~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
July 30, 2015

 

★~ Today’s Quote:  All workers want is a fair shake. ~ James P. Hoffa

★~Father-In-Law Day:

My Father-in-Law made these Halloween costumes for his friend and him to wear to our annual Halloween Costume. He is the taller pumpkin. Funny, helpful, clever and a good story teller are just a few of  his qualities. Once in awhile I smell his cigar smoke around our patio table where he liked to sit and visit and where some of his best stories started off with  “Well, you know Katybeth….”

Celebrate your Father-in-Law by giving him a big hug or re-telling one of his stories or jokes.

★~Paperback Book Day:

Don’t let all those Kindles, IPads and Nooks fool you—paperbacks are still quite en vogue. Paperback Book Day celebrates the look, texture and experience of reading paperback classic or as my Dad likes to call them a paperback penny dreadful.

★~Cheesecake Day:

Say cheese…cake!

Cheesecake often reflects the region it is from. New York-style cheesecake uses heavy cream and cream cheese in its recipe, while Pennsylvania Dutch-style cheesecake uses a tangy, curdy cheese called farmer’s cheese. Chicago cheesecake is another cream cheese version that has been made popular by Eli’s Cheesecake Company. This style of cream cheese cake is firm on the outside and creamy inside.

Alan Rosen, owner of the Famous Junior’s Cheesecake in Brooklyn shared his top tips for the perfect cheesecake, plus the famous Junior’s original recipe so you can recreate the cake at home. (Or, if you’re feeling a little lazy, just order one off their website with discount code CHEESECAKEDAY14 for a $5 discount.)

“My grandfather opened Junior’s in 1950 in downtown Brooklyn with my father and my uncle, and he said, ‘If we’re going to be a great restaurant in New York, we have to have great cheesecake,’” Rosen told ABC News. “So he went around tasting and testing different cheesecakes and experimented with his baker, Eigle Peterson. Finally they hit upon a formula that they were happy with, and that’s the same recipe we use today.”

Rosen’s cheesecake baking advice:

Start with the best ingredients. “We use Philadelphia cream cheese. There are different types of heavy cream; we use 40 percent, while some people use 36 percent or don’t use it all because it’s expensive.”

Don’t skimp on the blend. “Use a paddle attachment on slow speed so you don’t incorporate a lot of air.”

The water bath is key. “We bake all of our cheesecakes with a water bath so each pan is surrounding by about ¾ -inch of water, and that adds moisture to the oven and gives us the ability to bake them without burning them.”

Don’t be afraid of a nice golden brown. “A lot of people take it out too soon because they think it should look white, but it should not. It should be golden brown about the edges.”

Let it rest. “When cheesecake’s baked, it rises out of the pan like a soufflé, and if you start to mess with it right after, it’ll crack. So we let it settle down. We let it cool on the counter and we refrigerate it overnight in the pan. Most people are so anxious when they bake a cheesecake at home they want to get into it right away, but that’s not a good idea.”

Click here for the Junior’s Original New York Cheesecake Recipe.

Cheesecake Factory is offering is offering any slice of Cheesecake for 1/2 off the July 30-31st.

 ★~ Today in History:

♥ ~ 1835 –  Books bound in soft covers were first introduced in 1841 at Leipzig, Germany, by Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz, the modern paperback revolution dates to the publication of the first Penguin paperback by Sir Allen Lane at London, England, in 1935. Penguin Number 1 was Ariel, a life of Shelley by Andre Maurois. 

♥~1894 – Corn flakes were invented by Will Kellogg.

♥~ 1898 – Scientific American carried the first magazine automobile ad. The Winton Motor Car Company of Cleveland, OH invited readers to “Dispense with a Horse.”

♥~ 1956 – The phrase “In God We Trust” was adopted as the U.S. national motto.

♥~ 1975 – American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.  Hoffa was declared legally dead seven years later.He was last seen in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, near Detroit. He was involved with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1932 to 1975, first as an organizer, then as the president from 1958 to 1971. He’d long had ties to organized crime, and he went to jail in 1967 on a 13-year sentence for jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud. He didn’t resign his Teamsters presidency, though, until he made a deal with President Nixon in 1971. Nixon commuted his sentence, in exchange for Hoffa’s agreement to stay away from union activities until 1980. Not surprisingly, the Teamsters Union supported Nixon in his 1972 re-election campaign. Hoffa wasn’t happy with the arrangement, but he had lost the support of the Teamsters and the Mafia, and Nixon’s restrictions were probably due to a request by senior union officials.

