Pondering The Weekend

I have no idea what the picture above has to do with the weekend quite frankly, but when I did a Google search for images of the weekend, this was one of them and it made me laugh.  If anyone has any insights, please feel free to share.

As for my plans, a big fat nothing.  Heck, I may not need to even order groceries.  The past two weekends have been quite social so I am thinking that this one may be low key and just take time to enjoy the balcony and a movie or two.  Laundry is done and the dishes in the dishwasher just need to be put away.  So most of the chores are done and done.

Cooking will be pork ribs tomorrow and chicken on Sunday.  Have some shrimp and salmon in the freezer at this point.  I know I will not starve to say the least.  There is some leftover Roma tomatoes to get used up so may make a salad with blue-cheese dressing.  I also have my stash of tuna that is oh so good.  Brunch will be scrambled eggs and sausage one day while the other will be hash browns with Chow-chow on them plus some eggs.  My Grandmother used to make Chow-Chow and Dad loved it and put it on a lot of different thing.  Last Christmas I was surprised to see a jar of it in a package from friends in Kentucky.  What a welcome treat.  Don't know what Chow-Chow is?

Chow-chow (chowchow, chow chow) is a American pickled relish made from a combination of vegetables. Mainly green tomato, cabbage, chayote, red tomatoes, onions, carrots, beans, asparagus, cauliflower and peas are used. These ingredients are pickled in a canning jar and served cold.

Chow-chow has become regionally associated with the Southern United States, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, the Appalachian Mountains, and soul food. The recipes vary greatly; some varieties are sweeter than others. Pennsylvania chow-chow, known by the Wos-Wit brand, is generally much sweeter than the southern varieties. 

Some believe that Chow-chow found its way to the Southern United States during the expulsion of the Acadian people from Nova Scotia and their settlement in Louisiana. It is eaten by itself or as a condiment on fish cakes, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pinto beans, hot dogs, hamburgers and other foods. Others cite a connection to relish recipes of Chinese rail workers in the 1800s and Indian chutneys.

The term "chow-chow" is obscure. A possible source of the name is the ingredient chayote, which is itself known as chow chow in India. A very common Indian chutney (or thuvayal or thogayal) is made from chayote. The name is sometimes used interchangeably with Piccalilli (Indian pickle). It has also been suggested that it is based on the French word chou for cabbage; however, despite the geographic affinities as well as a similarity in the written forms, food nomenclature is mostly transmitted orally: the fundamental difference in pronunciation makes this a weak theory. Food historian Luis W. Fernandez claims a connection with Chinese cuisine as an origin.  **Thank you to Wikipedia for the information.