Nov

In the Kitchen with OIC: “Pan” Cultural Cuisine!

by Joyce McGreevy on November 23, 2020

In lockdown? Don’t flip out—flip a pancake instead!
Gilaxia/ iStock

Easy Pancakes from Around the World

Rembrandt sketched them. Shakespeare wrote them into his plays. Sweden established an academy in their honor. They’ve starred in ancient tales and modern movies, inspired mad dashes and dashes of spice and color.

They are pancakes. For many of us, that means a common breakfast food that takes minutes to cook, seconds to eat, and hours to walk off. In fact, that little circle on your plate connects to a multitude of ingredients, shapes, languages, and traditions. Oh, I see: Known by hundreds of names and varieties around the world, this food encompasses a rich “pan” cultural cuisine.

Let’s explore this sisterhood of the traveling pancakes. Along the way, we’ll see how different kinds of pancakes stack up. On your return, peruse our menu of online classes to cook easy pancakes from around the world.

Palatschinke are among the most popular of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by MariaPolna and Pxhere)

Popular in Slavic culture, palatschinke are Greco-Roman in origin.
MariaPolna/ Pxhere

Breakfast of Ancient Champions

For many culinary historians, all foods lead to ancient Rome. The Romans spiced their pancakes and dubbed them Alita Dolcia. Lyrical but lazy, it simply means “another sweet.” In the second century, Greek physician Galen saw fit to provide a detailed recipe for them in his medical tome. Still popular today, traditional teganitai are sizzled in olive oil and topped with honey.

But did the Greeks invent pancakes as is often claimed? It’s true that many forms of pancake developed throughout Europe, became popular in the Middle Ages, and later crossed the Atlantic. However, archaeological evidence shows that indigenous peoples of the Americas had been making cachapas, arepas, and other corn-based pancakes since early pre-Columbian times.

A cachapa, a Venezuelan pancake, is among the easy pancakes around the world made with corn. (Image by nehopelon and iStock)

Starchier than tortillas, Venezuelan cachapas are filled with creamy cheese
and eaten hot off the griddle.
nehopelon/ iStock

Early on, almost every culture improvised griddles from hot stones. At food festivals in Lucca, Italy, a few chefs still rock this method. To make necci, they pour batter onto hot, flat stones, cover them with chestnut leaves, and stack them on top of each other. The choice of leaves is apt, because necci are made with chestnut flour, milled from the harvest of local forests.

Flour Power

Chestnuts, corn—these are just two items on a long list of pancake possibilities, as well as reminders that “gluten-free” pancakes are nothing new. The flours that power a culture’s popular pancakes include:

rice: India’s dosa and malpua, Korea’s jeon
chickpeas: Southern France’s socca
beans: Nigeria’s akara, Japan’s dorayaki
potatoes: Ireland’s boxty, Ecuador’s llapingachos
buckwheat (which isn’t a wheat at all): New Brunswick’s ploye, Nepal’s phapar ko roti)

Add wheat, and suddenly the globe is paved in pancakes from Samoa (panikeke) to Morocco (beghrir) to New Zealand (pikelets).

A dish of malpua pancakes from India shows why some easy pancakes from around the world have been popular for thousands of years. (Image by Kailash Kumar and iStock)

India’s malpua has sweetened palates for 3,000 years.
Kailash Kumar/ iStock

**What’s in Your Pancake?**

The variety of flours is matched by what different cultures put on, and in, their pancakes. The world beyond maple syrup extends to condensed milk (Thailand), sour cream (Russia), shredded coconut (Brazil), pork fat with lingonberries (Sweden), bonito fish flakes (Japan), and edible flowers (Korea).

The look varies widely, too. Italy’s borlenghi are so big they’re also known as cartwheel pancakes. By contrast, Dutch poffertjes are teensy—they originated in a church as an improved form of communion host. Amen!

Scrambled pancakes, or Kaiserschmarrn, suggest the variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by Pxhere)

Purposely scrambled, Austria’s Kaiserschmarrn means “Emperor’s mess.”
Pxhere

As for color, Indonesia’s kue ape pancakes come by their vibrant green naturally, thanks to pandan. The leaves of this tropical plant are used to make an extract that’s been compared to vanilla. The batter is cooked in woks to create a spongy center and a crispy edge. Home cooks— which is all of us these days—can find pandan flavoring extract for sale online and at our local Asian markets.

Kue ape pancakes from Indonesia are bright green, showing the variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by MielPhotos2008 and iStock)

Kue ape are made with wheat flour, coconut milk, and palm sugar.
MielPhotos2008/ iStock

Not all pancake ingredients catch on, of course. In Miss Parloa’s New Cookbook (Boston, 1881) the pancake mix called for “a bowl of snow.” Seems it met the melts-in-your-mouth test, but was a little too back-to-the-land.

Pancake Planet

The world’s pancakes come with a generous side of fascinating stories.

According to traditional storytellers, it wasn’t the gingerbread man, but the pancake who ran away. Well, rolled. The runaway pancake features in several “fleeing food” tales, including in Norway, Germany, and Russia.
In Japanese legend, a samurai accidentally left his gong at a farmer’s house where he had been hiding. The farmer used it to cook “gong cakes,” the literal meaning of dorayaki. Dorayaki pancakes are also the favorite food of a time-traveling robot cat. Doraemon is the title character of a smash-hit series of manga books and movies.
In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” the Bard flips pancakes into wordplay. Coincidentally, “as you like it” is the literal meaning of okonomiyaki, another Japanese pancake.
Several countries have religious traditions of eating pancakes the night before Lent. In France during La Chandeleur, the pancake of choice is a crêpe. An old tradition was to place one crêpe into a drawer to attract prosperity. It would certainly have attracted something.

Women running with frying pans in the Pancake Race in Olney, England evoke the fun and history of easy pancakes around the world, (Image by RobinMeyesrcough, licensed by Wikemedia Commons CC BY 2.0)

On hold for now, the Pancake Race in Olney, England was first run in 1445.
Robin Meyerscough/ CC BY 2.0

Coming full circle, the most astonishing thing about pancakes remains their sheer variety, even when considered (or better yet, eaten) within a single country. Italian pancakes alone include crespelle al bitto, ciaffignone, chisciöl, scrippelle ‘mbusse, and several others. In short, we’ve only just scratched the surface of the pancake’s many layers.

That’s all the more reason to get your hands on recipes for easy pancakes from around the world. Check out the menu below this post. We’ve stuffed it like a savory Breton galette with links to virtual cooking classes and entertaining demos. After all, what goes better with pancakes than a side of links?

A chef making dozens of tiny pancakes suggests the popularity and variety of easy pancakes from around the world. (Image by mel_88 and Pxhere)

Have yourself a merry little pancake!
mel_88/ Pixabay

Get cooking! Click on a pancake name to sign up for a live online cooking class: potato pancakes, crêpes, Japanese soufflé pancakes, Bavarian apple pancakes, Osaka style okonomiyaki, and Chinese scallion pancakes.

Can’t wait? Click on a place name for quick how-to videos: Venezuela (cachapas), Nepal (phapar ko roti), Austria (kaiserschmarrn, in German with English captions), Ireland (boxty).

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/The World's Chefs/Worldwide Sites

Oct

In the Kitchen with OIC: Peruvian Cuisine

by Joyce McGreevy on October 20, 2020

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini of Chiclayo, Peru, shares his passion for Peruvian cuisine and culture, as featured on “In the Kitchen with OIC.” Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini grew up in Chiclayo, capital of Peruvian gastronomy.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

What’s on Chef Fernandini’s Menu? Peruvian Culture!

In California, the cooking class was starting on Zoom. In Oregon, I hesitated. On the one hand, I was eager to explore Peruvian cuisine for “In the Kitchen with OIC,” our newest recurring feature. On the other hand, I missed travel, open-air markets, rolling up my sleeves in foreign kitchens. I missed food tours, following local experts along unfamiliar streets.

I wanted real.

Peru was on my 2020 itinerary. Instead, I was exploring the culture of my studio apartment. OK, fine. I’d try Chef Fernandini’s online cooking class. As I logged on, I sighed. Would it be just another Zoom meeting?

