Noteworthy

Did you know that there is a calendar of “National Days”?

National Day Calendar is the leading platform for registering an official National Day, Week, or Month that compliments your brand, nonprofit, or organization. If you are looking to celebrate and amplify your cause, brand, or organization, registering with National Day Calendar is guaranteeing success. 

Establishing your own National Day, Week, or Month will bring special recognition to you, your company, or cause every year. You can complete a registration form to create your own “National Day” for a product, cause, or activity.

What’s up for this week? Grab a fork, spoon, or glass, and take a look!

National Beans and Franks Day, Sunday, July 13

Baked beans became popular during the Civil War in the United States. They would later become one of the first canned convenience foods on the market in the 1890s. As a result, baked beans became a staple of the chuckwagon. However, it is unknown when adding franks to the beans became a culinary technique.

The franks, or frankfurters, can be beef, pork, or a combination of both. The ground meat is blended with spices and seasonings before being cured. These sausage style wieners or hot dogs come with or without casings. Before adding them to the beans, the franks are sliced into bite-sized pieces.

While “beans and franks” is one name, Van Camp's owns the trademark to the Beanie Weenies name. Another brand name is Franks & Beans.

Home cooks make beans and franks, too. Recipes can include beans, hot dogs, brown sugar, onion, mustard, barbecue sauce, and spices. The United States isn't the only place recipes are found, either. Around the world, beans and franks enjoy wide popularity. Beans and franks go well with coleslaw, grilled corn on the cob, and vegetable kabobs. Add some iced tea and pie to complete the meal.

National Mac and Cheese Day, Monday July,14

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

National Tapioca Day, Tuesday, July 15

Tapioca is a starch derived from the cassava root. While the root looks similar in shape and color to a sweet potato, in its natural form, cassava contains cyanide. However, grinding down the root produces a flour or powder used as a thickening agent. It may also be produced tapioca into pearls. Also known as manioc or yucca, growers cultivate cassava around the world, though it is native  to South America.

Once a staple in early American households, tapioca was dehydrated to survive long sea voyages without spoilage. In a dehydrated form, tapioca earns an extended shelf life and has to be soaked overnight before using them. 

For those sensitive to gluten, substitute tapioca in place of flour as a thickening agent in recipes. Try it in recipes for pancakes, cookies, and other baked goods. Tapioca also provides an excellent source of vitamin B, manganese, and iron. 

For those who want to enjoy tapioca more quickly, minute and instant tapioca puddings make the process easier. Make a quick parfait with layers of fruit and whipped cream. It will definitely make a perfect celebration that way. However, we also enjoy tapioca in Boba tea, a Taiwanese tea-based drink. 

National Corn Fritter Day, Wednesday, July 16 

These bright crispy morsels make great additions to summer barbecues and backyard gatherings. The main ingredients include corn, meal, egg, milk, and butter. While they may have originated in the south, corn fritters can easily be changed up with peppers, onions, or herbs to give them regional and seasonal flair.

When paired with other vegetables and a pan-fried fish filet, corn fritters added to a lightly toasted bun create a unique fish sandwich. Don't look at corn fritters as just a side dish, but a functional part of a complete meal.  

Make your fritters small, and they become appetizers. When there's a bumper crop of sweet corn, be sure to freeze some for a taste of summer during the winter. These corn fritters will brighten up a gloomy, cold day.

National Peach Ice Cream Day, Thursday, July 17

Generally speaking, there are two types of peaches - freestone and clingstone. The difference has to do with how the flesh comes away from the stone or the pit in the middle of the peach. When the meat comes away freely from the stone, the peach is a freestone peach; if the flesh clings to it, it's a clingstone.

While Georgia may be the first state to come to mind when we think of peaches, California actually leads the nation in production. In the United States, 20 states produce peaches commercially. Besides California and Georgia, the other two top producers are South Carolina and New Jersey. Pennsylvania and Washington grow a lot of peaches, too.

This sweet stone fruit makes delicious ice cream when it's very ripe and full of peachy juices. However, you don't have to use fresh peaches to make this ice cream. Buy frozen peaches if the grocery or farmer's markets don't have them in yet. The family will love making homemade ice cream together. The best part will be eating up the finished product on a hot summer day. 

National Caviar Day, Friday, July 18

In simple terms, caviar is Sturgeon fish eggs. There are several species of Sturgeon fish.  As a result, the caviar produced varies in colors depending on the species. Caviar is full of protein and vitamins making the delicacy a healthy meal.  

The United States led distribution at 600 tons per year until around 1900. However, due to the over-harvesting of Sturgeon fish for the caviar, the U.S. banned harvesting for a time to protect the sturgeon fish from becoming extinct. The population has never recovered sufficiently since the ban, resulting in caviar's continued status as a luxury item. Since then, harvesting, import, and export are restricted. 

However, since sturgeon don't reach maturity until they are between 6-25 years old, depending on the breed, establishing a farm takes time. 

Once they reach maturity, aquaculture needed to perfect methods for spawning. According to the North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society, by 2012 there were 21 sturgeon farms in the U.S. and Canada. The day serves both as an awareness of the food source and a celebration of a delicacy.

National Daiquiri Day, Saturday, July 19

Daiquiri is a family of cocktails whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice (typically lime), and sugar.

Tasting of sunshine and beaches, it might be hard to believe how the Daiquiri came to be. Back in 1898, men blasted away in the mines of a small community off the coast of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. One American engineer, Jennings Cox, supervised a mining operation located in a village named Daiquiri. Every day after work, Cox and his employees would gather at the Venus bar. Then one day, Cox mixed up Bacardi, lime, and sugar in a tall glass of ice. He named the new beverage after the Daiquiri mines, and the drink soon became a staple in Havana. Eventually, someone added shaved ice, and sometimes lemons or both lemons and limes were used.

While the Daiquiri is sometimes served frozen, combining it in a blender eliminates the need for manual pulverization. Commercial machines produce a daiquiri with a texture similar to a smoothie, and they come in a variety of flavors, too. Using a frozen limeade to create a daiquiri will provide the required texture, sweetness, and sourness all at the same time.