DIANE'S CORNER ...
Celebrate Marzipan Week
Marzipan Week is something that was created by Neideregger, which is the leading brand of marzipan worldwide. The company was established back in 1806 in Northern Germany, and they have been hosting a Marzipan Week for a number of years now. The week is designed purely to be a celebration of all things marzipan. You can make marzipan figurines, enjoy marzipan cocktails (yes, you read that right, and we’ll give you some ideas below!), and of course, feast on delicious marzipan cakes and patisseries.
What Is Marzipan?
Marzipan is a mixture that has a candy-like feel to it. It is created by mixing ground almonds with egg whites, corn syrup, and sugar. It tends to be associated with baking over the festive period, as it is regularly folded into festive shapes and is a common feature on Christmas cakes. However, it can be enjoyed at any time of year, with a lot of cakes and desserts calling for its addition, meaning Marzipan Week gives you the perfect time to indulge in this delicious and sweet treat.
History of Marzipan Week
There are two stories when it comes to the origin of marzipan. However, it’s not that one is false and the other is accurate; it could be that the stories are complementary. This is because there have always been cooking influences and trade in the Mediterranean. Other sources believe that China is the origin of marzipan. From here, it is believed that the recipe then moved onto the Middle East, and then it made its way to Europe.
On the Neideregger website, they seem to follow the belief that we have the Orient lands to thank for the introduction of marzipan. They state that Rhazes, a Persian doctor, who was born in 850, wrote a book in which he touted the mixture of sugar and almonds as a remedy.
Interesting Facts About Marzipan
- The biggest pistachio marzipan in the world weighed a massive 4.1984 tonnes. It was made at an event in Syria on the 1st of July in 2003, and it required 225 chefs in order to make marzipan this big!
- In terms of the longest bar of marzipan, this comes in at a massive 22 meters and 54 cm. This was achieved by the children at Denmark’s Schuberts Minde Treatment Centre in 2011.
- The tallest sculpture made out of marzipan is 3.59 m. This was achieved in 2016 in Spain. The sculpture is designed to represent the statue of Miguel de Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote de la Mancha’.
- Marzipan should have no more than 10 percent moisture content. This is how the softness is achieved, getting the right balance between the liquid and solid components.
- Marzipan may taste amazing but it offers health benefits too. It is good for brain activity. This is because a lot of lecithins is found in the almonds, which stimulates the nerve cells.
Make Your Own Marzipan
One of the ways to observe Marizpan Week is to attempt to make your own marzipan. We have an easy vanilla marzipan recipe to help you get started.
Ingredients
- Two eggs, beaten
- Seeds scraped from one vanilla pod
- 450g ground almond
- 280g icing sugar, which is to be sifted. You will also need a bit extra for kneading and rolling out.
- 175g golden caster sugar
How to make your own marzipan
The first thing you need to do is grab a big bowl and mix the almonds and sugars together. You should then rub the vanilla seeds until even.
Make a well in the middle of the mixture. Add in the citrus juice and the eggs. Use a cutlery knife to cut the wet ingredients into the dry.
Use icing sugar to dust your surface. Knead the marzipan mixture briefly with your hands, creating a smooth dough. It is really important to make sure you don’t overdo it, as this can result in the mixture getting greasy. If it seems too wet, add some more icing sugar.
Shape the mixture into a ball. Wrap it and keep it in a cool area until you are ready to use it to cover a cake.
You can make marzipan up to two days in advance.
Joke of the Day
Word of the Day
cushy
Sweet squares of heaven...Exaggerate much?
MEANING:adjective:
1. Easy; not burdensome.
2. Soft; comfortable.
ETYMOLOGY:From Hindi/Urdu khushi (pleasure, happiness), from Persian khushi. The second sense probably influenced by the word cushion. Earliest documented use: 1887.
USAGE:“Few relish the thought of losing a cushy job in a recession.”
Google Grows Up; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 1, 2020.
