Dude ~ Picture of the Day ~ NYC Chinese Population/Mandarin Language ~ Cheesy Taco Pasta ~ Pete Loomis ~ Dinner ~ National Prime Rib Day

 

Good 35º clear sky ice on the barn roof morning.

 

 

Yesterday morning just after 8am I took Dude to the vets for his x-ray. He had to be mildly sedated, so that was why no food after 6pm on Thursday. He was not a happy camper without breakfast! I picked him up later in the afternoon. The doc said he has arthritis in his hip, the reason for his limping. He now has a couple of meds that will relieve the pain and relax the muscles. He was happy to be home. The first thing I gave him a bowl of shredded cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs and some organic chicken stock!! Then he went outside and enjoyed laying in the grass in the sun!

 

 

 

Picture of the Day.... we could have put this one up when we sold our house in Temple City!! LOL The couple next door were hated by all the neighbors. 

 

 

Interesting about Chinese population...

 

The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest and most prominent ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, constituting the largest metropolitan Asian American group in the United States and the largest Asian-national metropolitan diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. The Chinese American population of the New York City metropolitan area was an estimated 812,410 as of 2015.

New York City and the surrounding area, including Long Island and parts of New Jersey, is home to 12 Chinatowns, early U.S. racial ghettos where Chinese immigrants were made to live for economic survival and physical safety that are now known as important sites of tourism and urban economic activity.

The Chinese American community in the New York metropolitan area is rising rapidly in population as well as economic and political influence. Continuing significant immigration from Mainland China has spurred the ongoing rise of the Chinese population in the New York metropolitan area; this immigration and its accompanying growth in the impact of the Chinese presence continue to be fueled by New York's status as an alpha global city, its high population density, its extensive mass transit system, and the New York metropolitan area's enormous economic marketplace.

Mandarin Chinese is by far the most spoken language in the world. It's an official language in the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. So it’s not surprising that there are approximately 955 million native speakers worldwide. If you wish to learn a language that one in six people in the world speak, this is the one for you. With a set of about 50,000 characters, it is probably one of the most complex languages to learn. Mandarin is by far the largest of all Chinese dialect groups, spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers.

 

 

 

Cheesy Taco Pasta

Prep Time:5 minutes Cook Time:25 minutesTotal Time:30 minutes Servings: 6

A tasty, quick and easy one-pot beef taco pasta with plenty of melted cheese

 

• 1 pound ground beef, lean or extra lean
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 2 cups water (or beef broth)
• 2 cups salsa
• 8 ounces pasta 
• 1 (1.5 ounce can) black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 cup cheese (cheddar and/or monterey jack, mozzarella, etc.)
•  

1. Cook the ground beef and onion in a large sauce pan until the meat is browned and the onions are tender, about 10 minutes, before draining off any excess grease.
2. Add the garlic and taco seasoning and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the water, salsa and paste. mix, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked, about 8 minutes. Add the black beans and cheese and cook until it melts, about 2 minutes.
4. Option: Mix in 1/2 cup sour cream along with the cheese to make it even creamier.
   Option: Garnish with cilantro, limes, avocado, sour cream, etc.
   Note: If you are using store bought taco seasoning, use one package or the recommended amount for 1 pound of meat.

 

 

 

 

Special birthday today, Pete Loomis (aka Loom Loom and LASD ret) is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!!! 

 

         ^Here he is at the LASD Laughlin Reunion this April.

 

 

Historically this date....

1296 – Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England.

Dunbar is a family name, my Mom's mother's maiden name , and King Edward invaded Scotland because he was pissed that King John Balliol refused to support the English military action in France. He was a dork anyway, but caused battlefield losses. The Dunbar Castle is the remnants of one of the most mighty fortresses in Scotland. What it did look like and today the ruins...

 

1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines and Berbers attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (The "shores of Tripoli" part of the Marines' hymn).

1993 – All members of the Zambia national football team lose their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon in route to Dakar, Senegal to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.

2005 – The super jumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse,France.

.......click on the Airbus A380 link for photos and more info.

 

And births this date include...

1822 – Ulysses S. Grant, American Civil War general and 18th President of the United States (d. 1885)

 

1899 – Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (d. 1994)

 

1922 – Jack Klugman, American actor (d.2012)

 

1937 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)

 

1939 – Judy Carne, British actress and comedian

... once married to Burt Reynolds ... addicted to drugs... (d.2015)

 

 

 

Dinner was Schwans Roast Turkey and Gravy and Vegetables. Take out of the freezer, put in microwave and taaaaa daaaa it's dinner!! REALLY good!

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo 

 

 

Ohhhhhh.... one of my most favorites! Especially at Lawry's Prime Rib, Beverly Hills! Prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, creamy horseradish sauce. To dieeeeeee for....

 

Click here: Lawry's The Prime Rib Beverly Hills, CA - Restaurant Location and Info

Here is my foolproof way to cook prime rib, perfect every time:

 

 

Make a rub of salt and pepper and garlic and/or onion powder and or any other type of herb you like and you can even mix it with butter or olive oil .... rub onto roast. Put in roasting pan, turn oven to 550º. When oven is ready put in the roast and cook it 5 minutes for every pound for rare, 6 minutes per pound for medium. Then turn off the oven and DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR FOR 2 HOURS! Done to perfection.

Picture of the Day ~ Ocellated Turkeys ~ Joan's Crab Cakes ~ Dude ~ National Arbor Day ~ National Pretzel Day

 

Good 41º somewhat cloudy sunny morning.

 

 

Yesterday another sunny clear warm day.

