Currently viewing the tag: "weird holidays"
Greetings friends! It is I, Tater Potato Tot, Official Potato Ambassador to HHSL.*
I am here today to tell you all about the wonders of my namesake tuber in honor of National Potato Day, which is this Sunday, August 19th.
According to the USDA, one lovely Russet potato contains 16% of your daily recommended amount of fiber and 35% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C. Clocking in a 170 calories for a medium potato, this American staple is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients, excellent for endurance athletes.
Since I am more of a couch potato than an elite athlete, I will just nom on my delicious foot, leaving plenty of yummy carbs for all you gym-goers.
Everyone knows about Boston’s close association with 19th century Irish immigration, a mass movement sparked by the devastating Potato Famine, a blight that wiped out the potato crop of 1846 and devastated it in the years following as well. These lost potatoes would have been a whopping 60% of the Irish food crop in those years. Here in Boston, the influx of immigrants from Ireland in 1847 was said to increase the population of the city by 30%. Boston’s connection to the famine has been memorialized by the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, a short walk from HHSL. A lesser-known memorial marks a spot just a quick jaunt from my stomping grounds in Charlestown- the Potato Shed Memorial, a quirky sculpture marking the site of the potato storage sheds along Millers River. This is where millions and millions of potatoes shipped down from Maine were stored until a massive fire in 1962 destroyed the structures.
Since I am a dog and will eat anything, including literal garbage, I would call myself a fan of potatoes. If you are looking for some things to do with potatoes, how about making these amazing roast potatoes, or this classic potato-cheese soup, or some delicious potato gnocchi?
However you choose to celebrate National Potato Day, rest assured knowing that I, Tater P. Tot, HHSL Official Potato Ambassador, approve.
* In real life, I live with one of the HHSL librarians. I am not an Official Potato Ambassador. But my name is actually Tater Potato Tot.
At some point this week we are celebrating National Ask a Stupid Question Day- I can’t tell you when, because reports differ as to whether the Day in question is September 28 or the last school day in September.
According to this article in the Telegraph, the point of the day is to encourage students to ask questions they might otherwise be embarrassed or too shy to ask.
Here at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library, we are all about answering your questions. Ask us anything! Step right up, don’t be shy. We will never tell you that you’ve asked a stupid question or give you a stupid answer!
You know what is kind of stupid? Shaving a baby. Or letting a baby shave himself. Don’t ask us about that.
Gillette Safety Razor Co. (Courtesy Miami University Library Digital Collections: http://digital.lib.muohio.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tradecards/id/1172)
Aside from questions about baby-shaving, the ONLY stupid question is the one that goes unasked!
We spoke too soon! It would seem that chilly weather is back for a bit. But there’s one benefit to this unwelcome temperature drop: fresh baked goods hot out of the oven are appealing again. And conveniently, there’s a holiday on June 6th that encourages enjoying just that: National Applesauce Cake Day.
Applesauce Cake (Tania Ho)| CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
Not familiar with it? Neither were we, but it seems that The Internet is. While the origins of National Applesauce Cake Day are unknown, it is agreed that June 6th is the day to celebrate it. The consensus seems to be that it’s a celebration of the humble and delicious Applesauce Cake, which was lauded as a patriotic dessert during World War I and the Depression. It could be easily made at home and was more economical than other types of cakes, since applesauce reduces the amount of butter, sugar, and eggs needed in a recipe.
Easy and cheap? Sounds perfect for a busy student on a budget. Applesauce is also a healthier alternative to oil in a recipe or a vegan-friendly replacement for eggs and butter.
Intrigued? CNN has a brief discussion of the holiday and some tips for homemade applesauce and National Day Calendar has some recipe suggestions.
Let us know if you have any recipe suggestions or know of another wacky food-related holiday!
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