Mo'Rain ~ Predictions ~ How To Be A Cat ~ Mongolians Living Among Wild Animals ~ Disappointing Tacos ~ Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate

Good 39º raining morning. Another 1/2" since yesterday afternoon. Current radar..

Right now in the northern most part of California on I-5, Hilt....

 

Breakfast was a chicken thigh and hard boiled egg with Jen's Ranch and yogurt with honey. OINK!

 

Yesterday was such a dark and gloomy day with more rain. Such low clouds I couldn't even see my mountain! Rain started in again about 10am.

In the afternoon it was drizzling and the turkeys were standing out in the rain, preening.

....or as Bruiser does at sunrise!

 

As for historical haps and births on yesterday's blog, they were to go on today's blog. So, if you read yesterday's you have all the info. Sorry........

 

I got an email from my pal Erika in La Crescenta. It had all these amazing photos of Mongolians living among wild animals... bears, eagles, reindeer..... There were too many to put on the blog so I found the website. You can enjoy and be amazed!

When you open the site you will see this header, click on Tourist, Vault, Messy, Nostalgia, and More for all kinds of fascinating photos and stories.

http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/02/25/the-reindeer-riders/

 

I just stayed in all day, doing 'stuff'.

 

Dinner was tacos. Hmmmm....

Ground turkey, parmesan cheese garlic butter (thanks Nancy Perry! Good stuff!), Taco seasoning, cilantro...

Mozzarella cheese, Rotel tomatoes with chilies, lettuce, and Guerrero flour tortillas..

The meat was cooked with a little olive oil and some of the butter, taco seasoning and cilantro added in... then placed on a tortilla with cheese, lettuce, and tomaotes/chiles.

I was totally disappointed in the Guerrero tortillas! Never had purchased them before. Will not do it again, will stick with Mission Tortillas.

 

Later it was chair, wine, TV... Blue Bloods of course! I am actually playing catch up with Blue Bloods by recording their 1st and 2nd and 3rd seasons. Never got a chance to watch all the episodes. Enjoying it.

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

December 12th

National Cocoa Day

 

The Difference Between Cocoa & Hot Chocolate

There is a difference between cocoa and hot chocolate. Cocoa is made from cocoapowder, hot chocolate is made from shaved chocolate bars. Both are mixed with hot milk or water, but since cocoa powder is defatted, hot chocolate is a richer beverage. It can easily have double the cocoa butter of cocoa powder.

• Supermarket cocoa powders tend to contain 10% to 12% cocoa butter, while premium brands have 22% or more. Fractions such as 10/12 or 22/24 on the package indicate the percent of cocoa butter: e.g., 10/12 indicates 10 to 12 percent.
• By comparison, a semisweet chocolate bar can have 46%-54% cocoa butter.

Hot chocolate was invented by the Swiss, who first thought to shave a bar and mix it with boiled milk. Cocoa powder was invented by the Dutch. And it must be remembered that more than 2,000 years ago, enjoyment of chocolate began as a spiced cold beverage, cacahuatl (ka-KWA-tay), enjoyed by the Olmecs and later the Mayas and Aztecs.* It brought back to Spain by Cortès in 1527 and was not made into a solid food—pudding and pastilles—until 1674.

TRIVIA: In 1785, Thomas Jefferson predicted that chocolate (the term then for hot chocolate, as solid chocolate had not yet been invented) would become the favorite beverage in the U.S.—over coffee and tea. This prediction came after the Boston Tea Party and prior to the widespread consumption of coffee in America.

Weather ~ Thursday Football ~ Pesto Garlic Rolls ~ Noodle Ring or 'Kugel'

Good 38º drizzly morning.

Weather yesterday... sun came and went early on and then rain rain rain! Another 3/4" from yesterday afternoon about 3pm until now... almost 5" total for this storm...

 

                   

The Rogue River looks like it's back up to "normal" and my seasonal creek is filled with water! Yes!!!

I was out yesterday and this is what the driving was like:

I took this picture 2 years ago today... 4pm... snow!

And this morning on the Siskiyou Summit...

Breakfast..... plain non-fat yogurt drizzled with some Laney Orange Blossom Honey, hard boiled egg drizzled with Jen's Ranch Dressing, and coffee with Pumpkin Spice creamer!

   YUMMMMMM!

Last night's football....

