Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-06-06, Page 6TABLE TALKS ciarwAndrews. So you don't know a thing about herbs. You know violets, don't you? -and nasturtiums and holly- hOeks? And you certainly don't need an introduction to onions and celery. These are all herbs, An herb Is any plant whose stem dies en- tirely down to the ground each year, as contrasted with shrubs and trees. In fact,, the distinc- tion we commonly make today between herbs and vegetables, or between herbs and flowers, is a development of only the past 200 years or so. To most of us, however, herbs mean that relatively small group of fragrant plants which, fresh or dried, add delicious flavors to food. Whether a person waxes rhap- sodic at the pinch of a bit of thyme, or is inclined to declaim defiantly, "I want just good, plain food, no herbs!" seems to depend largely on the food hab- its of the family he grew up in. We often choose the familiar in food, even if it's dull, and thus deprive ourselves of pleasing dishes. If you have a family which would consider pork chops rather flat without sage — and yet won't try sage on veal be- cause it's new to them — go slowly and tactfully along the road of introducing them to herbs. Educating others to ac- cept new food flavors isn't al- ways easy, and the wise cook never forgets that there should always be room for individual preferences in food just as in everything else. A judicious use of herbs can accomplish won- ders, however, adding variety to menus and making even the most economical dishes not only palatable but delightful. The trick is not to use too much. It can't be said too often that a very light touch is neces- sary in using herbs. Any of these seasonings should simply bring out the full flavor of the food, and should never stand out prominently enough to be recog- nized as any specific herb. Think of thyme as•you do salt and pepper, if you will: just the right amount makes a dish, whereas too much may ruin it. And it's a good idea not to wear out your family by putting herbs in everything, perhaps arousing resistance that will be hard to overcome. Herbs, like spices, go back to the earliest history of mankind, and the oldest books reveal that wherever gardens have been tended, someone has loved their serrated, gray - green leaves. Tidy, tiny herb gardens have graced England for generations, and set the pattern for herb cul- ture in the early American col - DADDY -OH — Lawyer Joseph H. Welch receives congratulations after being .named "Father of the Year" by the National Fa- ther's Day committee. onies. Yet 20 years ago, there were practically no herbs avail- able in the United States which had not been imported from overseas. Probably a good measure of today's enthusiasm for growing and using herbs derives its im- petus from an organization which had modest beginnings in Bos- ton, Mass., a little over 20 years ago — the Herb Society of Am- erica. Its seven original mem- bers have seen their organiza- tion expand not only across all of the United States but in other countries as well. Thanks in part to their early efforts, library shelves now carry an astonish- ing number of excellent books on herbs — their history, horti- culture, marketing, and use. Although you can easily grow your own — even in a window box, the dried herbs which can be found in such profusion in most grocery stores are the most convenient for many of us. Just remember to notice whether a recipe calls for fresh or dried herbs, and use this guide: a half teaspoonful of dried herbs is about equal to a tablespoon- ful of fresh or green herbs for flavor. HERB SOUP 3 tablespoons butter 1 head garden lettuce shredded 1 small bunch watercress cut fine 1 teaspoon chopped chervil (fresh) 6 cups chicken or other stock cup cream 1 egg yolk Salt and pepper to taste Cook lettuce and cress in the butter for five minutes, being careful not to let them brown. Add stock and chervil, pepper, and salt. Cook 1/2 hour, then add cream mixed with egg yolk. Stir until heated but do not boil. rt* * New potatoes don't need em- bellishment, but they can stand variety. Try this herb butter sometime. HERB BUTTER 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 teaspoon crumbled basil leaves 1/ teaspoon caraway seed 1/ teaspoon dry mustard or onion powder Melt butter and add seasonings. Pour over cooked new potatoes. * * Even the familiar hamburger, good as it is with just salt and pepper, can have a new dress