Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Coonskin Caps ~ Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes ~ Dinner/Chair/Wine/Cat/TV ~ National Pizza With the Works Except Anchovies Day

Good 25º frozen morning. 

 

 

Yesterday was nice and clear and we warmed to 74º. Summer~!!

 

 

Picture of the Day....

Not sure if this is a mop or a dog! (LOL. Mark Zuckerberg's dog!)

 

 

Interesting about coonskin caps....

 

A coonskin cap is a hat fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. The original coonskin cap consisted of the entire skin of the raccoon including its head and tail.

Beginning as traditional Native American headgear, coonskin caps became associated with American and Canadian frontiersmen of the 18th and 19th centuries, and were highly popular among boys in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia in the 1950s.

Coonskin caps were originally a traditional Native American article of clothing. When Europeans began colonizing the Tennessee and Kentucky areas, the colonists started wearing them as hunting caps.

The coonskin cap eventually became a part of the iconic image associated with American frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Boone did not actually wear coonskin caps, which he disliked, and instead wore felt hats, but explorer Meriwether Lewis wore a coonskin cap during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Joseph L. Meek wore the coonskin cap in the mountains.

 

 

 

Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes...

 

 

These roast potatoes are melt in your mouth soft and tender on the inside and crispy n the outside and just pack with melted cheese flavor! Yum! Step aside French fries, there a new king of potatoes in town!

 

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 1/2 pounds small (1 to 1.5 inch diameter) potatoes, cut in half
• salt and pepper to taste

 

 

1. Brush the oil on the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkle on the parmesan.
2. Toss the potatoes in the oil, salt and pepper and press into the parmesan with the cut side down.
3. Roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven until the parmesan is nice and golden brown and the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes, before removing from the oven to let cool for 5 minutes and breaking them apart.

Option: Season the potatoes with your favorite spices or blend instead of just salt and pepper, like Cajun seasoning or taco seasoning or Italian seasoning.

 

 

 

Historically this date.....

1936 – In California, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.

1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident.

..... now you HAVE to watch this video. HILARIOUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZhn28_Z9wc

 

1979 – Iran hostage crisis: in response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran.

 

 

And births this date include....

1929 – Grace Kelly, American actress and Princely consort of Monaco (d. 1982)

 

1934 – Charles Manson, American cult leader and convicted murderer (d.2017)

1958 – Megan Mullally, American actress and singer

Strange woman....

 

1961 – Nadia Comăneci, Romanian gymnast

1970 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater

 

 

 

 

 

 

1982 – Anne Hathaway, American actress

 

 

 

Later dinner was some of Omaha Steaks mini crab cakes cooked in my Air Fryer (from frozen, 370º, drizzled with olive oil, 12 minutes), with Kikoman Sweet/Sour dipping sauce, and green beans. OMGOOD!!! 

 

Then it was chair, wine, cat in my lap, and TV. 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Hold the fishes! National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day is observed on November 12.  Anchovy lovers move over. All the other pizza lovers get their due and pile on their toppings on this annual pizza holiday.  Olives, pepperoni, sausage, peppers and onions? Allowed. Mushrooms, bacon or pineapple approved! Just no fishy business on this national day, or no pizza for you!

Classified as an oily fish, Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.  Anchovies are small, green fish that have blue reflections caused by the silver longitudinal stripe which begins at the base of the caudal fin.

Traditionally, anchovies are processed in a salt brine and then packed in oil or salt resulting in a strong, characteristic flavor.  Optionally they may be pickled in vinegar giving the anchovies a milder taste.

Pizza:

• In ancient Greece, the Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese which some believe is the beginning of the pizza.
• In Byzantine Greek, the word was spelled “πίτα”, pita, meaning pie. 
• A sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey, then flavored with bay leaves was developed by the Romans.
• The modern pizza had it’s beginning in Italy as the Neapolitan flatbread.
• The original pizza used only mozzarella cheese, mainly the highest quality buffalo mozzarella variant which was produced in the surroundings of Naples.
• It was estimated that the annual production of pizza cheese in the United States in 1997 was 2 billion pounds.
• The first United States pizza establishment opened in 1905 and was in New York’s Little Italy.
• Pizza has become one of America’s favorite meals.

Frozen Morning ~ Veterans Day ~ Picture of the Day ~ Cooper on Mayflower ~ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake ~ Nancy (Kujala) Sammons ~ Ben Hunt ~ Harry & David ~ Kristen & Jen

 

 

Good 23º morning. It's so frozen out there it looks almost like it snowed!!!       

 

         

 

We'll see how warm we get today. Yesterday we topped at 66º after starting at 23º.

 

 

 

 

Super Special Day today..... Veterans Day. To all veterans thank you for your service.  I honor and respect you.

 

 

 

 

Picture of the Day....

3 day old chicks staying warm next to a coffee mug.

Shared by my friend Georgia Sue. Thanks! Cute!!!!

 

 

 

Interesting from my friend Brooklyn Vivia....

 

Hi.  I've been reading one of those "things you never knew" books and it seems that back in the days when the Pilgrims sailed from England, there was a law that they take along a "cooper" who made the stays for the barrels of BEER on board.  Yes, everyone drank beer because they didn't trust the water.  On the day they ran aground at Plymouth, they were running very low on beer and that's why they decided against trying to get to Virginia--their original target.  They docked and immediately set about building a brewery to satisfy their need for a drink.  And now you know...............

 

That story from Vivia got me interested, so I did a little research... John Alden was the cooper aboard the Mayflower. Here could be his answers to questions asked him by students...

