It has only been fairly
recently that the women have had the opportunity to
exert their intellectual clout, which they have done
in spades. The ones of my generation and previous have
of course generally found their fulfillment as
stay-ay-home moms and meddlesome grandmoms.

The wives of my generation were generally like that but not their
daughters who were raised here in Canada. One of our friend's
daughters (who Roslind once taught in high school) is Yellowknife's
director of planning and lands and also oversees the building
permit and inspections dept.

Yep, that's pretty much the pattern as I've observed it.
And sometimes it appears that the younger generation is
trying to make up for lost time!

what do you use as a substitute for the now-degraded
Worcestershire?

It was HP that Heinz degraded so badly that I now make my own
knock-off version. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce as sold in
Canada is still made in England by Lea & Perrins Ltd. who remain

Ah. Lea & Perrins is massively degraded here, as I
believe it was you who pointed out. It's brothy and
sweetish, hardly usable.

official purveyors to Queen Elizabeth, although it is imported and

Well, she's over ninety and not likely to complain.

distributed by Heinz Canada and it is still made with malt vinegar,
spirit vinegar, refiner's molasses, cane sugar, anchovies, tamarind
extract, onions, garlic and other spices as per the label. I do not
detect any change of taste.

Lucky. The difference here is striking, of the order of
the difference between orange juice and Sunny Delight.

I bartended for my parents' infrequent parties
also from a very young age.

As did I. I was also allowed minuscule portions of sherry which I
liked and scotch and gin which I was not fond of at the time but
developed a taste for later.

I couldn't understand why people drank Scotch, but I
took to Bourbon easily enough.

Zorbian beef or chicken
Yemenite, biryani
This recipe was originally in some kind of Arabic and
was clearly run through the Google Translate.

Here's a version of it from Somali where it is popular too, with
clearer instructions:
Zurbian Lamb

Looks in the same family, but (I'm in an analogizing
mood, having a Buffalo and Diet before me) rather
like chili with or without beans.

1/4 c vegetable oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
1 1/2 pound bone-in lamb shoulder in 2" cubes
2 tsp xawaash
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tsp xawaash bouillon powder or
2 tsp xawaash spice mix +
2 tsp salt
2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
1 cup yogurt
2 cups boiling water
2 medium potatoes - quartered
2 cups basmati rice
12 cups water - for boiling the rice
3 tablespoons - for boiling the rice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 tsp saffron threads
1/4 cup hot water - for the saffron threads
3 tb browned butter
1 tsp orange blossom water

I'm with it all the way down to the orange water
(even maybe the potatoes, which are analogous to
the beans in chili (my recipe also uses potatoes,
but I'd omit them).

Zurbian or zurbiyan is a type of Biryani that is popular in Yemen,
other parts of the Arabian Peninsula as well as parts of Somalia.
Zurbian which is a variant of Hyderabadi biryani, is usually cooked
with lamb and potatoes but there are recipes that use chicken
instead of lamb.

Lamb of course is better.

Zurbian is considered as a special occasion rice dish that is
usually served in weddings, during the Eid, or when important guests
arrive. The rice is very aromatic due to the different spices used
in preparing it: saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander,
cloves, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and orange blossom water.
Just like there are so many different types of biryani, there also
different recipes for zurbian.

It's indeed festive.

Leila & Abdullahi
Abdullahi Kassim and Leila Adde are owners of the Xawaash restaurant in Rexdale, Ontario

Looks like worth checking out. Maybe if I have a long
layover at Pearson (something I've successfully
avoided so far, finding Trudeau a better airport to
hang out in or near.

Cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin, pepper, cardamon,
cloves, turmeric, a good mix, needing only hot pepper
to complete it (and make it something like the
Ethiopian berbere or mitmita).

... Indian bureaucracy is at least as famous as Indian food

They say that if you want to squat or do another
trespass on your neighbor's property, just do it,
because the Indian judicial process is so slow that
if there are damages to be paid, your grandchildren
will be the ones who have to deal.

Mitmita
categories: Ethiopian, spice
yield: 9 to 10 Tb

6 in cinnamon stick
20 birds eye chili peppers
2 Tb cumin seeds
2 Tb green cardamom pods
1 Tb black peppercorns
1 Tb allspice berries
2 ts whole cloves
2 ts salt (or tt)
1 Tb ginger powder
2 ts garlic powder

Break up the cinnamon. Grind the cinnamon pieces with the
chili peppers, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, peppercorns,
allspice berries, cloves and salt. Once ground, sieve
into a bowl. Add the ginger and garlic powders. Combine
thoroughly. Store in an airtight jar out of direct
sunlight. Use within 3 months.

spice-mixes.com
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