On September 30th, National Hot Mulled Cider Day warms our homes with the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple.
Fall welcomes toasty mugs of mulled cider to wrap our chilled hands around. Such a cozy way to spend an evening, sipping a tart, spiced beverage on a chilly evening while gazing at trees ablaze in crimson, gold, and orange. It is the perfect time to celebrate this holiday and enjoy this delightful drink.
Mulled cider is a traditional fall and winter drink made by heating cider to almost boiling and adding cinnamon, orange peel, nutmeg, cloves, and other spices and then simmering it. Just the scent of it steeping on the stove will warm the home and lift the spirits of everyone in it.
Whether getting one to go or lingering over a second cup, on September 29 be sure to observe National Coffee Day!
Ah, the perfect cup of java. According to an expert cupper (a professional coffee taster), there are four components of a perfect cup: aroma, body, acidity, and flavor.
From the moment the average coffee lover opens a fresh bag of coffee beans, the aroma beckons, percolating the senses. Even those who don’t drink coffee tend to enjoy the fragrance roasted beans cast.
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Every year on October 19th, National Seafood Bisque Day serves up a hot, delicious meal for seafood lovers. The day celebrates a luxurious bowl of tasty soup made from the catch of the day!
Seafood bisque is a smooth, creamy, and highly-seasoned soup of French origin. Recipes call for a strained broth of crustaceans. Use seafood such as lobster, crab, shrimp, or crayfish.
The name “Bisque” is likely derived from Biscay, as in the Bay of Biscay. However, the crustaceans are certainly bis cuites, meaning “twice-cooked.” Recipes require cooks to first sauteed the seafood lightly in their shells, then simmered in wine or cognac and aromatic herbs before being strained.
This rich and filling soup goes well with a crusty chunk of bread. Serve it as the introduction to a larger meal or the meal itself. If you enjoy wine, try Gewurztraminer with your bisque.
National Boss’s Day on October 16th recognizes the hardworking boss overseeing the workplace. Employees across the United States show appreciation and thankfulness to their bosses. They remember their boss’s kindness and fairnees throughout the year, too. (If the 16th of October falls on a weekend, then this day is celebrated on the closest working day.)
Many leaders carry heavy loads. They oversee many employees and guide their careers, too. While their position holds them responsible for a department, business or organization and leading it to success, their list of responsibilities are multifacited.
Some bosses have bosses themselves. Depending on the size on an organization, they answer to someone else. And even if the boss is owner, they still answer to the tax man, the customers and their merchants. Keeping a business running smoothly with outstanding employees requires balance.
National Cheese Curd Day is observed annually on October 15. This is a day to enjoy the velvety goodness of cheese curds.
Cheese Curds are unique, funky, snackable little pieces of yellow or white Wisconsin cheddar cheese. Many restaurants coat and deep-fried them to a golden brown. When you bite into one, first expect a warm buttery crunch on the outside. The next delicious taste will be an ooey-gooey burst of dairyland delicacy on the inside.
What are they? Well, they’re a product of cheesemaking. Fresh ones squeak when you bite into them. Cheesemakers create different flavors to appease the growing number of people enjoying cheese curds.
Cheese curds are served in a variety of ways. Of course, eating them fresh is one option. Another includes the all-time favorite, deep-fried. A large selection of dipping sauces is available, too. Choose from ranch, more cheese sauce, spicy siracha, tangy dill, barbeque, and more. Cheese curds find their way into recipes, also. Poutine has been popular for decades.
National Mother-in-Law Day on the fourth Sunday in October honors that special woman who brought the love of your life into this world.
Like Mother’s Day in May, this day celebrates the other mom in many people’s lives. She makes room for her expanding family. While opening her arms wide, she babysits and gives advice. From swapping holidays to putting extra leaves in the table, the mother-in-law aims for her children to be whole and secure.
Sometimes, it takes years to develop a relationship with your mother-in-law. In other cases, an immediate bond is made. When their children are happy and healthy in their relationships, it makes their jobs as mothers-in-law easy. All they have to do is love their children.
The day honors all that mothers-in-law do to support their children’s families. From the newest to the more mature relationships, each and every family member knows the mother-in-law is a vital part of the family.
Each year on October 24th, people across the nation make a sandwich to take part in National Bologna Day. This would be a good day to have a bologna sandwich for lunch.
Sometimes this specialty meat is spelled baloney since that’s how it is pronounced. However, the more common spelling is Bologna. That’s because it originated in the city of Bologna, Italy. It’s a type of sausage and is similar to the Italian mortadella. The finely ground pork or beef sausage is smoked and cured. Sometimes the sausage is a combination of both pork and beef. In Italy, bologna includes a variety of spices not found in American bologna. In fact, in the United States, regulations require American bologna to be finely ground and without visible pieces of lard. It hardly resembles anything found in Italy. It can also be made from chicken, turkey, venison or soy protein.
Many people enjoy bologna sandwiches with a variety of garnishes. Some of those include mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, cheese, lettuce, pickles, tomato, and onion.
National Boston Cream Pie Day serves up a delicious dessert on October 23rd each year. Pie lovers, move along. Cake lovers, pull up a chair. Let’s celebrate the cake with an identity crisis! Boston Cream Pie is a chocolate frosted, custard-filled cake that is loved by millions.
In 1856, at Boston’s Parker House Hotel, French chef Monsieur Augustine Francois Anezin created this pudding and cake combination.
The decadent cake comprises two layers of sponge cake filled with vanilla-flavored custard or creme patisserie. The cake is then topped with a chocolate glaze, such as a ganache or sometimes powdered sugar and a cherry.
In 1996, Massachusetts declared the Boston Cream Pie as their official dessert.
