Weather/Fog ~ Picture of the Day ~ President Zachary Taylor ~ Easy Cheeseburger Ring ~ Herman and Karen Baertschiger ~ My Parents ~ National Hot Chocolate Day

  

Good 59º windy morning. This was the forecast....

 

 

Yesterday we were foggy again. Here are pictures of Grants Pass...the main street and Safeway.....

 

 The fog left and we got some sunshine.... we topped at 65º.

Picture of the Day...Grants Pass 1890

 

 

Interesting about Zachary Taylor, President

 

 

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union. He died 16 months into his term from a stomach disease.

 

Taylor was born into a prominent family of plantation owners who moved westward from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky, in his youth; he was the last president born before the adoption of the Constitution. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1808 and made a name for himself as a captain in the War of 1812. He climbed the ranks of the military, establishing military forts along the Mississippi River and entering the Black Hawk War as a colonel in 1832. His success in the Second Seminole War attracted national attention and earned him the nickname "Old Rough and Ready".

 

In 1845, during the annexation of Texas, President James K. Polk dispatched Taylor to the Rio Grande in anticipation of a battle with Mexico over the disputed Texas–Mexico border. The Mexican–American War broke out in April 1846, and Taylor defeated Mexican troops commanded by General Mariano Arista at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, driving Arista's troops out of Texas. Taylor then led his troops into Mexico, where they defeated Mexican troops commanded by Pedro de Ampudia at the Battle of Monterrey. Defying orders, Taylor led his troops further south and, despite being severely outnumbered, dealt a crushing blow to Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista. Taylor's troops were transferred to the command of Major General Winfield Scott, but Taylor retained his popularity.

 

The Whig Party convinced a reluctant Taylor to lead its ticket in the 1848 presidential election, despite his unclear political tenets and lack of interest in politics. At the 1848 Whig National Convention, Taylor defeated Winfield Scott and former senator Henry Clay for the party's nomination. He won the general election alongside New York politician Millard Fillmore, defeating Democratic Party nominees Lewis Cass and William Orlando Butler, as well as a third-party effort led by former president Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams Sr. of the Free Soil Party. Taylor became the first president to be elected without having previously held political office. As president, he kept his distance from Congress and his Cabinet, even though partisan tensions threatened to divide the Union. Debate over the status of slavery in the Mexican Cession dominated the national political agenda and led to threats of secession from Southerners. Despite being a Southerner and a slaveholder himself, Taylor did not push for the expansion of slavery, and sought sectional harmony above all other concerns. To avoid the issue of slavery, he urged settlers in New Mexico and California to bypass the territorial stage and draft constitutions for statehood, setting the stage for the Compromise of 1850.

 

Taylor died suddenly of a stomach disease on July 9, 1850, with his administration having accomplished little aside from the ratification of the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty and having made no progress on the most divisive issue in Congress and the nation: slavery. Vice President Fillmore assumed the presidency and served the remainder of his term. Historians and scholars have ranked Taylor in the bottom quartile of U.S. presidents, owing in part to his short term of office (16 months), though he has been described as "more a forgettable president than a failed one".

 

Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, on a plantation in Orange County, Virginia, to a prominent family of planters of English ancestry. His birthplace may have been Hare Forest Farm, the home of his maternal grandfather William Strother, but this is uncertain. Another possibility, one recognized by a historical marker, is Montebello, another Orange County estate. He was the third of five surviving sons in his family (a sixth died in infancy) and had three younger sisters. His mother was Sarah Dabney (Strother) Taylor. His father, Richard Taylor, served as a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolution.

 

Taylor was a descendant of Elder William Brewster, a Pilgrim leader of the Plymouth Colony, a Mayflower immigrant, and a signer of the Mayflower Compact; and Isaac Allerton Jr., a colonial merchant, colonel, and son of Mayflower Pilgrim Isaac Allerton and Fear Brewster. Taylor's second cousin through that line was James Madison, the fourth president. He was also a member of the famous Lee family of Virginia, and a third cousin once removed of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

 

On May 3, 1808, Taylor joined the U.S. Army, receiving a commission from President Thomas Jefferson as a first lieutenant of the Kentuckian Seventh Infantry Regiment.^[9][25] He was among the new officers Congress commissioned in response to the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, in which the crew of a British Royal Navy warship had boarded a United States Navy frigate, sparking calls for war.^[26][27] Taylor spent much of 1809 in the dilapidated camps of New Orleans and nearby Terre aux Boeufs, in the Territory of Orleans. Under James Wilkinson's command, the soldiers at Terre aux Boeufs suffered greatly from disease and lack of supplies, and Taylor was given an extended leave, returning to Louisville to recover.

