End of Middle Ages Day
End of the Middle Ages Day, May 29th. May 29, 1453 is considered by many historians to be the end of the Middle Ages, (and therefore the Beginning of the Renaissance), and because of this, some people decided it would be good to celebrate the End of the Middle Ages, and some even call it a good day to give gifts. almanacofmerriment.blogspot.com/...
TO MAKE A TART OF SPINNAGE
The English Huswife, Gervase Markham, 1615
The Modern Version:
2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach
3/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pastry for a 9-inch two-crust pie
1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Cook the spinach according to package directions. Placed cooked spinach in a colander and allow to drain and cool. When cool, take handfulls of spinach and gently squeeze to remove remaining water. Place in a large bowl, and blend in the next 5 ingredients. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan. Spread the spinach mixture evenly in the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the remaining pastry to make the top crust. Place on the spinach mixture, seal the edges and cut six small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over the top. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. The pie may be served either hot or cold.
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Recipes for a Medieval Feast www.bitwise.net/...
International Coq Au Vin Day, also known as International Rooster with Wine Day, is being observed today!
Today is International Coq Au Vin Day! Coq Au Vin is French for “rooster with wine." It is a popular dish made with braised chicken
that is slowly cooked with red wine, mushrooms, pork fat, and various spices. According to some legends, Coq Au Vin has ties to Julius Caesar or Napoleon, but most historians agree that the dish has more humble roots. Roosters are only butchered when they are quite old and rather inedible. Peasant families most likely invented the Coq Au Vin recipe to avoid wasting the meat...
To celebrate International Coq Au Vin Day, embrace your inner chef and plan a French-inspired dinner party. Bon Appétit! www.punchbowl.com/… www.checkiday.com/…
Paper Clip Day
Get ready to get your papers organized! It's Paper Clip Day! Paper clips (or paperclips) are flat pieces of metal that can hold papers in
place without disturbing them and don't need to be bent or be pinched together to work. They gained in popularity at the end of the nineteenth century, when various types were created and many patents were applied for. This was at a time when steel was new, and the machines used to make large quantities of paper clips were invented.
Fastening papers together was first done in the thirteenth century. Short pieces of ribbon were put through parallel cuts that were made in the upper left-hand corners of paper. In 1835, John Ireland Howe, a New York physician, invented the machine for the mass production of straight pins. These pins were designed to be used with cloth, but people also used them to fasten paper together.
It wasn't until at least the 1860s when paper clips as we know them today began being made, and it wasn't until the 1890s that production really picked up. Many types of paper clips were made because many of the new designs had patents, so manufacturers had to make their designs unique. They often focused on certain aspects of the clips. For example, a manufacturer would focus on making paper clips that could hold a thick stack of papers, that would not tear the paper, or wouldn't get tangled with other paper clips...
The paper clip we are most familiar with today, which has a double oval, is the "Gem" clip. Designed by Gem Manufacturing in England, it made its debut in 1892. It was never patented, but the machine used to make it was patented in 1899. There are countless other types of paper clips that have been made over the years. Some designs include the Non-Skid, Ideal, Owl, Eureka, Sheet Brass Gothic, Proco, Angell, Utility, Vice, Acme Correspondence, and Nifty.
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