 

What's a cooper? 
I make watertight vessels. I make casks and barrels. Where I come from, everything is kept in different-size casks and barrels. Clothes, gunpowder, and different types of liquors.

 

What is your job as cooper of the Mayflower?
The Mayflower is a large ship, and I'm responsible for safekeeping all merchandise. In weather there can be damage from the goods rolling into each other. If anything is damaged, I will use my woodworking to repair it.

 

Beer was the staple drink on board the Mayflower. The Pilgrims drank beer with nearly all of their meals and the ship’s crew had a daily ration of a gallon. Mayflower Daily Ration is an unfiltered session IPA that is crisp, dry and bursting with citrusy hop flavor and aroma.

 

Another interesting read about beer and the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving...

http://www.fermentarium.com/random-news/thanksgiving-pilgrims-and-beer-myths/

 

 

 

 

Recipe 

From Mr. Food....

 

This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is what fall is all about! With its festive pumpkin flavors and the silky ribbon of cream cheese, our easy Bundt cake recipe is sure to be the talk of every holiday party you attend. Get ready for smiles around the dinner table, because all it takes is one bite to fall in love with pumpkin!

 

 

• 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• CREAM CHEESE FILLING
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Confectioner's sugar for sprinkling

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a Bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, 4 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until combined.  Add flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; whisk until thoroughly combined.
3. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until creamy. Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour half of cake batter into Bundt pan. Spread cream cheese filling on top. Slowly pour remaining batter over top of cream cheese layer. 
4. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter to cool completely.  Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

 

Today there are two special birthdays.........

My high school pal and locker partner Nancy (Kujala) Sammons is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY!! xo

 

 

^From our high school annual, Nancy on the left, Charlie Landrum, and me.

 

And a few years ago....

 

 

 

Also celebrating today is Ben Hunt (LASD ret.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!! xo

 

 

 

Historically this date..........

1889 – The State of Washington is admitted as the 42nd State of the United States.

1921 – The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.

1926 – The United States Numbered Highway System, including U.S. Route 66, is established.

1967 – Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three American prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "new left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.....what an Adam Henry Hayden is... and of course the ex spouse of Jane Traitor Fonda!

 

And births this date include...

1885 – George S. Patton, American general (d. 1945)

 

1960 – Stanley Tucci, American actor and director

 

1964 – Calista Flockhart, American actress

 

1974 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor and producer

 

 

I had written a note to Harry and David re their Lobster Pot Pie and got this note back:

Thank you for contacting us.

We are sorry to learn that the Lobster Pot Pie did not meet your expectations and your feedback is much appreciated. We will let our leadership team know about this for the improvement of our product. And so we would like to make amends with a replacement. We would be happy to offer you one of the following options:

• Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, 
• Chicken Pot Pie Duo,
• Pecan Pie, or
• Marionberry Pie

Well I checked their site to see if they sold these pies at their Medford store, but no, they send them. The pecan pie costs $60!!!! (Whaaaaaaat????) I guess I'll ask them to send that pie! Very nice of them!

 

 

"Enjoy a slice of a delicious pecan pie, warm and delicious right from your own oven. This scrumptious pecan pie from Oregon's Willamette Valley Pie Co. is made by hand and filled with quality ingredients like crisp pecans, eggs, pasteurized sweet cream, and 100% pure cane sugar, with a flaky crust. It arrives ready with baking instructions so you can serve up home-baked deliciousness at your leisure."

 

Got these photos from Kristen yesterday.... she and Jen.....

and Kristen and Pooh.....

 

 

Jen and her mom Jean went to So. Cal for a wedding. Saturday they hooked up with Kristen at Disneyland.

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Veteran's Day Sunday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

 

Veterans Day is an official United States holiday that honors people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, also known as veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect). The United States also originally observed Armistice Day, it then evolved into the current Veterans Day holiday in 1954.

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Because it is a federal holiday, some American workers and many students have Veterans Day off from work or school. When Veterans Day falls on a Saturday then either Saturday or the preceding Friday may be designated as the holiday, whereas if it falls on a Sunday it is typically observed on the following Monday. A Society for Human Resource Management poll in 2010 found that 21 percent of employers planned to observe the holiday in 2011.

Non-essential federal government offices are closed. No mail is delivered. All federal workers are paid for the holiday. Those who are required to work on the holiday sometimes receive holiday pay for that day in addition to their wages.

In his Armistice Day address to Congress, Wilson was sensitive to the psychological toll of the lean War years. “Hunger does not breed reform, it breeds madness,” he remarked.  As Veterans Day and the birthday of the United States Marine Corps (November 10, 1775) are only one day apart, that branch of the Armed Forces customarily observes both occasions as a 96-hour liberty period.

Spelling of Veterans Day

While the holiday is commonly printed as Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day in calendars and advertisements (spellings that are grammatically acceptable), the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

HISTORY

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. A Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.”

In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the “Father of Veterans Day.”

U.S. Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954.

Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans,” and it has been known as Veterans Day since.

The National Veterans Award, created in 1954, also started in Birmingham. Congressman Rees of Kansas was honored in Alabama as the first recipient of the award for his support offering legislation to make Veterans Day a federal holiday, which marked nine years of effort by Raymond Weeks. Weeks conceived the idea in 1945, petitioned Gen. Eisenhower in 1946, and led the first Veterans Day celebration in 1947 (keeping the official name Armistice Day until Veterans Day was legal in 1954).

Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October. In 1978, it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11. While the legal holiday remains on November 11, if that date happens to be on a Saturday or Sunday, then organizations that formally observe the holiday will normally be closed on the adjacent Friday or Monday, respectively.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day