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I actually posted this recipe (well, a slightly different version!) a number of years ago. I\u2019m returning to it because it\u2019s so very satisfying for February (I accidentally almost titled this post “Return to Cheery<\/em> Pudding”)\u2014and because this year I made a video to show readers how very easy it is. (If you\u2019re following along on the video, however, be kind: I forgot to mention the lemon juice in it!)<\/p>\n Presidents\u2019 Day was placed on the third Monday in February for a reason. That date is always close to the birthday of George Washington on February 22. The day honors all presidents, even the incompetent ones like James Buchanan and the downright dishonest ones like Richard Nixon. But Washington is its star.<\/p>\n Pedants might point out that our first president wasn\u2019t actually born on February 22, 1732, but rather on February 11 as marked on the calendar in use then, the Julian calendar.<\/p>\n The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain and its colonies in 1752, and all dates were shifted 11 days to allow the calendar to catch up with the solar year.<\/p>\n Washington himself counted the 22nd as his birthday, however, and I find him an excellent source on this subject.<\/p>\n Some historians believe that Washington was our greatest president. I\u2019m not sure whether I always agree with that assessment. Washington\u2019s ownership of African Americans tarnishes his reputation.<\/p>\n Over his life time he did, however, come to view the institution of slavery as \u201cthe only unavoidable subject of regret\u201d he had for the American republic.<\/p>\n Moreover, he arranged to manumit the enslaved people he owned at his home, Mount Vernon, although they were to achieve their freedom only after his widow\u2019s death. He freed only one person during his lifetime. Still, he freed more people than most of his peers among the Founding Fathers.<\/p>\n There\u2019s one way in which he absolutely stands out as a leader. I would argue that Washington\u2019s most celebrated and most impressive achievement as our first president was the grace with which he left the office.<\/p>\n His farewell address from 1796 counseled Americans to remain united against the dangers of partisanship and regionalism. It also argued on behalf of fiscal and international conservatism.<\/p>\n His address was and is a remarkable document. Each year a United States senator reads the address on or near his birthday to the Senate. Senator Tim Kaine of Washington\u2019s home state of Virginia has said, \u201cThere\u2019s no other speech that gets that treatment. There\u2019s no other person that gets that treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Its specialness comes not just from its content, although it is a beautifully crafted document, one the president composed with the help of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Its specialness comes from its originality.<\/p>\n Although Washington was exhausted and ready to retire after decades as a soldier and statesman, many of his supporters wanted him to remain in office, to become a quasi-king.<\/p>\n His relinquishment of the presidency underlined the difference between the United States and most of the other nations in the world. It set an example of the peaceful transfer of power that would endure.<\/p>\n One of my favorite numbers in the musical Hamilton<\/em> is \u201cOne Last Time,\u201d in which Washington drafts the farewell address with his loyal friend and aide, Alexander Hamilton. \u201c[I]f we get this right,\u201d Washington sings, \u201cwe\u2019re gonna teach \u2018em how to say goodbye.\u201d He got it right, and he delivered that lesson to posterity.<\/p>\n (You can see and hear Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda perform this song at the White House here<\/a>\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n