Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ A Peculiar Town ~ Egg Strata Breakfast ~ National Avocado Day

 

Good 66º cloudy gloomy morning. 

 

Yesterday we started off cloudy and gloomy..we stayed that way even though we heated to 106º. 

 

 

Picture of the Day 

 

 

 

Interesting about a Peculiar town....

 

Peculiar is a city in Cass County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 4,608 at the 2010 census. The town motto is "Where the 'odds' are with you."

Early settlers of the town came to Western Missouri by riverboat from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Peculiar also had families coming from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. On July 29, 1868, the county surveyor, Robert Cass, platted Peculiar and was filed as "The Town of Peculiar".

 

There are at least two versions of the story on how Peculiar received its name. The first involves the community's first postmaster, Edgar Thomson. His first choice for a town name, "Excelsior," was rejected because it already existed in Atchison County, Missouri. Several other choices were also rejected. The story goes that the annoyed Thomson wrote to the Postmaster General himself to complain saying, among other things, "We don't care what name you give us so long as it is sort of 'peculiar'." Thomson submitted the name "Peculiar" and the name was approved. The post office was established on June 22, 1868.

 

In an alternate version, according to Missouri folklorist Margot Ford McMillen, early settlers were searching for a location to farm. As they cleared a small rise and looked below, one remarked "Well that's peculiar! It's the very place I saw in a vision back in Connecticut." The land was purchased and eventually a village sprang up on it, which was named "Peculiar".

 

Peculiar incorporated as a village in the 1890s and became a fourth class city of the state of Missouri in 1953.

The city celebrated its centenary in July 1968. The celebrations continued for nine days and included an antique show and sale, a Lions Club championship rodeo, and an open class Western horse show.

Here is the Peculiar Police! :o)

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

Mr. Food joins America's Egg Farmers aboard the navy ship USS Porter to salute America's military. Their Good Egg Breakfast puts a smile on everyone's face there, as it will on your ship...we mean, at your house.

 

• 4 slices dense white or whole-grain bread
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

 

1. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place bread in a single layer in baking dish.
    
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper then pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
    
3. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 28 to 30 minutes, or until firm in center. Serve immediately.
    

 

 

Historically this date.....

1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.

 

1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.

 

1941 – Holocaust: under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."

 

 

1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.

 

 

2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.

 

2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.

 

 

And births this date include....

1929 – Don Murray, American actor

 

1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)

 

1939 – France Nuyen, French actress

 

1965 – J. K. Rowling, British writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Last Day of July. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

 

 

Ripe for the picking, add this delicious super fruit to your menu to join in National Avocado Day on July 31!

Guacamole is grand, but don’t settle for just the chips and dip on this food holiday.  Clear the table for everything from the appetizer and main dish all the way to dessert.  On National Avocado Day, this tree grown fruit has them all covered!

Avocados have become more than a staple food in the American diet; they have proven to be a key ingredient in recipes for both inside the body and on the body! According to the Hass Avocado Board, as of 2015, avocado consumption in the United States doubled since 2005 and quadrupled since 2000. In fact, a whopping 4.25 billion avocados were sold in the U.S. in 2015. That’s four point two five billion of this amazingly beautiful food.

Super Food

There are many reasons to celebrate National Avocado Day. Targeting insulin resistance with heart-healthy fats and fighting Alzheimer’s with its Omega 3 fatty acids, the avocado also prevents and repairs damage due to its source of Vitamins C, E and K.

One of the secret weapons in an avocado is the high oleic acid content. This moisturizing fatty acid helps keep skin soft and hydrated but also supports regeneration of damaged skin cells reducing redness and irritation. Eat more of this superfruit or cook with avocado oil if you have this type of skin issue.

Beauty

Ancient Aztecs used the avocado to beautify their skin topically with masks, and in the early 20th century the cosmetic industry discovered the benefits of its oil in creams, lotions, facial cleansers and other products that required a smooth application. The practice continues today.

Avocados have found their way into every meal of the day and even into dessert.  The creamy texture replaces calorie-laden oils with healthful fats so we can indulge without the guilt.  What better way to celebrate National Avocado Day than to indulge a little?

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy an avocado and try a new recipe.

Avocado Cupcakes from Will Cook for Smiles

*** Growing up we had an avocado tree in the backyard. It was HUGE! Daddy had grafted about 4 different varieties of avocados onto the tree. Basically it had Hass and Fuerte. I don't remember the others, but we had avocados year round! And.... you didn't lay under the tree because those little beauties would sometimes fall off the tree!

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Interesting About Illinois ~ Chocolate Chip Pound Cake ~ National Cheesecake Day

 

Good 60º cloudy morning.

 

Yesterday we started out with pretty clouds....

Then we hopped up to 109.9º!! Then the clouds came in and for almost and hour we had rain and thunder.....

