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It is Wednesday, 14 July 2021
(W28 | D195 | 170 rem)
Today is: 
Shark Awareness Day, my Dudes 
Contrary to what you might expect, the purpose of Shark Awareness Day is not to stand on the beach and shout out warnings to terrified swimmers and surfers! Donât be the boy that cried âShark!â.
Like top predators in any ecosystem, sharks play an essential role in keeping the seas healthy and productive, and yet various threats make these ocean oligarchs a persecuted and vulnerable species. While no one is suggesting we go out and hug a great white on Shark Awareness Day, itâs the least we can do to respect these wonderful creatures and help protect them.
From the mako to the basking, from the great white to the hammerhead, from the nurse to the tiger, sharks roam our oceans (and in a couple of cases our freshwater rivers) the world over. These toothy fish, which are closely related to rays, live for around 30 years on average, but some species make it to over 100, with one Greenland shark discovered to be at least 272!
Their most distinctive feature is of course their razor-sharp teeth â sharks can have as many as seven rows of gnashers and go through up to 30,000 of them in their lifetimes. Another key weapon in their hunting arsenal is their electrical sensitivity, able to pick up on electromagnetic fields better than any other animal. This allows them to seek out their prey, even if hiding or camouflaged.
With so many species found all over the globe, itâs no wonder that these water-dwellers also possess a few weird and wonderful quirks! Did you know, for example, that bamboo sharks canât actually swim (instead they push themselves along the sand with their fins) or that frilled sharksâ pregnancies last a lengthy 3.5 years? Did you know that hammerheads have a 360-degree vision or that female sharks will occasionally reproduce via parthenogenesis (essentially a type of cloning)?
Sharks are one of the oldest species on the planet, with fossil records showing they were cruising our oceans at least 420 million years ago. Modern-day sharks have been around for about 100 million years â even thatâs back when the dinosaurs existed!
Nowadays there are over 500 species of shark, ranging from the tiny dwarf lantern shark, able to fit into the palm of your hand, to the gigantic whale shark, which can clock in at up to 10m. However, this is nothing compared to the megalodon, a now extinct relation of the modern-day great white, which may have reached sizes of a whopping 20m!
Some cultures, such as Hawaiian and Pacific Island cultures, have long revered and respected these impressive hunters and predators, with various legendary tales and mythologies. Unfortunately, however, cultural depictions of these creatures have by and large been a significant contributing factor to the fear and stigma surrounding them. Youâre hard-pressed to find a shark film that doesnât portray these animals in at least a partially negative light, and the majority of Hollywood blockbusters, from Jaws and Deep Blue Sea to The Shallows and 47 Meters Down, have perpetuated the idea of sharks as bloodthirsty, vengeful monsters.
Those familiar with sharks will know that this unfair reputation is far from the truth, and the sad fact remains that these magnificent creatures are threatened far more by us humans than we are by them. In fact, while there are around 10 fatal shark attacks a year (for context, cows kill 20 people a year, ants kill 50 and falling coconuts kill 150!), the various dangers they face all combine to mean an estimated 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year.
These include overfishing and bycatch (through which their food source is depleted and theyâre often killed as collateral damage in the fishing process), pollution, the worldwide demand for commodities such as shark-fin soup and shark-tooth medallions, and an inflated sense of threat at beaches and other coastal regions where sharks are known to swim the waters, leading to excessive culls.
As a result of these activities, experts believe that over the past 50 years shark numbers have declined by more than 70%, a devastating loss to the biodiversity of our oceans. And thatâs why Shark Awareness Day is so important, helping to preserve these vital fish now and well into the future.
Shark Awareness Day aims to both dispel the fear, stigma, and misinformation surrounding sharks and also raise awareness of this creatureâs plight, inspiring people all over the world to take action in their defense.
Mind how you go today folks. Stay safe. And watch out for the sharks on dry land - theyâre bigger predators than the ones in the water! 
