Double Your Pleasure

Milk is not a fascinating subject. Nor is it extremely colorful. It does not shout with excitement. By itself, one might consider milk boring. BUT, when Jeff Goodby scrawled "got milk?" over 20 years ago on a poster board for a meeting, he had no idea at the time the tagline would become viral bringing milk into the limelight!

On January 11, 1878, milk reportedly was delivered in glass bottles for the very first time. Prior to this, milk was brought door to door in large metal cans and they’d ladle you out a portion, which means long before the phrase, ‘Dear, could you pick up some milk on your way home?’ came the delightful, ‘Honey, the big can of milk is here. How much ya want?’  It is also interesting to note that on April 8, 1879, The Milkman Cometh …With Glass Bottles to stores for on this day milk was sold in glass bottles for the first time in the United States. Do you remember the milkman?

January 11 is...

National Milk Day & Hot Toddy Day
*****

This is a cappuccino-type whisky with vanilla and makes the best bedtime drink. When I come home from work I'm really hyper, so this is great to make me sleepy. The whisky gives the milk a nice little "hum."  (Recipe)

What a combination...yet, perfectly so! This day's celebration affords the opportunity to make your hot toddy with milk, instead of water, to double your pleasure. While embracing the past, explore a bit of 'milk' trivia as to why this particular date yields controversy. 

Examples of milk bottles
from the late 19th century
Source: en.wikipedia.org

For Milk Day, there are many sites that say it's because milk was first delivered by Alexander Campbell in glass bottles on January 11, 1878. Mr. Campbell did in fact start a company in 1878 and he did deliver milk that year, but it is unlikely he got it all done by January 11th. Other sites declare April 8, 1879, The Milkman Cometh … With Glass Bottles but this 'cometh' is to stores to be sold as mentioned in the beginning.

What about Hot Toddy Day?

The Classic Hot Toddy

Not so easy to find the origin of Hot Toddy Day. For the toddy, most sites pose origination in Scotland sometime during the 18^th century. While the exact details are unknown, historians believe that the recipe was developed to make the taste of Scotch whiskey more palatable. Some report it comes from the toddy drink specific to India. If you're of the British mindset when it comes to your hot toddy, then it's whisky, sugar and boiling water for you, along with a sprinkling of cloves, lemon slice and cinnamon stick. In the South, they like to use tea instead of plain water.

As with any designated day of celebration, the enjoyment can be pleasured on any given day of the year. Now that Ol' Man Winter has officially arrived the hot toddy is a welcomed brew for warming the chilled bones. Even a warm glass of milk is a relaxing agent. Put the two together and voila!

 Milk is not just for drinking from a glass...

The benefits of milk are well known and dairy products are numerous. Can you imagine life without butter, cheese, ice cream, sour cream or yogurt, just to name a few? In fact, Wikipedia provides a list of dairy products from A to Z, with the exception of N, O and X. Um-m-m-m? Now that provides some food for thought. 'N' could be non-fat milk while 'O' could be organic milk but the 'X' is still a mystery unless we designate the hot toddy made with milk as x-rated!
 

Tres Leches Cake (Recipe)

This cake incorporates sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk & whipping cream!

Five Food Finds About Cocktails

Topping anything with whipped cream is an absolute delight!

Hot Toddy Icing

 You can definitely taste the liquor from the Hot Toddy so unless you plan on icing some without it, just enjoy on a weekend morning with adults, mmkay?

Hot Toddy Cupcakes (Recipe)

A doctor may not prescribe this sweet treat, but it surely is mighty tasty!

 Is your mouth watering yet?

yum, yum, yum . . . yummy!