February 22: National Margarita Day and Cook a Sweet Potato Day!

National Margarita Day

I love how the HuffPo describes National Margarita Day: "one of those completely made up and unnecessary holidays that you can't help but love."  There is also a collection of margarita recipes at the site, if you're so inclined to celebrate.

A classic margarita, according to the International Bartender's Association, is a shaken and strained cocktail of tequila, Cointreau, and fresh lime juice.  I don't think I have ever had a margarita like that.  I believe I've only ever seen frozen or blended margaritas served in restaurants.  Blended margaritas are so popular that you can buy buckets of mix to make your own at home.  Actually, margaritas are just a popular drink and you can buy mixes for non-blended ones.  There's even sugar-free mixes (Emily of B is for dia-Betus loves using sugar free margarita mixes for cocktails.)  There are many options for margaritas- you're sure to find one you like.

While the actual origin of the margarita is debated, the margarita is definitely associated with Mexican food in the US.  One of the regular restuarants for my group of San Diego Comic-Con attendees is Fred's Mexican Cafe in the Gaslamp and whenever we're there, just about everyone has a margarita (or two).  Oddly enough, while I almost always have a margarita (or horchata if I'm driving) when eating at a Mexican restaurant, I don't think I've had a margarita in Mexico.

So, to celebrate, I had a strawberry margarita (pictured).  It was a little too sweet for me and a little light on the alcohol content.  Next year, I'll celebrate National Margarita Day by making my own.



Cook a Sweet Potato Day and National Sweet Potato Month

Uncooked sweet potatoes

February is National Sweet Potato Month and today, Feb 22, is Cook a Sweet Potato Day.  (I just love it when the food observances line up like that.)  Sweet potatoes are a big deal in North Carolina, since NC produces most of the sweet potatoes in the US.   Sweet potatoes probably originated in South or Central America and if you go to South America, there are so many different types of sweet potatoes than there are in the US.  And if you go to Okinawa, Japan, (or if you're lucky and live near a Marukai or Mitsuwa in the US) you really should try beni-imo (aka Okinawan sweet potatoes or murasaki-imo, which literally means "purple potato.")  Beni-imo have a light brown/tan skin and are white inside when raw, but turn a bright vibrant purple when cooked.  Beni-imo are hugely important in Okinawan cuisine.

The cooked sweet potatoes, with skin pulled back to
reveal brightly colored flesh.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any beni-imo in time for today, but I did cook up three different sweet potatoes- one purple, one orange, and one that was described as being "bright red."  It just looked like a different shade of orange to me and was nowhere near what I call red.  I can't remember what variety any of them were, though.  (I'll have to remember to write down the names next time.)  The purple one was kind of dry, not super sweet and would probably be good for making potato chips or a colorful scalloped potato dish.  The darker orange potato was so good.  It was super moist, practically creamy.  I loved the texture and thought it was sweeter than the purple potatos.  The other orange potato was very sweet, very good, and really reminded me of the canned "yams" (really sweet potatoes) that are ubiquitous during the winter holiday season in the US.

When cooking sweet potatoes, I prefer to roast them over hot coals.  I don't typically have access to a grill, so I usually just cook sweet potatoes in the oven.  They're super easy to cook, but can take a while.  Just wash the potatoes, stick them in an oven safe dish, and bake in the oven until you can easily stick a fork in them. 

Looking for reasons to eat sweet potatoes?  Self magazine reports that sweet potatoes are a food to eat for young-looking skin and provides some recipes to help you eat sweet potatoes.  Reader's Digest provides you with three more reasons and some recipes, including one for Sweet Potato Cake.  And WebMD, along with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) both love the sweet potato.

Lightly mashed sweet potatoes, side-by-side for color comparison.

January 31: Brandy Alexander Day

Today is Brandy Alexander Day.  I've never had a Brandy Alexander, but it does seem like a tasty drink - just take a look at this highly reviewed recipe from Drinks Mixer.  This recipe from AlcoMixer adds grated chocolate and uses cream instead of half-and-half.  Brandy Alexander is another drink that might be named after a person- in this case, the Russian tsar Alexander II, but it seems it was invented for a royal wedding.  A closely related cousin of the Brandy Alexander is the Panama Cocktail which uses white creme de cacao instead.

