Wednesday Medley

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to link up with Terri @ Your Friend From Florida for the Wednesday Medley, a fun assortment of questions to get us over the hump in the middle of the week. If you want to play along or just read more entries, please pay her a visit!

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY – January 30

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY

In the United States, National Croissant Day is observed each year on January 30th. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant or try making your own using this recipe: Croissants recipe.

1.  Well, I do love croissants when they are fresh, but day-old croissants need to be turned into a donut.  I happen to really like the croissants that have a donut-like glaze on them!  Sugar overload but so good.  So... do you like croissants?  What is your favorite way to eat them?  They really aren't my favorite, but I like them filled with a good chicken salad or wrapped around a hotdog like I made for our youngest grandson this past weekend....though I suspect calling Pillsbury's crescent rolls croissants is probably a bit of a stretch. Ha!

2.  Speaking of food... How do you handle stress?  Sometimes I give in to the siren call of comfort food which, for me, tends to be starchy, salty, or savory dishes.  Mostly, I try to turn to other methods to reduce stress...prayer and Bible study, music, taking a walk, talking with a friend.

3.  Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy, and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?  Anger, not that I show it outwardly, but it is often there simmering under the surface....usually related to the treatment of others. 

4.  Out of the positive emotions of compassion, positivity, enthusiasm, and initiative, which one is your biggest strength?  Probably compassion, but I'm working on positivity. I am purposely seeking to see the good in every situation.

5.  What do you get every time you go grocery shopping, other than the staples such as bread, milk, butter, flour, sugar...  Lately it's been those new frozen bowl meals. Tim likes Banquet's Mega Bowls and I like Marie Calender's beef broccoli bowl as well as some of the Asian inspired ones that Walmart carries. They make easy lunches for work. I almost always buy a jar of Sam's Choice Peach-Pineapple Chipotle Sauce, as well. It's good as salsa on chips, but I also like it on my eggs, in sandwiches, etc.

6.  Please tell us something random about your week so far.  Our daughter and grandson stayed over last night. It's the second time this week. She has anxiety, but this pregnancy has really intensified it. It's also affecting her depression and other health issues. She saw her OB yesterday and they are finally going to send her to a counselor who specializes in mood disorders in pregnant women. I am praying that helps. Her husband is hoping to be able to switch from midnight shift to daylight one of these days. I am praying for that, too. I'm sure she'd be able to stay home at night if he was there.

By the way, we are in the deep freeze here this morning and the snow has begun falling on top of that. This is going to be one dangerously cold day. The news is already reporting a flood of accidents and fire departments are having a tough time putting out fires because the water just freezes. Please, stay warm and be safe wherever you are.