#National Homemade Soup Day

[rabbitcruiser]

National Homemade Soup Day

When the cold winter winds are blowing and snow is rapidly falling, nothing takes the chill away like a bowl of homemade soup! It might seem that making a pot of simmering heaven would require a person to be highly skilled in the kitchen and have a great deal of extra time. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth!

If making homemade soup has always seemed like an intimidating task, just know that it doesn’t have to be. Plus, it’s a great way to feed a large group of people without a lot of fuss. With some clever short cuts and easy, beginner-friendly recipes (happily found all over the internet), it’s entirely feasible to impress family and friends alike with a wonderful creation to celebrate National Homemade Soup Day!

History of National Homemade Soup Day

Soup has been warming the stomachs of the masses for nearly 9000 years, so it’s about time there was a day devoted to it!

One of the smartest choices of the creators of National Homemade Soup Day is that they put it right smack-dab in the middle of winter (at least for people in many places). Since February can be one of the coldest and darkest months of the year, it’s the perfect time to try a hand at creating the perfect homemade soup.

But for people who live in a place where the day doesn’t fall in winter–don’t despair! Homemade cold soups are a tasty option for those celebrating in a warmer climate. Whether with a Gazpacho (cold tomato soup) or cucumber soup, this day can be enjoyed–cold or hot–in any part of the world!

How to Celebrate National Homemade Soup Day

While this day does not discriminate between flavors of soup, it does offer an occasion to celebrate. So it’s time to do more than just open that can of boring, bland, soup! This is a day that is all about celebrating a fresh, healthy pot of homemade soup!

Consider a few different ways to make National Homemade Soup Day a little more special:

Try a New Recipe

Celebrating soup sounds simple – just pour a bowl and start eating, right? Well, that is part of it but not all of it. If you are new to creating culinary masterpieces you can use this day as a motivation to try something different. Make some chicken soup, or tomato, or maybe something more adventurous. That is what today is all about, so experiment and try something new.

Invite Friends and Family to Join In

Already a kitchen wizard? Use this special day to gather up some friends and have a tasting of several different homemade soups.

Or have each person bring one ingredient that can be added into the pot! While waiting for the soup to simmer, read out loud a version of the favorite children’s book, Stone Soup.

Better yet have a cook off! Each friend shows up with their own homemade masterpiece and have a lively night of fun to see whose soup is crowned the winner. The great news is that, really, everyone wins because they get to enjoy all of the deliciousness and comfort that homemade soup has to offer.

Recreate a Copycat Recipe

Sometimes a favorite dish at a restaurant turns out even better when making it at home! Many recipes for famous soups from restaurant chains are now available online to be recreated in a person’s own.

Try making these yummy copycat soup recipes that can be easily found online:

Zuppa Toscana by Olive Garden. Famous for its pairing with soft breadsticks, this twist on an Italian favorite is packed with yummy goodness. A chicken stock base with sausage, kale, and red pepper flakes provide a zesty array of flavors.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup by O’Charley’s. Packed with flavor (and also quite a few carbs!) this soup is sure to please with its cheesy potato base and bacon garnish. Like most soups, this one is tasty when served with buttery bread rolls.

Cullen Skink from Ubiquitous Chip. This soup is named after Cullen, a small fishing town in the northeast of Scotland. One of Glasgow’s favorite restaurants, Ubiquitous Chip, features this comforting treat made from smoked haddock, potato, onion, and spices.

Read a Chicken Soup for the Soul Book

Since homemade soup takes a little bit of time to simmer on the stove, it’s great to have something to do while waiting. So what could be better than reading some short stories from the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies?!

The books were compiled by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, but the stories themselves were written by people all over the world. Some authors are famous while others are simply average people with extraordinary or entertaining stories to share that bring comfort to the soul.

Source

[dallasgallant]

Time period post: 1960s Thanksgiving

Going to make some time period stuff for holidays as they pop up as it’s fun to look into and I knew a few people are like me time period wise and want to look into it. I also make posts like this on request so if there’s something you want to know about let me know! Anyways,

Homemade-

Now, while people did bake and cook their food largely from scratch back in the day it’d be dishonest not to point out that post ww2 saw a rise in premade. Not entirely but canned soups, box mixes, jello and ingredient stuffs etc. However, for the large part people did cook on their own at least certain recipes. Now Oklahoma is a sort of middle ground to where it’s “located” so …. Cornbread or rolls on the thanksgiving table? Answer me that lol.

I mentioned this in a food post before but a lot of new recipes were coming out during this time with the rise in product availability, surviving the war and well a lot of drugs. Some of it is stunt marketing or to look nice at parties, others become stables! Green bean casserole which is a staple on thanksgiving in a lot of homes would’ve still been a novelty, new and exciting as it’d only been made in 1955!

Tradition-

Thanksgiving is perhaps the most tradition heavy holiday, especially in the 1960s at its peak. Your family started doing it this way X years ago and it will stay that way.

Who carves the turkey (maybe with one of those new electronic serving knives), who does the wishbone, who’s helping mom and grandma in the kitchen?

Kids tables, arts and crafts, playing some pre dinner football, dinner at 3 etc.

Macys thanksgiving day parade! It’s been around since the 1920s but was first nationally televised in 1947.

Football games, if your teams playing.

Everyone’s different but I’m rattling off a few as they’re prevalent ones.

Home for the holidays-

Just figured this one out/was told it but the “holiday season” was more of a defined thing back in the day. Relatives visiting would sometimes go from Thanksgiving-new years — if someone was hosting all the way through anyway. As sometimes it’s split between houses.

A tradition that springs from this is Putting up the Christmas tree! This was surprising to learn about but back in the day (and some families today) you’d put it up after dinner, with the usual fanfare and family help as it’s a hectic time of year so having it up and family around is a good deal.

Formality-

Sort of a hold over from the 1940s where you’d dress up just to eat dinner(usually middle-upper class) you dress up nice for holidays even if you’re staying home with family all day. Not black tie or anything but you dress nice. This has begun to totally dissolve in the last 10 years or so.

Usually you’ll get the nice china and actual silverware, table decor is HUGE.

Dinner is usually both cooked all day but also eaten early usually 3-4 but like traditions it greatly depends on the family.

Going out and class-

I thought about this a bit as the gang are poor so I’d wanted to take that into consideration on how it could affect holidays. Sometimes I think they’d fully cook a meal, not nearly as massive as a soc or fancy placement and china (as Soc’s are rich rich.) but quaint and nice.

