:D smile it’s Saturday!

And what a beautiful day it is, the sun is shining!! 😀

And it’s national souffle day, lol. Yeah, I can’t cook one either.

Me, the line up for the day; go through closets, do some laundry, rearrange some things in my room, watch a few Buffy eps- relax for a bit. And then…woot! Do some more writing.

Oh yeah and post a few pix with an entry later. I was finally able to pick up Hubs birthday presents! His bday was the ninth. But he loves the presents, so def was worth the wait. And I got a few little presents for being patient the other day. Meaning, I didn’t whine, and I was nice to ppl I was supposed to be nice too. And boy that was a little hard. It’s kind of difficult to be nice to ppl that aren’t nice to you, and it seems that they go out of their way to provoke you. I stayed calm and balanced. Woot!

Have a beautiful day!
xoxo

February 28, 2015 – National Chocolate Souffle Day

Flourless Chocolate Souffle with Raspberry Cream

Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Prep: 1 hr
Cook: 30 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

2 cups frozen raspberries (IQF), thawed

2 teaspoons butter for greasing ramekins

1 tablespoon sugar for ramekins

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 -ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup whole milk

3 large egg whites

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 large egg yolks

Directions:

Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until semi-stiff. Add confectioners’ sugar and whip until stiff. Refrigerate. Puree raspberries in a food processor, then pass them through a sieve; fold this into the whipped cream and reserve until later.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 4-1/2 cup capacity ramekins and lightly dust the insides with sugar; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates with the milk. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly. The minute the chocolates are melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the melted chocolate to a small bowl and cool to room temperature.

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are soft. Add the granulated sugar and whip until stiff but not dry. Whisk the yolks into the cooled melted chocolate. Fold 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold the lightened chocolate mixture back int the egg whites. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The souffles should remain moist in the center.

To serve, bring the souffles to the table and serve raspberry cream on the side. Each diner should break the souffle open with a spoon and add raspberry cream in the center

Recipe used by permission of Michele Urvator

Thank you, Skeen! 😀

xoxo

 

IOTD

Calendar day; February 28, 2015

Saturday, the 28th of February, 2015 is the 59th day in 2015 and in the 9th calendar week.

General Events:

World Rare Disease Day
February 28, 2015 in the World

World Rare Disease Day is an annual observance held on the last day of February (February 28th or February 29th in a Leap Year) to raise awareness for rare diseases and improve access to treatments and medical representation for individuals with rare diseases and their families.

The 8th annual World Rare Disease Day will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2015. On this day, various activities take place in the United States, Europe, Russia, Japan and elsewhere around the world.

A disease or disorder is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2000. A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the USA when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time.

Over 6000 rare diseases are characterised by a broad diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.

Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases leading to misdiagnosis and delaying treatment. Quintessentially disabling, the patients quality of life is affected by the lack or loss of autonomy due to the chronic, progressive, degenerative, and frequently life-threatening aspects of the disease. The fact that there are often no existing effective cures adds to the high level of pain and suffering endured by patients and their families.

http://www.rarediseaseday.org/

http://www.eurordis.org/news/rare-disease-day-2015-theme-and-slogan-living-rare-disease-day-day-hand-hand

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Science Day
February 28, 2015 in India

National Science Day is celebrated on February 28, 2015. National Science Day is celebrated in India each year to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman on 28 February 1928.

Where is the event?
Nationwide India

Floral Design Day
February 28, 2015 in the World

Floral Design Day takes place on February 28, 2015. You could celebrate that day by creating floral arrangements, viewing floral designs oder drawing pictures of floral designs. Floral design is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create a pleasing and balanced composition. Professionally designed floral designs, arrangements or artwork incorporate the elements of floral design: Line, Form, Space, Texture and Color and the Principles of Floral Design: Balance, Proportion, Rhythm, Contrast, Harmony and Unity.

There are many styles of floral design. Eastern, Western and European styles have all influenced the commercial floral industry as it is today. Ikebana is a Japanese or eastern style of floral design and incorporates the three main line placements of heaven, man and earth. In contrast, European style emphasizes color and variety of botanical materials not limited to just blooming flowers, in mass gatherings of multiple flowers. Western design historically is characterized by symmetrical, asymmetrical, horizontal and vertical style of arrangements.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Public Sleeping Day
February 28, 2015 in the World

Public Sleeping Day is observed on February 28, 2015. Too tired to have something to celebrate today? Then get out and go to sleep first a round in the public … Inspire yourself by the following tips: Sleep in class or an office meeting, go to a bench in the park and lie down for a while or get on any public transportation and get some sleep.

Some people may opt to sleep on the job.  They do so at their own risk. Have you ever caught twenty winks on a bus or subway traveling to or from work? Sure, we all have.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and are the subject of substantial research. Sleep is often thought to help conserve energy, but decreases metabolism only about 5–10%. Hibernating animals need to sleep despite the hypometabolism seen in hibernation, and must return from hypothermia to euthermia in order to sleep, making sleeping “energetically expensive.”

Where is the event?
Worldwide

National Chocolate Souffle Day
February 28, 2015 in the USA

 delightfully delicious dessert is celebrated each year on February 28th as it is National Chocolate Souffle Day.

The word souffle is the past participle of the French verb souffler, which means “to blow up” or more loosely “puff up”, which describes a souffle perfectly.   A souffle is a lightly baked cake made with egg yolks and the beaten eggs whites that are combined with various other ingredients.   Souffle can be found served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert.

There are two basic components that make up every souffle.

1.  a French creme patisserie base/flavored cream sauce or puree
2.  egg whites beaten to a  soft peak meringue

The flavor is provided by the base and the “lift” is provided by the beaten egg whites.  There are certain foods that are commonly used for the base in a souffle which include cheese, jam, fruits, berries, chocolate, banana  and lemon.   Many souffle bakers like to puncture the top of the souffle, after it is removed from the oven, and pour various types of liquid sauces onto it, such as chocolate or vanilla.

Where is the event?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 28th February:

202 BC – Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty’s rule over China

1646 – Roger Scott was tried in Mass for sleeping in church

1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.

1784 – John Wesley charters Methodist Church

1826 – M Biela, an Austrian officer, discovers Biela’s Comet

1854 – Republican Party formally organized at Ripon, Wisc

1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.

1896 – France dismisses Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar

1915 – WWI: After the French try to drive the Germans forces back into the Champagne region, they gain a few hundred yards – at the cost of 50,000 casualties

1924 – US begins intervention in Honduras

1939 – Great Britain recognizes Franco regime in Spain

1939 – The erroneous word “Dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation

1947 – 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives

1956 – Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory

1970 – Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge

1976 – Spain withdraws from Western Sahara

1982 – FALN (PR Nationalist Group) bombs Wall Street

2004 – Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947