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Your future is always on the horizon and will be here sooner than you expect. So when do you need to start preparing for it and where do you start? Check out this article to learn more:
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On October 31st, Halloween brings out the ghouls and goblins, creatures, and strange folk. They come creeping about the neighborhood seeking favors over trickery.
People of all ages look forward to Halloween traditions. While dressing up and baking, we carve up glowing pumpkins. Children breathing life into storybook characters, practicing their trick or treat. In twos and threes, they traipse through the neighborhood, collecting their bounty in pillow sacks. A ghost, a pirate, a robot or Dorothy, and Toto. No matter their age, they come to the door. They knock or ring. Here and there, a screech or a boo!
The crisp air and autumn colors set the mood. Seasonings fill our senses with a taste of autumn. We set forth on an adventure and finish with a warm apple cider around a flickering fire.
On October 30th, the country celebrates its favorite vegetable with National Candy Corn Day.
In the late 1800s, George Renninger of Wunderle Candy Company created candy corn. His sweet treat represented the bright colors of corn kernels. Originally, candy corn was yellow, orange and white. However, it wasn’t until1889 that the Goelitz Candy Company made the candy popular. Later, other candy makers developed a variety of popular colors and flavors as well.
The original confection was made by hand using corn syrup, sugar, water, marshmallows, fondant and carnauba wax (a wax made from the leaves of a palm tree). However, modern candy makers produce the treat using machines while using the original ingredients.
These days, numerous recipes create the candy corn flavors in cakes, cookies, beverages, and more.
Don’t be superstitious on National Black Cat Day! October 27th celebrates the beauty of these sleek creatures. The day also seeks to raise awareness about the low adoption rates for black cats.
This time of year, many black cats may decorate many thresholds for Halloween and windows for spooky decor. However, these felines deserve the love and attention just as much as their tabby equivalents. Old notions have given these furry critters a bad reputation. The day is about turning that reputation around.
Their black canine counterparts also face similar adoption problems. So, it’s not all about myth and mystery. However, increasing support for the black feline’s plight is the goal of this companion holiday.
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National Pickle Day recognizes the tart, sometimes sweet, and even spicy pickle. Each year on November 14th, pickle lovers pop open pecks of their preferred preserved pickle. observed annually on November 14. It may be a Dill, Gherkin, Cornichon, Brined, Kosher Dill, Polish, Hungarian, Lime, Bread and Butter, Swedish and Danish, or Kool-Aid Pickle. Whichever is your choice, eat them all day long.
The term pickle comes from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine. In the United States, the word pickle typically refers to a pickled cucumber. However, just about any fruit or vegetable can be pickled.
The process typically starts with a blanching process, depending on the fruit or vegetable. Then the product is packed into jars with seasonings that will give the pickles flavor. They can be spicy, tart or sweet. However, the tartness and sweetness come from the brine. A basic brine includes vinegar and water. Various amounts of sugar adjust the level of sweetness in the brine.
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Each year on November 28th, people across the United States enjoy National French Toast Day. Also known as eggy bread, omelet bread or gypsy toast, it makes a great breakfast for guests or part of a brunch.
Home cooks and professionals alike whip up a few personal favorites when it comes to french toast recipes. The base consists of eggs and milk whisked together. Bread is dipped into the mixture and fried until golden. Many people also add some sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to the base.
The flavor of French toast can be brightened with a squeeze of a fresh orange or stuffed with sauteed apples and cinnamon. Make French toast kid-friendly by cutting it into sticks. Then dip the sticks into syrup. Substitute sugary syrup with a fruit puree and fresh fruit pieces. Nuts and seeds add crunch to this delicious breakfast fare, and don’t forget the whipped cream! Just a dollop goes a long way.
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Each year on November 27th, National Bavarian Cream Pie Day recognizes a pie that makes a grand entrance. This rich and delectable dessert is possible thanks to the French chef, Marie-Antione Carême.
In the early 19th century, Carême established many of the French cooking techniques still used today. He’s even given credit for abolishing some practices from his kitchens. One dessert Carême receives credit for includes the creation of Bavarian cream. Perhaps he didn’t create it but perfected this gelatin-based pastry cream. Initially, gourmet restaurants and luxury hotels served Bavarian cream pie in France in the early 19th century.
Also called crème bavaroise, Bavarian cream is a custard made with gelatin that allows the cream to set more firmly in molds. The cream allows a variety of flavors, hence numerous recipes. Once you’ve made the preferred flavor of Bavarian cream, pour into a pie crust and chill until set. Bavarian cream compliments many other desserts, too.
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National Package Protection Day encourages homeowners to stay alert during these high delivery times. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving is a time to remind us to protect our homes against package theft, which becomes more and more prevalent during the holidays.
The internet has made it easier to find deals and have packages shipped straight to our homes. But this has also made it easier for thieves to snatch our deliveries right from our doorsteps. Cyber Monday, in particular, is a big online shopping day where most purchases are shipped directly to the buyer’s home.
With the advent of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there became a need for a day that raises awareness of package theft and helps homeowners protect themselves against thieves. And just like that, Package Protection Day was born.
National Fritters Day on December 2nd allows for no frittering away of the time. Make haste and get them while they are hot!
Fritters come in a variety of forms, from morsels dipped in flavorful batters to bits of dough stuffed or filled with delicious surprises. All of the varieties are deep-fried and served hot with dips, drips or dustings of seasonings, sweets or sauces. Found in cuisines all around the world, fritters are believed to have first been consumed by Ancient Romans. They then introduced them to Europe. Most commonly filled with fruit or cheese, they can also be filled with savory meats, seafood, and vegetables.
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National Noodle Ring Day on December 11th recognizes recipes made with pasta into a delicious round casserole. While baking up your favorite recipe, maybe use round pasta noodles to really punctuate the ring in the day.
