★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 15th, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.

Andrew Carnegie

★~ The Great American Smoke Out:

The American Cancer society  is encouraging smokers to make a plan to quit, or quit smoking today.  By quitting — even for one day — smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet about 43.8 million Americans still smoke cigarettes — Nearly 1 in every 5 adults. As of 2010, there were also 13.2 million cigar smokers in the US, and 2.2 million who buy cheap pipes to smoke tobacco — other dangerous and addictive forms of tobacco.

The American Cancers Web Site offerers resources to help smokers become smoke free. Good Luck!

★~ Clean Out Your Fridge Day:

It’s a week before Thanksgiving, do you know where your leftovers will go?

The folks at Samsung, are offering a few holiday food storage tips — and showing off their  32-cubic-foot fridge shown above.

Toss out items that are past their expiration date, and vow over the next few days to use up nearly empty bottles of dressings, sauces and marinades.

Wipe down shelves and bins, as well as the rims of bottles and condiments. A cleaning solution of 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart hot water won’t leave behind a scent food can absorb.

Divide the fridge into zones and assign a specific function to each shelf and drawer. Think about meal-prep and snacking to help guide the placement of dinner ingredients, lunch fixings, breakfast condiments, drinks and other items.

When you’re making festive foods in advance of the holiday meal, maximize space by using zip-top storage bags. Pie filling, cookie dough, marinades and stuffing in bags can be stacked easily in the fridge or freezer, using less space.

★~ Recycle Day:

I am sharing the George Cartlin Video above not because I agree (completely)  but because I think it’s mostly funny. Not work friendly.

I always tell checkers that we are “bi-sacksual” we use both paper and plastic bags.  Since you are judged by the company you keep…I consider myself a first-rate recycler. My dad’s garbage men tip him at Christmas. Cousin Carla turns empty plastic liter soda bottles into water wings for kids. I even know people who do not use paper towels. Based on my criteria I am first class recycler.

America Recycles Day celebrates all of the benefits associated with recycling.

Rasin Bran Day:

The most  commonly recognized rasin brand is  Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch however, the raisin-bran combination has actually been around since 1926, when it started as Skinner’s Raisin Bran. The “raisin bran” moniker was once trademarked, but usage limitations fell by the wayside as the term became widespread.

Statistics say that the average raisin-bran box of cereal houses 1,000 raisins — Scary stuff all those raisins hanging out together.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1900 – Andrew Carnegie established the Carnegie Technical Schools in Pittsburgh PA. The school(s) became Carnegie Institute of Technology/Carnegie Tech in 1912 and Carnegie-Mellon University in 1967.

♥~ 1966 – The flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

♥~ 1969 – The first Wendy’s Hamburgers opened. Dave Thomas started the company with one restaurant in downtown Columbus, Ohio. He named the company after his second youngest daughter. When Thomas died in January 2002, the Wendy’s chain had grown to more than 6,000 restaurants worldwide, with a reputation for fresh, high quality food, and fast and friendly service. In 1995, Wendy’s merged with Tim Hortons, Canada’s largest coffee and fresh baked goods chain, that totals more than 2,000 units. Together, the two chains have system sales exceeding $8 billion.

♥~1980 – After years of success on the music charts with the New Christy Minstrels and the First Edition, Kenny Rogers got his first #1 song. Lady, written by Lionel Richie, stayed at the top for six weeks.

♥~ 1991 – The 28-foot-tall Free Stamp (sculpture?) by Claes Oldenburg was inaugurated in Willard Park in the heart of Cleveland, OH.

♥~ 2005 – The FBI arrested Candice R. Martinez, a 19-year-old woman suspected of robbing four Virginia banks while talking on her cell phone. Martinez got a 12-year prison sentence in 2006. A lessons for teens everywhere.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1887 – Georgia O’Keefe –  Described as one of the major American artists of the 20th century, Georgia O’Keeffe was born at Sun Prairie, WI. In 1924 she married the famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz. His more than 500 photographs of her have been called “the greatest love poem in the history of photography.”  O’Keefe  painted desert landscapes and flower studies.  When asked why she chose flowers as her subject, she said, “Because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move

♥~ 1929 – Edward Asner Emmy Award-winning actor: The Mary Tyler Moore Show

♥~ 1932 – Petula Clark Grammy Award-winning singer [1965]: Downtown, I Know a Place, This is My Song, My Love

★~ Did You Know: 

Thanksgiving is one week from today!  Here are a few Thanksgiving tips….

♥~ Check to make sure you have the following  Thanksgiving essentials: aluminum foil, containers for leftovers, paper towels, butter, ice, clean dish towels, dishwashing detergent, and a good soundtrack to cook to if you enjoy music.

♥~The Nifty three tier Oven Rack increases the space in your oven and will hold up to three heavy casseroles.I just bought one for $21.75 on Amazon.

♥~ If you’re cooking a frozen turkey, start thawing it out in the refrigerator on Sunday. Don’t ask someone else to take it out of the freezer for you. This is a do it yourself job. I know.

♥~ Clean out the fridge! We always eat out the 4 days leading up to Thanksgiving to avoid clutter.

♥~ Use hollowed bread loaves for charming serving containers for cheeses, dips, olives, chips and small sandwiches. Best part is you don’t have to wash them or store them after Thanksgiving.

♥~ Brining a turkey is suppose to make it much juicier. Is this true? How to Brine a turkey.

♥~ Mise en Place is the French term for preparing all the ingredients for a dish in advance, such as washing, trimming, chopping vegetables, setting out your spices and herbs, etc. it is a good idea to do this the day before Thanksgiving.

♥~ Hide all of your serving utensils (so no one can use them for random stirring, etc.) until you’re ready to actually serve. Make sure you reserve (and hide!) a clean set for dessert.  I once had a complete melt down when dearly departed Joe used the mash-potato spoon to stir the gravy. It was not one of my finer moments.

♥~ Put sticky notes on each cooking appliance with its respective cooking schedule. For example, for the oven: “Stuffing 3:00-5:00.” That way no one removes your half-done stuffing to warm up their green beans. This happened to me once.  Only it was my green beans that were causally past over. Not funny.  From that point on I used post-a-notes.

♥~ Are you wondering what a Turducken is?  Well it is a fully hand de-boned duck, and a fully hand de-boned chicken, all rolled into one and stuffed with lots of delicious stuffing layered between the three kinds of meat). This LA regional delight has become one of the latest food fads.  Here is Paula Deen Recipe or of-course you can order one.  Butterball for my family, thank you.

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Hope everyone has a terrific Thursday. Will you write a six-word story about your upcoming Thanksgiving feast and leave it as a part of your comment? I have an idea. (Usually, when I say that, people start running and hiding. But I know you, my Odd reader, is a braver soul than most. Indulge me.) By the way, a story has a beginning, middle, end and I think an action. (I looked that up.)  Here is a wonderful example provided by a clever wordsmith.

 “Only vegetarian at the table: me.” The beginning is “Only,” the middle is “vegetarian at the table” and “me” is the end. And the action is that I just typed it!

Hope you have a terrific Thursday!

♥~