 

Taylor was promoted to captain in November 1810. His army duties were limited at this time, and he attended to his personal finances. Over the next several years, he began to purchase a good deal of bank stock in Louisville.^[29][30] He also bought a plantation in Louisville, as well as the Cypress Grove Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi Territory. These acquisitions included slaves, rising in number to more than 200.

 

^{Taylor died at 10:35 p.m. on July 9, 1850. He was 65 years old. After his death, Vice President Fillmore assumed the presidency and completed Taylor's term, which ended on March 4, 1853. Soon after taking office, Fillmore signed into law the Compromise of 1850, with the aim of settling many of the issues the Taylor administration faced.}

To read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachary_Taylor

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

SERVES

6

COOK TIME

35 Min

Our Easy Cheeseburger Ring is a family-favorite, ground beef dinner recipe that gets everyone excited! It's simple, tasty, and easy to customize. It even doubles as a great party appetizer. The best part? No matter where you serve it, it's gonna be budget-friendly. Everyone loves a totally classic cheeseburger way of chowing down!

 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 (8-ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef and onion, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.
3. Stir in ketchup, mustard, Cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Unroll crescent rolls. Place wide end of triangles in center of pizza pan, forming a ring, overlapping dough as necessary. Spoon meat mixture into center of each triangle. Bring smaller ends of triangles over meat, tucking ends under.
5. Bake 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden. Serve warm.

 

***Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickles for that authentic cheeseburger experience!

 

 

Special Anniversary today, my friends Herman & Karen (aka Sugar Bear) Baertschiger. Happy Anniversary kids!!! xo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Baertschiger_Jr.

 

Historically this date...........

1876 – The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations. 

 

 

1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.

1957 – Eight people on the ground in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.

 

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 – Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

 

2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

 

 

And births this date include.... 

 

1872 – Zane Grey, American novelist (d. 1939) 

 

 

 

 

His home in Avalon on Catalina Island, turned into a hotel, was a favorite place for Jerry and I to stay. Whatta view!

 

 

1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968) 

 

 

 

1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player (d. 1972) 

 

 

 

1934 – James Franciscus, American actor (d. 1991) 

 

 

 

1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008) 

 

 

 

 

 

1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player 

 

 

 

1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor 

 

 

 

1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer 

 

 

My parents were married on this day in 1926.... Leslie and Margaret Laney,  in Tombstone Arizona! No pictures of their wedding, they eloped to the county seat .... mom had been living in Bisbee. This is them in 1944.....

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good last day of January. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.

Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate 

We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.

But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture.

2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.

Make it and Benefit

Hot chocolate can be enjoyed in a variety of combinations, topped with whipped cream or marshmallows. Sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dash of peppermint makes the chocolate extra special. In the United States, an instant form of hot chocolate is popular. It is made with hot water or milk and a packet containing mostly cocoa powder, sugar, and dry milk. People enjoy topping it with marshmallows or whipped cream.

There are health benefits to drinking hot chocolate. Cocoa contains significant amounts of antioxidants that may help prevent cancer. It has also been shown that the cocoa beans help with digestion. The flavonoids that are found in the cocoa also have a positive effect on arterial health.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. You can make it with dark or milk chocolate. While you’re at it, try experimenting, too. Add some cinnamon or other flavors to your chocolate. Of course, inviting a friend to join you is essential to the celebration, too. Try adding these toppings.

• Whipped cream
• Marshmallows
• Sprinkles
• Candied fruit

Weather/Fog ~ Picture of the Day ~ President James Madison ~ Lemon Chive Asparagus ~ National Croissant Day

  

Good 49º foggy morning. 

 

 

Yesterday the fog

It finally left and we topped at 61º.

 

 

Picture of the Day...good friends 😁

 

 

Interesting about President James Madison

 

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

 

Madison was born into a prominent slave-owning planter family in Virginia. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the American Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention, which produced a new constitution designed to strengthen republican government against democratic assembly. Madison's Virginia Plan was the basis for the convention's deliberations, and he was an influential voice at the convention. He became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution and joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays that remains prominent among works of political science in American history. Madison emerged as an important leader in the House of Representatives and was a close adviser to President George Washington.

 

During the early 1790s, Madison opposed the economic program and the accompanying centralization of power favored by Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton. Alongside Thomas Jefferson, he organized the Democratic–Republican Party in opposition to Hamilton's Federalist Party. After Jefferson was elected president in 1800, Madison served as his Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809 and supported Jefferson in the case of Marbury v. Madison. While Madison was Secretary of State, Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, and later, as President, Madison oversaw related disputes in the Northwest Territories.

 

Madison was elected president in 1808. Motivated by desire to acquire land held by Britain, Spain, and Native Americans, and after diplomatic protests with a trade embargo failed to end British seizures of American shipped goods, Madison led the United States into the War of 1812. Although the war ended inconclusively, many Americans viewed the war's outcome as a successful "second war of independence" against Britain. Madison was re-elected in 1812, albeit by a smaller margin. The war convinced Madison of the necessity of a stronger federal government. He presided over the creation of the Second Bank of the United States and the enactment of the protective Tariff of 1816. By treaty or through war, Native American tribes ceded 26,000,000 acres of land to the United States under Madison's presidency.

