Lamb Caldereta

Lamb caldereta, known as caldereta manchega in Spanish, is a wonderful way to prepare lamb. This recipe takes some time to prepare, but it's well worth the effort. Here is the recipe:

1 kg lamb
1/2 onion
4 cloves of garlic
3 tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 lemon
1 bay leaf
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup fried almonds
nutmeg
black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup water
olive oil
salt

Chop up the onion and garlic.
Fry in olive oil until golden brown.
Add the tomatoes and green pepper.
Fry until tender.
Add 1 cup of water.
Add the lamb and 1 sliced lemon without seeds.
In a separate pan fry the almonds in olive oil and add.
Add the bay leaf, beef stock and seasonings.
Cook over low heat.
Remove the lemon after 15 minutes.
Add the white wine.
Cook until the sauce thickens and the meat is well-done.
If necessary, add more water.

Lamb caldereta is a fantastic way to cook lamb. Enjoy!

Devotion

The poet Robert Frost wrote a short poem about devotion. Here is the poem:

Devotion

The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to ocean-
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.

This short poem consists of four verses with nine syllables.  In the poem Robert Frost exemplifies devotion by comparing the ocean and the shore. The two are devoted to one another. True acts of love and devotion aren't always new. Many times they are repetitive acts that persist day after day.

Devotion is like the shore and the ocean. They are inseparable. This can symbolize those whose true devotion to one another is everlasting.

Silent H

The English letter h is usually pronounced, but in a number of words it is silent. This is an example of sound change. The spelling reflects an older pronunciation of the language.

Here is a list of words which begin with a silent h:

heir
honest
honour
hors d'oeuvre
hour

In British English the h is pronounced in herb. However, in American English it isn't. In the name Herb (short for Herbert) the h is pronounced.

The letter h is also silent in other positions in the word. Here is a list:

echo
exhaust
exhibition
ghost
rhinoceros
rhubarb
rhythm
school
thyme
vehicle

The h in English is usually pronounced. This is the case in words such as happy, hill, hotel, lightouse and reheat. In certain words, however, the h is no longer pronounced. This is the result of deletion, a common sound change in the languages of the world.

Blueberry Soup

Blueberry soup is very popular in Sweden. This soup can be served hot or cold. It's a very tasty soup and easy to prepare. Here's the recipe:

2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon potato flour

Rinse and drain the blueberries.
Place the berries in a suacepan.
Add the sugar and water.
Bring to a boil while stirring.
Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes until the berries become soft and disintegrate.
Remove from the heat.
Mix the potato flour with a little water.
Pour slowly into the soup and return to the heat.
Stir continuously until the soup thickens.

This soup can be served with whipped cream. Enjoy!

Denasalization in Portuguese

Portuguese and Spanish are similar languages. However, one of the features which serves to distinguish them in denasalization. A number of Portuguese words deleted an earlier intervocalic nasal which Spanish still preserves. Here is a list to illustrate:

arena areia (sand)
cadena cadeia (chain)
ganado gado (livestock)
general geral (general)
luna lua (moon)
moneda moeda (coin)
persona pessoa (person)
sonar soar (sound)
tener ter (have)
venir vir (come)

In the cases of areia and cadeia, we see denasalization followed by diphthongization. In words such as ganado and tener, we see denasalization followed by vowel deletion. The word vir illustrates denasalization followed by deletion of the unstressed vowel. As a result, we can postulate that in words such as ter the unstressed vowel was deleted. In general, both front vowels are unstressed (geral is stressed on the final syllable), but it seems plausible that the second vowel was deleted because it was the least stressed.

Denasalization is one phonological process which is evident in Portuguese. The loss of intervocalic /n/ in Portuguese is not evident in Spanish and other Romance languages. In certain cases, however, Portuguese preserves intervocalic /n/. as in  corona (crown), fonologia (phonology) and telefone (telephone). Thus intervocalic denasalization in Portuguese is variable.

Resultatives

Resultatives are forms that express a change in state as the result of the completion of an event. They appear as predicates of sentences.Resultatives usually consist of a verb, a postverbal noun phrase and a resultative phrase.

The following are examples of resultatives:

He painted the fence white.
She wore her hair up.
He made the curry very spicy.
The door swung open.
The dog licked the bowl clean.

In the example The door swung open the structure consists of a verb and a resultative phrase. This structure is also common in resultatives.

Resultatives are used to form a wide range of sentences. The term is commonly used in linguistics. In the sentence He painted the fence white it is understood that the fence was previously a colour other than white. In resultatives the noun phrase undergoes a change of state.

Sour Milk

Sour milk is easy to make. It tastes similar to buttermilk and can be used in baking. Here is the recipe:

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix the milk and lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes. Sour milk can be used for baking or as an alternative for buttermilk.