Poetry

Poetry Friday – National Food Day

It’s Friday! And you know what that means: Poetry! Want to know more about Poetry Friday? Click this link right here. Be sure to read to the end of this post to see this week’s round up of wonderful poetry related posts, blogs and goodness.

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! I am so excited to be hosting this week!

Sometimes I like to peruse the National Day Calendar. I was looking there last week and I noticed the sheer number of Food Days there are. Practically every day of the year celebrates some food. Today alone it is National Stuffing Day AND National Gingerbread Cookie Day. It is fun to occasionally pick a food day to celebrate as a family.

Last week, I put out an optional prompt to write a poem about a food deserving of its own National Day. I can’t wait to read any poems that people have written.

When I was trying to decide on a food, I wanted to find something that probably didn’t already have its own day. So I went specific with National Pennsylvania Dutch Hot Salad Day. It would fall sometime in May, since that is National Salad Month.

I don’t actually have the recipe for hot salad written down as my mom taught me and includes directions such as “10 shakes from the salt shaker” and “two swishes of vinegar”. So not really easily measurable amounts. But I was able to find this recipe, which is pretty close to the one I was taught.

Hot Salad Day

Recipes and traditions passed down
From grandma to mom to me
Start with some bacon grease
Add a few shakes of salt
a bit of sugar
two good swishes of vinegar
Don’t forget some love and patience
Then give the cast iron skillet
a good shushle or two.
The healthiest salad ever?
No.
But one worthy of celebration
all the same.

So what food do you think should have it’s own National Day? Let me know in the comments. And be sure to leave a link to your Poetry Friday post below!

47 thoughts on “Poetry Friday – National Food Day”

  1. Ha! What great onomatopoeias. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a hot salad. I’m intrigued! Alas, I had a blog post planned for today that is not food. So, you might just see my food celebration poem at some point in the future. I did write my first terzanelle—not an easy form by a long shot. But, I’m pleased with the draft. Thanks so much for hosting. Enjoy the delights of Poetry Friday!

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  4. Pingback: Poetry Friday–Holiday EXPO 2019 & Ginger Spice | Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting & Writing

  5. I’m anxious to try Hot Salad! Fun poem; love the idea of celebrating various food holidays. Most of my favorite foods already have their own special days: chocolate, cookies, apple pie. 🙂 This week I’m sharing a food poem by Richard Blanco, based on a childhood memory of wanting an authentic American Thanksgiving (my link goes live 6 a.m. Friday). Thanks for hosting, Rebecca!

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  6. Shushle!!! What a great word! :0)
    Thanks so much for hosting us all this week, Rebecca. I’m sorry I didn’t see the prompt,though truth be told I would have been scrambling and shushling to get anything original written this week anyway… But kudos and appreciations to you, and all the other poetic culinary good sports this week. (PS – thanks for that National Day link, too – I “collect” days, too, and didn’t know about that obvious most important source!)

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    1. I was surprised to learn, when I moved to Florida, that not everyone uses the word shushle. I read somewhere that it is a regional/Pennsylvania Dutch word. Kind of fun.

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  7. Oh, Rebecca, my aunt used to make that kind of salad when I was growing up. We loved it. I remember the hot & sweet of it, so good! I’m in for rewarding something, had fun creating for four things! Thanks for the challenge! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  8. You did better than I did at finding a food without its own special day, Becky! I love how you honored your family recipe. I did end up sharing some great food poems over the course of this week, though, including three from the newest TLD book. Yours is one of them!

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    1. Thanks for stopping in, Michelle. I’m heading over to your blog to check out the other food poems! Can’t wait to read all the rest of the poems too.

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  10. This was a fun challenge, Becky. It was a good thing that I started this earlier because I am at NCTE19 and gearing up for my round table presentation tomorrow. I enjoyed your poem. It was reflective. Thinking about that grease in the recipe. I won’t have much time to read through this week’s offering but will catch up when I have a chance.

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    1. I’ve been seeing some photos of NCTE19. It looks like it has been amazing. I can’t wait to hear all about it, I’m sure. I hope your presentation went well!

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  11. Just purely by luck my poetry friday offering has a food connection, so it is quite fortuitous that I have landed here after being away for some time. Thank you for hosting Jama. I have always had a thing about Tiramisu and have sampled it wherever I have travelled around the globe, so in answer to your question, I believe Tiramisu deserves its own special day. Love your reference to two swishes of vinegar…

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  14. I love your prompt and intended to participate…until I forgot! Oops! I’ll tuck that idea away for another time. In the meantime, I’m totally intrigued by the hot salad you described and loved reading your poem aloud with those “swishes” and “shushles.” Thanks so much for hosting this week.

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    1. Yes! I haven’t made it in a super long time, but this post has made me want to make it again. No one else in the house likes it very much–more for me I guess!

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  17. I have never had a hot salad, and I kinda want to reach in to try this one. My husband’s grandmother would fry English muffins in bacon grease though…so he always keeps cups of it in the freezer. I love imagining your grandmother and your mother and you…all of your hands making this salad through the generations. I think there should be a National Worm Day. I see there is a Gummi Worm Day. But just normal worms. Thank you for hosting!

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    1. I have all sorts of creepy crawlies in the house (superworms and roaches to feed my geckos and bearded dragons), but earthworms just creep me out. I’ll handle them if I must–for feeding my pacman frog or to go fishing–but I really don’t like to. 🙂

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  18. Yummy! I’m not sure which looks better–the salad or your poem celebrating it! Thanks for hosting today. I missed your challenge last week, but next week’s not too late?

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    1. I didn’t realize that a lot of words that I learned were regional until I moved to Florida. Brutzing, spritzing, rutsching and dippy eggs were all on the list too. 🙂

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  21. I really love figs and Calamata olives, which I usually enjoy just plain. However, I have recently found and enjoyed making two chicken recipes, one with figs and one with olives. My post is about the harvest – close as I could get to food! Thanks for hosting and the delightful recipe.

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