WIAW 113 – Word Choice

So, we continue to continue as things have been…

The weather is jumping around, and as soon as we opened the window with the stiff hinges and stubborn latch, and put away the comforter, it turned chilly. Perfectly normal weather for April – but we haven’t been doing normal seasonal weather, so it feels odd.  (And the weather changes are beating me up, as usual – tough on migraneurs.) I’m still obsessing about the phone and its camera, and Instagram, and OMG is Snapchat next? Or Facebook videos?? Have you seen what they can do there now? Am I going to have to make a video of zucchini cutting? (Which might actually be quite useful. Hmm. Have to think about that.)

I’m taking pictures on my morning walk – how on earth does anyone take pictures in sunlight? I can’t see a thing… But the flowers are pretty, even if a tad out of focus… and past their prime. I took this Sunday, when it was actually sunny, and I went over to the park (and bought fish at Greenmarket.)

Tuesday was – not sunny. Rich was gone all day, thunderstorms and migraines threatened all day (though neither actually happened, here) and I was trying to finish something while I had some brain…

Breakfast was the bean and egg tacos. I think I have mastered beans in the pressure cooker. Or not… but I think the problem was that these particular beans had been sitting around a bit too long… They eventually cooked soft enough to use (I now prioritize using up the rest of that package) and I made a big batch of mashed refried beans, to make sure they’re all really fully cooked. And I stirred in a dollop of that chili sauce I made for the enchiladas last week – that was good… So I had some of that, and some scrambled eggs.

I really had a working lunch – instead of stopping, sitting at the table, and eating like a civilized person (which I should really do more regularly) I just grabbed rice cakes and things to put on them, while I powered through. I seem to have only gotten the one picture – that’s a bean spread I made with chickpeas and parsley cubes from the freezer.

So – terminology. There are generic terms for a type of food – stew – and specific terms for a certain subset – beef stew, or, even more precisely, boeuf Bourguignon. And if I use the last, you have a pretty good idea what I mean… and it’s not chicken a la king.

But I’ve noticed that some phrases that mean a specific food are being used to indicate the broader category. Any stew with beans in it is called chili, any flatbread with food on it is pizza, any bean spread is hummus… But those foods have very specific meanings in my mind (none of which involve pineapple…) Which is not to say that a variation using this technique with that food is not a fabulous idea – but it’s a different idea. I’ve also noticed that this is most common for foods like bean spreads where the idea itself is new to many people – so you call it hummus to give it a hook to hang on (as my father used to say.) But…

I’ve made bean spreads for years. I have made hummus – chick peas, tahini, maybe garlic, very eastern Mediterranean…  but I’ve also made them with, for instance, scapes, and spinach, and eggplant (and I admit, called them hummus, because that’s what people would look for.) I want to branch out – both write about other kinds I’ve made before, and make new ones (black bean spread, anyone?) But… I’m going to have to deal with the terminology issue.

Back to what I was actually talking about – this was a delicious spread, I’m going to make it again. And try other herbs in other spreads. I had a couple of rice cakes with it, one with cheese, and a big glass of kefir and orange juice – but somehow never took pictures of them…

Then Rich wasn’t home for dinner, so I just tossed some things together quickly. (I admit, I’m more likely to do shortcuts when it’s just me.) I had some shredded pork that I wanted to finish, and some potatoes I’d cooked as long as I was cooking some for an earlier meal, so I basically browned and heated them in a fry pan, tossed in frozen peas, and called it dinner. Easy is good – but so is that combination, so I was happy.

Today is a little more relaxed. It’s Rich’s birthday, so we plan to go out to dinner, and the weather is nicer and more stable, so I’m feeling better. (Good combination!) He’s taking it easy, one reason he was late yesterday was so that he could take today off! but otherwise pretty normal day for me…

So, do any of you go around obsessing about words, and their proper use, or is that just me?