Food Holidays: July 7th, 2021

Good morning, welcome to National Strawberry Day. Come and join us as we take time in our Homeschool Cooking Class to create Ice Cream Sundaes only I’m having Chocolate not Strawberry.

National Strawberry Sundae Day

We all love cooling down with a cold, Fruity Treat on a hot day and Strawberry Sundae Day honours a dessert loved by millions around the world.

Created with sweet toothed people in mind, Strawberry Sundae Day is the perfect excuse to sit in the garden and cool down with a delicious Ice Cream delicacy.

Strawberries are loved by children and adults alike and are a refreshing, Sweet Fruit. Coupled with Ice Cream and Whipped Cream to form a Sundae, they taste divine.

Making your own Sundaes for Strawberry Sundae Day is a fun activity for the whole family to enjoy together. Older children can make them by themselves, choosing the quantities of Strawberries, Ice Cream, other ingredients they see fit.

Younger children can help make (and eat) the Sundaes. If you have any Strawberries left over, why not make Smoothies or Jam with them?

Learn about Strawberry Sundae Day

Not that we need an excuse to indulge in a delicious Strawberry Sundae, but Strawberry Sundae Day provides you with the perfect opportunity to do so. You can combine Strawberry or Vanilla Ice Cream (or both!) with Whipped Cream, fresh Strawberries, and Strawberry Sauce in to enjoy a delicious treat.

Of course, there are many different ways that you can mix it up when it comes to your Strawberry Sundae. You might want to add another flavor of Ice Cream to the mix, for example.

There are many different toppings that work well with Strawberry Sundaes, including shaved White Chocolate, White Chocolate Sauce, Crushed Shortbread or Digestive Biscuits, Popping Candy, and Strawberry Sweets. 

There are many reasons why  Strawberry Sundae Day is such a great day to celebrate. After all, Strawberry Sundaes taste delicious, don’t they? They also provide you with a great way of cooling down during the hot Summer days. Plus, you don’t feel so bad for indulging when you add a bit of Fruit to the mix, right?

You’re going to get your daily dose of Vitamin C intake from your Strawberries, and so it’s a better option than a lot of the other desserts out there. Plus, no two Strawberry Sundaes need to be the same when you think about the different toppings that are available. That is one thing that we love the most about this dessert.

There are simply no rules when it comes to presentation or the number and type of toppings and Sauces you use. It is all about the flavors you like the most! You can go down the classic route or you can go as wild as you like when it comes to making the perfect Strawberry Sundae for you.

Serious about sundaes? Here are some tips and tricks…

History of Strawberry Sundae Day

In order to understand the History of Strawberry Sundae Day, you need to understand the history of the Sundae itself. The oldest known record of an Ice Cream sundae was in an advertisement in New York’s Ithaca area.

The advertisement went out on the 5th of October in 1892. The conventional day of the week spelling, i.e. Sunday, was used in order to spell the Ice Cream treat in the Ithaca Daily Journal.

Nevertheless, the story of the Ice Cream Sundae certainly does not end there. It is claimed that the first Ice Cream Sundae was serviced many years before this.

This is something that the Edward Berners of Two Rivers, Wisconsin is created with. According to this story, a customer George Hallauer asked for an Ice Cream Soda.

He placed this order on a Sunday however, the sale of Ice Cream Sodas was prohibited on the Sabbath. Because of this Berners decided to come up with a compromise so that his customer would not go home with an empty stomach. Instead, he decided to serve Ice Cream with the Soda, and he topped it with Chocolate Syrup, calling it a Sundae.  

However, the first recorded advertisement for this type of Ice Cream treat was in Ithaca, as mentioned. This occurred in 1892 at Platt & Colt Pharmacy. This is when a Reverend known as John M. Scott stopped in order to purchase a bowl of Ice Cream.

But when the proprietor, Chester Platt, started to prepare the Ice Cream, he did not merely stop at giving him a few scoops of Vanilla. Instead, he topped the Ice Cream with a bright red, Candied Cherry and drizzled Cherry Sauce over the top.

The dessert tasted and looked incredible and those who believe this version of the story say the name Sundae was created purely because this happened on a Sundae.

The advertisement for the Cherry Sunday serves as historical evidence to support that this story is true. But was it the first-ever occurrence of the Sundae? Well, people like to debate this. We’re sure that there were a few people who experimented with different toppings on their Ice Creams!

How to celebrate Strawberry Sundae Day

Is there a better combination than Strawberries and Ice Cream? Of course, the best way to go about celebrating Strawberry Sundae Day is to indulge in this treat yourself. You can either make a Sundae yourself or you can head to your nearest Ice Cream Parlour and treat yourself.