Idiom of the Day
1. Easy; not burdensome.
2. Soft; comfortable.
Google Grows Up; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 1, 2020.
What does 'All fingers and thumbs' mean?
If you're all fingers and thumbs, you are too excited or clumsy to do something properly that requires manual dexterity. 'All thumbs' is an alternative form of the idiom.
This Day in History
This Day in History
1867 - "Harpers Bazaar" magazine was founded.
1889 - North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted into the union as the 39th and 40th states.
1920 - The first commercial radio station in the U.S., KDKA of Pittsburgh, PA, began regular broadcasting.
1921 - Margaret Sanger's National Birth Control League combined with Mary Ware Denetts Voluntary Parenthood League to form the American Birth Control League.
1947 - Howard Hughes flew his "Spruce Goose," a huge wooden airplane, for eight minutes in California. It was the plane's first and only flight. The "Spruce Goose," nicknamed because of the white-gray color of the spruce used to build it, never went into production.
1948 - Harry S. Truman defeated Thomas E. Dewey for the U.S. presidency. The Chicago Tribune published an early edition that had the headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN." The Truman victory surprised many polls and newspapers.
1959 - Charles Van Doren, a game show contestant on the NBC-TV program "Twenty-One" admitted that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
1960 - In London, the novel "Lady Chatterly's Lover," was found not guilty of obscenity.
1962 - The Elvis Presley film "Girls! Girls! Girls!" premiered.
1963 - Kate Smith gave her first full concert to paying customers.
1986 - The 12-by-16-inch celluloid of a poison apple from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"" was purchased for $30,800.
1993 - Christie Todd Whitman was elected the first woman governor of New Jersey.
2001 - The computer-animated movie "Monsters, Inc." opened. The film recorded the best debut ever for an animated film and the 6th best of all time.
2003 - In the U.S., the Episcopal Church diocese consecrated the church's first openly gay bishop.
thanks, Ella
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, November 2
Your instincts are usually accurate, and you rely on your intuition when you need to make a decision. Things need to "feel" right for you. You put your heart and soul into your hobbies and your work. Your opinions are strong and progressive, and you don't feel the need to broadcast them indiscriminately. Music plays a vital role in your life. You are a true humanitarian, and you have mystical inclinations. You are talented and versatile. Famous people born today:
1734 Daniel Boone, American frontiersman and explorer (US Hall of Fame 1915), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1820)
1755 Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (1774-92) who allegedly uttered the phrase "let them eat cake", born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1793)
If You Were Born Today, November 2
Your instincts are usually accurate, and you rely on your intuition when you need to make a decision. Things need to "feel" right for you. You put your heart and soul into your hobbies and your work. Your opinions are strong and progressive, and you don't feel the need to broadcast them indiscriminately. Music plays a vital role in your life. You are a true humanitarian, and you have mystical inclinations. You are talented and versatile. Famous people born today:
1795 James Knox Polk, 11th US President (Democrat: 1845-49), born in Pineville, North Carolina (d. 1849)
1865 Warren G. Harding, 29th US President (1921-23), born in Blooming Grove, Ohio (d. 1923)
1913 Burton "Burt" Lancaster, American actor (Apartment, From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry), born in NYC, New York (d. 1994)
1965 Shah Rukh Khan [Shahrukh Khan], Indian actor, producer and TV personality (My Name is Khan, Swades), born in New Delhi, India
1966 David Schwimmer, American actor (Friends, Madagascar), born in Queens, New York
READERS INFO1.
(Not So) Totally Useless Facts of The Day:
The Equator is an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres. The length of the Equator is about 24,901 miles, and 78.7% of the imaginary line passes through water and the rest through the land. The equator passes
through 13 countries and three continents. Those 13 countries include Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati.
Eleven hours and five minutes. That is how long John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (FRANCE) played tennis on June 22, 2010. Due to fading light and other matches being played during this Wimbledon tournament, it took 3 days to complete this match. In the end, Isner defeated Mahut in a 5 set nail-biter by the final score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70 – 68. This wasn’t even the final of the tournament, this historic match took place in the 1st round.
