Word of the Week – Cue

Word of the Week – Cue

In English, we have two main meanings of the word cue. The first is the billiards stick; and the second is the signal to begin an action. Cue is also how we spell the letter Q. Which is important. Remember that. 😉

So our word for the billiards stick or other sporting equipment that bears the same name is actually an anglicized spelling of the French queue. We know that word, of course, because we still use it for “a list” or “a line,” especially in British English. In French the word means “tail,” but you can see the similarity there.

Alright then, what about the second meaning of cue, which we today use far more often? This one is fun. It’s actually where that spelling of the letter comes in–because we in fact, when we use cue for “a signal to begin” mean Q. Short for quando, the Latin word for “when.” That Latin direction was written in the scripts given to individual actors’ partial copies of plays. They didn’t copy the whole things out for everyone, just the line before their own, and then their parts. That line before was marked with quando at first and then abbreviated Q. So the line before your own is your Q … or cue … to begin. We can see this written in original copies of Shakespeare!

Word Nerds Unite!

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Apple Clay (Charoset)

Apple Clay (Charoset)

Apple Clay (Charoset)

Part of the traditional Passover seder, this sweet apple “clay” represents the brick and mortar the Israelites used in their captivity.

Makes

1 cup

Prep time:

2 minutes

Total Time:

5 minutes

Good For:

Side

Inroduction

About this Recipe

My favorite part of the Passover Seder meal has to be this: apple clay, or charoset in Hebrew.

What, you ask, is apple clay? In the context of the seder, it’s a sweet mixture slightly red in color that represents the brick and mortar the Israelites were forced to make while in captivity in Egypt. It’s made of simple ingredients, all chopped up and blended together into a smoothie-like consistency: apples (I like honeycrisp or gala for this), almonds, honey, cinnamon, and grape juice.

Then comes the next question…how do you eat it? In the seder meal, it’s usually eaten with matzah or unleavened bread, along with a bit of horseradish, which are the bitter herbs that call to mind the bitterness and tears of that captivity. We’ve found that this apple clay pairs perfectly with my unleavened bread with honey and enjoy it as a special treat together!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1 medium apple
  • ¼ cup almonds
  • ½ cup grape juice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  1. Chop the apple into small pieces—no need to peel it first!
    .
  2. Combine chopped apple and all other ingredients in a blender or food processor.
    .
  3. Pulse until a coarse clay is formed; it should be thicker than a smoothie but close.
    .
  4. Serve with matzah, unleavened bread, crackers, or with other fruit slices.

    From the Books

    Unleavened bread would have been served with every Passover in my Biblical stories and is particularly mentioned in At His Feet…Mary sends Magdalene to Jesus with his favorite apple clay for what turns out to be the Last Supper. This is definitely the version I had in mind!

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    Best Ever Macaroni and Cheese

    Best Ever Macaroni and Cheese

    Best Ever Macaroni and Cheese

    A creamy, cheesy mac and cheese that will please the pickiest eaters. The only mac & cheese recipe you’ll ever need!

    Servings

    8-10

    Prep time:

    5 minutes

    Total Time:

    35 minutes

    Good For:

    Dinner, Side

    Inroduction

    About this Recipe

    I admit it. I never grew out of my love of macaroni and cheese…and I passed the love right along to my kids. We have tasted and sampled and tried making a variety of recipes over the years, and the results ranged from gross and globby to…this. Perfection in a pan. Based on a recipe from Martha Stewart and then tweaked to our tastes, this one is now the ONLY recipe I ever make.

    The History of Macaroni and Cheese

    And really, I feel no need to apologize for my love. Perhaps Kraft has made it a “kid’s dish,” and maybe we think of it as being fairly modern, but in actually, the oldest surviving recipes for Macaroni and Cheese date back to the early 1700s! It’s believed that it was originally Parisian, though the facts are a bit murky there. What we know is that English and American colonial housewives were writing down their “receipts” for pasta layered with cheese and butter for well over three hundred years.

    In fact, macaroni was so popular a dish that the word itself began to be used to mean “stylish,” like we see in the song “Yankee Doodle.” (Did you wonder why someone was sticking a feather in his cap and calling it a pasta? There you go!”

