At last, something to celebrate: Tomorrow (Feb. 9) is National Pizza Day!

If you'd like to celebrate the big day with Slow-Cooker Pizza-Stuffed Peppers, you'll find the recipe here.

by Ken

Yes, of course, the news lately, ricocheting between bad and worse, has been grim, and we know that, looking into the future, the worst is surely yet to come.

Now you probably thought, when you first laid eyes on the start of the above post title, "At last, something to celebrate," that I meant to subject to you to yet more harassment and propagandizing on behalf of that fake holiday Valentine's Day. You know, the day set aside for the candy and flower lobbies to induce us to empty your wallets on expensive nothings either because we don't have a significant other or, perhaps more cruelly, because we do -- one who's likely to be out of our lives long before the "holiday" rolls around again, or who we'll come to wish was.

But no, I'm not celebrating that miserable made-up holiday. I'm celebrating a day that will do way more than all the combined efforts of the so-called Trump administration ever will to Make America Great Again: National Pizza Day. Which falls tomorrow, February 9.

If you aren't already in a festive mood, here's an example, courtesy of WTKR.com, of how to honor this great day:

Deals and steals for National Pizza Day

POSTED 5:00 AM, FEBRUARY 8, 2017, BY MELISSA STEPHENSON

Thursday, February 9 is National Pizza Day!

Social media is sure to be buzzing with pictures of pizza all day sparking your cheese cravings so here is a list of deals that will make indulging even better.

• Sabarro: Get a free slice of pizza when you join the Sabarro Slice Society
• Papa John’s: 40% off any pizza at regular menu price with code 40PIZZA – Until March 5
• PizzaHut: Medium three topping pizza for $6
• Dominos: Choose any two or more on select items for $5.99 each
• Del Vecchio’s, Norfolk: Delivery specials on 18″ pizzas and one topping specials for pickup
• Reginella’s Trattoria & Pizzeria, Chesapeake: Lunch specials until 3:30 p.m. – 2 slices and a drink combo and 12″ two topping pizza for $8.50
• Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, Greenbrier, Chesapeake and Landstown, Va. Beach – After 10 p.m. half off pizzas and appetizers
• Adamo’s New York Pizzeria, Virginia Beach: Two 14″ one topping pizzas for $17.99
• Jet’s Pizza, Virginia Beach: One topping pizza and wings (small: $15.49, medium: $16.49, large: $19.49)

Eat up!

And just to show that Melissa is serious about this, there's not a single picture of pizza to spark our cheese cravings! Of course these tidings aren't of much use if you don't happen to be in the WTKR service area, which would appear to be the Hampton Roads (VA) area. This is why I haven't worried overmuch about the above "links" not being live. (If you do happen to live in the WTKR service area, just follow the link to Melissa's post.) Still, this should help imbue you with the spirit of the occasion.

UP FOR A MORE HANDS-ON APPROACH?

The folks at BettyCrocker.com have you covered, in "Any Way You Slice it, it's National Pizza Day!" "Whether you’re in the mood for a classic pie or a twist on tradition," they've got "12 ways to enjoy your pizza day," each accompanied by an, er, appropriate picture, like the one above of the Slow-Cooker Pizza-Stuffed Peppers.

• Pizza Spaghetti Casserole
• "Thai Chicken Party" Pizza
• Slow-Cooker Pizza Chicken
• Slow-Cooker Pizza Soup
• Stuffed-Crust Pepperoni Pizza
• Italian Pizza Bake (Cooking For 2)
• Impossibly Easy Pizza Bake
• White Spaghetti Pizza Bake
• Stuffed Pizza
• Extra-Easy Pizza
• Gluten-Free Pizza
• Slow-Cooker Pizza-Stuffed Peppers

BUT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PIZZA ROUTINES!

Or maybe this is the day to go hog wild and bust right out of those routines! Either way, you know you've got the full weight of that great traditional day of commemoration National Pizza Day behind you as you approach the great day.

As they say at WTKR: Eat up!

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Run for your life (or at least your sanity), SantaCon is coming!

