November 8th, 2008
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In my endless research on food holidays and/or food facts to discuss for 30 days, I came across a site called Learn Something New Today and discovered some rather silly and inane things about food. So before we get to National Cappuccino Day and National Harvey Wallbanger Day, let’s have a chuckle.
Since it is National Fig Week still, here’s a bit of trivia on the good ol’ Fig Newton, one of my favorite packaged cookies. Created in 1851 by the Kennedy Biscuit Works in Cambridge, MA, the previous discoveries had been named for local towns and the Fig Newton nearly was called the Fig Shrewsbury. It’s a good thing that didn’t stick or we likely would have never known the fun commercial jingle done by the guy in the fig suit. ‘Oooey gooey rich and chewy inside; golden flaky tender cakey outside, wrap the inside in the outside, is it good?? Darn tootin! Doin’t the big Fig Newton!!’
When KFC’s slogan ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ was translated in Chinese, it came out as ‘Eat your fingers off’. Hmmm…..Must. Not. Respond.
In the Great Food Almanac by Irene Chalmers, Elvis Presley’s last meal was apparently four scoops of ice cream and half a dozen chocolate chip cookies. There’s an verbal bomb in there that I won’t touch because I just love ‘Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love’ and ‘Cold Kentucky Rain’.
In total there have been 37 different kinds of Nabisco animal crackers since 1902. The current crackers are tiger, cougar, camel, rhinoceros, kangaroo, hippopotamus, bison, lion, hyena, zebra, elephant, sheep, bear, gorilla, monkey, seal and giraffe. They’ve also gotten far more detailed too.
Apples are more efficient than caffeine at waking you up in the morning. Anyone want to test this one out and let me know the results??
And um……ewww- The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.
Double in the ‘ewwww’ department- Coca-Cola was originally green. Yummay, huh?
Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite so if you eat too many and feel like you might explode then you’ll know why.
Pearls melt in vinegar.
Although it can’t really be proven, in deference to the classic commercial, it takes approximately 317 licks to get to the Tootsie roll center of a Tootsie pop. If you watch the video, prepare for some creative license with a new millenium twist and don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Ok, whooo boy that was fun huh? Let’s move on.
It’s National Cappuccino Day, today November 8th. Having worked in coffee shops and studied coffee and coffee drink history, this is one of those terms that has been so far removed from it’s original form and meaning that almost no one knows what it means anymore. And given the prevalence of those ridiculous machines in convenience stores around the country that dispense scalding hot flavored instant coffee and milk powder and call it a Cappuccino, it’s no wonder most everyone who ever ordered a ‘Vanilla Nut Cappuccino’ from me in the coffee shop had to be patiently educated about what to expect. Or silently beaten over the head; I could never decide.
The very very first coffee drink that was called a Cappuccino was named as such due to the similar color between the espresso coffee, steamed milk or cream drink and the brown color of the robes worn by Capuchin order of Friars- not Monks as many believe, there is a difference and you should know what it is- and in it’s original form, never was topped with a ‘cap’ of foam, suggesting the origin of the name. The Italians were the first to give it the dollop of foam and called it a ‘Cappucio’, wherein it derived into ‘Cappucino’, a diminutive in the Italian language. Whatever people wish to call it, the drink is made with espresso and usually a half milk/half foam topping. Most people who drink the Cappuccino prefer it to be ‘wet, or a Cappuccino Chiaro that has more milk and less foam, as opposed to a ‘dry’, or Cappuccino Scuro, which is less milk and more foam. You can also order a Macchiato, and if it’s made correctly, it should be just a shot of espresso topped with nothing but foam. This was my preferred drink on those mornings in the coffee biz, like the middle of dark and cold January, when I would unlock the door at 6:00am and just know that I needed something akin to an intravenous feed of caffeine to make it to 11:00am when my shift would end. Thankfully those days are long gone- the coffee shop, not the caffeine. I’ve been a caffeine junkie since high school and have no plan to quit any time soon.
