Text 12682, 146 rader
Skriven 2008-08-25 11:50:00 av Michael Loo (1:18/200.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Dave Drum
Ärende: teef 821
================
DD> I still don't approve of a lot of the things that AARP is doing
DD> - but, the discounts and deals are pretty nice.

I haven't found a discount that would compel me to join.
The air ones I can beat, the hotel ones seem very similar
to the Internet prepay rates. And when AARP got rid of the
life membership (beancounters no doubt having noticed that
people were living longer), that really irritated me.

DD> I think you will find that the "prominent one" is not growing.

The one that fell out was pretty long, somewhat longer than a
normal tooth root; but of course it could have always been long.

DD> It is descending from the gum in its quest to escape your mouth.

I wonder why that would be. My breath isn't all that bad, and
neither is my venom.

DD> I might suggest that you take U$50 and short circuit the natural
DD> progress of that tooth.

I could have it done for free by Boston University dental students,
but I'll wait. Its neighbor, after all, left a year ago, and I can
handle that level of pain, with the aid of a bottle of whisky. In
2010 a trip to Thailand is in order to have an upper put in.

Nostradamus Cherry Jelly
cat: text only, fxcuisine, historic, celebrity, preserves
yield: 1 text

For [his] 200th article, [FX] made cherry jelly from the
recipe Nostradamus himself published in 1555.

Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566) is better known as
Nostradamus, the man whose prophecies are still quoted
everytime a plane goes down or a tall building blows up.
While his prophecies do not always hold water, Nostradamus
was real enough. I visited his birth house in the gorgeous
town of St-Remy de Provence. They even have a plaque for him.

Most people don't know that Nostradamus' first book was not
about the future but spoke of the secrets of making jams and
jellies. His "EXCELLENT & USEFUL Treatise to all Needed who
want Knowledge of Several Exquisite Recipes ... Newly
Composed by Master Michel de Nostredame, Doctor of Medicine
in the city of Salon de Craux en Provence" was published in
1555. As he explains in the introduction, the book is
intended "...to satisfy the Will and Affection of several
Nice Characters, even of the Female Sex, who are greedy of
knowing and understanding novel things".

No surprise that a man curious of all things born in Provence
would become interested in jams. After all, the confectionery
industry is big in Provence. With all this sun, it is no
mystery. like a soldier in the Swiss army, the fruit grower
must wait until he is in a hurry, then hurry only to wait
some more. The fruit production takes a whole year of patient
care to plan and organize, then suddendly all trees in the
orchard crumble under tons of ripe fruits - all at the same
time. With no cold storage, what can you do with that much
fruit? They are bound to rot in a few days. There are a few
solutions - not all tasty. Dry the fruits in the sun. Ferment
and distill them. Or boil them in sugar to store in little
jars to be opened when the sun will be no more.

I've been meaning to make this recipe for a year now, and
finally did it last week for my 200th article on FXcuisine.com.
In his book, Nostradamus gives two recipes for Jelly of Cherry
"To do Jelly of Cherryes that is so Clear & Vermillion like a
fine Rubey, & of Goodness, Taste & Virtue Excellent, that the
Cherryes will Preserve Long in Perfection without adding
anything but the Fruit: & will be fit to present to a King
for their Supreme Excellence." I used the second recipe
called "Another Way to make Jelly of Cherryes, that is more
Delicate than the First but it is more Dear & is for Great
Lords." My translation of the French text tries to honor
the flowery Old French original. It draws a couple expressions
from the first recipe but the procedure is exactly as
Nostradamus said. Use 1 lb sugar for 4 lb stemmed cherries.
You can read the full text in old French, pages 154-155,
156-157, 158-159 and 160-161.

I will now follow the master's instructions.

"Take Cherryes the most Beautiful & most Rype that can be
found, in the quantity you wish, and remove the Foot [...]
if the Cherryes are not Rype, that they are Green even a
Bit, they will be so Sour that they will cause Stupefaction
to your Teeth.

"Take Sugar that is Nice & put it in coarse Powder & place
in a Pan & it should have weight of two Pounds, & take
Cherryes that you have removed the Foot, the Weight of
Six or Seven Pounds, and Grate and Rub them Coarseley
with Clean Hands.

"Place in the Pan where the Sugar is and Place on the Fire to
Boil until Half, moving with a clean Stick and when they have
so Boiled you will Pour them through a Clean and Tight Cloth
and Press them. When all has been well pressed and that only
the Bones & Bark remains, take what will have come out & will
Boil it in another Pan on low fire Watching all the Time if
it is Cooked : because it will Reduce much & taking Always
with the Paddle or Silver Spoon to see if it is Cookes.

"Keep away from giving it too much fire as it would go over
or burn itself: as it is better for the Jelly to be a little
Green than too Cooked: because when Stored its Sugar makes
it Dry.

"When you will see that it is Cooked, that is a drop put on
Marble, the drop remains tight and Round without Falling
neither here nore there, or placed on a piece of tin or on
a Knife or Glass the drop will be as Vermillion as a perfect
Claret Wine.

"When it is Cooked you will put it in little Jars of Glass
or Wood like you would Quince Jelly. And when your Jelly
will be Colde and Tight, you will have a Mode and Type of
Jelly that you can't have Better Jelly of Cherryes, nor
more Excellent in Beauty and Goodness; You will place it in
Glass Jars not too Deep: & leave it cool down, and if
afterwards you look through the Sun's light you will find
it as Beautiful as a Ruby. You have to show or give to some
great Prince or high Lord when they will be angry with the
Heat or otherwise altered they will find the Jam hearty &
Delicious & Without Defects. And if you do it like I have
put on Paper, undoubtedly you will do a Jelly in all
Perfection."

Nostradamus is a man of his word when he says that this jam
is fit for a king. Out of a full kilogram (2 pounds) of the
finest Swiss cherries, I managed to produce half a cup of
cherry jelly. There is something magical in managing to
capture and preserve the essence of a fruit, to retain its
color and flavor for admiration during the winter months.
You can try his recipe too, not much has changed in the
world of proper home jam-making since Nostradamus' time.

http://FXcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=200

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30

--- Maximus/2 3.01
 * Origin: Nocturnal State BBS (1:18/200)