If you were planning to be in any of these afflicted affected areas of Manhattan tomorrow, you might want to rethink those plans.


"While the party bills itself as a 'charitable' pub crawl, it's had a fraught relationship with people who live in its path over concerns including public urination, death threats and numerous arrests. . . .

"Last December, New York's SantaCon took to Twitter to brag about the fact that no one associated with their group was arrested in 2015, according to initial reports."

-- from Veronika Bondarenko and Julia Bottles' updated DNAinfo NY report

by Ken

The first time I found myself enmeshed in the tide of drunken, degraded humanity that is SantaCon, a few years back, I had no idea what was happening. I guess I just assumed it was some sort of spontaneous hooliganism which was unaccountably escaping the vigilance of the NYPD. That was bad enough. When I discovered what it was, and that it was in fact organized drunken, degraded hooliganism, I was really peeved.

Now, as you can see from the quote above, the organizers of the event are actually capable of bragging that, at least according to preliminary reports, not one of their troops of marauding scumbags has been arrested! Talk about setting your behavioral bar really, really low.

For those of you who are coming into this story as clueless as I was way back when, not to mention those of you who are lucky enough not to have SantaCon anywhere near you, here's the deal:

SantaCon Will Invade These Manhattan Neighborhoods Saturday

By Veronika Bondarenko and Julia Bottles
Updated December 9, 2016 11:22am

Get ready for the Santas.

SantaCon, a controversial yearly pub crawl involving roughly 20,000 revelers dressed in Santa and Christmas-themed costumes, has announced its starting location and released the map of its official route.

The Santas will gather at the Flatiron Building pedestrian plaza at West 23rd Street and Broadway starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to the event's website. [Note: Lots more links onsite. -- Ed.]

Then the imbibing Santas will make their way through Midtown, Gramercy, Flatiron and the East Village, hitting up over 45 bars and several strip clubs along the way.

After the kickoff, revelers will watch Twitter or sign up for alerts by texting "follow santacon" to 40404 for information about the next bars.

In addition to the SantaCon bars there will be "Santa Clubs" which revelers can get access to for a $10 charitable donation. [Onsite there follows a list, which you're welcome to access for yourself. I'll be darned if I'm going to publicize the names. -- Ed.]

While the party bills itself as a "charitable" pub crawl, it's had a fraught relationship with people who live in its path over concerns including public urination, death threats and numerous arrests.

In 2013, SantaCon rerouted around Hell's Kitchen after residents begged them to steer clear of their area. In 2014, organizers had to scrap plans to start at the Maria Hernandez Park and later in all of Bushwick after both local residents and businesses got word of the plan.

As in previous years, there will be an alcohol ban on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road and in train stations the weekend of SantaCon, the MTA announced Wednesday.

This year SantaCon organizers released a statement defending the pub crawl and addressing concerns saying "there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior" and promising that they are working "even more closely with the New York Police Department ensure that the event remains enjoyable for locals and Santas alike."

Last December, New York's SantaCon took to Twitter to brag about the fact that no one associated with their group was arrested in 2015, according to initial reports.

I suppose we should be encouraged by the organizers' presumed admonition to their revelers that "there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior." However, as far as I can tell, and in full realization of how fuddy-duddy-ish this sounds, it seems to me that the one and only reason this orgy of assaultive mayhem exists is precisely as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. What else is it about?

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OK, so you forgot to book a place for Mother's Day and now the good places are booked up? If you're in the NYC area, here's a great way to celebrate

And even if you're not in the NYC area, if
you're resourceful, you can do this yourself


In the history of cinema, what film says "Happy Mother's Day" more purely from the heart than Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho? This, of course, is Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, a boy who really loves his mom.

by Ken

Some of you may object that I've already had my crotchety say on the closing-in-on-us Mother's and Father's Days. But that was before I'd experienced the full horror of spending hours every day clearing my e-mailbox of the barrage of too-exciting-for-words Mother's Day offers.

Speaking of horror . . . .

