We Are Celebrating One Million Views

By Terry Orr

We have posted 1773 articles since February 5, 2011 on a wide variety of topics - the table below provides the top articles view by our wonderful readers. 

Top Ten Articles

Best Friend’s Day		June 7, 2012	57869
Best Friend Day		June 8, 2011	56807
Pledge of Allegiance and The Lords Prayer		April 22, 2011	21704
Go Skateboarding Day		June 21, 2011	20553
Chocolate Ice Cream Day		June 6, 2011	19940
National Bikini Day – 2012		July 5, 2012	16086
D-Day June 6, 1944		June 6, 2011	14765
Eat a Red Apple Day		Nov 30, 2011	8764
Positive Thinking		Sep 12, 2011	8229
International Firefighting Day		May 3, 2011	6618
Totals			231335

Thank you have for visiting our Blog site.

THEORY OF CHOCOLATE

By Diane Forrest

I have seen tee shirts that say Beer was created because God loves us and wants us to be happy.  I don’t believe that, I believe that is why chocolate was created!  According to medical studies, consuming chocolate can have several benefits.  Some of the benefits listed in womanshealthmag.com include:

Wish that was a serving each day? Another big, long-term study in Germany this year found that about a square of dark chocolate a day lowered blood pressure and reduced risk of heart attack and stroke by 39 percent. Most of the credit goes to flavonoids, antioxidant compounds that increase the flexibility of veins and arteries.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that dark chocolate is far more filling, offering more of a feeling of satiety than its lighter-colored sibling. That is, dark chocolate lessens cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods.

Women who ate chocolate daily during their pregnancy reported that they were better able to handle stress than mothers-to-be who abstained. Also, a Finnish study found their babies were happier and smiled more.

In a small Italian study, participants who ate a candy bar's worth of dark chocolate once a day for 15 days saw their potential for insulin resistance drop by nearly half. "Flavonoids increase nitric oxide production," says lead researcher Claudio Ferri, M.D., a professor at the University of L'Aquila in Italy. "And that helps control insulin sensitivity."

Swiss scientists  found that when very anxious people ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks, their stress hormone levels were significantly reduced and the metabolic effects of stress were partially mitigated

After 3 months eating chocolate with high levels of flavanols, their study subjects' skin took twice as long to develop that reddening effect that indicates the beginning of a burn.

A University of Nottingham researcher found that drinking cocoa rich in flavanols boosts blood flow to key parts of the brain for 2 to 3 hours, which could improve performance and alertness in the short term.

One study found that chocolate quieted coughs almost as well as codeine, thanks to the Theo bromine it contains. This chemical, responsible for chocolate's feel-good effect, may suppress activity in a part of the brain called the vagus nerve.

Both South American and European cultures have a history that dates back to the 16th century of treating diarrhea with cocoa. Modern-day science has shown they were onto something.

So eating chocolate has many benefits, but slowing down the aging process may not be one of them.  But no matter how old you are, every day with a bit of chocolate is a good day.

GRANNY

By Terry Orr

For those that may have difficulty reading this:

Grandma’s Pie

Grannie made such beautiful pies!

One day, I asked her, “How do you get such beautiful pies with the crimps around the edge so even?”

“It’s a family secret” she said. “So promise not to tell.”

“I roll out the dough, then cut a bottom layer and carefully put it in the pie plate.  Then I slowly pour the filling, making sure it’s not too full. Next I cut a top layer and put it over the filling.”

“Finally, I take out my teeth and just run them around the edge of the pie crust and they make the nicest even impressions you ever did see.”

My ‘Granny’ was truly a compassionate, loving, and caring role model. A friend and source of many ‘tales’ and life lessons to guide her grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and impact their lives in a well grounded and positive manner.

While her methods of doing things might have seemed strange at times – the results were always a special treat.

Corn on the Cob – the water was to be boiling on the stove - before we could pick the ears off the stalk and clean the ears on way to the house.

Hamburger gravy – Saturday night would be hamburgers cooked in her old cast iron skillet.  The skillet was NOT cleaned when she was done.  It was covered for Sunday morning – when she would prepare her fantastic ‘hamburger gravy and biscuits’ for breakfast.

She had a good way of frustrating future baker’s trying to copy her recipe for Granny’s Chocolate Cake.  She never used measurements – just threw in what she thought would be enough – and only measured the boiling water – one cup!

 

Chocolate Éclairs’ – Oh Yummy

By Chef Diane

I have a wonderful Uncle Jack, but he isn't really my uncle.  He is a friend of my father's, and has known him since before I was born, so I call him uncle.   Every time he came to visit, I would make him Chocolate Éclairs’.  He always made such a fuss over them, eat them all day long, and wouldn't share with anyone.  These days, the only time I fix them is when he comes for a visit.  I have given his wife the recipe a few times, but she still hasn't made any for him.  They should really complicated and exotic to make, but actually they are really quite easy.  In fact, last year when I went to his home, we made a batch together and they turned out great.

