Friday Funnies

Seen on the highway during a recent road trip and these thoughts came to mind . . .

Rolling out the GREEN carpet . . . and

Brown side DOWN
Green side UP

Thai Chicken Crockpot Dinner

Tonight's dinner was another chicken crockpot recipe that was not only SO easy to set up, but included a couple of our favorite ingredients – salsa and  peanut butter.

This was a first-time recipe from a Rival Crockpot recipe book. There are many other variations available online. Chicken thighs were used, but other pieces of bone-in chicken can be substituted.

Thai Crockpot Chicken

• 8 chicken thighs (skinless)
• 1 C salsa
• 1/2 C peanut butter
• 2 TBSP lime juice
• 1 TBSP soy sauce (low-sodium)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2 TBSP cilantro
• 1/2 C chopped scallions
• Optional:  1/2 C chopped peanuts when serving

1. Put chicken in crockpot.
2. Mix other ingredients together – salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and seasonings – and pour over chicken.
3. Add scallions on top and cover.
4. Cook on LOW 8-9 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours. (If you want chicken that’s so tender it falls off the bone after a longer cooking time, then go for the LOW setting.) 
5. Serve over rice; sprinkle with peanuts (if desired) .

Serve with a side of salad or green vegetable and ENJOY !

Shiny & New and Under 3 Lbs.

YUP, that’s what my new Mac is, not exactly brand new, but looks just like new at less cost with a standard 1-year warranty when bought directly from Apple under Refurbished.

Sure, it’s still a “big ticket” item which I did not purchase quickly. Just ask Grenville, he’ll tell you how I went on (and on) trying to justify its purchase – to myself.

Here’s the new refurbished MacBook Air (13.3 in.) that arrived via FedEx last night – definitely night – since delivery was 8:15 p.m.

BEFORE getting this, I made a deal with myself – ever do that too? – couldn’t get a new PC, since we are downsizing for a move north to NH, without first selling my Windows notebook PC, 2005 Toshiba Satellite and related accessories: carrying case, notebook mouse, portable hard drive, external DVD drive (leftover from a netbook sold earlier).
EBay was the only viable selling venue, so last month, the sell-off started, very S-L-O-W-L-Y. After 1 week, items has a few “watchers” but NO bidders at auctions ended. There are no listing/relisting fees, but EBay’s “cut” is 8-10% when sold; then PayPal exacts a (smaller) fee. Costly, yes, but easier getting payment this way and transferring $ to my bank.

FINALLY, everything was sold and off to near AND far states of California, Colorado, Indiana, and New Jersey.

WHY was my choice a MB Air when similar Windows PCs are  FAR less costly and some even more feature-laden?

Personal preference for something different which meant a CHANGE from Microsoft /Windows based notebook PCs. My first 2 notebook PCs were by Toshiba and served me well – but hefty as well; the last one was over 6 lbs. Here’s how the MB Air compares:

Height: 0.11-0.68 in. (0.3-1.7 cm)
Width: 12.8 in. (32.5 cm)
Depth: 8.94 in. (22.7 cm)
Weight: 2.96 lbs. (1.35 kg)
Sure, there are trade-offs going from a  standard notebook PC to the MB Air – its 4GB RAM can’t be expanded, it has no hard drive or CD/DVD drive. It DOES have a 128 GB solid state drive (SSD) less susceptible to fail from physical shock and quieter.

WHY? SSDs don’t use moving mechanical components, which distinguishes them from traditional magnetic disks, hard disk drives (HDDs) or floppy disks. Those electromechanical devices have spinning  disks and movable read/write heads. .
And then there’s that oh-so-slim and attractive aluminum housing.
And I won’t even mention the ever-so-quiet plus backlit keyboard. (WHOOPS, I just did.)

YES, this was definitely a good battle to have won with myself !
Besides, when if I miss using a  Windows/Microsoft PCs, I can turn on my HP desktop.

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” *

*(Rick Blaine to Captain Louis Renault – Casablanca (1942)

More Oldies But Goodies

In an earlier post a few weeks ago, I posted about advertisements displayed in a gift recipe book, The Farmer’s Wife Slow Cooker Cookbook.
 
The previous post showed some early (and interesting) appliance ads.  Here’s some of the ads for food products . . .