    This Recipe

    This mac and cheese uses ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. I know some people will wrinkle their nose at the American cheese, but it’s used here because it melts better than the alternatives, for that creamy sauce you crave. I highly recommend buying Kraft or another brand whose ingredients are cheddar and whey and milk, not the cheaper versions that use oil to thin the cheese. The other secret is the minced onion. My kids don’t like onions as a rule, but it lends a flavor here that takes the dish to the next level.

    This is the recipe my kids regularly ask me to make for birthdays and special occasions. The first few times I made it, it took me 45-minutes to an hour, just trying to balance all the steps and chop the onion and cheese…these days I can get it on the table in under 30 minutes.

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    • 3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • ¼ cup finely chopped onion
    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • ½ t salt
    • Dash of pepper
    • 2 cups milk
    • 1 lb American cheese, cubed or torn up slices
    • Shredded cheddar to garnish, if desired
    1. Cook macaroni according to package directions; reserve a half cup of the cooking water and then drain the rest. (The water will keep the macaroni from absorbing the sauce too much.)
      .
    2. For cheese sauce, in a saucepan melt butter; cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper to form a paste. Add milk all at once; cook and whisk until thick and bubbly, then 2 minutes more. Add cheese and stir until melted.
      .
    3. Add cooked macaroni and reserved pasta water to the sauce, stir to combine. Transfer to oven-safe dish, top with shredded cheddar if desired. Bake at 350 until bubbly.

    From the Books

    You can bet that macaroni and cheese, classic dish that it is and capable of feeding a crowd, would make an appearance on the table of the Ocracoke Inn from Yesterday’s Tides, and I like to think that my characters would favor a recipe like this one. It also would have been enjoyed by the pasta-loving characters in Shadowed Loyalty, and quite likely by my colonial family in Ring of Secrets too!

    More Recipes

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Part of the traditional Passover seder, this sweet apple “clay” represents the brick and mortar the Israelites used in their captivity.

    read more
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    Duck Gumbo

    A Louisiana favorite shines with fresh duck, making this a perfect recipe for hunters; you can tailor the spices to your tastes!

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    Suffering United

    Suffering United

    Suffering.

    It’s a guarantee of life–we will suffer. But that doesn’t mean we like it. Certainly, we don’t seek it. Generally, we do all we can to avoid it. And yet it’s a key part not only of life universal, but of faith in Christ in particular.

    I’ve blogged before about Christian suffering and the misconceptions and “martyr complexes” that surround it. In that post from 2018, I focused on how we will suffer, yes, but we don’t seek it, shouldn’t seek it, but rather can rise above it thanks to Christ. Today, I want to focus on a different aspect of suffering.

    Suffering is usually linked to the fallen state of our world–caused by sickness, death, or injustice. We suffer at the hands of others who are cruel. We suffer grief and loss and loneliness. We suffer pain and illness. When we cry out in our spirits, “Why, Lord? Why?” it often seems that there’s no answer. Or at least, not a satisfying one. Because we live in a fallen world sure doesn’t feel like an answer, does it? Because of sin doesn’t satisfy either, especially when it isn’t our sin that leads directly to our pain.

    And yet, all suffering can trace its roots back to sin–back to Satan, the father of sin. All sickness, all death, all cruelty are inexorably linked to that first curse handed down in the Garden. But here’s the thing, my friends: we serve a Savior who has already beaten sin and death and Satan. We serve a Savior who is King over that Curse.

    Why then, you may ask, do we still suffer?

    Because that full victory is still playing out on the human stage–but here’s where we have to shift our perspective. We will still suffer–but it’s no longer a curse in that heavenly sense. Now, because Christ suffered for us, our own suffering can be joined to His and become redemptive…it can help us to better understand His suffering. It can make us appreciate the true sacrifice He made.

    He broke the bonds of sin. So now, let’s embrace the words of Christ, when He said that “it’s so that God may be glorified.” If we are healed, may it be to His glory and credit. If it lasts, may He buoy us up and fill us with His peace in a way that shines out into the world around us. When we are persecuted, may it be for His sake, so that even our oppressors see and marvel and are intrigued enough to become converts themselves.

    May our suffering–which will come–be not because of sins, may not be punishments that we bring on ourselves. May they instead be witness to the One who suffered all. Who conquered. And who delivers us into the Light.

