Why didn’t anyone tell me that February 18th, was National Wine day!? I completely went the entire day without recognizing it! While there are many National holidays that companies recognize and give their employees the day off, it seems that many of these days go unnoticed by much of the population. For instance, March 28th is “Something on a Stick” day. For 28 years of my life, I have not participated in the grand tradition of all things on a Stick Day!

 

I say we take a stand, today, on February 23, National Banana Bread day, and thank God for all that Banana Bread is, has been, and is yet to come. I like my banana bread with nuts in them. Yum! And my banana bread story involves my sweet grandmother, Layna. I realized as I got older that I needed to spend some time in the kitchen with both of my grandmothers as they are amazing cooks, and the art of southern cooking as I know it came from them. If I didn’t take the opportunity to share recipes and time with them, I may have looked back on it and regretted it. So, my mom’s mom and I were making banana bread at her house and covered in flour.  I loved the mushy bananas and the smell of the bread cooking. There is just something about the smell of fresh baked banana bread…it’s comforting. It’s home. So excited about our masterpiece, we bit into what was surely going to be the most amazing warm bread ever, only to realize that we had left a minor ingredient out…the sugar. Now while I am sweet enough to sweeten up anyone’s life, it apparantly didn’t seep into the bread and sweeten it up any! It was too bitter to eat. But to this day, I can not bake banana bread without thinking of her (and remembering to add sugar) and the time we spent together. I still giggle over our snafu.

 

Check out the link below for a calendar of all National Holidays for food and drink. And next time you need an idea for a party, just whip out this calendar and plan a meal around the food! The meal may only last for the evening, but the memories will last forever.

 

 

Happy Monday!

Amanda