 

 

Picture of the Day.. then and now, Kim Novak 88 years old

 

Born in 1933, Kim Novak was originally poised to be the next Rita Hayworth for Columbia Pictures. She starred in the 1954 film Pushover, but is best known for portraying Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton in the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo. Novak is no longer acting but is a photographer, poet, and visual artist.

Interesting about Illinois....

 

 

The first Aquarium opened in Chicago, 1893.

 

The world’s first Skyscraper was built in Chicago, 1885.

Home to the Chicago Bears Football Team, Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, Chicago Bulls basketball team, Chicago Cubs and Chicago Whitesox baseball teams, Chicago Fire soccer team.

 

The Sears Tower, Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent.

 

Des Plaines is home to the first McDonald’s.

 

Springfield is the state capital and the home of the National Historic Site of the home of President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.

 

Dixon is the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan.

 

The ice cream “sundae” was named in Evanston. The piety of the town resented the dissipating influences of the soda fountain on Sunday and the good town fathers, yielding to this churchly influence, passed an ordinance prohibiting the retailing of ice cream sodas on Sunday. Ingenious confectioners and drug store operators obeying the law, served ice cream with the syrup of your choice without the soda. Objections then was made to christening a dish after the Sabbath. So the spelling of “sunday” was changed. It became an established dish and an established word and finally the “sundae”.

 

In 1905, president of the Chicago Cubs filed charges against a fan in the bleachers for catching a fly ball and keeping it.

 

The Chicago Public Library is the world’s largest public library with a collection of more than 2 million books.

 

The Chicago River is dyed green on Saint Patrick’s Day.

The world’s largest cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995, is located in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

This moist, chocolatey pound cake is stuffed full of chocolate chips, making this a recipe that any chocolate lover would love to devour. Bake this Chocolate Chip Pound Cake when you're looking for an easy way to impress your guests.

 

• 1 (16-ounce) package yellow cake mix (without pudding)
• 1 (6-serving size) package chocolate instant pudding mix
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 6 ounces mini semisweet chocolate chips
• Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.
    
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cake mix, pudding mix, sugar, water, and oil about 2 minutes, or until creamy. Add sour cream, mixing well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
    
3. Bake 1 hour, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.

 

 

Historically this date.....

1866 – New Orleans, Louisiana's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150.

1945 – World War II: Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 Mission – David Scott and James Irwin on the Apollo Lunar Module module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.

1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again, and will be declared legally dead on this date in 1982.

1990 – George Steinbrenner is forced by Commissioner Fay Vincent to resign as principal partner of New York Yankees for hiring Howie Spira to "get dirt" on Dave Winfield.

2003 – In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.

And births this date include...

1863 – Henry Ford, American businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (d. 1947)

1933 – Edd Byrnes, American actor  (d.2020)

 

 

1941 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor

 

 

1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California

 

...........if you don't use it, you lose it!

 

 

1954 – Ken Olin, American actor

 

 

 

1956 – Delta Burke, American actress

.............OMGOSH!

 

 

1963 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress, writer, and producer

 

1974 – Hilary Swank, American actress

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Cheesecake Day on July 30th offers a slice of one of America’s favorite desserts. Order up a slice of cheesecake with your favorite topping. Get it delivered or make it at home.

This smooth dessert hits the spot when dessert time rolls around. While most cakes have a crumb, cheesecake’s texture is nothing like cake. Indeed, its creamy, thick pudding-like character comes from the soft cheese used as the main ingredient. Depending on the recipe, either cream cheese or cottage cheese is used. When the cheese is mixed with sugar, eggs, and other ingredients, the batter is added to a crust.

When making cheesecake, one of the most common crusts used is a graham cracker crust. Other options include a cookie crust, pastry or sponge cake. However, some cheesecakes are crustless. Depending on the recipe, cheesecakes may be prepared baked or unbaked.

When faced with choosing a cheesecake flavor, don’t panic. While the options may seem overwhelming, bakers solved this problem. They offer a variety of flavors in one cake. So, take one home and try each one. Since cheesecakes do come in a wide variety, consider your tastes. If you prefer summer fruits and berries, cheesecakes have you covered. Tropical options hit the spot, too. For coffee lovers, bakers provide a rich selection. And don’t forget delicious chocolate and nutty flavors. Each cheesecake may be served with fresh fruit, a sauce, whipped cream or plain.

History of the Cheesecake

When it comes to searching for cheesecake’s history, we look to ancient Greece. A form of the dessert comes up as recipe served to athletes. It has been found that the earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes.

James Kraft developed a form of pasteurized cream cheese in 1912. In 1928, Kraft acquired the Philadelphia trademark and marketed pasteurized Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Today, cheesecake makers use this brand more than any other.

Styles of Cheesecakes:

• New York-style cheesecake
• Pennsylvania Dutch-style cheesecake
• Philadelphia-style
• Farmer cheese cheesecake
• Country-style cheesecake
• Lactose-free cheesecake
• Cheesecake Kludys
• Chicago Style cheesecake
• Savory cheesecake