While the day could possibly be about the little round pasta noodles, it would be a fun way to celebrate. They make up a delicious pasta salad or several other pasta dishes. They also are popular with kids (of all ages) to use in different craft projects, maybe even one that results in a beautiful snowflake for the holidays.
However, the day celebrates the pasta dish formed in an 8 or 9-inch ring mold or bundt pan. Usually made from noodles, flour, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, and other seasonings, this dish is quite versatile. When baked, recipes call for the noodle ring to be removed from the mold and served on a plate giving it an elegant appearance.
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National Lager Day on December 10th raises a glass to the third most popular beverage after water and tea. While lager is typically characterized as a light, summer beer we believe that every season deserves to be celebrated with a few of your favorite things.
Lagers are distinguished from other beers by using a cold-conditioning process. The types of yeast used are referred to as “bottom-fermenting” yeast or yeast that can develop at colder temperatures. Before the advent of refrigeration, brewers perfected this process in cellars dug into the ground and filled with ice. Those who taste the delicious results described the lager as “crisp” and “refreshing.” It is no wonder that this method caught on and produced a wide variety of brews synonymous with regional and national brands.
With so many choices from pale, amber or dark, not to mention the many craft varieties there is are endless possibilities for your enjoyment. So, grab some friends and celebrate this midwinter season with the taste of Summer.
National Pastry Day celebrates one of the world’s most favored baked goods. On December 9th, visit your local bakery and pick up one or two of your favorite kinds.
The pastry is a name given to a large variety of baked goods which are made with ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and eggs. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and then used as a base for different baked products. A few of the more common bakery items include pies, tarts, quiches, and pasties. Bakers create both savory and sweet dishes from the doughs they create. Additionally, they continue to develop new and delicious creations all the time!
Pastries can be traced as far back as the ancient Mediterranean where they had almost paper-thin, multilayered baklava and Phyllo dough.
Pastry making began in Northern Europe after the Crusaders brought it back from the Mediterranean.
French and Italian Renaissance chefs eventually perfected the puff and choux pastries while 17th and 18th-century chefs brought new recipes to the table. Included in the innovative recipes were Napoleons, cream puffs and eclairs.
Culinary historians often consider French pastry chef Antonin Careme (1784 – 1833) to have been the original great master of pastry making in modern times.
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Chocolate lovers rejoice on National Chocolate Covered Anything Day! December 16th offers the chocolate day you’ve been waiting for. On this day, dip and drizzle your favorite foods in every kind of chocolate imaginable.
If you could cover anything in chocolate, what would it be? So many foods improve when we dip them in chocolate. Businesses have been built on a foundation of dipping food into chocolate. Whether you pick up a chocolate fountain or order a bouquet of a beautiful arrangement of chocolate-dipped fruit, celebrate!
But fruit isn’t the only food meant for dipping in chocolate. Oh no. Other foods cry out for chocolate, too. Have you tried chocolate-covered peanuts, cashews, or walnuts? Pretzels undergo a divine transformation when dipped in chocolate, and they even have a national day of their own. Pound cake and gummy candies taste delicious with chocolate, too. If you love coffee, how can you pass up chocolate covered coffee beans?
The list goes on. What’s you’re favorite covered chocolate covered anything?
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On December 21st, seafood lovers celebrate National French Fried Shrimp Day. Enjoyed all year long, this delicious dish delights many across the country.
Americans eat more shrimp than any other seafood.
The word prawn is used loosely to describe any large shrimp, sometimes known as jumbo shrimp. Some countries use the word prawn exclusively for all shrimp.
Preparing the shrimp for consumption usually involves the removal of the head, shell, tail and sand vein. There are many ways to cook shrimp. Common methods of preparation include baking, boiling, broiling, sauteing, frying and grilling.
Cooking time is delicate for shrimp and they are at their best when not over cooked.
A healthy food, shrimp is low in calories and high in levels of omega-3s, calcium, iodine, and protein. Shrimp is also known to be considered good for the circulatory system. *The preparation of the shrimp does impact the caloric count.
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Across the nation each year on December 20th, National Sangria Day recognizes a wine and fresh fruit combination that brings a fresh celebration to the table.
Sangria is a beverage made with wine and sweetened with fresh fruit and fruit juices. Other ingredients can include herbs, spices, carbonation, and liquor. The combinations are endless, giving sangria a place in the cocktail rotation year-round. Refreshing and light during hot summer months, bright and sparkling during the winter ones, this fruity punch is quite versatile.
Sangria made with white wine is called Sangria Blanca.
Use fresh fruit in season for the best flavors. Once mixed, sangria should be chilled and the fruits allowed to marinate a few hours or overnight. When making sangria, if you use 100% juice, you’ll gain the maximum benefits, too. Eating the fruit versus all the sweet cakes and pies over the holidays will be healthier. Get the benefits of red wine, but drink in moderation and sangria will be worth all the celebration.
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Across the United States, fruitcake lovers young and old, commemorate National Fruitcake Day each year on December 27th.
Made with chopped candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices and sometimes soaked in spirits, fruitcake has been a holiday gift-giving tradition for many years.
Dating back to ancient Rome, one of the earliest known recipes lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins mixed into barley mash. Records indicate that in the Middle Ages, makers added honey, spices, and preserved fruits. Recipes for fruitcakes vary from country to country, depending on available ingredients and tradition.
In the 16th century, two achievements crystallized to make fruitcakes more affordable and accessible. First, sugar from the American Colonies became abundant. Second, it was discovered that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits. These two actions resulted in excess candied fruit. Consequently, fruitcake making grew.
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January 3 spotlights National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day. This sweet treat is a favorite during many holidays. Furthermore, the National Confectioners Association has been known to recognize this day as an annual event.