It’s also National Harvey Wallbanger Day. This obscure drink is basically a Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) with a shot of Galliano liquor in it, an herby anise flavored liquid with some hints of vanilla. The origin of the drink is sketchy, but legend has it that a California surfer named Harvey liked his Screwdrivers with a shot of Galliano in them, and after one too many of them, he used to bang into walls. ‘Nuf said about that.
(cappuccino photo courtesy of All Coffee Recipes)
November 7th, 2008
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Unbeknown to me, yesterday’s post about Men Making Dinner and Nacho Day was my 500th post on this blog. That kind of blows my mind; I’ve been at this a long time- yes, 2 1/2 years to be exact- and I’m rather prolific with words so really, it shouldn’t come as any surprise.
Nor should it be any surprise that when you roast root vegetables that include beets, everything will be PINK!
Pretty pink and richly colored, in fact; staining your couscous and your bowl, but filling your tummy and taking the edge off the raw wind that came up.
And the national food holiday today? It’s Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day and I thought about seeking out this concoction and spending copiuos amounts of time bestowing praise on such a delicious combination but then I spotted this roasted vegetable dish and all thoughts of chocolate scampered out the window. I should be declared something- possibly certifiable?- when veggies take precedence over chocolate.
But like I said, the wind turned raw and the rain was pouring down and after our early week flirtation with the 70’s in November– temperatures, not the decade mind you- the chill and damp that came over us was harsh and required not a candy to bring relief but something warming, deeply satisfying and a hot oven.
The original recipe, found here in our local paper’s award-winning Taste section, caught my eye and made me drool; an array of vegetables roasted to tender melting goodness and served over super-simple couscous. With my little carnivore heading out with his beloved Uncle Mike to the Gopher basketball game, it would be a welcome dinner for us- no meat yet tons of flavor.
Beets, rutabaga, parsnips, eggplant, carrots and tomato were my combination, doused with olive oil, a sprinkle of thyme, salt and pepper and a long roast in a 400 degree oven. I knew the outcome even before I started, but the beets were small and tender and I didn’t care if they bloodied my dish. The chopped beet greens added a nice color and tons more nutrients-don’t ever throw those away!! They taste like spinach and are SO good for you. And the nicest part about the whole dish was, as we sat down with steaming bowls in front of us, Mike declared with a high amount of enthusiasm “I love beet greens!” which was the smallest little detail ever, but after six years of marriage, I never even knew this about him. Imagine that! This was, by and large for the blustery night, a much better option than chocolate.
To roast your own:
Take one eggplant, one rutabaga, three parsnips, three carrots and one bunch of beets (mine had three in it) and cut them into uniform chunks. Place them in a roasting pan and pour about 1/3 cup of oil over them and add seasoning of choice. Stir to coat. Roast at 400 degrees, stirring after about a half hour. Roughly chop three tomatoes (minus the seedy pulp) and scatter over vegetables at the 30 min. mark. Continue roasting for 15-20 more minutes, then stir. Everything will be PINK. Saute the cleaned and chopped beet greens separately and stir into the veggies before serving, or serve on the side.
Prepare quick-cooking couscous, polenta or another base of choice and serve roasted veggies over this, sprinkled with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Delicious additions to the veggies could be: garbanzo beans, kalamata olives, celery root, turnips…..really the sky is the limit, or your personal taste. Leave out the beets if you don’t like PINK.
November 6th, 2008
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November 6th is National Men Make Dinner Day! woot! woot! woot!
In my house I do virtually all of the grocery shopping. I’m fine with it, really, as the shopping is something I have gotten down to a science from all those years as a single mother where I had to get through the store with a little guy who had a limited tolerance for anything that required him to be confined, stand still, stick by my side, keep his voice down, not touch everything in sight (he’s still the most tactile kid I know) and generally be on the best behavior he could muster. I learned to plot out my grocery list based on the outline of the store and to stick with it religiously, mostly as a matter of budget constraints but also because I knew that I had maybe 30-45 minutes tops, including the check-out, before Griffin would start escalating his voice to near stratospheric levels to make sure I knew of his boredom. The memories of those times include some really hilarious and heart-warming stories of things he did in the grocery store, though, and he loves talking about them with me, but it’s nice now to shop without a young child in tow. I still make my list out according to the store layout and on most occasions, even my major shopping trips, I’m in and out in far less than an hour, including bagging all my own stuff.
And of course I do nearly all the cooking. That’s not really a negotiable aspect with Mike. He can step up to the plate when he needs to, like when I get that glazed over look of total internal implosion, but he works really hard and is always very focused on it, and it just isn’t something that he keeps front and center on his mind. I, however, am constantly thinking about food. It all works out.
Mike makes the most stellar burritos and fajitas ever, including scratch tortillas that we cook up in a big iron horse of a tortilla grill, one of our smartest kitchen purchases. With only a few ingredients kept on hand, we can whip these up at a moment’s notice and have a delicious and easy meal.
And there he is……making Fajitas!
He does a simple preparation of sliced peppers and onions, cooked in a smoking hot pan to give them that seared and sizzling flavor. Seasoned chicken strips cook up really quick, and there’s always a pot of rice, a bowl of my killer guacamole and the ever-present chipotle peppers to give them some eye-popping kick.
The nice thing is, it’s a meal that Griffin will devour no matter what. I just love it that Mike willingly puts this meal together for us to give me a break in the kitchen. I don’t need it too often, but I love it regardless, especially because he looks so cute at the stove.
It’s also National Nachos Day!!! Nothing like a giant pile of toasty chips, melted cheese and a whole host of gooey toppings to mow through, huh??
Do I wish this was right in front of me this minute, and yes it’s before Noon my time but who cares? That kills me in it’s drippy cheesy (but bad for my tummy) jalapeno laden sour cream dressed yummy, and oh my god why don’t I have any?? goodness.
{{nacho photo courtesy of either dailyfoolishness.com or San Nachos Bar in Oklahoma City- you pick cuz I can’t tell}}
So go eat some Nachos if you can, and have a plate for me or better yet, get the Guy to make them for you!
November 5th, 2008
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Today is National Doughnut Appreciation Day. Talk about a perfect day, custom designed for my child.
Griffin is a doughnut fiend, probably because I refuse to buy them or have them around the house, those saturated fat laden, high fructose corn syrup all refined white flour deep fried gut bombs generally found in your average grocery store- sounds delicious, doesn’t it, ewwww!- and so simply due to ‘being deprived’ (as he likes to think) whenever he sees them, it’s a huge WANT!!!
And quite frankly, I really don’t blame him. I love them too. I just don’t buy them as I love my body a whole lot more.
It’s no secret that the best tasting things are always the worst for us to consume; pie crusts made with lard are the flakiest, richly marbled steaks are the most beefy, that Lemon Drop martini- yummy!- is loaded with sugar, and the donut, deep fried and sugary is a delight. You just need to know how to say ‘When’. In college, one of my favorite Sunday morning rituals was to wake early and walk to the corner store to buy a newspaper and a package of Entenmanns Old fashioned donuts, you know, the ones with the cracked edges. I would go home and brew the coffee, then sit in the sunroom of my apartment and proceed to give myself a sugar rush of amazing proportions. Then it was perfectly fine; I only had a mountain bike for transportation and I rode it everywhere, plus I used to swim at the university’s aquatic center three or four times a week for at least an hour- hard- so it never bothered me to put that kind of junk in my body. I was lean and fit. Then.
But that was also before the evils of saturated fat, HFCS and things dunked and cooked in boiling oil became ‘No-No’s’ in any sane person’s diet. Even with that kind of knowledge, it doesn’t mean that I don’t wish for a cakey, flakey sugary oval once in a while. Preferably with good dark coffee and my former collegiate fitness level.