Sometimes I think they’d go out to eat such as:

(Seriously I cannot overemphasize how huge Howard Johnson’s were in the 60s and it could probably be a post itself)

Where you can get a nice ‘traditional’ holiday dinner for cheap that also works well when you have to work etc. There was also generally a trend of “resteraunting” (?) among more middle class families for thanksgiving, occasionally and it depends on who you are - most people would go the more traditional route.

Leftovers! Again time of ‘let’s try shit’ while new staples were being added to the thanksgiving meal so were how to deal with leftovers.

Story of thanksgiving-

Slight bit more of a focus on the Thanks giving part of the holiday, being thankful for friends, family, good fortune etc. Maybe you’d tell the myth of it to kids or have some sort of tradition of saying what you’re thankful for or do something symbolic.

Though I think in the 60s (even the decades prior) there was more of a shift towards it being the “food and football” holiday even then! As it’d already far secularized as a holiday and was just a nice warm, comforting time of year and time with family etc. you’d remember snuggling with grandpa on the couch for a nap far more than some old story told before you can eat, you know?

[a-forbidden-detective]

A day in a life of RonToto: Vienna

One of the fountains of Strudlhofstiege; the palace garden park; the National Bank’s heavy door; and the historical lamppost.

Yesterday Ron and I took a walk around the AirBnB we rented in the city of Vienna. We visited the National Bank as Ron had a client there. A big shot old European aristocrat. It has to do with a person. A renowned stage actor to be exact. Ron told me to keep quiet now. So I’ll keep my mouth shut. Anyway, we visited a palace with a beautiful garden and a flight of stairs that was supposed to be one of the most beautiful of all in the city. A tip: Sigmund Freud used to live in this district and had his first consultation office here too. It is now a museum and they even preserved the couch his clients used to lie on. The birthplace of psychoanalysis.

That same day, the old aristocrat invited us for a dinner. This restaurant, Plachutta, serves traditional Viennese cuisine. He urged me to order Tafelspitz. It was so good! But the portion was probably good for two people. It was soup and main course in one. The fried potato strips were so delicious. And the soup with tender beef and bone marrow were to die for. My Japanese palate is not used to this serving. The homemade apple sauce and garlic cream were a good choice. I even had sautéed spinach. Ron had Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad and beer.

He urged me to order a Nachspeise, German word for dessert, but I was too full.

Anyway, there are a couple of Asian stores here too. To my delight one of them sells 🍡 so Ron and I grabbed one pack and we might eat them tonight.

So there you go. If Ron would let me I might talk about the case of the old aristocrat in the coming days or so.

Ah, summer in Vienna is sometimes unbearable.

[scorchieart]

Happy, Wholesome Yves Headcanons

Because my week was full of baking sweets and pretty pink flowers, you all deserve some wholesome Evie vibes as well 🌸🌸🌸

Ask any prince to rank his favorite brothers and Yves will consistently appear in the top 3.

Tell Yves this and he’ll turn pinker than his freshly-baked peach berry pie.

Yves started a personal vegetable garden in the palace when he was first learning to cook so that he could have extra ingredients in case his recipes flop. They rarely flop. So he distributes most of his crop among families in his territory.

The palace cats patrol the garden and scare off thieving vermin.

Once, Licht couldn’t attend Yves’s tea party because of a conflict with his training schedule, so Nokto stepped in pretending to be him. Yves immediately figured out the switch, but didn’t mention anything.

Whenever any of the princes falls ill, Yves makes his specialty chicken soup and personally delivers it. His faction members have his nagging “I’m not leaving until you finish the entire bowl!” speech memorized, but Yves typically leaves the tray with a get-well letter and a knock at Chevalier and Clavis’s doors.

Whenever Yves falls ill, Sariel and Licht take turns standing guard at his door to make sure no undesirable pranksters decide to strike. 

There are never any incidents. But the others pitch in to make or purchase Yves’s favorite sweets and stop by to check on him.

When Luke first arrived at the palace, Yves hoped to impress him with homemade honey treats. It only took two days to win him over completely. Two more days and the town was entirely out of honey.

Even though he isn’t a fan of the cold, Yves never misses the first snowfall of the season. He curls up by the window with a thick blanket, a large pot of tea, and a warm crumble cake and watches children pulling their parents into the streets to play in the fresh snow. 

Growing up, Yves used to give apprentice and trainee cooks and tailors advice discretely from behind curtains and columns. Nowadays, artists and specialists travel from across the continent to seek guidance and approval at the hand of the fifth prince.

Requests from these visitors became so numerous that Yves fell behind on his official duties. To control demand, the first of May was designated a national festival for anyone to display their talents, from cooking and fashion to art and music, and Yves would spend the day meeting with each participant and giving reviews and feedback. 

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If you would like to be added or removed from my tag list, please send me an ask or a message.

[mekachu04]

Read on A03 or below the cut.

At 13, it was quickly becoming clear that Kidd Eustass was going to live up to that wild 'firey' stereotype that seemed to haunt all red-heads. To begin with, at that age most boys growing up tucked away in the county's back country run wild, hellions by their own rights. Freshly turned teens running amok as they start to try and define themselves as their own people for the first time - testing the rules and how far they can push the limits. Shooting road signs, vandalizing old derelict barns, joyriding tractors on the paved roads. Harassing the big bosses' herds, messing with the tourists at the dude ranch, terrorizing the local dogs in the middle of the night. Get a few of them running together, and stuff starts to get stolen or broken or blown up.... and then there's the wild parties in the national forest. Every kid goes though it, and Captain Smoker's biggest headache is when to look away as part of teenage growing pains, and when to start cracking down before someone gets hurt. Kidd Eustass was quickly running down the docket - ticking off each offense like it was his personal to-do list and he wanted to be the first to do them all before he even hit high school.

Smoker had warned Brichtrede Eustass that Kidd was spending too much time with the older boys and needed friends his own age. They were a bad influence on him - the local degenerates. Two of them already dropped out of high school, and Smoker didn't have high hopes that Killer was going anywhere with his life either. Too much weed, too much rock music, too much leather and chains and piercings. Too city. Too.... different. Weird. Too.. close. Heat & Wire were attached at the hip these days, never one without the other. And since Victoria left, Killer was never far behind the two. Kidd had admitted to her that Killer wasn't on the bus home most days and he didn't think he was going to classes much anymore.

Most recently, the boys had the brilliant idea of using a homemade potato gun made out of soup cans to shoot down a wasp nest in Heat's back yard, leading to Killer bringing her boy home covered in stings. Killer had not fared much better, and she'd ordered the two boys inside to wash before covering the both of them in calamine lotion. She'd tried not to smile as the two talked over were they'd gone wrong, and how to built a better potato gun next time - like that had been the problem and not the fact they were using it on a venomous flying insect that lived in a hive of hundreds of other venomous flying insects.

