Fog ~ Picture of the Day ~ BMW ~ Mexican Crescent Casserole ~ Maria DeRuyte ~ National Cheese Lover's Day

Good 35º dark gloomy high fog/clouds morning. 

Yesterday the fog ....

 It gets depressing!!! Come on sunshine!!!! Finally we did get some sun coming through the clouds and we topped at a whopping 52º! 

Picture of the Day .... perfect timing! LOL!

Interesting... 

BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works, or, translated into German, Bayerische Motoren Werke. If you’re a little rusty on world geography, Bavaria is a southern state in Germany where BMW originally started making airplane engines in 1917. After the end of World War I, BMW was forced to cease aircraft-engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company consequently shifted to motorcycle production in 1923, followed by automobiles in 1928. If Bavarian Motor Works is too formal for your taste, their automobiles are nicknamed Bimmers, while the motorcycles are often called Beemers (or Beamers).

Mexican Crescent Casserole 

Easy. 5 Ingredients. 30 minute prep time.

1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained.

1 1oz pkg Old El Paso taco seasoning mix

1 11oz can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar-Jack with jalapeno peppers cheese blend

1 8oz can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 8oz can Pillsbury refrigerated Crescent Dough Sheet

In skillet mix beef, taco seasoning mix, and corn. Heat to boiling over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Spoon into ungreased 12x8 in (2 qt) baking dish, sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.

Separate or cut dough into 2 long rectangles (if using crescent rolls, press perforations to seal). Place on top of meat mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake at 375º 15-20 minutes

Today is my special neighbor's birthday. My neighbor Maria DeRuyte is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA!! Hope you have a GREAT day!

                                    ^with her hubby Gerard.

Historically this date...

1885 – L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.

1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to
            lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.

1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.

1929 – In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion
             picture filmed outdoors, is released.

1937 – Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as U.S. President. This is the first inauguration on January 20. The date was changed from March 4 by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

1941 – Franklin Roosevelt is the only President inaugurated for a third term.

1945 – Franklin Roosevelt's fourth and final inauguration is held at the White House due to wartime considerations.

1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the first Republican President in twenty years.

1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the youngest elected and first Roman Catholic President of the U.S. His inaugural address is one of the most memorable of the 20th century.

1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States. He is the last President inaugurated at the east front of the Capitol, which had been the traditional site for Presidential inaugurations since 1829.

1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages. It is the first Presidential inauguration to be held at the west front of the Capitol.

2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America

And births today include.....

1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)

1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)

1910 – Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)

1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)

1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)

1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor (d.2019)

1937 – Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress (d. 2010)

 She must not have gotten old, there are no pictures of her except for when she was young and beautiful.

1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor

5 women he married and divorced!

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On National Cheese Lover’s Day, don’t feel bleu, throw a feta or act capricious. January 20th is a gouda day to kummin over and have some cheddar or asiago or fontina! 

There is no firm evidence of how cheese making was discovered. but legend tells us it was likely by chance that someone created the first cheese. Thousands of years ago, people transported milk and stored it in sheep stomachs. Left to sit a few days, the proteins would separate into curds and whey. From there, preserving the solids with salt may have seemed a logical next step. Salt was a highly valued preservative in ancient times.

The earliest record of cheese making dates back to 5,500 BCE in what is now Poland.  Today there are over 1,400 varieties of cheese.

Basic Cheese Making

The basic principles behind making cheese are quite simple. Let the milk sour (or scientifically, coagulating the casein protein). Then separate the curds (solids) from the whey (liquid). The curds are then salted and left to age.

Bacteria, enzymes or fungi may be added at various stages. These along with the type of milk, temperature, time and moisture are all controlled to produced the desired taste, color and texture. Herbs and spices may also be added.

The nutritional value of cheese varies depending on the variety. Cottage and mozzarella cheese are at the lower end of fat and calories per serving while mascarpone and cream cheese pack it on. Marscapone makes desserts like tiramisu rich and creamy. 

For the Love of Cheese

For cheese lovers who think one day is just not enough to celebrate cheese, National Day Calendar presents a calendar full of cheesy celebrations. There are 18 other cheese specific holidays on the calendar. Check out this shortlist of tasty cheese-based celebrations:

• Cream Cheese Brownie Day (February 10)
• Cheese Doodle Day (March 5)
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day (April 12)
• Cheese Souffle Day (May 18)
• Cheese Day (June 4)
• Cheesecake Day (July 30 – along with three other flavors on the calendar)
• Goat Cheese Month (August)
• String Cheese Day (September 20)
• Moldy Cheese Day (October 9)
• Nachos Day (November 6)
• Sangria Day (December 20 – wine and cheese always go together)

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy some cheese with your lunch or as a snack. Share your favorite cheesy recipes or puns. Try a new cheese pairing. Visit your favorite cheesemonger and be sure to give a shout out, too. 

