I think most of you know that I’m a logophile, which is just a fancy way of saying that I’m a lover of words. Earlier today, I was looking something up online, when I stumbled across a term that I had never heard before—slumgullion. It sounds like an awful word, right? It has three main definitions—

1. A thin stew of meat, vegetables, & potatoes
2. A weak, thin, or watery beverage like coffee or tea
3. The leftover gunk from processing whale blubber—ugh, seriously?

The etymology of the word, doesn’t do it any favors because loosely translated, the meaning of slumgullion is a combination of slime & mud or cesspool. Mark Twain used the term in 1872 when referring to watery coffee. When thinking about a stew, many people think of it as a “throw everything in the refrigerator into a pot” type of dish. Historically speaking, stews have been around for centuries, but the term slumgullion appears to have been coined in the mid-1800’s.

Since it’s a “leftover” sort of dish, most sources say that there isn’t one specific recipe, but agree that it contains meat, vegetables, and potatoes. After searching around, I stumbled across a recipe for slumgullion stew that sounded good…so, guess what I did this afternoon? Yup—the word nerd got cookin’! The name doesn’t hold much appeal, but the stew was quite tasty!

Bon Appétit! —(I wish you) a hearty appetite (French)