Coleslaw. You either like it or hate it. Coleslaw started out as a pickled food way back in the 18th century in the Netherlands.
In the days without refrigeration, preparing a food with vinegar was a way of preserving the food.
Over the years, this salad that often comes as a side at a barbeque or fried chicken joint has undergone many changes and probably doesn't resemble the one from the 18th century.
However, cabbage is an excellent vegetable to eat for good health so perhaps finding a recipe utilizing it that you like would be a good thing.
Personally, I like how we make it in the South. Maybe you'll like it too. Yes, it uses buttermilk which seems to be found in many southern recipes so add that to your shopping list and give this a try. This serves a crowd so you might want to cut it in half.
By the way, if this sounds like a lot of sugar, remember it's an ingredient for a dressing over 8 cups of shredded cabbage. You can always decrease the sugar a little at a time to see if it still tasts good with less sugar.
SOUTHERN STYLE COLESLAW
5 tablespoons of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon groound black pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 T. white vinegar
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
8 cups finely shredded cabbage (usually 1 large head)
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
In bowl or large measuring cup, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Beat until well blended.
Shred the cabbage and carrots in a food processor.
Place shredded vegetables in a salad bowl and pour dressing over veggies. Toss well. Cover the salad bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
This is really good coleslaw so I hope you'll try it. Because it uses milk products and mayo, be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.
(1) Let's begin with why February has that name which comes from the Latin word februum meaning purification.
It all has to do with the old Roman calendar which called for a purification ritual called Februa to be held on February 15.
Some historians assert that the purification was all about purging from fever or the sweating that comes from fever or the Latin word febris.
(2) Everyone knows February has 28 days except once every 4 years when it has 29, thus calling the year Leap Year. Did you also know that because of this 28/29 days cycle that once every 6 years, February is the only month to have 4 full 7 day weeks?
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| FREE this weekend |
(4) The Welsh called this month y mis bach, meaning little month.
(5) Native American tribes usually named months based on natural phenomena that occurred during that period of time. The full moon in each month was always significant so months are usually called by their respective names for the full moon.
Some of those tribal names are:
Algonquin called it Snow Moon because of the heavy snowfall that often occurs then.
Cherokee called it Hungry Moon or Bony Moon becuase of the scarcity of food during winter which affected hunting.
Ojiibwe called it Bear Moon because this is when bear cubs are born.
(6) February is the least common birth month, and the rarest day to be born is Leap Day, February 29. The odds of being born on February 29 are about 1 in 1,460. Most people born on this day pick either Feb. 28 or March 1 to celebrate their birthdays, but some choose to celebrate on both days.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I learned a lot. Did you? I say it's time to celebrate February with cake. In fact, I made my cake recipe book FRIDAY IS CAKE DAY, recently revised and updated to today's ebook format. Bake a cake and celebrate February!
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If you ever wondered whether Tubi was worth it, I'm here to tell you it is.
Did you know that Tubi is the most watched free ad-supported television strreaming service in the U.S.?
As of December 2024, Tubi surpassed 100 million monthly active users and 10 billion streaming hours. In May of last year, Tubi had its most-watched month ever—an average of one million viewers every day.
In fact, it consistently outranks Peacock, Max, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ in total viewing time.
WHY IS TUBI WORTH IT?
Sure, it has ads, but so does Amazon Prime, and now so does Netflix which has ads in its basic subscription of $7.99 per month.
If you want ad-free on Netflix, that's $17.99 per month.
Other services, offer a Basic subscription, usually with limited selections, and they all have ads.
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I had searched Google for an answer to that question and received an AI response that the expression could not be attributed to a specific person.
I wasn't satisfied with that because I knew there had to be more to it than that. As Paul Harvey would have said, "Here is the rest of the story."
MUCH MORE TO THE ANSWER
I dived deeper to find information from human sources. A quick perusal of the SERPS showed a response a few years ago from someone on Quora who stated that the phrase originated in 1965 from a man standing around a water cooler at a Dupont plant.
I could find nothing to back up that assertion. The same Quora respondent also said that in 1975 J. J. Cale wrote a song titled Friday, and that the phrase “Wednesday's hump day," was part of the lyrics.
Intrigued, I tried to find that song and found it mentioned in various Google SERPs, but I couldn't find the lyrics or other information. Next, I went to Lyrics.com and searched there.
Apparently, Cale wasn't the only one who used the phrase in a song. In fact, the search engine at Lyrics showed "968 lyrics and 126 artists matching the "hump day" search string.
At that point, I decided I'd wasted enough time on the quest, but I did have fun making a cute graphic I'll use in future Wednesday posts.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Being curious eats up a lot of time that I probably could have used in a better pursuit—like working on my book in progress. Do you ever get distracted like that?
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Guess what? Only through your struggle do you grow stronger. Sure, it would be nice if success just fell into your lap, but that probably isn't going to happen.
Success requires commitment, consistency of effort, hard work, and persisting long after you want to quit. All of that makes you strong and capable.
Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said, "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
So the moral of this story is hardships, struggles, and challenges are stepping stones to emotional strength.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Happy Saturday! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Gulf Coast Texas with a high projected to be 70 degrees F.
I would love to be outside, but I'm working on more book covers today. I've set a deadline for myself—all new book covers by the end of this month.
So I'm cooking easy things like this Spicy Chicken and Rice Casserole for tonight. Actually, this is my adaptation of a recipe from my Mom's generation.
You can use cooked chicken in this or raw chicken breasts. Just adapt the time to reflect cooked chicken.
Also, this recipe calls for Uncle Ben's Wild Rice which includes parboiled long grain white rice. If you want to use plain wild rice instead, add your own spices and adjust the cooking time.
I should point out that now Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice and Wild Rice now sports a label that says "No Artificial Flavors and No Colors from Artificial Sources."
Using Campbell's cream soups has long been part of making casseroles in America. However, not all cream soups are equal. Read the label ingredients. I have found that some house brands at supermarkets tend to use less of what I consider unhealthy ingredients.
Also, many home cooks have cracked the code of what makes a cream soup. I'll publish a post about those recipes eventually.
However, using a canned cream soup once in a while is like having a piece of candy once in a while. It shouldn't greatly impact your health regimen as long as you're not eating it every day.
Spices to add to sauce mixture if using plain wild rice
1 teaspoon dry parsley OR 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon dry minced onion or onion powder OR 1/4 cup small diced onion
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds OR 1/4 cup diced celery
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/4 teaspoon black pepper, sage, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
SPICY CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE (Serves 6 - 8)
Ingredients
6 medium size chicken breasts, washed, patted dry, salted, and browned in olive oil or butter
1 can cream of celery soup or cream of chicken
1 can cream of musroom soup
1/2 can of water
1 seeded and finely diced poblano or jalapeno pepper, optional
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 - 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, seeded (I actually use half a can of Rotel)
1 small box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Mix
(1) Preheaat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 degrees C.) and prepare a rectangular baking dish.
(2) In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix the two soups, water, vegetables, and wild rice mix. If using plain rice, add the spices.
(3) Pour this mixture into the baking dish and arrange the chicken breasts on top.
(4) For raw chicken, bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breast. Use a meat theremometer if uncertain. For cooked, chicken bake 20-30 minutes until rice is done and casserole is heated through.
There is a certain percentage of the population who think a casserole should always be topped with bubbly cheese. If that's your household, feel free to sprinkle the top with grated cheddar cheese and pop it under the broiler before serving.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
That's it for me. I'm headed to the kitchen to throw this family pleaser together. Bon Appétit.