It is almost impossible to eat just one of a chocolate covered cherry candies. A combination of two favorite flavors into one delicious treat turns into something irresistible. The candy often is made with a sweet liquid center and in some cases has a liquor filling.
Chocolate covered cherries are also chocolate cordials. They can be either store-bought or homemade. There are many recipes that mimic the flavor of the this well-loved candy. Either way, they are known to many as a mid-winter pick-me-up.
During the 1700s in England, cherries were enclosed in chocolate with a little kirsch (cordial) liqueur. After finding their way to the United States, Americans began delighting in the little bit of alcoholic cordial surrounding the fruit dipped in chocolate. Although originally made with the liqueur, cordials, or chocolate covered cherries are more commonly made with a sugar syrup flavored with cherries. The pitted cherries have been cooked in sugar syrup and jarred.
Enjoy a cream-filled pastry on National Cream Puff Day! Dessert and pastry lovers alike get to celebrate this delicious French creation on January 2.
Originating in France, cream puffs are also known as profiterole and choux a la creme. Cream puffs are a French dessert pastry filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream or custard. They may be served plain or can be decorated with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or dusted with powdered sugar.
Borrowed from the French, the word “profiterole” has existed in English since 1604. The “cream puff” has been found on United States restaurant menus since around 1851.
To prepare cream puffs, a pastry chef pipes a choux paste through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls onto a pan, then baked to form hollow puffs. After cooling, the cream puffs are injected with a filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip or by slicing off the top, filling the puff and then reassembling.
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Nearly the entire world recognizes New Year’s Day on January 1st. It’s also one of the most celebrated holidays of the year.
Celebrations will begin in the Pacific Ocean with Samoa celebrating the New Year before the rest of the world. The latest stroke of midnight will occur in the middle of the Pacific Ocean near Baker Island, which is halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
The new year has been celebrated for millennia. The earliest record of new year’s celebrations occurred during Babylonian times. However, January 1st wasn’t always the designated day. For example, the first new moon after the vernal equinox ushered in the new year at one time. These festivities occurred in Martius (March), the first month in the early Roman calendar, which only had ten months.
King Pompilius later added the months Januarius (named for Janus, the pagan god of gates, doors and beginnings) and Februarius bringing the calendar to 12 months. It was Julius Caesar who created the Julian calendar, which most closely resembles the Gregorian calendar a majority of the world follows today.
Celebrating the first day of the year in the appropriately named month of January, Romans made sacrifices to Janus, giving gifts and general revelry. With his two faces, the god Janus was able to look toward the past and forward to the future.
Every year on December 31st, people around the world celebrate New Year’s Eve, the last day of the year. It’s a day to say “goodbye” to the old and “hello” to the new.
Also known as Old Year’s Day or Saint Sylvester’s Day, New Year’s Eve is one of the most exciting holidays of the year. In some countries, such as the Philippines and Latvia, New Year’s Eve is a public holiday. In Japan, it’s a government holiday. In other countries, many businesses let their employees off of work early so that they can partake in the many festivities.
There are many reasons this day is one of the biggest nights of the year. Not just because it’s a time of big parties and celebrations all around the world. New Year’s Eve can be a significant turning point in your life. It’s a time to reflect on the past year and all of the lessons you have learned. It can be a time you decide to start making better choices. If you have had a rough year, New Year’s Eve offers a feeling of relief. You can be thankful that the year is finally over.
New Year’s is also a time to forgive past mistakes and form new habits. Many people make New Year’s resolutions. Although, only 8% of people actually accomplish them. Instead of making resolutions that you’re not going to keep anyway, it’s better to set three or four goals. Breaking down goals into actionable steps, and reviewing your progress daily helps to keep them. It’s also a good idea to find a friend or mentor that can hold you accountable.
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Enjoy a cream-filled pastry on National Cream Puff Day! Dessert and pastry lovers alike get to celebrate this delicious French creation on January 2.
Originating in France, cream puffs are also known as profiterole and choux a la creme. Cream puffs are a French dessert pastry filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream or custard. They may be served plain or can be decorated with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or dusted with powdered sugar.
Borrowed from the French, the word “profiterole” has existed in English since 1604. The “cream puff” has been found on United States restaurant menus since around 1851.
To prepare cream puffs, a pastry chef pipes a choux paste through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls onto a pan, then baked to form hollow puffs. After cooling, the cream puffs are injected with a filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip or by slicing off the top, filling the puff and then reassembling.
Pastrami lovers across the country look forward to their favorite sandwich on January 14th as they recognize National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day.
A popular delicatessen meat, pastrami is usually made from beef. Others make their pastrami sandwich with pork, mutton or turkey. Before refrigeration, butchers originally created pastrami as a way to preserve meat. To make pastrami, they placed the raw meat in brine. Then they partially dried it and seasoned it with various herbs and spices to be smoked and steamed.
A wave of Romanian Jewish immigration introduced pastrami (pronounced pastróme), a Romanian specialty, in the second half of the 19th century. Early English references used the spelling “pastrama” before the modified “pastrami” spelling was used.
New York kosher butcher, Sussman Volk earns credit for producing the first pastrami sandwich in 1887. He claimed to have gotten the recipe from a Romanian friend in exchange for storing his luggage. Due to the popularity of his sandwich, Volk converted his butcher shop into a restaurant to sell pastrami sandwiches.
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On National Cheese Lover’s Day, don’t feel bleu, throw a feta or act capricious. January 20th is a gouda day to kummin over and have some cheddar or asiago or fontina!
There is no firm evidence of how cheese making was discovered. but legend tells us it was likely by chance that someone created the first cheese. Thousands of years ago, people transported milk and stored it in sheep stomachs. Left to sit a few days, the proteins would separate into curds and whey. From there, preserving the solids with salt may have seemed a logical next step. Salt was a highly valued preservative in ancient times.
