Rain ~ Grants Pass Downtown Cam ~ Winter Solstice ~ Picture of the Day ~ Sriracha Whole Roasted Cauliflower ~ National Date Nut Bread Day

Good 43º dark cloudy morning. 


The predicted rain started over in Grants Pass about 12:30 pm. Here is the downtown camera...

http://web.thedailycourier.com/web_cam_2/index.html


Then just about 30 minutes later it started raining and got windy here. That lasted 10 minutes and then in the late afternoon it started raining again. Odd. Not like the predictions. 

The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs annually between December 20th and December 23rd.

The winter solstice is marked by the point at which the North Pole is at its farthest from the sun during its yearly orbit around the sun. It will be approximately 23 degrees away from the sun.  Despite the temperature outside, the winter solstice is considered the astronomical beginning of winter. Meteorological winter begins December 1st and lasts until the end of February. It’s marked by the coldest average temperatures during the year.

Depending on how far north a person is in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter, their day can range from 9.5 hours to absolutely no sunrise at all.  On the bright side, the days will gradually become longer in the Northern Hemisphere until the summer solstice in June. In the Southern Hemisphere, this same day marks the summer solstice and the Southern Hemisphere’s longest day of the year.

Picture of the Day ... if you have horses, you need to make one of these!

I have made this a number of times. SO GOOD!

Sriracha Whole Roasted Cauliflower

1/4 cup olive oil

1 lemon zested and juiced

1 T. sriracha sauce

1 T. ground cumin

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. Montreal steak seasoning

1 t. ground coriander

1 head cauliflower, leaves removed and base trimmed

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix olive oil, lemon and juice, and all seasonings together.

Place cauliflower on baking sheet and brush olive oil mixture (or use your hands) all over entire cauliflower.

Roast until cauliflower is lightly browned and dry, about 30-40 minutes. Cool cauliflower 5-10 minutes. Cut into wedges and sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese.

Historically this date........

1864 – Savannah, Georgia falls to General William Tecumseh Sherman, concluding his "March to the Sea".

1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York

1944 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge – German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: "Nuts!"

1956 – Colo, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, is born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio.

1963 – The cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles (290 km) north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives.

1964 – The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.

And births this date include.... 

1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States (d. 2007)

1936 – Hector Elizondo, American actor

1945 – Diane Sawyer, American journalist

1948 – Steve Garvey, American baseball player

OMG.... "Mr. Clean" became Mr. LayMultipleWomenandHaveChildrenWithAllofThem!! What a story.

 

1949 – Maurice Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees) (d. 2003)

1949 – Robin Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees) (d.2012)

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Shortest Day of the Year. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Date Nut Bread Day on December 22nd delivers a baker’s delight to celebrate. Incidentally, some sources also suggest the day is celebrated on September 8th, too.

Dates

Believed to have originated around Iraq, dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. They have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE.

The Spaniards introduced dates into Mexico and California in 1765.

Dates provide essential nutrients and are an excellent source of dietary potassium. In ripe dates, the sugar content is about 80% with the remainder consisting of protein, fiber and trace elements of boron, cobalt, copper, fluorine, magnesium, manganese, selenium and zinc.

Nuts

Many nuts are good sources of vitamins E and B2 and are also rich in protein, folate fiber and essential minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and selenium.

Several studies have shown that those who consume nuts on a regular basis are less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. (CHD)  It was in 1993 that nuts were first linked to protections against CHD.   Since that time, many clinical trials have found that consumption of various nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations.

When mixing up the batter for quick bread loaves, add dates and nuts and your National Date Nut Day celebration will be ready to go! 

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy the following Date Nut Bread recipes.

Date Nut Spice BreadDate and Walnut Bread1947 Date Nut BreadOrange Date Nut Bread