The letters of our thoughts are the ideas present in our mind before they come to realization . . . Thoughts that are, yet not felt . . . The words of the subconscious . . . of the soul . . .

These are the LETTERS OF MY THOUGHTS.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Basement Spaghetti





Last week I was seriously starving . . . After deciding that my ever diminishing bank-account would not be turned to as a source of food, I decided to actually make something to eat. In the past, during those
trying days in Warsaw and Vilna, when normal food was scarce and dinner tended to be buleczki and potatoes, I would often make food. Now, however, ingredients cost money (as opposed to raiding the kitchen) and so my cooking has been rather limited.

Driven by hunger, though, I managed to find enough random ingridiants to make a lunch: Tell me what you think.
  • Spaghetti -brought to a boil in water and cooked until Al Dante
The sauce:

  • Olives (from my roommate)
  • Unger's cut Sweet Peppers (left unopened from the Amazing Yankel's B'day farbrengen)
  • Olive oil (No it wasn't left over from Chanukah . . . I hope)
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder (As I've mentioned in the past, in 712 we never seem to be able to buy enough of it)
  • Oregano (Don't move into a Crown Heights Basement with out it)
  • Ketchup (Probably the universal condiment)
  • Skhug (Normally used to spice up chumus, schnitzel or cold cuts -but it works)
  • Soave Wine (2003 vintage -bought as a 'fancy' wine from Ebers . . . it aint)
  • Fresh Lemon Juice (My roommates have the bottled stuff, but I find it gross . . . only use the freshly squeezed)
  • Basil

As usual some facts to chew on while eating -care of Wikipedia:

  • The source of the word Skhug is the Arabic سحق (Skhuk) and is a cognate of the Hebrew word שחיקה (to grind)
  • In many midwestern regions of the United States the Sweet Bell Pepper is commonly called a mango.
  • green olive and black olive are from the same plant; green olives are pickled before being ripened, black olives after.
  • The health effects of wine (and alcohol in general) are the
    subject of considerable ongoing study. In the United States, a boom in
    red wine consumption was initiated in the 1990s . . . by news reports
    on the French paradox. The French paradox refers to the comparatively
    lower incidence of coronary heart disease in France despite high levels
    of saturated fat in the traditional French diet. Epidemiologists
    suspect that this difference is due to the high consumption of wines by
    the French, but the scientific evidence for this theory is currently
    limited.
  • Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which
    is a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine". The word
    spaghetti can be literally translated as "little strings".
  • There are many rituals and beliefs associated with basil. The French call basil "l'herbe royale". Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting.
  • Heinz tomato ketchup was [originaly] advertised: "Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!"


Technorati Tags: , , ,

7 comments:

Nemo said...

Why the wine?

Mottel said...

and here I thought you had class . . . Wine (though optimally red wine) is good for cooking!

Nemo said...

Yeah, I do have class ... I wouldn't put wine with ketchup and garlic powder.

Mottel said...

I use those ingredients for what they are - garlic, tomatoes etc. - and the taste they impart once cooked, not for how they are as is (low class). Trust me, I don't like ketchup, I stay far away from it, and don't like the taste, and would never, ever, ever put it as is on pasta -yuck. However, when added to an ingredient to and cooked in oil with spices and other ingredients it works try it.

Anonymous said...

BSD

Only the ketchup is a bit off putting. Only thing I ever used that stuff for, even in Russia and Ukraine, is to mix with mayonnaise to make salad dressing.

Nice info on the etymologies of schug and spaghetti.

Ketchup: originally spelled catsup; an Indonesian euphemism for animal waste, which is also used to describe shoddy merchandise. Bekitzur - dreck!

Mottel said...

I wish you people would trust me that while Ketchup is gross (which I agree 150%) it doesn't give any ketchupy taste to the sauce whatsoever

Nemo said...

Um, ketchup is good on burgers.