Food Trivia

The Pequot Indians of Cape Cod called the cranberry ibimi, meaning bitter berry.

Good cranberries bounce!

Honeybees are often used to pollinate cranberry crops, and are in fact more valuable in the performance of this task than they are in the production of honey.

There are 4,400 cranberries in one gallon of cranberry juice.

John Lennon repeated the words Cranberry sauce at the end of the song Strawberry Fields Forever, a fact that Lennon confirmed in a 1980 interview. He stated it was a kind of icing on the cake of the weirdness of song, where anything he might have imagined saying would have been appropriate. (?)

Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti

1/2 C Butter (softened)
1 1/2 C Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 C. Dried Cranberries
1 C White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream margarine and sugar and add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

Mix flour and baking soda and add to sugar mixture. Fold in the chips and the cranberries. Shape into 3 logs, approximately 2" by 12" and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake 30 minutes or until logs are golden. Cool slightly and cut into 1/2 inch slices and put on cookie sheet with the cut side down and bake another 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

The pomegranate is spoken of by Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Pomegranates are said to have 613 seeds, which is the number of mitzvot (commandments of the Torah). According to www.ReligionFacts.com, in the Jewish tradition, the fruit is a symbol of righteousness and often eaten on Rosh Hashanah.

But, according to About.com:

Every pomegranate is composed of exactly 840 seeds, each surrounded by a sac of sweet-tart juice contained by a thin skin. The seeds are compacted in a layer resembling honeycomb around the core. The layers of seeds are separated by paper-thin white membranes which are bitter to the tongue. The inner membranes and rind are not generally eaten due to high tannic acid content, but they are useful as a skin wash.

613, or 840? I don't have the patience to count...

POM BANANA CREPES

Ingredients:
Crepes:

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

1 cup arils from 1-2 large POM Wonderful
Pomegranates
¾ cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon white rum
Sauce:

juice from 3-4 large POM Wonderful
Pomegranates,* or 1½ cups POM Wonderful
100% Pomegranate Juice
%u2154 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup white rum

Directions:
Crepes:

Beat eggs and add remaining crepe ingredients. Heat a nonstick crepe pan or small skillet over medium heat until hot. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan; swirl the pan to spread the batter to the edges. When bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry, flip over and cook until lightly browned on the other side and edges are golden. Remove from pan and repeat process with the remaining batter.Crepes can be stacked between layers of wax paper and refrigerated up to 3 days before using.

Filling:

Score 1-2 fresh pomegranates and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranates under water to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.) Mix mashed bananas with ricotta cheese. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and rum.
Fold in arils, set aside.

Sauce:

Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.* In a saucepan, mix sugar with cornstarch. Add pomegranate juice and rum. Stir to combine. Cook sauce over medium heat and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

To Serve:

Lay crepes on a flat surface and add 2 tablespoons of the filling. Fold over to close and serve seam-side down on a large platter or individual serving plates. Spoon sauce, warm or cold, over the top of each crepe just before serving.

* For 2 cups of juice, cut 4-6 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.

Olive oil has no cholesterol or trans fat, making it one of the healthiest oils on the market.

The olive is a fruit and the only fruit that produces oil.

Extra Virgin olive oil is from the first pressing of the best olives, with an acidity of less than 1%.
Virgin olive oil is from the first pressing of top quality olives, with an acidity of less than 2%
Regular olive oil is a blend of virgin and refined olive oil with an acidity of less than 1% - it lacks the good flavor and complexity of virgin olive oils. Refined oils use chemicals or heat to extract additional oil after the first cold pressing.

Olive trees can live to be 1500 years old!

It takes about 10 pounds of olives to produce 1
quart of olive oil.

CANNELLINI BEANS w/GORGONZOLA AND FRESH SAGE

(This was adapted from Dean and Deluca; one of my favorites)

2 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained
4 ounces mild Gorgonzola cheese, diced or crumbled
1/3 cup minced fresh sage leaves (do not substitute dried sage)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a saucepan, combine the beans, cheese, and sage leaves. Warm gently until the cheese melts, stirring often to prevent scorching. (Can also heat in the microwave.) Stir in the olive oil and serve immediately.

Pumpkin halves were supposedly used as guides for haircuts in colonial New Haven, Connecticut, giving rise to the nickname 'pumpkinhead'.

Morton, Illinois is considered the "Pumpkin Capital" of the world. This self proclaimed pumpkin capital is where you'll find the home of the Libby corporation's pumpkin industry.

The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.

Pumpkin flowers are edible.

Pumpkins have been grown in America for over 5,000 years. They are indigenous to the western hemisphere and were completely unknown in Europe before the time of Columbus.

Pumpkins, gourds, and other varieties of squash are all members of the family Cucurbitacae, which also includes cucumbers, gherkins, and melons.