Brichtrede had to put her foot down last year with the boys, Killer specifically. She'd known Wire, Heat & Killer longer than her own current husband by this point, and the boys had been there for Kidd nearly his whole life in ways she couldn't. Despite the age gap between them, Killer had become her son's best friend before Kidd could even read. Last year's debacle had shown her while Killer could be trusted to make sure the any trouble her son got involved in didn't end up on his permanent record, he didn't however understand how serious the danger he and the others had put themselves and her son in was to begin with. There was teenage shenanigans, and then there was behavior that would get someone killed.

She would prefer some parental supervision when the boys got into anything involving fire, but she would take it any day over the night she'd picked Killer up from the Sheriff's office after he'd been caught drinking in the park; with the intention of driving her son home afterward. She'd told him in no uncertain terms that it was his one free pass and he would not be getting another one. Killer had make a clear effort after that to be better behaved with Kidd around. He was still a wild child - his father completely checked out as a parent over a decade ago, and now seem to exist as a task assigner and little more - but she knew there was a boy in there just trying his best with no idea how to do that.

Honestly, between the four of them, Killer probably was the only one with any impulse control, and even then it only seemed to pop up when Kidd was involved. And in turn, her son knew just what buttons to push to override that when he wanted to. Thankfully, he was still young enough Brichtrede wasn't too worried just yet.

She was watching them tinker under the hood of Killer's truck, mulling that over. Kidd seemed to be ready to crawl right in while Killer was either content to watch or was actively egging him on; she wasn't sure from here.

"Babe?" She called to her husband from where she watched from his workshop window. He was tinkering himself, and came over to peek out and watch the two boys.

"What is he up too?" her husband muttered, trying to see what Kidd was messing with.

"Please go make sure whatever 'adjustments' our son is making doesn't get our boys blown up later, hmm?"

[skaruresonic]

Skarù·ręʔ food

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kanęhúʔčhęʔ = Cornbread, made of Indian white corn (kanęhakè·ra·t) that has been dried, ground up, boiled, and molded into a loaf (alongside kidney beans).

All Haudenosaunee nations make cornbread, but it's more common around special events and holidays, as making it takes a ton of work and time.

The different nations have different ways of making cornbread. Kanyęʔkyehá·kaʔ (Mohawk) people tend to grind the corn until it's a very fine uniform texture and then pack it tightly into small balls, whereas we leave some kernels unground in order to make the texture more porous and able to retain water.

---

urà·neh = corn soup

Soup made of boiled white Indian corn, kidney beans and salt pork. Again, different nations make it differently. Mohawks add vegetables to theirs while we just leave it at the aforementioned three ingredients.

Urà·neh is... well, I won’t say it’s "easier" to make than kanęhúʔčhęʔ, but it’s more common to see because it's a little less time-intensive to make.

There are also different variations on urà·neh, such as roasted corn soup, where the kernels are roasted instead of boiled soft.

---

kataʔnaręhrá·heʔ = frybread. Also sometimes referred to as "scones." Water, flour, and baking soda rolled into dough and fried in oil.

Some don't consider this a traditional food, but nevertheless, it's what our grandmothers made during times of hardship and there were no other ingredients on hand.

The typical problems people encounter when making frybread are either making the dough too hard (not enough water) or not frying it thoroughly enough. My mom taught me that you'll know if the oil is hot enough if you stick the end of a wooden spoon into the pan and see bubbles form around it.

Frybread takes different toppings; butter, salt pork, jam, powdered sugar, or made into a taco.

---

ękwehę̀·wę thá·kuʔ = Indian taco

Taco ingredients heaped on top of frybread.

---

strawberry drink

A ceremonial drink of strawberry slices in water. Strawberries are medicine as well as the leader of the fruit.

Wáʔkayęʔ nará·kuʔ haʔ wí·sę·t akatáhčiʔ (haʔ úhyehkę́·ʔhaʔnęʔ) = "the strawberry was chosen to be the leader (of the fruit)"

---

sassafras tea

A cold tea made from sassafras roots. It's said to be good for summer because it thins your blood.

---

nú·ʔyaʔ = New Year’s treats

Nú·ʔyaʔ is basically like Halloween on New Year's Day, except we go around our neighbors' houses shouting "Nú·ʔyaʔ!" for baked treats. Just like with Halloween, you never know what you’re going to get, so you plan your route accordingly lol. You can also ask to take an extra treat for the driver.

Most treats are homemade, but some people put out storebought stuff like učáʔreh (donuts). Or like apples and juice boxes lol.

---

uwì·reh = (literal: "baby") special New Year’s treats (more traditionally: a gingerbread man)

I don’t know how true this is, but I was told as a child that on New Year's Day, you become part of your father's clan - normally you'd be considered your mother's clan because we are matrilineal - just for that day and can ask members of your father's clan for uwì·reh.

Traditionally, uwì·reh are gingerbread men, but these days people bake pie for uwì·reh, usually apple.

It also used to be customary for the giver of uwì·reh to snap the head off if the person who requested it was "voiceless," or had parents from the same clan (since it's incest).

[theprofessionalpromptmaker]

National Homemade Soup Day & Torture Abolition Day

Person A is a chef who works in a prison and is always getting bribes to send specific prisoners meals prepped by family. But Person A always refuses, because their job is important to them since their family member/friend is in the prison and has intense dietary restrictions because of genetics/poor physical health/etc. And this way, Person A can make sure they get food they can actually eat, so they can survive long enough to finish their sentence. Person B is a new chef who likes to mess with the food in order to cause sickness in prisoners, because they have a vendetta due to past experiences against all criminals, and the two end up morally clashing to such a degree that makes their higher-ups start to debate firing one of them.

[soup-soup-soup-soup-soup]

SOUP-ER BOWL ROUND 8

NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA, ADVOCATED FOR THE POSITION OF USA NATIONAL BIRD BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, THESE GOBBLERS END UP BEING GOBBLED IN THIS SOUP--IT'S TURKEEEEY SOUP!

(recipe + image credit: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-turkey-soup/)

AND FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD IN JAPAN, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS DISHES OUT THERE--IT CAN BE COOKED FOR DAYS OR IN MINUTES--SPRINGY NOODLES, THICK BROTH, AND IRRESISTIBLE TOPPINGS--PEOPLE SAY AMEN FOR THE CREATION OF RAMEN!!

(recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WXIrnWsaCo

image credit: hennieskitchen.com)

[lunarcovehq]

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.

THE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL - SPRING EVENT

The blossoms are blooming and, with the start of Spring, Town Hall has decided to put on Lunar Cove’s very first Blossom Festival. The event will kick off on Friday, April 14th, strategically occurring outside of any National Holiday given how the Catalyst has a tendency to attack on them and plenty of security measures are being put into place to ensure the event kicks off without a hitch. But, we need your help!

