A Yummy Thankful

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)  

***********************************

Ten Things of Thankful is taking a break, and i hope Kristi and all of the other regulars are having a great time.

My thankful this week is that i was able to use the turkey carcass from Christmas to boil up stock, and the meat and some sausage and other ingredients to make a gumbo.

Boil your own stock from a roasted turkey, it tastes better that way.

Turkey and sausage, as opposed to a seafood gumbo.

Saute those veggies!

Lots of gumbo, to be served over rice.

There's nothing quite like gumbo, especially as the weather gets cooler, and i haven't been doing a lot of cooking since my business has gotten so much bigger.  The family was very glad for it, even Red-headed Alec is coming by today for a bowl.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

***********************************

Today is:

Constitution Day -- Ireland

Enjoying ESP Day -- internet generated, and it means eating, sleeping, and partying!

Fifth Day of Christmas

Illegal Pants Day -- commemorates Emma Snodgrass' arrest in Boston in 1852 for wearing pants

Kwanzaa, Day 4, Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)

National Chocolate Again Day -- because someone, somewhere, believes it can't be chocolate something-or-other day often enough

National Independence Day -- Mongolia(1911, from the Qing Dynasty)

Paternoster Row Day -- in memoriam of the famous area destroyed by the Blitz this date and tomorrow in 1940

Pepper Pot Day -- Pepper Pot Soup was invented today in 1777 at Valley Forge for the army to have something warm to eat

Sacrifice to Zeus Horios -- Ancient Greek Calendar (sacrifice in the deme of Erichia; date approximate)

St. Gabriel's Day -- Ethiopia

St. Thomas of Canterbury's Day (Thomas a Becket, Patron of clergy, secular clergy; Exeter College, Oxford, England; Portsmouth, England)

St. Trophimus of Arles' Day (Patron of children; Arles, France; against drought)

Tick Tock Day -- end of the year is getting closer, stop putting off your dreams! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Yodel in the Shower Day -- internet generated, and i promise not to tell if you do

Anniversaries Today:

J. Paul Getty, Jr., weds Victoria Holdsworth, 1994

Texas becomes the 28th US State, 1845

Birthdays Today:

Jude Law, 1972

Andy Wachowski, 1967

Bryan "Dexter" Holland, 1966

Patricia Clarkson, 1959

Paula Poundstone, 1959

Ed Autry, 1954

John Polito, 1950

Ted Danson, 1947

Marianne Faithfull, 1946

Jon Voight, 1938

Mary Tyler Moore, 1936

Thomas Edwin Jarriel, 1934

Klaus Fuchs, 1911

Billy Mitchell, 1879

Pablo Cassals, 1876

William Gladstone, 1809

Andrew Johnson, 1808

Charles Goodyear, 1800

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Thunderball(Film, UK release), 1965

"The Andersonville Trial"(Play), 1959

The Adventures of Kathlyn(Film, first movie serial), 1913

Today in History:

Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, 1170

The first nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston, 1782

Gas lights are installed at White House, during the Polk administration, 1848

The first Young Men's Christian Association chapter in the US opens, in Boston, 1851

Emma Snodgrass is arrested in Boston for wearing pants, 1852

The first telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Co, NY, 1867

The Wounded Knee Massacre takes place, 1890

Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio), 1891

Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, 1911

The first movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn," premieres in Chicago, 1913

Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans, 1930

Physicist Richard Feynman gives a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology, 1959

Filming began on Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in England, 1965

Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees, 1989

Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war, 1996

Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million lives, 1998

The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct, 2003

Chaparrastique volcano erupts in El Salvador, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: This is what turkey leftovers become.

A big pot of turkey gumbo!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Bairns Day -- Scotland (Begins the runic half-month of Eoh, the yew tree, which signifies the dead, and is now associated with the Slaughter of the Innocents of Christian tradition, so today is considered by some the unluckiest day of the year, and no work should be undertaken today.)

Call a Friend Day -- just to catch up a bit

Card Playing Day -- internet generated, enjoy a fun game with friends and family; "Go fish!"

Childermas a/k/a Holy Innocents Day -- (Patrons of babies, children's choirs, foundlings)
     various Christian traditions celebrate under many names and in various ways
     Els Enfarinats -- Ibn, Valencia, Spain (flour fight, and if it's anything like the tomato throwing in other towns of Spain, it's probably lots of fun)
     French Childermas tradition interpreted what the Norse saw as evidence of the Wild Hunt of Odin as the spirits of the Holy Innocents running from King Herod
     Inocentes -- Mexico, and sometimes celebrated as Mexican December Fool's Day (Herod fooled himself into thinking he had gotten rid of his rival king born in Bethlehem.)

