Monday, September 12, 2011

National Fortune Cookie Day

By Diane Forrest,


Each day comes just once in a lifetime; today you are creating tomorrow's memories.  Today is National Fortune Cookie Day.  Fortune cookies are crisp little cookies or crackers that are made from flour, sugar, vanilla and oil.  They are folded and stuffed with a "fortune" written on a piece of paper.  This is usually a bit of advice or vague prophesy.  They may also include lucky numbers and  a Chinese translation  of some sort. 

Fortune cookies originated in Japan, they are served in Chinese restaurants, and eaten by Americans.  They cannot be found in China!

When I was younger I was involved with a group called Acteens.  It was a church group for young girls to learn about missions in other countries.  One night we held a "progressive" dinner.  What this entailed was having several courses of a meal, each course taking place at a different home, and featuring food from a different country.  For some reason I chose to make some fortune cookies to help out a friend.  Even though I loved to bake even back then, I was not too bright when it came to reading directions.  I made the cookies, folded them, stuck the "fortunes" inside, and then baked them.  This is not how they are made.  They are baked, removed from the oven, then place the fortune in and fold while they are still warm.  They are cut into a round shape for baking, then folded in half and squeezing the two ends together. 

My cookies turned out badly.  They did not keep their shape, and the fortunes were illegible from the grease, and were hard to remove from the cookie.  The effort was fun though.

Fortune cookies are a novelty these days.  I have heard several "rules" about them.  One being that the host serves the fortune cookies to the guests first, taking the remaining for their own.  I have also heard that you do not eat the cookie, just open it to retrieve your fortune.   I think this one was made up by someone who just didn't like the cookie.  They are pretty hard, but some are quite tasty.  I did find a site for ordering your own fortune cookies, if you are thanking guests for attending a wedding, or announcing the birth of a baby, or even advertising a business.  You can design your own "fortune" or pick on of theirs.   It is just an idea for a fun and different way to express yourself.  Here is the site, if you want to try them out at your next event:  http://www.kcfortunecookiefactory.com/

So today, on Fortune Cookie day, why not stop by a Chinese restaurant for lunch or dinner and grab some cookies too!  Who knows what your fortune will be.  If you can't get one today, you can try this site.  Just click the "Open Cookie" and it will give you a fortune, lucky numbers and a Chinese phrase.
http://www.fortunecookiemessage.com/

Measure success not by how much money you make but by your contributions to the lives of others.

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