CALLING ALL PLAYERS 

We will be having two different discord “chatzy style” IC parties as part of this event, so if you can vote in the Event Channel as to which days work best for you for both of them that would be great!

For the first discord event/plot drop, we will be having a Basket Auction which we need volunteers for! During this Discord event, characters will either submit baskets anonymously to be bid on or they can choose to wait until the Discord Event to compete in an all out bidding war in an attempt to win the basket/outing of their desires. We would love to have AT LEAST 19 CHARACTERS submit baskets so that everyone will have a chance to participate in a basket outing.

We hope this event will be a fun way to throw characters together who otherwise might not have interacting with one another, help spark some muse and be a fun and festive celebration of Spring. So, although it is completely optional as to whether you submit a basket or not, the charity auction and the pairing portion of this event will be mandatory. Also, IF YOU PLAY MULTIPLE CHARACTERS, at least ONE must submit a basket, and hopefully it will be a lot fun!

BASKET SUBMISSIONS

If you would like your character to submit a basket, please send a message to the main with which character will be participating and a short description of what the basket will include (examples of basket submissions can be found below). We will explain how voting works during the Discord Event, but the biding is half the fun, so if your basket is not chosen to be auctioned off, have no fear! There will still be plenty for you and your character to do when it comes down to the bidding wars. The basket submission form is as follows-

Name of Character:

Basket/Outing Description:

Accompanying Image (Optional):

BASKET DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

A woven basket is filled with two vanilla milkshakes, fries, a Caesar salad, two cheese burgers and a homemade apple pie. On top sits a single red rose and a small radio with the song “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer playing the the background.

Oh bidder, bidder, wherefore art thou bidder? That’s right. This date is a Shakespeare-themed extravaganza. From starting the date off with a gift basket with your own wheel of gouda straight out of She’s the Man to going on a paddleboat and playing paint ball like in 10 Things I Hate About You, be prepared for cheesy puns and goofy costumes. The evening will conclude at a nearby pub for a Drunk Shakespeare reenactment.

A cardboard box sits taped together. Inside is a dented can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, a cup of microwavable Easy Mac, a Twinkie and some other miscellaneous objects that were haphazardly thrown together such as a pack of batteries, some used birthday candles and a slinky that seems as if they came straight out of a junk drawn in someone’s house.

[sfarticles]

Soup brings comfort in a bowl

Check out my latest column https://www.timesherald.com/2025/01/08/soup-brings-comfort-in-a-bowl/

From pho, borscht and mulligatawny to matzo ball, minestrone and avgolemono, there’s a soup tied to many cultures. These recipes are typically based upon the country’s available ingredients, geography and climate.

For example, beets are the main ingredient in borscht, a popular Eastern European soup. Beets are plentiful in places like Ukraine since the colder weather is conducive to growing the vegetable.

Here in the United States, many regions have a soup attached to them. Think gumbo (New Orleans), clam chowder (New England), Manhattan clam chowder (New York City) and pepper pot (Philadelphia).

The versatility, ease of preparation and the fact that it’s comfort in a bowl make soup a favorite, especially as we enter the colder months.

Did you know that in 1984, Campbell Soup Co. (you know, those iconic red and white cans) designated January as National Soup Month.

Making soup is an ideal way to use up leftovers such as vegetables, pasta, fresh herbs and proteins. Home cooks usually have a few soups in their repertoire, quite often ones that mom or grandma handed down, that bring back warm memories of days gone by.

For me it’s my grandmother’s trifecta of matzo ball, mushroom and barley and split pea. To this day, they are in my repertoire; her borscht, well, it’s not.

For those with little time on their hands, soup is the perfect meal served along with a freshly baked loaf of bread.

As the seasons change, soup ingredients and variety follow suit. Soups become lighter and are served cold or warm, with seasonal vegetables, etc.

Perfect for a hot summer day are gazpacho, icy watermelon soup or vichyssoise.

Soup is most often thought of as an appetizer or entrée. Most don’t think of it as a dessert. The cookbook featured below has two dozen soups to serve as a sweet ending to a meal. Strawberry soup with crème anglaise swirl or a spin on traditional peach melba (peach melba soup) with raspberry swirl and almond biscotti are two on my list to prepare when warmer weather arrives.

The Specialty Food Association said, “Unlike TikTok food trends, soup has staying power, and never really goes out of style.”

For me, soup cookbooks, don’t go out of style.

A recent addition to my collection is “300 Sensational Soups” by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds (2024, Robert Rose Inc., $24.95)

The title begins with stocks, the base of most soups.

The authors’ write: “In a perfect world, everyone would make soup with homemade stock. Stock made from scratch, with quality ingredients, can elevate a soup from simple to sublime. And the good news is, stocks are much easier to make than most home cooks think.”

When time is of the essence, it is suggested to purchase quality stocks and broth. Recipes for a variety of stocks are provided. From there, the chapters include vegetable, bean, cheese, meat lover, chicken and turkey, fish, chowders and chilled and dessert soups.

For those who enjoy exploring a world of soups, you’re covered with 50 soup recipes from around the world.

The all-encompassing book’s last chapter is called “Gilding the Lily: Toppings and garnishes.” Here you’ll find recipes for fried sage leaves, bacon croutons and fluffy dumpling batter among many others.

The authors said they think almost every soup benefits from a garnish. Each recipe has an interesting headnote and helpful tips. Some recipes provide a variation using a swap out ingredient.

Soup is one dish that can easily be reinvented. Take a recipe and experiment with different flavors and textures. It is easy to make a recipe gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan.

The authors said: “Soup is not just another meal — it’s comfort in a bowl, love on a spoon, satisfaction simmering on the stove. And all this goodness comes together so easily.”

So, get out that big soup pot and start out with these recipes from the book.

For the recipe for Arugula Soup With Salmon and Roasted Grape Tomatoes, visit bit.ly/40bEnB1.

And remember this quote from Marge Kennedy: “Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor.”

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup With Cilantro Cream

The headnote says: “Roasting the peppers gives this lovely golden soup a vibrant flavor. The green Cilantro Cream on top makes it as pretty as a picture.”

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons  unsalted butter

2  cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

½ teaspoon  dried thyme

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6  roasted yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped

5 cups chicken stock

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cilantro Cream (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add garlic, shallots, thyme, salt and pepper; sauté until shallots are softened, about 6 minutes. Add yellow peppers and stock;cover and simmer until peppers are very soft, 12 to 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, or in a food processor or blender in batches, purée soup until smooth, thinning with a little more stock, if necessary. Return to the pot, if necessary, and add lemon juice to taste. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Ladle into heated bowls and top each with a dollop of cilantro cream.

