Monday, 19 December 2011
A nice icon
"Naranjito" probably this picture shows the most famous orange of Spain!why is that?because this simple orange with the Spanish uniform and a football ball represented the 1982 FIFA World Cup that was help in Spain from 13 June to 11 July.
So, one simple piece of fruit was the icon used to represent Spain in 1982 and some years later.
Santa Claus’s story
December is definitely, the most beautiful month of the year and the entire world is dressed in Christmas clothes. We see all around us Christmas Trees and images with Santa Claus and everybody is waiting the visit of the most important ‘character’ of this month, I mean the visit of Santa.
According to a tradition, which can be traced to the 1820s, Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, with a large number of magical elves, and nine (originally eight) flying reindeer. Since the 20th century, in an idea popularized by the 1934 song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Santa Claus has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the reindeer who pull his sleigh.
Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and he looks in the same way all over the world, even if he has different names, for example he is also known as: Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply "Santa" or he has European names as it follows:
-‘Moş Crăciun’- in Romanian(Romania);
-‘Papa Noel’- in Spainish(Spain);
-‘Le Pere Noel’- in French(France);
- ‘Froehliche Weihnachten’- in German(Germany);
-‘Babbo Natale’- in Italian(Italy).
I choose to post this article about Santa because in a week or something like that he is supposed to come in our town and it is an invitation to believe in magic, in fairytales and in the existence of Santa Claus (even if we all know the truth it’s good to have a dream) so Merry Christmas to everybody and I hope you’ll receive a lot of gifts!!!!
The best of Britain 2
GRUB: This is another word for food, as well as being the larval stage of an insect development. Therefore, care is required when ordering!
PUB GRUB: Pubs that do food will often advertise "pub grub" outside on a sign. It just means pub food. These days lots of pubs do decent food, not just sausage, eggs, and chips!
HORLICKS: Malted milk drink supposed to make you relax in the evening and sleep well. Hence the old joke: "Twelve children? Have you never heard of Horlicks?".
NEAT: If you are in a pub and you ask for your drink neat, it means it comes with nothing added.
NOSH: This is another word for food. If you were going out for some nosh, it would mean you were going to get some lunch or dinner at a restaurant. "Posh nosh" is what you get at expensive restaurants.
NOSH-UP: Feast.
PECKISH: If you are a little peckish, it means that you are hungry and need to nibble at something.
PORRIDGE: This has two meanings. The first one is cooked oatmeal that you would have for breakfast. The second one is doing time in prison.
SARNY: Sandwich.
SCOFF: This word is both a verb and a noun, both related. If you were off home for some scoff, you would be on your way for some food. However, you might then scoff it down, meaning to eat it!
SOLDIERS: We dip soldiers in our soft boiled eggs. They are not actually men in uniform. They are slices of toast.
STARTER: This is what we call the appetizer on a menu. The more upmarket restaurants would use the word "entree", the French word for the first course of a meal.
STODGE: Heavy food.
STUFFED: When you have had enough to eat, it is quite acceptable to tell everyone that you are stuffed. It means you are full.
WHITE: When someone in the UK asks you how to take your tea or coffee, you should say "black", "white without" or "white with". White means with milk and the "with" and "without" bit refers to the sugar.
PUB GRUB: Pubs that do food will often advertise "pub grub" outside on a sign. It just means pub food. These days lots of pubs do decent food, not just sausage, eggs, and chips!
HORLICKS: Malted milk drink supposed to make you relax in the evening and sleep well. Hence the old joke: "Twelve children? Have you never heard of Horlicks?".
NEAT: If you are in a pub and you ask for your drink neat, it means it comes with nothing added.
NOSH: This is another word for food. If you were going out for some nosh, it would mean you were going to get some lunch or dinner at a restaurant. "Posh nosh" is what you get at expensive restaurants.
NOSH-UP: Feast.
PECKISH: If you are a little peckish, it means that you are hungry and need to nibble at something.
PORRIDGE: This has two meanings. The first one is cooked oatmeal that you would have for breakfast. The second one is doing time in prison.
SARNY: Sandwich.
SCOFF: This word is both a verb and a noun, both related. If you were off home for some scoff, you would be on your way for some food. However, you might then scoff it down, meaning to eat it!
SOLDIERS: We dip soldiers in our soft boiled eggs. They are not actually men in uniform. They are slices of toast.
STARTER: This is what we call the appetizer on a menu. The more upmarket restaurants would use the word "entree", the French word for the first course of a meal.
STODGE: Heavy food.
STUFFED: When you have had enough to eat, it is quite acceptable to tell everyone that you are stuffed. It means you are full.