 

Weather ~ Electric Power ~ Picture of the Day ~ Puffins ~ Speedy Ravioli Bake ~ Cathy Norman ~ National Popcorn Day

Good 33º SUPER foggy morning. 

We stayed cloudy and cool all day yesterday. 

We topped at 44º.

You can see all the paw prints in the snow from Dude and Bruiser! 

It has taken days for the power to get back on for so many people. Mostly in Grants Pass. Some of my friends/family have their power back on, but still quite a few don't. At first there were 18,000 without power, and it has decreased some while 300 power company workers are removing downed trees and repairing lines. The Red Cross has opened 2 shelters, one at Grants Pass Fairgrounds and the other at  Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction, where they offer food, showers, and a warm place to stay. 

Picture of the Day ... There is a town in Oklahoma named Hooker.... 

LOL! 

Interesting about Puffins....

Puffins are any of three small species of 'auks' with a brightly colored beak during the breeding season. These are shoreline seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water.

They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. Two species, the tufted puffin and horned puffin, are found in the North Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.

All puffin species have predominantly black or black and white plumage, a stocky build, and large beaks. They shed the colorful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak.

Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.

The puffins are stocky, short-winged and short-tailed birds, with black upper parts and white or brownish-grey underparts. The head has a black cap, the face is mainly white, and the feet are orange-red.

The bill appears large and colorful during the breeding season. The colorful outer part of the bill is shed after the breeding season, revealing a smaller and duller true bill beneath. Although the puffins are vocal at their breeding colonies, they are silent at sea.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org 

Speedy Ravioli Bake

2 9oz packages refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli

1 25oz jar chunky tomato pasta sauce

1 t. dried basil leaves

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400º.

In sauce pan or 4qt Dutch oven, cook ravioli as directed on package, drain and set aside.

In same sauce pan, mix pasta sauce and basil. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated. Srir in cooked ravioli.

Pour into ungreased 13x9 glass baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake uncovered 10 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. 

Special birthday today, Cathy Norman (LASD ret) is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY!! xo

Historically this date........

1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.

1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

1935 – Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.

1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.

1953 – 71.7% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.

1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.

1981 – Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written.

1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.

And births this date include...

1807 – Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870) 

1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849) 

1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906) 

1922 – Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996) 

1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (d.2013)

1930 – Tippi Hedren, American actress 

1939 – Phil Everly, American musician (d. 2014)

"wake up little Susie, wake up" !!

1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer (Big Brother and the Holding Company) (d. 1970) 

1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress

YIKES!

1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer and actress

1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor

1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012) 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On January 19th, National Popcorn Day pops onto the scene with a crunch we all love to enjoy! The annual celebration recognizes a treat that satisfies munchies, day or night.  

This time-honored snack can be sweet or savory, caramelized, buttered or plain, molded into a candied ball, or tossed with nuts and chocolate. However it is enjoyed, enjoy it on National Popcorn Day, January 19th.

The word “corn” in Old English meant “grain” or, more specifically, the most prominent grain grown in a region. As maize was the most common grain in early America, the word “corn” was aptly applied.

As early as the 16th century, the Aztec used popcorn in headdresses worn during ceremonies honoring Tlaloc, their god of maize and fertility. Early Spanish explorers were fascinated by the corn that burst into what looked like a white flower.

Popcorn started becoming popular in the United States in the middle 1800s. It wasn’t until Charles Cretors, a candy-store owner, developed a machine for popping corn with steam that the tasty treat became more abundantly poppable. By 1900 he had horse-drawn popcorn wagons going through the streets of Chicago.

At about the same time, Louise Ruckheim added peanuts and molasses to popcorn to bring Cracker Jack to the world. Then in 1908, the national anthem of baseball was born. Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer wrote Take Me out to the Ballgame. From that point onward, popcorn, specifically Cracker Jack, became forever married to the game.

At the Movies

Another romance connected to popcorn may have had a slow start but eventually took off. Today, who can imagine going to the movies without getting a box of buttered popcorn? While popcorn was an economical choice for a snack food, the expense of installing a machine and adequately venting the building didn’t seem worth the effort. If it weren’t for Glen W. Dickson, we would be purchasing our popcorn from a vendor on the street before taking in the show. Dickson put in the effort and expense of placing machines inside his theaters. After realizing how quickly he recouped his costs, other theater owners followed suit.

The microwave oven spurred the next big advancement for popcorn. With the invention of the microwave, a whole new market opened for the snack food. Magnetrons, a technology produced by Raytheon Manufacturing Corporation for the military during World War II, were later used to develop microwave ovens. Percy Spencer was the man who made it happen. He used popcorn in his initial experiments during the microwave’s development. 

Today, Americans consume 13 billion quarts of popcorn a year, more than any other country in the world. A majority of the popcorn produced in the world is grown in the United States. Nebraska leads the corn belt in popcorn production.

NATIONAL POPCORN DAY HISTORY

The a-maizing origins of this pop-ular day is mysteriously amiss. However, the day has been observed since at least 1988.