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Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

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Food

Who Knew it was Banana Day?

wednesday

There’s Banana Bread day on February 23rd, Banana Lovers Day in August, but today is regular ol’ Banana Day!  Here are some Who Knew facts from the website companion to the kids’ book The Banana Police…Did you know that:

  • the most common type of banana is called Cavendish
  • bananas are technically berries – they grow from bulbs, not seeds
  • they’re in the same family as lilies, orchids and palms
  • more than 100 billion bananas are eaten every year around the world, which makes them #4 among the top agricultural products, along with #1-2-3, wheat, rice and corn
  • Uganda has the highest per capita consumption of bananas in the world? (average resident eats 500 pounds of bananas per year; Americans eat an average of 27 pounds per person per year)
  • India produces more bananas than any other country; 28% of the worldwide crop; China is #2, the Philippines #3 and Brazil #4
  • the banana’s scientific Latin name is musa sapientum, which means “fruit of the wise men”
  • there is a Banana Club Museum in Mecca, California

Bananas

Also, did you know the Cavendish banana could be endangered?  Read more from the UK newspaper The Guardian here.

Our Word of the Day is, appropriately, sapient, an adjective: having or showing great wisdom or sound judgment.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

Who Knew? Christmas, Cheese and GPS

wednesdayWe’ve got a mix of topics for you today on WHO KNEW WEDNESDAY…

Our annual partnership with Operation Christmas Child kicks off this month,  April 23rd is OCC’s National Volunteer Week. Find out how you or your church/organization can connect with OCC by clicking here.  We also gave away one of these today!

April-OCC Tervis Tumbler

Congratulations to Darlene from Fredericktown who won our monthly prize, the OCC Tervis Tumbler!

Other who knew tidbits today:

It’s Grilled Cheese day! Celebrate with some melted goodness between two pieces of your favorite bread.

grilled cheese

and is GPS turning off your brain?  Scientific American has the details about a recent study in the UK: read more here from MIT Tech Review.

Our word of the day: rebarbative (re-BAR-buh-tiv) an adjective meaning something that causes irritation, or annoyance.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

Deep Dish Pizza!

wednesday

Deep Dish Pizza Day is today!  A chance to celebrate Chicago-style, pan or stuffed pizza.

Just look at this wonderful image!

giordanos

Here are some links to some of the top Windy City deep dish ‘joints’ out there:

Lou Malnati’s

Pizzeria Uno (nationwide chain)

Giordano’s (nationwide chain)

Geno’s East (in your grocer’s freezer)

Here’s a recipe from Taste of Home magazine to try it yourself.

Our WORD OF THE DAY is…yes, you guessed it…PIZZA! A flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer of bread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, often garnished with anchovies, sausage slices, mushrooms, etc.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

Who Knew – Hot Breakfast Month

Good afternoon! It was a snowy and cold Wednesday here in Mt. Vernon, but we talked about hot breakfast month today!
Hot breakfast month was established to encourage people to get up and start their day with a meal that’s a bit more substantial than a simple bowl of cereal. Breakfast is an important meal of the day, that much is true, but taking the time to get up in the morning, prepare breakfast, and take the time to sit down and eat a freshly cooked meal is a great start to the day as well. If you would like to read more about Hot Breakfast Month, check it out here!

We asked some of our WNZR staff what their ideal hot breakfast would be (limited to 3 entrees and a drink)…
Abbey Fairless:
French toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage with a big glass of orange juice!
Hannah Radke:
Pancakes, sausage, and an omelet with a vanilla caramel coffee!
Joe Rinehart:
French Toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon with a cup of coffee!
Mine would be chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and waffles with a cup of Earl Grey tea!

Leave us a comment with what your ideal hot breakfast would be!

We talked a little bit about black pudding, which is a blood sausage dish, popular in Britain and Ireland! Learn more about Black Pudding here!

Here’s a few Bible verses to get you up and motivated in the morning! Nothing goes better with a hot breakfast than biblical motivation, right?
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16.33
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Check out some more motivational verese here!

Our word of the day word of the day was scrumptious!  Adjective, \ˈskrəm(p)-shəs\
Delightful, excellent; especially delicious.
This word first appeared in English in 1830, and if you’d like to learn more about it, check it out here!

Have a wonderful rest of your evening! Stay warm!
– Lilly

 

Here comes…spring?

apricots
Today was the first day of spring semester courses at MVNU…but weather-wise, it’s NOT spring! Nevertheless, everyone’s back in the classroom and here’s our lineup for the Afternoon Drive:

Mondays – Joe Rinehart and Eddie Dilts
Tuesdays – Eddie and Hannah Radke
Wednesdays – Joe and Hannah
Thursdays – Joe and Lilly Buckley
Fridays – Joe and Lilly

Mystery Monday’s trivia question today was: Since it’s Apricot Day, what country is the world’s largest producer of dried apricots?  The answer – Turkey, with over 811 tons a year. Congratulations to Ruthie from Mount Vernon, who wins the $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.

Our first Winter Jam Trivia question was: Colton Dixon was on what season of American Idol?  The answer? The 11th season.  Pam from Fredericktown was our winner!

Word of the Day – crepitate (verb) to make a crackling sound.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

Winter White Candy Bark

white-bark

(courtesy of Kroger’s 2016 Holiday Coupon Book)

Taco Tuesday

steak-tacosfish-taco

So, it’s National Taco Day

We thought we’d find some unique taco recipes to share today.  The first is from Cooking Light magazine and is a steak taco with lime mayo.  Find the recipe by clicking here.

Here’s a fish taco recipe Eddie found from Alton Brown of Food Network.

Song Poetry today was Jordan Feliz and ‘Never Too Far Gone.’ Congratulations to Linda from Utica who guessed correctly from these lyrics:

There’s no distance too far, that I can’t reach you…
There’s no place that’s so dark, that I can’t find you…
Anywhere that you are, if you need proof,
Take a look at these scars and know I love you!

Name That Tune today was Zach Williams and ‘Chainbreaker.’ Mariah from Butler was our winner of the $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.

Today’s Word of the Day: tortilla (tor-TEE-yuh), a noun meaning a thin, round, unleavened bread prepared from cornmeal or sometimes wheat flour, baked on a flat plate of iron, earthenware, or the like.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

Thursday Tomato Time!

tomato-boys

Dan Monnin and Eddie Dilts toast their chilled tomato juice at the Fredericktown Tomato Show.

Make sure you stay with our coverage of the Tomato Show through Saturday night.  Also make sure you check out Marcy, Jenna and Josh’s Facebook Live event tonight from the artist meet-and-greet during the Momentum Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Our Word of the Day was phalanx, a noun meaning a number of individuals, especially persons united for a common purpose.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

Apple Pie Friday

apple pieThe first ever Apple Pie Baking Contest is coming to downtown Mount Vernon for the September First Friday

Find the details and rules by clicking here.  Thanks to COTC, MVNU, Kenyon and the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel for co-sponsoring this event!  Thanks to the Mount Vernon News for hosting the entry forms online.

Did you know Apple Pie is NOT an American original?  It was first conceived in 1381 in England.  The Dutch are also well-known for their apple crumb and apple lattice pies.

Originally, apple pie eaters DID NOT eat the crust.  Sugar was very scarce in the 14th century so crusts simply held the pie filling and were called coffins.  Yes, like the burial coffins.

Today’s Word of the Day is lattice, which means ‘a structure consisting of strips of wood or metal crossed and fastened together with square or diamond-shaped spaces left between, used typically as a screen or fence or as a support for climbing plants’ (or a pattern that looks like that). It can also mean, in physics, a regular repeated three-dimensional arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

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