WHITE: When someone in the UK asks you how to take your tea or coffee, you should say "black", "white without" or "white with". White means with milk and the "with" and "without" bit refers to the sugar.
King Cake
It's a cake associated with the festival of epiphany in the Christmas season. Eating this cake on this day has its origin in Christian event.
This cake is very popular in Spain. It is known as 'roscón o rosca de reyes'. It is eaten on January 6. People put a bean inside the cake and the person, who find it, will be crown as the king of this day. On this day it's a tradition that the Three Wise Men give presents to the children so they related this cake and this day with happiness. They wait for this beautiful day hopefully. It means good emotions and good memories.
In France this tradition is also followed, cake's name is 'La galette des Rois'.
In Argentina, people also eat it though in this case, the cake doesn't include the bean.
In the southern of the United States the tradition is brought by Spanish people, It is related with the 'Mardi Gras' or Carnival. The most traditional king cake is aring of twisted bread with the traditional Mardi Gras colours, purple, green and gold. The surprise, in these cakes, isn't a bean, it is a small plastic baby doll.
Some bakers also offers king cakes such as green and red-icing king cakes for Christmas, red and pink-icing cakes for Valentine's Day,
and green and white-icing cakes for St. Patrick's Day.
This cake is very popular in Spain. It is known as 'roscón o rosca de reyes'. It is eaten on January 6. People put a bean inside the cake and the person, who find it, will be crown as the king of this day. On this day it's a tradition that the Three Wise Men give presents to the children so they related this cake and this day with happiness. They wait for this beautiful day hopefully. It means good emotions and good memories.
In France this tradition is also followed, cake's name is 'La galette des Rois'.
In Argentina, people also eat it though in this case, the cake doesn't include the bean.
In the southern of the United States the tradition is brought by Spanish people, It is related with the 'Mardi Gras' or Carnival. The most traditional king cake is aring of twisted bread with the traditional Mardi Gras colours, purple, green and gold. The surprise, in these cakes, isn't a bean, it is a small plastic baby doll.
Some bakers also offers king cakes such as green and red-icing king cakes for Christmas, red and pink-icing cakes for Valentine's Day,
and green and white-icing cakes for St. Patrick's Day.The best of Britain 1
99: When you visit England , go up to the ice cream van and ask for a 99. You will get a cone filled with soft ice cream and a Cadbury´s flake: a long crumbly stick of chocolate. Mmmmmm!
AFTERS: What´s for afters? When you hear a kid say that, they are asking what is for dessert.
BAP: A soft round roll, lightly floured. These are like hamburger buns in America, but also eaten as sandwiches. Yummy with bacon and egg oozing out!
BARBIE: Apart from being a doll, the barbie is the grill. Either charcoal or gas fired, it is what we cook our dinner on in the two days that makes up a good British summer. Its full name is the barbecue. So, when we say "barbie" or BBQ we are talking about the cooker itself, not the food.
BEER: Normally called bitter, this is the most popular alcoholic beverage of the UK male drinking population. It is served in pints at room temperature.
BEST: "A pint of best please landlord". You should walk into a British pub and say this at the bar in your best British accent. After telling you that " you´re not from round here", you will be served with a pint of fine British ale.
BEVVY: If someone asks you if you want to come out for a bevvy, they are asking you to go to the pub for a beer. Bevvy here means beverage, but in this context the beverage in question is obviously of alcoholic nature.
BICKIE: biscuit, usually said by kids.
BUNS: Fruit buns are made by aunties and grandmas and are often served with a cuppa. It is perfectly acceptable to say: "Mmmmmm, nice buns Grandma".
DISH UP: "I´m about to dish up". This means that you are about to serve dinner.
AFTERS: What´s for afters? When you hear a kid say that, they are asking what is for dessert.
BAP: A soft round roll, lightly floured. These are like hamburger buns in America, but also eaten as sandwiches. Yummy with bacon and egg oozing out!
BARBIE: Apart from being a doll, the barbie is the grill. Either charcoal or gas fired, it is what we cook our dinner on in the two days that makes up a good British summer. Its full name is the barbecue. So, when we say "barbie" or BBQ we are talking about the cooker itself, not the food.
BEER: Normally called bitter, this is the most popular alcoholic beverage of the UK male drinking population. It is served in pints at room temperature.
BEST: "A pint of best please landlord". You should walk into a British pub and say this at the bar in your best British accent. After telling you that " you´re not from round here", you will be served with a pint of fine British ale.
BEVVY: If someone asks you if you want to come out for a bevvy, they are asking you to go to the pub for a beer. Bevvy here means beverage, but in this context the beverage in question is obviously of alcoholic nature.