Dyzemas Day -- Northhamptonshire, UK (an unlucky day to begin any new undertaking, "what is begun on Dysemas Day will never be finished")
     origin unknown, but often translated as Tithe Day, being very close to the Portugese word for tithe

Eat A Vegetarian Day -- an internet generated joke; yes, the vegetarian in question can be a cow

Endangered Species Act Day -- US (act passed 1973; a day to mourn species already extinct)

Fairy Academy of Window-Frosting Winter Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar

Fourth Day of Christmas

Incwala Day -- Swaziland (the biggest day of the 8 week Ncwala Festival, which loosely translates as "first fruits", although today's tasting of the first of the harvest by the King is only a portion of the many days of ceremonies)
      always on 28th?

Kayin New Year -- Myanmar (The Kayin, or Karen, are the second largest ethnic minority in the country, and their New Year is an extra holiday with traditional costume and lots of celebrating)

King Taksin Memorial Day -- Thailand

Kwanzaa, Day 3, Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

National Chocolate Candy Day

Proclamation Day -- South Australia (trad.)

Return a Gift for the Cold Hard Cash Day -- and good luck, these days

Runic Half-month Eoh (yew) commences

Take a Drive and Enjoy the Christmas Lights Day -- before they are gone for another year

Unluckiest Day of the Year -- various traditions state no work should be started today, for whatever is started today will never be finished!  In Olde England, nothing of importance was ever undertaken on Childermas, because it would prove unlucky


Anniversaries Today:

Billy Ray Cyrus weds Leticia Finley, 1994
The US Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted, 1945
Iowa becomes the 29th US State, 1846


Birthdays Today:

David Archuleta, 1990
Sienna Miller, 1981
John Legend, 1978
Joe Mangianello, 1976
Todd Richards, 1969
Malcolm Gets, 1964
Denzel Washington, 1954
Edgar Winter, 1946
Don Francisco, 1940
Maggie Smith, 1934
Nichelle Nichols, 1933
Martin Milner, 1931
Johnny Otis, 1921
Sam Levenson, 1911
Lew Ayres, 1908
Cliff Arquette, 1905
Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1905
Hendrik Meijer, 1883
Woodrow Wilson, 1856
John Molson, 1763


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Gulag Archipelago"(Publication date), 1973
"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"(Play), 1969
"Night of the Iguana"(Play), 1961
"On the Town"(Musical), 1944
"Tip-Toes"(Musical), 1925
"St. Joan"(Play), 1923
"Cyrano de Bergerac"(Play), 1897


Today in History:

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a/k/a Westminster Abbey, is consecrated, 1065
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins, 1308
Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star, 1612
King Taksin is crowned as king of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as a capital, 1768
Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario), 1795
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo, Japan, killing 30,000+, 1828
John Calhoun becomes the first US Vice President to resign (over differences with President Andrew Jackson), 1832
Spain recognizes independence of Mexico, 1836
South Australia and Adelaide are founded, 1836
Rangoon Burma, destroyed by fire, 1841
The United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits, 1867
The LumiËre brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema, 1895
The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California, 1912
The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park, 1950
Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelago", 1973
Winnie Mandela is banished from South Africa, 1976
The first American "test-tube baby", Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1981
U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years, 2000
At 115 years old and 266 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the world's oldest living person, 2012

Galllivanting to Galveston: Wet doesn't stop the fun.

Wet is the only way to describe Friday here in Galveston.  Not wet enough to stop us from doing things, but certainly wet enough to put a damper on riding a quadcycle.

Because there was no lightning, Grace and i each went down to walk on the beach in the morning, and FiveCat and Mr. Fiver went in the evening.

Two indoor activities kept us busy, the Moody Mansion and a film called The Great Storm in the Pier 21 Theater.  Then back to the condo to prepare gumbo.

As is usual, i have no idea how to cook in small amounts, so i ended up fixing more than we could eat in a whole week.  FiveCat cooked potatoes and corn to go with it.  There was turkey and sausage gumbo, shrimp and crab gumbo, and vegan gumbo.  Yes, you can make vegan gumbo.

The evening was fun, lots of talking and laughing and joking, and because Little Ninja is here, music!  We also had plenty of talk about where we will go next year.  Meanwhile, we still have plans for today that include kayaking.  If i don't have a joke for you tomorrow, know that i can't kayak!

