Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 92

National Spaghetti Day

I recall hearing as a child the ol’ commercial that Wednesday is “Prince Spaghetti Day.” I guess it’s appropriate that National Spaghetti Day falls on a Wednesday this year.

So, do it up your way… and listen for “Mama’s” voice echoing down the roadways as she calls, “Anthonyyyy!”

Here’s my way… jazzed up with seafood and mushrooms. And it’s Super Simple! This recipe makes 2 entrée portions or 4 appetizers.

Seafood Spaghetti a la Scrumptious

2 T olive oil

1 lg sweet onion, chopped

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 dozen cleaned mussels or littleneck clams

8 sliced shiitake mushrooms

8 sliced crimini mushrooms

6 oz sliced calamari (frozen is aok)

12 extra-large or jumbo shrimp, de-shelled & de-veined

1 lg can petite diced tomatoes, and juices (or 1½ c diced fresh Roma tomatoes)

½ c chopped fresh basil leaves

½ tsp dried thyme or oregano

Dash of salt (sea or seasoned)

2 c favorite tomato/spaghetti sauce

½ – 1c merlot or other red wine

6 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente

Thinly sliced fresh chives or green onions & shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish

 

Sauté the onion & garlic in the olive oil for 2 min over med heat. Then add the mussels; let cook 2 min before stirring in the mushrooms. Let them cook, stirring once or twice for 4-5 minutes. Then stir in the calamari and shrimp. In 2 min, stir in the tomatoes, seasoning, sauce, wine & cooked spaghetti. Let it all warm through for 2 min, stirring once. Then divide into 2 large bowls, garnish & serve hot.

KISS Tip: You can fancify this by serving it in two medium bread rounds (or 4 smaller ones for appetizer portions). Cut a thin slice off the top of each & pull out the bread to hollow them out. Then warm them in the oven with a nice sprinkling of shredded or grated Parmesan covering the bottom of the inside of each “bowl.” And you can always use just clams or just shrimp. Not into seafood? Simply replace all seafood with meatballs and/or browned ground beef.

Love!

“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

— Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874 – 1936); English writer & philosopher

Celebrations!

Frank, Madison, Ricky, Claire

 

Here’s to hoping that you welcomed in the new year with hope in your heart and friends and/or family in your face! Yeah, Baby!

 

 

Rick, Claire, Angie, Sir Ronald, David “Gerb”

 

 

Thanks to everyone who celebrated at the Green River Tavern!

 

 

Our hosts and friends, Jason Noffsinger & Angie Moss went out of their way to be sure that the full house crowd had a superb time as we hailed our hearty farewells to 2022! Oh, and thanks to Courtney Moss for keeping things perfect at our table! (I know we kept you hopping.)

Vera Soul

 

 

Festive decorations were plentiful and the band, Vera Soul rocked the house down!

 

 

Bill, Angie, Sir Ronald, Cathy

 

What fun we all had… Bill and Angie, Gerb & Angie, Frank & Madison, Ricky & Claire, along with Sir Ronald and me. (How is it that we have so many lovely friends named Angie??!?)

Frank & Madison

Ricky & Claire

Frank & Sleeping Beauty Madison

 

Would someone please let me know why it happens that the youngest one in our group of friends, a lass still in her 20s, manages to be the first one asleep on New Year’s Eve? (It’s perfectly okay Sleeping Beauty! We’re just wishing we knew your secret.)

 

 

And, as is appropriate for a devoted foodie… I enjoyed one final slice of a devilishly decadent, deliciously dense & moist, multi-layer chocolate cake. Someone said, “Calories we eat on New Year’s Eve don’t count!” Okay, okay… I don’t know that somebody actually said that, but I’m going with it anyway.

Happy New Year! And thank you most sincerely to everyone for a tremendously memorable 2022.

Happy New Year 2023!

 

May your days be filled with good health, laugh-out-loud humor, and more happiness than harm.

National Champagne Day

Once upon a time it was decreed that to be called “champagne” a sparkling white wine had to come from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. Everything else was simply sparkling wine. Really? Well, that was before the mid-19th Century blight that wiped out so many of the vineyards in France that they had to be reconstituted using vine stock from California and other places in the U.S.