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Love sharks, wanted to go cage diving one year but the weather was too rough so the company had to call it off 
Ozzyman reviews also did a vid on sharks i see.
And best way to get revenge on humans for how they treat sharks is to play Maneater, such a good game and it is on steam now on special.
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Yeah, I really hate the bad rep that sharks get and really donât think itâs fair.
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Agreed, if i remember correctly i watched a documentary where they said that it is mostly the Movie âJawsâ fault for creating this image of a man eating force of vengeance, when that is simply not true, just like a lion or a cheetah, they are animals just acting on their instincts.
The sad part is no matter how manny documentaries or videos there are of people getting along with sharks, people still kill them left right and center.
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It is Thursday, 15 July 2021
(W28 | D196 | 171 rem)
Today is: Gummy Worm Day
You know what the best bait for fishing for people with a sweet tooth is? If you guessed the gummy worm, youâre in the right place with the right sense of humor.
Gummy candies have been around a while, but nothing strikes our fancy like a rich chocolate brownie topped with green frosting and a gummy work sticking out of it. But honestly, weâre happy to have them right out of the bag. Gummy Worm Day celebrates these stretchy, stringy, gummy, delicious treats.
If you have never had a gummi worm before, you are seriously missing out! On Gummi Worm Day, we celebrate these little red and green delights, which come in a wide range of flavors today, including sweet and sour.
Gummi Worms are one of the best-selling candies of all time, and we can certainly see why! On Gummi Worm Day, you can eat as many Gummi Worms as you want! We wonât tell if you donât! After all, we love any day that allows us to snack on our favorite treats.
Before we can talk about Gummi Worms, we have to talk about Gummi Bears. Gummi Bears were the original Gummi candy created by the Haribo company in 1920. These delicious ursine candies came in a broad variety of fruit flavors and were intended for both adults and children to enjoy.
The secret to these little candies gumminess is from a careful mixture of special ingredients, the most important being the gelatin that helps to give the candy its form, and the sugar and citric acid that gives it its flavor.
From these initial gummi candies, many other types and shapes came into existence, but none of them could take the crown from the popular gummi bear. It wasnât until Trolli created the gummi worm that this changed. Gummi worms were fun to eat, they could easily be used to create creative desserts, and were even more fun (in our opinion) to eat than gummi bears!
Gummi Worm Day was organized to celebrate the fellow confectionary monarch to the gummi bear, and the amazing Trolli company that brought it into existence. Gummi worms comes in even more flavors and varieties than the original gummi bear, including all the basic flavors, sweet and sour flavors, and our personal favorite, the sour gummi worm.
While it may be tempting to keep all of the Gummi Worms for yourself, Gummi Worm Day gives us a good opportunity to put a smile on someoneâs face by treating them to a bag of Gummi Worms. Why not bring some Gummi Worms to work and share them with your co-workers?
If you are really feeling adventurous, you could try your hand at creating this sweet treat yourself. If you take a look online, you will see that there are a lot of different recipes for Gummi Worms. Do you think that you could produce something better than the current version? You will need sugar, corn syrup, and cold water. You are also going to need unflavored gelatin. The different juices and food colouring you use will depend on the flavor you want your Gummi Worms to have.
Get gummy with it, and have an awesome Thursday!
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Iâve been researching making gummy candies. I canât seem to find corn or glucose syrup anywhere thoughâŚ
Iâm also struggling to find moulds.
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It is Friday, 16 July 2021
(W28 | D197 | 168 rem)
Today is: Guinea Pig Appreciation Day
As far as small fuzzies go, the Guinea Pig is certainly one of the worldâs favourites. Having been domesticated in South America for thousands of years, theyâre one of the longest-serving companions to humans and today are the pet of choice for many children and adults alike. With their soft squishy bodies, cute little ears and their easy-going demeanor, if youâre looking for a cuddly companion you canât go far wrong.