Hoffa told friends he was going to meet with two Mafia leaders at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township. When he didn’t return by late that evening, his wife called the police, who found his car in the parking lot, but no sign of Hoffa. He was finally declared dead in 1982. There have been rumors, since disproved, that he was murdered and his body was buried in the end zone at Giants Stadium

♥~ 1998 – A world-record Power-ball jackpot of $295.7 million was won by a group of 13 machinists who worked together in Westerville, Ohio. The group chose the cash option, and received a lump-sum payment of $161.5 million dollars.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1818 – Emily Bronte author: Wuthering Heights; died Dec 19, 1848

♥~ 1863 – Henry Ford’s  name is synonymous with Detroit, the car industry, and the assembly line.

♥~  1934- Allan “Bud” Selig ran a Ford dealership in Milwaukee before becoming the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, and later commissioner of baseball.  He  was born, one year after the birth of actor Edd Byrnes, best known as hot-rod driver and parking attendant “Kookie” on the TV series “77 Sunset Strip.”

♥~ 1946 – Jeffrey Hammond musician: bass guitar: group: Jethro Tull: Locomotive Breath, Minstrel in the Gallery, Steel Monkey, Living in the Past, Sweet Dream, The Witch’s Promise

♥~ 1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger actor: Eraser, The Terminator, Predator, Twins, Conan the Barbarian, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, Last Action Hero; married to Maria Shriver; 5-time Mr. Universe; part owner of Planet Hollywood restaurants; governor of California [2003-2011]

♥~ 1950 – Frank Stallone actor: Rocky series, Staying Alive, Ten Little Indians, Hudson Hawk, Tombstone, Doublecross On Costa’s Island; brother of actor Sylvester Stallone

♥~ 1956 – Delta Burke actress: Delta, Designing Women, Filthy Rich, Chisholm; Miss Florida

♥ ~ 1958 – Kate Bush singer: Experimental IV, Running Up That Hill, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, Wow, Wuthering Heights

♥~ 1963 – Lisa Kudrow actress: Friends, Mad About You, The Opposite of Sex, Analyze This, Dr. Dolittle 2

★~ Odd Gallimaufry: 

Well why not?  Women who dye their armpit hair.

So what are you in for? A man in Rancho Cucamonga was arrested for overturning a lemonade stand and trying to get away with a pink and turquoise money box.

How casual is too casual? FastCo wonders, what’s with all the yoga pants?

Can you even imagine?  About 47 million Americans don’t have an internet connection.

Stepping away from the lion – Jane Birkin is demanding that Hermès use only ethically-raised crocodiles for her namesake bag.

Hacked Jeeps – Following Andy Greenberg’s Wired story about the hackers who remotely hijacked a Jeep with him behind the wheel, Chrysler has recalled 1.4 million vehicles.  One has to wonder-  If you have to update software via a recall, should you really be in the software business?

Less is now more –  American’s are finally eating less. Some of the drop is a result of better education and regulation. And some can be explained by the fact that our daily soda intake is no longer measured in gallons.

Amazon is now bigger than Wal-Mart. While both companies are in retail, their stories — from strategy, to company-size, to revenue re-investment — couldn’t be more different. Their competition paints a vivid picture of America’s transition to a new way of doing business.

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We are heading out early to Prairie Wolf with our day campers.It’s hot out there!  I was just introduced to an app that reminds you to hydrate in the hot weather with a series of beeps.  How did we ever survive summer in the old days? I know one thing, my sweet Mom never chased me around with a water bottle. I guess she casually assumed I’d drink something when I was thirsty. Sheesh, and I thought she cared. I am in love with Topo Chico mineral water. In little glass bottles, of-course. It makes hydrating so festive.

Returning home from Prairie Wolf  my teen and I will rinse off 4 pups and give 3 full baths. Our goal this fall is to put in a grooming tub. My back can’t wait. We are going to a grooming show this weekend to look at all the show specials that they are promising. And hopefully to see some grooming extravaganza’s. The poodles are always showing-off. After the show, I’ll share opinions on shampoo and grooming tools. Riveting, I know.  Well, at least to some of you.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Odd Loves Company,

PS: We have a Lab that we take to Prairie Wolf that was possessed with the bird at the top of the post. The bird acted like he was playing with her (or maybe teasing her), I wondered what kind of bird it was – Cole answered, “A swallow, they are loved because they eat flying insects especially flies.” I asked how he knew that and he answered, “Granddaddy told me.” My dad is a lifelong birdwatcher with an impressive bird list. Obviously, his grandson was paying attention whilst he was sharing his knowledge – this made me smile.