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    Thoughtful Posts

    Duck Gumbo

    Duck Gumbo

    Duck Gumbo

    A Louisiana favorite starring fresh duck makes a perfect recipe for hunters.

    Servings

    8-10

    Prep time:

    30 minutes

    Total Time:

    2 hours

    Good For:

    Dinner

    Inroduction

    About this Recipe

    I asked my ladies of the Patrons & Peers group to share any recipes that would tie in well with my books, and this one was actually a particular request of mine. In ages past, duck hunting was the primary draw of visitors to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Ocracoke in particular. Knowing that member Candice and her husband are avid duck hunters in Texas and that this duck gumbo recipe is one of her favorites, I knew I wanted to share it with you!

    One of the defining features of gumbo, a traditional Louisiana dish, is that it mixes multiple meats together into a spicy stew. This gumbo not only has duck breast, but also sausage. Then, of course, the veggies and thickened sauce. As with many thicker soups and sauces, it’s crucial to create the roux first to give your soup a thick, smooth base.

    Recipe courtesy of Candice and Steven Woods

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    For the roux

    • ½ cup flour (can substitute with gluten free flour)
    • ½ cup of avocado oil (can use any other oil or bacon drippings, note that coconut oil isn’t preferred)

    For the gumbo

    • 12-24 duck breasts (about 6 big ducks, ex. Mallards, for a total of 12 big duck breast, or 10 small ducks, ex. Teal, for a total of 20 small duck breast – you can always combine the two.)
    • 24 oz Andouille sausage (2 packages, Cajun holler is our preferred brand)
    • 6 sticks celery
    • 1 medium sweet onion
    • 3 bell peppers, red and/or green
    • 3 cloves garlic, diced
    • 4 cups beef broth
    • ¼ tsp dried thyme leaves
    • 3 Bay leaves
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (our favorite is Crystal Louisiana’s)
    • Nature’s Seasons seasoning blend
    • Browning seasoning
    • Rice (white, brown, cauliflower – whatever you prefer)
    1. Make the roux. For the roux add flour and cooking oil to your pot. Stir constantly for 20-30 minutes until a rich amber color forms. This is the base of your gumbo and what gives it richness.
      .
    2. Once the roux has reached is dark amber color, slowly add in 4 cups of broth, ensure the thickness stays.
      .
    3. Once roux is done, tenderize and cut duck into bite sized pieces. In a pan, add just enough oil to cover the pan then add duck, browning seasoning and natures seasoning to taste. For us its about 1/2 to 1 tablespoons of browning seasoning and 1-2 tablespoons of nature’s seasoning. Cook until duck is medium rare. Remove duck and place in pot with roux.
      .
    4. Cut andouille sausage into round bite size pieces. Add browning seasoning, and natures seasoning to taste, about the same amount as the duck. Cook until sausage in the pan is done and add to the pot.
      .
    5. Add chopped celery, onion, bell pepper, browning seasoning, and natures seasoning (to taste). sauté veggies in the pan. Add 3 cloves of garlic chopped, then cook for 30 more seconds. Add to pot.
      .
    6. Once everything is in the pot add water until liquid just covers everything in the pot.
      .
    7. Bring to a boil then let simmer for at least 1 hr.
      .
    8. Enjoy over cooked rice (add in extra hot sauce too!)

     

    Notes:

    If using wild ducks be cognizant of birdshot, it can chip a tooth in a heartbeat if you’re not careful.

    You can make it your own. Try experimenting with different seasonings and the amounts and types of onions and peppers to see what you like the best. This is just what we like best.

    From the Books

    With Grann from Yesterday’s Tides cooking, being from Louisiana as she is, you can be sure gumbo would have been on the menu at the Ocracoke Inn; and duck gumbo would have been a staple, given that duck hunting was the primary tourist draw of the island in the early twentieth century.

    More Recipes

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Part of the traditional Passover seder, this sweet apple “clay” represents the brick and mortar the Israelites used in their captivity.

    read more
    Duck Gumbo

    Duck Gumbo

    A Louisiana favorite shines with fresh duck, making this a perfect recipe for hunters; you can tailor the spices to your tastes!

    read more