National Waffle Day on August 24th commemorates the anniversary of the first waffle iron patent issued. Celebrate by savoring your favorite kind of waffle!
On August 24, 1869, Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York received his patent for the waffle iron. While waffles existed long before then, the invention made waffles more readily available.
Eaten throughout the world, a waffle is a leavened batter or dough. When cooked between two patterned plates, the dough bakes in the waffle’s characteristic uniform impressed surface. Waffles also come in many forms. Depending on the type of batter or iron used, the resulting waffle varies by consistency, size, shape, and flavor.
Waffle irons and waffles originated around the 14th century. An anonymous husband penned the first known waffle recipe as a set of instructions for his wife. According to the manuscript, Le Ménagier de Paris, each of the four recipes began:
Beat some eggs in a bowl, season with salt and add wine. Toss in some flour, and mix. Then fill, little by little, two irons at a time with as much of the paste as a slice of cheese is large. Then close the iron and cook both sides. If the dough does not detach easily from the iron, coat it first with a piece of cloth that has been soaked in oil or grease.
Enjoy your favorite waffle recipes. Or visit a local restaurant for some fresh served waffles. Restaurants across the country specialize in waffles, crafting delicious combinations for every meal of the day. No matter your preference, there’s a waffle for you!
Invite friends over for a waffle making party. Set up a buffet with fresh fruit, syrups, and nuts. Ask them to bring their best ingredients and get tasting! You never know what you’ll discover. Make it breakfast, brunch, snack or dessert, waffles are very versitile.
Strawberry Rhubarb Wine Day on the third Saturday in July celebrates the strawberry sweetness of summer with a relaxing sip of wine. The day offers an excellent opportunity for a wine tasting featuring a strawberry rhubarb wine, too.
In July of 2010, Maple River Winery in historic downtown Casselton, North Dakota, proudly accepted the Double Gold Award at the Indy International Wine Competition for its Strawberry Rhubarb Wine. What a delicious way to celebrate! But what is rhubarb?
It may be difficult for the common person to classify rhubarb. Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? While technically rhubarb may be known as a tart perennial vegetable, combining it with strawberries creates a unique flavor. Some even consider it the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Rhubarb even went to court over the matter. In 1947 in a customs court in Buffalo, New York, the court ruled that since rhubarb is used as a fruit in the United States, for the purposes of regulations and duties, it was to be counted as a fruit.
And from the wine perspective, that’s a good thing. Fruit wines sound so much better than vegetable wine. Of course, strawberry rhubarb wine celebrates the day with a flavor that tastes like summer.
While enjoying the summer day, savor some chilled strawberry rhubarb wine. Uncork a bottle and pour a glass. Actually, pour a few glasses and share it with a friend or two. Strawberry rhubarb wine goes well with a picnic, so take a bottle or two! A bottle makes a great gift, too. Strawberry rhubarb wine also complements many dishes and you just can’t go wrong! Share your celebration by posting on social media using #StrawberryRhubarbWineDay.
One of the classic comfort foods earns a place of honor on July 14th. It is National Mac and Cheese Day!
Made with macaroni noodles, cream or milk, and the golden goodness of cheese, mac and cheese shines as a side dish while also standing on its own as a main dish. This meal reminds many of us of home while also teaching us the basics of the kitchen. What other recipes allow us to create so flamboyantly and often with so little knowledge about cooking?
From the classic mac and cheese with cheddar or American cheeses to the spicy cowboy mac with bacon and jalapenos, there’s a combination for everyone. Mix up the cheeses or load up on seasonings. It’s easy to get a toasty crust by setting the broiler for a couple of minutes at the end of the cooking time.
If you’re like many of us today, we’re watching the carbohydrate intake. Keto, low carb, and others can take advantage of newer products in today’s marketplace. We use Cauliflower, Zucchini, and innovative products like Pasta Zero made from mushrooms that give us an alternative means of enjoying these classic comfort foods.
Look for a variety of these products in both fresh and frozen. Innovative solutions like these have put things like pasta dishes back into our recipe book. Easy substitutions can replace high starchy foods with the same basic tastes. So if you want a more traditional pasta choice choose whole wheat pastas. While not as low carb as some choices they metabolize slowly in our systems which is of particular importance for Diabetic diets.