That was also, I think, before I noticed, or at least took proper notice of, what the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, has lilned up for the big day: the first part of a two-part cinematic celebration, Horror Mother's Day and Horror Father's Day. Coming up Sunday is a triple bill of -- wait for it -- Psycho, Rosemary's Baby, and The Brood. How cool is that? On a day like that, smart mothers may deny having offspring. (Schedule conflicts make it impossible for me to catch Psycho or Rosemary's Baby, much as I'd enjoy seeing them again. But I've never seen The Brood, so that works out okay!)

Don't think MoMI is singling out Mom. Dad will get his turn too, and I'll try to remember to give you some links before we leave this evening. But this weekend, it's Mom's turn. (The films are $12 for adults, which includes free museum admission, and free for members "at the Film Lover level and above. Advance booking online is not only possible but highly recommended; see the individual listings for links.)

Of course, if you're not within striking distance of MoMI but you have access to a good DVD or streaming source, you can re-create the Mother's Day and Father's Day horrors for yourself.

Psycho

Early in 2013 a tape from 1964 was discovered in BBC archives in which Alfred Hitchcock (seen here on-set) claimed that Psycho had always been intended as a comedy! As Xan Brooks told readers of The Guardian, the Master of Horror says on the tape, "I was horrified to find some people took it seriously."

Sunday, May 10, 1:30pm
Part of Horror Mother's Day and Horror Father's Day

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1960, 109 mins. 35mm. With Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles. Norman Bates, anxious proprietor of the Bates Motel, is horror cinema’s ultimate momma’s boy in Alfred Hitchcock’s shocker masterpiece. But as Norman explains about his mother to the lovely blonde guest, “She isn’t quite herself today.”

Rosemary's Baby

Mia Farrow as Rosemary

Sunday, May 10, 4pm
Part of Horror Mother's Day and Horror Father's Day

Dir. Roman Polanski. 1968, 136 mins. DCP. With Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon. Roman Polanski turned the stately Dakota into Manhattan’s most infamous apartment house in his unsettling horror classic. Mia Farrow is the unfortunate mother-to-be, married to a sketchy Broadway actor (played by John Cassavetes) and possibly carrying an antichrist in her womb. Ruth Gordon steals the show as the sinister next-door neighbor.

The Brood

Sunday, May 10, 7pm
Part of Horror Mother's Day and Horror Father's Day

Dir. David Cronenberg. 1979, 92 mins. New 35mm print! With Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle. David Cronenberg made The Brood after a painful divorce, and described the film as a “fantastical Kramer vs. Kramer.” The mother is involved in “psychoplasmics,” a treatment that leads to her literally (and graphically) giving birth to her rage. Howard Shore’s musical score pays homage to Bernard Herrmann’s music for Psycho.

AND THE LINEUP FOR FATHER'S DAY (JUNE 21) IS --

• Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter (1955) at 2pm
• Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (1960) at 4:30pm
• and a true Father's Day epic, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980), at 6:30pm

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Happy St. Paddy's day to you -- and your pooch! (Also: Irish roots in NYC, and Ina Garten's Irish soda bread)

COMING UP AT 7pm PT/10pm ET:
America's buffest congressman says bye-bye
(See also this afternoon's Breaking News report)

Mitch Waxman reshares a favorite photo

Says our cameramaniac pal Mitch of this photo of his, served up again today on his "Newtown Pentacle" blog: "I fully realize that you’ve seen this shot before, but god help me, I just love it so." We love it too, Mitch, we love it too! What could more graphically illustrate the spirit of the day?

by Ken

St. Paddy's Day isn't a holiday on my holiday schedule, but it's always nice to be able to see people having harmless fun. Depending, of course, on how you define "harmless fun."

In my recollections of the day I always seemed to find myself trying to cross Fifth Avenue while the parade stumbled by, which not only was a near-impossibility itself but exposed the trapped passerby wannabe to the spectacle of the city's schoolkids -- not all of them Irish, surely, or only Irish-for-the-day -- puking en masse on the streets of New York.