 OK, THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME I HAVE DONE THIS.... THESE HAPS AND BIRTHDAYS ARE FOR THE 12TH OF DECEMBER, NOT TODAY. OOPS... SORRY. NOW YOU ARE A DAY AHEAD! 

Historically this date..

1941 – Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at ameeting in the Reich Chancellery

... Oh what a shame he wasn't caught and taken apart piece by piece and made to suffer forever!!!

1985 – Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 236 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.

2000 – The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore

Oh thank God, it was Bush and not Gore, that self serving lying piece of s**t!!!!

And births this date include....

1893 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)

1900 – Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)

Jr. sure looked like Sr. !

1915 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)

1937 – Buford Pusser, American law enforcement official (d. 1974)

1938 – Connie Francis, American singer

1940 – Dionne Warwick, American singer

1952 – Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress

How about this... Pesto Garlic Rolls:

2 cans refrigerated biscuits (7.5 oz ea)

4 oz Mozarella cheese cut into 20 equal cubes

8 oz jar bazil pesto

4 T. melted butter

2 cloves garlic

1. Cut biscuit dough in half. Flatten, spread a teaspoon of pesto in the center of the dough, place a mozzarella cube on top, pinch the sides around the cheese so the pesto and cheese are completely encased by the dough.

2. Place stuffed dough balls in a cast iron pan.

3. Crush garlic and mix with melted butter. Brush garlic butter over each ball.

Bake for 20 minutes 400º or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Dinner was reruns. Tonight something new... maybe turkey tacos. We'll see...

Later it was chair, wine, and Blue Bloods episodes. Ahhhh... nice.

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

December 11th

National Noodle Ring Day

CHEESED NOODLE RING
1 lb. noodles 1 tsp. salt 3 tbsp. butter 2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce Cook noodles, drain, add butter, toss until butter has melted. Pour into greased ring mold, place mold in pan of hot water and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn onto serving plate; melt cheese and stir in Worcestershire sauce; pour over noodle ring. Serve. 6 servings.

Grandma’s Noodle Kugel (Noodle Pudding)

Grandma, who never heard of ricotta, used pot cheese or farmer’s cheese. Today’s cooks, who never heard of pot cheese, will use ricotta. If you don’t have ricotta handy, you can use cottage cheese. If you live in the metropolitan New York area, you have access to farmer cheese, which sounds less glamorous than ricotta but is delicious and authentic—and kugel is comfort food, not glamour food (get the salted variety).

There are many sweet kugel recipes: With raisins, apples and other fruits; with cottage cheese or a cream cheese-cottage cheese mix; with cinnamon or more exotic spices. Most can be made and baked within 90 minutes. This one is “marinated” overnight.

The history of kugel: Kugel originated in Eastern Europe. According to Wikipedia, the first kugels were made from bread and flour and were savory rather than sweet. Around 1200 C.E., German cooks replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel (noodle pellets), eventually adding eggs, then cottage cheese and milk to create the custard-like noodle pudding we know today.

Sugar became available in the 17th century, creating sweet kugels for side dishes and desserts. Polish-Jewish recipes included raisins, cinnamon and sweetened farmer’s cheese; Hungarians sprinkled their kugels with sugar and sour cream. In the late 19th century, in Jerusalem, caramelized sugar and black pepper were added to the “Jerusalem kugel.”

If the kugel is made in a ring mold, it is called a noodle ring (or kugel ring). December 11th is National Noodle Ring Day.

Kugel can be served an entrée, a side dish (popular with brisket) or a dessert. There are savory kugels (potato kugel with onions and eggs is another main recipe), as well as sweet ones like the recipe below. There are as many variations as there are fruits,vegetables and spices; the common denominator is broad, flat noodles. Most sweet kugels are served cold or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• One 12-16 ounce package of broad noodles (egg noodles)
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1-½ cups pot, ricotta or cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup each dark and golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons each sugar and cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. SPREAD the uncooked noodles evenly across the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Distribute the raisins evenly among the noodles, taking care not to break them.
2. COMBINE in a 3-quart bowl the eggs, sugar, milk and cheese. Pour over the noodles. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Be sure all the noodles are immersed in the liquid.
3. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Mix the sugar and spices, and sprinkle across the top of the kugel. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 40 minutes, until firm in the center, puffed and browned on the top.

Kugel can be served hot or at room temperature. Leftover kugel can be re-heated or eaten cold.

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