Tip: If not using homemade chicken stock, be sure to purchase a low-sodium brand.

Cilantro Cream

Makes about 1 ¼ cups, enough to garnish 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 cup packed fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Pinch of salt

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine jalapeno, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice and salt.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Coconut Curry and Shrimp Soup

The headnote says: “Thai red curry paste, which you can find in the Asian section of most grocery stores, is one of our favorite add-ins when we want to kick up the flavor in a soup. Here, we’ve used it to lend a punch to this rich and creamy coconut milk–based soup. Mushrooms and shrimp make it a meal, but it’s the wonderful balance of spicy, sweet and a little sour that keeps us coming back for more.”

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

2 ½ tablespoons  granulated sugar

2 ½  tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)

1 ½ teaspoons Thai red curry paste

2  cans (each 14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1⁄3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Whole fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

In a large pot, bring stock, sugar, fish sauce and curry paste to a boil over medium heat; boil for 1 minute. Add coconut milk and return to a boil. Add mushrooms, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice.

Ladle into heated bowls and garnish with whole cilantro leaves.

Succotash Sausage Soup

The headnote says: “Succotash is a favorite late-summer side dish. In this creamy soup, we’ve made it a meal by adding hearty kielbasa sausage.”

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

¼ cup  unsalted butter

1 pound kielbasa sausage, cut into thin half-moons

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed

½  teaspoon  salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1  can (14 ounces) cream-style corn

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen white corn kernels, thawed if frozen

½ cup whipping cream

Fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

In a large, heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add sausage, leeks, garlic and red pepper; sauté until vegetables are softened and sausage is browned, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and thyme; sauté for 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk in stock. Add lima beans, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lima beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Add cream-style corn and corn kernels; simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Reheat until steaming, stirring often. Do not let boil.

Ladle into heated bowls and garnish each with a few thyme leaves.

Tip: To trim leeks, cut off and discard the root end and the dark green tops (or save the tops for stock). Cut leeks lengthwise and wash under running water to remove any grit or dirt. Then cut as directed in the recipe.

Recipes and images courtesy of .....

(2024, Robert Rose Inc., $24.95)

Photos: (Colin Erricson)

Stephen Fries is professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 17 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, and three-day culinary adventures around the U.S. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Email him at Stephen@stephenfries.com. For more, go to stephenfries.com.

[im-becoming-me]

Day #5

A national holiday where I live so I got more time for me!

Weight: 73.7kg

Food:

Breakfast - toast with peanut butter, half a banana and honey

Lunch - homemade carbonara 😋

Snack - toast with peanut butter and chocolate chips

Dinner - tomato zucchini soup with some cottage cheese

Hydration: 0.5L water x3 + 0.3L tea

Movement: 27.5 minutes walk and 7.5 minutes run (I know it might not be much for other people but I don’t remember the last time I was able to run for continuous 7 minutes so im ao proud and happy!)

Self care: journaled and watched some Gilmore girls 🍁

Productivity: finished editing chapter 7 and fully edited chapter 8📖 and prepped for a job interview I have tomorrow 🤓

Read: before the coffee gets cold, I’m now over the 50% mark! And I need to get it going because I’ve got the book club meeting in like 2 days

I’m proud of… myself for running 7.5 minutes 💪🏼 and for not ordering some sweets from uber eats when I really wanted to

My strategy when it comes to ordering food now (I was ordering wayyyy too much) is to try and delay it for a day. And if the next day I still want it it’s super fine, but at least I’ve delayed it and if I delay everything then over the course of like a year or whatever I’ve eaten less! I’ll let you know how this is going

I’m grateful for… nice call with my mum (as usual 🥰) and some nice weather!

[rabbitcruiser]

National Homemade Soup Day

When the cold winter winds are blowing and snow is rapidly falling, nothing takes the chill away like a bowl of homemade soup! It might seem that making a pot of simmering heaven would require a person to be highly skilled in the kitchen and have a great deal of extra time. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth!

If making homemade soup has always seemed like an intimidating task, just know that it doesn’t have to be. Plus, it’s a great way to feed a large group of people without a lot of fuss. With some clever short cuts and easy, beginner-friendly recipes (happily found all over the internet), it’s entirely feasible to impress family and friends alike with a wonderful creation to celebrate National Homemade Soup Day!

History of National Homemade Soup Day

Soup has been warming the stomachs of the masses for nearly 9000 years, so it’s about time there was a day devoted to it!

One of the smartest choices of the creators of National Homemade Soup Day is that they put it right smack-dab in the middle of winter (at least for people in many places). Since February can be one of the coldest and darkest months of the year, it’s the perfect time to try a hand at creating the perfect homemade soup.

But for people who live in a place where the day doesn’t fall in winter–don’t despair! Homemade cold soups are a tasty option for those celebrating in a warmer climate. Whether with a Gazpacho (cold tomato soup) or cucumber soup, this day can be enjoyed–cold or hot–in any part of the world!

How to Celebrate National Homemade Soup Day

While this day does not discriminate between flavors of soup, it does offer an occasion to celebrate. So it’s time to do more than just open that can of boring, bland, soup! This is a day that is all about celebrating a fresh, healthy pot of homemade soup!

Consider a few different ways to make National Homemade Soup Day a little more special:

Try a New Recipe

Celebrating soup sounds simple – just pour a bowl and start eating, right? Well, that is part of it but not all of it. If you are new to creating culinary masterpieces you can use this day as a motivation to try something different. Make some chicken soup, or tomato, or maybe something more adventurous. That is what today is all about, so experiment and try something new.

Invite Friends and Family to Join In

Already a kitchen wizard? Use this special day to gather up some friends and have a tasting of several different homemade soups.

Or have each person bring one ingredient that can be added into the pot! While waiting for the soup to simmer, read out loud a version of the favorite children’s book, Stone Soup.

Better yet have a cook off! Each friend shows up with their own homemade masterpiece and have a lively night of fun to see whose soup is crowned the winner. The great news is that, really, everyone wins because they get to enjoy all of the deliciousness and comfort that homemade soup has to offer.

Recreate a Copycat Recipe

Sometimes a favorite dish at a restaurant turns out even better when making it at home! Many recipes for famous soups from restaurant chains are now available online to be recreated in a person’s own.

Try making these yummy copycat soup recipes that can be easily found online:

Zuppa Toscana by Olive Garden. Famous for its pairing with soft breadsticks, this twist on an Italian favorite is packed with yummy goodness. A chicken stock base with sausage, kale, and red pepper flakes provide a zesty array of flavors.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup by O’Charley’s. Packed with flavor (and also quite a few carbs!) this soup is sure to please with its cheesy potato base and bacon garnish. Like most soups, this one is tasty when served with buttery bread rolls.

