Celebrating National Oreo Day

March 6 is National Oreo Day! 

For over 100 years the world has enjoyed the Oreo Cookie! In 1912, Nabisco had a new idea for a cookie – two chocolate disks with a creme filling in between. Little did they know that this sweet white cream sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits would become the largest selling cookie of all time.

Did you know Oreos were first created in a New York City bakery with British customers in mind? Today they can be found in more than 100 countries.

It remains a mystery exactly why the cookies are named Oreos. They were initially named “Oreo Biscuits.” But the name changed to the “Oreo Crème Sandwich” in the 1940s and to the “Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie” in the 1970s.

The first Oreo cookie looked very similar to the Oreo cookie of today, with only a slight difference in the design on the chocolate disks, but the ingredients have changed. 

My friend Shinichi Mine loves to eat, travel and cook. You can follow him on adventures through new food discoveries on YouTube as he comes up with unique recipes in his tiny kitchen in Tokyo. Here is his recipe for Oreos!

Festive White Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookies

Oreo cookies covered in decadent white chocolate with sprinkles make everyone happy! Easy to make and yummylicious!

The original Oreo recipe included pork fat for the creamy center!!

In the mid-1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace the lard in the filling with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Starting in 2006, Oreo cookies replaced the trans fat in the cookie with non-hydrogenated vegetable oil. Oreos became Kosher in December 1997.

When they first debuted, there was also a lemon meringue flavor of Oreos, but those were discontinued in the 1920s. 


Do you think this is true?
I've read that women rather than men are more likely to pull their Oreos apart before eating them.

It's easy to order a box of Oreo's Click Here

 Images from Public Domain and Amazon 

Updated 3/15

Remembering Shirley Temple

When I was young, Shirley Temple movies were shown on TV quite often. I loved her movies which were always entertaining and uplifting. One of my favorite of her films was with her friend Bill Robinson who was a fabulous dancer himself. He appeared as a dancing butler in movies with young Shirley Temple.

Click the photo if you would like to purchase Shirley Temple - America's Sweetheart Collection, Vol. 3 (Dimples / The Little Colonel / The Littlest Rebel) (1936) 

In this video Bill "Bojangles" Robinson dances the stairs with a young Shirley Temple
From "The Little Colonel" (1935)

To watch Shirley Temple movies on Amazon click here: 
Hollywood Collection: Shirley Temple Americas Little Darling

Click Here to read more about Shirley Temple famed former child actress.
Click Here  to learn more about Robinson and the song that was written about him.

 

The Day the Music Died

"The Day the Music Died", dubbed so by Don McLean's song "American Pie" refers to the tragic aviation accident that occurred on February 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing rock and roll musicians 22 year old Buddy Holly (Peggy Sue), 17 year old Ritchie Valens (La Bamba), J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (Chantilly Lace), and the pilot Roger Peterson.

Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit “American Pie,”

Ironically, Holly, who influenced such artists as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day,” and his last single was  "It Doesn't Matter Anymore."

"...with each passing decade, the myth of Buddy Holly has grown by substantial degrees." ~Claire Suddath, Time

Buddy Holly's career only lasted a year and a half with only one number one single, yet his influence on early rock 'n' roll is almost unmatched.

"Both John Lennon and George Harrison learned to play guitar in part by listening to Buddy Holly records. The first Rolling Stones' single released in the U.S. was cover of Holly's "Not Fade Away." ~Claire Suddath, Time

Buddy Holly and The Crickets - Peggy Sue - Live on The Arthur Murray Party (29th December, 1957)

Read More
Time: A Brief History of The Day the Music Died
This Day in History 

Edited 2/3/16

Happy St. Brigid's Day to one and all

Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel

Today is the festival of St. Brigid, the beginning of the old Celtic season of Imbolc, or Imbolg (pronounced i-MOLK or i-MOLG ), also called (Saint) Brigid's Day, a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring.

Christians, especially in Ireland, observe February 1 as the feast day of Saint Brigid (of Kildare), one of the patron saints of Ireland.

St. Brigid's Blessing
"Go down on your knees, do homage, and let blessed Brigid enter the house"

May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell.
Bless every fireside, every wall and door.
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof.
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy.
Bless every foot that walks its portals through.
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.

Brigid is also referred to as the "triple goddess of Smithcraft (with Celtic warriors invoking her protection before battle), Healing, and Poetry and the Arts. In folklore St. Brigid became the principal focus of the feast of Imbolc.

 Imbolc - the coming of Spring - the great wheel of the year turns again on February 1st, with the ancient sacred day of the Celtic goddess Brigid - Mother Goddess of Ireland - also called Brigit, Bride, Brighid, and Brigantia. The root of her name means 'bright' or 'exalted', and possibly 'firebrand'." ~Hamish Burgess Celtic Artist

Reference to this holiday is found in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, from the 10th century. It was a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Celebrations often involved hearthfires, special foods, candles or a bonfire if the weather permitted. Fire and purification were an important part of the festival. The lighting of candles and fires represented the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

St.Brigit's Cross

The wickerwork cross,  known as St.Brigit's Cross, has been a popular talisman of St. Brigid since the 17th century and it is widely believed to be a Christian symbol. But its origins lie in much older traditions and folklore. It is thought to have origins in the ancient symbol for the sun.

Many rituals are associated with the making of the crosses. It was traditionally believed that a Brigid's Cross protects the house from fire and evil. It is hung in many Irish kitchens for this purpose.

The cross is usually woven out of rushes and sometimes straw. It consists of a central square surrounded by four arms at right angles and adorns the doors and rafters of Irish homes, usually in the kitchen, warding off fire and evil. Traditionally, before being placed the crosses "would sometimes be blessed with holy water, a ritual with connotations simultaneously Christian and Pagan."

This video will show you how to make your own St. Brigit's Cross:

How will you celebrate?

Happy Saint David's Day For My Welsh Friends
Celtic Calendar Gifts

Celtic Women The Genetic Code 
Irish Celtic Snow Globes Gifts
Celebrating Scotland


Images:
*Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel ( St Davids, Wales ). Stained glass window ( 1934 ) showing Saint Bride ( Brigid of Kildare )
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
*Saint Brigid's cross, made from rushes from County Down by Culnacreann
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Edited 2/1/16

Bowie & Elvis Share The Same Birthday

Bowie and Elvis share January 8 as a birthday, both Capricorn according to western astrology. They, also, are both born in the Year of the Pig in Chinese Astrology.

Chinese Astrology Years of the Pig
1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones January 8, 1947)



Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977)

According to the popular Chinese myth the animal ruling the year in which a person is born tremendously influences his or her behavior and traits.

Pig people are said to possess considerable determination and if they set their minds on something will pursue it and attain it. Good careers for people born in the year of the pig are in music, food, writing, and looking after others.

They are often imbued with the energy of wealth and the support of others. The person born in the Year of the Pig accepts the existing richness of life.

They are said to be tolerant, generous, and peaceful. They are well liked for their honesty and warm nature, which was true of Elvis and I think it is true of Bowie.

Are you a fan of one or both of these men? Do you think these attributes fit them?

Want to read more about Elvis? Check out Elvis The Martial Artist