Yesterday ~ Picture of the Day ~ Smews ~ Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Sticks ~ Val Smullen ~ National Cheese Day

 

Good 45º clear sunny morning.

 

Another warm day yesterday as we hit 93º. Predictions for cooler days ahead. 

 

 

Picture of the Day.... perfect timing....

 

 

 

Interesting about Smew Ducks......

 

The Smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck, and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. Mergellus is a diminutive of Mergus andalbellus is from Latin albus "white".

 

The drake smew, with its 'cracked ice' and 'panda' appearance, is unmistakable, and looks very black-and-white in flight.

The females and immature males are grey birds with chestnut foreheads and crowns, and can be confused at a distance with the ruddy duck; they are often known as "redhead" smew. It has oval white wing-patches in flight. The smew's bill has a hooked tip and serrated edges, which help it catch fish when it dives for them. The smew is 15–17 in long.

This species breeds in the northern taiga of Europe and Asia. It needs trees for breeding. The smew lives on fish-rich lakes and slow rivers. As a migrant, it leaves its breeding areas and winters on sheltered coasts or inland lakes of the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, northern Germany and the Low Countries, with a small number reaching Great Britain (for example, at Dungeness), mostly at regular sites. Vagrants have been recorded in North America. On lakes it prefers areas around the edges, often under small trees. The smew breeds in May and lays 6–9 cream-colored eggs. It nests in tree holes, such as old woodpecker nests. It is a shy bird and flushes easily when disturbed.

 

 

 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Sticks

A great snack for game day or movie night!

 

 

1

can Pillsbury™ refrigerated classic pizza crust

1/3

cup ranch dressing

2

cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1/3

cup cooked crumbled bacon (about 4 slices)

1/2

cup chopped green onions (8 medium)

2

cups shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)

 

Additional ranch dressing for dipping

 

 

• Heat oven to 400°. Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.
•  

  Unroll pizza crust onto cookie sheet; press dough out into 13x10-inch rectangle. Spread dressing over dough. Sprinkle chicken, bacon and half of the green onions over dressing in even layers. Top with cheese.

 

• Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and cheese in center is bubbly.
•  

  Sprinkle with remaining half of green onions. Cool slightly. Cut into about 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Serve with additional dressing for dipping.

 

 ****

• For a crispier crust, pre-bake the dough for 5 minutes before adding the ranch dressing, then proceed with directions.
• Use leftover grilled chicken breast in place of the shredded. Dice it into small pieces to save time, and use up leftovers!

 

 

Special Birthday today... Val Smullen. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!! 

 

 

 

Historically this date.....

1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.

 

1939 – Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Naziconcentration camps.

1974 – During Ten Cent Beer Night, inebriated Cleveland Indians fans start a riot, causing the game to be forfeited to the Texas Rangers.

2004 – Marvin Heemeyer's eventually suicidal protest rampage with an improvised bulletproofed bulldozer destroys 13 buildings in Granby, Colorado, including the town hall.

 

Quite a mixed bag of births today... some good and a lot of very odd people!

Births include...

1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)

 

1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor (d. 2006)

 

 

1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American heaviest human being (d. 1958)

Click here: Robert Earl Hughes Was A Mighty Big Man - YouTube

 

1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor (ewwwwww.)

 

 

1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress (The Mamas & the Papas)

 

 

1952 – Parker Stevenson, American actor and director

 

1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor

(another ewwwwww.....)

 

1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress

1979 – Christopher Dorner, American police officer and murderer (d. 2013)

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

 

Moooove over whiners! June 4 is National Cheese Day! Well, it does go great with WINE!

An encyclopedia of cheese will cover the alphabet and broaden your vocabulary. It will undoubtedly contain more varieties of cheese than what’s found at the local grocer. Cheese is produced from the pressed curds of milk. The milk can come from cows, buffalo, goats or sheep. Temperature and aging affect the flavor and texture of the cheese as well as spices and other seasonings added during the process.

The opportunity to go to a cheese tasting or visit a cheesemonger who is knowledgeable about pairings will improve your enjoyment of the cheese you choose.  Does Stilton melt? Can you serve Chévre with a salad? Be sure ask questions and provide your preferences. Your favorite wine might find a new sidekick. You might discover a smokey spread to go with bruschetta or a tangy cheddar to pack with lunch.

In the United States, a road trip to Wisconsin isn’t out of the question for quality and variety. But, they aren’t the only place to find outstanding flavor and choice. Local delis have selections of domestic and imported cheeses, and independent shops offer a rotating inventory beckoning us to keep visiting to see what’s new.

