Tuesday, January 8, 2019


Recipe for a dish from a Serbian Christmas meal:  Olivier salad, also known as Russian Salad, was originally invented at the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow in the 1860's.    http://honestcooking.com/russian-olivier-salad-recipe/

PLINY THE ELDER QUOTES  An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.  From the end spring new beginnings.  The only certainty is that nothing is certain. 

Pliny the Elder, Latin in full Gaius Plinius Secundus, (born 23 CE, Novum Comum, Transpadane Gaul [now in Italy]—died August 24, 79, Stabiae, near Mount Vesuvius), Roman savant and author of the celebrated Natural History, an encyclopaedic work of uneven accuracy that was an authority on scientific matters up to the Middle Ages.  Pliny was descended from a prosperous family, and he was enabled to complete his studies in Rome.  At the age of 23, he began a military career by serving in Germany, rising to the rank of cavalry commander.  He returned to Rome, where he possibly studied law.  Until near the end of Nero’s reign, when he became procurator in Spain, Pliny lived in semiretirement, studying and writing.  His devotion to his studies and his research technique were described by his nephew, Pliny the Younger.  Seven writings are ascribed to him, of which only the Natural History is extant.  There survive, however, a few fragments of his earlier writings on grammar, a biography of Pomponius Secundus, a history of Rome, a study of the Roman campaigns in Germany, and a book on hurling the lance.  These writings probably were lost in antiquity and have played no role in perpetuating Pliny’s fame, which rests solely on the Natural History.  Jerry Stannard  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pliny-the-Elder

Dried limes, simply pricked a few times and dropped into your cooking liquid of choice drink up broths and release a subtle acidity that, unlike acids themselves, remains bright even after hours of stewing.  As water passes through their glossy black internal chambers, they soften up and give up all the flavor of their sun-dried zest and flesh.  When it's time to serve, they can be squeezed of their final juices and neatly discarded.  Max Falkowitz  https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/spice-hunting-iranian-limu-loomi-omani-dried-limes.html


Cremation is the combustionvaporization, and oxidation of cadavers to basic chemical compounds, such as gasesashes and mineral fragments retaining the appearance of dry bone.  Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite as an alternative to the interment of an intact dead body in a coffin or casket.  Cremated remains (also known as "cremains" or simply "ashes"), which do not constitute a health risk, may be buried or interred in memorial sites or cemeteries, or they may be retained by relatives and dispersed in various ways.  Cremation dates from at least 42,000 years ago in the archaeological record, with the Mungo Lady, the remains of a partly cremated body found at Lake Mungo, Australia.  Honoretta Brooks Pratt became the first recorded cremated European individual in modern times when she died on 26 September 1769 and was illegally cremated at the burial ground on Hanover Square in London.  The organized movement to reinstate cremation as a viable method for body disposal began in the 1870s.  In 1869 the idea was presented to the Medical International Congress of Florence by Professors Coletti and Castiglioni "in the name of public health and civilization".  Read much more and see graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation

The quaint town of Livingston, Montana has attracted cowboys, ranchers, the rich and famous and artists enamored by the scenery for more than 100 years.  It's also been featured in A River Runs Through ItThe Horse Whisperer and Marlboro advertisements.  On any given day you could run into Earl Craig, Montana’s poet laureate who works as a farrier—someone who shoes horses—when not writing poetry; or John Bailey, the fly-fishing expert who coached Brad Pitt in casting for the movie A River Runs Through It.  It was Thomas McGuane, one of the many writers who lives in Paradise Valley, near where Livingston is located, who introduced Robert Redford to Norman Maclean’s story A River Runs Through It.  Redford then turned it into a feature film of the same name.  The story actually takes place in the 1920s in Missoula, with the fishing happening on the Blackfoot River, but Missoula and its river were very different by 1992 when the movie was filmed.  Explore downtown Livingston and its lively restaurants and shops, some of which have been around since the 1800s.  Still owned by the Fryer family, the Sax & Fryer Co. bookstore and stationary store opened in 1883 and is the oldest stationary store in Montana.  You’ll even get a window into the history of Yellowstone at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum (Livingston was the original gateway town to the park).  Housed in a 1907 schoolhouse, this museum contains area items from 12,000 years ago to present day and explores area and Yellowstone history.  Read more and see pictures at https://www.yellowstonepark.com/road-trips/livingston-montana

Author:  Lindgren, Astrid  Book:  Pippi Longstocking   There were good sandwiches with meatballs and ham, a whole pile of sugared pancakes, several little brown sausages, and three pineapple puddings.  For, you see, Pippi had learned cooking from the cook on her father’s ship.  (Lindgren 55)  Find recipes for Pippi's Pancakes (Pannkakor) based on Marianne Grönwall van der Tuuk’s recipe from Best of Swedish Cooking and Baking at https://36eggs.com/2018/02/17/pippis-pancakes/ and Pippi’s Pineapple Pudding based on the Pineapple Cream recipe from Inga Norberg’s Good Food from Sweden at https://36eggs.com/2018/02/17/pippis-pineapple-puddings/

Ferrari is patronymic or plural form of the last name Ferraro, an occupational surname from the Italian word ferraro, meaning "blacksmith"--originally derived from the Latin ferrum meaning "iron."  Ferrari is basically the Italian equivalent of the English surname SMITH.  Ferrari is the third most common surname in Italy.  Alternate Surname Spellings:  FERARI, FERARRI, FERRERO, FIERRO, FARRAR, FERRARA, FARRAH, PHARRO

Toponyms  badminton — after Badminton in Gloucestershire, England, Labyrinth, maze, after a legendary structure on Crete, Left Bank, style of life, fashion, or "look" — "Left Bank", left bank of the Seine (facing downstream) in Paris, Magenta, colour — named after Magenta, Lombardy, Marathon, long race — Marathon, Greece, town, Madras, lightweight cotton fabic — Madras, old name for Chennai, coastal city in southeastern India, Manila envelopes, Manila fiber — Manila, city in Philippines  Mausoleum, a large and impressive tomb — Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Turkey, meander, a bend in a river — Meander, a river in Turkey, Muslin, a lightweight fabric — Mosul, Iraq, Ottoman (furniture), a type of stool — after the Ottoman Empire, Paisley (design), used in shawls — Paisley, Scotland  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_words_derived_from_toponyms  The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos (τόπος) "place" and ónoma (ὄνομα) "name".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymy

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com   January 8, 2019  Issue 2018 

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