occasionally. MEAT BALLS 2 pounds ground beef 3 eggs 5 slices bread 2 tablespoons milk 1,4 teaspoons marjoram oregano 3 teaspoons parsley 1 cup finely cut chives 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon salt 14 teaspoon pepper Butter Break eggs into the milk, crumble and soak the bread; add beef, herbs, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Roll into balls about the size of golf balls. Preheat a heavy iron skillet, add but- ter for frying. When fat sizzles, nearly cover the bottom of the pan with meat balls. Do not crowd. Saute over a hot fire, shaking the pan and touching lightly now and then with a fork so that the meat balls keep turning. Fry until meat balls are brown. * * * HERB TIPS Add dried herbs to soups and stews during the last hour of cooking, and if you don't want to see the little herb specks- in the liquid, make cheesecloth bags for them. Don't use the bag but MONKEY BUSINESS -- Hamming it up for his shutter -bugging cell -mate is Julius, left, a monkey at the Detroit Zoo. Tartan, the photog, meanwhile, displays good form but poor aim. After the charm of the camera wore off, Julius and Tarzon went through acrobatics on the chromium bar of the tripod. KO'ED FOR LOVE SCENES — Two -ton Tony Galento, barrel -bellied former heavyweight boxer, is mugging for the movies now. Starring in "The Best Things in Life Are Free," Tony, who also claims to be a lover at heart, plays it up with co-star Roxanne Arlen. Tony says "Lovin' I can do all the time, but my face don't call for it." once, and remember that long cooking of herbs tends to make them bitter. Add a pinch of savory or thyme to canned soups while they are heating. Add 1 teaspoon of rosemary to your regular recipe for bak- ing powder biscuits, and you have rosemary biscuits, Aux fines herbes means finely chopped fresh or dried herbs that are added directly to the food a n d remain scattered through the finished dish. They are used most often with egg and cheese dishes. If added to melted butter before an omlet goes into the pan, they will give a more lasting flavor. "Treasure" Only Cannon Bails Four American frogmen are diving daily into the waters of Vigo Bay, in north-west Spain, in search of sunken treasure estimated to be worth more than $75,000,000. Hot water pumped down to them through plastic tubes is helping the frogmen to fight off the numbing cold as they probe thick layers of mud to locate the greatest single treasure known to exist in any one place in the world — that of the Spanish Plate fleet which was attacked and sunk by the Bri- tish Navy in 1702. It is known that the seven- teen galleons were carrying at least 3,400 tons of precious metals from the mines of Peru and Mexico when they reached Vigo Bay. Hundreds of tons of thick mud have silted down on to the wrecks through the cen- turies, so the task of salvage is formidable. Five-foot suction tubes are being used to open a shaft through the mud. If the trea- sure is raised, it will go to the Spanish government, but the leaders of the salvage expedi- tion, Mr. J. S. Potter, a 31 - year -old Harvard graduate, and his comrades, will receive an agreed proportion of the amount realized by the sale. At least fifty previous at- tempts to raise the treasure have failed. The first recorded at- tempt was by an Englishman, Mr. W. S. Brown, in 1825. Only a few guns, some ammunition and a box of coins were raised during those early attempts. Later, another Englishman, using a new kind of diving ap- paratus, reached one of the sunken wrecks and raised some silver plates to the surface. Later a Scotsman brought up quantities of doublooms and golden ingots under the watch- ful eyes of the Spanish trea- sury. He made a fortune and sailed home to Scotland where he built a great mansion and lived in luxury for the rest of his life. The present American expe- dition had so far brought only pieces of charred wood and six rusty cannon balls to the sur- face. The charred wood tallies with contemporary reports that some of the galleons were on fire when they sank. Ever wonder how the word 'Idol. tar" came into being? It originated some four hundred years ago in the Saint Joachim Valley in Ro• hernia, Central Europe. A huge silver coin was minted, and wad known as the Joachimthaler. Later this was shortened to Thaler and then to Miler, Early settlera brought the term to America, and It gradually worked its way Into general usage,but the spelling changed until it became Dollar. CAPS