I would have liked to say "puking up green beer en masse," but only some of the regurgitated suds was green. Our teens would chug whatever brew they could lay hands on. Nowadays, of course, those puddles of upchuck could include particulate matter of green bagels, green pizza, green-and-white cookies, and green goodness-knows-what.

Over the years I've heard that the Archdiocese has clamped down on, um, celebratory behavior along the parade route, but I can't speak from personal experience. We humans pride ourselves on the ability to learn from experience, and eventually a person may learn to avoid an event like this like the plague.

But to all who've been celebrating: Happy St. Patrick's Day!


REMEMBERING IRISH ROOTS IN NYC



Michelle and James Nevius, authors of Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York and Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers have sent out a St. Patrick's Day greeting with the above image of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral (down in what became known as Manhattan's Little Italy) and a note that "James had a piece published yesterday on Curbed that explores remnants of Irish history in all five boroughs. Follow this link to read "In Modern-Day New York: Remnants of Irish Roots Abound."

"The illustration above," Michelle and James note (which you can click to enlarge), "shows the Irish 69th regiment leaving from St. Patrick's Old Cathedral at the outbreak of the Civil War. The 'Fighting 69th' are memorialized in Calvary Cemetery in Queens -- just one of a dozen places mentioned in the article."

The Neviuses also invite everyone to visit their "expanded and improved website," www.walknyc.com.


IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO BAKE SOMETHING!



Topping the Food Network website's list of St. Paddy's Day treats is this recipe from Ina Garten:

Ina's Irish Soda Bread

Bread baking is notoriously a whole to-do, but Ina's easy-to-make Irish soda bread doesn't call for any kneading, rising or waiting. Simply throw the ingredients in the mixer to bake a loaf that gains a subtle sweetness from orange zest and currants.

All you need is all-purpose flour, sugr, baking soda, cold unsalted butter, cold buttermilk, an extra-large egg, some grated orange zest, and dried currants. You'll find the recipe here. (There's even a video.)

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Food Watch: OMG, is it National Frappe (or Frappé) Day again already?

ICED-COFFEE FRAPPE

[Says Food.com recipe-sharer Sydney Mike:] "Another recipe for coffee lovers, found in the Favorite Brand Name Recipes, May 2010 cookbooklet, Smoothies and Summer Drinks. Preparation time does not include the time needed to brew the coffee strong and cool it!"

Total Time: 2 mins
Prep Time: 2 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup coffee, brewed strong, then cooled
½ cup cream
1 tablespoon light chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons sugar substitute (recipe gives sucralose-based)
1 cup ice cubes

Directions:
(1) Combine all ingredients in a blender and process for about 30 seconds or until smooth.
(2) Pour into 2 glasses and enjoy.

by Ken

Where does the time go? Here you are thinking it's months yet till National Frappe Day, or weeks anyway, and then you look up and suddenly it's here! And in a panic you've got to shake your brain out to remember where you know you can get a really fine frappe, or (some would say) frappé -- or check out some recipes for do-it-yourself frapping (or frappé-ing).

Okay, I don't have to shake my brain terribly hard to know that I don't have a backlog of favorite frappe joints, and in approaching the making of one I would be handicapped by a high degree of murkiness about what exactly a frappe is. Off the top of my head I think of something liquidier than a sundae, more along the lines of a milkshake, but not so much like a milkshake as . . . well, frappier. What's more, as you may have guessed already, I have never actually celebrated National Frappe (or Frappé) Day, never actually even heard of it. Still, it sounds to me like a more festive holiday than any number that have lobbied their way onto the official holiday schedule.