It . . . was . . . exhilarating! A kinesthetic thrill that had us up and moving, prepping, stirring, tasting, listening, and laughing with fellow classmates. All while the smoky, sweet heat and fragrance of aji panca and rocoto peppers, plantains, avocado oil, and cumin transformed our scattered kitchens into a shared experience of Peru. That was real.

Screen, what screen? It felt like we were in Fernandini’s kitchen. Oh, I see: When you can’t travel to Peru, invite Peruvian food and culture home to you.

Rocoto chile peppers are a staple of Peruvian cuisine and culture, as featured on “In the Kitchen with OIC.” (Image © McKay Savage)

Tree-grown Andean rocoto is gaining popularity with U.S. chile pepper fans.
© McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0 Commons

Home Cooking, Chiclayo Style

His culinary journey began when Fernandini was four years old. This was in Pimentel, the beach district of Chiclayo, northern Peru. He recalls running into the kitchen, drawn by the aromas of garlic, peppers, and onions.

“I would put my whole face beside the pot, take a deep breath, and ask, ‘Oh, Mamá what is that smell? It’s so good!’ ” He also loved home-cooked seafood. Mamá got to the market as the morning’s catch came in.

Reed boats, linked to Chiclayo’s fishing and culinary traditions, evoke Peruvian cuisine and culture. (image © xeni4ka/ iStock)

Traditional fishing boats, caballitos de totora, “little horses made of tortora reed,”
are icons of coastal Peru.
© xeni4ka/ iStock

Regional ingredients whetted Fernandini’s appetite for cooking and stirred pride in his culture. So where is the starting point for an outsider? How to approach the rich context of Peruvian cuisine?

“Begin with ceviche.” So central is this dish to Peru’s culinary culture that it has its own national holiday on June 28.

Some might ask, What’s to explore? It’s marinated fish, you love it or hate it, end of story. In fact, it’s an early chapter in a rich culinary narrative.

Peruvian Fish Tales

Over 2,000 years ago, the indigenous Moche cured fish in tumbo, banana passionfruit juice. Later, the Incas marinated fish in chicha, fermented corn beverage. In the 1500s, the Spanish brought lime—and conquest.

Recipes for ceviche illuminate Peru’s costa, sierra y selva—its coast, mountains, and jungle—where 80 climates support biodiversity. For example, says Fernandini, in the mountains, ceviche is made with trout and rocoto.

Mountain ceviche by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini innovates on the regional culinary traditions and cuisine in Peruvian culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

“Peruvian Andes trout and rocoto are inseparable,” says Fernandini.
His mountain ceviche also features chicharrón (fried pork belly) and ginger garlic oil.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

In the jungle, ceviche is made with paiche, an Amazonian fish, prehistoric in origin and weighing up to 400 pounds.

Jungle ceviche with cumu cumu berries, by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, showcases Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

The rosy pink of Fernandini’s jungle ceviche comes from camu camu berries.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

The Runway or the Rush?

After high school, a lucrative career in modeling beckoned. Fernandini soon garnered international acclaim, including as runner-up in the Mr. World competition. But what he wanted was to cook. Creating an all-new resume that was long on passion and short on skills, he went to restaurant after restaurant offering to work for free.

Eventually, someone said yes.

“Wow! The rush! The adrenaline! I was supposed to be there four hours, but I stayed for eleven.”

Staff dismissed Fernandini’s enthusiasm as first-day excitement, but three months later and on the verge of going broke, he was still saying “I love this. I want to keep going!”

The Sound of One Herb Snapping

Fernandini attained a coveted spot at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, then the renowned cooking academy’s only location in South America. For three years, he rode a whirlwind of studying, cooking, and staging—working for free—in Lima’s top restaurants.

Then came tests, like identifying ingredients while blindfolded. Could you tell cinnamon by the sound it makes when snapped? Could you distinguish black and green pepper by texture? Chef Fernandini can.

Students were also expected to write monographs—by hand. Never one to resist a challenge, Fernandini researched the influence of Japan on Peruvian cuisine.

This was no mere fusion, a modern term for the intentional layering of unexpected flavors. For 500 years, people had migrated to Peru, from Spain, Africa, China, Japan, Italy and the Middle East, bringing long-standing traditions and slowly learning each other’s culinary language.

