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Thursday, September 8, 2022

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Avocados History ~  Fried Cornmeal Mush ~ Ed Chenal ~ National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day

  


Good 50º clear morning.
 
 
Yesterday we started cloudy and even had a splash of rain.... later the clouds spread out and we got smokey.... Then the smoke left and we got clear....we topped at 103º.






Picture of the Day
 

 
Interesting about avocados.........
 

The avocado (Persea americana) is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to the Americas. It is widely cultivated for its large, fleshy fruit. The tree likely originated in the highland regions of south-central Mexico to Guatemala. Its fruit (called avocado, avocado pear, alligator pear, or colloquially avo) is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating, and are often propagated through grafting to maintain predictable fruit quality and quantity.

 

Avocados are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates of many countries, with Mexico as the leading producer of avocados in 2019, supplying 32% of the world total. Avocado production is one of the most environmentally intensive fruits, using 18 US gallons; 15 imperial gallons of water per avocado, and over 400 grams of CO2 emissions. In major production regions like Chile, Mexico and California, the water demands for avocado puts pressure on overall water resources. Avocado production is also connected to other concerns, including environmental justice and human rights concerns, deforestation and connections of Mexican avocados with organized crime. Climate change is expected to cause significant changes in the suitable growing zones for avocados, and put additional pressure due to heat waves and drought.

 

The fruit of domestic varieties has smooth, buttery, golden flesh when ripe. Depending on the variety, avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin, and may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, the fruits are picked while immature, and ripened after harvesting. The high nutrient and fat contents and texture of avocado flesh are useful for different cuisines, including salads and vegetarian diets.

 

Persea americana is a tree that grows to 66 ft, with alternately arranged leaves 5–10 in long. Panicles of flowers with deciduous bracts arise from new growth or the axils of leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 31638 in wide.

 


The species is variable because of selection pressure by humans to produce larger, fleshier fruits with a thinner exocarp. The avocado fruit is a climacteric, single-seeded berry, due to the imperceptible endocarp covering the seed, rather than a drupe. The pear-shaped fruit is usually 3–8 in long, weighs between 3+12 and 35+12 oz, and has a large central seed, 2–2+12 in long.

 

Persea americana, or the avocado, possibly originated in the Tehuacan Valley in the state of Puebla, Mexico, although fossil evidence suggests similar species were much more widespread millions of years ago. However, there is evidence for three possible separate domestications of the avocado, resulting in the currently recognized Mexican (aoacatl), Guatemalan (quilaoacatl), and West Indian (tlacacolaocatllandraces. The Mexican and Guatemalan landraces originated in the highlands of those countries, while the West Indian landrace is a lowland variety that ranges from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador to Peru, achieving a wide range through human agency before the arrival of the Europeans. The three separate landraces were most likely to have already intermingled in pre-Columbian America and were described in the Florentine Codex.

 

The word avocado comes from the Spanish aguacate, which derives from the Nahuatl (Mexican) word āhuacatl [aːˈwakat͡ɬ], which goes back to the proto-Aztecan *pa:wa. In Molina's Nahuatl dictionary "auacatl" is given also as the translation for compañón "testicle", and this has been taken up in popular culture where a frequent claim is that testicle was the word's original meaning. This is not the case, as the original meaning can be reconstructed rather as "avocado" - rather the word seems to have been used in Nahuatl as a euphemism for "testicle".

 

The modern English name comes from a rendering of the Spanish aguacate as avogato. The earliest known written use in English is attested from 1697 as avogato pear, later avocado pear (due to its shape), a term sometimes corrupted to alligator pear.

 

In Central American, Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries, and Spain it is known by the Mexican Spanish name aguacate, while South American Spanish-speaking countries Argentina, Chile, Perú and Uruguay use a Quechua-derived word, palta. In Portuguese, it is abacate. The Nahuatl āhuacatl can be compounded with other words, as in ahuacamolli, meaning avocado soup or sauce, from which the Spanish word guacamole derives.

 

In the United Kingdom the term avocado pear, applied when avocados first became commonly available in the 1960s, is sometimes used.

 

Originating as a diminutive in Australian English, a clipped form, avo, has since become a common colloquialism in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

 

It is known as "butter fruit" in parts of India.

 

Seventy-six percent of Mexico's avocado exports go to the United States, with the free trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico in July 2020 facilitating avocado shipments within the North American free trade zone. The Mexican domestic market was expanding during 2020. Mexican avocado exports are challenged by growth of production by Peru and the Dominican Republic to supply the US and European markets.

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican avocado farmers restricted harvesting as the overall demand and supply chain slowed due to labor and shipping restrictions. Later in 2020, demand in the United States and within Mexico increased at a time when American retail prices continued to rise. During 2020 in the United States, month-to-month volume sales of avocados were similar to those of tomatoes at about 250 million pounds  per month. A report issued in mid-2020 forecast that the worldwide market, which was US$13.7 billion in 2018, would recover after the end of the pandemic and rise to US$21.6 billion by 2026.