Speaking of which, I'm inclined to think that National Frappe (or Frappé) Day may not have absolutely official standing, especially since the Cooking.com page where I encountered the news of it also includes a calendar that just for this month lists:

OCTOBER 2014
1 -- Vegetarian Day
2 -- Fried Scallops Day
3 -- Caramel Custard Day
4 -- Taco Day
5 -- Apple Betty Day
6 -- Mad Hatter Day
7 -- Frappe Day
8 -- Fluffer Nutter Day
9 -- Moldy Cheese Day
10 -- Angel Food Cake Day
11 -- Sausage Pizza Day
12 -- Gumbo Day
13 -- Yorkshire Pudding Day
14 -- Chili Month
15 -- Chicken Cacciatore Day
16 -- Liqueur Day
17 -- Pasta Day
18 -- Chocolate Cupcake Day
19 -- Seafood Bisque Day
20 -- Applejack Day
21 -- Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
22 -- Nut Day
23 -- Boston Cream Pie Day
24 -- Bologna Day
25 -- Greasy Foods Day
26 -- Mincemeat Day
27 -- American Beer Day
28 -- Wild Foods Day
29 -- Oatmeal Day
30 -- Candy Corn Day
31 -- Caramel Apple Day

In the matter of official standing, I mean, I don't think you'd get very far trying to fight a parking ticket on the ground that you assumed alternate-side-of-the-street parking was suspended for Apple Betty Day.

Is Vegetarian Day on the 1st a coy euphemism for October Fools' Day? It manages to make, say, Moldy Cheese Day (9) sound like an event to look forward to. Then, some of these days seem awfully specific, like Fried Scallops Day (2) and Seafood Bisque Day (19), where you might expect the entire scallop and bisque communities to be celebrating. Similarly, Pumpkin Cheese Day (21) makes you wonder whether every imaginable species of cheesecake has its own "day." At the other end of the spectrum, some of these days sound awfully broad -- Nut Day, for example, covers a lot of gastronomic territory.

Some of the days sound a little vague, like Mad Hatter Day (6) and Wild Foods Day (28), though Wild Foods Day still sounds vaguely more appetizing thatn Greasy Foods Day (25). Can you imagine doing up invitations for a Greasy Foods Day do? And while we're in a clarifying mood, is the 14th the start of Chili Month?

Given how food-suggestible I have become -- usually, I only have to hear a food mentioned to develope an overpowering craving for it -- I'm surprised how immune I am to most of this October calendar. Some of these festivities are clearly aimed at other eaters, like Fluffer Nutter day (8) Bologna Day (24), and Candy Corn and Caramel Apple Days (30, 31).

But I doubt that I'll be able to resist the siren song of Sausage Pizza Day (11), or perhaps Chocolate Cupcake Day (18). I might also be at high risk on Boston Cream Pie Day (23) , except that I really don't currently have a good source, and while I've looked at lots of recipes (how hard can it be? you make your cake layers, some sort of custard for the filling, and a ganache for the frosting), the problem is that even if it didn't come out all that well, it would probably be consumed before day's end.


SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A FRAPPE (OR FRAPPÉ)?

I think we all think we know, but do we really? I can't say that Food.com is all that helpful in its brief introduction to the recipes offered, especially since I think of the French verb "frapper" meaning to hit or strike or suchlike):

The name may be French (from the word "frapper," meaning “to ice”), but history says it's the Greeks who popularized this icy and sweet concoction during a 1957 international fair.

• Iced Coffee Frappe
• Chocolate-Strawberry-Coffee Frappe
• Frappe Cappuccino
• Mocha Frappe
• Iced Nutty Irishman Coffee Frappe (note: "non-alcoholic and diabetic")
• Kiwi Frappe
• Strawberry (Diet) Ginger Ale Frappe

Here's what the old Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary I keep at my desk has to say about "frappé":

frappé n.
1. A frozen, fruit-flavored mixture that is similar to sherbet and is served as a dessert or appetizer.
2. A beverage, usually a liqueur, poured over shaved ice.
3. A milk shake containing ice cream.

Huh?

On the plus side, the ensuing derivation traces "frappé" back to "frapper, to chill" and then back to the Old French "fraper, to strike." (There's no point in my trying to reproduce the derivation here -- believe me, I tried -- because it uses "less than" signs to indicate "from," and it turns out that, as with ampersands, I can't do any HTML version that our system will accept except as, in this case, "<"; which seems to me exceedingly unhelpful.) This at least gives us "chilled" for "frappé," which is something. I think we can agree that whatever the heck a frappe (or frappé) is, it's chilled.