Pastel de acelga, chard tart, exemplifies the Italian influence on Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Luis Felipe Rios/ iStock)

Pastel de acelga (chard tart), a staple of bakeries in Lima, Peru,
originated as erbazzone in Italy.
Luis Felipe Rios/ iStock

Chaufa de mariscos, rice with seafood, is emblematic of widespread Cantonese influence on Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Edgar D. Pons/ iStock)

Chaufa de mariscos, seafood with rice, reflects
Cantonese China’s widespread influence on Peru.
Christian Vinces/iStock

Carapulcra, a hearty stew, combines Spanish, African, and Peruvian cuisine and innovates on Peruvian culture. (Image © Edgar D. Pons/ iStock)

Carapulcra, a hearty stew with dried potatoes and peanuts,
combines indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions.
Edgar D. Pons/iStock

“Land of the Rising Sun” Meets “Land of Abundance”

After Peru won independence from Spain in 1821, Japanese immigrants arrived to work in agriculture, trade, and restaurants. Japanese chefs shared their love of seafood, subtle flavors, and care in handling ingredients.

This changed the way Peruvians ate, including national dishes like ceviche. Marination times shortened, ingredient options expanded. Nikkei, the melding of Japanese and Peruvian ingredients, traditions, and techniques, was born.

“We started to respect and understand the freshness and texture of just-caught fish.” Fernandini’s inspired take on coastal ceviche features halibut, yellow chili, caviar, sweet potato, and “tiger’s milk,” Peru’s classic citrus marinade.

Coastal ceviche by Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, combines traditional and contemporary aspects of Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Chulpi (toasted corn) and yellow chili create culinary gold
in Fernandini’s coastal ceviche.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

Fernandini gives the impression that visiting Peru without eating at a Japanese-influenced restaurant would be tantamount to bypassing Machu Picchu. He cites Maido in Lima, ranked #10 among world’s best restaurants—“utterly splendid!”—and speaks of opening a Peruvian sushi restaurant someday.

Suddenly, my list of future favorite foods is much longer.

A Cultural Mission

Fernandini has been on a mission to delight American palates ever since moving to the USA. Initially, he faced stereotypes about Peruvian food: “It’s so greasy, so heavy!”

This was all the more surprising since Novoandina, New Andean cuisine, had gone global by the 1980s, making grains like quinoa, herbs like huacatay, and a wealth of recipes available to home cooks everywhere.

“I said, we have to do something about this!”

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini, shown in his pop-up restaurant Ayllu, is on a mission to share the wide range of Peruvian cuisine and culture. (Image © Rodrigo Fernandini)

Rodrigo’s pop-up restaurant, Ayllu. Demand turned the monthly event
into sold-out double seatings, week after week, for years.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

By then, he was working at Michelin-starred restaurants and being mentored by chefs like the Four Seasons’ Jayson Poe. During time off, Rodrigo cooked even more, spending months planning a five-course menu for the launch of a pop-up restaurant.

Two people attended.

When a partner suggested canceling, Rodrigo said, “No way. We have to respect those two people and make it happen.”

The two diners hired Rodrigo to cater dinner for 30. Soon he was juggling full-time work with booming demand for the pop-up. After years of slogging and saving, he opened his own restaurant, Jora.

In San Jose, California, Jora applies classical technique
to a casual Peruvian menu.
© Rodrigo Fernandini

It was a dream come true. It was also December 2019. As Jora was hitting its stride, Covid was shutting down restaurants.

“Hard times, but I’m a warrior,” says Fernandini. “Recently we reopened for outdoor dining, take-out, delivery. I’m also doing the cooking class with ChefsFeed.com. I really like teaching.”

Chef Rodrigo Fernandini shown on a computer screen as he speaks on Zoom about Peruvian cuisine and culture in his online cooking class. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“Live feed” gains new meaning when your kitchen becomes Chef Fernandini’s classroom.
© Joyce McGreevy

“Food brings people to the table to enjoy, and as you’re eating, you’re sharing your culture. Whatever I cook, I want to deliver on the promise of authenticity, originality, and respect for the product, the process, the person, and the moment. Everything I do is based on this. And yeah, I’m having fun in the kitchen. I love it—this is my happy place.”

