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Monday, March 4, 2024

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Oranges ~ Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs ~ National Hug a G.I. Day

  


Good 34º morning. Rain and snow predicted for today.
 
 
Yesterday we went from 32º to 42º.
 
 
Picture of the Day... perfect timing 😀
 

 
Interesting about oranges.......
 

 

An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to Citrus × sinensis, which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related Citrus × aurantium, referred to as bitter orange.

 

The orange is a hybrid between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata). The chloroplast genome, and therefore the maternal line, is that of pomelo. The sweet orange has had its full genome sequenced.

 

The orange originated in a region encompassing Southern ChinaNortheast India, and Myanmar, and the earliest mention of the sweet orange was in Chinese literature in 314 BC. As of 1987, orange trees were found to be the most cultivated fruit tree in the world. Orange trees are widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates for their sweet fruit. The fruit of the orange tree can be eaten fresh, or processed for its juice or fragrant peel. As of 2012, sweet oranges accounted for approximately 70% of citrus production.

 



In 2019, 79 million tonnes of oranges were grown worldwide, with Brazil producing 22% of the total, followed by China and India.

Taxonomy

All citrus trees are angiosperms, belong to the single genus Citrus, and remain almost entirely interfertile. This includes grapefruitslemonslimes, oranges, and various other types and hybrids. As the interfertility of oranges and other citrus has produced numerous hybrids and cultivars, and bud mutations have also been selected, citrus taxonomy is fairly controversial, confusing, or inconsistent. The fruit of any citrus tree is considered a hesperidium, a kind of modified berry; it is covered by a rind originated by a rugged thickening of the ovary wall.

History

Yellow Oranges and Green Tangerines by Zhao Lingrang, Chinese fan painting from the Song dynasty (NPM)

 

The sweet orange is not a wild fruit, having arisen in domestication from a cross between a non-pure mandarin orange and a hybrid pomelo that had a substantial mandarin component. Since its chloroplast DNA is that of pomelo, it was likely the hybrid pomelo, perhaps a BC1 pomelo backcross, that was the maternal parent of the first orange. Based on genomic analysis, the relative proportions of the ancestral species in the sweet orange are approximately 42% pomelo and 58% mandarin. All varieties of the sweet orange descend from this prototype cross, differing only by mutations selected for during agricultural propagation. Sweet oranges have a distinct origin from the bitter orange, which arose independently, perhaps in the wild, from a cross between pure mandarin and pomelo parents. The earliest mention of the sweet orange in Chinese literature dates from 314 BC.

 

In Europe, the Moors introduced the orange to the Iberian Peninsula, which was known as Al-Andalus, with large-scale cultivation starting in the 10th century, as evidenced by complex irrigation techniques specifically adapted to support orange orchards. Citrus fruits—among them the bitter orange—were introduced to Sicily in the 9th century during the period of the Emirate of Sicily, but the sweet orange was unknown until the late 15th century or the beginnings of the 16th century, when Italian and Portuguese merchants brought orange trees into the Mediterranean area. Shortly afterward, the sweet orange quickly was adopted as an edible fruit. It was considered a luxury food grown by wealthy people in private conservatories, called orangeries. By 1646, the sweet orange was well known throughout Europe. Louis XIV of France had a great love of orange trees and built the grandest of all royal Orangeries at the Palace of Versailles. At Versailles, potted orange trees in solid silver tubs were placed throughout the rooms of the palace, while the Orangerie allowed year-round cultivation of the fruit to supply the court. When Louis condemned his finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, in 1664, part of the treasures that he confiscated were over 1,000 orange trees from Fouquet's estate at Vaux-le-Vicomte.

 

Spanish travelers introduced the sweet orange to the American continent. On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus may have planted the fruit on Hispaniola. Subsequent expeditions in the mid-1500s brought sweet oranges to South America and Mexico, and to Florida in 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St AugustineSpanish missionaries brought orange trees to Arizona between 1707 and 1710, while the Franciscans did the same in San Diego, California, in 1769. An orchard was planted at the San Gabriel Mission around 1804, and a commercial orchard was established in 1841 near present-day Los Angeles. In Louisiana, oranges were probably introduced by French explorers.