To keep the love of guinea pigs alive, Guinea Pig Appreciation Day celebrates everything that we love about these cutesy critters and celebrates just what it is that makes them great pets.
We first started domesticating the humble guinea pig as far back as 5000BC, when they were usually kept as livestock. In Europe, they became known as exotic pets when traders brought them to the UK in the 1500s, with even royalty being keen to keep them.
Throughout the years, we have bred many different breeds of guinea pigs â from breeds with long lush coats that need trimming frequently, to piggies with no hair at all!
No matter the breed, one thing they all have in common is their love of veggies â guinea pigs thrive off leafy veg and fruit, and since they are generally healthy animals they donât usually need a large amount of veterinary care. Because their teeth grow continuously, however, they need hay in their diet so that they keep their chompers worn down.
Guinea pigs are very social animals, and any piggie parent will tell you that they should always be kept in pairs or groups.
Piggies need quite a lot of space in their cage â a minimum of 8 square feet of floor space â so bear that in mind if you pop along to buy a cage. Itâs not uncommon to find cages in pet shops being sold for guinea pigs which are actually far too small, so be careful to choose the right one.
Same sex pairs must be kept together, or if you want a boy and a girl they must be spayed or neutered. Guinea pigs donât wait very long into their lives before they start mating, and are ready to reproduce from as young as 4 weeks old!
And remember, if you do decide to buy or adopt a guinea pig, they will need your love and care for a few years â these hardy creatures live on average between 5 and 8 years. The oldest piggie on record, named Snowball, died in 1979 at the grand old age of 15!
Itâs Friday! Letâs do the thing where we really like Fridays again. Those were fun days. (Even so, thereâs still much kak out there, and a frikken irritating pandemic - stay safe.)
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This is so important. Same goes for all small animals. Look up minimum floorspace online, and then go bigger. Pet shops donât keep up with this stuff. Also, donât buy that âfluffâ bedding, or use pine shavings, as it can cause a whole list of problems.
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It is Saturday, 17 July 2021
(W28 | D198 | 167 rem)
Today is: World Emoji Day
Emojiâs have been used since the beginning of the internet to transmit emotion in the written medium. As internet technology advanced, so did the use of the emoji, with previously pure text bits of ascii art turning into full-fledged animated faces and symbols. Weâve all used them, and weâre excited for the future of them!
World Emoji day celebrates the history of these emotional expressions, and encourages you to be exceptionally emotive! After all, itâs always nice to let someone know how youâre feeling when you write, isnât it? Emojiâs are just one more way!
Emoji day was put together as a celebration of the emoji, a textual expression of emotion that came about in the old days of Japanese mobile phones. From there, these pictographic displays of emotion exploded into worldwide use. The word âEmojiâ is derived from the Japanese words e (for picture) and moji (for character), apparently the seeming connection to the words emotion and emoticon are purely incidental!
Companies like NTT DoCoMo, au, and Vodafone first created the graphical characters (though Vodafone was Softbank Mobile at the time).
Eventually, in 2000, a library of over 1000 smiley graphics were released into the world, and ever since then it has been continuously enhanced. Now emojiâs can be found on every imaginable device, and in an ever growing list of styles themes, and characters. Expressing yourself has never been easier!
The date of Emoji Day honors the date shown on the iOS Calendar Emoji, it even has an anthem! (Check it out on YouTube, itâs actually pretty catchy!)
Modern emojis are a lot more technologically advanced and are even animated and personalized, but theyâre still an amazing way of sharing how you feel and making people laugh.
So who is the emoji master amongst your family and friends! Spend 
using as many 
as you can, and see who responds in kind. Have a great, safe Saturday.
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:) ;) :D ;D :( :'( 8==D
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It is Sunday, 18 July 2021
Today is: Ice Cream DayđŚ
Obviously another northern hemisphere day to celebrate on the midst of the heat of their summer, but itâs ice cream 
good pretty much any time, any where.