Thanks to Chef Fernandini’s online class, my apartment kitchen is a happier place, too, a place were Peruvian cuisine and culture will always be welcome.

Until next month, this is “In the Kitchen with OIC” wishing you Buen provecho!

Request news of Chef Fernandini’s classes here. Can’t wait? Start here, then follow Chef Fernandini here.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 12 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Peru/The World's Chefs

Sep

WFH? Employ Proverbs from Around the World!

by Joyce McGreevy on September 21, 2020

A mom trying to work from home prompts a WFH writer to find new wisdom about work in old proverbs from around the world. (Image by © doble-d/ iStock)

Old Sayings for New Work Habits

Coined in 2000, it’s trending again—WFH, “working from home.” For years, Big Business has replaced leisurely language with speed-talking code. As in “FYI, the CEO wants the YTD P&L ASAP!” Now, as many offices remain closed, the busyness of business-speak has followed us home.

Soon we’ll be talking about doing WTMW (way too much work) from our HSHO (home, sweet home office). We’ll care for BFMs & APs (beloved family members and adorable pets) while managing the NEHC (never-ending household chores). But before we get to the PONR (point of no return), let’s consider a different kind of WFH—Wisdom From History.

Long ago, every culture “created shareable content” in the form of proverbs. Somehow our pre-Internet ancestors “forwarded” these proverbs around the world. These global memos covered every topic—including work—in witty language that still hits home. And gee, since we’re home anyway, working, it’s only logical that we give their insights on that subject a fresh look.

Oh, I see: Old proverbs from around the world have new relevance for employees who are working from home. Here are some favorites. (And for those of you who miss viewing cute cat pictures at the office, we’ve got you covered.)

Kittens in a box and a watchful cat remind a WFH writer of trading a cubicle for working from home and prompt her to find new wisdom about work in old proverbs around the world. (Image by guvo59/Pixabay)

Ah, to be out of the cubicle, with no supervisor breathing down one’s neck…
guvo59/ Pixabay

Rise ‘n Shine Get Online!

My search for proverbs extolling the benefits of sleeping late prompted a rude awakening: “Opportunity does not wake up those who are asleep” (Senegalese), “The hungry fowl wakes early” (Jamaican), “The world belongs to early risers” (French).

Fortunately, an Italian proverb notes that, “Those with a reputation for rising early may sleep until noon.” Aha! An early example of establishing your brand while building in downtime. My favorite? “Good luck beats early rising,” the traditional Irish equivalent of hitting the snooze alarm in hopes that you’ve won the lottery.

But as the Albanian proverb says, “If your neighbor is an early riser, you too will become one,” a sentiment to which every WFH apartment dweller can relate. So rise, if not shine, and do as the Sicilians do—”Drink coffee while it’s hot enough to swear.”

A sleepy cat beside a cup of coffee reminds a WFH writer of a Sicilian proverb about coffee, and other old sayings from around the world. (Image by quinntheisland/Pixabay)

Historically, work began with tools. For WFH, this means coffee.
quinntheislander/ Pixabay

Business Casual, Fashion Casualty

In France, there’s a saying for when you put a button in the wrong buttonhole: boutonner lundi avec mardi, literally, “to button Monday with Tuesday.” Working from home during a pandemic, many of us mix up our days—Blursday? Whenday? Whyday?—and our office attire, too.

Oh, we still maintain standards. Like dressing up for a Zoom meeting by adding a tailored blazer to a clean (well, cleanish) pajama top. OK, OK, we make “casual Fridays” at the office seem like New York’s fashion gala at the Met.

Clogs with cat faces reflect the new normal of working from home and remind a WFH writer of clothing proverbs from around the world. (Public domain image)

“Do these socks make me look too formal?”

But as the Spanish proverb reminds us, “A monkey dressed in silk is still a monkey,” so hey, let’s not confuse looking professional with being professional. On the other hand, “No skunk ever smells its own stink,” said the Thai. While they were probably referring to misdeeds, it’s a useful reminder that taking a shower should occur more frequently than the quarterly reports.