In my search for a donut recipe that I could be pleased to make, I came across this one on Heidi’s site and knew it would be perfect. I also knew that Griffin would be thrilled to help me if it meant he could freely consume the results. With a day off of school for him, it turned into our donut making day and we couldn’t have been more excited about the results.
Indulge me while I brag slightly about my most resourceful husband; while I mused and searched my kitchen for the best tool to cut out the dough centers, pushing everything feasible around in my gadget drawers in a futile search, Mike spied a prescription bottle and said ‘Hey how about a pill bottle sawed off and filed?’ Within 10 minutes he handed me my hole cutter and I nearly knocked him down in my effort to thank him for his ingenuity.
With the dough created and raised to the correct proportions, I set out to cut the rounds while Griffin took charge of making the holes.
He may not looked very thrilled here, but believe me, he was chomping at the bit to eat our results. The donut hole cutter is on the counter in front of him. Pay no attention to my messy hair- I fixed it later!
Once out of the oven we brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled cinnamon sugar over them while still hot. It melted into a nice thin glaze.
Finally!!!!!!!
The results of this recipe were stellar, and would make a perfect base for cinnamon or caramel rolls too. They were sweet and moist, a bit more roll-like than cakey but with an amazing flavor and texture. The plus side was that they didn’t coat my mouth with that deep fried taste, they weren’t heavy at all- so you can eat more of them!- and despite being stellar right out of the oven, they still tasted terrific with a short spin in the microwave the next day to warm them. The bonus, of course, is that they were fabulous with coffee.
If the urge strikes you to make a sweet treat and avoid the deep fryer, by all means give this recipe a whirl. And enjoy National Doughnut Day!
November 4th, 2008
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It’s National Chicken Day
and National Candy Day. Oh the possibilities.
And according to those who insist on making everything about the bizarre, it’s also Waiting for the Barbarians Day, but I don’t think you want me to talk about that in terms of food-relatedness. That would be gross.
AND, if that’s not enough- these food holidays are everywhere!- the first week in November is National Fig Week, I imagine because figs are becoming ripe and ready to devour right about now. Anybody got any?? I love a good fresh squishy tasty fig. And I even love them dried.
Let’s start at the beginning and quickly move on….I mean, seriously, write about chicken?? What can be said that hasn’t been said? What could be done with it that is fresh and new? Chicken is the most widely used domesticated fowl in the entire world, and in terms of cooking, there are those who either love or hate it. It’s everywhere you look. Yes, the ubiquitous boneless skinless breast is lean and a decent source of protein, but the ones that you can normally buy in the market are almost always twice the standard portion size, so if you even eat one of them you’re likely eating too much. They also tend towards flavorless and dull, except, as those would argue, they become a virtual tabula rasa for anything you wish to add. Sure, yeah…..and if you aren’t careful you’ll overcook the thing and it becomes stringy white fowl flesh to choke down. But don’t get me wrong; I buy them and we use them a lot, and I can cook them to be tender, moist, flavor-filled and delicious but I think I am in the minority. I’ve heard way too many arguments against them from others, and it’s just one of those food items that comes down to personal taste. They are all like that and we all just need to deal with it. I don’t begrudge anyone’s choices.
I personally love chicken thighs. I have always been a dark chicken devotee from the time I can recall eating it, and it likely stems from attempting to struggle through an overcooked piece of white meat. But even when I finally discovered that it didn’t have to be that way, the dark meat still remained a favorite. The thighs can be very cheap, and your best bet is to learn how to de-bone them as it will save you at the check-out. Even if you don’t remove the bone prior to cooking, it’s pretty simple to slip the meat free once it’s done. These always hold up well on the grill and take on a marinade like a champion prize fighter. They are nearly impossible to wreck.
I love this hilarious ad campaign. We aren’t big consumers of beef, much to my child’s angst, so I can’t agree more with the Chik-Fil-A cows who urge us all to ‘Eat mor chik-n’.
It’s now about Figs.
