On April 23rd, National Picnic Day encourages everyone to pack up their lunch and take it outdoors.
There are a variety of ways to take part in a picnic. This meal hearkens back to mid-18th-century al fresco French dining when all you needed was a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, some cheese and fruit and you could have a party under the sky.
From the French for piquenique, picnicmeans a meal eaten outdoors.
From barbecues to simple cold plates, picnics are light informal affairs intended to be relaxing and fun for everyone to enjoy the day. Some favorite picnic foods include sandwiches, chips, fresh fruit and vegetables,light salads, and homemade bars. However, picnics can be expanded to include grilled items, too. Burgers and corn on the cob cook up nicely on a portable grill. During large picnics, guests often bring a dish to share creating a pot luck atmosphere.
The fresh air tends to rev up our appetite, so getting in some physical activity while enjoying a picnic is nice, too. Games of horseshoe, Frisbee, catch or flying a kite add to the fun of the day.
Celebrate this day by having a picnic of your own. Pack up a cooler or basket with a few of your favorite items. Make sure to include a beverage or two. Be sure to keep perishable items on ice so no one gets sick. Visit a favorite park or recreation area. Lay the blanket out in the sun or shade (whichever you prefer) and enjoy the day with a meal under the sky. Bring a Frisbee or a ball to toss around, too.
If the weather does not cooperate, have a picnic in your home on the living room floor! Share your photos on social media using #NationalPicnicDay.
April 23rd recognizes the food holiday National Cherry Cheesecake Day. Cookbooks and bakers offer a large variety of recipes for cherry cheesecake. Some cherry cheesecake recipes call for the cherries to be mixed into the batter and others place the cherries on top.
This smooth dessert hits the spot when the end of the meal rolls around. While most cakes have a crumb, cheesecake’s texture is nothing like cake. Indeed, its creamy, thick pudding-like character comes from the soft cheese used as the main ingredient. Depending on the recipe, either cream cheese or cottage cheese is used. When the cheese is mixed with sugar, eggs, and other ingredients, the batter is added to a crust.
When making cheesecake, one of the most common crusts used is a graham cracker crust. Other options include a cookie crust, pastry or sponge cake. However, some cheesecakes are crustless. Depending on the recipe, cheesecakes may be prepared baked or unbaked.
Cherries on their own offer a bounty of nutrients. For example, the antioxidants in this red fruit protect cells from damage. Because cherries pack an anti-inflammatory punch, they may help reduce the risk of heart disease, too.
HOW TO OBSERVE #CherryCheesecakeDay
With so many recipes to choose from, serving a cheesecake for dessert will be easy. Make your favorite recipe or try the one we found. Get the family involved and share your results, too!
Celebrate all your favorite cocktails on March 24th. National Cocktail Day ushers in all the best ways to savor a beverage at the end of a long workday. Whether you like a fruity drink, blended or on the rocks, this day is for you. Mocktail, virgin, or the real thing, celebrate the lemon, lime, bitters, liquors, and liqueurs that make your favorite beverages the best in your bartender book.
It’s probably no surprise that nearly every month on the calendar celebrates a cocktail. The only exception is April, and since it’s National Alcohol Awareness Month, it makes sense to take that month off.
A cocktail contains a spirit or a mix of spirits. While a beer is not considered a cocktail, there are beer cocktails where beer is added to a distilled ingredient. The same applies to wine.
The other months pay homage to histories, ingredients, and the makers of some legendary cocktails. January begins the year dedicating a day to the Bloody Mary, and there’s also a day for her Canadian counterpart, the Bloody Caesar, in May. January also devotes an entire week to Mocktails. In February, you can celebrate the Margarita and Kahlua. March brings us International Whisk(e)y Day, among others. Skipping back to May, you can imbibe in both Palomas and Mimosas for your celebrations.
June and July compete for the most cocktail-related days. From Martinis and Bourbon in June to Pina Coladas and Daiquiris in July, the two months cover the spectrum. There are even a few bottles of wine in between. Not only do they celebrate specific cocktails but they also celebrate the places we enjoy them. National Dive Bar Day in July invites us to celebrate the places that serve our favorite cocktails, even if it’s an ice-cold beer.
The rest of the year covers all our chilled and heated cocktails. By December, we readily reminisce National Repeal Day and the Bartenders who keep that era and the skills alive.
We have only skimmed the surface of the cocktails celebrated on the calendar, so National Cocktail Day allows you to celebrate whichever one you like!
Explore cocktail ingredients or read a bartender’s manual.
Learn the finer elements of mixing cocktails and expand your home bar.
Visit a speakeasy or take a tour of your favorite distillery.
