I hope you enjoy our monthly list of events, organizations or people to celebrate or follow. A few are funny, all are interesting and some are serious. Also, each month we will publish informative dessert or main meal recipes and reviews. Some times we will write about an ingredient we use, where it is made or grown, how it is harvested or even the ancient or modern history behind it. Whenever we learn of a modern-day chocolate convention, a big-time international business trade show or an interesting brand new dessert product in the grocery stores we will report it right here. So we hope you return each month for a look-see!
Special Days and Events
Google the names and terms for more information.
April 2024 Holidays and Events
April 1 Harvey, William: Birth Anniversary: 1578, blood circulation
April 2 Webb, Jack: Birth Anniversary: 1920, Dragnet
April 3 International Kids’ Yoga Day
April 4 Yale, Linus: Birth Anniversary: 1821, Yale lock inventor
April 5 Helen Keller’s Miracle: Anniversary. 1887
April 6 North Pole Discovered: Anniversary. 1909
April 7 International Beaver Day
April 8 Home Run Record Set By Hank Aaron: Anniversary. 1974
April 9 Civil Rights Bill of 1866: Anniversary. 1866
April 10 Booth, William: Birth Anniversary. 1829, Salvation Army
April 11 Barbershop Quartet Day
April 12 Polio Vaccine: Anniversary. 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk
April 13 Jefferson, Thomas: Birth Anniversary. 1743, US President
April 14 Sullivan, Anne: Birth Anniversary. 1866 with Helen Keller
April 15 Smith, Bessie: Birth Anniversary. 1894, blues singer
April 16 National High Five Day
April 17 Cambodia Falls: Anniversary. 1975
April 18 World Circus Day
April 19 Battle of Lexington and Concord: Anniversary. 1775
April 20 Puente, Tito: Birth Anniversary. 1923, Mambo King
April 21 Kindergarten Day
April 22 National Bookmobile Day
April 23 Iceland: “First Day of Summer”
April 24 National Arbor Day: Anniversary. 1872
April 25 Hubble Telescope Deployed. 1990
April 26 Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Disaster: Anniversary. 1986
April 27 Morse, Samuel: Birth Anniversary. 1791, Morse code
April 28 Biological Clock Gene Discovered: Anniversary. 1994
April 29 Ellington, “Duke” Birth Anniversary: 1899. Big band jazz.
April 30 Bugs Bunny’s Debut: Anniversary. 1938
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This week try out one of our family or friends' Favorite Recipes.
Send us your favorite family recipe so we can test it and post it on this page! Send
your recipe to info@pfudge.com along with a photo of who invented it!
7. Alta Jackson's Cheesecake
Ingredients:
To make the crust use the following three items:
1 "box" Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (minus one cup-dry)
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Egg
Press this mixture in the bottom and up the sides of a baking dish (preferably glass or pottery)
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Cream the following two items:
1 pound of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
Add the one cup of the cake mix from above.
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Beat the following four items along with the cream cheese mix on medium speed for one minute:
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
1.5 cups of milk
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Bake at 350 degrees for between 45 and 55 minutes.
Steve's notes:
1. The original recipe called for Duncan Hines brand but you can use other brands instead.
2. I have two recipes and while one indicates 3 teaspoons of vanilla the other indicates 3 tablespoons. Hmmmm! So, I suggest using 1.5 tablespoons)
6. Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers
“These vegan sweet potato-black bean burgers spiced with curry powder are easy to make. Blending the mixture with your hands gives you a soft, uniform texture then the outside gets crispy by cooking in a cast-iron pan. To make this recipe gluten-free too, use gluten-free oats and serve the patty in a lettuce wrap, omitting the bun.” Steve’s notes: If you top it off with ketchup these burgers will taste spectacular!
Active: 15 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
2 cups grated sweet potato
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup no-salt-added black beans, rinsed
½ cup chopped scallions
¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste
1 teaspoon curry powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 eaches whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
Directions
Step 1 – Squeeze grated sweet potato with paper towels to remove excess moisture; place in a large bowl. Pulse oats in a food processor until finely ground; add to the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Add beans, scallions, mayonnaise, tomato paste, curry powder and salt to the bowl; mash the mixture together with your hands. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Place the patties on a plate; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 2 – Stir yogurt, dill and lemon juice together in a small bowl; set aside.
