Un-Cobb Salad & Brown Derby

This salad recipe originated the same way as the original Cobb Salad — from refrigerator leftovers. It contains many of the same ingredients, but it's not the exactly the same.

Cobb salad is a main-dish American garden salad consisting of chopped chicken (or turkey), salad greens, usually iceberg and romaine lettuce, watercress, endives with tomatoes, crisp basin, hard boiled eggs, avocado. Add-ins are often Blue cheese or Roquefort cheese or even Cheddar cheese. And it's topped with a vinaigrette dressing. An easy way to remember the ingredients list is to use the mnemonic EAT COBB: egg, avocado, tomato, chicken onion, bacon, blue cheese.

Its origin is the Hollywood Derby Restaurant in 1937. All online sources seem to agree that it's named after Derby owner, Robert Cobb. The most popular version of its creation is that Cobb had not eaten when late one night he raided the restaurant kitchen and mixed together leftovers, adding cooked bacon from a chef and tossing it all with French dressing. Showman and theater owner Sid Grauman (think Grauman's Chinese Restaurant) was reportedly with him. Salad ingredients were chopped fine because Grauman,who had recent dental work, couldn't chew. Afterwards, Grauman was said to have requested the salad which was then added to the menu. It became a popular item and developed a following among popular movie stars of the time.

I raided the Frog & PenguINN refrigerator and pantry this weekend, gathering these ingredients:

• Cooked chicken
• Romaine lettuce
• Avocado
• Celery
• Tomatoes
• Pecans
• Hard boiled eggs
• Dried cranberries

Okay, the hard boiled eggs were NOT already cooked, but were an easy addition to prepare. Cooked bacon and cheese were left out because no bacon was already cooked and I forgot about adding cheese, but there's always next time.  No proportions are given because I did not really measure, but just made enough for Grenville and myself to enjoy for a Saturday night meal with NO leftovers. This dressing was homemade from ingredients on hand. Refrigerated leftovers will keep for about a week.

Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

• ¾ C canola oil
• ¼ C extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ C red wine vinegar
• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• ¾ tsp dry mustard or 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The first Brown Derby opened in 1926 as a coffee shop on Wilshire Boulevard in Los

Angeles, CA. It was started by Wilson Mizner and funded by studio owner Jack Warner. Whimsical architecture was popular at the time and the now famous design was created to catch the attention of passing motorists. The name was said to have derived from a similarly named New York restaurant which had been a popular hangout for vaudevillian performers in the 1920s. The CA location was across the street from a popular Hollywood night spot, the Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove.

A second Brown Derby, the Hollywood Brown Derby, opened on Valentine's Day in 1929 near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Despite the less distinctive and mission-style facade this one soon became identified with the golden age of Hollywood. In large part due to its location near the major movie studios of the day. This location attracted such a following from the movie industry that major stars would receive fan mail addressed to them at the "Hollywood Brown Derby." Rival gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Harper were regular patrons who called it their "office headquarters." In April 1985, the Brown Derby ceased operation as it needed reconstruction due to potential earthquake damage. The restaurant was largely destroyed by fire in 1987. 

(Brown Derby vintage photos are from Internet sites with no copyright restrictions. The first photo is by Chalmers Butterfield. The second photo is from a 1952 postcard.)

What's Blooming?

Recent warm weather coupled with rain storms resulted in many blooms around the Frog & PenguINN yard in recent weeks. 

Our daffodils were very late bloomers because of a longer winter/colder spring. Once they started blooming, they were very abundant. Forsythias, dandelions and mustard greens provided more colorful blooms — all in yellow.

Lawn wildflowers, also known as nuisances, include mouse-ear chickweed and purple dead  nettle. While these are annoying wildflowers, each has its own beauty.

My favorite wildflower,which is also in my favorite color, are these wild violets, which show up in two color variations every spring; all are volunteer plants.

Several lily of the valley plants were transplanted from our former New Jersey yard. These have thrived and multiplied in the 10 years we've been living in Virginia. 