Cullen Skink from Ubiquitous Chip. This soup is named after Cullen, a small fishing town in the northeast of Scotland. One of Glasgow’s favorite restaurants, Ubiquitous Chip, features this comforting treat made from smoked haddock, potato, onion, and spices.

Read a Chicken Soup for the Soul Book

Since homemade soup takes a little bit of time to simmer on the stove, it’s great to have something to do while waiting. So what could be better than reading some short stories from the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies?!

The books were compiled by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, but the stories themselves were written by people all over the world. Some authors are famous while others are simply average people with extraordinary or entertaining stories to share that bring comfort to the soul.

Source

[whatsonmedia]

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Discover the charm of Pierre Victoire, Soho's hidden French gem, with this exclusive offers. Located on Dean Street, this cozy restaurant offers a delightful three-course meal for only £20. With a menu filled with classic French dishes and a warm, eclectic ambiance, it's the perfect spot for food lovers seeking an authentic Parisian dining experience without leaving London. For £20, receive three dishes at Pierre Victoire. Pierre Victoire is a quintessential French eatery, a hidden gem in Soho since 1998. Nestled on Dean Street, this cozy sanctuary is the perfect spot for a leisurely afternoon lunch or an intimate evening meal. For just £20, indulge in three courses of classic French cuisine, making it a must-visit for savvy foodies. Highlights - Charming Atmosphere: Enjoy stylish décor with an eclectic collection of art pieces. - Prime Location: Located in the heart of Soho. - Great Value: Save over a tenner on a three-course French meal. What’s on the Menu? Entrées: - Three Cheese Croquettes with petit salad and summer berry relish - Sautéed Duck Gizzard Salad with French beans, baby tomatoes, potatoes in duck fat, and shaved foie gras - Smoked Mackerel Rillettes with toasted sourdough and homemade pickles - Carpaccio of Cantaloupe Melon with Port jelly and Parma Ham - Soup of the Day or French Onion Soup with Cheese Crouton (V) - Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Mousse with pear & apple chutney and toasted brioche - Miso Glazed Aubergine with minted Babaganush, tahini sauce, toasted almonds, pomegranate (Vegan) - Grilled Mussels in garlic, Pernod and parsley butter - Tender Fried Crispy Calamari with Squid ink & garlic mayo, watercress, and lemon Salads du Chef: - Pan-fried Goat's Cheese with baked beetroot, roast peppers, olives, and walnut pesto (V) - Hot Smoked Salmon Caesar salad with anchovies, sweetcorn, croutons, and parmesan Need to Know - Voucher Details: This voucher is valid for a three-course meal at Pierre Victoire. - Availability: Monday to Sunday, 12 pm to 6:30 pm. - Booking: Send your booking confirmation to manager@pierrevictoire.com with your preferred date and time. 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If you've been searching for the perfect rug to complete your space but can't seem to find one that fits your vision, it’s time to take matters into your own hands. Kreative Crafts Club offers an exciting BYOB Rug Tufting Workshop where you can create your own mini rug masterpiece. Whether you're looking for a unique date idea or just want to try something new, this workshop is the perfect choice. Plus, don't forget to bring your favorite drink to enjoy during the class! Highlights - No Experience Needed: Learn the best techniques with guidance from skilled instructors. - Flexible Participation: Attend with a mate, a date, or solo, and bring your favorite drinks. - Great Savings: Save £100 on this unique and creative experience. Need to Know - Voucher Details: This voucher is valid for a BYOB Mini Rug Tufting experience at Kreative Crafts Club. - Booking: Please check workshop availability here. To redeem, send your booking confirmation to timeout@kreativecraftsclub.com with your preferred date and time. Your voucher, security code, and QR code must be clear. - Design Submission: Submit your design at least 48 hours before your workshop start time. Guidelines are available here. - Workshop Duration: The class lasts three hours. If your rug takes longer, an additional flat fee of £15/hour applies. - Booking Notice: All classes and workshops must be booked a minimum of three days in advance. Urgent bookings cannot be guaranteed, even with a voucher. - Attendance: Arrive on time; being more than 15 minutes late may result in being unable to join the workshop. - Alcohol Policy: Consumption of alcohol is not allowed during the first portion of the workshop while machinery is in use. - Cancellation Policy: Inform the merchant of any changes or cancellations within 72 hours of your booking. Late cancellations will result in the voucher being deemed redeemed. - Validity: Voucher valid until September 30, 2024. - Location: Riverside House, Beresford Street, Woolwich (South East London), SE18 6BU. - Terms: This voucher cannot be cancelled, amended, exchanged, refunded, or used in conjunction with any other offer. Linux Hosting: Your Website’s Powerful Engine Imagine your website as a car. The operating system (OS) is like the engine – it controls everything that makes the car run. When it comes to web hosting, Linux is the most popular engine choice, and for good reason! Benefits of Linux Hosting: - Cost-effective: Since Linux is free, web hosting providers can offer competitive pricing. - Flexibility: Linux is compatible with a wide range of popular website building tools and programming languages like WordPress, PHP, MySQL, Ruby, Python, and SSH. 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[brookston]

Holidays 2.4

Holidays

Across the Universe Day

Box Tree Day (French Republic)

Carl Rogers Day

Colour Supplement Day (UK)

Create-A-Vacuum Day

Day for Change (UN)

Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)

Facebook Friends Day

Farmer’s Day (Taiwan)

First Sitting of the People’s Majils (Maldives)

Friends Day

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Day (Poland)

International Day of Human Fraternity (UN)

International Unicorn Day

King Frost Day (London, before WWI)

Kosciusko Day (Poland)

Liberace Day

Lifeguard Day (Argentina)

Montgomery Convention Day

National Day of Courage

National Hemp Day

National Israel Day

National Quacker Day

National Wicker Day

Obscurity Day

Philippine-AmericanWar Memorial Day (Philippines)

Port Arthur Day

Rissun (Japan)

Rosa Parks Day (California, Missouri) [also 12.1]

Semen Den (Seeds Day; Bulgaria)

Special Working Day (China)

Spoiled Cats’ Day

Thank A Mailperson Day

Torture Abolition Day

Transit Equity Day

USO Day

Willie Mays Day

World Cancer Day

Zombie Pride Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Homemade Soup Day

Medjool Date Day

National Stuffed Mushroom Day

Pork Rind Appreciation Day

1st Sunday in February

Areté Day (Southwestern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday]

British Yorkshire Pudding Day [1st Sunday]

