Willy Or Won't He

What’s Cooking

I remember breakfasts at my Uncle Jimmy’s farm outside of Belfast (Ulster not PEI). It was 1949 and rationing was still in force but my Grandmother always had a plate of hot potato scones to go with the …..

Don’t you just love those sites that force you to wade through overwritten descriptions of the cook’s first taste of whatever, followed by the history of the sassafras root that they just know is a household staple in your pantry. Finally you get to the recipe!

This week I am making 100 or so potato scones for a St Patrick Day’s celebration at the Havilland Club. My brother made the best I have ever tasted so I am using it. Here’s the recipe.

Potato Scones*
From Al Hobbs, my brother
Serves 4 as a side
Prep time: 15-20 minutes**
Cook time: 6-12 minutes

Ingredients:
8 oz mashed potatoes, cold from the night before
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cold butter and more for frying
1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp. milk

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients
Rub cold butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles a coarse meal.
Add the mashed potatoes and mix with a fork.
Make a well in the centre and pour in milk.
Incorporate the flour into the milk until you can form a ball adding additional milk if needed.
On a floured surface turn out dough and knead until you have a smooth dough.
Roll out into an 8-8^1/2 inch circle about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut into triangles.***
Heat a cast iron pan or griddle with a dab of melted butter over medium heat. Careful not to burn the butter.
Fry the scones about 3 min. a side until golden brown.
Serve hot with a dab of butter.

They are good at breakfast with butter or jam and also with a good Irish stew at dinner.

* It is also known as Potato Bread (in Ulster), Potato Farl, Fardge, Boxties, (Republic of Ireland) and Tattie Scones (in Scotland).
** This is approximate as I have coordination problems and prep takes me longer these days.
*** I normally cut mine into six.

They will last in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in a pan or oven. They can also frozen for up to 3 months. It’s suggested that you give them a quick sear (1 minute max) on each side to firm them up then freeze them. When defrosted finish the cooking on a griddle or iron fry pan with a dab of butter.

The word for March 12^th is:
Scone /skōn, skŏn/: [noun]
^1.1A small, rich, biscuit-like pastry or quick bread, sometimes baked on a griddle.
^1.2 Yeast bread dough, deep-fried and served with honey and butter or with a savoury filling.
^1.3A cake, thinner than a bannock, made of wheat or barley or oat meal.
1510s, Scottish, probably shortened from Dutch schoon brood “fine bread,” from Middle Dutch schoonbroot, from schoon, scone “bright, beautiful” + broot “bread”.

Memes for a Monday

Laurent insists that it is Spring but I figure Mom Nature is just fuc.. playing with us. We’ve got at least two more snow storms before Winter is truly over. Nonetheless I pulled out my leather coat and Italian foulard for my walks with Teeter today. However the parka and wool scarf are close to hand.

Good question.

Yes I got it.

A valuable piece of advice.

Ah the fun of customer service.

I thought so.

A lovely gesture, I hope she appreciates it.

The Glory of English #324

A sad truth.

An achievement to be proud of – I guess.

Don’t laugh – we all have our delusions.

The Glory of English #325

At least with the car it’s now automatic.

No Laurent – it’s not over. Would I lie to you?

Offered without comment.

The word for March 9^th is:
Foulard /foo͞-lärd′/: [noun]
^1.1 A thin, washable material of silk, or silk and cotton, usually with a printed pattern on it. It was originally imported from India
^1.2 A lightweight twill or plain-woven fabric of silk or silk and cotton, usually having a small printed design.
^1.3 An article of clothing, especially a necktie or scarf, made of this fabric.
Borrowed directly from 18th century French, likely derived from the Provencal/Occitan word foulat (crushed or pressed).

Meme for a Monday

We all know that the internet was created so people could post pictures of their cats, however lately there has been a dearth of puddy porn online. I normally like to give the feline equal time with the canine but have been remise this past few months. To make up for it there are a few more memes than normal.

Well March blew in like a bloody Yeti – snow, window, cold, and we have not had heat in our apartment since last Wednesday. Mood around here? See below!

Left over from Christmas.

Can anyone confirm that for me?

Something religious.

Cats and Dogs.

Left over from Valentine’s Day.

Of course this doesn’t not apply to anyone I know.

I sympathize.

Reminds me of Sister Attila at St Ambrose Separate School.

And we’ll just let this image hover over us for the next week.

The word for March 2^nd is:
Dearth /dûrth/: [noun]
^1.1 A scarce supply; a lack.
^1.2 Shortage of food; famine.
^1.3 Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine.
First attested at least as early as the late 1400s, and appearing in Tyndale’s Pentateuch (1530) as well as the Coverdale Bible (1535). From Middle English derþe, probably from Old English *dīerþ, *dīerþu, from Proto-Germanic *diuriþō (“costliness, preciousness, honour”).

Memes for a Monday

Well our “friends” from the south of us have sent along a bit of a Nor’easter to remind us that it is still winter. Another snow day seem to be looming for tomorrow. On a Snow Day we basically stay in and gaze …

Everything old is new again.

If this means anything to you, you aren’t just a dinosaur – you’re fossil fuel.

