Sunday, July 15, 2007

Coriandrum sativum



CV has a great talent for figuring out what Star Wars character a person is, or what breed of dog you might be, or what actor would play you in the movie of your life. So when we wandered down a ridiculous conversation path that involved an anecdote about someone saying their favorite Spice Girl was "You know, the other one...Spicy Spice" when what he really meant was Scary Spice, it was only a matter of seconds before CV was explaining what spices various acquaintances of ours would be.



"She's cinnamon because in large doses she's just awful, but mix a little bit of her with some sugar and you've got something good. And I'm cumin. Because I really like how it sounds. Cumin."



"Well then, what spice am I?" I asked.



CV thought a minute - with a very serious looking thinky face, I might add - and then said, with all the gravitas and authority of a woman who is about to pronounce one an item commonly found in the cabinet just to the left of the stove, "You are cilantro."



"Why?" I asked, intrigued.



"Because cilantro is a little bit exotic, but it's still good in lots of things. You can put cilantro in Chinese food, but it also goes in Mexican food. Cilantro is just exotic enough."



Speaking of cilantro, I'm going on vacation to Mexico in less than 3 weeks. No, I'm not going anywhere near the beach, but there will be lots of old towns built in the Spanish colonial days. I look forward to cobblestone streets, majestic Catholic churches, and burros. Preferably all at the same time.
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