Each year on the 12th day of December, people across the United States recognize National Poinsettia Day.

History

The poinsettia plant’s connection to the Christmas season dates back to 16th-century Mexico. Legend tells of a girl who worried she had no gift to celebrate Jesus’s birthday because she was too poor.  An angel tells her to give any gift with love. The young girl gathered weeds from alongside the road and placed them in the manger.  Miraculously the weeds bloomed into beautiful red stars.

The poinsettia first came to the United States by way of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist and the first United States Minister to Mexico. In 1825, he sent cuttings home to Charleston, South Carolina.

It wasn’t until the early 1920s when Paul Ecke, a second-generation farmer in California, discovered a grafting technique which caused the seedlings to branch, that the poinsettia started to take root in American culture. The family hawked their Christmas flower at roadside stands. Paul Ecke Jr. advanced the sales of the poinsettia through shipping and marketing.

The House of Representatives in 2002 created Poinsettia Day to honor the father of the poinsettia industry, Paul Ecke.  The date of December 12 marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man responsible for bringing the plan to the United States.

For more information visit: National Day Calendar

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Are you ready for a fun day of some great bargain shopping?  Then today is the day because each year on August 17th, National Thrift Shop Day is observed across the United States.

A thrift shop (also known as a thrift store, charity shop, hospice shop or resale shop) is a retail establishment typically run by a charitable organization to raise money to be used in accord with the organization’s stated charitable purpose.

Thrift shops are a type of social enterprise that typically sell used goods that are donated by members of the public and are often staffed by volunteers.  Donation of the items being sold allows for a lower cost to the buyers.

Saving money is on the minds of everyone these days and shopping at thrift stores is becoming more and more popular.  Clothing, furniture and household goods are great finds among the other hidden treasures within the walls of thrift shops across the country.  To some, shopping at a thrift store isn’t even about the price (that’s just a bonus!) but instead, it’s about the adventure of finding vintage and antique items.

for more information visit: National Day Calendar 

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Today is National Spaghetti Day. Grab a big bowl, fill it with spaghetti, top it with a generous helping of your favorite sauce, and dig in. And, don’t forget the meatballs and parmesan cheese!

Spaghetti is one of over 600 shapes of pasta. It is by far, the most popular shape. Many people think of Italy and Italian cuisine, as the birthplace of spaghetti. In reality pasta, or macaroni, dates back to ancient times. Ancient cultures were cooking pasta noodles well before they were introduced to Italy and other parts of Europe. Marco Polo has been erroneously credited with bringing spaghetti and pastas to Europe. But, records show Europeans cooking pasta well before Marco Polo began his travels. Peering even farther back in time, Arab cultures were selling dried spaghetti-like noodles in open markets in the early 1200’s. The Chinese were cooking pasta noodles as far back as 5,000 B.C.

While ancient cultures were making and eating spaghetti and other pastas well before it came to Europe, it’s the Italians who popularized it in cuisines. It was introduced into the United States through the travels of Thomas Jefferson, who brought it back from Naples, Italy in 1789. Italian immigrants also brought it over with them to the U.S., where its popularity quickly spread.

Spaghetti in Italian means thin string or twine.

Did you Know? Americans consume about 20 pounds of pasta per person per year.

We hope you thoroughly enjoy your bowl of Spaghetti today.

To more completely enjoy this special day, make the spaghetti noodles yourself. It’s a cinch. All you need is flour, water and a pasta maker.

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Kitterman Woods residents cure your sweet tooth with this national holiday!! It’s National Angel Food Cake Day!

Making angel food cake requires whipping egg whites until they are stiff then adding cream of tartar to the mixture to stabilize the egg whites.  Additional ingredients are then folded into the egg white mixture.

The cake is then usually baked in an ungreased tube pan leaving a hole in the middle of the cake.  The center tube allows the cake batter to rise higher as it clings to all sides of the pan.  After baking, the pan is inverted while cooling to prevent the cake from falling in on itself.

Usually rather than frosting, angel food cakes are topped with a glaze or a sweet fruit sauce and a swirl of whipped cream.

Below are a few recipes:

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

Ingredients 

• 1 (10 inch) angel food cake
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 (18 ounce) jar strawberry glaze

Directions 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ready in:   15 minutes

1. Crumble the cake into a 9×13 inch dish.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Fold in whipped topping. Mash the cake down with your hands and spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake.
3. In a bowl, combine strawberries and glaze until strawberries are evenly coated. Spread over cream cheese layer. Chill until serving.

Mint Chocolate Chip Angel Food Cake 

Ingredients 

Directions

• Move oven rack to lowest position (remove other racks). Heat oven to 350°F. In extra-large glass or metal bowl, beat cake mix, cocoa and water with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan. (Do not use fluted tube cake pan or 9-inch angel food pan or batter will overflow.)
• Bake 37 to 47 minutes or until top is dark golden brown and cracks feel very dry and not sticky. Do not underbake. Immediately turn pan upside down onto glass bottle until cake is completely cool, about 2 hours.
• Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan. Cut off top of cake about 1 inch from top; set aside. Cut down into cake 1 inch from outer edge and 1 inch from edge of center hole, leaving substantial “walls” on each side. Remove cake within cuts with curved knife or spoon, being careful to leave a base of cake 1 inch thick. Spoon ice cream into cake cavity; smooth top. Replace top of cake. Cover and freeze about 3 hours or until firm. Serve with chocolate-flavor sauce.

For more information visit: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-angel-food-cake-day-october-10/

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