January 17: Hot Buttered Rum Day

I like rum. I'm not a fan of butter.  I suppose this is a side effect of being a nutrition student  I only ever have butter around if I'm going to be baking, but I don't use it on toast or anything.  So when I read "Hot Buttered Rum Day,"  I thought to myself, "Must be butterscotch flavored rum.  No way anyone would actually drink butter."

Self, you were so wrong.

A quick search turns up an Emeril recipe at Food Network for Hot Buttered Rum.  I nearly gagged when I read the recipe.  Yet, it has such a high rating.  Maybe people really do enjoy consuming melted butter in their drinks - I just can't fathom it.  I like the idea of the spices, but not the butter.  I'd rather just have the rum, thank you.  Epicurious also has a Hot Buttered Rum recipe. It's not as highly rated as the Emeril one, but I'm not going to be drinking either one, so you'll have to let me know how the two compare.

While I'm sure it tastes good, I don't think I'd be able to get over the fact that I'm basically drinking a couple of tablespoons of melted butter with my alcohol.  The thought sends shudders down my spine and I feel my heart cringing, while my tongue tries to convince my brain that this is something I need to try.

January 11: Milk Day and National Hot Toddy Day

Milk Day

I think everyone knows what milk is.  It's that white liquid that you pick up in the dairy section, in plastic gallon containers or in cardboard containers.  In some places,- Britain, I've been told, is a good example- the milk is made shelf-stable and sits in boxes in non-refridgerated shelves.  In class, we've worked with dry milk which was an entirely new experience for me.  You can have soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk...  Yeah, they aren't really milk since they technically didn't come from a mammal, but for people with lactose intolerance or for vegans, they're good alternatives.  And any of the shelf-stable stuff, whether it's the soy milk or the dry milk or the UHT, is good to have in your emergency kits.  (You do have an emergency kit, right?)

So, I figure most people are familiar with milk, so I thought I'd use today's post to talk about a milk many in the US may not be familiar with: camel milk.  Yep, you can get camel milk in the US.  Camels are great sources of milk in areas that are extremely dry with poor forage.  Many desert and nomad cultures place great importance on camels.

Until recently, it was illegal to sell camel milk in the US.  If you owned a camel, you could drink its milk, but you couldn't sell it.  Laws have changed and now, depending on the state, you can get camel's milk.   Some people claim it can cure various disorders, but I haven't read any of the papers and I'm not doing any of the research so I can't make a statement.  In the meantime, I'll keep remaining doubtful that any one food can cure anything.  Be part of a healthy diet?  Sure.  Cure something? Eh....

Still, that doesn't keep me from thinking camels are adorable and wanting to go to a camel dairy.  (Camels might smell, but their lips are so soft and they're adorably comical!)  So where are these mythical camel dairies in the US, you ask?  Well, I can only find one that you can visit: Oasis Camel Dairy in Ramona, CA (near San Diego).  It's not producing camel milk for human consumption yet, but they do have tours on select days.  Supposedly there are other camel dairies around, but I can't seem to find any internet presence.  I can only speculate that the other "dairies" are small scale and not really "dairies" but are instead farms with one or two camels.


National Hot Toddy Day

The first time I heard of a "hot toddy" was when I was out in the desert, which gets extremely cold at night, and I asked for a hot tea, honey, and lemon.  When my order arrived, my friend asked if I wanted a hot toddy, explained what it was, and then added some whiskey from her flask.  (I'm still a little surprised at how many of my friends have multiple flasks and use them.)  Apparently, I now had a Southern-style Hot Toddy.

According to Wikipedia ("According to Wikipedia."  I wonder how many times a day that get's said.  That should be a book title.  But I digress!) a hot toddy is any hot drink with alcohol.  That's it?  Psh!  Then I've had plenty of hot toddies!  Another friend holds a huge Christmas party every year and serves delicious mulled cider.  And Swedish glögg?   MMM!  (There's tasty Swedish glögg at the December Nights celebration every year - I highly recommend it!)

But my favorite "hot toddy" would be a drink I learned from a former roommate.  We just called it alcoholic hot chocolate.  I think Chocolate Hot Toddy sounds more distinguished, so I'm going to call it that from now on.  To make a Chocolate Hot Toddy, make your favorite hot chocolate and when you pour it into a mug, leave a little room.  Then add Godiva Chocolate Liqueur to taste.  For variation, try adding Godiva White Chocolate liqueur or some Bailey's.  If you want it minty, you could try a little creme de menthe.  Or a little stronger?  Try adding a little vanilla vodka.  That's the beauty of a Chocolate Hot Toddy - it's customizable.