Weather ~ Taprock ~ Laney ~ Picture of the Day ~ Babe Ruth ~ Two-Minute Hawaiian Pie ~ National Sloppy Joe Day

Good 33º clear skies morning. Yesterday was summer-like! We topped at 80º! I think everyone had their doors and windows open in the afternoon! Nice. 

Yesterday at noon I met up with Bill and Jeannie Patterson, Dale and Dee Yellin, and Karen and Herm Baertschiger at Taprock for St. Paddy's Day lunch.

 L-R ... Jeannie, Dee, me, Karen, Herm, Dale, and Bill

We should have been drinking blue beer rather than green yesterday, because blue was the color originally associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick's color was blue, not green, say historians. The hue — St. Patrick's blue, can still be seen on ancient Irish flags. The blue flag of the Kingdom of Ireland was officially used from 1542 until 1801. That all changed in the 17th century. The association with the color green on St. Patrick's Day began during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol of nationalism. That evolution, combined with the idea of Ireland's lush green fields, eventually made blue a thing of the past.

Picture of the Day ... another perfect timing shot....

Interesting.....

Babe Ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his baseball cap to help keep him cool. Professional baseball uniforms were made of wool until the 1940s, rendering most players a sweaty mess during the midsummer months. As such, the Babe introduced to his teammates an unusual technique for keeping cool: He pried the leaves off a head of cabbage and spread them over the ice in a cooler. When they were sufficiently chilled, a leaf under the cap would supply much-needed relief for a few innings before needing to be replaced. A large man with an extra-large noggin, the Babe was said to require two leaves for the method to be fully effective. The chilled cabbage leaves would last a few innings before warming up and needing to be replaced with new ones.

More about Babe Ruth: In 1930 during the Great Depression, Ruth’s salary was $80,000 US Dollars, or the 2010s equivalent of $1.1 million.

From Mr. Food....

No-bake, Two-Minute Hawaiian Pie is a tropical fruit pie that really does just take 2 minutes to put together. This recipe is everything you've been looking for in a tropical, no-bake dessert; it's easy, creamy, fruity, and SO delicious!

 

• 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple in syrup, undrained
• 1 (6-serving-size) package instant vanilla pudding and pie filling
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (9-inch) prepared shortbread pie crust
• 1 (8-ounce) can sliced pineapple, drained and halved
• 8 maraschino cherries, drained
• 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut

1. In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with its syrup, dry pudding mix, and sour cream; mix until well combined. Spoon into pie crust and decorate top with pineapple slices and cherries; sprinkle with coconut.
    
2. Cover and chill at least 2 hours, or until set, before serving.

Historically this date....

1968 – Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.

1990 – In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

How sad the case has not been solved nor the art recovered!

2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

And births this date include....

1837 – Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (d. 1908)

1858 – Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (d. 1913)

1886 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor (d. 1970)

1909 – Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007)

1926 – Peter Graves, American actor (d. 2010)

My sister, Marion, knew Peter. He had a house at Tahoe and her real estate office rented it out for him. He told Marion lots of Hollywood stories, especially ones about Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, with whom Peter socialized. The stories were always whoppers!

1938 – Charley Pride, American musician

.... I have always LOVED his voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRIRTQ_k-Sg

This song, "burgers and fries and cherry pies" always gets me emotional!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2rEqLtpl8g

1945 – Michael Reagan, American radio host; adopted son of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Monday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo 

One of America’s all-time favorite hot sandwiches, it is often made with ground beef, onions, tomato sauce, brown sugar, cola or maple syrup to sweeten it and seasonings to spice it, all served up on a hamburger bun or roll.

There are different claims to the origin of the sloppy joe.  In Havana, Cuba in the 1930s there was a genuine bartender who gained popularity with vacationers who went by the name of Sloppy Joe. He earned his name for his less than enthusiastic way of cleaning the bar.  He was, however, an attentive bartender, and the bar was a hot spot for the jet set.

However, no mention is found in papers from the era of a hot sandwich on the menu matching the description of a Sloppy Joe, and the man of the same name retired to Spain in 1933.

Another claim on the sandwich is at the Ye Olde Tavern Inn by Abraham and Bertha Kaled in Sioux City, Iowa that had a loose meat sandwich on their menu in 1934. 

Whoever brought the Sloppy Joe to the world, it was made more convenient when in 1969 Hunt’s put it in a can and called it Manwich.

Today many families have their secret recipes that make their Sloppy Joe’s special.  Whether it’s an unusual spice, a novel ingredient for sweetening or a homemade tomato sauce, a Sloppy Joe lends itself to originality and personality.  A new flavor is just around the corner.  In the south, you might come across a barbecue flavor while in the north Sloppy Joe might be a little sweeter.  Whatever your flavor, it is certainly an all-American food holiday!

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy one of the following Sloppy Joe recipes:

Super Sloppy JoesSloppy JoesCrockpot Sloppy Joe Sandwiches for a CrowdSloppy Joes IIGumbo Sloppy JoesSloppy Joes with Chicken Gumbo