I love figs- fresh, dried, in a Newton- they are perfectly wonderful food. Figs go wayyyyyy back and are considered of utmost importance in terms of being objects of worship and cultural interest in many areas of the world. They are noted as being one of the first plant species deliberately bred for agriculture in the Middle East more than 11,000 years ago. We all know what happened in the Garden with the fig leaf, and they are listed as one of the foods found in the Promised Land according to the Torah. It is one of the two sacred trees in Islam, and is pivotal in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism religions and they are a key component in many tropical rainforests providing food to many animal and bird species. They are an excellent source of fiber, potassium and calcium and have shown to offer protection against macular degeneration. Of the more than 150 varieties grown around the world, the most popular ones are the Black Mission, Calymyrna, Brown Turkey, Kadota and Adriatic, and all of them are subtley varied in terms of flavor and dramatically in color.
Then, finally- CANDY.
I’m not a huge candy eater but I do love my dark chocolate. Our trick-or-treaters got a wide selection of minis of every kind, and hands down when I told them to pick something, they grabbed for the little boxes of Junior Mints. Those disappeared the fastest. I certainly can’t argue; my absolute favorite thing to nibble on lately has been something very similar.
This, to me, is the perfect marriage of chocolate and mint. Not too much of one or the other, and it’s dark chocolate so who can argue? The other perfect combination that I love is the little miniature Milky Way Midnights. Talk about perfection! One little bite of intense dark chocolate and the nougat-y caramel-y goodness of Milky Way. I made sure there were some of those in my Halloween hand-outs strictly so I could indulge. I used to LOVE candy as a kid, and recall with great fondness riding my bike to the local corner shop to peruse the candy selection with my sisters and neighborhood friends. I loved Sugar Babies, Bubs Daddy, Hot Tamales, Brown Cows and LifeSavers. I don’t need candy in my life anymore, but a bite here and there is very satisfying. I’m really glad to have gotten my candy-eating out of my system.
Happy Candy Day, Chicken Day and Fig Week!
{{information for this post was found on the California Fig Board website and The World’s Healthiest Food website. Candy image from Ghiradelli.com, cows from Chik-Fil-A}}
November 2nd, 2008
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November 2nd is National Deviled Egg Day; the humble little creamy filled hand held appetizer. So what makes it devilish?
Also called Eggs Mimosa, the deviled egg is a common dish in the USA, France and Hungary, and is known as Russian Eggs in Germany, but the origin claims to be from Ancient Rome. After the Romans domesticated fowl, they used the eggs in many applications, including hard cooking them and covering them with spices. While the technique comes from 13th century Andalusia, the name is strictly 18th century American.
The first recipes found come from ancient Medieval texts, are referred to as Stuffed Eggs, and the filling included raisins, cheese and sweet spices. One difference in this technique was that once the eggs were stuffed, they were fried in oil and served hot. The name ‘Deviled’ didn’t appear until around 18th century England when the practice of ‘deviling’ was first introduced and meant ‘a highly seasoned broiled or fried dish’. The earliest use of the term was loosely associated with kidneys and other meats, not with stuffing eggs. Deviled dishes were popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially for seafood options and appetizers. Those of us old enough to remember the Underwood Devil and the can of spicy ham have seen where the term was taken. It was around this time that Deviled Eggs, possibly including some of that chopped spicy ham, firmly took hold in the culinary world.
Earliest renditions of Deviled Eggs had cayenne and/or spicy mustard in the filling. The recipe has evolved so much over time that there is no clear idea of what goes into the filling; it’s each cook to their own taste. Some recipes in the past have deep fried the final results, others show to spread the yolk mixture in a baking dish, arrange the whites on top and cover with bread crumbs, broiling until crispy and then sprinkling with cheese. Some recipes contain meat, other have capers and vinegar, pickles, fresh herbs, chopped celery or onion, olives and anchovies. Although it’s not stuffed, the fried version makes me think of Scotch Eggs, my absolute favorite egg-eating option- a hard cooked egg wrapped in spicy sausage and fried, then dipped in sweet mustard. Oh dear, now I want a Scotch Egg!
