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Cottage Pie

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Cottage Pie

Steaming cottage pie around the candle lit dinner table is a very homey picture.

  • Cottage pie is a pie that usually contains no pastry, and is made of meat filling, normally minced, and topped with potato.
  • ‘Cottage pie’ is also known as ‘shepherd’s pie’, and ‘potato top mince pie’.
  • Cottage pie is usually made with cooked and mashed potato, and cooked ground meat or meat chunks, with the addition of flavouring or sauce ingredients like tomato paste and beef stock.
  • Historically, cooked meat from leftover meals was the most common meat used in cottage pies, and the container the pie was cooked in was often lined with mashed potato.
  • The term ‘cottage pie’ was used in the 1790s and usually referred to a beef version of the dish, while ‘shepherd’s pie’ emerged in the 1870s in reference to a version using lamb or mutton.
Cottage Pie, Shepherd's Pie, Lamb, Trivia, Food, Culinary, Random, Slice, Ten Random Facts
Cottage Pie
Image courtesy of F_A/Flickr
  • European peasants favoured cottage pie as a meal, due to it being economical and its ability to maximise food resources, that is, leftovers.
  • The meat filling of cottage pie often has the addition of mushrooms, or vegetables like peas, carrots, celery, turnips, tomatoes and onion.
  • The 1790s saw an influx in cottage pie, primarily due to the increase in potato availability, and an abundant variety of recipes exist for the dish.
  • Once the cottage pie meat mixture and potato are cooked, the meat is placed in the base of a casserole dish, and spread with a thick layer of mashed potato, and baked in an oven for approximately 30 minutes.
  • Some versions of cottage pie, such as Cumberland, use bread crumbs in addition to potato, while a ‘cowboy pie’ has the addition of baked beans to the meat mixture.
Bibliography:
Cottage Pie, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_pie
Cottage Pie, n.d, Hospitality Info Centre, http://www.hospitalityinfocentre.co.uk/British%20Dishes/Cottage%20Pie.htm
Shepherd’s Pie, n.d, Cook’s Info, http://www.cooksinfo.com/shepherds-pie

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Spork

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Spork

Do you love or hate the spork?

  • A spork is a combination of a spoon and a fork, featuring a bowl shape end like a spoon, that has spokes or tines like a fork.
  • ‘Sporks’ are also known by the uncommon term ‘foon’, and similar utensils were used in the 1800s and were known as ice-cream or terrapin forks.
  • The term ‘spork’ is said to have originated as early as 1909, and is a blend of the words ‘spoon’ and ‘fork’.
  • Travellers, campers, the military, schools, fast food outlets, and prisons all appreciate the spork invention, as it saves space and money due to its dual use.
  • One of the earliest known patents for a spork-like utensil, was granted in 1874 by Samuel W Francis, from Rhode Island in the United States, and this invention also included a knife edge on the side of the spoon.
Spork, Metal, Aluminium, Spoon, Fork, Ten Random Facts, Invention
Spork
Image courtesy of goblinbox/Flickr
  • Sporks are typically made of plastic and are often disposable, or from metal, such as aluminium or stainless steel.
  • A dislike for sporks has evolved around the argument of its inability to hold substantial quantities of soup and its failure to easily jab and hold food, due to the short fork tines.
  • Many of the early inventions of sporks were aesthetically unattractive, and not always practical to use.
  • Sporks can come in a variety of colours, from bright playful colours to traditional greys, and antique metal ones can feature intricately shaped handles that appeal to collectors.
  • Although many sporks feature the fork-spoon combination at the same end, some sporks feature the knife and spoon sections on opposite ends.
Bibliography:
Durso C, A Brief History of Sporks, 2011, foodiggity, http://www.foodiggity.com/a-brief-history-of-the-spork/
Gross J, Who Made That Spork?, 2013, New York Times Magazine, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/magazine/who-made-that-spork.html
Spork, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spork

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Fire-bellied Toad

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Fire-bellied Toad

Be careful about touching a fire-bellied toad… it can ‘burn’ you.