The Royal Baking Powder Company was one of the largest producers of baking powder in the US. It was started by brothers Joseph and Cornelius Hoagland in 1866 in Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Joseph Hoagland, a grocer, noticed that the baking powder he was making did not bring in much revenue. He suffered from competition, because baking powder was easy and cheap to make. Hoagland decided to name his powder the Royal Baking Powder, and to sink a huge sum into an advertising campaign. Soon, Hoagland was spending half a million dollars a year on advertising, an enormous amount at the time, but customers came to have a boundless trust in Royal Baking Powder. They were willing to pay several times the price of exactly the same thing from another producer. The company eventually moved to New York in the 1890s and became the largest manufacturer of baking powder.

Occident Flour was produced by the Russell-Miller Milling Company from the mid 1890s to the early 1950s. The Russell-Miller Milling Company had facilities throughout the Upper Midwest, with the main office in Minneapolis. In the early 1950s, F.H. Peavey Company purchased the company. The combined company was renamed the Peavey Company in 1962 and that company was acquired by ConAgra in 1982.

Sun-Maid has served consumers and customers since 1912 by providing premium quality raisins and dried fruits from the raisin and fruit farms of California to homes and eating establishments. Sun-Maid Growers of California, is a cooperative headquartered in Kingsburg, CA, and owned by family farmers who grow raisin grapes all located within 100 miles of each other in the Great Central Valley of California, midway between Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco to the north. It is the largest worldwide raisin and dried fruit processor.

Morton's roots were established in Chicago in 1848 when Alonzo Richmond arrived in Chicago from Syracuse, New York to proclaim his new business: Richmond & Company, Agents for Onondaga Salt. Chicago's population then was just 20,000 but it was quickly becoming a transportation hub due to its access to the Great Lakes and to the expanding settlements along the extensive Mississippi River system.
In 1879, eight years after the Great Chicago Fire, Joy Morton bought an interest in the company. In 1886, he increased his share to acquire a majority interest in the company, renaming it Joy Morton & Company.

The firm was incorporated as the Morton Salt Company in 1910. By then, it was both a manufacturer and a merchant of salt. Among its products were a free-flowing salt in a round package with a patented spout for consumer households, and various bulk salt grades for farm and industry. In 1914, the now famous Morton Salt Umbrella Girl and slogan, When It Rains It Pours^® first appeared on the blue package of table salt and in a series of Good Housekeeping magazine advertisements. It was adapted from an old saying, “It never rains but it pours.”
A 1940s era ad . . .
Heinz 57 is a shortened form of a historical advertising slogan used by the H.J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, PAs. The expression, derives from Heinz's "57 Varieties" and has come to mean anything  comprised or mixed from a lot of parts or origins. It developed from a marketing campaign to tell consumers about the numerous products available from the Heinz company.Henry J. Heinz introduced the marketing slogan “57 Varieties” in 1896. He claimed that he was inspired by an advertisement he saw while riding an elevated train in New York City (a shoe store boasting “21 styles”). The reason for”57” is unclear. Heinz said he chose “5” because it was his lucky number and the number”7” was his wife's lucky number. However Heinz also said the number "7" was selected specifically because of the “psychological influence of that figure and of its enduring significance to people of all ages.” Heinz wanted the company to advertise the greatest number of choices of canned and bottled foods for sale. In 1892, four years before the slogan was created, the Heinz company was already selling more than 60 products. Today, Heinz offers more than 5,700 quality products, yet is still known for its “57 Varieties.”
Heinz miscellanea . . .

• Only 8 to 10 people worldwide know the exact recipe for Heinz Ketchup. Heinz has one basic recipe, but there are differences depending on which country it is made in:  users in Canada, Britain, Australia and Venezuela like their ketchup a bit sweeter than those in the U.S. and mainland Europe, who like their ketchup a bit spicier.
• Heinz buys more tomatoes than any other company in the world – over  2 million TONS a year.
• To pour ketchup more quickly from the bottle, the folks at Heinz say that the best spot to tap on the Heinz bottle is the “57” on the neck. Just apply a firm tap where the bottle narrows, and the ketchup will pour more easily. BUT,The New York Times claims this is a matter of intentional design, with Heinz having placed the”57” mark on that particular spot of the bottle as a target for consumers to hit.
• When Pittsburgh-based Heinz purchased the naming rights of Heinz Field in 2001, they signed a deal to pay the Pittsburgh Steelers $57 million until 2021.
• The Heinz 57 is also a nickname for British Rail Class 57 locomotives.