The F&P strawberry patch also has many blooms, hopefully we'll enjoy a great crop. Yellow wild strawberry blooms are colorful and abundant now on the lawn areas.

In the orchard, the peach trees and a lone pear tree budded last week. Heavy winds here the past few days blew off most of the colorful flowers.

 What's blooming in your yard? 

Friday Funnies

Today's post is a double, because there's always a funny side of everyday life.

NOT much chance of getting lost with these signs (and arrows) seen in DE.

Somewhat drafty in this what's left of this house that we've seen deteriorate over several years. It seems to have had some recent help.

We're back home from a week long road trip to celebrate Easter & family birthdays, and glad to be here.

Wishing everyone a great weekend — however and wherever you're spending it. 

Birthday Girls

This year's Easter holiday road trip included birthday celebrations in two states. While both birthdays are this week, we celebrated a week apart due to travel schedules.

Last week's (early) birthday celebration in NJ was for niece Julie — TODAY is her birthday.

Yesterday, we celebrated daughter Coleen's birthday in PA with husband Paulo (bottom right) and other family members. 

Coleen and her dad Pat (aka Grenville on this blog) posed for a birthday photo.

Celebrants Coleen & Julie exchanged birthday wishes by video-chat from PA to NJ.

We wish both lovely ladies a very Happy Birthday & year of celebration.

Eggs-Cellent Easter

Easter traditions for many kids (and adults too) include egg coloring and an egg hunt. Grandson and granddaughter were willing participants in both events again this year with help from mom and grandpa.

Grandson showed off his coloring style and was quite the color artist.

Granddaughter had lots of fun although year her hands were not as colorful as the previous year.

Mom and grandpa Grandpa also colored eggs — there's no age limit to this fun.

Easter morning both grandkids were ready for the "hunt" with bags at the ready.

Next came opening the eggs and then checking out their finds. Both grandkids enjoyed sampling treats including jellybeans, chocolate, coins and currency.

Both enjoyed opening Easter treats from us.

Hope you and yours enjoyed an Happy Easter. 

Easter Day

Wishing everyone a joyous day.

Dorothy & Pat

(aka Beatrice & Grenville)

Who's Peeping . . .

Lots of children AND adults at Easter time and other holidays too. 

Current company advertisements advertise  Peeps® — Always in Season with marshmallow treats for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day. 

Just Born, an 87-year old, family-owned sweets firm based in Bethlehem, PA makes Peeps®. For years I thought the name was connected with the "age" of the candy chicks. Not so as the company name derives from the last name of the company founder.

Sam Born, a candy maker by trade, emigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1910. He used innovative technology to produce chocolate sprinkles and the hard chocolate coating for ice cream bars. In 1916, he invented a machine that inserted sticks into lollipops. In 1923, Born opened a candy-making and retail store in Brooklyn, NY and marketed the freshness of his daily-made candy with a sign “Just Born” that became the company name. In spite of the 1930s economic downfalls, the company prospered and expanded, moving operations in 1932 to an empty printing factory in Bethlehem. 

In 1953, Just Born bought the Rodda Candy Company which produced a handmade candy marshmallow chick. Sam's son, Bob, liked the way the chicks looked and, in 1954, developed machinery to mass-produce marshmallow chicks which be trademarked Peeps®.

Today, Just Born is the world's largest manufacturer of novelty marshmallow treats. The company also produced numerous other novelty products.

The manufacture of seasonally shaped Peeps® began in the 1960s. In the 1980s the company introduced a marshmallow bunny. Until 1995, marshmallow Peeps® were only produced in the iconic yellow as well as pink and white, then lavender versions were introduced. In 1998, blue Peeps® were produced for the Easter holiday.

Other flavors and colors followed: In 1999, vanilla-flavored candies were added, then strawberry, in 2002, a chocolate one was introduced. Recent new flavors include bubble gum, lemonade, party cake and blue raspberry, among others.

There is little redeeming NO nutritional value in Peeps® which consist of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, and assorted food dyes. For more info on these sweet confections, check out the Peeps® website.

Do you like Peeps® — fresh, stale, roasted, decorative — or NOT at all.