  • Fire-bellied toads, also known as ‘firebelly toads’, are amphibians, and a toad of smaller size, native to central to northern Asia and across Europe.
  • Fire-bellied toads typically grow to be 4 to 7 centimetres (1.6 to 2.8 inches) in length and weigh 20 to 80 grams (0.7 to 2.8 ounces).
  • The scientific name of a fire-bellied toad is Bombina, that is one of two groups in the family Bombinatoridae, and there are eight species in the genus.
  • Depending on the species, the skin of fire-bellied toads contains numerous bumps, and ranges from green, black and brown in colour, while the underside is yellow, red, orange or black, and the bright colour acts as a natural warning that it contains toxins which can be harmful to animals, and can cause a rash in some humans.
  • The diet of fire-bellied toads consists primarily of flies, worms, shrimp, beetles, larvae, spiders and other insects.

Fire-bellied Toad, Frog, Trivia, Random Facts, Ten, Green, Black, Side, Animal, Reptile, Amphibian

A Fire-bellied Toad
Image courtesy of Flickpicpete/Flickr
  • Unlike most frogs, fire-bellied toads do not produce a croaking sound, but instead a bark, which is used by males to find a mate.
  • Female fire-bellied toads lay around 50 to 300 eggs at a time, laid onto vegetation that is situated above a small body of water, and they develop into tadpoles, and eventually toads, that have an average lifespan of ten to fifteen years.
  • Triangular or heart shaped pupils can be found in the eyes of some fire-bellied toads, and they can arch their backs and flip upside down to show their bright coloured bellies to scare away predators like birds, lizards, foxes and snakes.
  • Some fire-bellied toad species are listed as vulnerable or endangered due to habitat loss, and disease is also a possible cause of the decline in numbers in some species.
  • Fire-bellied toads generally live alone near fresh water ponds and streams, in forest and swamp habitats, and some species are kept as pets.
Bibliography:
Fire-bellied Toad, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fire-bellied-toad/
Fire-bellied Toad, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-bellied_toad
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/amphibians/oriental-fire-bellied-toad/

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Parícutin

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Parícutin

Parícutin is an example of prehistory in its modern time.

  • Parícutin is an unusually recent, cone-shaped volcano, and it is classified as dormant and found in Mexico’s state of Michoacán in southern North America.
  • ‘Parícutin’ is also known as ‘Volcán de Parícutin’, named after the nearby village which it decimated, and it is categorised as a cinder or scoria cone volcano.
  • The height of Parícutin rises 424 metres (1391 feet) above ground, and its peak sits at 2800 metres (9,186 feet) above sea level.
  • The formation of the Parícutin volcano began in 1943, and was witnessed burgeoning from the ground on a private corn farm, reaching a height of 30 to 50 metres (98.5 to 164 feet) in one day, and to date, it is perhaps the most recent volcano to be created.
  • Parícutin’s eruption lasted from February 1943 to early 1952, while hundreds of earthquakes, rumblings and tremors occurred before and during the eruption.
Paricutin, Volcano, Mountain, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Mexico, Middle, Extinct
Parícutin
Image courtesy of A C/Flickr
  • The creation of Parícutin was highly important in the field of volcanology, as the phenomena allowed the whole process of the formation of a cinder cone volcano to be chronicled for the first time.
  • Although the Parícutin eruption occurred during World War II, it did not damper the world wide enthusiasm of the eruption, and it was even used as a background for the 1947 film Captain from Castile.
  • A total area of 233 square kilometres (90 square miles) was damaged or devastated by the Parícutin eruption, and five communities were affected, two of which were destroyed by lava, while the taller parts of a church building are still visible above the hardened lava.
  • Volcanic lightning was created due to the Parícutin eruption, which caused the three and only fatalities of the nine year event.
  • Parícutin is popularly visited by tourists, and can only be reached directly via horse or by trekking, both of which require a guide.
Bibliography:
O’Brien J, Parícutin, n.d, Creation Ministries, http://creation.com/mount-paricutin
Parícutin, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par%C3%ADcutin
Paricutin: The Volcano in the Cornfield, 2012, Musuem of Unnatural Mystery, http://www.unmuseum.org/7wonders/paricutin.htm

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Blue

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Blue

Do you like to relax in the blue?

