Thank God it’s Monday, once again. Mondays are my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you. However, Mondays aren’t the only special days of the year because EVERY day is special and celebrates something.
Among other things, March is Irish-American Heritage Month. Additionally, next Monday is National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day, as well as St. Patrick’s Day. It’s said that everyone has a bit of Irish in them on St. Patrick’s Day. After all, Americans love to celebrate just about anything – and almost always with food and drinks.
Years ago, I wrote a blog post called Any Reason To Celebrate With Food (Feb. 24, 2020). That’s when I came up with the slogan, “Any reason to celebrate, is a reason to celebrate with food!” I firmly believe that nothing gathers people together more than food. We can make every day a celebration for something.
Almost everything in life is (or should be) commemorated with food and/or drinks, in some manner or form. In fact, these days, the marketing industry is constantly promoting a variety of foods, drinks, and décor for different seasons, sports events, holidays, and any other reason for a gathering – birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
January kicks off the year with New Year’s Day. February hosts the NFL Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. Besides the afore mentioned holidays (above), March is home to the famous Mardis Gras Festival and the beginning of spring.
As they say, “April showers bring May flowers.” April is also the host month for Easter and May observes Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day (the unofficial start of summer). June offers up Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and the official start of summer. July celebrates our Independence Day and fruit harvests.
August is the only month without a federal holiday, yet it always has something to celebrate. It’s one of the most popular months for class and family reunions, graduation parties, company picnics, backyard barbeques, summer vacations, and so much more.
September represents “back-to” school for most families and football. It begins with Labor Day (the unofficial end of summer) and ends with the official start of fall. October’s most famous holiday is Halloween, November’s is Thanksgiving, and December’s is Christmas and Hanukkah – with others in between and New Year’s Eve is the finale.
“Food is the essence of hospitality. It’s given away as gifts. Food is associated with celebrations and holidays. Food has emotional connotations.” – Gloria Pitzer, Gloria Pitzer’s National Home News (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; Vol. 5, No. 9; September 1978, p. 7)
Besides celebrating national and federal holidays, there‘s also the “unofficial” observances like NFL’s Super Bowl or baby showers, births, and birthdays; bridal showers, weddings, and anniversaries; confirmations, baptisms and bar mitzvahs; as well as getting a job, buying a house, and retiring.
NationalDayCalendar.com is my go to source for finding an assortment of national daily, weekly, and monthly observances. I like to share those that especially relate to Mom (and our family) in some way because she loved to celebrate a lot of different things – as we all do. Any reason to celebrate is usually done so with food.
Even though Mom has been gone for seven years, now, me and my family still like to kick off the new year on January 7th, with a post-holiday family gathering to celebrate her birthday; including pizza and a Sanders’ Bumpy Cake, as those were a couple of her favorite birthday food choices.
My grandson’s birthday is near the end of January and we all look forward to gathering again, a few weeks later, for another special meal, of his choosing. In fact, we gather together for a special lunch or dinner every month to celebrate some holiday or one of our birthdays or my husband’s and my anniversary.
Whatever the occasion, we always find wonderful ways to celebrate it. Food is always an important part of our celebrations, second only to the gathering, itself. That’s how I grew up, being a child of the Secret RecipesTM Detective – family gatherings and festivities always had some kind of wonderful food to consume in celebration.
I’ve continued those traditions with my own kids. Even as adults, they still get to pick what they want for their birthday dinners, as well as their choice of cake (or other celebratory dessert); and my oldest child is about to turn 40, in late April. I think every birthday and anniversary deserves a special celebration, not just the “mile marker” ones.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipe Report (Secret Recipe Report, St. Clair, MI; Issue 85, February 1981; p. 1)
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
WE’RE USED TO CELEBRATING an occasion – a special holiday, and anniversary, or birthday. But have you ever thought of just celebrating Life!
Life IS a celebration, you know, and what a better way to honor the experience than with a practical celebration of good food, warm friends, pleasant talk without having to go to great expense.
The trouble with entertaining is that most people really believe they have to make the food the center of the attention before they can invite somebody over. Any food for entertaining is hardly ever as practical as what you would serve to the family the day before payday.
Some wouldn’t dream of serving meatloaf. Yet we have a dream of a company recipe [for meatballs], using the very same ingredients you would use in a practical, but nutritious, family-budget meatloaf… It’s all in how you prepare it and present it – not one bit expensive – as company food goes!