Dump Your Significant Jerk Day [1st Sunday]

Freelance Writers Appreciation Week begins [1st Sunday]

Homstrom (Burning of the Straw Man; Switzerland) [1st Sunday]

India MS Day (India) [1st Sunday]

National Day of Prayer for the African American & African Family [1st Sunday]

National Girls and Women in Sports Day [1st Sunday]

New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church (Sunday nearest 2.7]

Scout Sunday [or Sunday before 2.8]

St. Ives’ Feast (Cornwall, UK) [Sunday nearest February 3]

World Cepelinai Day [1st Sunday]

Independence & Related Days

Celebration of the Beginning of the Struggle for Liberation (Angola)

Liberation Day (Angola)

Sri Lanka (from UK, 1948)

Festivals Beginning February 4, 2024

Grammy Awards (Los Angeles, California)

Lowcountry Oyster Festival (Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina)

The New York Best Wings Festival (Smithtown, New York)

Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo, Japan) [thru 2.11]

Wine Classic (Los Angeles, California)

Feast Days

Aeschylus (Positivist; Saint)

Amaterasu’s Day (Pagan)

Andrew Corsini (Christian; Saint)

Annoy the Neighbors Day (Pastafarian)

Beith Day (a..k.a. Birch Day; Celtic Book of Days)

Biezputras Diena (Porridge Day; Ancient Latvia) [or Sun before Feb 23]

Cornelius the Centurion (Anglican Church; Saint)

Day of the Fart of Abu Hassan (Church of the SubGenius) 

Emperor Norton (Humanism)

Fernand Léger (Artology)

Gilbert of Sempringham (Christian; Saint)

Isidore of Pelusium (Christian; Saint)

Jane (or Joan, Queen of France; Christian; Saint)

John de Britto (Christian; Saint)

Joseph of Leonissa (Christian; Saint)

Gilbert (Christian; Saint)

Goldrofe of Arganil (Christian; Saint)

Gumby (Animism; Saint)

Home Cleansing Ritual Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Louis Eilshemius (Artology)

Medan (Christian; Saint)

Nicholas Studites (Christian; Saint)

Phileas and Philoromus (Christian; Martyrs)

Rabanus Maurus (Christian; Saint)

Rembertof Torhout (Christian; Saint)

Rimbert (Archbishop of Bremen;  Christian; Saint)

Robert Coover (Writerism)

The State of Indiana (Muppetism)

Theophilus the Penitent (Christian; Saint)

Veronica (Christian; Saint)

Zeus Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 3 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Dies Mala Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [3 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [4 of 24]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [8 of 71]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Film; 1994)

Across the Universe, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1968)

The Atrocity Exhibition, by J.G. Ballard (Novel; 1970)

Bennie and the Jets, by Elton John (Song; 1974)

Candle in the Wind, by Elton John (Song; 1974)

The Cloverfield Paradox (Film; 2018)

The Devil’s Tower (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #21; 1965)

Dick Tracy (Radio Series; 1934)

Dizzy Dishes (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1955)

End of the Century, by The Ramones (Album; 1980)

Facebook (Social Media App; 2004)

Fresh Off the Boat (TV Series; 2015)

Hen Fruit (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1929)

Hep Cat Symphony (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1949)

His Day Off (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

The Human Comedy, buy William Saroyan (Novel; 1943)

Justice League: War (WB Animated Film; 2014)

The Last Juror, by John Grisham (Novel; 2004)

The Last of the Mohicans (Novel; 1826)

Magic Strength (Phantasies Cartoon; 1944)

Moonfall (Film; 2022)

Naked (Film; 1994)

19th Nervous Breakdown, by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1966)

One Step Ahead of My Shadow (WB MM Cartoon; 1933)

On the Avenue (Film; 1937)

Our Town, by Thornton Wilder (Play; 1938)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Piano Concerto in E Major, by Reynaldo Hahn (Piano Concerto; 1931)

Reacher (TV Series; 2022)

Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac (Album; 1977)

Señor Saint, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories 1958) [Saint #34]

A Study in Brown, by Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra (Song; 1937)

Two Days to Doom or The Last Weekend (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 253; 1964)

Two Moose is Loose or Which One Has the Phoney? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 254; 1964)

The Ugly Dachshund (Film; 1966)

Videodrome (Film; 1983)

The Wedding Date (Film; 2005)

White Christmas, recorded by The Drifters (Song; 1954)

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Disney Cartoon; 1966)

Zeno's Conscience, by Italo Svevo (Novel; 1923)

Today’s Name Days

Andreas, Rabanus, Veronika (Austria)

Andrija, Ivan, Izidor, Veronika (Croatia)

Jarmila (Czech Republic)

Veronica (Denmark)

Arma, Armi, Armiida, Meida, Miida (Estonia)

Armi, Ronja (Finland)

Véronique (France)

Andreas, Jenny, Veronika (Germany)

Asimakis, Asimina, Malamati, Simeon, Stamatia, Stamatis (Greece)

Csenge, Ráhel (Hungary)

Biago, Gilberto (Italy)

Daila, Veronika (Latvia)

Andrius, Arvilė, Gustas, Joana, Vydmantas (Lithuania)

Vera, Veronika (Norway)

Andrzej, Gilbert, Jan, Joanna, Józef, Mariusz, Weronika, Witosława (Poland)

Isidor (Romania)

Anastasia (Russia)

Veronika (Slovakia)

Gilberto, Juan, Juana (Spain)

Anselm, Ansgar (Sweden)

Byron, Gilbert, Gilberta, Gilberto, Gilmer (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 35 of 2024; 331 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 5 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 25 (Wu-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 24 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 5 Grey; Fryday [5 of 30]

Julian: 22 January 2024

Moon: 33%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 7 Homer (2nd Month) [Aeschylus)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 46 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 14 of 28)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.4

Holidays

Across the Universe Day

Box Tree Day (French Republic)

Carl Rogers Day

Colour Supplement Day (UK)

Create-A-Vacuum Day

Day for Change (UN)

Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)

Facebook Friends Day

Farmer’s Day (Taiwan)

First Sitting of the People’s Majils (Maldives)

Friends Day

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Day (Poland)

International Day of Human Fraternity (UN)

International Unicorn Day

King Frost Day (London, before WWI)

Kosciusko Day (Poland)

Liberace Day

Lifeguard Day (Argentina)

Montgomery Convention Day

National Day of Courage

National Hemp Day

National Israel Day

National Quacker Day

National Wicker Day

Obscurity Day

Philippine-AmericanWar Memorial Day (Philippines)

Port Arthur Day

Rissun (Japan)

Rosa Parks Day (California, Missouri) [also 12.1]

Semen Den (Seeds Day; Bulgaria)