BICKIE: biscuit, usually said by kids.
BUNS: Fruit buns are made by aunties and grandmas and are often served with a cuppa. It is perfectly acceptable to say: "Mmmmmm, nice buns Grandma".
DISH UP: "I´m about to dish up". This means that you are about to serve dinner.
Do you know where these words come from?
TEA: As you already know, it is the most popular drink in Britain. It was discovered 5.000 years ago by a Chinese emperor. While he was resting under a Camellia tree, a leaf fell into his pot of boiling water. In the 17th century, English sailors brought tea to Britain.
SANDWICH: The Earl of Sandwich (18th century) loved playing cards and he hated having to stop this game for his meals. One day he had an idea: to put meat between two slices of bread. In this way he could eat and play cards at the same time. So, it is because of the Earl of Sandwich that today we call this delicious food "sandwiches".
RESTAURANT: It was used the first time to describe a soup invented by a French cook in the 16th century. It was a tasty soup with a lot of spices which "restored" you. In 1760 a French cook opened an inn in Paris and called it "restaurant", like the famous soup.
KETCHUP: is a spicy sauce based on tomatoes, onions, vinegar and sugar. It wasn´t an American invention. It was originally a Chinese sauce called "Ke Tsiap".
Interesting information about avocados!
The avocados come from trees that are called:"Persea Americana" which are from Mexico.
Perse Americana's fruit is the avocado,also it is called alligator pear.
But which is the etymology of the word: "avocado"?
The word "avocado" comes from the Spanish term: "aguacate" which in turns comes from the Nahuatl word "ahuácatl".
"ahuácatl" means testicle and it refers to the shape of the fruit. Avocados were fruits considered by Aztecs as a fertility fruit.
So, the English term "avocado" comes from the Spanish one "aguacate".
But, returning to Aztec's ideas, I have to explain a little more about this theme. Nowadays, the avocado is considered aphrodisiac fruit! Just by looking at the shape of avocado, you will see the reason why it is associated with sexuality. Aztects as I have just mention, believed that the fruit hanging in pairs on the trees resembled testicles.
However, Catholic priests in Spanish found this fruit so obscenely sexual that they forbade it.
Now,what is your opinion? what do you think about it? Do you considere that this fruit is related to sexuality?
I encourage you to write a comment!
Perse Americana's fruit is the avocado,also it is called alligator pear.
But which is the etymology of the word: "avocado"?
The word "avocado" comes from the Spanish term: "aguacate" which in turns comes from the Nahuatl word "ahuácatl".
"ahuácatl" means testicle and it refers to the shape of the fruit. Avocados were fruits considered by Aztecs as a fertility fruit.
So, the English term "avocado" comes from the Spanish one "aguacate".
But, returning to Aztec's ideas, I have to explain a little more about this theme. Nowadays, the avocado is considered aphrodisiac fruit! Just by looking at the shape of avocado, you will see the reason why it is associated with sexuality. Aztects as I have just mention, believed that the fruit hanging in pairs on the trees resembled testicles.
However, Catholic priests in Spanish found this fruit so obscenely sexual that they forbade it.
Now,what is your opinion? what do you think about it? Do you considere that this fruit is related to sexuality?
I encourage you to write a comment!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
The art of Tipping
This is what Tarantino´s Reservoir Dogs has to say about tipping:
Food and videogames 3 or Pac Man
A very little known fact related to this character is that his origin, is deeply related to food. As his creator stated in an interview, the character´s shape was inspired by a pizza missing a slice that he found at home once he arrived late to eat.
The game, was originally named in Japan "Puck Man". This is because the sound that pacman makes when he eats is "pacu pacu". Once the game was imported to The United states, the character had to change its name to "Pac man" because people used to scracth the P in the arcade machine so the name ended up being "Fuck Man" instead of "Puck Man". And this is hoy he got its american name.
Food and videogames 2 or The cake is a Lie
If you are into videogames, you will more than probably have played Portal. The 2004 popular videogame by Valve. In this game, you are a test subject that has to follow GlaDOS instructions in order to complete a serie of puzzles in the Aperture Science laboratories by using the double portal Gun. The sarcastic robotic voice, encourages you to complete all the puzzles by promising you a delicious cake once you finish all of them.
As the game progresses, you can see messages of the previous test subjects writen in the walls telling you not tu trust this voice, such as this:
The funny thing is that after the games release, “the cake is a lie” was widely popular between Portal players, but soon it spread to forums and blogs where the phrase began to take on a new meaning outside of the context of the game. People were using the phrase, “The cake is a lie”, on forums as an idiom meaning, “You are chasing after an empty, unattainable goal.” This mean that an idiom related to food was created from a videogame.
