. The Celtic tribes were once widespread in Europe, so that could account for such a distance in related words, if indeed, Celtic provided the word to the other languages, but many of the Celtic languages had been on the wane for quite some time. But still, none of the other Germanic languages had it, until English borrowed it the early part of the 1200s. It is also possible that the Old Norse term was carried into the Mediterranean, and thus, to southern Europe, as the Normans did land in Sicily and southern Italy in the 11th Century. It most certainly is related to "baggage," a word borrowed from French (French "bagage" developed in the mid 1200s), as Old French had "bague" ("bundel"), but did Old French get that form from Medieval Latin "baga," or from Old Norse, as the Normans had been landing along the coastal areas there for quite some time, before they finally were given land, which came to be called "Normandy." The verb form used in hunter's jargon, "to bag game animals," came from the use of bags to hold the day's kill; thus, "We were able to bag two rabbits and three squirrels."  

Spinach & Kale Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pound baby spinach
1/2 pound kale
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 teaspoon salt (if you use canned or carton vegetable stock, you may not want to add any salt)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
32 ounces vegetable or chicken stock
2/3 cup Riesling wine (a Spätlese is good, but certainly not mandatory)
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons flour + 3 tablespoons water
3 slices white bread, cubed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter or oil (or mixed)

In a pan, heat the butter and oil until the butter melts. Add the carrot and let cook for a minute or two. The carrot will be the only thing that really needs to cook much to soften it. Tear or cut the kale and spinach into somewhat smaller pieces, making sure to remove the thicker stems from the kale. Keep a small amount of the two greens to top the soup when serving, and add the bulk to the pot, let it wilt. Add the vegetable stock, the salt and the Riesling wine, stir well. At the first sign of bubbling, remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the canned milk. Mix the flour and water well. Return the soup to the heat, until it bubbles lightly. Gradually add the flour and water mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. You want the soup to thicken some, but not too much. To make some croutons, add the butter or oil to a skillet, then add the bread cubes, turning to coat and brown them. Add some of your freshly made croutons and a few fresh leaves of spinach and kale to the top of each serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Spinach-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, although it goes back to Persian, an Indo European language, which had, "aspanakh," which meant "spinach," and it is "possible" that Persian developed the word on its own. This was borrowed into Arabic as "isbanakh." Now we get back to difficult again, as tracing the history of this word is very difficult. How the word got into Europe? It is possible it came from different routes, as the Latin of the Middle Ages had "spinachium," "perhaps" from Saracens (Arabic people). Did this then pass to into Latin-based languages, Provençal ("espinarc") and Old French ("espinoche"), and then into Spanish ("espinaca")?  Did the Moors, a Berber people of the Muslim faith (with heavy influence of Arabic) from northwestern Africa in the Middle Ages, carry the word with them when they invaded Spain (a form there was "asbinakh," which eventually passed into Catalan ("espinac") and Spanish? Still more questions, and how did the word actually get into English? Via French ? Via Dutch ("spinaetse"), which had borrowed it from French. It came into broader use in the 1500s in English.