Wednesday Medley

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?

Of course I like croissants!  The coffee shop near my office sells a chocolate-filled croissant.  Very decadent. 

 

If I have a plain croisssant at home, I'll slice it open, heat it up, and slather on some butter.  Also very decadent.

 

Au Bon Pain makes a ham and cheese filled criossant. Sweet and savory at the same time. 

2.  Speaking of food... How do you handle stress? 
I stress eat, of course.   I'm trying to get into meditation, though.  I took a meditation class when I was doing yoga, and it was very interesting.  I've got a few meditation apps on the phone. 

 

I've also gone ot a few classes at my synagogue, where Eastern meditation techniques and Kabbalistic learning are combined.

3.  Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy, and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?

Anger.  Defitinitely anger.  Tthough as I've gotten older, I've definitely mellowed.

 

4.  Out of the positive emotions of compassion, positivity, enthusiasm, and initiative, which one is your biggest strength?

Positivity.  I try to make the best on every situation.  I've been known to laugh and joke my way through very difficult situatons, like that tim eI was in the ER for two days...the nurses knew I'd reached my limit when I stopped cracking jokes.

 

5.  What do you get every time you go grocery shopping, other than the staples such as bread, milk, butter, flour, sugar...

Diet soda.  I admit it, I'm an addict.  Diet Cherry Pepsi is the poison of choice.

 

6.  Please tell us something random about your week so far.

 

My newest time suck?  Pigment.  It's an app on my iPad.  It's a coloring book for adults.  You  get a black and white image, and you chose the colors and place them where you want.  I'm not very good at artisitc endeavors, but this app makes me feel like I'm creating something.

See what I mean?