Cleaning the Cleaner

Since the primary function of a dishwasher (DW) is to clean, you might think that it's self-cleaning. Not so as often it gets gunned up with leftover food, grease, and soap scum. The DW might smell bad and even worse dishes might not be sanitary.

Our DW is 10 years old and, while I have successfully used the vinegar and baking soda method below, I came across conventional and some unusual methods of cleaning this household appliance.

Vinegar and Baking Soda 

Vinegar is one of the most versatile liquids — aside from water. Its uses include cooking, killing weeds, and cleaning. Combine vinegar with the equally-versatile baking soda, and the DW will be clean and fresh smelling. Best of all, these products are usually already in the house.

Remove the DW filter (if there is one), soak in soapy water for 10 minutes. Then replace it, add 1 cup of white vinegar on the DW bottom and set for a heavy cleaning cycle. When the cycle is done, sprinkle baking soda on the DW bottom, leave it overnight, and run another heavy cleaning cycle in the a.m. 

Borax Method

For starters, borax and baking soda are not the same. Borax is sodium borate and baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. 

Cleaning with Borax isn't difficult. It's recommended that you scrub the DW bottom and inside door with a damp sponge and plenty of borax. After scrubbing, use a damp rag to clear away the borax.

To complete cleaning, line the bottom of the DW with 1/4 cup of borax during its next cycle. You can have dishes in for this part. Use regular detergent and run the dishwasher as normal. The extra borax will freshen up the DW and remove water spots from glasses. 

Bleach (see caution)
This is also a sodium-based cleaner.The major benefit to cleaning  with bleach is that it's a sure way to kill mold. Bleach is harmful to stainless steel, so IF the inside of your DW is stainless, skip this method. For persistent mold, fill a cup with bleach, place the cup on the top rack and run the DW at its hottest setting. This should resolve the mold problem. 

Tang/Kool-Aid Method
Here's an unconventional cleaning, but apparently very effective, solution. Use citrus Tang or lemonade Kool-Aid by adding to the detergent cup and running the empty DW.

Seriously. Tang or Kool-Aid not only can remove hard water deposits  but also wipes out stains. Other brands of powdered lemonade will work too, but avoid ones with sugar added and don't use colored powdered Kool-Aid. These will stain the DW. And, you are trying to clean it, after all.

Start by running the faucet until the water is hot, then add Tang (or citrus Kool-Aid) to the detergent cup, then run a full cycle. The citrus from the powdered drink mix will remove hard water deposits and stains.

Hope this was helpful.

Broccoli Salad

This salad is often a mainstay for many potluck or holiday get-togethers, yet it's good anytime and even served at home. It was a first time dish at The Frog & PenguINN this weekend.

Broccoli salad can be overdone with too much mayonnaise and sugar. Too much of either and the broccoli can't be seen or tasted. 

A recipe in Cook’s Country magazine formed the basis of this version. 

Broccoli Salad

• 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped fine
• 1/2 C golden raisins
• 1-1/2 lb. broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces (we used 1 lb.)
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 C walnuts, toasted and chopped; pecans will work too (we had these)
• 1 large shallot, minced (skipped this as had none)

1. Cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper-lined plate.
2. Boil water; add broccoli and cook for about 1 minute, until sightly tender. Drain and place in ice water to cool, then drain again.
3. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add broccoli, raisins, nuts, and shallot (if using) and toss to combine. Season with (more) salt and pepper to taste.
4. Sprinkle with bacon and serve. I mixed the bacon in with the raisins and nuts in the above step.

Grenville declared a “keeper" and that's always high praise. It pairs well with many entrees, including beef, pork and chicken and we served it with grilled steaks for Sunday dinner. 

Seeing the Light

in late afternoon as sunlight glows through neighborhood trees.

Now that the days (finally) are much warmer and longer, we've resumed our local walks. We don't go walking every day, but try to get out a couple of afternoons a week, in addition to regular morning "Y" visits. Yard work also gets us outdoors more now.

This tangled maze of branches was not budding a couple of weeks ago.

