Not only is it Women’s History Month, but also March 8th is International Women’s Day.
So let’s dig into these a bit…..
In 1980, Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation designating the week of March 8th as Women’s History week. March 8th is also International Women’s Day. In 1987, Congress passed a law designating March Women's History Month.
The National Women’s History Alliance chooses the theme each year. “The theme for 2024 celebrates “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” The theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.”
This is all an outgrowth of International Women’s Day which has a very similar theme this year:
“International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In 2024, the campaign theme Inspire Inclusion emphasizes the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society.”
These themes really resonate with us and what we are trying to do with O’ts. Specifically, our hope is to bring people closer together and to understand one another better using food as the catalyst! Not to mention the fact that O’ts is 100% female founded, owned and run, by two women over 50 no less!
To that end, we think It's time to celebrate some fabulous and fierce females from the present and from the past.
We picked five women that we thought represent who Nina and I are as people – creative thinkers, cooks, avid entertainers, risk takers, women’s advocates and “femmepreneurs.” There are certainly many more than this and this will be the first of many posts from us celebrating the important and often overlooked contributions women make to our society.
FRIDA KAHLO - ARTIST & WOMEN”S ADVOCATE
Best Known For: Being a breakthrough Mexican artist, a feminist activist and revolutionary.
Our Favorite quote: “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”
JULIA CHILD - CHEF, AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & ENTERTAINER
Best known for: Introducing French cooking to American housewives and her PBS show the French chef
Our favorite quotes: “The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”
AND "I think every woman should have a blowtorch."
BETSEY JOHNSON - FEMMEPRENEUR
Best known for: Iconic fashion designer most popular in the 80’s known for a “punk chic” style of clothing
Our favorite quote: “Girls do not dress for boys. They dress for themselves, of course, each other. If girls dressed for boys, they'd just walk around naked at all times.”
MARIE C WILSON - WOMEN’S ADVOCATE
Best known for: Marie is the co- creator of “Take Your Daughter to Work Day,” 20-year tenure as President of Ms Foundation.
Our favorite quote: “Show me a woman without guilt and I’ll show you a man.”
COLE BRAUER - SAILOR
Best known for: As of yesterday, March 7th, Cole made history as the first American woman to race around the world, solo.
Our favorite quote: “It would be amazing if there was just one girl that saw me and said, ‘Oh, I can do that too,’” ]]>One bright and sunny spot in February, however, is the 14th, aka Valentine’s Day. Although some consider it a “hallmark” holiday, we prefer to think positively of the day as one of both love and friendship. February 14th doesn’t just have to be about romantic love but love in general. There is love that comes from family and friends that is just as, if not more, important. As usual, we were curious to explore the origins of the celebration of St. Valentine and whether it exists in other parts of the world.
And we can’t wait to tell you what we’ve learned!
Surprisingly, there is no one answer regarding the origins of Valentine’s Day. Of course, there are a myriad of theories.
Even in 1853, the New York Times concluded it couldn’t really explain the connection between St. Valentine and the 14th of February and the associated symbols of love like hearts and cupid, etc. The Times recently posited some theories including a connection to the ancient festival of Lupercalia which was a “raucous, wine-fueled fertility rite in which Roman men and women paired off.” Over time, as Rome became less pagan and more Christian, this festival became a celebration for St. Valentine . . . but there might not even be one specific St. Valentine that is honored.
And what is St. Valentine the patron saint of? The list is quite varied ranging from bees and epilepsy to the plague, fainting, traveling and of course… lovers!
Some countries celebrate in similar ways to us in the U.S. where others have a vastly different approach. As far as we’re concerned, it’s these cultural differences that make life interesting…… 🙂
Here are some of our favorite examples:
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, couples visit a statue of the poet Karel Hynek Macha located in a cherry tree grove and kiss under the trees.
Germany
Since the pig is the symbol of love and lust, in Germany they eschew the heart-shaped trinkets and instead exchange pig - themed gifts such as stuffed animals and statues.
Phillipines
In the Philippines, the government hosts a huge national marriage ceremony! No pressure at all to those in relationships…..
South Korea
Luckily, in South Korea there’s no pressure to marry and singles even get their own way to celebrate the day with a bowl of noodles in black bean sauce called jajangmyeon. For the uncoupled, Feb 14th is actually called “black day.”
Italy
And, of course, the Italians really celebrate love and romance to the hilt. It's called "La Festa Degli Innamorati" and it’s in honor of the goddess Juno who represents women and marriage. Tradition dictates that if a single woman sees a man on the 14th, he will become her husband. In Verona, the home of Romeo & Juliet, Valentine's Day is a 4-day festival. But what would Valentines Day in Italy be without the most romantic of all chocolates-Baci. Meaning 'kisses' in English, Baci were created in 1922 in Perugia, Italy by Luisa Spagnoli, a confectionary entrepreneur. The chocolate covered hazelnuts are wrapped in their iconic blue foil with love notes tucked inside.
]]>Well, we’ve made it 2024. Amazing!! Anna enjoyed a New Year's Eve potluck at a dear friend's house. Nina watched fireworks at midnight and rewatched When Harry Met Sally.
Given that we are all off to a fresh start in ‘24 AND it’s only our second blog post, we thought we’d take a step back and give you a bit more background about O’ts.
We hope by now you realize that our thin and crispy oatmeal cookies are made with only real ingredients: flour, sugar, oatmeal, butter, eggs and the like. As Americans, oatmeal cookies are something we’re all familiar with, but some of those other ingredients we use, where do they come from? We do a lot of research and work in the kitchen to create our unique global profiles and we thought you’d enjoy knowing more about their origins.