You can learn more about portal in the following video:
French expressions related to food
À la carte: On the menu, with each dish priced.
Au gratin: 'With gratings' - in French, anything that is grated onto a food dish. In English, specifically 'with cheese'.
Bon appétit: 'Good appetite' or 'Enjoy your food'.
Café au lait: Coffee with milk.
Cordon bleu: High quality, especially of cooking.
Du jour: 'Of the day' as in 'soup du jour' ('soup of the day').
Hors d'oeuvres: An extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite, normally at the start of a meal.
Nouvelle cuisine:A form of cooking of the mid 20th century that emphasized lightness and decorative form.
Petit four: A small dessert, usually a dainty cake.
Soupe du jour: 'Soup of the day' - the soup offered by a restaurant that day.
Table d'hôte: A full-course meal offering a limited number of choices and served at a fixed price in a restaurant or hotel.
Au gratin: 'With gratings' - in French, anything that is grated onto a food dish. In English, specifically 'with cheese'.
Bon appétit: 'Good appetite' or 'Enjoy your food'.
Café au lait: Coffee with milk.
Cordon bleu: High quality, especially of cooking.
Du jour: 'Of the day' as in 'soup du jour' ('soup of the day').
Hors d'oeuvres: An extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite, normally at the start of a meal.
Nouvelle cuisine:A form of cooking of the mid 20th century that emphasized lightness and decorative form.
Petit four: A small dessert, usually a dainty cake.
Soupe du jour: 'Soup of the day' - the soup offered by a restaurant that day.
Table d'hôte: A full-course meal offering a limited number of choices and served at a fixed price in a restaurant or hotel.
Awful Translations
Hello everybody! I want to show you some bad translations of a restaurant menu in Galicia, the North of Spain. I find it hilarious so check it out!
The Casa Gallega Spanish covers (Tapas)
Octopus to the party (Pulpo a Feira)
Corageous potatoes (Patatas Bravas)
Huge air spray with grelos (Lacón con grelos)
Canes and little ones (Cañas y chiquitos)
Drink from the boot and the big joint (Beba en bota y en porrón)
Thin Uncle Joseph (Fino Tío Pepe) and Thin Fifth (Fino Quinta)
They will pass from Navarra (Pacharán de Navarra)
Wines from the River Ha and the Valley of Rocks (Vinos de Rioja y Valdepeñas)
Today´s menu Female Jews with Thief (Judías con chorizo)
Pretty to the Iron (Bonito a la plancha)
Special Opening Promotion: One mug of bleeding if you buy a Little Joseph of Veal (Una jarra de sangría por pedir un pepito de ternera)
The Casa Gallega Spanish covers (Tapas)
Octopus to the party (Pulpo a Feira)
Corageous potatoes (Patatas Bravas)
Huge air spray with grelos (Lacón con grelos)
Canes and little ones (Cañas y chiquitos)
Drink from the boot and the big joint (Beba en bota y en porrón)
Thin Uncle Joseph (Fino Tío Pepe) and Thin Fifth (Fino Quinta)
They will pass from Navarra (Pacharán de Navarra)
Wines from the River Ha and the Valley of Rocks (Vinos de Rioja y Valdepeñas)
Today´s menu Female Jews with Thief (Judías con chorizo)
Pretty to the Iron (Bonito a la plancha)
Special Opening Promotion: One mug of bleeding if you buy a Little Joseph of Veal (Una jarra de sangría por pedir un pepito de ternera)
Friday, 16 December 2011
Idioms- Figurative language
One of the most important combinations between language and food are the idioms, because by means of food we transmit some realities and ideas about life, so I was looking for the most relevant idioms and now I’ll try to explain you some of them, in order to be prepared to understand their real meaning and to avoid big confusions.
-butter up
Meaning: flatter someone to try to get their favour or friendship;
-carrot and stick
Meaning: promising to reward or punish someone at the same time;
-couch and potato:
MEANING: a very lazy person;
-eat one’s cake and have it too
MEANING: use or spend something and still keep it;
-finger in the pie
MEANING: participate in something that is happening;
-hard nut to crack
MEANING: something or someone difficult to understand or do;
-have egg on one’s face
MEANING: be embarrassed;
-in a nutshell
MEANING: briefly, in a few words;
-spill the beans
MEANING: tell a secret to someone who is not supposed to know about it;
-take with a grain of salt
MEANING: accept or believe only part of something;
-polish the apple
MEANING: flatter someone;
-out to lunch
MEANING: crazy, mad.
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