Slurp

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Out of a can or home-made, soups really are mmm-mmm-good!! :))))

 

Happy New Year to all my blog readers – I hope you had a safe, fun holiday with family and friends. My wish to you in the New Year is that you prosper in health and wealth, grounded in your faith and love of your families.  Over the holidays I was able to really enjoy some wonderful soups (and chili).  When the mercury dropped below zero, I was the first at the table with spoon in hand to lap up some of Jackie’s creations.  As a “foodie” (my definition is “eat everything”), soup and hearty sandwich on a blustery day is at the top of my list.  (who doesn’t dip your sandwich in the soup?) And when you are feeling down, there’s NOTHING like a bowl of steamy chicken noodle soup.  I know every family has “their” recipe and way of making it – as chicken soup is undeniable the dish that has souped its way into the hearts of people throughout the world and has become a staple ‘rainy day’/’sick day’ comfort meal. Here’s a little history, some recipes to try, and a great production video on how soup is made for my production buds out there.  If you have a “to die for” family recipe, please email it to me at skowalski@khtheat.com and I’ll ask Jackie to give it a try.  Thanks to Wikipedia, The Oxford Student, You Tube and the recipe folks for the info – ENJOY! (and don’t forget the crackers – saltines or oyster or wheat or Ritz or … perhaps another blog topic 😊.

Makin’ Soup

Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup has acquired the reputation of a folk remedy for colds and influenza, and in many countries is considered a comfort food.

Chicken soup has been with us for a long, long time, and there its fame has made its history so easy to find. People have obsessed over chicken soup since the domestication of fowl around 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. The Ancient Greeks also had their own version of chicken broth and believed the soup to have healing properties much like today.

Variations on the flavor are gained by adding root vegetables such as parsnip, potato, sweet potato and celery root; herbs such as bay leaves, parsley and dill; other vegetables such as zucchini, whole garlic cloves, lettuce, or tomatoes; and black pepper. Saffron or turmeric are sometimes added as a yellow colorant.

Chicken soup is the undoubtable symbol of Jewish cuisine. But the hot broth — made of scarce and expensive fresh meat — was not always readily available in every Eastern European community.  There was one day a year when every family, rich or poor, prepared the soup: Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.  “At night, the people of the village [Cycow in Poland] would wave fluttering chickens above their heads for the atonement ceremony called kapparot, and right after the ceremony people marched in droves to the slaughterhouse,” recalled Shmil Holand in his book “Schmaltz.” A few hours later, the village was filled with the aroma of fresh chicken soup, which was then served before the Yom Kippur fast.

While every chef has their own approach, some terms to keep in mind when creating your base:

  • Chicken broth is the liquid part of chicken soup. Broth can be served as is, or used as stock, or served as soup with noodles. Chicken bouillon or bouillon de poulet is the French term for chicken broth.
  • Chicken consommé is a more refined chicken broth. It is usually strained to perfect clarity and reduced to concentrate it.
  • Chicken stock is a liquid in which chicken bones and vegetables have been simmered for the purpose of serving as an ingredient in more complex dishes.
  • Chicken stew is a more substantial dish with a higher ratio of solids to broth. The broth may also be thickened toward a gravy-like consistency with a roux or by adding flour-based dumplings

Some ingredient variations to try from around the world include: 

