Today is National Wienerschnitzel Day.

This traditional Austrian Dish can also be made with pork.

Wiener schnitzel Recipe

1. Take the veal and pound thin. Beat eggs in bowl and set aside. Chop parsley.

2. In bowl combine flour, salt and pepper. Place bread crumbs in another bowl.

3. Take cutlet and dip into flour mix coating both sides. Now dip in beaten eggs and thoroughly coat. Finally dip in bread crumbs and coat cutlet.

4. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

5. Melt half of butter in skillet. Add cutlets and saute both sides of veal over medium heat in a single layer about 5 minutes, or until tender and browned. Transfer to warm platter.

6. Add remaining butter to skillet and allow to brown. Add lemon juice and parsley and mix. Pour over cutlets and serve.

Today is National Date Nut Bread Day.

8 slices per loaf.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat eggs in bowl. Set aside.

Pit and chop dates.

Combine boiling water and baking soda. Add dates to water and soak for 30 minutes. This will help bring them back to their juicy plumpness. Do not drain.

Combine butter and sugar. Cream together.

Add eggs, vanilla, dates and liquid, nuts, flour, and salt.

Grease 2 loaf pans with butter.

Divide batter evenly between the pans.

Bake 1 hour in preheated oven. Using toothpick check to make sure it’s done.

Let cool.  Bread can be frozen.

Date Nut Bread Full Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  In bowl add baking soda to boiling water.  Remove pits from dates and chop.  Add to hot water and let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Beat eggs and set aside.  In separate bowl cream together butter and sugar.  Add flour, vanilla, eggs, nuts, salt, flour and dates including liquid.

3. Grease to loaf pans with butter.  Pour batter evenly between pans.

4. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Today is National Acorn Squash Day.

2 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut squash lenghtwise.

Remove seeds and pulp.

In each hollowed out cavity add 1 tbsp each of butter, sugar, raisins, cranberries and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper. Now you have a well of sweet gooey yumminess.

Place in baking dish and cover with foil. Bake until soft 1-1 1/2 hours.

Acorn Squash Full Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut squash lenghtwise and remove pulp and seeds.

2. In each hollowed out squash add 1 tbsp each of butter, sugar, raisins and cranberries and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place squash in baking dish and cover with foil.  Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until soft.

Today is National Coffee Ice Cream Day.

Nobody in my household likes coffee so this recipe doesn’t get made very often.  I hope you get to enjoy it more than we do.

Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

1. In saucepan, stir sugar, cornstarch, coffee and butter until blended.

2. Stir in milk and bring to a boil over medium, stirring constantly for 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Let cool completely.

3. Stir in condensed milk.

4. In a mixing bowl beat cream until stiff peaks form.  Fold into milk mixture.

5. Pour in 9″ square pan and cover.  Freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

Today is National Cheese Pizza Day.

Ironically the Italians did not create the first pizza.  Instead it was large, round, flat bread topped with oil, herbs, spices and dates from the Greeks that started us off with one of our fast food favourites.  Over time it made it’s way towards Italy where plain, untopped flat breads called ‘pizzas’ were sold on the street and in markets to the poor because of their lack of expense to make and the fact that they were filing and delicious.

It wasn’t until Queen Margherita in the late 1800’s tried the bread and loved it did they start getting topped.  Pizza Margherita, a popular choice today, came about when Chef Rafaelle Esposito was charge by the Queen to make a selection of pizzas for her pleasure.  Showing his love for his country he recreated the colours of the national flag by baking a pizza topped with tomatoes (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green) thus creating her namesake.

Throughout the country more toppings were discovered and tasted as well as techniques such as using a specially designed brick oven to cook them in.

It wasn’t until after WW2 that pizza made it’s way out of Italy and into the US, England, France and Spain.

Today an average of 23 pounds of pizza, per person, per year is consumed by Americans and Canadians with cheese and pepperoni being the topping of choice.

Since it’s creation, pizza now has many forms (calzones, thin crust), styles (ice cream pizzas, candy pizzas) and toppings (chicken and BBQ sauce).  Next to hamburgers it’s one of our favourite fast food choices.

Today is National Macadamia Nut Day.

When we think of this delicious nut we instantly think of Hawaii however they actually originate in Australia where the tree they grow on is native.    Demand and prices for these treats are quite high due to the slow growing nature of the plant and producers need to plant large orchards to be able to keep up the supply.  Macadamia Nuts are now grown in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico, South Africa, and Israel to name a few.

Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2 large cookie sheets with margarine or cover with parchment paper.

In mixing bowl add butter and sugar.

Cream together

Add egg and vanilla.

Beat together until smooth.

In another bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture.

Chop the macadamia nuts.

Add nuts and chocolate chips to batter.

Stir to incorporate.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake until golden about 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies Full Recipe

Today is National Welsh Rarebit Day.

Typical in Great Britian, Welsh Rarebit is a fondue-like savoury sauce made with cheese that is served over buttered toast.

Welsh Rarebit Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Grate the cheese.

3. Put butter, cheese, milk, mustard powder, worchestershire, salt and pepper in saucepan. Heat over low until until smooth and creamy and cheese is melted, stirring constantly.

4. Toast the bread.  Cut in triangles and arrange in a casserole dish.

5. Ladle sauce over toast.

6. Bake in oven, about 15 minutes, or until crusty. Slice tomato.

7. Serve 2 triangles per plate.  Top with tomato.

Today is National Blueberry Popsicle Day.

Who would have figured that an accidental creation by an eleven-year-old boy would today be one of the most popular frozen treats?

It was in 1905 when Frank Epperson left a mixture of soda water powder and water, a popular drink in those days, overnight in the cold with a stick in it.  Little Frank had a cool surprise the next day to show his friends but it wasn’t till 1923 when he was an adult that it became a business venture.  Originally called the Epsicle, it was available in seven different fruit flavours.  Frank, realizing his success, changed the name to Popsicle, patented his inventions in 1924 and by 1928 he had sold more than 60 million of these ice pops.

There are currently 30 flavours creation available to date with the popular choice being orange and it is estimated that 3 million of these treats are sold every year.

Today is National Cherry Popover Day.

Cherry Popover Recipe

You need:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In saucepan melt the butter.

Take the cherries,

Slice them in half and remove the cherry pits.

Chop again in half.

In large bowl mix together milk, melted butter, flour and salt until smooth.

Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.

Stir in cherries.

Coat 12 muffin cups with butter.

Fill cup 3/4 full with batter.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes

Reduce heat to 350 degrees F without opening pan and bake 10 minutes more. Do not open oven at all during baking!

Remove from oven and pierce tops with fork to let out steam.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.  Because popovers are not made with sugar they are not particularily sweet.  Cut them in half and spread with your favorite fruit jam or honey.

Cherry Popover Full Recipe

1. Beat the milk, melted butter, flour, and salt in a medium bowl until just smooth, then add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Stir in cherries. Allow batter to rest for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 450F. Butter 12 muffin cups (or 6 popover cups) taking care to coat the cups as well as the area around the top as well.

3. Fill cups 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the heat to 350F and bake 10 minutes longer.

4. Remove from oven, pierce tops with a knife to let the steam escape, and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.

5. Remove from pan, and serve.

While kids hate September and parents celebrate it as the official ‘back to school’ month, it also reminds me that it is the start of the end to our summer.

But have no fear, National White Chocolate day is here, Cheese Pizza Day is here, Blueberry Popsicle Day is here….you get the drift.

September Daily Celebrations

September 1: National Cherry Popover Day

September 20: National Rum Punch Day

September Monthly Celebrations