The stick was the cave cook's first utensil, no doubt. And handy, once she installed fire. A deft union of form and function, a stick serves as pot, potholder, plate and fork _ in one.
Though neither twig nor skewer nor sword count as tasty.
Consider, then, the cinnamon stick. The bark of the cinnamon tree is peeled, dried, polished and rolled into yard-long tubes called quills. Trimmed and bottled, the sticks lounge on the spice rack until summoned, once a year, to twirl cider.
Why not hand them a summer job? Pat together a meatball of lamb, mint and garlic. Thread it onto a length of cinnamon and grill. The stick serves as pot, potholder, plate, fork _ and an infusion of flavor. Leaving the modern cook, and the cook's happy guests, something delicious to chew on.
