March ~ Picture of the Day ~ Population of California ~ 15 Minute Scandinavian Cabbage Soup ~ National Peanut Butter Lover's Day ~ National Pig Day

Good 25º clear sky frozen morning. 

OMGOSH, it's MARCH! 

On the 8th daylight savings time returns. Tuesday the 17th is St. Paddy's Day... a day for green wine!!!

 

Picture of the Day .....

Interesting...

The population of California has been steadily increasing over the past few decades. The current estimate for California's population is 39.94 million. At the last official United States census carried out in 2010, the population of California was declared at 37,253,956 which makes the state the most populous by a wide margin over 2nd place Australia (25.4 million). Sweden has an estimated population of 10.1 million people followed by New York City which has an estimated population of 8.4 million people.

From Mr. Food

This cheesy version of cabbage soup is inspired by an Old World recipe. Scandinavian Cabbage Soup is chock-full of veggies and creamy richness, making it a hearty and flavorful main dish, and it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish!

 

• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup thin carrot slices
• 1 (14-1/2-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

 

1. In a soup pot over medium-high heat, melt butter; saute cabbage, onion, celery, and carrots 8 to 10 minutes or until tender.
    
2. Add corn, peas, milk, chicken broth, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; simmer about 15 minutes. Add cheese, stirring until melted; serve immediately.
    

***To lighten up this Scandinavian Cabbage Soup a bit, start with olive oil instead of butter and use a reduced-fat cheddar cheese.

Historically this date.....

1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.

1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.

1910 – The worst avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.

1912 – Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.

1932 – The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.

1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.

1953 – Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.

1961 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.

1971 – A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.

And births this date include....

1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer (d. 1849)

1904 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader (d. 1944)

1910 – David Niven, English actor (d. 1983)

1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)

1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor (d.2020)

1946 – Lana Wood, American actress (6 husbands!!)

1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor and songwriter (d.2016)

1954 – Ron Howard, American actor and director

1967 – George Eads, American actor

1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian pop star 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Ah, peanut butter. One day is not enough to recognize peanut butter. March 1st was made for National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day. The goober has been paired, blended and added with many tasty results!

The creamy, nutty goodness that is peanut butter is so amazingly delicious that when we pair it with creamy and dreamy chocolate, we almost have bacon.

We digress. Another great love is peanut butter ice cream. Blended smooth with a few chopped nuts and a drizzle of peanut butter syrup is a peanut butter lover’s dream come true.

The slang term for peanut butter in World War II was “monkey butter.”

A monkey visited the lab at Kellogg’s one day and dipped his banana in a jar of peanut butter, and he’s been ape over the combination ever since. Actually, banana slices with peanut butter sandwiched between them and dipped in chocolate make a terrific snack.

Peanut butter and bananas was a combination even fit for a king.  Elvis Presley loved a peanut butter and banana sandwich or two.

Then peanut butter got its passport and traveled the world. It paired up with some shrimp and got a little saucy. The result is a Thai peanut butter shrimp that is so yummy it had to be true love.

Things heated up a little when peanut butter jumped into the stew pot to sweat it out with a spring chick seasoned with some cayenne. African Chicken Peanut Stew tastes better than ever.

Some of the best times peanut butter has ever had is with marshmallows.  Fudgeenjoys a satisfying dessert status to be envied.

Fun Peanut Butter Facts:

• It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
• C.H. Sumner first sold peanut butter in the United States at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis.  He sold $705.11 of the “new treat” at his concession stand.
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup was introduced to America in 1928.
• The oldest operating manufacturer and seller of peanut butter has been selling peanut butter since 1898.
• Mr. Ed TV’s used peanut butter as a secret ingredient to get a horse talking.
• Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter.
• January 24th is National Peanut Butter Day.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Fall in love with some peanut butter or a new peanut butter combination.  Try peanut butter and apples.  Or maybe fried peaches and peanut butter. Try one of the recipes above. Or how about peanut butter and bacon.  

And.............. today is also...

National Pig Day, observed annually on the 1st of March, recognizes the domesticated pig. This holiday includes events and celebrations at zoos, schools, nursing homes and sporting events around the United States.  Pig parties, pig parades and gatherings with pig collectibles are a few of the other events that have commemorated National Pig Day.

Pigs are a clever and intelligent animal, however, most people are not aware of their high level of intelligence.  They are a household pet to some that can be trained and taught tricks.

In Dublin in 1772, a trained swine called the Learned Pig told time, counted and other such tricks to entertain crowds in the streets. 

There was a famous, if fictitious, Learned Pig in London in the late 1700s which seemed to gain his learnedness from his mother eating an entire volume of Sir Robert Filmer’s manuscripts and “Saobeverel’s Sermons” before she delivered him into the world. He was born with an intelligence that seemed obvious just by looking. When one day he feasted upon the garden of the great Milton himself he began waxing poetic.

Pigs have been popular storybook characters for generations. From A.A. Milne’s Piglet to E.B. White’s Wilbur, pigs have an endearing and flavorful quality about them that makes us love them.

There are hundreds of different breeds, most of which are descended from the Eurasian Wild Boar.  The female is called a gilt or sow and can produce 10 piglets in a single litter. They also produce bacon, ham, baby back ribs, spare ribs, sirloin, pork belly and oh, so many more delectable barbecue items it would be a shame to not honor the swine on this day of all days.

HISTORY

Research has found that this day was created in 1972 by two sisters, Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave.  Ellen was a school teacher in Lubbock, Texas and Mary was from Beaufort, North Carolina.  According to Mary Lynne Rave, the purpose of National Pig Day is “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”

And, if you call a cop a pig... you are just reiterating his "pride integrity and guts" !!!