Events
March Foodie Holidays
Happy March everybody! It’s another big month for foodie holidays — including my 1st blogiversary (can’t believe that it’s been a year already, not that that’s a foodie holiday). I was thinking about having an anniversary giveaway but I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll post something on Facebook (11 likes so far! check out the bottom of the side menu)! More on that later, but check me out on Facebook anyway. Anyhoo, here’s what we have in store for this month (check out some of these links): Celery Month, Flour Month, Frozen Food Month, Noodle Month, Nutrition Month, Peanut Month, and Sauce Month. Now here are some of the special days that we can celebrate in March:
1 Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, Fruit Compote Day
2 Banana Cream Pie Day
3 Cold Cuts Day, Mulled Wine Day
6 Frozen Food Day, White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
7 Crown Roast of Pork Day, Cereal Day
8 Peanut Cluster Day, Agriculture Day
10 Blueberry Popover Day
12 Baked Scallops Day
13 Coconut Torte Day
15 Peanut Lovers’ Day, Pears Helene Day
16 Artichoke Heart Day
19 Poultry Day, Chocolate Caramel Day
20 Ravioli Day
21 French Bread Day
23 Chip and Dip Day, Melba Toast Day
24 Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
25 Lobster Newburg Day
26 Waffle Day (in Sweden), Nougat Day
27 Spanish Paella Day
28 Black Forest Cake Day, 1st Blogiversary!
29 Lemon Chiffon Cake Day
31 Clams-on-the-Half-Shell Day
February Foodie Holidays
So this is a little late, and I apologize. As I said in my last post, I’ve been having issues with the editing software on here. I did a little adjusting of the settings here and there and I think I’m set.
No pictures of Daisy or Cooper this time. But since Groundhog Day is February 2, I did include some pics from Punxsutawney, PA. We made a stop there on the way moving from Maine back to Michigan. It was a little bit out of the way (well a lot out of the way, and it was especially difficult driving a moving truck on those twisty mountain roads), but I couldn’t resist meeting the famous groundhog!
In addition to Groundhog Day, we celebrate National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, National Macadamia Nut Month, and National Snack Food Month. Plus we get National Pancake Week during the last week of the month! Here are some of the fun holidays (along with some links, as always) we have this month:
1 – Baked Alaska Day
3 – Carrot Cake Day
4 – Stuffed Mushroom Day
8 – Molasses Bar Day
9 – Bagels and Lox Day
11 – Peppermint Patty Day
12 – Plum Pudding Day
13 – Tortellini Day
14 – Cream-filled Chocolates Day, Valentine’s Day
15 – Gumdrop Day
16 – Almond Day
17 – Indian Pudding Day
19 – Chocolate Mint Day
20 – Cherry Pie Day
21 – Sticky Bun Day
22 – Cook a Sweet Potato Day, Margarita Day
23 – Banana Bread Day
24 – Tortilla Chip Day
25 – Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day, Clam Chowder Day
26 – World Pistachio Day
27 – Strawberry Day, Kahlua Day!
January Foodie Holidays
It’s good to be back after taking a little bit of time off for the holidays. So I do apologize that this is a day late. Hopefully all the hangovers and “bad-decision juice” has been worked out of everyone’s systems. But with all the focus on physical recovery and recuperation, let’s not forget all those National Holidays that are taking place this month (there is another “National Pie Day” this month on the 23rd; the other one was last month). I know when we think of January, New Year’s Day is always on everyone’s mind. It is also National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, and National Soup Month. Here are some of the National Holidays that we should be celebrating this month:
2 Buffet Day, Cream Puff Day
3 Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
5 Whipped Cream Day
8 English Toffee Day
10 Bittersweet Chocolate Day
12 Marzipan Day
14 Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
15 Strawberry Ice Cream Day
18 Peking Duck Day (yum!)
20 Buttercrunch Day, Cheese Lover’s Day
26 Peanut Brittle Day
27 Chocolate Cake Day!
29 Cornchip Day
30 Croissant Day
31 Popcorn Day
December Foodie Holidays
Happy December everybody! Been out of commission for a while due to an increasingly packed schedule. But it’s the first of the month and it’s time to learn about our disavowed national holidays from Mr. Squirrel (or is it Mrs? maybe Ms.?). It really is the holiday season, but there are other days that deserve recognition, like World AIDS Day which is on the 1st. Of course, there are the biggies that (mostly) everyone knows (and these are in chronological order according to my Just Chocolate Labs calendar) — Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Eve. But here are some of the other national holidays that we should incorporate into our regular rotation.
