May 24

Patricia Louise Holte's Birthday

Patricia Louise Holte, best known by her stage name of Patti LaBelle, is the legendary R&B artist considered by many as the Queen of Rock & Soul. She has a powerful voice with a remarkable high-octave range. Her professional singing career began as the front singer with Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles in the 1960s. Next was LaBelle with their 1974 hit and Creole hooker tribute - "Lady Marmalade" .
Who can forget

Gitchi gitchi ya ya da da
Gitchi gitchi ya ya here
Mocha chocolata, ya ya
Creole Lady Marmalade?

By the time of her rise to pop stardom in the mid-1980s, LaBelle was infamous for her wild hairdos, kicking off her shoes in a "Holy Ghost"-like rage, rolling over the floor while singing, putting the microphone stand down and then yielding it up in the air and choreographing the famous "spread my wings" move that she incorporated during her performances of "Over the Rainbow."

Patti then went on to have a solo recording career well into the 1990s, earning another U.S. #1 single in 1986 with "On My Own," a duet with Michael McDonald. On November 4, 2007, the World Music Awards paid tribute to LaBelle for her enduring contribution to R&B. LaBelle sang a rendition of "Lady Marmalade" at the event with Shaggy. "

Patti was diagnosed with diabetes in 1995. She is a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association, and has published two cookbooks targeted at people with diabetes, containing low-sugar and low-fat recipes. So we suggest making Diabetic Lady Marmalade for her birthday while watching her in Semi-Pro (2008).

Diabetic Lady Marmalade

Ingredients

2 oranges
2 lemons
1 pint strawberries
2 cups water

2 cups water
1/2 ounce powdered gelatin, for every 1/2 pint pulp
1/3 cup Splenda

Instructions

1.   Cut the rind from the oranges and lemons. Remove the white pith from the rind and chop rind .
2.   Cut up the pulp and and to chopped rind. Add to hulled and chopped strawberries.
3.   Place fruit mixture in a sauce pan with 2 cups water.
4.   Simmer fruit mixture with water until soft - about 60 minutes).
5.   Add Splenda to the hot but not boiling fruit. Mix well.
6.   Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup of hot water.
7.   Add to the hot fruit mixture and stir briskly for several minutes.
8.   Sterilize jar by filling it with water, then bringing water to a heavy boil (approximately 4 to 5 minutes) in a microwave oven
9.   When jam is ready, pour water from jar over lid to sterilize;
10. Remove jam from heat and add jam to jar while jar is hot, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Screw on the lid tightly and allow to cool