So, whether you like French champagne, or tend to drink bubbly known as espumante, cava, afrodi, or prosecco, enjoy your bubbly today! It is New Year’s Eve, after all. Make your tastebuds happy and ignore any wine snob who does not appreciate your options.

Straight up of mixed with peach puree, or orange juice, or another beverage of choice, today is the day to enjoy bubbly.

Back in 2014, I released the paperback version of my book “Champagne: Facts, Fizz, Food & Fun.” It’s filled with FACTS that turn champagne secrets into super simple tips to make you shine. And I added some FIZZ with dozens of sparkling beverage ABCs… and beautiful bubbly concoctions to whet your whistle with style.

Naturally, there’s FOOD with dozens of yummy recipes that are perfect to serve with champagne for occasions from brunch to holiday parties. The book features recipes for delightful dips, fabulous fruits, sensational seafood, mouthwatering meats, and much more!

I finished it off with lots of FUN via champagne quotes that range from historical to hysterical, along with plenty of decadent and delicious champagne pairings.

Snag a copy wherever you like to buy books… or simply download one in a digital format from Amazon.

“If life brings you troubles, drink some champagne. Then your problems will just become bubbles.”

— Unknown

Dec 30th = National Bacon Day!

No shockeroo here… I like bacon. It’s tough to think of foods that are not improved by the smoky, salty, sinful sensuousness of freshly fried bacon!

Instead of a recipe for this special day, I thought a technique might be fun. If you haven’t done this before, I do suggest a Bacon Weave for your next burger or BLT.

 

Cut the slices of bacon in half, crosswise. Weave 6 pieces, as if creating a mat or a lattice crust, but do not leave spaces between them.

 

Simply fry it up as one unit, turning the entire weave over with a wide spatula. Drain on paper towels and serve atop anything you want!

 

 

Yes, you can make these ahead of time. They refrigerate and freeze beautifully. And, quite frankly, if you do not put extras into the freezer right away, they are highly likely to vanish… rather rapidly… as snacks!

Encourage Hope to Blossom

 

“Whatever enlarges hope will also exalt courage.”

— Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) English writer

May 2023 be all that you hope and need it to be.

(Photo by Gabriel Lamza)

National Pledge of Allegiance Day

Photo by Samuel Branch

On January 14, 1969, comedian Red Skelton shifted gears on his popular TV show. He recited the Pledge of Allegiance and added the meaning of words and phrases as he did so. His presentation warmed the hearts of millions of Americans then, and it remains popular on YouTube even today.

The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. Several variations were used nationwide. On June 22, 1942, six months after the U.S. entered World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the U.S. Flag Code, and a standardized version was finally recognized.

Then on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill that inserted the phrase, “under God” in the United States Pledge of Allegiance. Two years later, “In God We Trust” became the United States’ official motto.

I recognize that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school is a past relic… along with learning cursive or how to read a non-digital clockface. (Not all that we may deem as progress involves forward motion.)

We remain a very young nation… one with many strengths and many frailties. (We humans tend to remain dreadfully slow to evolve.)

As life flies past on a daily basis, we do not often stop to realize how much (and also how little) has happened during our brief tenure on this dear planet. I try to take each little reminder to heart and count my blessings.

http://goodliving123.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Red-Skeltons-Pledge-of-Allegiance.mp4

Resolution Time

More plotting, planning, and well-intentioned promises are made at the end of December than during any other time of the year. And the number one New Year’s Resolution comes as no surprise.

Diet. Yup. We vow to lose weight, get in better shape, and live healthier lives. Wellllll, on one hand, I agree with that. On the other hand, I can accept that I am in shape, because round is a shape.

Whatever we may or may not resolve, let’s check in and see how we’re doing on February 1st.

“Probably nothing in the world arouses more false hopes than the first four hours of a diet.”

— Dan Bennett

American comedian & juggler

This Is National Thank You Note Day!

I take this occasion to say thank you to YOU! All my dear friends, family, and ohana (friends that have become family) mean more to me than all the riches on earth. I do not say it often enough, but I appreciate you. I respect you. I am utterly grateful for your presence in my life.

With love and deepest blessings, I say, “Thank you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for letting me share this little corner of Life together!”