BERRY BERRY Good

An earlier post in late April showed and described what was going on in the m-u-c-h downsized Frog & PenguINN gardens this year. At that time, we were already enjoying the asparagus planted 3 years ago. We’ve harvested it a few times since then and used it in salads and omelets and stir fry as well.

This week’s harvest was a couple bowls of fresh strawberries . . .

These were great with some sugar sprinkled on them adding them  atop oatmeal. Our MOST favorite way to enjoy them fresh is in a strawberry smoothie; it’s like having a milkshake for breakfast.

And, what’s wrong with that?

Friday Funnies

Maybe the cone in the middle needs to “ripen” more?

It's Official

Yes, as of this morning, the Frog & PenguINN is officially 'on the market'. With any luck we will soon be "Homeless Nomads" living out of our car or an extended stay while we look for a new place to hang our hats.

For those of you who might be interested in what we are selling you can see a lot of the F&P on our website at www.easternshorehomeforsale.com

You can also see the official MLS Listing at   http://www.navicamls.net/displays/?n=356&i=995173&k=hUdH

The Princess and i have pretty much decided that we will keep the name Frog & PenguINN and may use it where ever we land. Make it sort of a 'state of mind' as apposed to a physical location. A home is where you hang your hat mentality.

In the mean time, anyone who is thinking about heading to the beautiful Eastern Shore should let us know. We would still love to meet you before we disappear.

Grenville

New Neighbors

A couple was recently spotted in the neighborhood and for a couple of weeks, they were seen checking out various living arrangements for temporary nesting.

This is the neighborhood.

Once the selection was made, they started (forgive the expression) feathering their nest. Here is their new home. It’s in what’s called the crepe myrtle development, a desirable row of trees alongside The Frog & PenguINN. The nest was set up on the first tree. (We planted these trees as sticks about 7 years ago — the neighbors snickered quite a lot then. But we watered them and now have a mature row of these southern beauties.)

The nest is not high up in the tree and this location is a bit surprising because there are were dual bird feeders on a pole directly behind the first tree. Many of Unwelcome Visitors —such as blackbirds, starlings, grackles and even a hawk are known to frequent the area. As a home security measure, the feeders have been relocated to the front yard to keep possible predators from invading the neighbor’s privacy.

Today, we discovered that the couple has started a family.

Updates will be posted when possible.

Avery’s Appeal

Avery Lynn Cahahuati is a 6-month old child who died this past Monday from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an incurable genetic disease that kills more infants than other genetic disorders.

SMA attacks the neuromuscular system, particularly the respiratory system. Avery was diagnosed with SMA type 1 and not expected to survive to her 2nd birthday; type 0 is worse and usually occurs in fetuses.  To learn more about this disease, check out fight SMA.

Avery of Bellaire, Texas, was featured on a blog created by her father, Michael. Her blog was a “bucket list”  of experiences and included these items and more: Wake up smiling; have a bad hair day; get picked up by a fireman; talk to mommy and daddy; eat a cupcake and a blow pop.

The blog was  a fund raiser for SMA gene therapy research through Sophie’s Cure, a non-profit organization, working to raise $1,000,000 to take the work of The SMA Gene Therapy program from Nationwide Children’s Hospital/Ohio State University out of the lab and into the SMA patient population. All donations are tax deductible.

We’re thankful for the health of our 5-1/2 year old grandson and 9-month old granddaughter. Reading Avery’s story was sad; her legacy continues by funding research to help future generations of children and their families avoid the heartbreak of losing a child far too soon.

May I . . .

As in the 1st day of a new month.

Did you all remember to change your calendars? OK those of us – like myself – who still write on a wall calendar. There’s one in our kitchen and I’ve already started filling in THIS month’s events. Grenville schedules his activities on an iPod, but I prefer the old-fashioned way of using a paper calendar. How about you?

We didn’t have a lot of those April showers, but the May flowers seemed to come regardless. There’s a colorful palette of blooms  in the The Frog & PenguINN flower beds. Here are some whites . . .

THis year wqe have an abundance of orange poppies . . .

The front yard has mainly pink and purple colors . . .

Cornflowers are abundant in the standard blue (seen in the second row) but we also have them in white, pink and lavender . . .

Don’t know the name of this wildflower that blooms in multicolors . . .

We have multi-colored geraniums and a single red tulip . . .

Here’s an old (very) riddle for blogger friend Sandra, the Madsnapper:  If April showers bring May flowers what do May flowers bring?

Pilgrims !