Feliz Viernes! I hope that you have had a good week as we slide into the first weekend of May.
I get writer's block some Thursday nights and last night seems to have been one of them. Nothing really grabbed me, so today will be a potpourri of miscellaneous fun things which, when put together, complement each other.
It's National Truffle Day. No, not the fungus that grows in the forest but the confectionery. However, the mushroom and the chocolate delight have a similar appearance, hence their shared name which comes from the Latin word "tuber", meaning outgrowth. Truffles originated in France, traditionally made of a chocolate ganache center (fresh cream and chocolate) coated in cocoa powder, coconut or chopped nuts and rolled into a ball. They were created by pastry chef Louis Dufour on Christmas Day 1895. His relative, Antoine Dufour, took the recipe to England in 1902 and opened a chocolate shop there. Other countries followed suit with their own versions, including the Swiss truffle, that combines melted chocolate into a mixture of boiling dairy cream and butter which is poured into molds before sprinkling with cocoa powder. The Spanish truffle incorporates dark chocolate, condensed milk, rum or another liqueur and chocolate sprinkles. European truffles are made with syrup and a base of cocoa powder, milk powder fats and other ingredients to create an emulsion. The American truffle is a half-sphere creation of dark or milk chocolate with butterfat and sometimes coconut oil. Belgian truffles (a.k.a. pralines) use either milk or dark chocolate filled with ganache, buttercream or nut paste. Given the many different types of truffles created today, there is only one way to celebrate National Truffle Day. Best eaten when fresh.
Today is also World Tuna Day, which was established in 2016 by the United Nations to raise awareness about sustainable tuna fishing. Tunas live in every ocean on the planet and have been around for a long time – they were first documented by Aristotle. There are at least 15 types of tuna (sources differ), which weigh up to 500 pounds, can be up to 8 feet long and swim up to 43 miles per hour. They are also valuable – the most expensive tuna ever sold cost $3.1 million (can you imagine paying that much money for a fish?? Hopefully it at least met the taxidermist first.) Tunas constantly migrate and are endothermic, changing their body temperature to survive in various waters. Their endothermic properties give their meat the characteristic reddish-pink color and their nutritional properties. People all over the world eat tuna. It is also one of the most exploited fish in the world, thanks to the emergence of motorized fishing boats. The number of tuna caught increased as the area of potential sites for casting nets enlarged. This led to overfishing as well as the killing of innocent bystanders such as turtles, dolphins (tuna like to hang out with them) and swordfish. As delicious as fresh tuna is, canned tuna can contain high levels of mercury (a neurotoxin), particularly albacore. Tuna is not the only fish that contains a lot of mercury – most large, predatory fish do – but it is the most commonly consumed.
While enjoying a delicious tuna steak or sushi followed by truffles for dessert, it's important to listen to some nice music. Or perhaps play it yourself (but not while eating, of course). It's National Play Your Ukulele Day, started by schoolteacher and online ukulele instructor Mike Lynch ("Ukulele Mike") in 2011. The ukulele, or uke, was developed in the 1880s, has 4 strings and 4 notes (G ,C, E and A) and, like other string instruments, comes indifferent sizes (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and bass). Its name is Hawaiian in origin meaning "jumping flea" and it is pronounced OOH-koo-leh-leh in Hawaiian. The uke is incorporated into many different types of music including country, pop and jazz. It's hard for me to think about a uke without conjuring up Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" (sung in falsetto) but there are many exceptionally talented uke players out there.
Enjoy a nice dinner with some beautiful music this weekend!
Deb
Two of my favorite (strumming) string musicians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL7AZXvl6MY