Special Working Day (China)

Spoiled Cats’ Day

Thank A Mailperson Day

Torture Abolition Day

Transit Equity Day

USO Day

Willie Mays Day

World Cancer Day

Zombie Pride Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Homemade Soup Day

Medjool Date Day

National Stuffed Mushroom Day

Pork Rind Appreciation Day

1st Sunday in February

Areté Day (Southwestern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday]

British Yorkshire Pudding Day [1st Sunday]

Dump Your Significant Jerk Day [1st Sunday]

Freelance Writers Appreciation Week begins [1st Sunday]

Homstrom (Burning of the Straw Man; Switzerland) [1st Sunday]

India MS Day (India) [1st Sunday]

National Day of Prayer for the African American & African Family [1st Sunday]

National Girls and Women in Sports Day [1st Sunday]

New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church (Sunday nearest 2.7]

Scout Sunday [or Sunday before 2.8]

St. Ives’ Feast (Cornwall, UK) [Sunday nearest February 3]

World Cepelinai Day [1st Sunday]

Independence & Related Days

Celebration of the Beginning of the Struggle for Liberation (Angola)

Liberation Day (Angola)

Sri Lanka (from UK, 1948)

Festivals Beginning February 4, 2024

Grammy Awards (Los Angeles, California)

Lowcountry Oyster Festival (Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina)

The New York Best Wings Festival (Smithtown, New York)

Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo, Japan) [thru 2.11]

Wine Classic (Los Angeles, California)

Feast Days

Aeschylus (Positivist; Saint)

Amaterasu’s Day (Pagan)

Andrew Corsini (Christian; Saint)

Annoy the Neighbors Day (Pastafarian)

Beith Day (a..k.a. Birch Day; Celtic Book of Days)

Biezputras Diena (Porridge Day; Ancient Latvia) [or Sun before Feb 23]

Cornelius the Centurion (Anglican Church; Saint)

Day of the Fart of Abu Hassan (Church of the SubGenius) 

Emperor Norton (Humanism)

Fernand Léger (Artology)

Gilbert of Sempringham (Christian; Saint)

Isidore of Pelusium (Christian; Saint)

Jane (or Joan, Queen of France; Christian; Saint)

John de Britto (Christian; Saint)

Joseph of Leonissa (Christian; Saint)

Gilbert (Christian; Saint)

Goldrofe of Arganil (Christian; Saint)

Gumby (Animism; Saint)

Home Cleansing Ritual Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Louis Eilshemius (Artology)

Medan (Christian; Saint)

Nicholas Studites (Christian; Saint)

Phileas and Philoromus (Christian; Martyrs)

Rabanus Maurus (Christian; Saint)

Rembertof Torhout (Christian; Saint)

Rimbert (Archbishop of Bremen;  Christian; Saint)

Robert Coover (Writerism)

The State of Indiana (Muppetism)

Theophilus the Penitent (Christian; Saint)

Veronica (Christian; Saint)

Zeus Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 3 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Dies Mala Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [3 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [4 of 24]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [8 of 71]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Film; 1994)

Across the Universe, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1968)

The Atrocity Exhibition, by J.G. Ballard (Novel; 1970)

Bennie and the Jets, by Elton John (Song; 1974)

Candle in the Wind, by Elton John (Song; 1974)

The Cloverfield Paradox (Film; 2018)

The Devil’s Tower (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #21; 1965)

Dick Tracy (Radio Series; 1934)

Dizzy Dishes (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1955)

End of the Century, by The Ramones (Album; 1980)

Facebook (Social Media App; 2004)

Fresh Off the Boat (TV Series; 2015)

Hen Fruit (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1929)

Hep Cat Symphony (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1949)

His Day Off (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

The Human Comedy, buy William Saroyan (Novel; 1943)

Justice League: War (WB Animated Film; 2014)

The Last Juror, by John Grisham (Novel; 2004)

The Last of the Mohicans (Novel; 1826)

Magic Strength (Phantasies Cartoon; 1944)

Moonfall (Film; 2022)

Naked (Film; 1994)

19th Nervous Breakdown, by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1966)

One Step Ahead of My Shadow (WB MM Cartoon; 1933)

On the Avenue (Film; 1937)

Our Town, by Thornton Wilder (Play; 1938)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Piano Concerto in E Major, by Reynaldo Hahn (Piano Concerto; 1931)

Reacher (TV Series; 2022)

Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac (Album; 1977)

Señor Saint, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories 1958) [Saint #34]

A Study in Brown, by Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra (Song; 1937)

Two Days to Doom or The Last Weekend (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 253; 1964)

Two Moose is Loose or Which One Has the Phoney? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 254; 1964)

The Ugly Dachshund (Film; 1966)

Videodrome (Film; 1983)

The Wedding Date (Film; 2005)

White Christmas, recorded by The Drifters (Song; 1954)

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Disney Cartoon; 1966)

Zeno's Conscience, by Italo Svevo (Novel; 1923)

Today’s Name Days

Andreas, Rabanus, Veronika (Austria)

Andrija, Ivan, Izidor, Veronika (Croatia)

Jarmila (Czech Republic)

Veronica (Denmark)

Arma, Armi, Armiida, Meida, Miida (Estonia)

Armi, Ronja (Finland)

Véronique (France)

Andreas, Jenny, Veronika (Germany)

Asimakis, Asimina, Malamati, Simeon, Stamatia, Stamatis (Greece)

Csenge, Ráhel (Hungary)

Biago, Gilberto (Italy)

Daila, Veronika (Latvia)

Andrius, Arvilė, Gustas, Joana, Vydmantas (Lithuania)

Vera, Veronika (Norway)

Andrzej, Gilbert, Jan, Joanna, Józef, Mariusz, Weronika, Witosława (Poland)

Isidor (Romania)

Anastasia (Russia)

Veronika (Slovakia)

Gilberto, Juan, Juana (Spain)

Anselm, Ansgar (Sweden)

Byron, Gilbert, Gilberta, Gilberto, Gilmer (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 35 of 2024; 331 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 5 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 25 (Wu-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 25 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 24 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 5 Grey; Fryday [5 of 30]

Julian: 22 January 2024

Moon: 33%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 7 Homer (2nd Month) [Aeschylus)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 46 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 14 of 28)

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Celebrate! Today is National Homemade Soup Day.

This is our daily reminder to joyfully pay it forward. On February 4th, let’s raise our spoons in a joyful salute to National Homemade Soup Day. Celebrating this delightful day offers more than just an excuse to pause from our instant soups and return to the nostalgic comfort food of our childhood. It’s a symbol of love, warmth, and simplicity that we often bypass in our fast-paced, pre-packaged…