Afternoon light creates unique patterns especially when coupled with special effects. These shots were done "straight out of the camera" (SOOC) using varied camera settings.

A fish-eye setting with an added "zoom" effect can make the world seem to go "faster."

ENJOY your weekend — hope that your weather is better now too. 

Friday Funnies

Could this be where the Keebler elves call home . . .?

At the base of our neighbor's tree ?

If any delivery trucks start driving in, then we'll know for sure.

Feathers and Phishers

A previous post ranted about house finches, that were trying to nest not in trees, but on our front porch ceiling fan. Several times daily we’d clear nesting materials off the porch and fan blades. We had put snakes (plastic not real) on the blades, without success. These birds were set on starting a home. We were just as determined that they find other lodgings.
SO, we begged asked for reader suggestions. Possum, Dianne and Michelle suggested that we leave the fan running. A great idea and one we thought of too as we set it on low before leaving for a weekend trip to Washington, DC.
So far it’s worked. We’ve been checking the  porch and fan since returning home. NO feathered homesteaders in sight — porch and blades are clear.
There’s MORE . . .
IF you remember (and even if not), in  mid-March, Grenville posted about an Elizabeth Henderson
, who sent an email that she was interested in buying our house, sight unseen. Supposedly, she was abroad and unable to come and view it: “The sale of the property does it require I come for a viewing first before we conclude?  Because I am in UK at the moment.” 
REALLY, too good to be true?
Yeah, we thought so too. Grenville sent an email reply  that our lawyer would follow-up. Ms. Henderson sent another email with a mobile (UK) phone number and asked us to call her. WHY would we do that?  We’re too cheap thrifty to call abroad AND also not un-savy. We weren’t born yesterday (no age-related jokes, please).
Bet you can guess what happened — that’s right — she hasn’t contacted us again.
DRAT. We were ready to pack-up — if an offer seems too good to be true, it’s not.
YET, scammers and phishers keep at it. Since Grenville’s Did You Get the Call? post, we’ve had more phony PC-related calls, always starting off with: “Your Windows computer is infected and is sending out emails with viruses . . .you must turn on your PC now so we can help, etc.”
Grenville continues to have fun with these scammers. He will ask them for their Microsoft ID number OR tell the caller that he is a security advisor.
Odd thing is that THEY always hang up on him. OK, it’s usually after he mentions the armed security team that he will dispatch to their location.
Guess they really don’t care about our computer. We never thought they did. Also we use Apple products. And as posted before, Microsoft Security doesn’t call directly.

Capital Visit with Friends

Our weekend trip was a capital one, not just because Washington, DC was our destination, but because we visited with special friends (not Michelle and Barack).

Our Saturday excursion was to the National Gallery of Art to see a photo exhibit of 160 B&W photographs. All taken by Garry Winogrand, a renowned photographer of New York City and American life from the 1950's through the early 1980's. 

Primarily a street photographer, Winogrand
was known for his portrayal of American life. He preferred shooting film to editing pictures or producing books and exhibitions. When he died in 1984 at age 56, he left 2,500 rolls of undeveloped film, 6,500 rolls of developed, but not proofed exposures, and nearly 300,000 unedited images. Many of his photographs depict the social issues of his time. Winogrand never published or exhibited approximately one-third of the photographs in this exhibit; most were printed posthumously. 

In addition to viewing the photo exhibit, we explored the National Gallery for awhile. Here's some before shots of a few things seen there.

And, the same views after some filter fun in Picasa.

We were hoping to see the famed Washington cherry blossoms in bloom, but our hopes went unfulfilled. While there trees budding near the Jefferson Memorial, full flowering is late this year because of the prolonged winter weather that also hit DC. We did see there flowering blooms in downtown DC — tulip magnolia and a cherry tree

There were some architectural views downtown as well during our walk around.

Thanks, Linda and John for your hospitality; we had a wonderful weekend visit. 

"Old" friends (not referring to age, thank you) are the most special people. Even though we don't see one another often, time has a way of having "stood still" whenever we get together. We can always pick up where we left off, irregardless of the years gone by.

Is it the same for your special friendships as well?