PUMPKIN DIP

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
15 oz. canned or fresh pumpkin
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Beat cream cheese and pumpkin in large mixer bowl until smooth. Add sugar, cinnamon and ginger; mix thoroughly. Cover; refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with fresh fruit, bite-size cinnamon graham crackers, gingersnap cookies, toasted mini-bagels, toast slices, muffins and/or English muffins.

For a lower-fat version of this recipe, substitute light cream cheese (Neufchâtel) for cream cheese.

The average American eats over 80 pounds of chicken each year.

It is against the law to eat chicken with a fork in Gainesville, Georgia, the 'Chicken Capital of the World.'

The average domestic laying hen lays 255 eggs per year.

Generally, the color of the chicken's earlobe accurately predicts the color of egg the hen will produce. Hens with white earlobes produce white eggs while hens with red earlobes produce brown eggs. Araucana chickens produce the lovely blue eggs, above.

When KFC first translated its advertising slogan "finger lickin' good" into Chinese, it came out as "eat your fingers off."

THAI CHICKEN BITES WITH DIPPING SAUCE

2 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup prepared Thai peanut sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Mix sugar and dry seasonings in a small bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix peanut sauce, coconut milk and broth. Split each breast by cutting in half horizontally. Lightly pound to about a 1/2-inch thickness. Place chicken and oil in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle seasoning mix evenly over chicken breasts.
Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, then add chicken. Cook, turning once, until crusty brown and fully cooked, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest.
Add peanut mixture to empty skillet; cook, stirring constantly to loosen brown bits, until sauce reduces by half, about 2 to 4 minutes. Return to measuring cup. (Chicken and sauce can be made 2 hours ahead; reheat in a warm oven or microwave.)
To serve, cut each breast cutlet into 12 to 15 bite-sized pieces. Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with a little peanut sauce, then sprinkle with peanuts and scallions. Serve immediately with toothpicks and remaining dipping sauce.

Garlic, or Allium sativum, is a perennial plant in the Alliaceae (or lily) family and is closely related to the onion.

There is an all-garlic restaurant in Stockholm Sweden, where they offer a garlic cheesecake.

The longest continuous string of garlic is 123 feet. It is found in Catsfield, England

During the reign of King Tut, fifteen pounds of garlic would buy a healthy male slave. Indeed, when King Tut's tomb was excavated, there were bulbs of garlic found scattered throughout the rooms.

Garlic Caution: Olive oil infused with fresh, raw garlic should not be left at room temperature to cure. While it may produce an awesome flavor, botulism threatens its safety. Garlic infused vinegar, on the other hand, is safe because the high acidic level of vinegar prevents spores of botulinum bacteria from incubating.

GARLIC AIOLI

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large egg (make sure the egg is fresh!)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 turns freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine the garlic, egg, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree. Add the oil in a slow stream and continue to process until the mixture has formed a thick emulsion.

Believed to originate from the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, the first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.

Every part of a watermelon is edible, even the seeds and rinds. In Asia, the seeds are roasted. Rinds are pickled in Russia and the West.

Watermelon is the most popular flavor of Jolly Rancher's Candies.

Japan developed a square watermelon to improve storage.

Cordele, Georgia claims to be the Watermelon Capital of the world.

WATERMELON MARINADE (or baste)

1/2 cup watermelon juice
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

On March 18, 1990 President H.W. Bush had broccoli banned from Air Force One.

Ninety percent of the fresh broccoli sold in the U.S. is grown in the Salinas Valley in California.

The Roman emperor Tiberius' son, Drusus Caesar, so loved broccoli that he ate little else for more than a month and only stopped when his urine turned green!

BROCCOLI SOUP

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 (10 ounce) packages chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
1 potato, peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, and saute onion and garlic until tender. Mix in broccoli, potato, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
With a hand mixer or in a blender, puree the mixture until smooth. Return to the saucepan, and reheat. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

World Cabbage Day is on February 17th.

Although Cabbage is often connected to the Irish, the Celts brought cabbage to Europe from Asia around 600 B.C.

Babe Ruth used to wear a cabbage leaf under his hat during games.

Egyptian pharaohs would eat large quantities of cabbage before a night of drinking,believing that cabbage consumption would allow them to drink more alcoholic beverages and not feel the effects.

The world record for eating cabbage is held by Charles Hardy. He ate 6 pounds 9 ounces in 9 minutes.

BAVARIAN RED CABBAGE

1 large head of red cabbage, washed and coarsely sliced
2 medium onions
--coarsely chopped
6 tart apples, cored & quartered
2 tsp. salt
2 cups hot water
3 TBSP sugar
2/3 cup cider vinegar
6 TBSP bacon grease or butter

Place all ingredients in the Crock-Pot in order listed. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours (High: 3 hours). Stir well before serving.

Hope you got a laugh out of this page, a new recipe idea, or both. I'll come up with some more food trivia soon!

Thanks
mosdiva