ARE SET — Fashion sets her cap for summer with an "Ivy League" sports model in striped madras, top, and a French -inspired sailor beret, bot- tom, of white pique set off with a red pompom. Conscience Fund The Treasury has a file known as the Conscience Fund, a huge folder labeled: 'Monies and Let- ters received from Persons Un- known." The fund had its be- ginning in 1812 when a letter addressed to the Treasury con- tained a five -dollar bill and a statement that the sender had once cheated the government government and wished to make. restitution. Since then the Fund has grown to over a million dol- lars. Some of the letters are touching, and some are amusing: "Please accept this dollar from a poor widow who has received gifts from a gentleman who works for the government. I don't say he would take any- thing he shouldn't, but to re- lieve my ebnscience, I am send- ing what I can spare." Num- bers of them are trivial: "Here- with I send you a stamp for duty on a cake of soap I bought in Buffalo from a Canadian " One man used a three -cent stamp which the Post Office had neglected to cancel, and wrote that he couldn't sleep nights until he paid - for it.. Servicemen and women, tempt- ed by easy access to govern- ment property, often send pay- ment for articles they have taken. One boy sent two dollars "for pies snitched while on kitchen police duty." Most of the contributions are small, but Occasionally a big one comes through. A man from Philadel- phia sent $30,000, explaining that he had "stoled" $16,000 from Uncle Sam — the interest would square things, he said. The most astonishing contri- bution ever received was a check for, a million dollars from Russian -born James Picker, founder of X-ray coporations, who loves his adopted land and refuses to make money do- ing business with the United. States Army. Mr. Picker sent his first million-dnllat' rheok to the Treasury in 1942 and has sent several more since•. Ttte checks total, I think, neem) five million dn11ars—Frrn'n "TV10- ington Holiday," by Eleanor Early. "Stepping On Gas" Is Worst Culprit The Travelers Insurance Com- pany has issued its latest annual analysis of street and highway ae- cident data, An analysis of this analysis points " an accusing finger in the true cool, inexorable, statis- tical manner at the major culprit. Is it the weather? No; 84,7 per cent of the fatal and 81.3 of the nonfatal accidents in 1955 occur- red in dry weather, 78.6 per cent and 72.5, respectively, on dry roads. Is it negotiation of curves or skidding, perhaps? No; cars driv- ing on straightaways accounted for 78.4 per cent of persons killed, 64.6 per of those injured. Is it the mechanically defective vehicle? No ; 96.3 per cent of the vehicles involved in fatal and 27.3 in nonfatal accidents were in ap- parently good condition.. Is it inexperience on the part of the driver? No; well over 97 per cent of drivers 'involved in ac- cidents causing death or injury had been operating cars for a year or more. - Is it "those tremendous trucks and busses"? No! they may make drivers of smaller cars "jittery" as they roar by, but the giants them- selves are involved in less than 12 percent of personal-injury accid- ents. Is it the passenger -car driver? Yes — at least one variety of him. To attempt a composite: He Is probably exceeding the speed limit (in over 40 per cent of fatal and nonfatal accidents), and possibly driving an the wrong side of the road (in 12 per cent). And it is not unlikely that he is under 25 years old. (Persons 18-24, compris- ing only one -ninth of those likely to be driving cars, were involved in 27.1 per cent of the fatal accid- ents. And their record is getting worse.) ` Mr. James du Pout, of the Dela- ware Safety Council, recently told the President's Committee on Traf- fic Safety that Americans are play- ing "Russian roulette . . . We sometimes go the reckless Russians one better by placing two death - dealing cartridges in the chamber of our gun — alcohol and poor judgment. Then we pull the trig- ger — only we call it 'stepping on the gas'!"