February 25: National Clam Chowder Day and National Chocolate Covered Nuts Day

National Clam Chowder Day

The 21st of last month was New England Clam Chowder Day.  Now, today is just National Clam Chowder Day and I think this is for all types of clam chowder.  Did you know there was more than just New England and Manhattan Clam Chowder?  Apparently there's also Rhode Island, Hatteras, Delaware, and Minorcan Clam Chowders - all different just enough.  I'll have to make it a goal to try all of them.  (Yes, I have some mundane life goals.)  Of course, each region claims that their clam chowder is the ONLY clam chowder. 

It's interesting to read about the history of clam chowder.  Although, the histories of clam chowder you find on the net are all a little different.  What's Cooking America has the history of New England, Manhattan, and Minorcan Clam Chowders. 


National Chocolate Covered Nuts Day

In honor of National Chocolate Covered Nuts Day, I picked up some Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds from Trader Joe's.  One thing I love about Trader Joe's is that the cashiers feel free to chat with you about the products you're buying.  Today, the cashier looked at the chocolate-covered almonds and asked if I had them before.  I hadn't and he let me know that everyone else who has had them said you get hooked after one.

Everyone else wasn't kidding.

The tasty sea salt and turbinado
almonds set me back $3.99

I've had the chocolate and salt flavor combination before and I love it.  These Trader Joe's almonds were no exception.  These hit all my taste buds and sent them to nirvana.  I ate quite a few of these and then firmly put the lid back on so I would stop eating them.  They really are delicious and can easily become a mindless eating food.  I'll have to be careful about that.

If Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar just doesn't appeal to you, Trader Joe's has other chocolate covered almonds.  The Sea Salt and Turbinado cost me $3.99.  Some stores will sell other chocolate covered nuts, but I most often see chocolate covered almonds.  You can also make your own chocolate covered nuts - just melt down some of your favorite chocolate in a bowl or saucepan, toss the nuts in, then spread the nuts on a baking sheet or parchment paper.  Let cool and then enjoy.

You can also just get plain dark or
 milk chocolate covered almonds.

January 21: Granola Bar Day & New England Clam Chowder Day

Granola Bar Day

Granola bars are awesome when you're hiking or camping.  Or when you find yourself stuck in a class or meeting and you start getting distracted by a growing hunger.  Whether you like crunchy granola bars or chewy granola, granola bars are handy little snacks.

Store-bought granola bars can sometimes have ingredients you weren't expecting, so always check the ingredient list.  You can always make your own granola bars, too.  In honor of Granola Bar Day, CDKitchen has a round up of granola bar recipes.  If you like a certain brand of granola bars, make sure to check the brand's website for coupons.

As for me, I do keep at least one box of granola bars handy and usually have one in my bag. 


New England Clam Chowder Day

I'm not a huge fan of heavy, creamy soups.  I prefer my soups to be light and broth-based, so I don't eat New England Clam Chowder very often.  Clam chowder can be hit or miss- some people make it too salty.  New England Clam Chowder is good when paired with crackers.  Food Network has a highly rated recipe of New England Clam Chowder.  Epicurious has a New England Clam Chowder recipe that uses bacon.  AllRecipes also has a recipe that uses bacon. I guess bacon makes it really taste good - just look at the number of reviews and the average rating!

Well, if you have a bowl of New England Clam Chowder today, not only are you celebrating the day, you're also celebrating National Soup Month!