  • Blue is a colour with a wavelength of 450 to 495 nanometres (nm), that sits on the visible spectrum between green and violet, and it has the hex code #0000FF and the RGB value (0, 0, 255).
  • Blue is among both the three primary colours of light, as in the RGB colour model, and pigments, as seen in the field of art, depicted in the RYB colour wheel.
  • The words ‘bleu’ and ‘blwe’ are the Old French and English words from where the term ‘blue’ originates, and these come from the Proto-Germanic word ‘blæwaz’.
  • Common shades of blue include navy, ultramarine, sky, turquoise, cobalt, cyan, indigo, azure and teal.
  • Natural blue pigments are made from lapis lazuli, azurite, cobalt, or plants such as indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) or woad (Isatis tinctoria), and fabricated versions became available by the 1800s, while in the 1900s, most natural pigments of the colour were replaced with synthetically produced versions.

Blue, Shades, Assortment, Variety, Light, Dark, Colour, Color, Ten Random Facts

  • When viewing items at distance, they will usually look more blue to the human eye, and the colour is commonly used to give depth in art, as it appears to be further away than other colours.
  • Depending on the shade in question, blue can be used to symbolise trust, intelligence, loyalty, coolness, harmony, infinity and peace.
  • The sky and bodies of water appear blue, as well as the eyes of approximately 8% of all humans, and some flowers, birds, butterflies, and sea animals, and a small quantity of land creatures also feature the colour, although it is not as common as some hues.
  • Most likely due to its calm appealing nature, blue has been listed as the world’s most favourite colour.
  • The colour blue has the ability to bring out or create emotions when used correctly, and this tactic was used by artists in the 1900s.
Bibliography:
Blue, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue
Blue, 2015, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/blue

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Crème Caramel

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Crème Caramel

Crème caramel? Bon appétit!

  • Crème caramel is a European dessert known worldwide, and is made primarily of custard and caramel.
  • ‘Crème caramel’ is also known as ‘crema caramella’, ‘flan’, ‘crème renversée’, and ‘caramel pudding’.
  • Typically, to make crème caramel, sugar syrup is made and poured into a ramekin or other container, which is topped with an egg and milk-based custard, and then cooked in an oven in a water bath.
  • ‘Crème caramel’, when translated from French, literally means ‘caramel cream’, and the dessert is often prepared with cream, in addition to the milk.
  • Although very similar to crème brûlée, crème caramel is not the same, with the primary difference being the latter’s caramel’s softness compared to the former’s hard layer of caramel.

Original Vanilla Crème Caramel, Dessert, Food, Culinary, Custard, Sauce, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Crème Caramel
Image courtesy of L.A. Foodie/Flickr
  • Crème caramel is best presented cold, so it is usually refrigerated once cooked and cooled, and then flipped out of the container and presented on a plate with the caramel syrup sitting on top.
  • Fruit, mint, chocolate, or other sauces can be used to garnish crème caramel desserts, and vanilla is often used to flavour the custard mixture during preparation.
  • Crème caramel was popularised by restaurants in the late 1900s due to its relative ease to make and store.
  • While crème caramel is thought by many to be a French dessert, the country of its origin is disputable, and Spain and England also suggest that the dessert originated in their own country.
  • Crème caramel is especially popular after a hot main meal; and variations of the dessert are made in different countries.
Bibliography:
All Time Classic Crème Caramel, n.d, Culinary Flavors, http://culinaryflavors.gr/2014/10/all-time-classic-creme-caramel/
Crème Caramel, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_caramel
What is Crème Caramel?, 2015, wiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-crme-caramel.htm

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