—From The Christian Science Monitor. The Green -Eyed Monster A Sport Story By MARSHA MORE Have you ever noticed how jeal- ousy — the green-eyed monster, as Shakespeare so aptly calls it — seems to strike the most unlikely people? Take Rosalie, for instance. If anyone had told me she could possibly be jealous of Lillian, I would have laughed at the idea. Rosalie and Lillian had been friends from kindergarten days, though they are quite unlike each other. Lil is a clever girl and very sweet. Roz, though, is the most beautiful girl in the class, When it was decided we would put on The Sleeping Be tuty as our school play, it was inevitable that Rosalie would be the "Beauty" — and just as inevitable that Lillian would give a wonderful performance as the Witch The girls were good friends until Lillian's outstanding scholarship began to be recognized, and she won a few prizes. Shortly after this, some very nasty stories began going around about her, but no- body seemed to know who was putting them about. Lillian was really upset about this whispering campaign, and she talked to Rosalie about it. One day, in the course of conversation,Ros- alie macre a remark that suddenly opened Lillian's eyes, and with a shock she realized that Roz might be, the guilty party. Perplexed and bewildered, she told me about it. "But why?" I asked in astonish- ment. "Why should Rosalie do this to you?" "I don't know," said Lillian, "and I just don't know what to do about It either, T would like to get the advice of our Biblo Class lead- er, Mrs. Black, She is very under- standing, maybe she eau tell me what to do." Mrs. Black listened carefully to the whole story, then she said, sadly, "Poor Rosalie!" "Poor Rosalie, indeed'." exclaim- ed Lillian. "What about poor me?" "Rosalie is far More unhappy than you are," said Mrs, Black. "The green - eyed monster, Jeal» ousy, has her in his clutct<les, and unless she learns how to get rid of him, she will lead a very ,miserable life. She has so much in the way of personal beauty and accomplsh- ments, yet, incredible as it seems, she has become so jealous of you that she has even lied about yon, and nn so doing she has destroyed her own happiness." This proved to be all too true. Rosalie admitted the whole thing when Mrs. Black talked to her. She had been very unhappy about it, and she asked Lillian to forgive her and remain friends with her. I suppose we all may feel a little twinge of jealousy or envy some- times. In an odd sort of way we forget how much we have our- selves, and begin to get resentful when it seems that others may have more than we have. Yet, how fool- ish that kind of thinking really Is. Imagine how stupid it would be if a beautful red rose envied a lovely pure white lily ! There is just no basis of comparison, yet the one is no less beautiful or important thanthe other, Or look at a beauti- ful flashing diamond, and then glance at the soft irridescent sheen of a lovely pearl. Which is more beautiful? Who can answer that question? So it is all through life. The gifts of beauty and cleverness are not equally bestowed, it is true, yet there is a strange basic quality in the amount of happiness that coupes into our lives. If we start to envy those who seem to have more.,thau ourselves, we shall never enjoy the gifts that we have. Discontent and malice bring nothing but unhappi- ness, and an envious person will al- ways find something to envy and nothing at all to love. As the gentle Apostle James tells us, "Where envying and strife is, there is con- fusion and ,every evil work." Jealousy is the most cruel of all temptations. Because of jealousy Cain killed his brother Abel, and jealousy is the root because of a great many crimes today. We must be on guard against it all the time, or it will surely destroy us. To give the whole quotation from Shakes- peare, "0, beware of jealousy; it is the green - eyed monster which doth the meat it feeds on." Two years ago a pair of minor league hockey teams in Northern Ontario were battling out a hotly contested game. Midway through the second period one. of the goalies batted away a shot -for 'goal. The • puck skidded down the ice right into the opposing team's net. Upon the resumption of play, the other goalies made a similar save, Where upon the puck repeated the luau oeuvre, trickling down the ice and into the opposite net. This is prob. ably the only occasion in bockej where two opposing goalies seorec' for their respective teams. SALLY'S SALLIES "When do you think you'll rate another chair for your executive' secretary?" GRADUATION DAY - Graduation ceremonies in Fort Scott, find the distaff side of the Witcher family in cap and gown, Barbara left, is a senior at the local high school; Joan, center, graduates( f om junior college, and Mrs. Ruth Witcher,, a first -grade teacher in town, get her Bachelor of Science degree in education.