Ice Cream is without a doubt the perfect dessert ever devised by man. Itâs rich and creamy, full of the flavours of summer while being made from the cold like the winter, and is perfect at any time of the year. Ice Cream can be used to make sandwiches or entire cakes, or just eaten as a scoop all on its own. Ice Cream Day celebrates this delicious treat and all the varieties it comes in!
Ice cream has become one of the most popular dishes enjoyed by people all over the world. Therefore, it is only right that we have a date to celebrate this sweet treat, and to be able to eat as much as we want of it without feeling guilty. Well, a lot of us do that anyway, and weâre proud of it, right? After all, who wouldnât want to eat ice cream all of the time? No matter whether you eat ice cream every week or it is a rare treat for you, we definitely recommend that you indulge on Ice Cream Day!
Ice Cream has been around for a very long time, since the first time milk and ice saw each other and fell in love. Throughout the years it has come in every conceivable flavour, from gentle and universally loved vanilla, to the unusual flavour that is crab ice cream. Thatâs right, thatâs how amazingly versatile ice cream is, you can literally flavour it like anything!
Due to the difficulty of obtaining snow in hot summer months, ice cream used to be very difficult to obtain and reserved only for those of wealth and note. Thankfully with the advances made in refrigeration technology weâre able to have ice cream any time of year!
Thatâs why we enjoy Choco-Tacos in the summertime, banana splits in the winter, ice cream cakes in the springtime, and ice cream sandwiches in the fall! What a wonderful world we live in to be able to enjoy this rich and delicious treat any time of the year!
Of course, these days we have unusual variations of ice cream as well, such as those made instantly by using liquid nitrogen, or those served up in individually frozen beads. What wonders the world has created for us to love on Ice Cream Day.
Americans have President Reagan to thank for Ice Cream Day. He wanted to commemorate the treat that more than 90% of the population in the United States enjoy, and so he decided he would decree a day for ice cream. He did so in 1984. Doing this actually ended up glorifying the dairy industry in the United States, and so it probably does not come as any surprise for you to learn that Americans eat more ice cream per year than anywhere else in the world. (Big Dairy wins again!)
In fact, they eat 23 gallons each per annum to be precise. Thatâs almost 90 liters each. Thatâs a lot of ice cream, right? Reagan even created an Ice Cream month because he loved it so much. He described it as a wholesome and nutritious food that the vast majority of the United States loved. (Basically, Reagan was a Big Dairy stooge!)
We also need to understand the history of this incredible dessert. Ice cream is one of the oldest types of desserts. It is believed that the history of ice cream probably started in Iranâs Achaemenid Empire, in roughly 500BC. This is when different flavours were combined with ice in order to create treats to enjoy during the summer months. In 400C, the Persians created a special chilled food, which was a mix of vermicelli and rose water, which was served to the Royals during the summer months.
The ice was mixed with fruits, saffron, and a number of other flavours.
Bastani Sonnati is now the most popular type of Persian ice cream. This is a type of Iranian ice cream that is made from pistachios, vanilla, saffron, rose water, sugar, eggs, and milk. It also often has frozen flakes of clotted cream inside. Itâs a real treat!
There are lots of tasty and incredible ice cream recipes online, so why not try your hand at creating your own ice cream?
You may even decide to simply throw out the rulebook and add all of the flavours you love the most to see what the outcome is! Or, why not try your hand at creating one of the traditional ice cream treats, such as the Persian bastani sonnati dessert?
Even though you may not be able to pop out to your favourite local spot for a deliciously decadent ice cream sundae this Sunday, you could still make the most of Ice Cream Day at home! Either way, have a terrific day!
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Today is also Mandela Day
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, Mandelaâs birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010. However, other groups began celebrating Mandela Day on 18 July 2009.
On 27 April 2009, the 46664 concerts and the Nelson Mandela Foundation invited the global community to join them in support of an official Mandela Day. Mandela Day is not meant as a public holiday, but as a day to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africaâs former President, and his values, through volunteering and community service.
Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact.
The Mandela Day campaign message is:
"Nelson Mandela fought for social justice for 67 years. Weâre asking you to start with 67 minutes.â
"We would be honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace, reconciliation and cultural diversity.â
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Day #200
It is Monday, 19 July 2021
(W29 | D200 | 165 rem)
Today is: Get Out of the Doghouse Day
Have you wronged anyone lately? Have you not had a chance to make it up to them? Have you been too busy to connect with them? Are you looking for the perfect opportunity to get together with them?
Or have you sent someone to the Dog House? Are you still upset or mad at them? Get Out of the Doghouse Day is all about making up with someone who has sent you to the dog house, or bringing someone back in from the cold!
The day takes place annually on the third Monday in July. The phrase âIn the doghouseâ usually means in disgrace or out of favor. The original idea came from the symbolism in the 1911 Peter Pan novel written by J. M. Barrie. In Chapter 16, Mr. Darling goes out and sleeps in the dog kennel, remorseful for not paying enough attention to his family and allowing his children to be kidnapped.
Although it is not written as the specific idea and is not fully recognized as an idiom or the now well-known phrase until it is written in print in Criminalese, in 1926 by J. J. Fintery.
Generally, when you are âin the doghouse,â you have fallen out of favour with someone, usually your spouse or significant other. However, you can also be âin the doghouseâ with a friend or your boss at work. This day uses all those good cliches to get you back in the big house where you belong.
We all make mistakes, and when we do, many times we end up hurting someone. Thatâs when itâs time for us to say weâre sorry. However, just saying the words isnât enough.
Hopefully, we donât end up in the dog house very often. These steps to a genuine apology will hopefully get you out of the dog house and lead to fewer transgressions.
- RECOGNISE YOUR MISTAKE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU DID WRONG
An apology doesnât mean much if weâre just saying, âIâm sorry,â to get out of trouble with someone we care about. Itâs essential to identify the issue so we can make an appropriate apology. Otherwise, weâre just looking for quick forgiveness.
- BE SINCERE
A sincere apology shows in the presentation. Our words, body language, and how the apology is delivered all factor into its sincerity. The best apologies are offered in person whenever possible. Sometimes, though, the mistake is one that needs to be conveyed to a broader public that may be difficult to reach in person. These types of apologies need to consider every word used to be deemed sincere and genuine.
Face to face, we can ensure a sincere apology by looking directly at the person. Whatever we say, we should include the phrases âIâm sorryâ or âI apologise.â The people we hurt need to hear those words. Avoid the words âifâ and âbutâ since those words lead to placing the blame elsewhere.
- DONâT DELAY
Once we realise our mistake, itâs important to apologise to the offended person as soon as we can. Yes, apologies can be awkward, and they should be, so we avoid repeating the same mistake. Weâve harmed someone, damaged a relationship. But delaying an apology can cause more damage, making the injured party think weâre ignoring the issue. Let the healing begin and swiftly!
- TAKE OWNERSHIP
Admitting to a mistake is often looked at as a reflection of our character. But whatâs more revealing is how we handle making an apology. When we take ownership of a mistake, we avoid placing blame elsewhere. Blaming the weather, lack of sleep, or someone else involved in the circumstances makes for a weak apology.
- CORRECT THE BEHAVIOUR
Our apology should include the steps weâre going to take to prevent future mistakes. The circumstance will dictate what we need to do. For chronic lateness, we might start using an alarm or a reminder on our calendar. If weâve spoken hurtful words in anger, we may need to practice new techniques for stressful situations or even seek therapy. In the business world, correcting behaviour may include a change in policy or training.
- LISTEN
When we apologise to someone, they will want to express their feelings about the situation. Let them talk. Listen to their feedback. We may learn something new about the situation or other ways to correct it.
