Aug 15 2023 - Condiments

My post yesterday is still in the queue so I'm sending it today, and like the topic of condiments it has been fine sitting the shelf. I had thought that condiments was to preserve foods so that they could last. But that's not the case. Here’s a great American-style question:  What was ketchup before it was a condiment?   "... food experts and scholars believe that the origin of ketchup can be traced back to China wherein it was known as Ge-thcup or Koe-cheup, which was basically a fish sauce. This fermented sauce was made from fish innards and soybeans, this sauce was salty and had a pungent smell. By 1736 sauce had some more twists in the recipe, it was made by boiling two quarts of stale beer and half a pound of anchovies, which was fermented and later relished as sauce. Then this recipe went through further changes when sailors took this recipe to England wherein it went through several experiments. It was finally in 1812, when an American named James Mease created a version of tomato based ketchup. It was believed that tomato was an aphrodisiac food as it was known as love apple, this recipe too had traces of alcohol." I could never predict this sort of thing - that ketchup started as a fish sauce.  At the same time I wonder about the evolution of condiments because we keep them in the fridge now.  I think that’s about modern processed food. Maple syrup - refrigerate or risk mould Maoyonnaise - refrigerate or die - think the potato salad at the picnic Nut-based oil - refrigerate or rancid Ketchup - up for debate Mustard - refrigerate blends such as dijon and horesradish The question of condiment vs ingredient is defined this way:  if the same element is used at the table after the dish has been served, for flavour, aroma, colour or as a texture improving purpose, it becomes a condiment. It is not a condiment if you can eat it on its own - so don’t ruin things by eating ketchup in a soup bowl for lunch.   Here are some tomato-coloured Echinaceas that I found in the archives.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Aug 13 2023 - Hip Hops Birthday

 

o we have the inception dates of music styles/genres generally?   We can tell you the rock and roll era emerged in the U.S. in the early to mid-1950s.  Wikipedia says:  "In 1951, Cleveland-based disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style while popularizing the term "rock and roll" on mainstream radio."  And Jazz?  While one article says late 19th to early 20th centuries, another says 1819 in Congo Square in New Orleans where slaves gathered on Sundays. Hip Hop has an actual birth date:  "On August 11, 1973, Clive and Cindy Campbell threw a party in their apartment building in the Bronx, New York. DJ Kool Herc's beats that evening marked the birth of hip-hop. In 1973, the Bronx in New York City was one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the United States."  And the actual address is known too:  1520 Sedgwick Avenue. And it is a big news story.  From Wikipedia:  "It has also been argued that rap music formed as a "cultural response to historic oppression and racism, a system for communication among black communities throughout the United States". This is due to the fact that hip hop culture reflected the social, economic, and political realities of the disenfranchised youth."  So hip hop is important socially.  Snd there are lots of hip hop jokes -    I will never give Hip Hop to my friends for Christmas again... Every time they open their presents, they immediately trash the 'rappers! Albert Einstein was a musician throughout his life. He had a phase where he experimented with hip hop. His rapper name was MC squared What do frogs and rabbits have in common? They both like hip hop. I am in a watercolour class and this was the topic a few weeks ago.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Aug 21 2021 - The Least Religious Countries

 

Cartoons came to my mind and  I wondered what the most popular cartoon might be.  But I find I am far out of date on this topic. Perhaps I was distracting myself from the events in Afghanistan. I also wonder about religious nations compared to non-religious nations.  Clearly Afghanistan is turning a big corner towards a "religious" nation, a religious rule nation.  My sense is that this is very worrisome for Canadians, so I went looking to find out about our sense of religion and religious rule.  Who would you guess to be the least religious country in the world? The answer is China, but look who is second, Japan.  Here are the numbers in the article covering this topic in worldpopulationreview.com when they asked residents whether they "feel" religious.    China (7% feel religious) Japan (13% feel religious) Estonia (16% feel religious) Sweden (19% feel religious) Norway (21% feel religious) Czech Republic (23% feel religious) Hong Kong (26% feel religious) Netherlands (26% feel religious) Israel (30% feel religious) United Kingdom (30% feel religious) Can you imagine only 30% of Israelis feel religious.  The article then distinguishes public perception on which country is the least religious.  We Canadians find ourselves in the top 10:  Australia Sweden Germany the Netherlands New Zealand Luxembourg Denmark Canada France Austria But alas, just as we see some interesting data, the article ends there.  There's no follow-on article or analysis on how this plays out in governments and societies.  There's likely a book coming out soon... A nice image from the past - pretty Echinacea, a great summer bloomer.

Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Diamond Time

Michael's sent me its first Fall Decor email.  We did not get out of the first week of August for the Back to School and Fall promotions. For some reason I wondered about the biggest diamond and what it is. The biggest diamond in the world is the Cullinan diamond - it is 3,106 carats and 1.3 pounds.  It was found in 1905 in the Premier Mine (now Cullinan Diamond Mine) in Pretoria South Africa by Thomas Evan Powell.  Today it is located in London and is on the head of England's royal Sceptre.  It is in the picture of Queen Elizabeth at her coronation.  You saw that a few days ago. This largest diamond became nine major stones and 96 smaller diamonds that were cut from it.  The Lesser Star of Africa is known as Cullinan II is part of the British crown jewels' Imperial State Crown.  These precious stones live in the Tower of London.  You can find out about Cullinan Mine diamonds - there are eight legends - HERE.  One of those stones is the Taylor-Burton Diamond given by Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor for her 40th birthday. The top 10 diamonds in the world are listed in this article HERE. The Cullinan shows up as number 3 worth 337 million euros.  At position 2 is The Sancy - considered priceless in that the diamond is so rare and expensive that an exact value is not known, and finally Koh-i-Noor - the finest white diamond discovered in 1294.  It means "mountain of light" in Persian and was 'confiscated' by the British East India Company and now the property of the British Crown.  The possible value is over 1 billion euro - that's almost 1.5 billion Canadian dollars. De Beers began a marketing campaign in 1938 that caused the diamond engagement ring craze. So diamonds have been popular ever since. The most diamonds set into one ring?  It would be 7,777 in India on May 7, 2019. It is the "Lotus Ring".  How about the biggest bling ever:  a $500,000 watch with 15,000 diamonds.  That's another Guinness record. In 2018, a Coca-Cola bottle-shaped handbag was covered with 9,888 diamonds.  It has the record for most diamonds set on a handbag.  And there is a Gibson guitar with 11,441 diamonds.  There are pages and pages of diamond jokes.  Here's an excellent example: A lady enters a jeweller's and says "You sold my husband a diamond ring yesterday but it's the wrong size". "No problem madam, we can adjust the finger size easily". "Oh, you don't understand, you sold him a one carat size, and I take a five carat size".

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Ermine for Sure

I had a dream last night and in it Queen Elizabeth II appeared in her Royal Robes.  In particular, I wondered about ermine and its white coat. Ermines are a type of weasel with white fur and a black-tipped tail - that's their winter coat.  The black-tipped tail takes on great meaning in heraldry. The Queen's coronation robes featured precious materials including: silk, mantua, satin, damask, sarsnet, cloth-of-gold and ermine. Needlework is of the finest detail.  An encyclopaedic knowledge of the symbolism and history of previous coronations ensures that the coronation robe embraces modernity whilst paying respectful homage to centuries of tradition. This comes from the website that supplies these special robes to Sovereigns, Peers, and others since 1689.   Ede & Ravenscroft says the tradition has barely changed in 1,000 years.  "Ede & Ravenscroft is proud to hold all three Royal Warrants, an honour shared by only a small number of other companies.  We are currently appointed as robe makers and tailors to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and robe makers for both His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales." Isn't this the most beautiful photo from their website?   And what transpires from all this pomp and circumstance?  It becomes the source of satire with Blackadder and his Ermine coat in the episode "Dish and Dishonesty". Here's the summary:  "Blackadder purchases an expensive robe which he believes to be made of ermine fur. Then, however, he discovers a feline's collar decorating the coat which is inscribed with the words "If found, please return to Emma Hamilton, Marine Parade, Portsmouth".  Infuriated, Blackadder announces that he is going to a costume party dressed as "Lady Hamilton's pussy!" Our flower of the day is Echinacea, with the common name Coneflower.  This one was at Cole's Garden Centre.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Found at Lost Horizons

Lost Horizons is located near Acton Ontario and is an extraordinary nursery.  It also contains display gardens designed by owner and collector Larry Davidson.  For those who are looking for a garden boost in August, there is a wide variety of plant materials and types of plants for sale.  These will appeal to the specialist collector and to the average gardener alike. There is lots to choose from and the plants are in excellent condition.  

Here's a flower portrait of Echinaceas for sale at the entrance benches.