National Turkey Lovers’ Day with Celeste
Yesterday was National Turkey Lovers’ Day.
Like a number of these National Days, I could not get to it until it had already passed.
That didn’t stop Emily, my evolving AI muse and assistant.
By now you’ve probably met Celeste. She has appeared in several of our series, and when I mentioned National Turkey Lovers’ Day, she decided the best way to celebrate was to spend a little time with a live turkey.
That actually seemed like a much better idea.
Wild turkeys are native to North America, and Benjamin Franklin once suggested the turkey would have made a better national symbol than the bald eagle. Whether you agree with him or not, turkeys are far more interesting birds than most people realize.
Celeste certainly seemed to enjoy the encounter, and the turkey appeared perfectly content with all the attention.
The result became another short video for my growing Emily and Friends series.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
National Egg Roll Day
Today is National Egg Roll Day.
Most people order an egg roll or two as a side item.
For this photograph, I ordered eighteen.
At that point, the egg rolls stop being a side dish and become the entire meal. Several were cut open to reveal the filling while the rest were stacked into a pile and covered with sweet and sour sauce, hot mustard, and chili sauce.
The modern American egg roll is actually a Chinese-American creation rather than a traditional Chinese food. While its exact origins are debated, the thick, bubbly wrapper and hearty filling helped make egg rolls a familiar part of takeout menus across the United States.
The egg rolls came from Panda Express, which opened its first restaurant in Glendale, California, in 1983 and has grown into the largest American-Chinese restaurant chain in the United States.
There is a lot more food to tempt you on my website along with my other photography projects, my new Motion page, and be sure to check out my blog. There is even more there and it is updated almost daily. Visit SecondFocus.com Thanks!
National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day: Krispy Kreme Raspberry Filled
Today is National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day
The entire reason for today’s holiday is the filling, yet a jelly-filled doughnut looks pretty much like a lot of other doughnuts until somebody tears it open.
So I did.
For this photograph, I chose Krispy Kreme Glazed Raspberry Filled doughnuts. While Krispy Kreme is best known for its Original Glazed doughnut, the Raspberry Filled version combines Krispy Kreme’s glazed doughnut with one of the most traditional doughnut fillings.
Krispy Kreme was founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1937 and built its reputation on fresh glazed doughnuts. Today, nearly ninety years later, it remains one of the most recognizable doughnut brands in America.
National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day follows closely behind National Doughnut Day and celebrates a style of doughnut that appears in many forms around the world. Germany has the Berliner, Poland has the pączki, Italy has the bomboloni, and in the United States we simply call them jelly-filled doughnuts.
There is a lot more food to tempt you on my website along with my other photography projects, my new Motion page, and be sure to check out my blog. There is even more there and it is updated almost daily. https://www.secondfocus.com
National Corn Dog Day – 4 of Them
A corn dog, it turns out, has a schedule.
March 16 — often cited as the original or earliest claimed date, though no one seems certain why.
March 17 — sometimes folded into St. Patrick’s Day because it’s already a crowded calendar.
March 21 — another claimed “official” date, appearing in national day listings without clear origin.
NCAA Tournament Opening Weekend — widely accepted in practice, as National Corn Dog Day is frequently tied to the start of March Madness and watch parties.
So much complexity for my “National Days of…” calendar and photography.
Meanwhile, the corn dog itself remains exactly what it is.
A hot dog, coated in cornmeal batter and deep fried on a stick. A practical invention tied back to German sausage makers who settled in Texas, adapting their product to American tastes by dipping it in cornbread batter and frying it. By 1927, the process was patented, describing food on a stick as a “clean, wholesome and tasty refreshment.” It went on to become standard fare at fairs, festivals, school lunches, and just about anywhere something could be eaten while walking.
Simple. Portable. No explanation needed.
Which makes it slightly surprising that something this simple now comes with multiple official dates and a tournament tie-in.
See more from From Bag to Background on my website at…
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Whopper Birthday
Some birthdays sneak up on you. Today happens to be the birthday of the Burger King Whopper, introduced in 1957 when a Miami burger stand decided America deserved something larger and more structurally ambitious than anything on the menu board.
James McLamore, one of the Burger King founders, noticed customers flocking to oversized burgers at rival drive-ins. His solution was simple: go bigger. Much bigger. The original Whopper sold for 37 cents and immediately rewired American expectations for how much beef should fit inside a bun. From there, fast-food evolution took over. The Double Whopper showed up because of course it did. The Angry Whopper arrived for people who needed emotional intensity with their lunch. The Brisket Whopper made a brief appearance to remind us that barbecue can be a personality trait. And then the Impossible Whopper landed in 2019, launching the plant-based arms race and proving that even vegetarians sometimes want a burger the size of a paperback novel.
This is my stack of Double Whoppers, photographed earlier. I didn’t have time to run out and buy new ones, but double is my personal preference anyway.
There is much more of my fast food project “Food From Bag To Background” on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0 You might find something to make you hungry, take a look. Thanks.
National Submarine-Hoagie-Hero-Grinder Day
Today is National Submarine-Hoagie-Hero-Grinder Day — a sandwich with many names and, apparently, many holidays. Depending on where you look, there’s also National Hoagie Day in May, National Submarine Sandwich Day in November, and even separate days for the Italian Sub, the Turkey Sub, and the Meatball Sub. Few foods have this many national observances, which probably says something about how much Americans love a good sandwich.
The submarine sandwich began with Italian immigrants in the Northeastern United States in the early 1900s, layering meats, cheese, and vegetables inside long rolls. The word “submarine” gained popularity during World War II because of its resemblance to the naval vessels, while “hoagie,” “hero,” and “grinder” each found favor in Philadelphia, New York, and New England.
In 1965, a 17-year-old named Fred DeLuca opened a small sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut — with funding from a family friend — and called it Pete’s Super Submarines. That would eventually become Subway, now one of the largest restaurant chains in the world. The brand helped turn the regional sub into a fast-food staple recognized everywhere.
The photograph here shows two of Subway’s most popular sandwiches, cut in half and photographed side by side on a black background — stacked with meats, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. Like all of my Food From Bag to Background series, they’re presented as-is, straight from the bag, with no styling or props.
You can find this and more in my Food From Bag to Background gallery at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
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