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This holiday has been set aside for all the chocolate mint lovers to eat their favorite treats all day long.  Who are we kidding…we eat chocolate mint treats all YEAR long. 🙂 The Aztecs and Mayans are given much credit for their ways with chocolate, and while chocolate was brought back to Europeans, they wereContinue reading “CHOCOLATE MINT DAY!!!”

Celery seed has a strong celery flavor without the crunch or bulk of the vegetable, and gives off a faint hint of spiciness.  Related to the vegetable celery, the little brown celery seed comes from a different kind of celery plant, Apium graveolens.  Modern-day French cuisine often incorporates celery seed, as does Cajun cuisine. PhotoContinue reading “CELERY SEED”

Tortellini are ring-shaped pasta, sometimes also described as “navel shaped”, hence their alternative name of “belly button”. They are typically stuffed with a mix of meat or cheese. Orgin:  Emilia-Romagna, Italy Legend claims that Tortellini was inspired by the goddess Venus’ navel. An Italian medieval legend tells how Venus and Zeus, weary one night after theirContinue reading “TORTELLINI DAY!!!”

Bay leaf, also called laurel leaf, leaf of the sweet bay tree, Laurus nobilis, an evergreen of the family Lauraceae, indigenous to countries bordering the Mediterranean. A popular spice used in pickling and marinating and to flavor stews, stuffings, and fish, bay leaves are delicately fragrant but have a bitter taste. They contain approximately 2 percent essential oil, theContinue reading “BAY LEAVES”

Plum Pudding is a rich boiled suet pudding containing raisins, currants, and spices. History/Orgin:  Plum Pudding is the traditional end to the British Christmas dinner.  Christmas pudding originated as a 14th century porridge called ‘frumenty’ that was made of beef and mutton with raisins, currants, prunes, wines and spices.  

  HIstory/Orgin: In ancient Egypt, basil was likely used as an embalming and preserving herb as it has been found in tombs and mummies. Perhaps because of its embalming applications, basil was also a symbol of mourning in Greece where it was known as basilikon phuton, meaning magnificent, royal, or kingly herb. Basil also has aContinue reading “BASIL”

Bagel is a bread product originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, that is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. Lox is a fillet of brined salmon. Lox is often served on a bagel with cream cheese, and isContinue reading “BAGEL & LOX DAY!!”