Otherwise I don't see the picture getting clearer. In fact, it seems to to have gotten murkier than I could possibly have imagined -- I'm almost sorry I brought it up. Except that you'd think National Frappe (or Frappé) Day would be the time, if ever, to establish what exactly the damned thing is. Well, good luck to us with that! I guess the deal is that a person knows a frappe (or frappé) when the person sees one. (Unfortunately, having had no advance warning of today's great event, I don't have access to my books, to see whether specifically culinary sources may be more to the point. I wonder if one or another edition of Joy of Cooking has anything to say on the subject.

Anyway, now that we've cleared that up --


WANNA TRY ONE MORE?

KIWI-FRUIT FRAPPE


[Says Cooking.com recipe-sharer katew]: "Great to start the day with loads of anti-oxidants"

Total Time: 5 mins
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup apple juice, unsweetened
½ cup chopped pineapple
1 cup kiwi fruit
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ cups ice cubes

Directions:
(1) Place 2 glasses in fridge to chill.
(2) Blend all ingredients till smooth.
(3) Pour into chilled glasses.
(4) Garnish with a slice of kiwi fruit.
(5) Serve at once.

That's a good tip about chilling the glasses, wouldn't you say?

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It's National Train Day!

by Ken

For some reason National Train Day wasn't marked on my desk calendar. So I'm a little late in making my holiday preparations. I assume everyone else has already figured out which celebrations and which parties to attend. It's going to be locomotive madness.

According to Wikipedia:

National Train Day is a holiday started by Amtrak in 2008 as a method to spread information to the general public about the advantages of rail travel and the history of trains in the United States. It is held each year on the Saturday closest to May 10, the anniversary of the pounding of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah which marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Events are held at Amtrak stations as well as railroad museums across the country and often have passenger cars and model railroad layouts on display. The largest events usually take place in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA.

Hmm, well, that doesn't sound quite as festive or auspicious as I was imagining -- Amtrak tying to blow its own train horn, as it were. Even Amtrak itself doesn't seem all that fired up about the event. It's most festive offering appears to be a program called "Save 30% on a Companion Fare to Select National Train Day Destinations." This doesn't sound like absolutely the worst deal you've ever heard of, provided one or more of the destinations fits your National Train Day plans. Here's the list.


Hmm. Those are pretty much the places you would have chosen, aren't they?

Okay, that isn't the entire deal from Amtrak.

In addition to the cities above, the 7th annual nation-wide celebration of all things train features exciting events across the country in big cities, small towns and your hometown. This free day of family-friendly fun will arrive before you know it, so make your travel plans today.

Attractions such as interactive exhibits, excursion trains, elaborate model train displays, Amtrak K-9 units and kids' activities vary among National Train Day destinations.

Check out NationalTrainDay.com for more details on this year's events.

If you follow the NationalTrainDay.com link, you'll find:

Use our search tool to locate events happening in a town near you. If there are no events in your area, register to host your own! [I guess it's kind of late to pursue the host-your-own-event option. My bad. -- Ed.] And don’t forget to explore our infographics to learn more about why trains matter to us all. Enter the National Train Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win an Amtrak Vacations Family Adventures Package for a family of four and more! [I'm not sure what the deadline for entering is, or was, but I'm afraid it might be kinda late for this one too. -- Ed.]

There's a map to clue you in to "community events."

Here in the Big Apple, the New York Transit Museum has a healthy case of National Train Day fever.

To celebrate, the Transit Museum stores are offering a one-day special 10% discount on all toy and model trains, including subway train cars, Lionel, Thomas, Chuggington, and other products. Members will get an additional 10% off! This discount is valid on Saturday, May 10, 2014 in both Transit Museum stores and in our online store. Brooklyn store hours are 11am-5pm; the Gallery Annex and Store at Grand Central Terminal is open 10am-6pm.


GCT Centennial Edition Lionel Train

Be sure to share with other DWT readers how you're celebrating National Train Day.