- DONâT EXPECT A RETURN APOLOGY
Itâs not a competition. We donât apologise to someone so they apologise to us. Itâs not a race to see who apologises first. A genuine apology is about accepting that weâve made an error, and then going forth and mending the damage done.
While following these steps may not lead to immediate forgiveness, it starts the healing. Itâs also important to remember that weâre not always at fault. We shouldnât apologise unless we mean it, and the mistake is truly our own. Open up a dialogue if there is confusion about an issue. Identify the concerns. Once the concerns have been discussed, if we find weâve harmed someone, begin preparing that apology.
Be the better human and let those that have wronged you out of the doghouse today. Hopefully, those that you have upset will do the same for you. Happy Monday!
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It is Tuesday, 20 July 2021
(W29 | D201 | 164 rem)
Today is: Moon Dayđ
Every once in a while, the human race achieves something truly remarkable, and Moon Day celebrates the occasion when we first left footsteps upon our nearest neighbour.
Itâs probably best to gloss quietly over how long it is since the last visitors landed there, but thatâs no reason to skimp on the celebrations. After all, thereâll never be a better excuse to launch firework rockets over your neighbourhood and dress up in a tinfoil suit with a fishbowl on your head. Alternatively, you might prefer to drag a telescope out into the garden, or maybe sit in a circle howling like wolves as the moon rises.
Neil Armstrong became the first man to step down onto the cratered surface of the moon and he said the following words:
âThatâs one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.â
When this happened, it was one of the most monumental occasions in our history. On Moon Day, we celebrate the historic landing on the moon that occurred on the 20th of July in 1969. We also take the time to consider the monumental effort that it takes in order to get a space program off the ground. You may have thought that we would have made thousands of space expeditions since then, but it simply is not that easy! Or that cheap!
In order to understand the history of Moon Day, we first need to understand the history of such space expeditions. On the 25th of May in 1969, it was announced by John F. Kennedy, who was president at the time, that the Apollo space program would start. This initiated NASAâs work on a manned lunar landing. He stated that it was his plant to make sure that there was an American on the Moon by the end of the decade.
After this, Americans were treated to the very first television images of the surface of the moon. This was possible because images were transmitted by Ranger 7, which was NASAâs unmanned probe. Americans were then able to watch as Apollo 8 repeated its orbit ten times around the moon.
The historic first took place when Apollo 11 landed on the moon for the first time. The world held its breath when three men became the first humans to step onto the surface of the moon. However, it was not all systems go, as NASA ended their Apollo program with Apollo 17. This was the final Moon landing mission, which happened in 1972.
However, in recent times, we have started to see more space programs initiated, so we could start to see more space activity from now on. This has been made possible because NASA has partnered with commercial companies in order to ensure that there is the funding needed to keep these projects going.
SpaceX is a prime example. Owned by Elon Musk, this company designs manufactures and launches advanced spacecraft and rockets. Their aim is to colonize Mars, and we have seen a lot of incredible innovations that they have brought to the fore. If you do not know a lot about this, we recommend using some of your time on Moon Day to find out more.
The obvious way (#ThanksCovid) to celebrate Moon Day is by watching a film about landing on the moon. There have been a number of different films and movies that have been created about this incredible event, so we definitely recommend checking some of them out. The obvious place to start is with Apollo 11.
This film was directed by Todd Douglass Miller, usually powerful visuals to retell the story of manâs first trip to the moon. This includes images such as Neil Armstrong being reflected in Buzz Aldrinâs helmet, the American flag being planted on the lunar surface, and the blast-off moment. You may think that this is simply going to be another remake of a story that you have heard about plenty of times, but it is more than this.
It actually uses sound and never-before-seen footage from the mission, which has somehow been scanned and restored. This means you get to enjoy the occasion from a whole new perspective, which is incredibly interesting to say the least.
There are a number of other interesting films about landing on the moon. Another one to consider is The Dish, which was released back in 2000. Although a true story, it does have a bit of fiction mixed in as well. It tells the story of how an Australian observatory played a critical role in ensuring everyone around the globe would be able to watch the first steps that humankind took on the moon. Other movies to consider include First Man, The Last Man on the Moon, and For All Mankind.