Do your own verified research. It is scientifically proven that a lot of these choices are much healthier for you. They not only contribute to things like weight loss but, cardiovascular risks, diabetes, stroke and general well being. There are lots of rumors out there some even repeated by medical staffs.
Mac and cheese offers a multitude of ways to enjoy it, too. As a soup, it warms us up after a long day. Stuff it inside a meatloaf or a burger for a meal made for a hungry, busy family. Roll up bite-sized bits in bread crumbs and deep fry for mouthwatering appetizers. Put your favorite mac and cheese between two slices of crusty bread. Then put into a panini press for some grilled yumminess. Whether we like it mild or spicy, mac and cheese has us covered.
Try the cauliflower version with tuna and green veggie like broccoli for a terrific tasting and healthy take on Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Besides being simple to make, mac and cheese enables us to experiment with other flavors we enjoy. We break into our kitchen skills with mac and cheese, and it makes us look good. Sometimes the can opener doesn’t do that. On July 14th, celebrate mac and cheese not only because we love to eat it, but because it taught us we can cook, too.
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HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalMacAndCheeseDay
Enjoy some mac and cheese! Experiment with different cheeses or try it with toppings. Don’t hesitate to break out of your normal routine. This is no time to be ho-hum. It’s a celebration of a food that’s not only convenient but is versatile and delicious, too. Use #NationalMacAndCheeseDay to share on social media.
Through all the years — and sometimes tears — National Onion Day on June 27 recognizes the flavor and aroma the bulb of the allium family brings to numerous recipes.
Whether we choose a sweet, white, red, or the ever-favorite yellow, we count on the onion to enhance the flavor of our savory recipes. They pair well with meats and salads, making the ever-versatile onion a cooking powerhouse. Added to eggs or pickled, it’s the required seasoning next to our salt and pepper.
While the onion packs in the flavor with very few calories, it’s also rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Add onions to every meal to increase your dietary fiber and vitamin B6. As a bonus, you won’t be adding any cholesterol. With so many varieties to choose from, onions provide plenty of opportunities for us to relish the benefits.
As an industry, onions add $6 billion to U.S. markets. From farm to distribution to grocers and restaurants, onions generate economic growth throughout the year.
The National Onion Association founded National Onion Day on June 27, 2019, to honor the anniversary of the association. They represent almost 500 onion growers, shippers, packers and associated members across the country and officially incorporated on June 27, 1913, in Ohio. The association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013.
Be sure to add fresh onion for a punch of flavor to your favorite dish. No matter how you slice it, the onion brings some of the best flavors together! Whether you like to caramelize it or pickle it, tell us how you love to cook with onions!
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner this low carb option is super good and loaded with enough meat, eggs vegetables, and cheeses, to satisfy for any meal. To keep it Keto friendly, I chose low carb vegetables and loaded it with cheeses too. I stayed crustless, but there are lots of options out there if you really want a crust.
Ingredients
12 eggs
16 Oz Sliced fresh mushrooms ( retain about 12 pretty slices for top of quiche
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1 lb cubed ham
10 Oz fresh spinach (using paper towel ring out as much water as you can)
16oz grape tomatoes cut in half
8 Oz sliced Colby Jack cheese
8 oz sliced Sharp Cheddar cheese
8oz slices Provolone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping Cream
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Coat 13 x 9 glass baking dish in non stick spray. Really important for crustless quiche. Layers are about 1/3 of each ingredient except mushrooms. These are done about half in each layer, with retained ones going on top.
Layer in ingredients starting with onions, green pepper, ham, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach.
Top with Colby/Jack cheese slices
Second layer onions green pepper, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach.
Top with Provaline cheese slices
Layer last of onions, green pepper, ham, tomatoes and spinach.
Top with sliced cheddar cheese. Arrange remaining mushroom slices on top.
Whish eggs, heavy Cream, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic.
Slowly pour egg mixture over filled casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil for oven.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes at 350°.
I usually slice into 12 squares. Makes a wonderful dinner and we can have leftovers for breakfasts. Can be frozen in portions for breakfasts too. Simply freeze individually and separate with parchment paper in gallon zip lock bag.
There are a ton of options and variations to ingredients and sizes. For smaller individual servings assemble in a Muffin tin. Try your own vegetable choices. Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, the choices are only really defined by your tastes. My family loves this version and we are trying out new varieties presently. So I hope your family love to dish this up too…