 

Archibald Menzies, the botanist and naturalist on the Vancouver Expedition, collected orange seeds in South Africa, raised the seedlings onboard, and gave them to several Hawaiian chiefs in 1792. Eventually, the sweet orange was grown in wide areas of the Hawaiian Islands, but its cultivation stopped after the arrival of the Mediterranean fruit fly in the early 1900s.

 

As oranges are rich in vitamin C and do not spoil easily, during the Age of DiscoveryPortugueseSpanish, and Dutch sailors planted citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy.

 

Florida farmers obtained seeds from New Orleans around 1872, after which orange groves were established by grafting the sweet orange on to sour orange rootstocks.

 

If you want to read more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_(fruit)

 

From Mr. Food
 

 

For this crowd-pleasing appetizer, all you have to do is mix together flavorings with prepared frozen meatballs and let the slow cooker do all the cooking! Our Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs are easy to make, easy to bring along, and easy to clean up!

 

  • 1 (9- to 10-ounce) jar sweet and sour sauce
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 pounds frozen meatballs
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained

 

  1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker; stir gently then cover with lid. Cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 5 hours, until done.
  2. Carefully remove lid to allow steam to escape. Serve directly from slow cooker (see Note).
 
Historically this date........
1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect.


 
1861 –Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his first term as President of the United States.


 
Births on this date include....
1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
 
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1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTjHwI2_dPG-sBLrt4XibzYDw7Td0ThuA7AROnBzs7zbK6HzDKMlMJVy_cxk7lfzGALR5hiRl9FP96n5YscBg-QQ9EG2RxuzZF-skLw-C_4TI1KyyG4KmYX-kUDcFeOn7NyCBBYqtaDc/s1600/johnMA28746906-0038.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGNjZAcLD6Ml4PtmtfKFMCa2gB790CirpNpnheNdqa37H7q6LKn4GGXVKYy1Y8hVyrhPQgD06VujEvpWgFnyBpzydzSL4WnL475lW6JLxHDGeAcM46tlKLa6-Sl47VmBqcQqZZ4OjPJ8/s1600/paulaMA28746906-0040.jpg
  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNT0ObK-anmkhqbeZQh44c_vjsRm9FN6bszX86uZ3lU4omuI1tBM2P5iwqYgmjaYGj3AOY50bxQNLUgD3TM6BGRp2G3IifhkE9EqkBaTNDvaRm69z7Kjf7wMtz0LfbYxXiy9BcKfzDZxE/s1600/paula2MA28746906-0041.jpg
 
 
1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
 
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1969 – Chaz Bono, American actor and gay rights activist
 
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All I know.  Nuff said. Have a good Monday. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo

As the only day on the calendar that is mnemonically (intended to assist memory) a military command, March 4th recognizes National Hug a G.I. Day.
Gather around your servicemen and women to give them a hug.  It’s simply a way to show your support. With either a pat on the back or hearty handshake, be sure to give both past and present G.I.s your appreciation. While G.I.s refer to Army personnel, the day encompasses all those who have served in the military.  So, hug those Jarheads, Wingnuts, Squids and Coasties, too!
Today the term G.I. is fairly commonly known to refer to those serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. How that came to be is a little less military protocol and more the American story.
It seems at the turn of the 20th century, G.I. was a notation used in supply records for galvanized iron. It was later used during World War I for German artillery shells made from galvanized iron.
Sometime during the war soldiers started interpreting the initials as “Government Issue” or “General Issue”. By the time World War II came around it was starting to gain meaning as the generic enlisted man.
Not surprisingly, sarcastic usage among many servicemen was common, feeling they were just like any other Government Issued supply being mass-produced for Uncle Sam.
About that time G.I. Joe was born. His creator, comic strip artist and former Army Sergeant David Breger, issued his first G.I. Joe cartoon series in Yank magazine on June 17, 1942.
The term G.I. became more permanently etched in the American language when in 1944 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill that became known as the G.I. Bill; Servicemen’s Readjustment Act.
And then there was no going back when Hasbro trademarked their G.I. Joe as an action figure in 1964.

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Find a G.I. you know and give them a hug. Is your G.I. too far away to give a hug? Send him or her a virtual one via text, e-mail, phone or even snail mail.

NATIONAL HUG A G.I. DAY HISTORY

In 1996, Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith created Hug A G.I. Day. She selected the only day on the calendar that was also a military command to salute and celebrate the men and women who risk their lives for our country and freedoms.

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