 

In 2022, a prospective cohort study following 110,487 people for 30 years found that eating two servings of avocado per week reduced the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases by 16–22%. The study involved replacing half a daily serving of saturated fat sources, including margarine, butter, egg, yogurt, cheese, or processed meats, with an equivalent amount of avocado.

 

 

 

 

From Mr. Food
 

This old-fashioned recipe for Fried Cornmeal Mush is one that won't ever go out of style. Most Midwesterners will tell you it's one of their go-to breakfast staples, while some folks will say it makes a tasty side dish! However you eat it, there's no denying it's gooood.

 

  • 3/4 cups water
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup bacon bits
  • maple syrup for drizzling

 

  1. Coat an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil over medium heat. Gradually stir in cornmeal, cold water, sugar, and salt; cook until thick. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Pour into loaf pan, cool, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Invert onto board and cut into 1-inch slices.
  4. In a skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat and fry cornmeal slices for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle with bacon bits and drizzle with maple syrup.
 
 
Special birthday today, Ed Chenal (LASD ret.) is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED!!
 
Historically this date.....
1504 – Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence.

 
1883 – The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in an event attended by rail and political luminaries.


1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.
 
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 
 
1966 – The first Star Trek series premieres on NBC.



1975 – Gays in the militaryUS Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is given a general discharge, which was later upgraded to honorable.

 
 
And births this date include....
1922 – Sid Caesar, American comedian (d.2014)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Q26XxtYWNhqEU0ZnmqRRiY6mkH0luhUTHHCxP_RxJhwE-SsOdDkuMz_7GzRE58FPLjQowHFPYiu1fXoA3mejumUQZTE_MqgBTbRu3qQpA62ppwmM2FBwra8AQk2eqdMf2cm7jCEP9_9J/s1600/sidMA29065045-0010.jpg
 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPRpnvXnn2ygDdJHoxS8Ke6L1C7vUaQhNIxtLD-qBEq0XLlcP6Q7uBBP-GvsQoRD2pr1A878LJt7CwZ2DRv9pC34IFMck9mhRw1rAPG4iB36_8TG4i-wwOOE5prJLXVw6XlBJBkLnIYU8/s1600/sid2MA29065045-0011.jpghttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiSrB57mnuH0cMr8QZdA0jOuBpuTs1vC6cQu3BAFzl7v-cgdNYPPKQmVwdUMgkDSnZpBx4Kce-5JqzSMNDWoLQL75DFrkrHHtIo6G6gInbq5wYIk0or1SEjE3rWf1w8gMlm73_zIKHNcO/s1600/sid3MA29065045-0012.jpg
 


1925 – Peter Sellers, English actor (d. 1980)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTfdulPnQjNWSlqItQQbwMa4Usi98gW7KT0ftQso6eV00ytKreXAJj6XOn_EbSnjT4BP5VkOqMdzXgDn7rK-z0T0nDHK_YWSjjPAgc_D8HOizYpa3PV08dBNBivXdi80lGaqu2CFsmQfu/s1600/peterbrittMA29065045-0013.jpghttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJgo7a5WJGy9dNBB5Z_pjtvgUvixQoTYH6LoNrXlZdkQLht0dGOux9Msk0TaQ7B5ly8Ae1lEpJoKTam3b6sL87zyj4lkgs02d3Gj4pS9IVlTB2ICmdH6pGT3JWISJcVg6F5_QrbevrNW6/s1600/peter3MA29065045-0014.jpg



1971 – David Arquette, American actor
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtg9nTkLTwh57YOvlcIsmnO4bE5FjZetlhZNmpzpwA3f-QlyYnKIU1o-MzlqagfP9ggKMJuaXqfbvUuax81zs5rBIMXC1ISVPcENm_jP-lHN81_cI7E1o6kscUisd0mhWZLCRqf4-8xw/s1600/David+ArquetteMA29687021-0012.jpg                                   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Thursday. Ciao.
xo Sue Mom Bobo

On September 8th, National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day recognizes the hardworking and dedicated professionals bringing care to patients every day.
Honoring nurses caring for pediatric hematology and oncology patients, the observance takes place during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. These dedicated professionals provide quality nursing care for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. Additionally, they provide the highest standard of physical and emotional support to these most precious patients and their families.
Cancer is frightening enough. When applied to children, pediatric care requires special skills and training. Not only do children relate to pain differently, but their growing bodies require specialized attention. These nurses provide valuable care and guidance to families.
From the first diagnosis and through each treatment, these experts in pediatric care offer untiring support. Day and night, the nurses answer questions, monitor, and track progress. Their knowledge of each patient’s needs provides essential information to the entire team.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Recognize pediatric hematology/oncology nurses you know. Support them as they strive to make every child’s healthier and cancer-free. There are other ways to celebrate, too!
  • Are you interested in a nursing career? Explore this field of medicine as an option.
  • Participate in a job fair. Share your experiences in your specialty. You might inspire a future nurse.
  • Ask your nurses questions. They are the professionals and will be able to provide you with a wealth of helpful information.

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