 

Today is:

Aloha Festivals Keiki Ho'olaule'a -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (preserving Hawai'ian culture, with games, keiki activities, performances, and more)

Amilcar Cabral's Birthday/National Day -- Guinea Bissau

Antique & Classic Boat Show -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (the Tuckerton Seaport and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society present classic wood and glass boats exhibitors, entertainment, demonstrations, a parent/child boat-building contest, and more; through tomorrow)

Banana Festival - An A-peeling Celebration -- Fulton, KY & South Fulton, TN, US (the fun starts tonight with The Banana Ball and continues through next Saturday)

Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day 2015 -- US (the Saturday after Labor Day, everyone is encouraged to volunteer in cleaning federal land, recreation areas, or waterways, to help do their part to keep these places beautiful)

Defender's Day -- Maryland, US (marking the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner", current national anthem of the US)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 2, Interdependence (sponsored by We, the World)

Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day -- Quincy, WA, US (a fun and tasty way to celebrate and learn how food gets from the farm to your table; through Sunday)

Gahambar Paitishahem -- Zoroastrian Calendar (five day feast of bringing in the harvest, dates approximate)

Hang Around Victor Day -- Victor, NY, US (come see why it's a great place to do just that!)

Hollerin' Heritage Festival -- Spivey's Corner, NC, US (with the National Hollerin' Contest, reviving the the "almost lost" art of Hollerin', and a fun filled day of music, food, antique farm equipment, and more)

International Day for South-South Cooperation -- UN

International Drive Your Studebaker Day -- an official event of the Studebaker Drivers Club Inc. (wish i could!) 

Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair -- Little Falls, MN, US (arts and crafts from hobbyists and pros; through tomorrow)

Mushroom Festival -- Kennett Square, PA, US (food, fun, and fungi in the Mushroom Capital of the World; through tomorrow)

Naked Gardening Day -- scare the neighbors!  get rid of those pesky squirrels!  experience nature (and sunburn, and mosquito bites) with your whole body!  not to be confused with World Naked Gardening Day, which is now held in May each year

Nanticoke Powwow -- Millsboro, DE, US (Native American gathering and celebration; through tomorrow)

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Day of Encouragement -- US (no matter where you live, encourage someone today)

New Jersey Maritime Heritage Festival & Antique and Classic Boat Show -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (lots of seaworthy fun; through tomorrow)

St. Alibe's Day (Patron of wolves; Cashel, Ireland; Emly, Ireland; Munster, Ireland)

St. Guy's Day (Patron of bachelors, epileptics, horned animals, laborers, sacristans, sextons, work horses; for protection of outbuildings, sheds, and stables; Anderlecht, Belgium; against epilepsy, hydrphobia/rabies, infantile convulsions, and rabid dogs)

Valparaiso Popcorn Festival -- Valparaiso, IN, US (dare i call it a popping good time?)

Video Games Day -- an unofficially declared day for kids to thank their parents for indulging their love of games

Walker Cup -- Southampton, NY, US (biennial competition between amateur teams from the US and UK; through Sunday)


Anniversaries Today:

Winston Churchill marries Clementine Hozier, 1908
Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846
Robert Schumann marries Clara Wieck, 1840


Birthdays Today:

Emily Rossum, 1986
Jennifer Hudson, 1981
Yao Ming, 1980
Benjamin McKenzie, 1978
Amy Yasbeck, 1963
Rachel Ward, 1957
Joe Pantoliano, 1954
Peter Scolari, 1954
Gerry Beckley, 1952
Barry White, 1952
Maria Muldaur, 1943
Linda Gray, 1940
George Jones, 1931
Ian Holm, 1931
Dickie Moore, 1925
Irene Dailey, 1920
Jesse Owens, 1913
Ben Blue, 1901
Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892
Maurice Chevalier, 1888
H.L. Mencken, 1880
Charles Dudley Warner, 1829


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Captain EO(3-D Film), 1986
"Taxi"(TV), 1978
"Maude"(TV), 1972
"The Monkees"(TV), 1966
"Bonanza"(TV), 1959
"Lassie"(TV), 1954
"Quadrille"(Play), 1952
"The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major/Symphony of a Thousand"(Mahler symphony), 1910


Today in History:

Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609
The first submarine is tested in London, 1624
Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683
First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787
Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848
The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878
Charles Leroux, world famous parachutist with 238 successful jumps, perishes in his attempted jump in the Bay of Reval, 1889
The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910
Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940
Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958
Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974
Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979
Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005
Iran finally agrees to release U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd, arrested there in 2009, on bail and permit her to leave the country, 2010
The "Lamb of God" panels of the Ghent Altarpiece, one of the most often stolen artworks in history, are secretly removed for restoration, 2012
NASA's Voyager 1 space probe becomes the first manmade object to reach interstellar space, 2013
The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, completes his last shift as a pilot in the RAF, and officially retires to perform Royal and community work, 2013

Learning Curve

A few days ago, i posted about my new toy, the NuWave induction cook top.

The beauty of it is it uses less electricity and is more precise than a typical electric stove top.  It uses magnets to interact with your steel or cast iron cookware, heating the food directly.  The pot itself doesn't get hot and then heat the food, the food gets hot, and the pot or pan gets warmer as the food itself heats up.

You can set the temperature very precisely, and as with gas cooking, if you turn it off, it's off.  You don't have to wait for a burner to cool down while you move the pot off the stove so the food doesn't burn.