If you want to enjoy this activity with your loved ones, why not invite them to join you? You could even decide to set up your own Strawberry Sundae Bar and invite your family to come and join in on the fun!

You could add a bit of healthy competition to the mix by getting everyone to come around and create the best sundae. Make sure you have a bar set-up with different toppings to choose from, including everything from sauces to Sweets, Chocolate, Biscuits, and much more! This is a great way to spend time having fun with the people that you love, and you’re bound to have plenty of laughs.

There are always some creations that look incredible – just like they have come out of a recipe book – and then there are those that look like they have been dropped in the floor! It doesn’t matter, though, because you know they’re going to taste incredible no matter what.

Another fun way to celebrate Strawberry Sundae Day is to make your own Strawberry Syrup and a lot of people would agree that the best part of a Strawberry Sundae is the Strawberry Sauce.

Rather than going the store bought route, why not try and create your own Strawberry Sauce? You will find that there are plenty of recipes online that you can get started with.

There you have it: plenty of ways that you can celebrate Strawberry Sundae Day. No matter what you do, make sure you mark the day by indulging in a Strawberry Sundae!

If your like Charlie and I take someone with you to the Ice Cream store and let them order the Strawberry Sundae and then you can order your favorite Ice Cream and still celebrate this Holiday.

Five Food Finds about Strawberries:

1. In a test, subjects who ate Nitrate Rich foods like Strawberries, before exercising burned 100 more calories than those who did not.
2. Over 53 percent of seven to nine-year-olds picked Strawberries as their favorite fruit. Can you imagine that. I thought it would be Apples. How about you?
3. In France, Strawberries were thought to be an Aphrodisiac. There is a soup made of Strawberries, thinned Sour Cream, Borage, & Powdered Sugar was served to newlyweds.
4. Folk lore states that if you split a double Strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you’ll soon fall in love.
5. In Medieval Times, Strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity.

National Macaroni Day

With today being National Macaroni Day I was thinking I could make mine and David’s Spaghetti but then I thought I might make my mom’s Macaroni and Cheese.

Then Charlie asked me if I could make Hamburger Helper. Charlie picked out Cheesy Italian Shells Hamburger Helper which is one of our favorite Hamburger Helpers. Do you eat Hamburger Helpers if so which one do you like and why?

Macaroni has played a major role in the lives of so many people, from their first encounters with Macaroni as children served up as Macaroni and Cheese, or with slices of Hot Dogs or Peas in Macaroni, to kindergarten when they started making Macaroni Art to take home to their parents.

Pasta is delicious in all shapes and sizes, but there is something very special about that bent, Elbow shape that brings so many people back to better days and fond memories of their childhoods. 

Macaroni is just such an incredibly versatile little piece of Pasta that it deserved its own celebration–and Macaroni Day is it! Let’s celebrate and get to cooking…

Strawberry Sundae

• 1 qt. vanilla ice cream
• Strawberries refrigerated in a covered bowl until cold, about 2 hours
• Whipped Cream
• Almonds, Pecans or Peanuts to top the Sundae off with

In tall glasses, layer scoops of Ice Cream with Strawberries or the Strawberry Sauce. Then top with a dollop of Whipped Cream, a scattering of Nuts. Serve immediately

Strawberry Sauce

• 2 quarts fresh Strawberries
• 6 cups Sugar
• 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid Fruit Pectin
• 1/3 cup Chocolate Syrup
• 1/3 cup Raspberry Liqueur, optional
• Vanilla Ice Cream

• Wash and mash Strawberries, measuring out enough mashed Berries to make 4 cups. In a Dutch oven, combine Strawberries and Sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in Pectin. Boil 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in Syrup and Liqueur if desired. Skim off foam.
• Pour into jars or freezer containers, leaving a 1/2-in. headspace. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover and let stand overnight or until set. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 1 year. Serve with Ice Cream.

Recipe for Macaroni and Cheese

8 ounces uncooked Elbow Macaroni 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese ½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese 3 cups Milk ¼ cup Butter 2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose Flour 2 tablespoons Butter ½ cup Bread Crumbs You can use 1 pinch Paprika which I don’t use because Charlie and David doesn’t care for it.

• Step 1 Cook Macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
• Step 2 In a Saucepan, melt Butter or Margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a Roux. Add Milk to Roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in Cheeses, and cook over low heat until Cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put Macaroni in large Casserole dish, and pour Sauce over Macaroni. Stir well.
• Step 3 Melt Butter or Margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add Breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the Macaroni and Cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little Paprika.
• Step 4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates