KELLING (participial vb.)
A person searching for something, who has reached the futile stage of re-looking in all the places they have looked once already, is said to be kelling.

Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, The Meaning of Liff

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Feral Alphabets: I

From: In Relief

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n ancient times, verdigris was used as a pigment, and pieces of copper were exposed deliberately to acetic acid, or vinegar, to obtain it.  Verdigris—the greenish patina that forms naturally when copper, brass or bronze are exposed to the weather—can be one of several chemical compounds depending on the exposure which caused it. In the case of acetic acid, it is copper acetate which forms, and green pigments of this sort were used by painters up to the 19th century, when other more stable (and less toxic) sources became available.

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Not a quote as such…

My reading time has been a bit short this week.  How short, you ask?

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Apple Cider Gingerbread

For some reason, plain water in a recipe just seems to offend my creative instincts. I’m always doing things like saving the juice drained from canned tomatoes to cook my rice in, and when I see water among the ingredients of a recipe, some tiny part of my brain always goes, “Water?  That’s so boring.  I wonder what would happen if I add…[insert some other liquid with more flavor here] instead?” So, it’s no surprise that I decided to substitute apple cider for the hot water in my favorite gingerbread recipe once, and it turned out so well that I’ve been making it that way ever since.

The original recipe in question was “Old-Fashioned Gingerbread”, from The Southern Living Cookbook.  Specifically, from the 1987 edition, which, it turns out, is a bit of a story unto itself. My copy has seen years of faithful service, and it shows. It was branded by a burner on its back cover one time when I got a little too distracted (also the reason the dust jacket is no longer with it), and it’s bristling with loose papers and post-it notes—like the one for the apple cider substitution, stuck beneath the gingerbread recipe. It lives in my kitchen. But when I went looking for an online copy of this book to link to, I got a couple of surprises…

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Feral Alphabets: H

From: Mullions

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ouses made of brick are famously sturdy—just ask any preschooler. While much is made of brick’s superiority in withstanding Big Bad Wolves, brick houses did offer a very real safety improvement over wood and thatch: their resistance to fire.  For this reason, brick often replaced wood as the most commonly used building material, particularly in crowded cities. In London, for example, when the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed many of the earlier wooden structures, the rebuilding was done primarily in brick.  Even brick has its weaknesses, however; in recent times, use of brick has declined in regions where earthquakes are common.

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Home(-Made) for the Holidays

I like giving homemade gifts—especially food gifts; I feel like I’m giving something that stands a better chance of actually being used and bringing joy.  And, let’s face it, I’d rather spend time making something from scratch that I know is good, than spend that same time trying to find and acquire a bauble of dubious usefulness, thereby demonstrating that I spent a requisite amount of money.  Do I sound like a curmudgeon?  Maybe I do.  But, money is an unavoidable issue—especially these days—and I know that I can make gifts that will be of better quality than I could afford to give otherwise.

There’s still a certain amount of research and forethought needed, though.  Not everyone likes sweets, enjoys spicy things, or what have you, and food allergies and other dietary concerns are more prevalent than one might realize.  Perhaps that’s why homemade gifts can sometimes have a bit of a reputation, like the oft-lampooned fruitcake. I’ll confess, ever since I began contemplating a post on homemade gifts, I have not been able to get the Pink Bunny Suit from A Christmas Story out of my head (this is a problem, because I don’t type well as it is, and the giggling isn’t helping).  But, if Aunt Clara had only done a little research, she would have known that Ralphie was neither four years old, nor a girl. Just imagine if her present had been a Red Ryder costume instead.

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We are so used to having a lot of comfort in our lives—to being clean, warm, and well fed—that we forget how recent most of that is.  In fact, achieving these things took forever, and then they mostly came in a rush.

Bill Bryson, At Home: A Short History of Private Life

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Feral Alphabets: G

From: Implements

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riselda rounded the last bend and permitted herself to gloat.  The Running with Scissors World Championship title was hers, in the bag. She hazarded a triumphant glance back at her competition as they struggled along in her wake… and completely failed to notice the three women standing just short of the finish line.

Which was a pity, because one of them was holding a most impressive pair of scissors.

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Then I thought: What if there actually was an Idea Monster that stole good ideas? It would sit blocking the road, and kidnap all the fresh, original ideas that came rolling along. It would let through only the stale, tired old clichés.

James Gurney, “The Idea Monster”
(Blog post, November 6, 2011)

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Almost Like Christmas…

Our Whole Spice order arrived today:

While you might think some of the bags look pretty big, I'm anticipating being able to share some of the bounty as holiday gifts.

Clockwise from the upper left:

• Amchur powder: “Amchur powder is also referred to as “mango” powder. It is made from green dried, ground mangoes.” -Whole Spice Web Site.  Well, naturally, I HAD to try this.  I love mangoes (well, any fruit, really—I am a fruit wampyr) and I’m always looking for different ways to add a new zing to sauces.
• Citric Acid: Also sometimes called “Sour Salt”.  I use this all the time for adding a little citrusy bite to sauces or fillings.  Or syrups, or rubs… It’s great for adding a little extra flavor in something like an apple filling, where the apples turn out not to have as much flavor as I’d like, but I don’t want to add a noticeable lemon flavor by using lemon juice.  Since my last bottle suffered an untimely demise a couple months ago, I’ve really been missing it (and couldn’t find it anywhere locally anymore).
• Lemon Omani:  Dried Persian Limes.  A Persian restaurant that we used to frequent served a stew (koresh gheimeh) that had these dried limes in it.  The restaurant closed, alas, and we’ve been trying to approximate the dish ever since, substituting cut up pieces of regular lime.  Looking forward to trying it with the real thing!
• Pumpkin Pie Spice:  This was a surprise, included as lagniappe with the rest of the order.  I’m looking forward to experimenting with different creative uses for it.
• Ras el Hanout:  Traditional Moroccan spice blend.  From the Whole Spice web site: “The name ras el hanout loosely translated means “head of the shop” and is meant to represent the very best the spice merchant has to offer.”  There’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try from a cookbook I acquired recently that simply calls for “Moroccan spice blend”—I think this is probably what they are referring to.  Anyways, I’m going to try it!
• Sumac: A spice used in Middle Eastern cuisine (and not to be confused with the highly toxic Poison Sumac found in parts of eastern North America).  That Persian restaurant that I mentioned put out shakers of sumac on the tables.
• Harissa:  Another Middle Eastern spice blend.  I’ve had dishes that I enjoyed at several favorite restaurants that included this in the description and wanted to give it a try.
• Epazote: A pungent herb used in certain Mexican dishes, black beans in particular.

This is the second order I’ve placed with Whole Spice, and I’ve been quite happy both times. Their website is easy to navigate and full of little extras, like recipes for using the different spices, and their prices are reasonable (especially since they were running a 20% off promotion when I ordered). While I haven’t had a chance to use any of this order yet, the contents of my previous order were fresh, and of good quality. If you’ve never tried fresh ground spices, it really does make a noticeable difference.

And when one is not exactly in a position to be a world traveller, it’s fun at least to have a whiff of distant lands delivered into one’s kitchen.

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