UPDATE: WE'VE GOT A TRAINERIFIC COMMENT

It's a really dead-on meditation on the state of trains in present-day America, beyond anything such a humble post as this merited. Check it out!

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What the world needs now: green velvet cake (plus some actually interesting green food ideas)

Food Network text: "Red velvet cake gets remade for St. Paddy's Day with the help of green food coloring. Cover the cake with fluffy frosting, then use your imagination to finish it with decorations."

by Ken

No, there's nothing wrong with your computer monitor if the cake above displays as green. As you'll note in the photo caption above, red velvet cake has gotten remade for St. Paddy's Day with the help of green food coloring."

I'm a little queasy about bringing this news to you just a day after devoting a post to Sbarro's pizza. You could get the idea that this is the place to come for food news that will make you feel like puking up your guts. Still, I thought it was important to spread the word about green velvet cake.

Somehow I survived the onslaught of green bagels, and green-and-whites turning up in baked-goods trays that would normally hold black-and-whites, and so on and so on. But there's something about green velvet cake that seems somehow to cross a line. If, however, your response is more along the lines of: "Hot dog! That's just the ticket for St. Patrick's day," then you'll find the recipe for St. Patrick's Day Green Velvet Layer Cake here.

And that's not all. The folks in the Food Network Kitchen apparently put their thinking caps on to ask themselves, "What other kinds of otherwise-edible foods could we turn a nice bilious green?" And they came up with a bunch, including some -- notably the ones that aren't featured on the front page -- that actually sound green, or greenish, and don't make me nearly as queasy as the green velvet cake. For that matter, come to think of it, the red color of red velvet cake also comes from food coloring.

St. Patrick's Day Green Velvet Cupcake Shamrocks

"The old-fashioned boiled frosting for these Emerald Isle green cupcakes is creamy and fluffy and reminds us of childhood."

St. Patrick's Day Spinach Pancakes and Corned Beef Hash

"These bright green savory pancakes have an incredibly moist, custardy texture, and a fresh oniony bite."

St. Patrick's Day Mint Schnapps Shakes

"A grown-up milkshake, this pale green delight is perfect as a mid-day treat or after-dinner dessert. It's only as good as the ice cream."

St. Patrick's Day Lime Poke Cake

"We make this beloved dessert with not-too-sweet buttermilk cake and very lightly sweetened whipped cream. The cake tastes best just lightly chilled, so let it warm up a bit while you whip the cream for the topping."

St. Patrick's Day Mint Shakes

"Milk shakes, like other simple concoctions, are only as good as their ingredients, so use high-quality ice cream and vanilla extract. Combining peppermint extract and vanilla ice cream gives the drink an extra-refreshing, minty flavor you wouldn't get from using regular mint chip ice cream."

Some of those I have no trouble imagining serving -- and eating. And not just on St. Patrick's Day! But if you are celebrating, these might indeed brighten your celebration. In any case, have a healthy and happy holiday.

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It's kind of last-minute, but in case you haven't made your plans for Hummus Day . . .

Hummus 'n' stuff -- at the Hummus & Pita Co., 585 Sixth Avenue (at 17th Street) in Manhattan (see below)

by Ken

Probably every year the day creeps up on you, and you vow that next year you'll look into one of those special Hummus Day tour packages and cruises, but things come up, and before you know it, the day has rolled around again!

The Hummus Day website, http://hummusday.com/, is -- shall we say? -- a trifle sparse, leading off with this Wikipedia description:

Hummus is a Levantine Arab food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It is popular throughout the Middle East and in Middle Eastern cuisine around the globe.

(The Wikipedia hummus article is actually pretty informative.)

And then offering this fascinating, um, display --


There doesn't appear to be any clearinghouse of national Hummus Day events, but the folks at Vital Juice NY offer this suggestion to New Yorkers for "the perfect spot to celebrate":

Flatiron’s The Hummus & Pita Co. where you can indulge in a new menu of homemade hummus and Mediterranean dishes, each with fewer than 300 calories. The café's calorie-conscious menu just launched this month.

