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Cinnamon and Gunpowder QUOTES

Cinnamon and Gunpowder QUOTES

1 " Inside, the box was divided into tiered chambers, each with a lacquered lid, and these held a selection of ground and whole spices: sage, turmeric, cumin, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, asafetida, mace, cayenne, and cloves. I felt like an emperor receiving the treasures of a new country. The odor rising from the box was like a clambering vine wrapping itself thickly around my head, musky with the deep minerals of the earth and dusting my shoulders with a rainbow of pollen. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

2 " It is, admittedly, a base foodstuff, but lobster, well prepared, can nevertheless be made to satisfy the distinguished gourmand. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

3 " Without another word, we began to eat. I was hungry, but no appetite would excuse the way we set upon those dishes. We shoveled food into our mouths in a manner ill befitting our fine attire. Bears would have blushed to see us bent over our plates. The pheasant, still steaming from the oven, its dark flesh redolent with the mushroom musk of the forest floor, was gnawed quickly to the bone. It was a touch gamy - no milk-fed goose, this - but it was tender, and the piquant hominy balanced that wild taste as I had hoped it would. The eggs, laced pink at the edges and floating delicately in a carnal sauce, were gulped down in two bites. The yolks were cooked to that rare liminal degree, no longer liquid but not yet solid, like the formative moment of a sun-colored gem. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

4 " The proper way is lost to me; my compass spins. I therefore give my entire attention to those works that seem to me most incorruptible: the application of heat, the proportion of seasoning, the arrangement of a plate. When robbed of all pretensions and aspirations, with no proper home nor any knowledge of what discord tomorrow brings, I still may have a pocketful of dignity. The Roman pomp and raiment have fallen away, and I see at last the glory of washed feet and shared bread. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

5 " We are surrounded by monsters," she said. "We can cower before them or we can pick one and sink our teeth in with the aim to give it hell. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

6 " Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey. To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

7 " I've had this pain. To tell you it will go away would be a lie. It will never go away. But, if you live long enough, it will cease to torture and will instead flavor you. As we rely on the bitterness of strong tea to wake us, this too will become something you can use. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

8 " A knight can fight. As you well know, I fight about as well as a pillow."

"That's an insult to pillows. At least they can take a beating. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

9 " I now have some intimacy with death, and like the hops in a beer, it has both embittered and fortified me. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

10 " Dear Mr. Wedgewood,

Welcome to the Flying Rose. I hope you have settled to sea comfortably. Your lot may improve in direct proportion to your willingness. I do look forward to more of your fare. Let me lay out my proposal: You will, of a Sunday, cook for me, and me alone, the finest supper. You will neither repeat a dish nor serve foods that are in the slightest degree mundane. In return I will continue to keep you alive and well, and we may discuss an improvement of your quarters after a time. Should you balk in any fashion you will find yourself swimming home, whole or in pieces, depending upon the severity of my disappointment. How does this strike you?

In anticipation,

Capt. Hannah Mabbot "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

11 " As it ferments, kraut whispers alchemical secrets. In two days, it will smell as agreeable as an old pillow still warm from night’s use. In five days it will smell like a horse run to foam. The odor will then lessen as the vegetable begins its tart transformation. It will be good to eat in two weeks, but at five weeks it will reach the zenith of its power, its taste a violin bow drawn across the tongue. After six weeks it will err slowly toward slime. Like hams and men, it gets better with age only to a point. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

12 " After dessert we sipped on strong cups of tea, one of the luxuries we can afford to take for granted here in the trade routes.

"Delightful," she said. "If only for a little cream."

"Don't speak to me of cream, Captain. I dream about milk at least twice a week. I run naked with milk running in rivulets from the corners of my mouth. I even miss humble parsley--zounds, how I've taken that weed for granted! And butter, I'll not describe my butter dreams, they're too depraved."

Mabbot chuckled. "We must leave something for dreams. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

13 " Is this spirited man the cook?" she shouted. "Are you responsible for this delightful feast? What a piece of luck! … What is it you say, Mr. Apples?"
"Like shittin' with the pope."
"No, the other thing, less vulgar."
"Whistlin' donkey."
"Quite! A surprise and a delight like a whistling … How is it that these phrases make sense when you say them? Anyway, bring him along. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

14 " I made an attempt to reach him in his grief. I said, "I've had this pain. To tell you it will go away would be a lie. It will never go away. But, if you live long enough, it will cease to torture and will instead favor you. As we rely on the bitterness of strong tea to wake us, this too will become something you can use. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

15 " Men who long for the past are already dead. Look to the future, Owen. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

16 " It is no great secret that cooking is, in essence, seduction. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

17 " Never have I seen such a motley assemblage of characters. Except that we are at sea, I would believe that I had been abducted by a traveling circus. There are men here of every hue and size, also men whose race cannot be determined due to the indigo tattoos that cover their faces and arms. There are men with bullrings through their noses, with turbans large enough to hide a samovar, with gold thread braided into their hair, with scimitars lashed to their hips; some with teeth sharpened to points, some with no teeth at all. Many of the men have lost fingers, one has no ears, and not a few of them sport blistered patches upon their faces, necks, and forearms. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

18 " I saw a man whose suffering had become a kind of skeleton holding him upright. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

19 " It matters not what language a man speaks; he holds a pen, he holds a plow, he holds a gun in exactly the same manner. We are all children of our tools. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder

20 " I may not be skilled at eloquent oratory , but for muttering angrily under one's breath, I have never met a more capable man. "

― Eli Brown , Cinnamon and Gunpowder