“THE FIVE CHILDREN are now able to at least recognize good food when they see it, if not be able to prepare it themselves, thanks to all of the help I enlisted from them in the kitchen as they were growing up… So we can always look forward to their being with us for holiday dinners, which is ‘bring-a-dish-to-pass’ style with this family. To have the whole family together is a very special occasion!” – Gloria Pitzer, My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 116)
Celebrating any occasion with food can be as inexpensive as you want and still seem like a posh nosh. Many people like to have social gatherings where the guests bring food to share (aka: potluck). It’s a fun way to meet and mingle with a variety of people and a variety of dishes. Mom always sought out the recipes for the first dishes that disappeared.
The term “potluck” comes from 16th century England, referring to a meal of leftovers or whatever was available, warmed up in a pot. However, potlucks, as we know them now, really became popular here, in the U.S., in the 1930s, during the Great Depression era, as a way to share a smorgasbord of food and resources.
When choosing a dish to take to a potluck, there are so many options to consider. You may want to choose something that complements other potential offerings (especially if the party has a theme). The chosen dish should travel easily and not need to be heated. It should also be easy to serve and eat.
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 357). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
SMORGASBORD – FREEDOM OF CHOICE
IT’S A MISTAKE TO think of the fast food industry as being confined to hamburgers and fries and buckets of chicken or fish. It is really a more versatile banquet of menu selections than the critics give us time to consider.
The public is fickle and very easily swayed by the aggressive opinions of self-styled experts who preach the evils of fast food with all the charisma of a revival tent evangelism; and we, the believing public, will go in whatever direction the wind blows the strongest!
Nobody dreamed that the step-child of the food industry would ever have endured this long – for, to everybody’s surprise, “fast food” has, indeed, become the “Liza Doolittle” of the restaurant industry. The humble streetcar diner of the 50’s and 60’s has blossomed into the Cinderella of the commercial dining division of the food industry.
It has soared in sales while all other major enterprises have suffered set-backs in the shadow of the recent economic gloom! [NOTE: That was originally written in 1982, showing that history does repeat itself.] The reason the fast food industry has become a virtual smorgasbord of appealing menu selections is that it is affordable!
People who work hard for their money and have little of it left after essentials have been paid for, look for leisure and escape hatches by which they can derive a little pleasure for the money they have left to spend on such luxuries.
Fast food chains cater to crowds with very little fuss [and] surroundings that reflect informality. The costs of eating out, however, have increased along with everything else. Now it’s becoming less and less appealing to spend the same money on one fast food meal that would also buy a bag of groceries that could make several meals…
So, we can have our cake and eat it too! We can dine in as if we’re eating out – whether we choose to be catered to by wine stewards and parking valets or whether we wish to impersonate the plastic palaces of the fast food kingdom – eating out at home can be a pleasant experience.
LAST THOUGHTS…
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, being National Blueberry Popover Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Popovers Like Bullock’s” (with a blueberry option); as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 37). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)]. As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
March also observes… National Caffeine Awareness Month, National Celery Month, National Craft Month, National Flour Month, National Sauce Month, and National Women’s History Month.
Unofficially, March is also Maple Sugaring Month in Michigan. It’s not a national/federal holiday but making maple syrup is a big event around here, as well as in the rest of the northeast quadrant of the U.S. mainland (and Canada, too).
[NOTE: Maple sugaring is the process of gathering maple sap and making it into sugar and/or syrup (not the hair-removal process by the same name). Check out Michigan State University’s Extension’s informative article, called March is Maple Syrup Season in Michigan.]
This week celebrates, among other things… National Girl Scout Week, which is always the week of March 12th, National Girl Scout Day.
Today is also… National Pack Your Lunch Day. Plus, as the day after Daylight Savings Time Day (for 2025), it’s also… National Napping Day.
Tomorrow is… National Johnny Appleseed Day and National Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day.
Wednesday, March 12th, is… National Baked Scallops Day and National Plant a Flower Day.
Thursday, March 13th, is… National Good Samaritan Day and National Coconut Torte Day.
Friday, March 14th, is… National Children’s Craft Day, National Learn About Butterflies Day, National Pi Day, National Potato Chip Day, and National Write Down Your Story Day.
March 15th is… National Kansas Day and National Pears Helene Day. Plus, as the third Saturday in March (for 2025), it’s also… National Quilting Day.
Sunday, March 16th, is… National Artichoke Hearts Day.
Have a great week!
…10 down and 42 to go!
