#White Millet

[fullcravings]

GF Blueberry Cobbler with Oat Biscuits

[francoise-larouge]

Hommage aux peintres de l’école de Barbizon©FrançoiseLarouge2023

[naturestrunk01]

The Truth about White Rice: Hidden Dangers of Processed Carbohydrates

White Rice might perhaps be the staple preparation item seen in any number of Indian recipes. It has been a staple for thousands of years and is integrated into a host of traditional dishes ranging from biryani to idli. Boiled with a fluffy texture, it may seem paler than other things but brings unmatched to so many recipes. However, in the case of White Rice, the refined nature promises secret dangers that should be negotiated because of the rich food heritage of India. This blog explores the deception of White Rice and highlights the reasons for embracing better alternatives to uplift diet and health quality.

The Refining Process and Its Impact

White Rice is preferred in Indian cooking because of the soft texture of the cooked Rice which helps to balance rich curries and stews. Of course, this also means that during the refining process, the bran and germ of the Rice grain are stripped away, leaving the nutrients and fiber behind. The only thing left is the starchy endosperm of the Rice grain, which has far fewer health benefits to offer.

Nutrient Removal

Rice loses a good amount of nutritional value through refining. Here's what's lost:

- Fiber: Fiber helps to prevent constipation and maintain stable blood sugar levels. It is used for digestive health.

- Vitamins: Some deficiencies found in White Rice include B vitamins, B1 or thiamine, B3 or niacin, and B6, which are used in energy metabolisms and total well-being.

- Minerals: Some of the important minerals in diets are lost during the refining process, such as iron, magnesium, and zinc.

Notably, many of these nutrients are replenished by enrichment but are far from comparable to the integral nutritional value found with brown Rice or other whole grains.

Health Risks of White Rice

1. High Glycemic Index

The high GI in White Rice forces the glycaemic activity and rapid spiking of blood sugar levels, eventually leading to insulin resistance, thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes area of tremendous concern in India with each passing year, with cases increasingly ascribed to lifestyle and dietary habits.

Comparison: Traditional Indian grains like Brown Rice and Millets have a low GI; which hence keeps the blood sugar level more balanced.

2. Weight Management Issues

Weight gain and obesity, which are increasingly of concern among India's population today, could be linked with high-GI foods like White Rice that cause hunger and overeating. The high fiber content in more grain types would reduce hunger and help retain their weight control.

White Rice in Indian Heritage

Indian heritage does not have any other place but a revered one for White Rice. It is used to prepare:

Any kind of Biryani: Steamed fragrant Rice with spices, meat, and sometimes vegetables.

Idli and Dosa: Steamed fermented Rice cakes and crepes from Rice and urad dal or black gram respectively.

Pulao: Rice preparation cooked with aromatic spices and vegetables or meat based on the choice.

As these cuisines constitute an impeccable portion of Indian culture, giving way to healthier options does not degrade the original staple foods in any way.

Healthier Variants Dominant in the Indian Tradition

1. Brown Rice

Brown Rice is a whole grain that includes bran and germ, thereby increasing the fiber content and also vitamins and minerals. It is much healthier than White Rice and can easily be a substitute for most traditional recipes.

Usage: Brown Rice Biryani or Pulao may be a wholesome alternative to traditional recipes.

2. Millets

Indians have been consuming these super grains such as Foxtail millet, Finger millet, and Barnyard millet for generations. Essential minerals, fiber, and protein are rich in Millets.

Usage: Millets offer a wholesome and nutritious substitute for your regular Dosa, Khichidi and Upma.

3. Quinoa

Tiny Quinoa is a nutritious grain that is becoming more popular because of its high protein content and low GI, although not of Indian origin. It can be included in Indian dishes to improve health.

Usage: Quinoa can be used as a substitute for Rice in biryani or pulao or added to salads for that protein boost.

Healthier Grains in Traditional Dishes

There's no limit to the flavours of the traditional when making healthier grains. Here's how you can incorporate alternatives:

1. Begin Step-Wise: Mix Brown Rice with white Rice in your recipes. Gradually increase the percentage of brown Rice over time.

2. Experiment with Flavours: Spice up Brown Rice with flavouring herbs to make it all the more presentable in your recipe dishes.

3. Breathe New Life into Traditional Recipes: Replace White Rice with Brown Rice, Millets, or Quinoa while preparing your favourite traditional recipes and breathe a healthier twist to these old recipes.