You don't need any special tools to make them yourself.  They may not look quite like the ones from the bakery, but they will taste heavenly all same.

The word comes from French éclair 'flash of lightning.'  They probably got that name because when you eat them, they will be gone in a flash!  The éclair probably originated in France during the nineteenth century. It is a popular type of cake served all over the world. The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.  In some parts of the United States, Long Johns are marketed under the name éclairs, though the two are not identical. A Long John uses donut pastry and is typically filled with vanilla pudding or custard, making it a simpler and inexpensive alternative to the éclair.   The French call the dough of these treats “choux,” which is carefully baked to allow for a hollow interior. Then cream, custard, or purée is piped into its center and it is topped off with fondant icing.

Today is National Chocolate Éclair Day.  Below is the recipe I have used for  years, and it never fails.  If you don't have time to bake your own, head to your nearest bakery and pick up some for dessert, or breakfast, or any time of the day.

Éclair’s:

Shell:

1 stick butter (real butter)

1 cup water

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium saucepan bring water and butter to full boil. Remove from heat. Add flour and mix well and let cool slightly. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each egg. Spoon mixture in the shape of a finger onto a cookie sheet. Remember they will double in size so keep that in mind as you spread them out. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake another 45 minutes. Allow to cool.

Filling:

Some people like a cream type filling - I prefer pudding. Since it is a French dessert, I use French Vanilla instant pudding, but regular vanilla is just as good too. Mix according to directions and let sit in refrigerator while éclair shells are baking. When cooked, take the shell, cut a slit down the side with a sharp knife and spoon the pudding in.

Chocolate Glaze

2 1oz squares of unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Melt Chocolate and butter in saucepan over low heat, removed and stir in sugar and milk. Mix well until smooth and drizzle over éclairs immediately, it sets up pretty fast.

Time to eat you...

(Photos from Google) 

Ice Cream Soda Day – Yummy

By Diane Forrest

My cousin's son recently celebrated his 17th birthday.  Part of his celebration was to go out for brunch on a beautiful Friday morning.  The restaurant they went to served him a wonderful ice cream soda, along with a fluffy Belgian waffle.  I wouldn't have been able to eat for the rest of the day after a meal like that, but he is a growing young man, and was ready to eat again a few hours later!  He is pictured above with his chocolate soda.

Ice cream sodas, or floats, are a product of accident.  In 1874 while celebrating the sesquicentennial (150 year) celebration in Philadelphia, PA, Mr. Robert Green ran out of ice for the sodas he was selling.  So to keep his drinks cold, he used ice cream from a neighboring vendor.  He used a selection of 16 different flavors of syrup, soda water and vanilla ice cream, and the new tasty treat was an immediate sensation.  Teens loved them, however many adults hated them, and some towns even banned them on holy days because soda was marketed as a "miracle cure" much like alcohol or other controlled substances that could not be sold on Sunday.  This action spawned the invention of the Sundae, a soda less ice cream treat.

My grandfather lived in Gulfport, Mississippi.  After WWII he returned home and began working for Mr. Barq, one of the originators of Barq's root beer.  Growing up, every time we went to visit there was always rows of bottled root beer in the fridge, and wooden crates full of bottles out in the shed.  My grandfather must have still believed in the evils of soda, because I was always "too young" to drink one.  To make matters worse my grandfather and father would sit on the back porch and have black cows.... right in front of me and my brother!

A black cow is another name for root beer float.  It was sheer torture watching them slurp down those delicious treats on those hot summer nights.  Later I remember going out to Dairy Queen with my dad one afternoon.  We went in and he ordered a strawberry soda.  Since I was feeling grown up, I ordered one too.  That was the prettiest drink I ever saw.  It was in a tall clear plastic glass, large around the top and smaller at the bottom.  It was filled with a creamy pink liquid, topped with whipped cream and a bright red cherry on the top.  It was incredible!

Now that I'm all grown up, all I drink is Barq’s root beer, and a black cow is the only kind of soda I will get because it was forbidden for so long.  Some people like a foamy head on their soda, I don't like digging through all that foam to get to the good stuff, so I make mine by pouring the root beer in the glass first.  Next add 1 or 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream.  (If you add chocolate ice cream it is called a brown cow)  However if you like the foam, just add the ice cream to the glass first, and then fill with cold root beer.  Or you can go down to your local Dairy Queen and try any number of flavors and invent your own favorite soda. Then grab a spoon and a straw and enjoy one today on National Ice Cream Soda Day!