1 Pie Day
2 Fritters Day
4 Cookie Day
7 Cotton Candy Day
8 Brownie Day
10 Lager Day!!!
11 Noodle Ring Day
12 Ambrosia Day
13 Cocoa Day
16 Chocolate Covered Anything Day
21 French Fried Shrimp Day
24 Egg Nog Day
25 Pumpkin Pie Day
There are lots of links for folks to check out this month. Personally, my favorite is “Chocolate Covered Anything Day”, but how can you not love a holiday all about Baking Soda?
November Foodie Holidays
A chill is in the air and those lovely leaves are turning, so that means that autumn is in full swing. Daisy, of course, fell in love with autumn at an early age, as you can see. Even at the ripe old age of 2 (as you can see in the second picture), she still loves playing in the leaves. But this all means that it’s November and holiday season is fast upon us. Now everyone thinks of the traditional holidays like Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving (in the United States, that is), but there are others that we don’t take time to celebrate. For example, November is: National Fun with Fondue Month, National Pepper Month, National Georgia Pecan Month, National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month, and National Raisin Bread Month. Here are some more of those unloved holidays:
1 – 7 National Fig Week
4 Candy Day
7 Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
8 – 13 National Split Pea Soup Week
12 Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day
14 Guacamole Day
20 Peanut Butter Fudge Day
23 Cashew Day
24 THANKSGIVING DAY
25 Parfait Day
26 Cake Day
27 Bavarian Cream Pie Day
28 French Toast Day
29 Chocolates Day
30 Mousse Day
Farmers market, or Farmer’s market, or maybe Farmers’ market?
I still am not clear on the proper phrase to use. Sometimes I find myself overly focused on the correct grammatical term. They all work on some level which is kinda strange. Weird thing to become obsessed about, I know. But I digress. . . This is just a quick post focusing on the Ann Arbor’s Farmers Market (check them out on Facebook, too!) These were from a couple of weeks ago. To be more specific, this was our trip to the weekend market the morning before my family got into town for Labor Day weekend. This was so early that some of the vendors didn’t even set up for the day. Early trips are nice because you get to beat the crowds, but on the other hand not all the booths are there. And it can get crowded, especially on home game days when visiting Wolverine fans and alumni come into town. Anyhoo, hope y’all enjoy this quick introduction to the market. If y’all are ever in town, make sure to try and stop by.
October Foodie Holidays
Happy October everybody! Daisy’s here with our monthly feature on upcoming National Holidays. Maybe Cooper will eventually make an appearance on Daisy’s monthly post, too! Anyhoo, there’s lots of stuff going on in October (like the National Pumpkin Festival on the first Saturday of the month). Here is just some of the stuff that’s happening this month:
National Apple Month, National Applejack Month, National Caramel Month, National Cookbook Month, National Cookie Month (you can get a free cookie from Mrs. Field’s), National Dessert Month, National Pasta Month, National Pickled Peppers Month, National Pizza Month, National Popcorn Poppin’ Month, National Pork Month, National Pretzel Month, National Seafood Month
4 Taco Day
9 Dessert Day
10 Angel Food Cake Day
15 Mushroom Day
17 Pasta Day
20 Brandied Fruit Day
22 Nut Day
24 Bologna Day
26 Mincemeat Day
28 Chocolate Day
29 Oatmeal Day
31 Halloween!
Labor Day with the family
Batten down the hatches!!! My parents and my brother are driving up from Florida to visit me for Labor Day. Plus I got some other cousins and aunts and uncles coming in from about an hour away. Lord help! It’s not that I don’t want them to visit — it’s the planning that can be tricky. And figuring out a menu isn’t going to be easy. Maybe I can talk my cousin into bringing something to help with the menu. What would be nice is having a whole roast pig, but since that ain’t gonna happen I’m going to have to improvise. And too bad my grill just busted. Good thing there’s still the trusty Smokey Joe. . . and as a side note, here’s what the Department of Labor says about Labor Day.
