Clear/Clouds ~ Grants Pass Parade ~ Picture of the Day ~ Giraffe's Tongue ~ Tuscan Tortellini Pasta Salad ~ John Wayne ~ Rain ~ National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

 

Good 44º raining morning.

 

 

Yesterday started off clear and it was beautiful.... then the clouds decided to move in.....

With the cloud cover we stayed in the high 50ºs and low 60ºs.

 

 

This picture was taken off the Grants Pass downtown camera of folks getting ready for the parade....

 

And then here's my grandson, Tucker's high school band.............

I know. The pictures are not very clear, but the downtown cam is high up on a building. At least it didn't rain on the parade!!!

 

Picture of the Day..... A police officer on a Harley-Davidson transports a prisoner in a mobile holding cell (1921).

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting about giraffes..........

 

It is commonly known that the Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world, sometimes reaching a height in excess of 18 feet. Along with it’s length neck, the giraffe has a very long tongue — more than a foot and a half long. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue! That is ample enough length to clean its ears out.

 

The tongue is well adapted to harvesting leaves from high trees, notably the acacia tree. Acacia trees are known to have thorns, so the giraffe must use its tongue to sort out the thorns from the leaves. Fortunately, a giraffe’s tongue has thickened papillae, which helps to protect it from the thorns of the acacia tree. Thick saliva may also help to protect the tongue. 

The color of the tongue has sometimes been described as being either black, blue or purple. 

 

 

 

TUSCAN TORTELLINI PASTA SALAD

from the Slow Roasted Italian...

 

Tuscan Tortellini Salad recipe is bursting with your favorite italian fixings and on your table in 25 minutes! You can make the salad ahead of time for the perfect stress free potluck side that everyone will love!

• 1 (20-ounce) bag cheese tortellini
• 1 English cucumber, cut into quarters and sliced
• 16 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped pepperoncini’s
• 1 (6.0-ounce) can black olives, drained and halved
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls, cut into bite size pieces
• 8 ounces salami, chopped

DRESSING

• 1/2 cup light tasting olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook tortellini according to directions on the package.  Drain and set add to a large serving bowl.
2. Meanwhile, combine dressing ingredients in a pint size mason jar. Seal and shake vigorously. Pour half of the dressing over the warm pasta and toss to combine.
3. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl and toss until well coated. If serving immediately then toss with remaining dressing.  If serving the next day then cover and refrigerate and wait until you are ready to serve the salad before tossing with remaining dressing. 

COOK'S NOTES

It is important to not overcook your tortellini otherwise it will fall apart when tossed.

After pasta is rinsed and drained, immediately add it to a large bowl then toss it with half of the dressing to keep it from sticking.

This Salad is excellent the next day. When making ahead, use 1/2 of the dressing when preparing the salad and reserve the remaining dressing to pour over the salad before you serve it. 

For the mozzarella, I prefer to use fresh mozzarella balls, cut into bite size pieces. If this mozzarella is too expensive or you don’t want to make a separate trip, you can substitute mozzarella cubes.

 

 

 

 

Today is the birthday of someone so many of us loved. John Wayne. Born 1907 and died 1979. A hero to so many. His birth name was Morrison and my family is distantly related on the Scottish side of my family. My sister's name was Marion!  He was a hero to Jerry's family too, as his mother named him John Wayne Maxwell, but his father said that wouldn't work, so they changed his name to Jerry Wayne Maxwell!!

 

 

Interesting read:

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

A good friend of ours, the late Sid Hackle (LASD SR Capt), was friends with the Duke. Sid's brother was the Duke's personal photographer and Duke and Sid got close as they both liked fishing and hunting. They would spend time on his boat, Wild Goose, traveling to Mexico to fish.

 

 

Historically this date........

  

1783 – A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut celebrated end of fighting in American Revolution.

1868 – The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote.

1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.

1977 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City's World Trade Center.

 

1983 – A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people and injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed.

1998 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.

2004 – The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.

 

And births this date include....

1886 – Al Jolson, American singer (d. 1950)

 

1912 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian actor (d. 1980)

 

1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)

... another Hollywood Republican! Apparently that pissed off Lady Bird Johnson because she loved Gunsmoke!

1949 – Hank Williams Jr., American singer

 

1951 – Sally Ride, American astronaut (d. 2012)

 

 

The day stayed really nice for the activities in Grants Pass until about 6pm when the rain started. So far we've gotten 1/2". 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

 

A food holiday for cheesecake lovers, National Blueberry Cheesecake Day is observed on May 26th.

Cheesecake is a sweet dessert that is a mixture of fresh soft cheese, cream cheese or cottage cheese, eggs and sugar on a crust made from crushed graham crackers, crushed cookies, pastry or sponge cake. Cheesecakes can be prepared baked or unbaked and are often served topped with fruit, chocolate or whipped cream.  There are many varieties of cheesecake. However, this day honors the blueberry cheesecake.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy a blueberry cheesecake at your favorite restaurant.  If you’re handy in the kitchen, try one of these recipes:

The Best Blueberry CheesecakeBlueberry CheesecakeNo-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake with Graham Cracker CrustBlueberry CheesecakeBlueberry  Cheesecake CookiesBlueberry Cheesecake BarsBlueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes