A door bell rings, a man opens the door, and there stands his mother-in-law with a suitcase.
“Ah, Mother, welcome, are you staying long?”
“For as long as you would have me, dear.”
“Why so fast? At least sit down and have a cup of tea first!”
This appetizer is actually called Mother-in-law Tongues. But I am having it “sit down and have a cup of tea first” while I thank an incredible blogger and incredibly hard worker Esmé Slabbert of https://cookandenjoyrecipes.wordpress.com who has nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award.
Esmé has created a great Recipe Exchange program that provides an invaluable service for the community, both by disseminating the recipes and by creating a wider network of food bloggers. Truly, Beautiful People, you will help yourselves and help others by participating in this program!
Thank you, dear friend, for working tirelessly to post all my holiday recipes in time for readers to see them and, hopefully, benefit form them before the holidays! And of course, thank you for nominating me, even though I really don’t know what makes me versatile! This is way too humbling for a simple funky cat who loves food.
Here are the rules :
- Show the award on your blog
- Thank the person that has nominated you
- Share 7 different facts about yourself
- Nominate 15 blogs of your choice
- Link your nominees and let them know about the nomination
This is becoming more challenging every time, as I have already shared 14 facts about myself for two previous awards. As extrovert as I am, I am essentially a private person, but I’ll try my best nonetheless. I will attempt to list 7 things that make me feel exhilarated.
- Swimming in moderate chop ocean and diving under the waves.
- Dancing, especially flamenco and Gypsy dances.
- Gypsy songs, both listening to them and singing.
- Certain paintings – I can look at them for hours.
- Some poetry, when it really touches me, and the same with books.
- Certain opera numbers and instrumental classical music pieces.
- The best for last – doing things with grandkids!
No, this is not me at 14 (come on, we didn’t have colored photography then!), it’s my granddaughter Alisia.
Now, it is my great pleasure and privilege to nominate some outstanding bloggers.
- https://gfhomebakery.com/ by Rita
- https://comeinsitdown.wordpress.com/ by Anna
- https://japanese-food.org/ by Aki
- http://mshealthesteem.com/ by Sara
- https://ilbruciacchio.wordpress.com/
- https://sashafromrussiablog.wordpress.com by Sasha
- https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/ by Sally Cronin
- https://cookingonpage32.wordpress.com by Peggy
- http://thishappymommy.com/ by Jessica
- http://therichmondavenue.com/ by Jasmine
- https://smoothbreeze7s.wordpress.com/ by Liz Collet
- https://earthacooks.com by Eartha
- https://nourishedpeach.com by Melissa
- https://ruchisvegkitchen.com by Ruchi
- http://ministryofcurry.com/ by Archana
Congratulations to all my nominees! You are not in any way obligated to accept, and I fully understand that not everyone has the time and inclination to participate in these self-and-others-promoting exercises. Therefore, I will truly appreciate if you accept the nomination, as I sincerely think you deserve it, but I won’t get offended if you don’t. Nominating each one of you is my way of giving credit to some exceptional bloggers and perhaps attracting attention to your work.
Back to mother-in-law jokes and my recipe.
A middle-aged lady walks into a room where her son-in-law is watching TV. She is carrying a broom.
“Mother,- says the man,- are you planning to clean or fly?”
On that note, I have to tell you, Beautiful People, that I had a great relationship with my mother-in-law OBM, and my husband, unfortunately, never had a chance to meet my mother OBM, so I absolutely do not relate to all this stuff! I had spent considerable time sifting through the multitude to find at least a few less offensive jokes, and the result, as you see, was scarce. I had spent even more time browsing through Russian and Ukrainian food sites trying to figure out why so many recipes nowadays are labeled Mother-in-law Tongue. The common factors are two: all of them are relatively spicy, depending on your taste, and all of them contain vegetables shaped or sliced to resemble a long sharp tongue. I suppose this answers my question as to how my old innocent delicious appetizer acquired this libelous label.
Basically, you just need a couple of nice firm zucchinis, a ripe juicy tomato to dice, and as much garlic as you wish, if you don’t want Dracula to visit your house. For the delicious spicy sauce that gave it its new name, you will mix light wine vinegar, olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper, a bit of sugar or xylitol, to sweeten things up, and some very spicy mustard. We buy this one at a Russian deli, and it is actually called Mother-in-law Mustard. Believe me, if your mother-in-law has a tongue as sharp as this mustard, you’d be telling these jokes and more!