Conclusion: Rephrasing White Rice

White Rice itself has a deceitful story. Its highly refined nature has decreased its nutritional value and is proven to contribute to many health problems. In consequence, by learning about the negative impact White Rice has on you and healthier Indian-tradition-based alternatives, you can modify your diet and improve your well-being.

The incorporation of whole grains, whether Brown Rice, Millets, or Barley, besides a healthier lifestyle, does justice to India's rich culinary heritage. Adapt to these changes, and you'll enjoy traditional flavours with healthy food on your table.

[tumblerweeding69]

Inside PM Narendra Modi's state dinner menu: Millets, risotto and more

Around 400 guests have been invited to the State Dinner, which is being hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House today. As per news agency reports, a delicious vegetarian dinner menu has been prepared for the Prime Minister Reuters. However, there are no classic Gujarati dishes. The first course of the state dinner will include…

[cucumbermoon]

Two of my long-term obsessions have just collided in an odd way.

I was watching "Wooster With a Wife" for the first time in about a decade and when I got to this scene, I gasped.

Because that little painting behind Jeeves looks like nothing much, but it used to be famous. It's called "Between Two Fires," and it was painted by the American master, Francis Davis Millet, in 1892.

It depicts a 17th-Century man sitting between two standing women, beneath a sprig of mistletoe. The piece itself was extremely popular in its time. It was often hung in houses, it was printed onto cigarette cases and biscuit tins. That's probably how it came to be hanging there on the wall of a pub. Somebody hung it there in 1900 and never took it down.

The thing that is particularly interesting to me, personally, about this painting is the artist who painted it. Frank Millet, born in Massachusetts in 1843, was once one of the most famous American artists in the world. He did murals in great cities across Europe and America, painted a portrait of his friend Mark Twain, was a personal friend of President William Howard Taft and John Singer Sargent. He was married and had children, but he was also known for having rather public relationships with other men, most notably the writer Charles Warren Stoddard. Their love letters are still in existence and some have been published in a biography of Stoddard.

Francis Davis Millet:

These days, the most famous thing about him is that he died on the Titanic, and as such he is the only confirmed queer victim of the Titanic sinking (obviously there must have been many others, but he's the only one with existing documentation that proves it). He happened to be traveling with a close friend whom he lived with, one Major Archibald Butt, who is often theorized to have been his partner at the time. We don't know much about their lives together, but we do know (from a letter Butt once wrote to his sister-in-law) that Millet wall-papered the inside of their house while Butt was away on a business trip. The wallpaper he chose was roses – so many roses, Butt said that he felt he was suffocating beneath a giant pile of them. It's rare to get any insight at all into the lives of men who may have been partners at that time, and I always rather loved this particular little story.

Major Archibald Butt:

Both men died in the sinking and they share a joint memorial fountain in Washington, DC. It's just behind the White House and was erected by their friends, who remembered them as being devoted to each other. Here's a little bit of information about the fountain from the National Park Service:

[thiscountry]

White crowned sparrow loves millets

[aelin-the-gentle]

*crawls under your desk while you’re working*

*I am counting white millet seeds, sorting them into piles based on some criteria you cannot detect. Partly because you're under the table.*

[melanie-the-artful]

Genshin Character Names' Meanings Pt.2

Well, since we've got an announcement of our crane mom Cloud Retainer (or it's Xianyun now, I guess) and Gaming (no, not gaming Gaming, but like Ga Ming Gaming, you see), I thought it would be a great reason to sit down and make a compilation of all Liyue characters' names. Once again, I'll be glad if you tell me whether there are some mistakes, and have fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xiangling | From Chinese 香 (xiāng) meaning «Fragrant» and 菱 (líng) meaning «Water Caltrop» - Chinese Name

Xingqiu | From Chinese 行 (xíng) meaning «Carry Out», «Execute» or «Travel» and 秋 (qiū) meaning «Autumn» - Chinese Name 

Chongyun | From Chinese 重 (chóng) meaning «Layer» and 雲, 云 (yún) meaning «Cloud» - Chinese Name 

Hu Tao | Hu (胡, her surname) can mean «Doing things out of order or recklessly»; it's also present in «Butterfly» (蝴) and Tao (桃) is «Peach Tree» in Chinese, associated with longevity, immortality, and a sacred object - Chinese Surname and Name