The special menu features five dishes - -The Vegetarian's, The Meat-Lover's, The Carb-Lover's and The Purist's and The Sampler -- each with a different combination of sides such as falafels, couscous, Israeli salad and of course, hummus.

The Vital Juice NY Hummus Day coverage continues:

Want to take a taste of the Mediterranean with you? Try these hummus recipes at home.

Hummus is yummus.

(Hey, we don't make up the news, we just report it.)


HERE'S THE FIRST OF THOSE HUMMUS RECIPES
(from the Hummus & Pita Co.)

Original Hummus

1 16-oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
¼ c. liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 Tbsp. lemon juice (according to taste)
1½ Tbsp. tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add ¼ c. of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus. Add a small amount (1-2 Tbsp.) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

[Also available online: Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus]

Happy Hummus Day!

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Comedy Tonight: Here's hoping you're having a happier holiday season than Lee Camp

-- from Lee Camp's Twitter feed

by Ken

So I was wondering what was up with the great Lee Camp, and was reduced to checking his Twitter feed (if that's what you call it) -- I don't do Twitter normally. And I thought in the spirit of the holiday season, or rather "a" spirit of the holiday season, these three Tweets tell a little story.

Naturally I also wondered what's new in Lee's inimitable "Moment of Clarity" videos. I was going to say "in Lee's inimitable 'Moments of Clarity,' but I see on Lee's website, leecamp.net, that the plural of "Moment of Clarity" is apparently "Moment of Clarities." I also see on the website that the latest video is M.O.C. #102:

The TRUTH About War With Iran --




BY THE WAY, LEE IS ENCOURAGING MEMBERSHIP SIGN-UP

It's hard to resist when he puts it in terms of, you know, making a living from producing such content:

We pay for a lot of things in our lives -- coffee, cable TV, couches, concerts, and having our private areas waxed. We are willing to pay for all those things. However, the way our world is currently set up, we don’t pay to watch or hear hard-hitting internet comedy and commentary. So there’s only two ways for the producers of that content to make a living and keep at it. One is to cover their product in ads, which not only hurts the product, but also forces the producer to manipulate his/her audience. The second way is by donations from people like you. YOU make Moment of Clarity possible. YOU make it so that this webseries/podcast can continue. If my stuff means as much to you as, say, a cup of coffee, then please become a sustaining member. If you’re able to give more, then please do. Trust me, I’m not getting rich from this. I’m just trying to continue putting out my content and creating a safe, fun place for smart open-minded people to gather and talk about changing the world…. I can’t thank you enough. Keep fighting.

There are membership levels from $5/month to $50/month, with an ascending schedule of benefits, and there's a discount for paying the entire year now. I find Lee's logic is hard to argue, and I don't know of anyone else who does quite what he does, so while I couldn't afford much, I couldn't say no either.

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Does the Bush economic miracle have you looking for cheap entertainment for your holiday get-togethers? Play Buzzword Bingo!

by Noah

During the holidays, most of us get together with our families, extended or otherwise. Many of us find ourselves in a room with relatives we ordinarily wouldn't speak with or maybe not even let into our homes if they were not in our families. Indeed, many progressives suffer the shame of having a Family Republikook -- possibly related by marriage, or maybe even a blood relative!

We wonder why, if they consider us so liberal, un-American, and unpatriotic, they even want to enter our homes. Are they just looking for a handout? The horror of having such a family member may best be dealt with by extreme measures. Perhaps the Family Repug is kept in the basement or in an upstairs closet with minimal food, drink, and Left Behind books slid under the door as an act of conservative-style compassion. Perhaps the F.R. has to eat outside at the backyard picnic table, regardless of the weather, fending off animals that are slyly pretending to be endangered.

In any event, as soon as we let such weirdos into our homes, it's only a matter of time before certain words or phrases come out of their foaming mouths. For this, I offer Family Get-Together Buzzword Bingo, designed to add a little fun to what is often a real exasperating day. I made it myself.

FAMILY GET-TOGETHER BUZZWORD BINGO

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