Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Esculent – Wordplay Wednesday™ 04/29/2020


Food Fit for a Queen 

Apparently, having just cut up a chicken for parceling to freezer for the week’s quickie meals, food was still on my mind when I stumbled on this week’s word.

We humans are a discriminatory culinary society, with differing tastes as to what is …

ESCULENT (esʹkyōō lɘnt) adj. – fit for food; edible (n. – something fit for food, esp. a vegetable). [WW #266]

You might think its sound, and simply for its epicurean definition, esculent is derived from the French, but it is Latin from esculentus with essentially the same meaning. No matter its origin, it’s all about food.

During our imposed stay-at-home orders, we’ve naturally turned to the kitchen for entertainment. Since many basic cooking and baking ingredients are AWOL from store shelves, freezers and refrigerators, to say we’ve become even more creative with recipes is an understatement.

Time to get artistic and think back-in-the-box for esculent substitutes not just in veggies, but everything from baking to meat dishes. And, not just for yourself, but you writers can add a cooking scene to your fiction works in any genre with esculent results!

No flour? Bisquick may be more readily available and a darned good alternative in a ton of alternative recipes. Don’t want to touch the open-air veggies? Give some thought to obtaining necessary vitamins alternatively in other esculent items. Think salmon, yogurt, and kidney beans.

Meat eaters have their own challenges … with the threat of empty meat counters, if you aren’t already a vegan, perhaps it’s time to at least give one dish a try. It might give you an esculent surprise!

Word Challenge: ESCULENT. Many creative people tend to make lemonade out of lemons in every walk of life. Look around you for edible inventiveness, as you fit esculent into your week of delicious writings.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 



[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books in her Blast from Your Past series (of three) about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. True behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday and anytime Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

*Note: 1) Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Yes, we sometimes present them out of “official” context—but that’s half the fun! Think of it as “creative context.” 2) Neither I (LinDee Rochelle) nor Penchant for Penning are responsible for how you use information found here, that may result in legal action.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

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