Heat ~ Picture of the Day ~ Seahorses ~ Baked Cheddar Fries ~ Rick & Wendy Harp ~ National Pralines Day

Good 57º clear sunny morning.   

   

Yesterday I was wondering if we lived in Arizona!! We topped at 105º!!!!!

Picture of the Day ....   Hmmm........

Interesting.....

Seahorse (also written sea-horse and sea horse) is the name given to 46 species of small marine fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippokampos (ἱππόκαμπος hippókampos), itself from hippos (ἵππος híppos) meaning "horse" and kampos (κάμπος kámpos) meaning "sea monster". Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile tail.

Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate salt water throughout the world, from about 45°S to 45°N. They live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, and mangroves. Four species are found in Pacific waters from North America to South America. In the Atlantic, Hippocampus erectus ranges from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. H. zosterae, known as the dwarf seahorse, is found in the Bahamas.

Seahorses range in size from 0.6 to 14.0 in. They are named for their equine appearance, with bent necks and long snouted heads and a distinctive trunk and tail. Although they are bony fish, they do not have scales, but rather thin skin stretched over a series of bony plates, which are arranged in rings throughout their bodies. Each species has a distinct number of rings. The armor of bony plates also protects them against predators, and because of this outer skeleton, they no longer have ribs. Seahorses swim upright, propelling themselves using the dorsal fin, another characteristic not shared by their close pipefish relatives, which swim horizontally

Unlike other species, it is the male seahorse that gets pregnant and gives birth to their young. The male seahorse is equipped with a pouch on its stomach in which to carry babies. When mating, the female seahorse deposits up to 1,500 eggs in the male's pouch. The male carries the eggs for 10 to 25 days until the seahorses emerge fully developed, but very small. Once the baby seahorses are released into the water, the male's role is done and he offers no further care and often mates again within hours or days during the breeding season.

From Mr. Food

If you want to fancy up your plain old french fries with ease then you'll love our Baked Cheddar Fries! These fries deliver a whole lot of flavor with not a whole lot of work. Start with frozen fries, add 5 simple ingredients, toss them in the oven and relax! You'll be thrilled how easy it is to impress!

 

• 1 (24-ounce) bag frozen French fries
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Sharp Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 450º.
    
2. Spread the French fries in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese, parsley, half-and-half, salt and pepper.
    
3. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

***

"Sometimes I leave these in the oven a little longer because I like them nice and brown", said Mr. Food. 

And today is the 58th Wedding Anniversary of Rick (LA Co. Fire Captain ret on Catalina Island) and Wendy Harp. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KIDS!

Historically this date.....

1846 – The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax in Paris, France.

1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.

2010 – John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.

And births this date include..

1893 – Roy O. Disney, American businessman, co-founded The Walt Disney Company with his brother Walt.(d. 1971)

 1895 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and soldier (d. 1983)

1931 – Billy Casper, American golfer and architect (d. 2015)

1942 – Michele Lee, American actress

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On June 24th, National Pralines Day honors a confection made from nuts (whether in whole pieces or ground) and sugar syrup. Pralines may also refer to any chocolate cookie containing the ground powder of nuts.

Around the world, candy makers create their pralines a little differently.

• Belgian Pralines – contain a hard chocolate shell with a softer, sometimes liquid, filling.
• French Pralines – a combination of almonds and caramelized sugar.
• American Pralines – contain milk or cream and are softer and creamier, resembling fudge.

At the Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte during the 17th century, French sugar industrialist, Marshal du Plessis-Praslin (1598-1675), originally inspired the early pralines. These first pralines were whole almonds, individually coated in caramelized sugar.

The powder made by grinding up sugar-coated nuts is called pralin. This is an ingredient in many types of cakes, pastries and ice creams. When this powder is mixed with chocolate, it becomes praliné in French, which gave birth to what is known in French as chocolat praliné.

The French settlers brought their recipe into Louisiana, an area of the United States where both sugar cane and pecan trees were plentiful. During the 19th century, New Orleans chefs substituted pecans for almonds, added cream to thicken the confection, and thus creating what is known throughout the Southern United States as the praline.