The earliest record of cheese making dates back to 5,500 BCE in what is now Poland. Today there are over 1,400 varieties of cheese.
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National Peanut Brittle Day is observed on January 26th. A hard, flat candy confection, peanut brittle is enjoyed throughout the United States.
Peanut Brittle includes caramelized sugar or corn syrup. Nuts are added to the molten sugar and then poured onto a flat surface such as granite or marble and smoothed into a thin sheet. The candy cools into a hard, brittle treat that is broken into smaller pieces. Some of the best brittles are hand-stretched into a thin, easily cracked candy that melts in the mouth.
The history of peanut brittle is uncertain, though one legend says it was all a mistake. The story goes that a southern woman was making taffy and instead of using cream of tartar, she used baking soda by accident.
National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th recognizes an American staple in our pantries. Whether creamy or chunky, with chocolate or with jelly, peanut butter gets the recognition it deserves each year on this day.
The early peanut butter made by the Aztecs and Incas around 1000 BC was more of a paste and not nearly as creamy as the peanut butter we know now.
Peanut butter didn’t become widely used until the 20th century. First, the peanut had to be considered more than animal feed, which was until the late 1800s. At the turn of the century, inventions that made planting, cultivating and harvesting the legume (the peanut isn’t a nut at all) made it possible to see the peanut as a retail and wholesale food item.
National Pie Day on January 23rd celebrates one of the Nations’ favorite desserts. No matter how you slice it, pie in just about any form makes a crowd happy. Fruit pies, berry pies, cream pies – they’re mouth water servings of homemade goodness.
National Pie Day was created simply to celebrate the pie. It is a day for all to bake or cook their favorite pies. Even more importantly, it is a day set aside for all to enjoy eating pies!
The first pies appeared around 9500 BC in the Egyptian Neolithic period or New Stone Age.
Fun Tidbit – Pie throwing:
Cream filled or topped pies are favorite props for humor. Throwing a pie in a person’s face has been a staple of film comedy since Ben Turpin received one in Mr. Flip in 1909.
In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
On January 28th, National Blueberry Pancake Day brinks the sweetness of blueberries to your pancake, flapjack or hotcake.
The early pancakes consisted mostly of flour and milk and were more like biscuits. Later, eggs, milk, a leavening agent (such as baking powder) and fat were added creating the fluffier, lighter pancake we know today.
Adding blueberries to the pancake batter when mixing up the ingredients may result in a bluish hue. To avoid this, add them right after dropping dollops of batter to the hot griddle.
Blueberries add a freshness to pancakes and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and copper.
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Each year on January 31, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up people across the country by celebrating the timeless cold-weather beverage.
Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.
Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate
We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.
But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture.
2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.
In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
On January 29th, grab the queso or salsa and celebrate National Corn Chip Day. Recognized each year across the country, the day encourages corn chip lovers to whip up their favorite dips and toppings.
The corn chip or friotes are not to be confused with the tortilla chip. Both are made from cornmeal which is baked or fried in oil.
Differing steps for processing the corn separate the tortilla from the corn chip. The corn for a tortilla chip is soaked in a lime-water solution that breaks down the hulls. This process creates a crisper, milder chip. A corn chip is sturdier with a stronger corn flavor. Both were popular snacks originating in Mexico.
There are two men credited with patenting and marketing the corn chip in the United States. First, Isador J. Filler often ate a tostada (a hard corn tortilla with toppings) while traveling in San Antonio, Texas as a salesman. He struck on the idea of making them in rectangles and marketing them as a chip. In 1932 he patented his concept.
Around the same time, Elmer Doolin was also traveling in San Antonio and was enjoying friotes. According to the story, he paid $100 for the recipe. Experimenting in his home until he created the ideal chip, Doolin then started selling them from the back of his Model T Ford. When he began mass-producing them under the name of Frito Corn Chips, they were a hit.
In 1945, Doolin came to an agreement with Herman Lay (of potato chip fame) to distribute Doolin’s Fritos across the country. The two companies merged in 1959 after Doolin’s death.
On January 28th, National Blueberry Pancake Day brinks the sweetness of blueberries to your pancake, flapjack or hotcake.
The early pancakes consisted mostly of flour and milk and were more like biscuits. Later, eggs, milk, a leavening agent (such as baking powder) and fat were added creating the fluffier, lighter pancake we know today.
Adding blueberries to the pancake batter when mixing up the ingredients may result in a bluish hue. To avoid this, add them right after dropping dollops of batter to the hot griddle.
Blueberries add a freshness to pancakes and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and copper.
National Chocolate Cake Day celebrates the cake more people favor. And more often than not, we celebrate our special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays and weddings with cake. Why not enjoy chocolate cake on January 27th every year?
In America, chocolate was consumed primarily as a beverage until the 1830s or 40s. Chocolate cakes, as we think of them today, mostly did not exist then. According to the Dover Post, the chocolate cake was born in 1765 when a doctor and a chocolate maker teamed up in an old mill. They ground up cocoa beans between huge millstones to make a thick syrup. The liquid was poured into molds shaped like cakes, which were meant to be transformed into a beverage.
A popular Philadelphia cookbook author, Eliza Leslie, published the earliest chocolate cake recipe in 1847 in The Lady’s Receipt Book. Unlike chocolate cakes we know today, this recipe used chopped chocolate. Other cooks of the time such as Sarah Tyson Rorer and Maria Parloa all made contributions to the development of the chocolate cake and were prolific authors of cookbooks.
The first boxed cake mix was created by a company called O. Duff and Sons in the late 1920s. Betty Crocker released their first dry cake mixes in 1947.
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In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
On January 28th, National Blueberry Pancake Day brinks the sweetness of blueberries to your pancake, flapjack or hotcake.