Qiqi | From 七 (qī) meaning «Seven» - Chinese Name 

Baizhu | From Chinese 白 (bái) meaning «White», «Pure» and 朮, 术 (zhú) meaning «Glutinous Millet» - Chinese Name 

Yaoyao | From 瑶 (yáo) meaning «Jade», «Precious Stone» or «Beautiful» - Chinese Name

Yanfei | From Chinese 烟 (yàn) meaning «Smoke», «Vapor» and 绯 (fēi) which is for «Crimson», «Scarlet» - Chinese Name 

Yelan | Literally «Night Orchid» in Chinese

Beidou | Named after the Big Dipper asterism, which is known in Chinese as 北斗 (Běidǒu). The name literally means «Northern Dipper». Interesting how it is also referred to as 北斗七星 (Běidǒu Qīxīng), lit. "Seven Stars of the Big Dipper" in Chinese. The North Star, Polaris, is located within this asterism and is used by sailors to navigate at sea. Yes, the name of the organization Qixing also consists of the same hieroglyphs, and the titles of the members of the Qixing are the same as the Chinese names for the stars in the Big Dipper

Xinyan | From 辛 (xīn) which is «Spicy» and 焱 (yàn) meaning «Fire», «Flame» - Chinese Name 

Yun Jin | Yun (云) means «Cloud», and Jin (堇) means «Violet (plant)» - Chinese Surname and Name

Gaming | From 嘉 (jiā) «Praise», «Joyful» or «Auspicious» and 明 (míng) meaning «Bright», «Clear-sighted» or «Honest» - Chinese Name

Xiao | 魈 (Xiāo), which derived from a chinese legend "魑魅魍魉” in which there is a group of demons. although its mainly four demons

Alatus | Literally «Winged» in Latin

Shenhe | Most likely from 申 (shēn) meaning «State» and 鹤 (hè) meaning «Crane» - Chinese Name 

Xianyun | 闲云 (xián yún), comes from a four word idiom 闲云野鹤 - «Drifting clouds and wild crane» It means people who are footloose and fancy-free

Ganyu | From Chinese 甘 (gān) meaning «Sweet» and 雨 (yǔ) meaning «Rain» - Chinese Name 

Keqing | From 刻 (kè) «To Carve» and «Clear/Sunny» (qíng) - Chinese Name

Ningguang | Literally «Frozen Light» or «Concentrated Light» in Chinese

Zhongli | 钟 (zhōng) translates to clock and 離, 离 (lí) - «To leave», yet together they form 送钟 (sòng zhōng /song jong), which sounds exactly like the Chinese words for «Attending a funeral ritual» (送终 -sòng zhōng) and thus it is bad luck to gift clocks or watches - Chinese Name (and an interesting game of words)

Morax | Comes from Duke and Governor Morax, the 21st of Goetia Demons 

Ping | 萍 (píng), means «Tender», «Natural» and «Friendly» - Chinese Name

Guizhong | From Chinese 歸, 归 (guī) meaning «To return» and 終, 终 (zhōng) meaning «To end» - Chinese Name 

Osial | May be a portmanteau of Ose, the 57th of Goetia Demons

Beisht | Is likely derived from the Beisht Kione Dhoo (Manx: "Beast With the Black Head"), a creature from Isle of Man folklore, where "Beisht" means «Beast» or «Worm» in Manx.

Marchosias | Comes from Marquis Marchosias, the 35th of Goetia Demons

Havria | Could possibly be a form of Havres, another name of the 64th of Goetia Demons, Duke Flauros.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phew, that was probably the hardest one. There is still Inazuma up ahead, yet I at least have some knowledge in Japanese, while with Chinese names I had to look up every single one (I mean, I will double-check Inazuman names of course, it's just that I'm more sure about the meanings of some of them).

'Till next time!

[macgyvermedical]

Food Options for People with Histamine and Salicylate Itolerances

Hi All,

My wife just found out that she has both histamine intolerance and salicylate intolerance. Within days of starting to take antihistamines and eating only very low histamine/salicylate foods, nearly every health problem she's had for the last 15 years (including vision problems, plantar fasciitis, severe GERD, severe brain fog (to the point where we thought she had early onset Alzheimer's), chronic fatigue, and joint pain) literally went away or got markedly better overnight.