Chai Spice - Most of us are familiar by now with the Chai Spice Lattes that can be purchased at our favorite local coffee shop. But did you know that the Indian spice blend that you taste when sipping your warm beverage is actually called masala? Masala basically means “spice blend” in Hindi and chai is actually the word for tea. So if you say masala spice you’re saying “spice spice” and if you say chai tea you’re saying “tea tea!!” Masalas are typically an aromatic mix of different spices that can be popular in a region, village or even a family. The “chaiwalla” - a masala chai street vendor - is a common sight on streets in India as it is a very traditional on-the-go refreshment. Our chai mix contains cloves, star anise, cinnamon and black pepper.
Aleppo Pepper - You would think this pepper comes from Aleppo, Syria. However, and unfortunately, that’s not currently always the case. It’s now mostly purchased from Turkey due to the ongoing war in Syria. What we know as Aleppo Pepper comes from a burgundy chile known as the Halaby pepper. They are semi-dried after ripening, de-seeded, and then coarsely ground. Aleppo pepper is a flavor enhancer and it’s about half as spicy as red chili flakes, measuring at about 10,000 Scoville Heat Units. It’s a slow building heat that you’ll definitely start to notice after you’ve swallowed the last crumb of one of our Spicy Dark Chocolate Aleppo Pepper cookies.
Sicilian Sea Salt - Otherwise known as “white gold,” this salt has been harvested in Sicily, Italy for centuries. It is the unique product of the ocean, the sun and the specific winds that blow through the region. The salt marshes in this area are renowned for their beauty and are home to herons, egrets, pink flamingos and other wetland birds. Salt from these marshes boasts higher levels of potassium and magnesium and has a more intense flavor than other more processed salts. That’s why just a little sprinkle on top of our Sweet n’ Salty cookies give them just the right amount of salty flavor to balance out the sweet.
Of course we would be remiss if we didn’t also provide you with some fun facts about New Year’s Traditions in other parts of the world.
Brazil - At midnight people head to the beach and jump seven waves while making seven wishes. They are paying homage to Yemanja the goddess of water and wear white as they do it to symbolize purity.
India - A sculpture of an old man is made and burned to symbolize putting aside grievances from the previous year and allowing a new year to start.
Haiti - The 1st of January is also Independence day and it’s celebrated by eating a pumpkin soup called Soup Joumou because it was a delicacy that enslaved people were not permitted to eat.
Mexico - Families gather to make tamales - corn husks stuffed with meat cheese and other goodies - which are handed out to friends and family.
Denmark - This one might be our favorite! The Danish throw old plates - the more you collect at your doorstep the better the New Year….
We hope you had some fun plans this New Year as well! Maybe you even still have some broken plates at your front door :)
We are looking forward to continued health and happiness in 2024 and wish the same for all of you.
Yours in Cookies,
Nina & Anna
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We learned that the traditional Italian Christmas cake Panettone (or “panaton”) - hails from Milan. Even more interesting is that there’s a legend behind its origin. In the 15th century, the duke of Milan at the time, Ludovico II Moro was hosting a Christmas feast for local nobility. His chef burnt the dessert but one of his helpers Toni saved the day. He had already prepared something with what was available in the pantry - flour, butter, eggs, raisins and citron zest - and offered it up as an alternative. The guests loved the results and the dessert was given the name “L'è 'l pan del Toni,” which means “it’s Toni’s bread” and eventually became what we know today – Panettone.
It seems like December is a holiday month for so many cultures and religions. Christmas, Hanukkah
Kwanzaa, not to mention others that we’ve learned about recently as we’ve been doing some fun research on customs in other parts of the world. It’s amazing what we’ve learned.
Christmas - Evergreens are used as “christmas” trees because ancient Egyptians and Romans decorated evergreen trees during the winter as a hopeful sign that spring would return.
Hanukkah - Is it Chanukah, Hanukkah, or Hanukkah….?! There are technically 14 (wow!) correct spellings of the holiday. Why? Because it is transliterated from Hebrew, meaning there is no set rule on how it should be spelled or pronounced. 5 years ago Chanukah was the most used spelling but since the “Ch” sound was confusing to many, Americans have migrated to using Hanukkah more frequently.
Kwanzaa - Kwanzaa means "first fruits" in Swahili, a language spoken in Africa, and refers to the joy and unity many Africans have when celebrating the harvest season. A big part of celebrating Kwanzaa is lighting a candle each night on the kinara (kee-NAH-ruh) holds seven candles. Each candle represents one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Bodhi Day - This is celebrated annually on Dec 8th. Bodhi means enlightenment in Sanskrit and Pali and this day is said to be when Buddha Siddhartha experienced enlightenment when he sat under a peepal or “bodhi” tree until he found the origin of suffering and how to free himself and others from it.
Boxing Day - Despite the name, nobody throws a punch on this day, Dec 26th. The origin of “boxing” comes from Victorian times. The economically privileged would “box up” things they no longer needed and give them to the less fortunate. It was a day of rest for the working classes, a day to spend with their families.
Feast Day of our Lady of Guadalupe - Dec 12 marks the day almost 500 years ago when it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to a man - Juan Diego- just outside Mexico City. She appeared to him several times to ask him to build a shrine in her honor. As a result, many make a pilgrimage to visit her shrine on this day.
Wishing everyone a very wonderful holiday season wherever and however you celebrate!
Yours in cookies,
Nina & Anna