The early pancakes consisted mostly of flour and milk and were more like biscuits. Later, eggs, milk, a leavening agent (such as baking powder) and fat were added creating the fluffier, lighter pancake we know today.
Adding blueberries to the pancake batter when mixing up the ingredients may result in a bluish hue. To avoid this, add them right after dropping dollops of batter to the hot griddle.
Blueberries add a freshness to pancakes and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and copper.
This #PresidentsDay, be the commander-in-chief of your family’s future. Reach out to me, and let's put together a strategy for your financial goals.
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Retiring in a Down Market: Managing Sequence of Returns Risk | Kiplinger
In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
On January 28th, National Blueberry Pancake Day brinks the sweetness of blueberries to your pancake, flapjack or hotcake.
The early pancakes consisted mostly of flour and milk and were more like biscuits. Later, eggs, milk, a leavening agent (such as baking powder) and fat were added creating the fluffier, lighter pancake we know today.
Adding blueberries to the pancake batter when mixing up the ingredients may result in a bluish hue. To avoid this, add them right after dropping dollops of batter to the hot griddle.
Blueberries add a freshness to pancakes and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and copper.
This #PresidentsDay, be the commander-in-chief of your family’s future. Reach out to me, and let's put together a strategy for your financial goals.
A huge risk
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Retiring in a Down Market: Managing Sequence of Returns Risk | Kiplinger
Each year on January 31, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up people across the country by celebrating the timeless cold-weather beverage.
Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.
Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate
We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.
But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture.
2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.
In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
On January 29th, grab the queso or salsa and celebrate National Corn Chip Day. Recognized each year across the country, the day encourages corn chip lovers to whip up their favorite dips and toppings.
The corn chip or friotes are not to be confused with the tortilla chip. Both are made from cornmeal which is baked or fried in oil.
Differing steps for processing the corn separate the tortilla from the corn chip. The corn for a tortilla chip is soaked in a lime-water solution that breaks down the hulls. This process creates a crisper, milder chip. A corn chip is sturdier with a stronger corn flavor. Both were popular snacks originating in Mexico.
There are two men credited with patenting and marketing the corn chip in the United States. First, Isador J. Filler often ate a tostada (a hard corn tortilla with toppings) while traveling in San Antonio, Texas as a salesman. He struck on the idea of making them in rectangles and marketing them as a chip. In 1932 he patented his concept.
Around the same time, Elmer Doolin was also traveling in San Antonio and was enjoying friotes. According to the story, he paid $100 for the recipe. Experimenting in his home until he created the ideal chip, Doolin then started selling them from the back of his Model T Ford. When he began mass-producing them under the name of Frito Corn Chips, they were a hit.
In 1945, Doolin came to an agreement with Herman Lay (of potato chip fame) to distribute Doolin’s Fritos across the country. The two companies merged in 1959 after Doolin’s death.
On January 28th, National Blueberry Pancake Day brinks the sweetness of blueberries to your pancake, flapjack or hotcake.
The early pancakes consisted mostly of flour and milk and were more like biscuits. Later, eggs, milk, a leavening agent (such as baking powder) and fat were added creating the fluffier, lighter pancake we know today.
Adding blueberries to the pancake batter when mixing up the ingredients may result in a bluish hue. To avoid this, add them right after dropping dollops of batter to the hot griddle.
Blueberries add a freshness to pancakes and nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and copper.
Dagwood will eat his heart out on March 3rd because it’s National Cold Cuts Day. Call them lunch meats, deli meats, sandwich meats, or cold cuts. Some like them thick, while others stack them mile high. Others still just like them with cheese and crackers. However you like them, National Cold Cuts Day was made for sandwich and snack makers.
There are the deli staples like the humble turkey and ham. Then there are the culinary delights like salami and prosciutto and flavors that require a more acquired taste like head cheese and braunschweiger. Whatever your taste, there is a cold cut for everyone. Well, everyone except the vegetarian.
Every nationality has a flavor all their own when it comes to seasoning, curing and aging a variety of meats. Spices, smoking, and time alters the taste. When the animal is butchered, temperature and air circulation affect the flavor, too.
It’s essentially an art history lesson all rolled into one, and at the end of it all, there’s mouth-watering food that can be enjoyed with friends and a good beverage.
Or, it’s merely a piece of meat meant to make a meal. Breaking bread with friends sounds so much more delightful, though.
Bologna is one of the most popular cold cuts in the United States due to a famous commercial. Named after the Italian city of the same name, bologna is similar to an Italian sausage called Mortadella.
Other popular cuts are chicken, roast beef, pastrami, corned beef, and pepperoni.
Each year, National Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 2nd, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The annual event is part of Read Across America, an initiative on reading creative by the National Education Association. Since the event is designed to encourage reading in children and is fostered through the schools, when March 2nd lands on a weekend, the day is observed on the closest school day.
This motivational and awareness day calls all children and youth in every community across the United States to celebrate reading. It encourages them to read where ever they are. Great ways to inspire reading in children include:
Keep books everywhere you spend time.
Put them in the car, in every room of the house, and tuck them in backpacks and purses. Make them easily accessible.
Visit the library often. Knowing how to use the library and learning the benefits of a library fosters a love of reading as well as genuine respect for the services libraries provide.
Get caught reading. Children imitate what they see the adults around them do. Whether they see you read a magazine, newspaper, or novel, let them know reading is the cool thing to do.
Read to your children. No matter their age, reading aloud strengthens their vocabulary and language skills. It also opens up opportunities for discussion.
Have your children read to you, too. You never know what you might learn!
Each year on March 1st, National Fruit Compote Day presents a celebration filled with sweet berries, citrus, and stone fruits to delight the senses.
The word compote is French for “mixture.”