Have a lunar landing Tuesday! 
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If only man had stepped foot on the moon. 
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Directions unclear⌠Got arrested for indecent exposure.
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It is Wednesday, 21 July 2021
(W29 | D202 | 163 rem)
Today is: Lamington Day
A little bit of an Aussie celebration for a change today - itâs Lamington Day!
For those of you that donât know, a Lamington is a sweet snack from Australia that is cake-based and generally eaten for morning tea, afternoon tea, or high tea. This delicious treat was a kitchen mix-up that became Australiaâs most famous culinary icon.
If you have never heard of a Lamington before, you are seriously missing out! But donât worry; this day gives you the perfect opportunity to indulge in this delicious treat. In fact, you may have even tried one before, yet you may have simply not realized that they are called Lamingtons!
So, what is this delicious treat? It is essentially an Australian cake that is made from squares of sponge cake or butter caked, which is then coated in a layer of chocolate sauce, and finally rolled in desiccated coconut. Is your mouth watering yet?
The thin mixture is absorbed into the sponge cakeâs outside layer, and it is then left to set. This creates the distinctive texture of the cake. There have been a number of different variations of this cake that have been created over the years. One of the common variations is to have a layer of cream or strawberry jam in between two halves of Lamington.
Of course, you could put any sort of flavored cream or jam in between two halves of the cake to create your own unique treat. Maybe this is something you could experiment with to celebrate Lamington Day?
In fact, there are a lot of different variants of Lamingtons that are now enjoyed all around the world. The raspberry variant of this dessert is popular in New Zealand. St Helena Island, which is a small British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean has a variant that is similar, known as Coconut Fingers.
These are traditionally made for birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations. Coconut cubes or Äupavci are eaten in Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Slovenia. In the United States, coconut bars are very popular in the city of Cleveland. There is also a similar confection, known as ystervarkies - little porcupines â that is made right here in South Africa, albeit it is a lot smaller.
At over a century old, this treat was named after the Governor of Queensland, Lord Lamington. The story goes that he was having his favorite yellow sponge cake served for his guests when the maid-servant accidentally dropped the cake into melted chocolate. When his Lordship heard he was the one who recommended them to roll the squares in coconut shavings to make them less messy for guests to eat with their tea. And thus the Lamington was born.
There is even an Australian Lamington Appreciation Society (ALAS ) which is committed to the preservation of their world famous Lamingtons, and annually celebrating Lamington Day.
Lamington Day would be a great day to try out a new recipe and have your Lamington and invite friends over for afternoon tea! Here is a good recipe from the ALAS website.
Paul Tullyâs True-Blue Delicious Aussie Lamington recipe
What you will need:
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (if you only have extract use about 1 ½ teaspoons)
- 1 cup of self-rising flour
- ½ cup of milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup milk
- 4 tablespoons boiling water
- 3 cups shredded coconut
Method
Beat the eggs well, gradually adding the sugar until dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla essence and then stir in the self-rising flour. Next whip the butter into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a cake tin or Llamington baking dish and bake in a moderate oven of 180 degrees Celsius (355 degrees Fahrenheit) for 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes and then stand for 24 hours preferably in the refrigerator, before applying the icing.
The Chocolate Icing:
Stir the cocoa and icing sugar vigorously in a large bowl, adding the milk, butter and boiling water, warming the chocolate mixture over a very low heat until it has a smooth creamy texture. Cut the sponge cake into equal squares about ½ in x ½ in and, using a fork or thin skewer, dip each piece into the chocolate mixture ensuring that the mixture is liberally and evenly applied. Dip each piece into the desiccated coconut, allowing the Lamingtons to cool on a wire tray or even on parchment paper for several hours.
So, yum My Dudes! Have a great tasting Wednesday.
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