 

Retiring from public office at the end of his presidency in 1817, Madison returned to his plantation, Montpelier, and died there in 1836. During his lifetime, Madison was a slave owner. In 1783, to prevent a slave rebellion at Montpelier, Madison freed one of his slaves. He did not free any slaves in his will. Among historians, Madison is considered one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States. Leading historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president, although they are critical of his endorsement of slavery and his leadership during the War of 1812. Madison's name is commemorated in many landmarks across the nation, both publicly and privately, with prominent examples including Madison Square Garden, James Madison University, the James Madison Memorial Building, and the USS James Madison.

 

James Madison Jr. was born on March 16, 1751 (March 5, 1750, Old Style), at Belle Grove Plantation near Port Conway in the Colony of Virginia, to James Madison Sr. and Eleanor Madison. His family had lived in Virginia since the mid-17th century. Madison's maternal grandfather, Francis Conway, was a prominent planter and tobacco merchant. His father was a tobacco planter who grew up on a plantation, then called Mount Pleasant, which he inherited upon reaching adulthood. With an estimated 100 slaves and a 5,000-acre plantation, Madison's father was among the largest landowners in Virginia's Piedmont.

 

In the early 1760s, the Madison family moved into a newly built house that they named Montpelier. Madison grew up as the oldest of twelve children, with seven brothers and four sisters, though only six lived to adulthood. Of the surviving three brothers (Francis, Ambrose, and William) and three sisters (Nelly, Sarah, and Frances), it was Ambrose who would eventually help to manage Montpelier for both his father and older brother until his own death in 1793. President Zachary Taylor was a descendant of Elder William Brewster, a Pilgrim leader of the Plymouth Colony, a Mayflower immigrant, and a signer of the Mayflower Compact; and Isaac Allerton Jr., a colonial merchant, colonel, and son of Mayflower Pilgrim Isaac Allerton and Fear Brewster. Taylor's second cousin through that line was Madison.

 

On September 15, 1794, Madison married Dolley Payne Todd, the 26-year-old widow of John Todd, a Quaker farmer who died during a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Earlier that year, Madison and Dolley Todd had been formally introduced at Madison's request by Aaron Burr. Burr had become friends with her when staying at the same Philadelphia boardinghouse. After an arranged meeting in early 1794, the two quickly became romantically engaged and prepared for a wedding that summer, but Todd suffered recurring illnesses because of her exposure to yellow fever in Philadelphia. They eventually traveled to Harewood in Virginia for their wedding. Only a few close family members attended, and Winchester reverend Alexander Balmain presided. Dolley became a renowned figure in Washington, D.C., and excelled at hosting dinners and other important political occasions. She subsequently helped to establish the modern image of the first lady of the United States as an individual who has a leading role in the social affairs of the nation.

 

Madison's health slowly deteriorated through the early-to-mid-1830s. Approaching the Fourth of July, he died of congestive heart failure at Montpelier on the morning of June 28, 1836, at the age of 85.

 

If you want to read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

SERVES

8

COOK TIME

20 Min

Between the freshness of the lemon, the snap of the asparagus, and the richness from the butter, it's hard to say what you'll love best about our Lemon Chive Asparagus. This healthy and elegant side dish is a must-make - especially in the spring!

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (see Note)

 

1. In a large skillet over high heat, bring water and salt to a boil.
    
2. Add asparagus; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, or until asparagus is tender. Drain and arrange on a serving platter.
    
3. In the same skillet over medium-high, melt butter. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix well then pour over asparagus. Serve immediately.
   
   

 

***Why not garnish the platter with slices of fresh lemon? And, if you don't have fresh chives, 1 teaspoon of freeze-dried chives can be substituted for 1 tablespoon of minced fresh.

 

Historically this date...........

1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

 

1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco.

 

And births this year include....

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American politician, 44th Governor of New York, and 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)

 

1914 – John Ireland, Canadian actor (d. 1992)

 

1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)

 

1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian (d. 2008)

 

 

1925 – Dorothy Malone, American actress (d.2018)

 

1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor

 

1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress

 

 

1941 – Dick Cheney, American politician, 7th White House Chief of Staff, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, 17th United States Secretary of Defense and 46th Vice President of the United States

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Tuesday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal.  Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant. Be sure to give your baker a shout out, too! Of course, you can always try baking your own. We’ve even provided a recipe to try.

Croissants recipe.

 

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY HISTORY

The earliest we’ve found the observance being celebrated is in 2006. National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this buttery food holiday.