A compote is a dessert originating in 17th century France. The French believed that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the humidity’s effects on the body and led them to invent compotes. Recipes called for whole or pieces of mixed fruit in sugar syrup. The whole fruits are cooked in water with added sugar and spices. Add complimentary spices to the mixture depending on the kinds of fruit you choose.
vanilla
lemon peel
orange peel
cinnamon sticks
cinnamon powder
cloves
ground almonds
grated coconut
candied fruit or raisins
You may serve fruit compote either warm or cold. The French initially served fruit compotes in the afternoon as a snack with sour cream and biscuits. During the Renaissance, people began serving compotes chilled at the end of dinner.
This #PresidentsDay, be the commander-in-chief of your family’s future. Reach out to me, and let's put together a strategy for your financial goals.
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Each year on January 31, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up people across the country by celebrating the timeless cold-weather beverage.
Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.
Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate
We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.
But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture.
2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.
National Pi Day on March 14th recognizes the mathematical constant π. Also known as pi, the first three and most recognized digits are 3.14. The day is celebrated by pi enthusiasts and pie lovers alike!
Pi is the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter. While the idea of pi has been known for nearly 4000 years, accurately calculating it has been something of slightly more recent mathematical development. By 2000 BC, the Egyptians and Babylonians accurately used the constant to build. Mathematicians such as Archimedes, Fibonacci, François Viète, Adriaan van Roomen, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz all calculated pi by various methods. However, in 1706, Welsh mathematician William Jones introduced the Greek letter π to represent the ratio of a circle’s circumference; pi.
As part of Girl Scout Week, National Girl Scout Day on March 12th honors the history and legacy of Girl Scouting in America each year.
Girl Scouting in the United States of America began on this day, March 12, 1912, when Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout troop meeting. At this first troop meeting in Savannah, Georgia, there were 18 girls present. For these girls, Juliette Gordon Low organized enrichment programs, service projects, and outdoor activities and adventures. Since the time of the first meeting, Girl Scouts has grown to over 3.7 million members.
The organization’s original name was the Girl Guides of America
By 1920 there were close to 70,000 members
By 1930 there were over 200,000 members
In 2005 there were over 3.7 million members
Motto
“Be Prepared”
Slogan
“Do a Good Turn Daily”
“Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.”
What better way to start March 10th than with National Blueberry Popover Day? Popovers are airy rolls that puff up when baked, popping over the edge of the tin. They are light and crispy on the outside while the insides are warm and often hollow. They can be filled with custards, creams, and fruits for a sweet treat, especially blueberries.
Popovers are similar to Yorkshire pudding and can also be served with savory combinations.
Most popover recipes are made using mostly eggs, milk, flour and salt. When making popovers, using eggs and milk that are at room temperature produces the best result. The resulting batter is thin but has enough air it that when it bakes the steam expands the batter, causing it to puff up and pop over the tin. The egg proteins help the pastry hold its shape and eventually the crust turns flaky and golden.
** 1850 – The oldest known reference to popovers in a letter of E.E. Stuart.
** 1876 – The first cookbook with a popover recipe was Practical Cooking by M.N. Henderson.
Observed annually on March 9th, National Crab Meat Day (also National Crabmeat Day) offers a day to celebrate one of America’s favorite crustaceans. With 1.5 million tons of crab consumed every year around the world, plenty of crab meat lovers celebrate every year.
While crab meat is a healthy choice, once you add the butter, the fat and calories add up. And there are thousands of species of crabs, but only certain ones are edible. In the United States, some of the more popular and tasty ones are the blue crab, stone crab, Dungeness, king, and rock or snow crabs. They come in both hard and soft shells and can be found along all the coasts and Hawaii.
Enjoying the meat of these crustaceans can be done in many ways. Boiled crab, either the legs or the whole creature, results in a feast requiring some labor from the diner. However, every tasty morsel is well worth the effort. Mix the meat with other ingredients to create dips, cakes, or soups.
Spring begins on the March or vernal equinox, which is when the amount of sunshine is approximately 12 hours long. The amount of sunlight will incrementally increase until the first day of Summer.
The vernal equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator. This is the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator, from south to north. The vernal equinox happens on March 19, 20, or 21 every year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, this same event marks the beginning of fall.
Meteorologists mark the spring from March 1 through May 31st.
In 2020, spring arrived a little earlier due to it being a leap year. On Leap Day, there’s a short math lesson regarding the Gregorian calendar. To keep our calendar following the seasons so that spring happens when flowers grow and winter arrives when snow falls, an additional day was figured into years divisible by the number four. This caused the 2020 spring to occur earlier than any living human being alive had ever seen. Before 2020, the earliest spring on record took place in 1896.
A great combination is celebrated each year on National Chocolate Caramel Day. On March 19th, enjoy chocolate and caramel in your favorite candy bar, ice cream or dessert. It’ll put a smile on most people’s faces! The combination also invokes some cravings for chocolate caramel coffee, milkshakes, or just about any treat with this hard-to-resist combination.
While Milton Hershey receives a lot of credit for making chocolate caramel popular (he did make his living making caramel first), recipes for chocolate caramels were around as early as the 1880s. At about the same time, the first mass-produced chocolate bar became available.
In 1893, the World’s Colombian Exposition came to Chicago. Hershey’s fascination with an exhibit featuring machinery for the production of German chocolate became apparent. So fascinated, in fact, he purchased the equipment and soon was producing chocolate bars, many of which included his company’s bedrock ingredient: caramel.
St. Patrick’s Day kicks off a worldwide celebration that is also known as the Feast of St. Patrick. On March 17th, many will wear green in honor of the Irish and decorate with shamrocks. In fact, the wearing of the green is a tradition that dates back to a story written about St. Patrick in 1726. St. Patrick (c. AD 385–461) was known to use the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity and to have worn green clothing. They’ll revel in the Irish heritage and eat traditional Irish fare, too.