You’ve been warned.

The requisite dad joke.

You can’t beat logic.

Punctuation counts.

Just try playing Tetris …

Anything I could say is unsuitable for a family oriented site 0r even here.

What can you add to the list?

I said don’t ask me!

No comment.

Looks like he’s getting chewed out.

Depends on the frequency.

The word for February 23^rd is:
Navel /nā′vəl/: [noun]
^1.1A mark or depression in the middle of the abdomen; the umbilicus; called also belly button in humans.
^1.2 The central part or point of anything; the middle. (Gun.)
^1.3 An eye on the under side of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.
^1.4 A bruise on the top of the chine of the back of a horse, behind the saddle.
From Middle English, navel, navele, from Old English nafela, from Proto-Germanic nabalô.

New Orleans February 18th 1901

As always this post is dedicated to Cecilia, my beloved Queen of Carnival.

Today is Mardi Gras, the last day of Carnival. The festivities that began on January 6th are building to a crescendo. And as always, before the deprivations of Lent are upon us, I’m inviting my faithful reader to join me at one of major Krewe parades in New Orleans.

Founded in 1882, the Krewe of Proteus is the second-oldest krewe in Carnival history and their floats still use the original chassis from the 1880s. This year was their 65th parade but we will be going back to their 18^thprocession along St Charles Ave to Canal St on the penultimate night of Mardi Gras: February 18^th 1901.

The Picayune parade bulletin published Monday morning revealed that this year’s parade will tell the story of Al-Kyris the Magnificent. It comes from one of Marie Corelli‘s “spiritual Christian” novels, I believe it’s called Ardath:The Story of a Dead Soul. It’s something or other about a modern (19th century) poet, Theos Allywn, who goes into a trance and travels back thousands of years to an earlier civilization and the city of Al-Kyris. As always the fine gentlemen of Proteus do love the esoteric.

I was able to get us seats near the beginning of the route. That will give us time to go back to the Cosmopolitan Hotel before the multitude descends of the French Quarter. The parade starts as the sun is setting but the flambeaux carriers will make sure we see everything.

Proteus leads off the parade and with him ten Aides on horseback who act as parade marshals along the route.

He is followed by the banner car; notice that the title was so secret that Bror Anders Wikstrom didn’t include it in his drawing. The renowned designer created 20 floats and over a hundred costumes for the parade. The serpent is Nagaya the deity forshiped by the people of the magnificent but doomed city of Al-Kyris

As with most of Corelli’s novels there is a heady mixture of the the exotic, the mysterious, the sensual, the pagan, the spiritual, and Christian morality.

Theos meets Sha-Lum, the poet laureate, who serves as his spiritual double and guide through the luxurious gardens and palaces of Al-Kyris.

Sha-Lum takes him to the palace of the weak and indolent King Zephornam, who lives only for pleasure surrounded by a crowd of sycophants.

Theos meets the High Priestess Lysia, a figure of overwhelming mesmeric beauty and ruthless authority wielding a silver-headed serpent wand who both captivates and repels him with her seductive power, presiding over pagan ceremonies that blend eroticism, idolatry, and casual cruelty.

You may have noticed that one or two of the ballet “girls” are rather hefty of frame. The krewes are exclusively male so you may see the odd beard peeping out under a mask. In 1880 the Krew of Momus took as their theme A Dream of Fair Women which led society columnist Catherine Cole to wryly note: … I confess my imagination was not vivid enough to fancy ‘fair women’ in the lot of gorgeously apparelled brawny men who hid their beards and moustaches behind false faces. Adieu! It was a perfect nightmare! (Why do I think she meant to say “Mon Dieu”?)

As the prophet Kosrul predicted the city is doomed and during a New Year’s temple ceremony, an earthquake, subterranean fires, and collapsing structures annihilate the city in flames, consuming Lysia, the king, Sah-luma, and the entire civilization in divine judgment

With the destruction of Al-Kyris the land of Ardath is purified and Theos finds redemption and his dead soul is resurrected.

As always Proteus has astounded us with magical floats and I’m the ball and tableaux will be equally splendid. Fortunately we’ve been able to procure invitations to the Proteus ball and tableaux but we will have to hurry back to the hotel and change for the evening. It may take some time, you know how much difficulty I have getting my white tie just so. Quick there’s a carriage let me wave him down. Fortunately our hotel isn’t that far from the French Opera House.

The parterre of the French Opera has been turned into a ballroom for the evening and a series of tableaux vivants are performed on the stage.

We’ve come away with a few souvenirs of the the parade and a evening of tableaux and dancing. A great way to celebrate the last days of Carnival.

The costume and float images are from the exceptional Mardi Gras collection at Howard Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University and Louisiana Digital Library. And many of the nuggets of Mardi Gras history came from two of the Mardi Gras Treasures books by the doyen of Mardi Gras designers Henri Schindler.

The word for February 17^th is
Penultimate /pĭ-nŭl′tə-mĭt/: [adjective]
^1.1Next to the last
^1.2Last but one.
^1.3 Of or relating to the penult or last syllable of a word.
From Latin paenultimus, from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”).