The only thing is: If you're really strict on the low histamine and low salicylate diets, it really limits what you can eat. If you're gluten or lactose intolerant as well, that makes things even more difficult.

So I decided to put together some recipes that contain the lowest possible histamine and salicylate burdens. The "safest" list contains only the following: Bamboo shoots, cabbage, celery, iceberg lettuce, peeled white potato, millet, oats, rice, maple syrup, white sugar, distilled white vinegar, saffron, sea salt, canola oil, safflower oil, egg yolk, meat, fish, poultry- very fresh only, true fish only.

Marinade: Mince a stalk of celery, then combine that with a third of a cup white vinegar, a half teaspoon salt, and 2 tbsp maple syrup. Soak your meat or poultry in it before cooking to give it some flavor.

Salad (or anything) Dressing: Whisk together 2 raw egg yolks, 2 tbsp white vinegar, and 2 tbsp canola oil. Salt to taste.

Slaw: Shred a quarter of a cabbage, 3 stalks celery, and 1 can bamboo shoots. Toss in a dressing made from a third of a cup of white vinegar, a tbsp white sugar, and a third of a cup of canola or safflower oil.

Potato and Rice fritters: Cook a cup of white rice until it's soft. Peel and chop a medium potato into 1-in cubes, boil potato until soft, drain and mash. Mix rice and potato, add 2 egg yolks and salt to taste, form into patties, and fry in canola oil.

Potato and Celery Soup: Mince 5 stalks of celery and fry in a tbsp or two of canola oil. Add 4 cups chicken stock (make ahead by boiling a chicken carcass in water with a tbsp vinegar for 3 hours) and 2 large potatoes (peeled and cubed). Boil until the potatoes are soft. Mash the potatoes in the stock, add salt to taste, and serve.

Congee with Pickle: Soak bamboo shoots overnight (or a few hours) in a mixture of 1/3 cup vinegar, a teaspoon salt, and a tbsp sugar. Make a rice or millet soup by cooking grains in about double the water specified on the package. Mash the grain and flavor this soup with salt or sugar to taste. Fry a couple of egg yolks or some fish and place on top. Eat with your bamboo shoot pickle.

Millet Crispies: Pop millet by placing a small amount in a dry frying pan.

Oatmeal: Make oatmeal according to package instructions with salt to taste. Top with fried egg yolks, maple syrup, millet crispies, fried minced celery, slaw, or whatever meat options you have available.

Celery Boats: Shred a cup or so of cooked chicken and toss with salad dressing listed above. Fill stalks of celery with the mixture.

Beef and Cabbage Soup: Fry 3 stalks of minced celery in canola oil at the bottom of a pot. Cut up a half head of cabbage into ribbons and fry with the celery. Remove the celery and cabbage. Put a pound of beef stew meat cut into 1-in chunks (or ground meat of choice) in the pot and brown. Add the celery and cabbage back in, add 6 cups water or stock, and boil with salt to taste until at least the meat is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Lettuce wraps: Brown a pound of ground chicken in a pan with 3 stalks minced celery, half a cup of chopped bamboo shoots, a tbsp of vinegar and salt to taste. When cooked through, carefully remove leaves of iceberg lettuce from a head. Fill with meat mixture and enjoy. Serve with rice.

Rice Pudding: Whisk together 4 egg yolks, a quarter cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour, a pinch of salt, and a scant cup of water. Add this to a pot with 1.5 cups COOKED rice. Stir on medium heat until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid but is still somewhat pour-able. Pour into a small casserole type dish and chill in the fridge to set.

Contains wheat, fresh dairy, onion, parsley:

Beef Stew: Cook 4 stalks minced celery and 1 minced medium onion in butter or ghee until soft. Add 1 lb beef stew meat cut into 1-in chunks and brown. Add 6 cups stock or water and salt and parsley to taste. Whisk together 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour and add to mixture. Peel and cut 2 medium white potatoes and add to mixture. Bring to a low boil and simmer until meat and potato chunks are cooked through- about 20 minutes.

Flat breads: Combine 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup butter, oil, or ghee with 2 cups flour (adjust amounts as needed to create a workable dough). Roll into flat rounds and cook on a dry skillet.