Gene Autry is the only person to be awarded stars in the five fields recognized on the Walk of Fame: film, TV, radio, live performance and music. During his lifetime, Autry emerged as both a top money-making entertainer and a powerful
businessman. As his 1998 obituary said, "He was enormously successful at almost anything he tried—radio, records, songwriting, television, real estate and business, as well as movies and museums." The late Bob Hope and the late
romantic crooner Tony Martin are next with four stars each. Thirty-three people, including Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye and Jack Benny, have been awarded stars in three fields.2.thanks for the Offbeat Holiday, Patty
If you’ve never heard of a deviled egg, then today is the day to educate yourself. A deviled egg is basically a hard-boiled egg, cut in half, with the yolk scooped out and mixed into some mustard and mayo, to be placed back in the hard-boiled egg. So if that sounds tasty to you then get to the kitchen and try it, today’s the perfect excuse.
3.Coronavirus Style by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent
businessman. As his 1998 obituary said, "He was enormously successful at almost anything he tried—radio, records, songwriting, television, real estate and business, as well as movies and museums." The late Bob Hope and the late
romantic crooner Tony Martin are next with four stars each. Thirty-three people, including Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye and Jack Benny, have been awarded stars in three fields.
If you’ve never heard of a deviled egg, then today is the day to educate yourself. A deviled egg is basically a hard-boiled egg, cut in half, with the yolk scooped out and mixed into some mustard and mayo, to be placed back in the hard-boiled egg. So if that sounds tasty to you then get to the kitchen and try it, today’s the perfect excuse.
Pictures of the Day
This is a Vaquita. With Less than 10 Left, It's the Rarest Marine Mammal on Earth
knit
thanks, Stella
knit
crochet
thanks, Rose
crochet
crochet
crochet
CROCKPOT RECIPE
VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE
Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.
SWEETS
CHILDREN'S CORNER
thanks, Sonja
PUZZLE
Movable Type Letters Jigsaw Puzzle
WORD SEARCH
| accelerate again communicate create crooked dive drink | estate excel favor gore great independent kingdom | least loneliness minor opposition pine power produce punt | reign rescue return royal rural scat speed stand | turnover value visual water weep world |
SUDOKU .. very hard
solution:
ICE BREAKER ...
What’s The Best Prank You’ve Ever Played On Someone?
QUOTE
CLEVER
It can be a daunting task to compile a "best of," list. This is especially true when dealing with something as subjective as art. Literature can be high art or just simple entertainment. What constitutes "the best," depends on what one is looking for. The genre of science fiction is vast and diverse. There are endless possibilities for what a science fiction story can be. It can even cross boundaries and combine with other genres.
The 100 Best Science Fiction Books Ever Written - 2020 Edition
EYE OPENER
thanks, Bev
We as humans do not learn from history and are therefore doomed to repeat it. The Spanish flu lasted for 2 years. The second wave killed far more people than the first, and in total there were 4 waves.
It killed somewhere between 20 million to 50 million people. Citizens were ordered to wear masks, and everywhere shut down and boarded up schools, movie theaters, and business. Mail distribution stopped, as did garbage collection.
Many people had to dig graves for their own family members.
Here we are 100 years later, and what have we learned? Half the people do not want to wear masks because they think it is a hoax/it is not that bad/the government is lying/insert insane right-wing conspiracy theory rhetoric here.
People want to prioritize their own narcissistic desires and privileges over other human beings’ lives.
What did they have in 1918? No TV. No internet, not a lot of food supply.
What do we have? TV, internet, movies that can be watched from home, UberEATS...you name it. And yet we are a world full of entitled and selfish people who lack human empathy and act oppressed when given any minute sense of responsibility.
Travel is not a necessity. Movie theaters are not a necessity. Throwing parties is not a necessity.
Being a decent human being should not be a revolutionary act....it should be common sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment