Not What I Expected! by Jenn McKinlay

 

HAPPY NATIONAL S'MORES DAY!!!

Jenn McKinlay: Y'all, one thing I do every day is to check the National Day Calendar to see what's the haps. I mean I don't want to miss National Donut Day (there might be free donuts out there) or Stay Home & Snuggle Your Dog Day (that would be tragic). 

 

You can imagine my joy when I saw today was National S'mores Day! Then I realized I don't know much about s'mores, so I read up (librarian!) and I actually discovered some hilarious and shocking facts - which is why I called this blog "Not What I Expected!" 

1. S'more comes from the hyphenated name Some More. I sort of knew that but it was nice to be reminded, although no one is clear on when the hyphen became the norm.

2. The very first marshmallows go all the way back to Ancient Greece and Rome and were derived from the juiced roots of a plant called Althaea Officinalis and were used medicinally (laxative!). 

3. The French were the first to make marshmallows into a treat (of course, they were) and by the end of the 19th century they replaced the plant juice with gelatin, making it much cheaper.

4. Here's where it gets good! The graham cracker was invented by Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, who believed human beings were going to hell in a hand basket because of their obsession with carnal desires. He felt certain that a bland dry cracker would curb people's sex drives and thus invented one, which he named it after himself (well, duh). What a legacy!

5. The first official recipe for the Some More was published in the Girl Scout guidebook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts in 1927 (naturally, it was the Girl Scouts - clearly, a precursor to their future cookie pushing endeavors). The recipe is credited to Troop Leader Loretta Scott Crew (and we are forever grateful!).

Personally, I don't use graham crackers (carnal desires be damned) because I toast my marshmallows until they are brown on the outside (not charred) and gooey in the middle. Then I slide the marshmallow off the stick and put the piece of chocolate inside to let it melt. It makes a perfect marshmallow cup of chocolate. So good! 

How about you, Reds and Readers, do you love s'mores? What are your memories of making them? 

On No Discipline Whatsoever

Okay, maybe they weren't the best New Year's resolutions, nor the most ambitious, but I was sincere about them. Really, I was.

1. No eating after 9 p.m. at night. I was doing really well with that one until last night. I had one of those cinnamon sugar graham crackers. The good news was it immediately gave me a stomach ache. So after one small lapse, maybe I'll get back on track. Unless I'm watching television late at night. Then all bets are off.

2. No email until after I've already written five pages of my novel or the book proposal. I was actually doing pretty well with this one BEFORE New Years. But this week is my blog week, and the first thing I have to do in the morning is get up and post. For some reason, these leads to checking email. Plus I have a new computer AND a new email system. So what human could possibly resist the novelty factor?

3. Be green and use all cans of tennis balls at least twice before throwing them out. I tried this, but most people I play tennis with insist on opening their own fresh can of balls if you offer a used can. So it isn't any greener and it just seems cheap.

4. Stop telling my kids what to do. They are grown ups for goodness sakes. That was the idea behind the resolution. But this week I remembered that I'm still helping to finance them. And if I let my son shop for his clothes without me (on my credit card) he comes home with stupid stuff that is the wrong size. He hates shopping. I can't help myself. I have to go and save him from himself.

5. Buy less at the supermarket. Especially produce, which almost always goes bad because I buy too much. I've already had to throw out wilted parsley and a very funky looking lemon. And my first grocery bill has not yet gone down a penny. But then again, my son is still home from school and he eats a lot. Right?

Okay everyone, what new year's eve resolutions have you already broken???

And for those you who have resolved to watch less television, if you are in the Providence area today, January 7th , I'll be reading from Teaser and talking about mysteries with the talented Mark Arsenault at the Providence Main Library, Empire Street, Providence, RI at 7 p.m. We would love to see you there!

And Congratulations to Ruth McCarty, who won a copy of Brad Park's new book: FACES OF THE GONE.

And a reminder from Hank: WINNERS!! SECOND NOTICE!!

Margie B! You win Toni'sKelner's book! Email me and send your snail mail address.

And Plastic Santa! You win a copy of Quarry, the new and wonderful collection of short stoires from New England writers (okay, including my On The House.)

Send me your snail mail!