Mashed Potatoes with Onion: Peel and cut 4 large white potatoes into 1-in cubes. Place in a pot with water to cover. Boil for 20-30 minutes. While boiling, mince 1 large white onion and cook in butter, oil, or ghee until caramelized. Drain and mash potatoes. Add onion to potatoes along with a tbsp dried parsley and salt to taste and cream or milk to taste. Stir everything together.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds, Chicken Nuggets, Battered French Fries, or Onion rings: Combine 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1tsp baking soda, and salt to taste. Bring 2-3 inches of canola oil or lard to frying temp. Dump 1lb of cheese curds, 1-in flattened chunks of chicken, sliced white potato, or sliced onion in batter, and spoon them into the frying oil. Fry until crispy and remove onto a plate lined with paper towels. See "Salad Dressing" in previous comment for something to dip in.

Maple Milk: Put a few tbsp maple syrup into a glass of warm or cold milk for a treat.

Cheesy Dessert Tacos: Make flatbreads listed above. Mix together 2 tbsp maple syrup with a half cup plain farmer's cheese or goat cheese. Spread on flat breads and fold like a taco.

Cheesy Dinner Tacos: Combine 2 tsp onion powder and 2 tsp dried parsley with a half cup plain farmer's or goat cheese. Spread on flatbreads. Add shredded cooked chicken and shredded cabbage. Fold like a taco.

Mapley "Crime" Brulee: Whisk together 6 egg yolks, 4 tbsp maple syrup, and 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream in a pot over low heat, whisking continuously until thick. Pour into ramekins, sprinkle with white sugar, bake until set, then broil until the tops are crispy.

[fullcravings]

GF/DF Coconut Flour Banana Cake

[bluemorningsoup]

WIP Wednesday

I think it’s still a Wednesday somewhere… Thank you to @symphorine for the tag!

Context: the Man of Progress had been missing for months.

Nothing and no one impeded the Herald's progress until he arrived before the vault door. Viktor's eyes traced the grooves of the Talis insignia carved across its reinforced steel face.

At the exact same moment in the distance, scores upon scores of men and women and children were momentarily compelled to abandon what they had been doing and turn their faces to the horizon, as if they were sunflowers following the pull of an illusory celestial body, scanning and searching the fissures of Zaun, the cobbled streets of Piltover, and the Noxian war camps. Eyes upon eyes on stalks, seeing nothing and no one that Viktor was seeking.

The Herald did not sigh with disappointment, having left the notion of it behind, along with the disorder of human emotion. Instead, as he lowered his gaze, the arm-like appendage growing out his spine swivelled forward and, with a whirr and a click, unlocked its grip, revealing a spherical crystal of singular perfect blue.

(In the fissures, at the edge of an assemblage of white canvas tents, where children played and men and women dressed in white smiled as they gathered fruits, filtered water, and purified the air for those who came to them, those who resembled them before the Herald came to lay his healing hand on them—hurt and tired and hungry and longing to breathe free—a boy was running by the fields. His legs, which did not use to move, bore the mother-of-pearl inlays of Viktor's touch. Coming to a halt in the fertile soil, he raised his head to watch the wind sigh across the rows upon rows of drooping millet and listen to its soft, mournful sound.)

Tagging @huldraism and @42frogs . No pressure, of course!

[princesssarisa]

The latest series of stories I've read in Cinderella Tales From Around the World are from Eastern and Central Europe: Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

*In several Eastern European versions, the Virgin Mary is the girl's helper who gives her finery. She appears either from a well or from inside an oak tree or a fir tree.

*In most of these variants, the heroine goes to church. Only a very few have a ball instead.

*Several also have the stepmother give the heroine a task similar to the Grimms' lentils in the ashes – typically poppy or millet seeds to sort either from the ashes or from sand, or bushels of wheat to clean – and birds help her. Also recalling the Grimms' version (and many others, of course), the third time the heroine flees, the prince usually has the church or palace steps smeared with tar or wax, causing her to lose her shoe.

*In the one Ukrainian version, the heroine has a cow who magically finishes the impossible amount of spinning and weaving the stepmother demands she do every day. Of course the stepmother eventually has the cow killed, but in its entrails the girl finds a grain of corn, which she plants, and it grows into a willow tree. From then on, when she wants finery for church, the tree opens and ladies come out to dress her. In this version, she also loses both of her golden shoes rather than just one in the tar on the church steps.

