What Day is It, Anyway?

photo courtesy of Larisa-K, pixabay

Did you know that as of July 17th in the United States we’ve already missed National Stay Out of the Sun Day (July 3rd), National Strawberry Sundae Day (July 7th), and National Give Something Away Day (July 15th)? Did you know the whole world celebrated International Kissing Day on July 6th?

If you’ve been as negligent as I have in observing these crucial holidays, it’s time to set things straight.

In the spirit of trying to help you squeeze as much fun out of July as possible, I’m going to list the holidays that take place for the entire month and for the rest of the month, according to nationaltoday.com and nationaldaycalendar.com.

And if these holidays aren’t celebrated where you live?

Who cares?? Celebrate anyway!

July is:

World Watercolor Month, National Anti-Boredom Month, National Baked Bean Month, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, National Culinary Arts Month, National Grilling Month, National Horseradish Month, National Hotdog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Independent Retailer Month, National July Belongs to Blueberries Month, and National Picnic Month.

Here’s a breakdown of the rest of the month by day (and, if necessary, by country/region that celebrates), so mark your calendars!!

July 17th:

World Emoji Day

National Yellow Pig Day (had to look this up–it’s specifically for mathemeticians)

National Peach Ice Cream Day

National Tattoo Day

July 18th:

National Sour Candy Day

National Caviar Day

Nelson Mandela International Day

World Listening Day

July 19th:

National Daiquiri Day

Get to Know Your Customers Day

National Hotdog Day (changes annually)

July 20th:

National Lollipop Day

National Moon Day

National Pennsylvania Day

July 21st:

National Junk Food Day (woo hoo!)

National Be Someone Day

National Strawberry Rhubarb Wine Day

Toss Away the ‘Could Haves’ and ‘Should Haves’ Day

July 22nd:

National Hammock Day

National Parents’ Day

National Penuche Fudge Day

National Rat Catchers’ Day

July 23rd:

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

National Gorgeous Grandma Day

July 24th:

National Cousins Day

National Drive-Thru Day

National Tequila Day

National Amelia Earhart Day

National Thermal Engineer Day

July 25th:

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

National Wine and Cheese Day

National Hire a Veteran Day

National Merry-Go-Round Day

National Threading the Needle Day

July 26th:

National Aunt and Uncle Day

National Chili Dog Day

National Coffee Milkshake Day

National Intern Day

National Bagelfest Day

All or Nothing Day

National Refreshment Day

July 27th:

Asalha Puja (Buddhists)

Guru Purnima (Hindus and Buddhists, Nepal and India)

National Creme Brulee Day (France, US)

National Scotch Day

National New Jersey Day

National Get Gnarly Day

National Talk in an Elevator Day

National System Administrator Appreciation Day

July 28th:

National Milk Chocolate Day

World Hepatitis Day

National Waterpark Day

National Buffalo Soldiers Day

National Day of the Cowboy

July 29th: 

National Chicken Wing Day

National Lipstick Day

National Lasagna Day

July 30th:

International Day of Friendship

National Cheesecake Day

National Father-in-Law Day

National Whistleblower Day

July 31st:

National Avocado Day

National Mutt Day

National Raspberry Cake Day

 

So do you have a favorite??

Until next time,

Amy

 

The Holidays are Upon Us…

…so what better way to celebrate than talking about FOOD?

It doesn’t matter whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or some other holiday at this time of year. We happen to celebrate Christmas at our house, but it doesn’t matter what you celebrate or where in the world you live. Part of what makes the holidays special is the food that we eat during our celebrations. I love learning about the ways different cultures celebrate, and a big part of a culture is its food.

Cooking is a passion of mine, and I especially like to cook during the holidays. Each year I have a repertoire of recipes that I haul out, and each year I try to add a few new things. This year, in an attempt to bring more of an international flavor to our holiday season, I made a batch of cookies called “Austrian Chocolate Balls.” Now, I don’t know how chocolate balls came about or what’s Austrian about them, but I’ll tell you this: they were a big hit and now I want to go to Austria even more than I did before I made the cookies.

Anyone else eat stollen at Christmastime? My mom’s side of the family is German, and stollen is a German sweet bread filled with dried fruits. My aunt makes it every year. I think it’s actually called “Christmas stollen” or “Christstollen,” but we take the simple route and just call it stollen. I like it best when it’s toasted and slathered with butter.

I also make Russian tea cakes. There are about a million other names for the same recipe (including “Spanish Wedding Cookies,” “Mexican Wedding Cakes,” “Snowballs,” “Ponda Polvas,” etc.), but I find “Russian tea cakes” to be the most exotic and exciting. Fortunately or not, I am the only one in my household that really likes them (everyone says they’re too dry…um, hello? That’s why we have eggnog), so I usually eat more than my fair share of them during the holidays. I could just stop making them, but why?

In a nod to the country of France, every Christmas Eve I melt a round of brie and top it with raspberry preserves, apricot preserves, or other sweet mixture. I don’t know how French the toppings are, but I feel beaucoup francais when eating my brie on December 24th. Do I even have to note that it’s wrapped in puff pastry? I think not.

There are so many foods out there that the rest of the world associates with Christmas, Hanuakkah, and Kwanzaa, and I’d love to learn more about them. I recently took out a library book called Holidays of the World: Cookbook for Students. It’s an overwhelming list of foods and recipes that are prepared for countless holidays, all over the world, all year ’round. I have enjoyed looking through it, though I am finding it almost too exhaustive.

There are other foods I make at Christmastime, of course, that are tradition and I have no idea where the recipes originate. One is my grandmother’s party mix. It has two pounds of butter in it.

Yes, you read that right. Here’s a picture:

Another is crab bisque, and caramel-fudge shortbread, and pumpkin roll, and mulled cider, and cutout cookies, and lots and lots of other delicious and heavy-on-the-saturated-fat foods that I associate with Christmas. And I know they’re not good for us–that’s why I don’t cook like this during the rest of the year.

And the best part of making all those things? Sharing them. Are there any special foods you associate with the holidays this time of year? I’d love to hear about them!

Until next week,

Amy

P.S. Here are examples of some of the recipes I’ve listed above:

http://germanfood.about.com/od/baking/r/weihstollen.htm

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/austrian-chocolate-balls/

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/russian-tea-cakes/3af8664b-6c3e-4022-b686-cd961521e59b

http://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/entertaining/baked-brie-with-raspberry-preserves-recipe