While all the sauce ingredients, including diced tomato and minced garlic, are slowly coming to boil (just like some people’s tempers!), scrub your zucchinis, but don’t peel them. Slice them paper thin into fairly long stripes, and yes, they do resemble tongues.
Throw them into the boiling sauce, add a nice handful of chopped cilantro, mix it all up, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 – 20 minutes, until zucchini slices are fully cooked.
Among all guests in my Sukkah, I saw only one smirk and one sad, but understanding nod. I guess most of us are simply lucky! The appetizer, however, disappeared almost as soon as I placed it on the table. New name, but old and proven delicious recipe!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium size firm zucchinis
- 1 large soft tomato, diced
- 3 – 4 large garlic cloves, minced, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon light wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon spicy mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar or sweetener
- A pinch of cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A handful of fresh chopped cilantro
- Optional chili or jalapeno peppers.
PROCEDURE
- Mix all ingredients except zucchini in a saucepan, stir, bring to boil.
- Scrub zucchini, but do not peel. Slice paper thin into long stripes. Add to sauce.
- Add cilantro, stir, reduce to simmer, stir occasionally. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes until zucchini is very soft. Remove from heat, serve cold.
Enjoy!
Congrats again! 🙂
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Toda Rabbah!
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Congratulations!
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Thank you so much!
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Congrats on the award, and YUM!
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Thank you so much, Brittany!
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Congrats!
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Thank you dear!
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Yum! And congratulations! 🎉
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Thank you so much! How are the girls taking the Sukkah experience?
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Too funny! Yaffa is unhappy because we had too many insects 🐜 in the sukkah. Raizel is good, but poor thing, she is sick with a stomach bug. 🤒
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Nebach! Refuah Sheleima to Raizel! We have a “bug buzzer” in the sukkah, so we are insect free, thanks to my husband’ ingenuity.
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What is a bug buzzer?
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They sell them in hardware store. It’s an electric thing that looks like a lamp. When you plug it in, it emits a sound on a frequency that we can’t hear, but insects can’t stand. It doesn’t kill them, but it keeps them away. They come in different sizes, shapes, and strength. My husband rigs it up for me and my cousin because we are both allergic to sprays.
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I have to check it out! We usually have problems with bees 🐝 but this year it was so warm that all the insects decided to join the party. It sounds similar to using citronella candles.
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Very similar, but it won’t go out if it rains and it has no smell.
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Thanks for this awesome post. Sorry that I have not picked it up earlier. You’re a super super blogger Dolly ❤
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Coming from a super super blogger like yourself, it’s a great compliment!
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You’re so kind – thanks dear
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So are you!
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Such a healthy and tasty appetizer. No wonder it was gone quickly! 🙂
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Thank you, Ronit!
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Congrats😊…so glad to know about you more..
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Thank you dear!
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Always very exciting to be nominated for an award and I would like to thank Dolly of Kool Kosher Kitchen for giving me a mention.. and there is something for everyone in the post as Dolly has included one of her fabulous recipes. Mother – in-law’s tongues.. and if that does not have you rushing over … enjoy
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Thank you so much for your kind words!
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Congratulations Dolly 🙂 I’ll keep the jokes for my mother-in-law (I have the best mother-in-law imaginable).
And I have a jalapeno craving now…
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Oh, you are worse than my son who pops jalapenos like candy!
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Congrats. And it looks yum. =)
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Thank you so much – glad you like it!
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Congratulations on your award, Dolly! I’ve appreciated Flamenco and some Gypsy music, also. There was a special on tv (or somewhere) about the Gypsy music festival; it was interesting. I guess it appeals to the minor key and stringed instrument sounds familiar to Jewish music. I love classical guitar (Spanish) — Charo is great!
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Thank you so much! Charo is great, and have you heard Armik?
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I don’t know, but now it’s someone and something to explore. Hope there’s something on Youtube!
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Lots on Youtube – enjoy!
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Just explored. Amazing how we can do this. Listened to a few songs; “Gypsy Flame” was one of the more impressive ones.
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Yes, he just makes me feel alive!
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I’m still exploring. I liked Taalbi Brothers, playing the song “Freestyle”. They’re amazing 13 and 15 year old phenoms (I guess they’re older, now)!
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I don’t know much about them, other than they do what we in South Florida call “fusion” – will explore, thank you.
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