*Two Hungarian versions, The Three Princesses and Popelusa, and one unnamed Polish version are all near-identical to Finette Cendron. Three daughters of a deposed king are abandoned in the forest, they find an ogre couple's castle, the youngest outwits the ogres and slays them, but then her ungrateful sisters treat her like a servant, etc. Since Madame d'Aulnoy's tale is a literary story, could this be a sign of French influence in Eastern and Central European culture?

*Another Polish version, The Princess with the Pigskin Cloak, combines Cinderella with themes from Snow White. A wicked queen has a magic mirror, which tells her that her stepdaughter is more beautiful than she is. So she orders her servants to kill the princess and bring back her heart, but they let her go and bring back a dog's heart instead. The princess dresses herself in pigskin and finds work as a swineherd, but she knows a certain hollow oak tree that's sacred to the Virgin Mary, and when she goes inside it, she finds a room where she receives finery for church. She finally loses a shoe, is found by the prince and marries him, and the queen dies of rage and grief when her magic mirror tells her the news.

*Several of these versions have the heroine run away from her stepfamily, but unlike most others that use this device, they don't have her work as a servant at the prince's palace, but just find farm work somewhere nearby, a la Perrault's Donkeyskin.

*This brings me to an issue that's appeared in many versions so far, but which I didn't bother to discuss until now. I suppose now is as good a time as any, because it's a theme that appears in many of these Eastern and Central European tales. In so many versions of Donkeyskin/All-Kinds-of-Fur, or any Cinderella story where the heroine leaves her home and finds work as a lowly servant at the royal palace or elsewhere, the prince tends to repeatedly meet her in her rags or animal skins, and he mistreats her. In the versions where she works at the palace, when she takes off his boots or brings him bath water, a towel, and a comb, he throws them at her. Or in versions where she works elsewhere, she meets him on the road, he drops things and she hands them back to him, but instead of thanking her, he hits her with them. Then at the ball or at church, when she's in her beautiful gowns and he's smitten with her, he asks her where she came from, and she replies with allusions to his earlier rudeness, which he fails to understand.

**This is obviously uncomfortable by modern standards. I suppose to the original audiences, it was funny, ironic social commentary: the prince pines over the "mystery princess" with no idea that she's really the scraggly kitchen maid he treats like dirt, and he's clueless when she alludes to her identity. But does it bode well for "happily ever after" when she marries a man who treated her badly? I think this goes to show that in traditional oral fairy tales, there tends to be less emphasis on finding "true love" than on simply escaping from bad situations and achieving safety, comfort, and preferably wealth and high status. It doesn't matter that the prince is a bit of a jerk, what matters is that he makes the girl a princess in the end. Still, when you want her to marry a worthy man and believe he'll make her happy, it's uncomfortable. Different adaptations obviously find different ways to handle it. For example, Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics' "The Coat of Many Colors" avoids all this and has the prince always be kind to Aleia, while "Sapsorrow" from Jim Henson's the Storyteller keeps his rudeness but gives him a small redemption arc, first by finally sharing a sympathetic conversation with "the Straggletag," then by agreeing to marry her when the slipper fits her before he learns her identity.

**Maybe this tradition partly explains why the prince in the classic movie Three Wishes for Cinderella is slightly bratty and rude at first. I know that @thealmightyemprex found that choice off-putting when he reviewed the movie, and I have mixed feelings about it too, but maybe it stems from the fact that in Europe's oral Cinderella stories, bratty princes are surprisingly common.

Speaking of which...

*This book includes the two Cinderella stories from the Czech-Austrian writer Božena Němcová's collection that inspired Three Wishes for Cinderella. One is called The Three Sisters, the other O Popelusce ("Of Cinderella").

**They both follow the same formula. The heroine's kind father (whom the movie replaces with a surrogate-father manservant) sets out on a journey, and his daughter asks him to bring her the first thing that knocks against his head. This turns out to be the branch of a nut tree, containing three nuts, which produce beautiful dresses and shoes that she wears to church three times.

*Each version is slightly different, though, and both are slightly different from the 1973 movie. In The Three Sisters, the heroine Anuska is abused by her own mother and sisters, while in O Popelusce she has a stepmother and stepsisters. Meanwhile, the movie uses a stepmother and just one stepsister. In both stories, the (step)mother cuts the sisters' feet to make the slipper fit, with the movie replaces with their stealing Cinderella's clothes to pass Dora off as her. As I said, both stories have the heroine go to church, while the movie draws on the Western European Cinderella tradition and has a ball, and unsurprisingly, neither the movie Cinderella's sassy tomboy personality nor her dressing as a boy to join a royal hunt can be found in Němcová's original tales.

