I found this cute little vintage wooden duck bowl on ebay.  I liked the decorative carving around the edge and on the tail.  The bowl part is only about 4″ in diameter, and  I can think of a lot of uses for it.

It’s a little hard to see, but carved on the bottom are the words “Handmade in Yugoslavia.”  (Yugoslavia broke up into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia in the early 1990s.)

Did you ever wonder why we say “duck” when you want to warn someone to put their head down?  According to my interwebs research, the word duck referring to the bird, came from the verb “to duck,” meaning to bend down.  This is because many members of the duck family feed by “upending.”  In Dutch, the word “duiken” means “to dive.”  Many languages have words for “duck” and “end” that are similar– such as the Dutch “eend” for “duck,” and “eind” for “end.”  So the next time you are at a cocktail party and run out of things to talk about or people to make fun of, you can bore everyone with the origin of the word “duck.”  One step closer to being Cliff Clavin.

No one, however, seems to know the origin of the phrase “just ducky,” generally used to mean something is fine or wonderful.  I think “just puppy” might be a more appropriate description of something great.

Inspired by the little wooden bowl handmade in the country formerly known as Yugoslavia, I made Smoked Duck, Mango, and Blackberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette.  The smoked duck breast comes fully cooked and frozen, and because it can be elusive to find, I will buy it and freeze it when I come across it.  You can also order it online.  It tends to be somewhat pricey, but a little goes a long way, and it’s really worth it for this special salad.  This salad really is just ducky.

Smoked duck breast — the beginning of a great salad

Spoke-like!

Just ducky!

Mad as a wet hen?  How about mad as a dirty duck?