~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥
April

★~Post updated: Apri 17, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote:  My wife says I never listen to her.  At least I think that’s what she said.  ~Author Unknown

★~Blah Blah Blah Day:

Blah Blah Blah—a gem of a phrase!  Blah Blah Blah can be used to express a multitude of emotions: Sad blah: I am feeling so sad and BLAH today, Disgusted blah: I just cannot believe that she wore those shoes with that dress–so BLAH, Tuning out Blah: The word cloud over a teen’s head when you are speaking to them: BLAH blah BLAH, BLAH, BlAh. Today is the day to go forth and use Blah…but please don’t be all blah blah about it!

★~Cheeseball Day:

How do you spell it anyway—cheese ball or cheeseball or cheese-ball? Ok-I have made an executive Odd decision I am going with the one-word  spelling: cheeseball. To continue, there seems to be two main types of cheeseballs.  I will discuss both types, but unfortunately, I think the intent of this day is to celebrate the baseball sized, nut covered, soft cheese wad that people bring to holidays parties or as hostess gifts.  For example: Aunt Margaret sends them a cheeseball and they recycle it by bringing it to the office party or as a hostess gift to your party. The type of cheeseballs that deserve to be celebrated are those crunchy, cheesy, bite-sized balls of bright orange goodness, the airy snacks loved by both children and adults alike.  I say throw caution to the wind and just celebrate whichever cheeseball makes you say, “cheese!”

★~ Today In History:

♥~ 1629 – Horses were first imported into the colonies by the Massachusetts Bay Colony on this day.

♥~ 1810 – Pineapple cheese was patented by Lewis M. Norton. Mr. Norton lived nowhere near pineapples. He was from Troy, PA. Pineapple cheese… Yummy!

♥~ 1953 – One of the most famous home runs in baseball history was whacked by New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle on this day. ‘The Mick’ hit a 565-foot homer in Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC.

♥~ 1971 – Joy to the World, by Three Dog Night, made it to the top of the pop music charts on this day. The song was number one for six weeks. Now that’s a hit!

♥~ 1985 – The U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new 22-cent LOVE stamp. In a clever promotion, the USPS used the set of ABC-TV’s The Love Boat as a backdrop. The stamp went on to become one of the most popular ever offered by the postal service.

♥~1986 – Larry McMurtry won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Lonesome Dove

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1964, An American icon was born on this day. A sexy, fast, lightweight little pony debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair.  Ford’s affordable car,  the Mustang, instantly delighted Americans of all ages. Named after the renowned World War II fighter aircraft, the Mustang was “designed to be designed by you.” This meant that you could buy the coupe or convertible with your choice of a six-cylinder engine with 101 horsepower, a 164 horsepower V-8, or a 210 horsepower V-8 engine. Did you want three-speed, four-speed or automatic transmission? Maybe you preferred front bucket seats or the front bench-style seat. Whatever your choice, your $2,368 bought you a spiffy new car with wall-to-wall carpeting, floor-mounted shifter and full headliner. Mustangs rolled off the assembly line by the thousands, breaking all industry records. More than 22,000 orders were taken on this first day.  Mustang Sally captured the hearts of a generation and is still riding high.

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ There are over 2000 different varieties of cheese!

♥~ Non-pasteurized cheeses are legal in the US as long as they’re more than 60 days old:

♥~ Traditional mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) is made from water buffalo milk: I thought it was just a name, but it’s not. Apparently, there are some big water buffalo farms in California

♥~ Pizza Hut uses about 300 million pounds of cheese per year.

♥~ Founded in 1882, the Crowley Cheese Factory in Healdville, Vermont, is the nation’s oldest cheese maker still in operation.

♥~ The top five cheese producers in the United States are Wisconsin (more than 2.4 billion pounds annually), California (2.1 billion pounds), Idaho (770.6 million pounds), New York (666.8 million pounds), and Minnesota (629.3 million pounds). These states account for 72 percent of the country’s cheese production

#

Question: What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?

Answer: Nacho Cheese!

Do you like cheeseballs—the soft ones? Truthfully, I think they are confusing.  What exactly are they trying to be? Why the ball shape? Is this supposed to be a lame attempt at being festive, of saying, “Hey, I am a cheese ball and I belong at your party”? That is so cheesy!  You have no idea what is under the nuts until you spread it on your cracker; that is way too much commitment for me.  Why not just be straightforward, honest, upfront—put a nice chunk of cheddar or brie on a nice tray, add a few crackers, and you have an appetizer that everyone understands.  Don’t worry; there is nothing blah about serving cheese this way.  Having said all this, I do not feel as strongly about cheeseballs as I do raisins, so if you have a great cheeseball recipe, do share…Odd Loves Company!

♥

I have just been told this is a very good cheeseball recipe: Martha Stewarts Farmhouse chutney cheeseball (thank you Nancy)