Learn Your Limes Part 2

The lime is famous for the role it played with 18th century English sailors. Scurvy was the plague of sailors until it was discovered that when they received a ration of one lime a day it stopped. Eating a lime a day earned them the nickname "limeys." While they knew it worked, it wasn't known why until scientists discovered vitamin C in 1923 and figured out that it was the vitamin, not the fruit itself that gave the protection.

This week, part two of a look at limes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Logic, logic, logic. Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end."- Captain Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryLearn Your Limes 2

Learn Your Limes Part 1

A squeeze of lime has virtually no calories, and brings a delicious accent to foods and vegetables. Whether in soft drinks, cocktails (where would the caipirinha, gin and tonic, margarita, mojito, and tequila shot be without lime?) or desserts (Key lime pie, made from the juice of the Key lime, is one of America’s favorite pies), limes are a popular ingredient in many foods.

There are numerous varieties, but in the US, we typically see only two, the Persian or Tahitian lime and the Key or Mexican lime.

This week, part one of a look at limes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Fear exists for one purpose: to be conquered." - Captain Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager, "The Thaw"

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)

Learn Your Limes 1

Fire Hydrant

Red, yellow, gold, orange, green, silver, white or some other color of the rainbow; with a valve, without a valve; one plug, two plugs, more plugs; wet barrel, dry barrel; fire plug, johnny pump. Whatever color it is, whatever shape it takes, whatever the internal design is, whatever it is called, a fire hydrant is still a fire hydrant.

This week, a look at fire hydrants.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Things are only impossible until they're not." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "When The Bough Breaks"

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)


Fire Hydrant

Onions and Influenza

We've talked about onions before. It is thought that bulbs from the onion family have been used as a food source for millennia. In Bronze Age settlements, traces of onion remains were found alongside fig and date stones dating back to 5000 BC.

In addition to being a food source, wide-ranging claims have been made for the effectiveness of onions against conditions ranging from the common cold to heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other diseases. They contain chemical compounds believed to have anti-inflammatory, anticholesterol, anticancer, and antioxidant properties such as quercetin. However, it has not been conclusively demonstrated that increased consumption of onions is directly linked to health benefits.

And nor do onions keep you from getting the flu. This week, a look at the myth of onions absorbing the influenza virus.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "In this galaxy there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all that, and perhaps more...only one of each of us." - Doctor Leonard McCoy, Star Trek: The Original Series, "Balance of Terror"

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)


Onion Fielded

Champagne Bubbles Burst with Flavor

Dom Pérignon was a Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of Champagne wine in an era when the region's wines were predominantly still and red. Popular myths frequently, but erroneously, credit him with the invention of sparkling Champagne, which didn't become the dominant style of Champagne until mid-19th century.

What is true about Dom is he was originally charged by his superiors at the Abbey of Hautvillers to get rid of the bubbles since the pressure in the bottles caused many of them to burst in the cellar. The disturbance caused by one bottle's disintegration could cause a chain reaction, with it being routine for cellars to lose 20-90% of their bottles to instability. The mysterious circumstance surrounding the then unknown process of fermentation and carbonic gas caused some critics to call the sparkling creations "The Devil's Wine".

He couldn't get rid of the bubbles, which is fortunate for us, as the bubbles help release the aroma of the Champagne.

This week, a look at how Champagne bubbles burst with flavor.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." - Robert Louis Stevenson, (Scottish author, 1850 - 1894)

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)


Champagne

Winter Solstice

We've just passed winter solstice, the longest night of the year, here in the northern hemisphere. After the winter solstice the light returns and the days grow longer.

The longest night of the year is a precious time. Night is a time of dream, vision and journey into the depths of oneself, the darkness of unknown possibility. From that journey into the dark new life as well as new light emerges.

This week, a look at Winter Solstice.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up -- they have no holidays." - Henry "Henny" Youngman (a British-born comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners," short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire, 1906 – 1998)

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)

Winter Solstice

A Brief History of Chestnuts

Lately, I keeping stumbling across chestnuts. Of course, during the holidays Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett sing about them roasting on an open fire. According to The British Journal of Nutrition, chestnuts, along with pecans and walnuts, have the highest antioxidant content of the tree nuts. So in addition to being festive, they are good for you.

This week, a look at chestnuts.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." - Calvin Coolidge's Presidential message on December 25, 1927; American president, 1872-1933)

(scroll over or click on iPaper below to have a drop-down menu that includes a print option)

A Brief History of Chestnuts