 

 

 

Picture of the Day....

 

 

 

Interesting turkeys .....

 

 

The ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula. A relative of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), it was sometimes previously treated in a genus of its own (Agriocharis), but the differences between the two turkeys are currently considered too small to justify generic segregation. It is a relatively large bird, at around 28–48 inches long and an average weight of 6.6 lb in females and 11 lb in males. 

The ocellated turkey lives only in a 50,000 sq mi range in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico—which includes all or part the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatán, Tabasco, and Chiapas—as well as the northern and western parts of Belize and northern Guatemala.The ocellated turkey was considered endangered by the Mexican endangered species list as recently as 2002 and has been assigned nearly threatened status by the IUCN in the year 2009 (Kampichler et al. 2010). Despite their recent decline, they have bounced back from the brink of extinction (Amodes 2003). The species is believed to have experienced such a significant decline in response to land use changes and higher than substainable harvest by migrant workers and subsistence hunters living in the Yucatán Peninsula region of Central America. (Kampichler et al. 2010). Subsistence hunting is a way of life for the people who inhabit this corner of the world. A study conducted in the year 2011 indicated that the ocellated turkey made up a substantial amount of the diets of four prominent ethnic groups of the Yucatán Peninsula (Santos et al. 2012).

 

 

 

This recipe for Joan's Crab Cakes was shared by my friend Joan Petitclair back in 2005 ....

 

6 T. mayonnaise - divided

1 1/4 t. Old Bay Seasoning - divided

1 1/2 t. parsley flakes

fresh ground pepper

1 large egg

4 saltine crackers, crushed

1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 pound lump crabmeat, drained

paprika

 

Stir together 3 T. mayonnaise, 1 t. Old Bay Seasoning, and the next six ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently stir in the crabmeat.

Shape into 12 small patties or 6 larger ones. Place on lightly greased baking sheet.

Stir together remaining 3 T. mayonnaise and remaining 1/4 t. Old Bay. Spread evenly on crab cakes and sprinkle on paprika.

Bake 350º for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Do not over bake. Serve with tartar sauce.

 

 

Historically this date.....

1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.

 

1962 – NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.

 

1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery.

 

1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.

 

And births this date include...

1900 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985)

 

 

1933 – Carol Burnett, American comedian

 

 

 

Carol lived with her mother in Hollywood on Cherokee Avenue in a brownstone between Hollywood Boulevard and Yucca. My grandmother and aunt lived a block over on Whitley Avenue. Didn't know Carol (she wasn't famous yet) but probably had walked past her apartment building a bunch of times.

 

 

1938 – Duane Eddy, American musician

 

1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer

 

 

Yesterday afternoon I took Dude to the vet's to have his hip checked.

While we waited for the doc .....

 

 

He's been limping a lot lately on the leg he had the torn ligament surgery a year ago. The doc checked him out and then said he needs and x-ray on that leg. So, the whole routine changed today as he couldn't have anything to eat after 6pm last night. No breakfast and Dude is not a happy guy!!! 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Arbor Day is observed each year on the last Friday in April.  Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.

Trees provide vital protection for the Earth’s topsoil from erosion, oxygen, and homes for wildlife.

They also are a renewable resource that provides a variety of materials for building, fuel and office supplies.

Trees beautify our environment, provide shade on a sunny day and improve our quality of life. National Arbor Day celebrates all these things and aims for American generations to come to enjoy all the benefits trees have to offer.

HISTORY

On April 10, 1872, journalist and newspaper editor J.Sterling Morton established Arbor Day in the state of Nebraska with hopes that it would spread across the country. This first Arbor Day challenged the people of Nebraska who were pioneers and missed the trees and forests of the east.

The challenge was to plant as many trees as they possibly could. The citizens of Nebraska answered the challenge by planting more than 1 million trees that first Arbor Day.

To learn more about the history of National Arbor Day visit the website at www.nationalarbordayfoundation.com.

AND today is also....

National Pretzel Day is observed annually on April 26.  A bag of nice crunchy, salty pretzels or a big, warm, soft, cinnamon pretzel is the question of the day.  Either one is an excellent choice.

There are a few different accounts of the origin of the pretzel.  Most people agree that it does have a Christian background, and they were developed by the monks.  According to The History of Science and Technology, in 610 AD, “an Italian monk invents pretzels as a reward to children who learn their prayers.  He calls the strips of baked dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the chest, pretiola (little rewards).”

Another source puts the invention in a monastery in southern France. The looped pretzel may also be related to a Greek Ring bread from the communion bread used in monasteries a thousand years ago.  In the Catholic Church, pretzels had a religious significance for both ingredients and shape. The loops in pretzel may have served a practical purpose: bakers could hang them on sticks, projecting upwards from a central column, as shown in Job Berckheyde’s (1681) painting.

The Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants introduced pretzels to North America in the 19th century.  At this time, many handmade pretzel bakeries populated central Pennsylvania, and their popularity quickly spread.

It was in the 20th century that soft pretzels were very popular in areas such as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York. 

• Today, the average Philadelphian consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average.
• Pennsylvania is the center of American pretzel production for both hard and soft pretzels, producing 80% of the nation’s pretzels.
• The annual United States pretzel industry is worth over $550 million.
• The average American consumes about 1.5 pounds of pretzels per year.
• Philadelphia opened a privately run “Pretzel Museum” in 1993.
• Hard pretzels originated in the United States in 1850.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy some pretzels or even make your own. Try this soft pretzel recipe to share and enjoy this yummy beer cheese dip from @HolidayFoodies on the side.