In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated since before the country was formed. While the holiday has been a bit more of a rowdy one, with green beer, parades, and talk of leprechauns, in Ireland, it the day is more of a solemn event. It wasn’t until broadcasts of the events in the United States were aired in Ireland some of the Yankee ways spread across the pond. One tradition that is an Irish-American tradition not common to Ireland is corned beef and cabbage.
National Lobster Newburg day on March 25th ushers in a celebration worthy of a sea captain. An American seafood dish, Lobster Newburg includes lobster, butter, cream, cognac, sherry, eggs, and cayenne pepper.
Delmonico’s of New York debut Lobster Newburg in 1876. A sea captain by the name of Ben Wenburg developed the elegant and rich dish. After he demonstrated the recipe to restaurant manager Charles Delmonico, Chef Charles Ranhofer made refinements and they added the creation to the restaurant’s menu as Lobster a la Wenburg. It wasn’t long before the dish grew in popularity.
However, an argument between Wenburg and manager Charles Delmonico caused the dish to be removed from the menu. After many requests from patrons, Delmonico’s returned the dish with a new name. The entree came to be known as Lobster Newburg.
When Delmonico’s first opened in 1830, Brothers Giovanni and Peter transformed a small café into New York’s first customary restaurant with cloth-covered tables and printed menus. Similar to the café’s transformation, Lobster Newburg came about right around the time lobster was transforming from a poor man’s food to a delicacy. See before the mid-1800s, people considered lobster to be fish bait or food for prisoners. It was an undesirable food. But right around the time Captian Wenburg invented the dish, tourism by train and ship was taking off. Couple that with improved canning options (including lobster), people were experiencing the seafood for the first time.
As dishes like Lobster Newburg, lobster tails, lobster bisque, and others found their way on to restaurant menus, the nation’s love of the crustacean grew.
National Cheesesteak Day on March 24th not only celebrates a fantastic sandwich but it recognizes one of this nation’s greater debates; Who created this deliciousness?
It’s like March Madness for cheesesteak. Pat’s and Geno’s square off at 10 AM followed by Chubby’s and Dalessandro’s at 11 AM. Then Jim’s and Tony Luke’s at Noon. Basketball fans know how brackets go. Someone is gonna get a by.
However, the credit is given to a hot dog vendor from the 1930s, Pat Olivieri. According to Philadelphia’s tourism site, Pat’s King of Steaks sits on its original location and is still going strong. This writer has had a cheesesteak from there and would in a heartbeat go back.
The important thing is this fabulous, juicy sandwich on a hoagie roll. If you’ve never had one, you can really only get an authentic one in Philly. Other places try, so go where you can, but someday, Philadephia is the real deal.
The roll is filled with chipped steak, and you can order it with or without cheese and onions.
Observed each year on March 23rd, National Puppy Day celebrates the unconditional love and affection puppies bring to our lives. Their cuddles and wiggles make us smile and without a doubt, there are squeals of delight when there are puppies around!
The day also brings awareness to the need for care of and homes for orphaned pups as well as to educate people about the horrors of puppy mills across the country. Puppies are a big responsibility. Be sure to consider everything involved and adopt from a shelter. The puppies there need love and a home just as much as any other and they grow into loyal pets, too!
According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.3 million dogs enter shelters every year. Some of these dogs come with litters of puppies. If you’re seeking a puppy to start your furry family, check the shelters first. When these abandoned and abused animals find their way to a shelter, each one needs a forever home and their potential is limitless.
Serving up a light and airy dish, March 22nd annually recognizes National Bavarian Crepes Day.
Bavarian crepes are a delicious, very thin pancake-like dessert, typically made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour, then filled, rolled and then often topped with a glaze, fruit, chocolate or whipped cream. In Bavaria, crepes are called palatschinke. While similar to a French crepe, the Bavarian crepe batter doesn’t need to rest before using.
Both types of crepes lend themselves to delicious desserts and fresh breakfast settings. They even make for a light brunch with a savory touch. However, crepes shine when it comes to delivering delicate and beautiful desserts. Whether they are filled with cream, mousse or jams, the results are almost always spectacular.
As part of National Nutrition Month, National California Strawberry Day kicks off the strawberry season in California. The celebration takes place annually on March 21st which is typically the first full day of spring. It’s an ideal time to rejuvenate our senses and get excited about fresh fruit dishes, too.
Strawberries are the flavor of paradise speckled with a bit of sunshine and whimsy. Their bright red dimpled fruit inspires picnics with double scoop strawberry ice cream cones. Of course, as the season heats up, the ice creams will drip down our chins but that’s a worthy price to pay for a delicious crop of these dazzling and beautiful berries. Even eaten fresh, the juices leave a tantalizing mark on the lips of sweet toddlers and sweethearts, too.
As you celebrate the delicious taste of summer, remember that strawberries provide good sources of potassium, fiber, folic acid, and vitamin C. They are also low in calories, with no fat and no cholesterol.
Spring begins on the March or vernal equinox, which is when the amount of sunshine is approximately 12 hours long. The amount of sunlight will incrementally increase until the first day of Summer.
The vernal equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator. This is the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator, from south to north. The vernal equinox happens on March 19, 20, or 21 every year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, this same event marks the beginning of fall.
Meteorologists mark the spring from March 1 through May 31st.
In 2020, spring arrived a little earlier due to it being a leap year. On Leap Day, there’s a short math lesson regarding the Gregorian calendar. To keep our calendar following the seasons so that spring happens when flowers grow and winter arrives when snow falls, an additional day was figured into years divisible by the number four. This caused the 2020 spring to occur earlier than any living human being alive had ever seen. Before 2020, the earliest spring on record took place in 1896.