Host a cocktail tasting session. Create a classic menu with a professional bartender who provides history and describes the nuances behind the ingredients.
Attend a cocktail tasting party. You will learn more about how and why ingredients are combined the way they are.
Visit your local bar and pick your bartender’s brain. Some like to share their techniques. Ask them what their favorite cocktail is. And, be sure to tip them well for their advice and service.
Try making a mocktail. Especially on those weeknights when work is busy, and you need to keep up. Many of them infuse nutrients many of us are lacking. Keep these recipes on hand for your friends who are designated drivers, sober for life, supporting a friend, or for any reason.
As always, ANY TIME we are indulging in spirits and alcohol, DON’T drink and drive. Designate a sober driver. Call a taxi, Uber, Lyft, or friend.
When you celebrate, share your favorites by using #NationalCocktailDay on social media.
National Soup it Forward Day on March 3rd encourages us to deliver love and kindness by the bowlful because a warm cup of kindness comes in many forms.
When I make a pot of soup, it’s nearly always enough to feed an army. Those time-worn recipes grow over time, and love seasons it to perfection. I make it to warm my home, to cure a cold and warm a soul.
Just as the recipes grow and provide a nourishing warmth, so can National Soup it Forward Day. When making one of your favorite soups at home, Soup it Forward. Deliver a healing pot of your delicious chicken noodle or split pea to a family or friend you know is in need. Perhaps they have been ill or down on their luck. Whatever the situation, a little of your home cooking and visit will be a nice change.
Soup Sisters founded National Soup it Forward Day to encourage everyone to make a difference in each other’s lives through the warm, healing kindness of sharing a bowl of soup.
Soup Sisters is an award-winning National non-profit organization Founded March 3, 2009. Since that time more than 1 million servings of nurturing and nourishing soup made by community people has been delivered monthly to 40 emergency shelters in North America for women and children fleeing family violence and domestic abuse. The organization’s Founder, Sharon Hapton launched Soup Sisters by celebrating a milestone birthday with a soup-making birthday party that provided the first delivery of soup to the Calgary Women’s Emergency shelter. That is the simplicity of Sharon’s vision: to give people a way to give back to their community by doing something tangible – getting into the kitchen, spending a night with friends, rolling up their sleeves and creating something heartwarming, heartfelt and with it a message of support to women and kids in crisis. Now operating in over 25 cities Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers deliver the gift of soup by providing a much needed ‘Hug in a Bowl’. Soup it forward with the universal comfort food and for added inspiration, you can find over 300 soup recipes in the Soup Sisters trilogy of cookbooks.
What soup will you be making on National Soup it Forward Day?
HOW TO OBSERVE #SoupItForwardDay & #HugInABowl
Make up your favorite soup and deliver it to someone you know who could use the warmth of kindness in their life. Use #HugInABowl and #SoupItForwardDay to share on social media.
Each year on February 17th, National Random Acts of Kindness Day grows in popularity. It is celebrated by individuals, groups and organizations nationwide to encourage acts of kindness.
The movement of Random Acts of Kindness inspires people every day. As a favorite celebration for many, people everywhere are enjoying doing these acts of kindness. Not only do the acts of kindness bring joy to the receiver, but they spread positive reactions to the giver, too!
“I was a recipient of the kindness but more glad to be a contributor!” (Unknown)
Our research found that the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation celebrates Random Acts of Kindness Week. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded upon the powerful belief in kindness and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness.
In New Zealand, where this day originated, Random Acts of Kindness Day is celebrated on September 1st. However, it is also recognized by some on other days throughout the year. Nevertheless, doing random acts of kindness is something that can be done every day of the year. In every day lives around the globe.
A Few Quotes of Kindness:
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” (Mark Twain)
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)
“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” (Scott Adams)
“Kind words and actions can seem so small, but their effects are truly endless.” (Author Unknown)
Make a note to do nice things throughout the day. Are you looking for ideas? We’ve collected a few that will get you started.
Pay for the coffee or meal of the person in front of you in line.
Leave a kind note for someone, no explanation needed.
Share words of encouragement. You never know who might need them.
Put your skills to work for someone in need. For example, offer to create a résumé for someone seeking a new job.
Drop off a load of groceries at the local food pantry.
Mail a “thinking of you” card to someone you’ve not to talk to in a while.
Order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to anyone in the hospital. That means, call the florist and tell them to pick a hospital or nursing home and deliver flowers to the person the front desk thinks needs it the most. It could be a sick child, an elderly person with no family or college student down on their luck.
Send a thank you note to the local fire department, police departments or any military personnel.
Just smile.
Share your random acts of kindness using #RandomActsOfKindnessDay to post on social media.
