We Can Only Speculate: My French Lesson

My French Lesson

Posted by Unknown On Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Dans le sac . . . but sur la table. I found myself helping another PCT with these prepositions. Me?! With my poor French? Inside the bag, but on the table. Dans . . . sur. Don't they have over-priced kitchen-ware stores in Burkina Faso. Doesn't everyone know the kitchen boutique: Sur La Table? Speaking of kitchen wares, here's a recipe that requires a few. It's Bissop. Sssssh. Don't tell. Don't let the recipe get out. Anyone caught marketing this recipe in the U.S. will be charged with patent violation by us BF stagieres. So get your litle Bics ready.

One scoop of fleurs d'oiseilles (big scoop, about the size of a soccer ball).
One scoop of gingembre roots . . . enough that you'll need both hands to hold the scoop (I like lots of gingembre). You could halve that amount of gingembre and still have a fine brew.
One very large handful of menthe.

Now you're ready to make the best juice drink in the world.

Place the fleurs in a large pot and simmer in enough water to cover for about an hour. Be certain to maintain that water-covered status for the entire hour. Don't need a rigorous boil here, just a simmer.
Wash the gingembre very thoroughly, rinse, repeat. Break the clean gingembre into pieces and rinse it again. You can now grate the pieces or simply place the broken pieces directly into a large mortier. Here's the fun part: Pilez away. Pile, pile, pile until it's mush; and when you think that it's really mush, pilez some more.
Wash the menthe very well and set aside. If you're in Burkina, you'll want some bleach in the menthe wash-water.
Remove the gingembre mush to a new bowl and cover with water (about a cup). Stir to make your jus de gingembre. Pour the watery mixture through a strainer into a new bowl pressing firmly to get all of the flavor from the pulp. Replace the gingembre mush back in the first bowl. Repeat the process again with another cup of water. Your new bowl should now contain about a pint of jus de gingembre.
Rip-apart/crush the well-washed menthe to release oils.
Remove simmering fleurs d'oiseilles from heat. Add menthe to the very hot liquid and allow to rest for about 15 mintues.
Then add the strained gingembre juice to the warm liquid. Stir and then strain the entire mixture into a new bowl or a heat-resistant pitcher or bottle.
Add sugar to taste. Don't go overboard on the sugar (I like about three tablespoons).

You now have Bissop concentrate. It's good with about a 1:1 addition of water, but you may desiree more water and sugar. Alternatively, a 1:1:1 ratio of Bissop, water, and gin makes a nice martini. Shake over ice and add a twist of lime. Enjoy.

What are fleurs d'oiseilles? I'm told that they're hibiscus flowers; but they're not any hibiscus variety known to us Texans. So what are they and where can we get the seeds in the U.S.? Do we really use a cocktail shaker and ice here in Burkina Faso? We can only speculate.