Chillin' an Grillin'
Summertime cooks apply this thick sauce to meat toward the end of the grilling process.
What is barbecue? If you apply it too early, it will burn while the food cooks through. In the U.S., there are four predominant regional styles of barbecue sauce: Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, and Carolina.
This popular purple vegetable, prominent in Italian and Greek cooking, is ripe for harvest in August.
What is eggplant? When its skin is smooth and shiny, and it seems too heavy, it’s ripe
Money is not the root of evil, but this is
What is a love of money? This comes from the Bible—1 Timothy 6:10.
Cairo is the capital of this North African country
What is Egypt? The Great Pyramid of Giza outside Cairo is the only location of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World remaining.
August has this number of days…currently
What is 31? August didn’t always have 31 days; it started with 30 days. Then, it was increased to 31 days. When January and February were introduced, August was reduced to 29 days. Finally, it reverted to 31 days, where it has remained.
This is a more common term for “mopping.”
What is basting? Whatever you call it, it’s applying a seasoned liquid while grilling to keep the food soft and moist. The newfangled term for “spraying” is spritzing. Thank you to all the celebrity chefs for keeping us on our toes with new terminology!
When you begin to feel a nip in the air in late August, it is time to plant this generic salad ingredient. Some varieties of it include oak leaf and Buttercrunch.
What is lettuce? You can also plant any salad green, cucumber, or root or tuber vegetable in early fall. Cucumbers prefer warm weather, but they grow quickly
Money doesn’t grow on these
What are trees? We say this when we perceive that someone doesn’t understand the value of money.
Lisbon is the capital of this country.
What is Portugal? Lisbon is the oldest city in Western Europe. Fado is a genre of sad folk music, and Fado restaurants are popular among tourists and locals there.
August gets its name from this Roman emperor
Who is Augustus Caesar? Before it was named for Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, it was known as Sextilis, because it was the sixth month of the year.
Add this to the ice in a manual ice-cream maker before churning the ingredients.
What is (rock) salt? Adding salt makes the ice cream freeze faster.
This huge late bloomer is prized for its bright yellow color and its edible seeds
What is sunflower? What we think of as one sunflower is actually multiple flowers. The fuzzy, brown center comprises over a thousand tiny flowers.
The Canadian loonie coin has replaced this withdrawn paper denomination.
What is one Canadian dollar? The loonie got its nickname from the loon pictured on one side of the coin. The $2 coin is known as the “toonie,” because it’s made from two metals. Paper money of these amounts have been phased out in Canada.
Santiago is the capital of this South American country.
What is Chile? In Chile, husbands and wives have different last names because women keep their maiden names.
If you’re born under one of August’s zodiac signs, you’re either a lion or one of these.
What is maiden or virgin? Leos are represented by lions, and Virgos are represented by maidens or virgins.
You probably associate charcoal grills with this American brand.
What is Weber? The brand consistently comes up in grilling-related Top 10 lists. Another brand that has gained momentum is Slow ’N Sear (or SnS).
These beautiful insects love flowers, but you won’t see them once fall temperatures arrive, because they can’t fly in temperatures less than 55ºF.
What are butterflies? A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope or flutter.
U.S. paper money is made from a combination of two textiles. One is linen, and this is the other.
What is cotton? The composition is 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen. Many countries have switched to longer-lasting polymer notes.
Reykjavik is the capital of this European country.
What is Iceland? Iceland is part of the European continent but not part of the European Union. Fun fact: Dogs were banned in Reykjavik from 1924–1984 because they were considered farm animals.
Locals on this continent travel during August, and many mom-and-pop stores are closed.
What is Europe? While the native citizens travel, there’s no lack of tourists in Europe during August.
This is the term for a slab of meat or chicken breast that has been slit almost in half and opened to lie flat.
What is butterfly? You must be careful when preparing and grilling butterflied chicken or meat. Be sure not to cut it all the way through into two pieces, and remember that grilling time is cut in half because the meat is half as thick.
The act of removing spent blooms is referred to by this term. If you’ve been doing it all season, make sure to stop in August if you want the seeds to self-sow.
What is deadheading or pruning? When you stop removing spent flowers, they will turn into seed pods. You can pierce the pod with your fingers and spread the seeds for even more blooms next year.
This is the most counterfeited U.S. note.
What is the $20 bill? Betcha thought it was the $100 note. That’s the most counterfeited note outside of the United States. North Korea is the largest counterfeiter, and their dupes look so genuine that they cannot be detected other than by the Federal Reserve’s special machines.
Kabul is the capital of this country, where Americans and Canadians fought a war that spanned the 20th and 21st centuries.
What is Afghanistan? In the 1970s, Afghanistan was a modern country, with women fully participating in society. It was difficult to distinguish their college campuses from those in North America and the Western world.
In leap years, August starts on the same day of the week as this month.
What is February? In non-leap years, it starts on a day of the week that no other month does.