Luckily, another aunt and uncle (also from Florida) came in for a visit a few weeks ago so the meal they had here was essentially a trial run. But since there’s gonna be more people, I’m going to need to expand a bit. I do want to make some stuff focused on local goods and made in Michigan things, but I also want to make some things that I know they’ll like. I did find some Labor Day ideas at Grilling.com, Martha, and Yum Sugar. So here’s what I might end up doing (which I hope to post on these new ones soon):
Roast pork shoulder
Sautéed green beans with mushrooms
Ratatouille
Grilled corn
Fresh Lumpia
Zucchini Ribbons with Garlic Confit
Empanadas
Steamed Mussels with Glass noodle
Koegel’s viennas
Something with Rhubarb (probably a Raspberry and Rhubarb tart)
San Miguel
Oberon
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Of course all this planning might just go out the window, so I’m going to wait until the last minute to do any shopping. There’ll probably be a trip to Windsor in the making. Or maybe a quick jaunt to Toronto (if I’m lucky)!
September Foodie Holidays
It’s the first of the month and Daisy’s here with your monthly holiday announcements! Here she is enjoying her stick on one of the last few days of summer in the backyard. September is another busy month for our “national” holidays. Of course there’s Labor Day, and Back-To-School things going on, which also means college football starts up again (finally!!!). There’s also the Mexican Day of Independence (16th), and Rosh Hashanah (28th @ sundown) and Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day (19th). Plus, Daisy turns 2 on the 29th!
This month we have: National Chicken Month, National Honey Month, National Mushroom Month, National Papaya Month, National Potato Month, and National Rice Month. As for specific days, we have:
4 National Macadamia Nut Day
7 National Beer Lover’s Day
8 National Date-Nut Bread Day
11 National Hot Cross Bun Day
12 National Chocolate Milkshake Day
13 National Peanut Day
14 National Cream-Filled Donut Day
15 National Creme de Menthe Day
16 National Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Day
17 National Apple Dumpling Day
19 International Talk Like a Pirate Day
19 National Butterscotch Pudding Day
20 National Punch Day
21 National Pecan Cookie Day
22 National White Chocolate Day
26 National Pancake Day (maybe)
28 National Strawberry Cream Pie Day
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2011 also marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. I know that this is not a holiday, but I feel that you can’t talk about a calendar of events without mentioning this day. I thought it was important to address and provide just a couple of informational links for folks. National Geographic has done some good specials about that day from different perspectives, including a special interview with President Bush about his personal experiences as the terrorist attacks unfolded. Also Yahoo! News has posted some different profiles and personal stories on how 9/11 has changed our lives as a nation. You should also visit the national memorial site to see how the memorial and museum are taking shape. It is my hope that on this day, we can put aside what separates us and remember what brings us together.
Take care everyone.
Champagne cocktails, part 2 — Peter Venkman, Camilla Parker Bowles, and a Tic-Tac
Peter Venkman, Camilla Parker Bowles, and a Tic-Tac. Sounds like the punchline to a bad joke. It could be, but it’s not. This is round 2 of my experimenting with my liquor cabinet and some sparkling wine. By this time in the “trials”, I am starting to get tipsy, so the names of these drinks might be a little weird, but I swear they made sense at the time. Now these names are not original, so hopefully they won’t cause any troubles. I’m not making any money off these things, so I guess it should be okay.
For the Peter Venkman:
- 5 oz. sparkling wine
- 1 oz. Midori
Pour the Midori into a flute. Top off with the sparkling or champers. Now this one isn’t all that difficult to explain how we got to this name. Originally, I was going to call it a Romulan Ale (and yes I’m a big Star Trek nerd). Problem was that Romulan Ale is blue (if you follow any of the Trekkie lore). There is another Star Trek drink that is green called Aldebaran Whiskey, but that didn’t seem to fit at all. So what’s the next thing that popped into my head — Ghostbusters! The color is definitely that of Slimer, but I couldn’t call it Slime, so Peter Venkman seemed like the next logical choice.
For Camilla Parker Bowles:
- 5 oz. sparkling wine
- 1 oz. raspberry liquor
- dash of bitters
There was all that buzz about the royal wedding, I thought to myself that maybe I should make something that reflected all the hub-bub. Plus there was all that rioting in London, I think over an increase in fees for students and they attacked the car that was carrying Prince Charles and Camilla. Personally I don’t get the big deal over the hike in fees. Maybe it’s because tuition in this country is redonk — I gots $50,000 in student loans after 2 years of school. But I digress. . . the recipe is simple enough, but I added a dash of bitters. . . because I think Camilla has a dash of bitters herself.
For the Tic-Tac:
- 4 oz. sparkling wine
- 1 oz. mint syrup
- 1 drop peppermint oil
This recipe packs a wallop. All because of the oil. I recommend closing your eyes when you drink this one. Or try it with your eyes open, then you’ll know what I mean.
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