The French may carry the whole idea of language purity a bit too far at times but at least they don't deliberately torture it.
The language police in France have, over the years, banned English words: Walkman, software, email, and countless others.
It doesn't work.
Well it works officially.
Unofficially everyone says 'Bon Weekend' on a Friday.
But they take pride in their language and don't intentionally abuse it.
You will never see the French equivalent of the 'Koffee Kup Kafe'.
It's like fingernails on a blackboard for me, just to type that.
And, what really irritates me, is, if the purpose was alliteration, Coffee Cup Cafe works just as well.
On principle, I would never buy a koffee from these people.
Why would someone name an educational child's toy 'PlaySKOOL'?
Less egregious, but so well-known one doesn't even think about it: U-Haul; Shop Rite; Xcel Energy
While Googling this subjectโฆ
Google, by the way, is a misspelling. They registered it incorrectly.
It was meant to be 'Googol' โ which is a very large number: a 1 followed by 100 zeros or 1 raised to the power of 100. (Which is a very small number compared to a googolplex, or 1 raised to the power of a googol)
The catalog company, Lands' End, did a similar thing, registering the name with the apostrophe in the wrong place (it was meant to be Land's End, after a headland in Cornwall.)
While Googling this subject I came across the spelling equivalent of 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves', the current, fun book on punctuation (yes, it's funโฆ. Yes, I read it):
'Eyes before Ease; the Unsolved Mysteries and Secret Histories of Spelling'.
I don't think the French have entertaining books on either spelling or grammarโฆ. They just have no sense of fun!
On the other hand, they all speak intelligibly.
And they provide me with these lovely little chickensโฆ. Perfect for 1 person.
Cornish Game Hens would be the substitute.
Grilled Cornish Hens (Poussin)ย with Molasses Glaze
The combination of molasses, vinegar and soy sauce gives the chicken a flavor reminiscent of Peking Duck and leaves the crisp skin a lovely mahogany color.
2 Cornish game hens or poussin (little chickens)
1 tbs olive oil
3 tbs molasses
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 lemon squeezed or 2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs Dijon-style mustard
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
Tie legs together with kitchen string and fold wing tips under back (at first joint) โ keeps them from flapping.ย Rub birds with olive oil.
Mix all remaining ingredients together in a small saucepan.ย Heat to boiling and simmer a minute or two.
Cook hens on barbecue grill over indirect heat, covered, for 45 โ 60 minutes or until done.ย Brush with the glaze immediately and 3 or 4 more times while cooking.ย Chicken is done at 160 F (70C) on your meat thermometer and/or the juices run clear when pierced with knife.ย Or they can be baked in a shallow roasting pan in a 400F oven for the same amount of time โ until done, basting the same.
When done, remove from heat, cut string and serve โ don't forget finger bowls (it's messy) and bone bowls (to keep your plates tidy).ย Serve whole or cut each bird in half.
Note:ย Mon mari likes to toss in a few apple wood chips at the start of cooking for a bit of smokey flavor.
In addition to the above, for the week of August 14 we have Glazed Salmon, Tomato Consommรฉ, Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Barbecue Sauce, Tomato and Zucchini Tart and moreโฆ.
Become a Thyme for Cooking Subscriber and get the menu, complete recipes with meal preparation instruction, and shopping list each Thursday.ย First two weeks FREE. ย (Reverse seasons available for Australia, and others in the Southern Hemisphere).
For more recipes visit my internet cook book:ย Easy Gourmet Dinners
Those โcuteโ spellings annoy me to no end! And when parents do it to a childโs name, they should be shot!
โฆ reminiscent of Peking Duck โฆ that sounds pretty cool!
โEats, Shoots and Leavesโ I enjoyed. Have to look for the โEyes before Ease; the Unsolved Mysteries and Secret Histories of Spellingโ.
Agreed! Agreed!
That game-hen looks fabulous! Thanks for a great idea.
All those things drive me mad too. And more: EZ on brand names. (I know itโs supposed to be short for โeasyโ but I just canโt stop myself from saying E-Zed.)
I just read the following wonderful passage in Donna Leonโs โFatal Remediesโ:
โTo access?โ he asked. โItโs a verb now?โ
โYes, sir, I believe it is.โ
โBut it didnโt used to be,โ Brunetti said, remembering when it had been a noun.
โI think Americans are allowed to do that to their words, sir.โ
โMake them verbs? Or nouns? If they feel like it?โ
โYes, sir.โ
โAh,โ Brunetti breathed.
(I love this Brunetti series.)
Have you heard anyone use โeffortโ as a verb yet? I have. Luckily, (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) it was a news announcer so he didnโt see me cringing nor did he hear me shrieking.
Rats. I just tried to put โEyes Before Easeโ on hold at the library but the only book by Larry Beason there is โThe McGraw-Hill handbook of English grammar and usageโ. Iโm guessing that it isnโt nearly as entertaining. But they do have Lynne Trussโ โEats, Shoots and Leavesโ. I canโt wait til it comes in!
ummm, whatโs with the giant photo of the blonde showing a tremendous amount of cleavage on the sidebar? (ad for Evony โStart your journey now, Lordโโฆ.) I do realize that you have to have ads on the sidebar but Iโm not so sure those ones are doing you many favours.
Happily, scrolling down shows much more on-topic ads with your thyme for cooking store.
I remember when France came out with the radio broadcasting guidelines on the percentage of American:French music played. Canโt blame them really on that one ๐
Your hens look absolutely gorgeous!! Just the title on this post had me riveted to the page. Will definitely be picking up some Cornish hens this week to make your recipe.
Kalyn, I so agree โ it;s just cruel.
Tanna, I love those books โ weird, huh?
Thanks, Mimiโฆ.
Elizabeth, I love those, too. And I hate turning perfectly good nouns into verbsโฆ. Iโve never seen the blondโฆ.hmmmm Iโll have to look into that.
Cymry, Thanks, hope you try them โ and like themโฆ
I neglected to come back here to say how much we liked this molasses glaze, Katie. It was wonderful and weโll definitely be having it again.
(also enjoyed โEats, Shoots and Leavesโ โ nice drawings!)