*Still, it's clear that in some ways the movie draws strongly on Němcová's texts. In The Three Sisters, the second sister's name is Dorotka, which must explain why the one stepsister in the movie is named Dora. And Anuska's first church dress is rose colored with silver trim, just like the movie Cinderella's ball dress

**From now on, in Three Wishes for Cinderella, I think I'll imagine "Anuska" as Cinderella's real name, as it is in The Three Sisters. It's a Czech equivalent of "Annie," and she's definitely a spunky Little Orphan Annie type of character in the movie!

*There's also a Hungarian version that's almost identical to Němcová's, with three dress-producing walnuts. But it has a completely different ending. The heroine doesn't lose a shoe. Instead the prince's servant follows her as far as her house, then puts a golden rose on the gatepost to mark it. Meanwhile, her loving father can't bear to let her be abused anymore and takes her to live with a childless widow in the forest – she's still poor and still has to work, but she's better off than with her stepfamily. When the prince comes to the family's house to look for her, only her stepsisters are there, but then the golden rose magically rises up and floats through the air to the forest cottage, and there she is. But then, in a different (and sadly racist) twist on the common "false bride replaces Cinderella" plot line, a Romani woman pushes the heroine into a lake, steals her magic walnuts, and dresses in her clothes to trick the prince. But the heroine survives by turning into a golden duck, then resumes her true form and finds work as a servant near the palace. But one day, the prince brings his new bride out in public and urges her to tell everyone the story of her life. The Romani woman fabricates a story, but then the real Cinderella speaks up and reveals the truth, and the prince instantly recognizes his true bride. He has the Romani woman executed, the stepmother jailed, and the stepsisters' hair cut off, while the father marries the widow from the forest in a double wedding with his daughter and the prince.

@adarkrainbow, @ariel-seagull-wings, @themousefromfantasyland

[eternal--returned]

Vincent van Gogh ֍ The Sheep Shearer (after Millet) (1889)

Van Gogh painted this sheep shearer 'in a range from lilac to yellow'. This is how he described it to his brother Theo from the asylum in Saint-Rémy, where he was staying because of his poor mental state. Vincent regained his self-confidence by copying works of art by other painters. In doing so, he worked from black-and-white prints, the depiction of which he copied fairly accurately. But he came up with the colors himself.

For this painting, he used a small woodcut as an example. It was part of the ten-part series The Work in the Field after paintings by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). Vincent wrote: 'Now that I don't have any models, it ensures that I don't lose sight of the figure.'

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode, Pl. 310, 17 août 1833, Paris. Mousseline Indoue, dite rose des enfants d'Edouard; des Magasins Gagelin. Chapeau de gros de naples Princesse par Mme. Millet. Echarpe de blonde de Mme. Gleizal. Cannezou de tulle. Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library

The seated woman on the left is wearing a dress with floral print, gigot sleeves, and a white tippet. She is wearing white gloves, a black stole, and a white bonnet decorated with flowers. She is holding a handkerchief in her right hand. The seated woman on the right is facing away from the viewer. She is wearing a pink dress with gigot sleeves and a white tippet. She is wearing a black stole around her neck and a pink bonnet decorated with flowers.

[100493503004422]

ever get confused by the choices at the grocery

u: confused & disoriented in the aisle of a whole foods, stumbling around because there are too many types of rice. long grain. short grain. white. brown. basmati. jasmine. arborio. sushi. wild. calrose. you're crying now as the grains come at you. red quinoa. white quinoa. farro. amaranth. barley. freekeh. millet. fonio. teff. surely these can't all be real products, some of them must have been made up to trick you. you look for something normal to ground yourself, but the next thing you see is something so bewildering it brings you to your knees: fake rice made out of vegetables. it's too much; they've gone too far. it's an abomination. you start screaming and you can't stop. other shoppers try to soothe you, but it's no use. you're inconsolable. the whole foods employees are forced to tase you (as per standard protocol under amazon). you go limp & are carried off. but don't worry, you're safe now. the grocery store can't hurt you anymore.