For Griffin’s Deviled Eggs, shown above, he simply mixes in a little Miracle Whip, spicy brown mustard and salt and pepper. He loves the little orbs, and it’s a simple and easy snack for him to prepare.
{information for this post was found at The Food Timeline for all your food history. Watch yourself if you visit this website, it’s addictive and really informative. You might get happily lost for a long time.}
November 1st, 2008
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I might be a little crazy to feel excited about National Blog Posting Month but there it is, my true feelings. I didn’t even mind the cat’s usual wake-up call at the crack of dawn this morning. Past years of blogging have intrigued me to the principle behind the month but I have never gotten motivated enough to participate. This year, I’ve been scheming since early in October.
For the uninitiated, NaBloPoMo is simple; write a post a day for 30 days. That’s it. November is the traditional month for it, developed after the idea of National Novel Writing Month where you challenge yourself to write a novel in 30 days. Since my current novel is running towards the two-year mark, it’s unlikely I could do that, but write 30 food posts in a month? That I can do. These days NBPM happens year round, usually with a theme.
Back in October I posted about monthly happenings, holidays of the sort, that occur for our 10th month. Just to grease the wheels and really get me out of the garage, for this post I’ll discuss November. If you want an entire breakdown of monthly celebrations, go here. I plan to just mention food occurrences, and a few other important ones.
November is American Diabetes Month, Gluten Free Diet Awareness Month (visit my friend Angela for some amazing GF/CF recipes- she is tops in her field!) Good Nutrition Month, I Am So Thankful Month, National Adoption Month, National Georgia Pecan Month, National Life Writing Month, the aforementioned National Novel Writing Month, National Peanut Butter Lovers Month (we will happily re-visit and discuss this in depth on the 20th) National Pomegranate Month, National Roasting Month, National Vegan Month, Pepper Month and Raisin Bread Month.
I mention Nat’l Adoption Month for the sole reason that adoption is something that has touched the lives of many people I have known in my lifetime, including my best friend Joanna. When she knew she couldn’t have children of her own, there was no doubt in her mind that her and her husband would adopt, and I had the monumental joy of watching the entire process unfold in her life from the moment she met her future family until the day they sealed the deal forever. Jay and Cecelia are wonderful children who have really blessed her life and I couldn’t be more thankful for her opportunity.
There’s another one; being thankful- as in I Am So Thankful Month. We shouldn’t set aside just one day a year, the fourth Thursday in November precisely, to be thankful for everything in our lives, including the wonderful family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers etc. that bless our lives each day. That being said, while a month is better, we really need to remember every day of what brings joy and happiness to our lives. I could list out everyone in my life that’s important to me, but they all should know anyway- even if they don’t read my blog, which they should!!-and that would bore you to death. I’ll just gently remind everyone to make more of an effort to recognize this in your own life.
Good Nutrition- this just shouldn’t be sneezed at; good nutrition, healthy eating and regular exercise are vital to well-being. Again, it’s something that needs to be recognized daily, not just one month a year. I really don’t need to talk any more about this.
Gluten Free Awareness- I’m hardly one to start on about this topic; my personal awareness of this has only been enhanced by the presence of Angela who has Celiac disease (she’s a silly yak….teehee, get it?) and the amazing and inventive way that she turns cookies, cakes and other goodies into delicious and healthy treats for her family, which includes two daughters who are silly yaks too. You hardly even know that what you’re eating is gluten-free as you can barely contain yourself from gobbling down all her delicious foods. Visit her blog and enjoy.
Then there’s the foods. And if you stick around this month and visit me to see if I’m keeping my NBPM promise, then you will see 29 more posts all centered on a particular food (and a beverage or two) each day. Along with those monthly holidays there are daily ones as well, and that’s the journey I will take you on this month.
See you tomorrow!!
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