Step 3 – Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Step 4 – Divide the yogurt sauce evenly among top and bottom bun halves. Top each bottom bun half with a burger and cucumber slices; replace top bun halves.
© Copyright 2020 eatingwell.com. All rights reserved. This recipe was found by our daughter, Kristen, at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/278513/sweet-potato-black-bean-burgers
5. Robin Jackson's Famous Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients:
16 oz of cooked broccoli florets
1 can of cream-of-celery soup
2/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 “large” can of Durkees or Frenchs fried onions
Directions:
In a 9×12 baking dish layer the broccoli down first then a layer of 1/2 can of onions and top with a layer of the thoroughly mixed soup, cheese and milk.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees (F).
Top with remaining onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Gina Teachout’s Baked Beans
“Ingredients:
1 pound dry navy beans
1.5 quarts cold water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup maple syrup.
1/4 pound salt pork, sliced very thin
1 large onion sliced very thin
Directions:
Rinse and sort beans. Add 1.5 quarts cold water and soak overnight.
In the morning, add 1 teaspoon salt, cover pot and simmer until tender (about 1/2 hour) and scoop off foam. Remove from heat, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and scoop off foam again. (The farts are in the foam). Let stand a few minutes then drain.
Add 1 and 3/4 cup of boiling water to sugar, salt, mustard, molasses and syrup. In a 2 quart casserole, alternate layers of beans, onions, salt pork, and water mixture. Cover. (Cooks best in an iron dutch oven). Bake 325-degrees 4-6 hours. Add water if necessary.”
Steve’s notes: If you like the beans firm a half-hour in the pot is fine. if you like them softer boil them for no longer than 1.5 hours. Even if you don’t like beans you will love the smell. I really like baked beans and this is the best recipe I have ever tried. Gina and her husband Mahlon, used to operate the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry in Shoreham, VT. They have since moved to Florida but come back to visit now and then. They lived in a 250 year-old stone house right on Lake Champlain and had a small, but fun, country store at the landing. We miss them but look forward to the next time we get together over a pot of Gina’s baked beans. Thank you Gina and Mahlon – and say “Hi” to Captain!
3. DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie
There are about 400 DoubleTree Hotels by Hilton located in 40 countries. No matter which one you stay in they all have the same cookie available for free at check-in: The famous Doubletree Chocolate Chip cookie. In fact, it is so famous it was said to have been the first food ever baked on a space flight. In late April 2020 the hotel chain decided to divulge the recipe. We give a five-star rating for the cookie and another five-stars to DoubleTree for unveiling the secret recipe. Thanks DoubleTree!
2. Sally’s Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie
We found a great recipe from our friends at Sally’s Baking Addiction. The dough needs to be refrigerated for a few hours so it is easy to handle and spreads less in the oven. We picked this recipe because it is close to our May Flavor-of-the-Month fudge, Chocolate Caramel Cookie. Sally has thousands of recipes, cookbooks and offers free dessert recipes every week. It’s a lot of fun and worth a visit.
1. Crock Pot Nerds Fudge Recipe By Sarah V. Hayes
Photo by Melissa on delish.com
Have your kids opened their lunchbox to see fudge, with Nerd’s on top? Providing them with such a kid-loving, appetizing dessert, my kids would wonder what they did right. Whether a dessert for good behavior, or a dessert to satisfy the sweet tooth, surely this recipe will be a gift. If you’re a parent whose learned bribery works well, you’ll want to store this recipe for safekeeping. Especially for those on a time-limit, you will be happy to know this can be cooked in a crock-pot. Taken from Melissa at delish.com, be sure to have your Rainbow Nerds handy:
500g. milky bar chocolate
1x 395g Tin sweetened condensed milk
1x Tbl spoon of butter
Box of Nerds
Cook everything but the Nerds with the lid off for 1.5 hrs. on low & stir on & off
Add Nerds and mix.
Put in Tray to cool in fridge.