As with any new item, there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's not much of one, and i'm enjoying this immensely.

After Thanksgiving, you have leftover turkey, so we always make a turkey gumbo.

Boiling veggies for a stock.

Once i had plenty of vegetable and turkey stock, and lots of roux (which i forgot to get a picture!  dang!) it was time to make a gumbo in the old cast iron pot.

Gumbo, made with love.  And okra, onion, turkey, bell pepper, celery...

The NuWave was pronounced a success, and has continued to be so.  It even turns out Sweetie's breakfast eggs just the way he likes them.

Eggs -- two whites, half a yolk, salt and pepper, as an omelet.

The one thing i had to learn to compensate for is that because the pan itself doesn't heat up, the food does, the food around the edges takes a bit longer to cook.

Altogether, i am glad i have this, and i'm looking forward to having the others Grandpa ordered for me.  My kitchen counters are going to need some rearranging.  



Today is:

AFL-CIO Day (date of merger in 1955)

Bathtub Party Day -- celebrate how much fun it is to take a nice, long, hot bath in these days when showers prevail; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Blue Jeans Day -- because they are now standard issue, aren't they?

Boycott Day -- commemoration of the city bus boycott begun this day in 1959 in Birmingham, AL, US in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks

Bizarre Bazaar -- Richmond, VA, US (Christmas shop until you drop; through Sunday)

Christmas Festival at St. Olaf -- St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, US (600 student musicians perform sacred and folk songs from around the world; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Sudan

Day of the Ninja -- sponsored by Ninja Burger!

Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoneFolding, and Zimbor-Quattor's (Multiple Squishing of) Celebration -- Fairy Calendar

Discovery Day -- Haiti

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development -- UN

King's Birthday -- Thailand, also National Day and Father's Day (for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birth anniversary, the founder and "father" of the nation)

National Sacher Torte Day

Nones of December -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also observed
     Faunalia -- rural festival of Faunus

Repeal Day, celebrating the repeal of Prohibition -- US

St. Bassus of Nice's Day (Patron of Nice, France)

St. Nicholas' Eve  -- Belgium; Czech Republic; Hungary; Netherlands; Romania; Slovakia; parts of the UK; special observances include
      Avond -- Leewvarden, West Friesland (St. Nicholas visits and, if you are good, promises to return with trinkets and candies, which are left in waiting shoes)
      Bonhomme Noel -- France (Celebration of "Goodman Christmas")
      Klausjagen -- Arth and Kussnacht, Switzerland (with a procession of mitre-wearing figures by the Lake of Four Cantons)
      Krampuslauf -- Austria (St. Nicholas celebration, which begins the evening before the Saint's day, involving chasing and throwing snowballs at the Krampus, the imp who travels with St. Nick to punish the bad children)
      Zwarte Piet -- "Black Peter", the companion of St. Nicholas who keeps track of the good and bad children, arrives in many areas tonight

Swap a Christmas Cookie Recipe Day -- because it's fun to try new ones

Tinsel Day -- remember when this stuff used to contain lead?


Birthdays Today:

Frankie Muniz, 1985
Margaret Cho, 1968
Gary Allan, 1967
John Rzeznik, 1965
Morgan Brittany, 1950
Jim Messina, 1947
Jose Carreras, 1946
Jeroen Krabbe, 1944
J.J. Cale, 1938
Calvin Trillin, 1935
Joan Didion, 1934
Little Richard, 1932
Otto Preminger, 1906
Strom Thurmond, 1902
Walt Disney, 1901
Bill Picket, 1870
George Armstrong Custer, 1839
Christina Rossetti, 1830
Martin Van Buren, 1782


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (US release date)
"The Abbot and Costello Show"(TV), 1952
"Dragnet"(TV), 1951

Today in History:

Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations, BC63
An earthquake in Naples leave about 35,000 dead, 1465
All Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I, 1496
London auctioneers Christie's hold their first sale, 1766
Henry Knox begins the transport of Fort Ticonderoga artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts, a key to later forcing the British Fleet out of Boston Harbor, 1775
C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive, 1846
President Polk confirms that gold has been discovered in California, triggering the next year's "Gold Rush", 1848
Daniel Stillson of Massachusetts patents the first practical pipe wrench, 1876
The first automated telephone switching system is patented, 1879
The first electric car makes its debut; it could go 15 miles between charges, 1893
University of Pittsburg makes the first use of numbers on football jerseys, 1908
The American League for Physical Culture is founded in NYC, the first US nudist organization, 1929
The 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, is ratified, 1933
Sister Elizabeth Kenny's new treatment for infantile paralysis receives approval, 1941
A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow, 1952
The United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan's resolution on security of non-Nuclear States, 1976
Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite. 1988
The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there, 2005