Corner Office, Meet Kitchen Corner

Working from home means adapting. Office equipment? Supply cabinets laden with tempting piles of binder clips? Gone!

Ergonomic seating? Hah! Never have so many dining room chairs caused so much discomfort to so many for so long. Numb Bum Syndrome is no laughing matter, people, so don’t make us the butt of your jokes.

Still, “A good plowman”—or in corporate parlance, Managing Director of Plowable Assets—”can plow even with a goose,” according to Lithuanian folk wisdom. Which is why, come Online Meeting Time, we oh-so-professionally place our laptops on a stack of cookbooks, shove the dirty dishes out of view, and quickly run the nearest salad fork through our hair.

Paperwork prompts a WFH writer to study old proverbs from around the world for insights into working from home. (Image by stevepb/Pixabay)

“Has anyone seen the dining room table? I can’t find it anywhere.”
stevepb/ Pixabay

A Zoom of One’s Own

According to ancient Chinese wisdom, “two tigers cannot share one mountain.” Likewise, two or more family members cannot always share one WiFi. One parent’s in a meeting, the other’s doing a tele-med consult with a patient, the kids are logging on for school, Grandma’s on TikTok, and the dog’s tracking device is updating your app about which part of the yard he’s digging up.

Who knew that one day we’d miss the IT manager, the same grouch who answered every request with, “Are you sure the computer’s plugged in?”

Contrasting images of cats remind a WHF writer of changes in working from home and prompt a search of old proverbs from around the world. (Sleepy cat image by photosforyou/Pixabay; second image public domain)

1990s: WFH conference by phone. (L) 2020: WFH conference on Zoom. (R)
photosforyou/Pixabay

Power Naps and Proverbs

When working from home, staying focused can be challenging. Especially at times when, as German folk wisdom says, “The misery is that you have to ruin your day with work.” Like sunny days. Or rainy, snowy, windy, foggy, or other days. As Anonymous once sighed, “Whoever invented work must not have had anything else to do.”

For procrastinators, “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week” (Spain). You might justify that power nap by reminding your Significant Other that “The pillow is the best advisor” (Sweden). See? You’re not being lazy—you’re seeking council and gaining clarity! Why it’s practically a corporate retreat!

However, your S.O. may counter with an old Turkish saying: “Without effort, there is no food.” Hard to argue with that . . .

A fat cat reminds a writer who works from home of unhealthy WHF habits and prompts a search of relevant proverbs from around the world. (Image by skorchanov/ Pixabay)

. . .especially when you’re the one who ate all the snacks.
skorchanov/ Pixabay

So you might as well get started. Work smarter, not harder, or as the Kashmiri once said, “Try to benefit enormously from small efforts.” Take breaks, but remember, “A person always breaking off from work never finishes anything” (Nigeria). Instead, “Put a stout heart to a stey brae (steep hill),” (Scotland), because “Money grows on the tree of persistence” (Japan).

Don’t rush: “A work ill done must be done twice” (Wales). And if a new task intimidates you, remember: “The work will teach you how to do it” (Estonia).

A cat looking annoyed evokes employees who dislike working from home and reminds a WFH writer of relevant proverbs about work from around the world. (Public domain image)

Also, don’t keep hitting the escape key. I tried it, but I’m still at work.

Our Ancestors Meant Business

In summary, as you adapt to working from home, employ the new wisdom in old proverbs from around the world: Be gracious to WFH colleagues in remote locations, because “Over a distance of a thousand miles, only humanity works, not power” (Chinese). A far-flung but networked team can work wonders. After all, “When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion” (Ethiopia).

Oh, and one more thing. When working from home, NEVER, EVER confuse your boss’s Zoom Check-In with your buddy’s Zoom Happy Hour. As the old German proverb says, “Schnapps is schnapps, business is business.” Cheers!

A cat with an adult beverage reminds a writer that some work from home habits are unhealthy and prompts a search of proverbs about work from around the world. (Public domain image)

NSFW: Not Suitable For Work (or cats!)

More WFH humor: See BBC News interview an expert working from home, here. Then watch the New Zealand parody, here.

They worked like dogs—the boss conducted their performance review on Zoom! Watch here.