For many in my family, “International Talk Like a Pirate Day,” celebrated each September 19th, has struck a resonate chord almost from the moment of its inception years ago. We find it a day to cut loose modern convention, and free our Inner Pirate!
For a little International Talk Like a Pirate Day history, its inception began in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers from Albany, Oregon. These two proclaimed September 19th of each year, as a day folks around the globe should drop their native lingo and talk like a pirate.
Set aside your usual greeting of "Hello” for expressions like "Ahoy, me hearty!"
Mark Summers tells the tale about how the day came about as a result of a sports injury, he suffered during a racquetball game between he and Baur. One of them reacted to the pain with the exclamation, "Aaarrr!"
The date of the injury was actually June 6th 1995, but the two decided to choose Mark Summer's ex-wife's birthday (September 19th), for the annual celebration. Apparently, the ex-wife had plundered Summer’s wealth during a divorce.
So, on September 19th of each year, the globe talks pirate!
I should point out, however, the actual “pirate lexicon” should be, “Yar” – not “Aaarrr,” as John Baur uttered. It seems Hollywood got it all wrong in one of their movies, and it’s been perpetuated incorrectly since.
We're having a couple cooler days. I'm thinking about cooking up a Pirate Stew. Here's the recipe:
PIRATE STEW RECIPE
Ingredients:
3 pounds of Pork (cut in 1" cubes)
5 tablespoons Jerk Mix
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 White Onions, finely chopped
2 cans (26 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, drained & quartered
3 Tbs. fresh chopped cilantro
2 medium zucchini (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
3 Anistars (important ingredient)
2 bay leafs
1 piece fresh ginger (3 inches), grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 hot chilies seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon course sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium canned chicken stock
1 cup brewed coffee
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup honey
Directions:
Combine jerk mix and canola oil in a large bowl. Add pork cubes and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add pork and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned.
As batches become browned move them into a really large crock pot.
Add tomatoes, bay leaf, ginger, and garlic; bring to simmer. Stir in chilies, salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, chicken stock, coffee, and Worcestershire sauce. Also add cilantro, anistars, zucchini, carrots, and honey. Cover, reduce heat, and let the crock pot work for for several hours.
Remove bay leaf, and the Anistars, and serve.
Serves a boatload of Pirates!
*Note from Myrl: The Anistars are a very important ingredient in this recipe. Do not use too many. 3 - 4 of them is just fine. You can usually find them in Indian grocery stores.
Comments(20)