Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ French Fries ~ Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Rice ~ National Spinach Day

 

Good 32º frozen morning. 

 

Yesterday predictions were for a sunny day and we  started with a few clouds.......

and then it got really dark cloudy and started raining up on my mountain..... we got rain down here, but not a lot. We topped at 61º.

 

Picture of the Day ... perfectly timed

 

 

 

Interesting about french fries.....

 

Of all the things in the world to dispute, Belgium and France still haggle over which country invented French fries (fried potato sticks).

From the Belgian standpoint, the popularity of the term "French fries" is explained as a "French gastronomic hegemony" into which the cuisine of Belgium was assimilated because of a lack of understanding coupled with a shared language and geographic proximity between the two countries. Belgian journalist Jo Gérard claims that a 1781 family manuscript recounts that potatoes were deep-fried prior to 1680 in the Meuse valley, in what was then the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium.) However, Gerard has never been able to produce that manuscript. But, the common belief is that the term "French Fries" came from American soldiers when they arrived in Belgium during World War I and saw people deep-frying potato sticks. The Americans called them French fries because they believed they were in France at the time and not Belgium.

The French like to say the fried potatoes were invented by street vendors in Paris in 1789, just before the French Revolution. However, references exist in France of people eating fried potatoes as early as 1775.

French fries were given a boost in world-wide popularity thanks, in part, to American fast-food restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Burger King when they expanded beyond the borders of the United States.

If you want to read more on french fries, go here:

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

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

For those days when there's a lot to do and little time to do it, recipes like this Creamy Chicken and Rice are great. Your slow cooker does all the work, while you go about doing whatever it is you need to do. Come dinnertime your house will smell darn good and you'll have something tasty to eat!

 

• 1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice mix
• 10 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

1. Remove seasoning mix packet from rice package; sprinkle chicken with 1-1/2 teaspoons seasoning mix.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil; add chicken and cook 7 minutes or until browned, turning occasionally.
3. In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine rice, remaining seasoning mix, water, cream of chicken soup, wine, salt, and pepper; top with chicken.
4. Cover and cook on LOW setting 3-1/2 hours, or until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink. Serve chicken over rice.

 

 

Historically this date......

1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

 

1978 – Four days before the scheduled opening of Japan's Narita International Airport, a group of protestors destroys much of the equipment in the control tower with Molotov cocktails.

 

1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C..

 

 

1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides.

 

1999 – A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.

 

 

 

And births this date include....

1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor

 

1940 – James Caan, American actor

 

 

 

 

1944 – Diana Ross, American singer (The Supremes)

 

 

 

1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor

 

 

1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)

 

1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress and singer

 

 

1950 – Martin Short, Canadian comedian

 

 

1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress

 

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Friday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Spinach Day is observed annually on March 26th.  Not only are there so many delicious ways that you can enjoy spinach, but it is also incredibly good for you!

An annual plant,  spinach is native to central and southwestern Asia. Thought to have originated in ancient Persia, Arab traders carried spinach into India, and then it was introduced into ancient China where it was known as “Persian vegetable   The earliest available record of the spinach plant was found in Chinese, saying that the spinach plant was introduced into China via Nepal.

During her reign as queen of France, Catherine de Medici was well known to have enjoyed spinach so much that it was served at every meal.  To this day, dishes made with spinach are known as “Florentine” reflecting Catherine’s birth in Florence.

• Spinach is:
• Eaten raw or cooked and is available fresh, frozen or canned.
• One of the best sources of iron.
• An excellent source of calcium, folic acid, fiber, protein, calcium and vitamins A, C and K.
• Is loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants
• Believed to help improve cardiovascular and gastrointestinal health.

Types of spinach:

Savoy:  dark green color with curly leaves; usually sold in fresh bunches.
Flat or Smooth Leaf:  broad, smooth leaves;  mostly grown for canned and frozen spinach as well as soups, baby food and processed foods.
Semi-savoy:  a hybrid variety with crinkly leaves:  is sold fresh and processed.

• Following China, the United States is the world’s second-largest producer of spinach.
• California, Arizona and New Jersey are the top spinach producing states in the United States.

HOW TO OBSERVE

You might want to have a fresh spinach salad or a spinach pizza or maybe a warm, delicious spinach dip.  If one of those is not your choice, perhaps it would be a dish of creamed spinach or spinach lasagna. There are many ways to add spinach to your daily diet and partake in its health benefits.