Excellent as a snack on its own, cheese is also a perfect ingredient in pasta, soups, souffle and many other recipes. We slap it on a sandwich cold but why stop there when it can be grilled and melted like this amazing Swiss and Tomato Grilled Cheese recipe.  When company comes to visit, nothing is better than a cheeseball, especially when bacon is added.

Cheese is multinational, too! Every nation in the world has their own variety of cheese. Italy seems to have harnessed the market. They did add it to pizza, and that’s pretty amazing.  Savor the opportunity if you ever have the chance to taste cheeses from around the world. For example, hop on over to Greece.  They have this dessert called cheesecake. Delicious!

HOW TO OBSERVE

There are many ways to celebrate National Cheese Day.  Try a new recipe or take a risk and try type of cheese you’ve never heard of before. Ask for recommendations from friends or share your favorites. 

Turkey Vultures ~ Picture of the Day ~ Dirty Cities ~ BLT Pasta Salad ~ National Egg Day

Good 49º clear sunny morning. Yesterday we topped at 92º. 

Yesterday morning there were a number of turkey vultures in the upper pasture.... 

The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), also known in some North American regions as the turkey buzzard (or just buzzard), and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John crow or carrion crow, is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus Cathartes of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts

 

The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation.^[6] It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

 

If you want to read more....

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

Picture of the Day ... shared by Ike Saben (LASD ret)... how to tell it's winter....

Interesting about dirty cities..........

The 50 cities where the most people are moving away from can primarily be found in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast, particularly in states like Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Among the cities where people are leaving in droves are places such as Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles. 

Ah, New York City, that big, dirty apple.

Manhattan wins by a landslide for pests, litter, and population density. Stroll down any street and you’re certain to encounter mountains of trash bags emitting a sickly sweet rotten smell that’s unique to New York. And while legend holds that the island has an equal number of rats and people, recent studies seriously question this deduction. Though no one’s arguing there are a whole lot of rats living underground.

But there’s a spot of good news for New Yorkers: NYC has half as much air pollution as some other large cities on the list, proving it’s a little safer to breathe the stinky air. If you dare.

If you left your heart in San Francisco, you may have left some other litter as well. That’s why it’s the ninth most filthy city in America.

There are beautiful, picturesque areas of San Fran and then there’s the rest of the city, which has a decently high homeless population. People living on the street don’t necessarily have access to public bathroom facilities. They are often forced to take care of business out in the open, which doesn’t help the filth factor.

A few years ago, the sheer amount of human waste on the escalator of the BART station was enough to shut it down until a HAZMAT team could come take care of the problem. You can imagine the smell of that — and the worst part is, it’s not uncommon.

 From the Slow Roasted Italian....

BLT PASTA SALAD

BLT Pasta Salad is bursting with flavor and so easy and quick to throw together. This simple but so delicious twist on your favorite sandwich is always a hit at potlucks and parties!

PREP TIME: 15 MINSCOOK TIME: 10 MINSTOTAL TIME: 25 MINS

Pasta Salad

• 16 oz package pasta
• 12 oz sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives

Dressing

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Rinse with cool water and drain, then add to a large bowl. Set aside and let cool for 10-20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, make the dressing. In a mixing bowl add mayo, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
3. Add crumbled bacon, cherry tomatoes, and half of the lettuce to the cooked pasta. Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Stir in remaining lettuce.
4. Serve garnished with chopped chives.

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

1888 – The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner.

1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Fallsand downtown Portland, Oregon.

1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.

1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latinoyouths in the Zoot Suit Riots.

1965 – The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first Americanspacewalk.

1968 – Valerie Solanas, the author of SCUM Manifesto, attempts to assassinate Andy Warhol by shooting him three times.

2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.

And births this date include....

1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)

1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 2010)

1967 – Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Back to School/Work Monday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

June 3 is an excellent day to practice egg puns and recognize National Egg Day.

One of the most perfect foods, eggs are packed with protein, amino acids and have no carbohydrates or sugar.

As far as versatility goes, sorry Bubba, but there may be more ways to cook an egg than shrimp. From the humble, hard boiled egg to the elegant souffle, eggs Benedict and Florentine.

Even within the good old breakfast standbys like fried eggs, we have options. Over easy. Well done. Sunnyside up. Basted. And a side of bacon with that!

Then, of course, it’s portable. Slap it between some toast and off you go.

**I like to cook a couple eggs in the microwave. I put olive oil in the bottom of the bowl, add two eggs, pierce the yolks with a sharp knife, sprinkle on a little garlic salt, top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Put the saucer on top and cook on high 1 minute 5 seconds.

I usually cook some instant oatmeal. I add banana slices and it makes it yummy sweet. Sometimes I ad in some shredded chicken and a little mozzarella cheese. I put the cooked eggs on top.....