  • China ginger, scallions, black pepper, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil.
  • Colombia includes maize, three types of potatoes, avocado, capers, and a herb called guascas, and is served with a dollop of cream.
  • Denmark uses suppehøner (“soup-hens”) celeriac, carrots, onions and leek are usually added and typical flavourings are thyme, laurels and white pepper.
  • France serves chicken-based forms of bouillon and consommé with bay leaves, fresh thyme, dry white wine and garlic. Germany uses chicken broth, vegetables, such as carrots, spices and herbs and small noodles. For the broth, a large hen, called a Suppenhuhn (lit.: “soup hen”), may be boiled.
  • Ghana chicken soup, also known as Chicken Light soup is made by cooking the chicken in a blended mixture of tomatoes, onions, pepper and other spices and sometimes garden eggs and is served primarily with fufu or on its own.
  • Greece In Greece, chicken soup is most commonly made in the avgolemono (“egg-lemon”) fashion, wherein beaten eggs mixed with lemon are added to a broth slowly so that the mixture heats up without curdling, also adding rice or pasta like kritharáki (“little barley;” orzo), resulting in a thicker texture.
  • Hungary is a clear soup, a consommé, called Újházi chicken soup. A consommé with entire pieces of chicken, chicken liver and heart, with chunky vegetables and spices like whole black peppercorn, bay leaves, salt and ground black pepper.
  • Indonesia sayur sop, vegetable and chicken broth soup that contains chicken pieces, potato, green beans, carrot, celery, and fried shallot.
  • Italy often served with pasta, in such dishes as cappelletti in brodo, tortellini in brodo and passatelli. Even when served on its own, the meat and any vegetables used are usually removed from the broth and served as a second dish.
  • Japan torijiru starts with dashi, which is made from boiling konbu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes), and not by boiling the chicken (whole chicken is not typically available in Japanese supermarkets). After the dashi is prepared, pieces of boneless chicken thigh meat are usually used and combined with vegetables.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazi) The Russian and Polish Jewish communities use a relatively high proportion of chicken stock for their soup, made mostly from the bones. The soup is prepared with herbs like parsley and fresh dill or thyme, and is often served with knaidlach (matzah balls), kreplach (dumplings), lokshen (flat egg noodles), or mandlen (Shkedei Marak in Israel) (soup “almonds”). A traditional garnish was eyerlekh (little eggs). These unlaid chicken eggs were taken from a hen and boiled in the soup.
  • Mexico Caldo de pollo, is a common Latin-American soup made with whole chicken pieces instead of chopped or shredded chicken, and large cuts of vegetables, such as half-slices of potatoes and whole leaves of cabbage.
  • Pakistan most famous one is Chicken Corn Soup served as a popular street food in the winter. White vinegar with green chilli slices, soy sauce, and red chilli sauce are condiments often served alongside chicken soup.
  • Polish (Yeah!) The Polish chicken soup is called rosół. It is commonly served with fine noodles, boiled carrots and parsley every Sunday. The broth is served separate from chicken meat. There are many types of rosół, as: Rosół Królewski (royal rosół), made of three meats: beef or veal, white poultry (hen, turkey or chicken) and dark poultry as duck, goose (crop only The cooking must take at least six hours of sensitive boiling over a small fire. At the end, softly burnt onion is added to the soup. Rosół myśliwski (The hunter’s rosół) is made of a variety of wild birds as well as pheasant, capercaillie, wood grouse, black grouse, or grey partridge, with a small addition of roe deer meat, a couple of wild mushrooms, and 2–3 juniper fruits.

If you are brave enough to veer from tradition, here are a few recipes to try:
>>THIS ONE
>>THIS ONE
>>AND THIS ONE

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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Gadgets

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Christmas is such a magical time of year for so many reasons. Giving something totally surprising is one of those magical things I like to do. Click on the images below for some of the coolest gadgets to give.  :))))))

When it comes to holiday gifts, there is just nothing like “gadgets”.  As a business who excels at solving PIA Jobs, we know what it’s like to look, examine, test, try, try again, try again solve and then consistently deliver on the many different parts our customers send us.  And when we “get it right” our gang feels the thrill of real problem solving.  Gadgets are a lot like that – inventors and manufacturers who see problems, try and tray again and come up with real solutions that helps peoples lives. I decided to search the internet for “24 cool gadgets” that solve different problems, (believe me there are many “cool” things to buy this year) and came up with a really fun list. Here’s some of my favorites – from lens cleaners, to drones, cup holders, dog balls, headlamps, to phone chargers – all are “fun” (I’ll be sure to share with Jackie and the kids).  Enjoy!  And if you find something in your shopping efforts, be sure to send me an email and share (skowalski@khtheat.com). And thanks to trendingdailygadget.com for the items.

 

Click an image for the cool details…

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a full list, click HERE

 

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A Blessing

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PLEASE. Watch this show with your family and friends. A Charlie Brown Christmas is a wonderful show that’s such a great part of this wonderful season. I can hear the music now. Enjoy.

Now that we’ve turned the corner on November, it’s time of course to start thinking about the Christmas holiday time.  One of the classics “everyone” knows is A Charlie Brown Christmas, (who doesn’t love Snoopy’s doghouse with the lights??) written by Charles Schultz, the inventor of the Peanuts comic strip, about a depressed child who gets ridiculed by his friends but finds the magic of Christmas in the end.  The comic special has aired every December for over 50 years — longer than any other holiday program besides Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Lee Mendelson, who produced A Charlie Brown Christmas, thinks its message is particularly relevant this year, with at least half the population feeling like someone “pulled their football away.“ What most people don’t realize is that the holiday classic barely made it into production — and was almost buried forever. No networks had wanted it, but after Charlie Brown and the gang were featured on the cover of Time magazine, Coca-Cola’s ad agency, McCann Erickson, got the idea for a holiday special and approached Mendelson. Desperate after his documentary imploded, he told the agent that, in fact, he and Schulz had discussed such a project. He called Schulz and told him they’d sold A Charlie Brown Christmas. “Schulz said, ‘What’s that?’” Mendelson said, “It’s something you’re going to write starting tomorrow.” (Talk about a PIA (Pain in the @%$) Job!!  Here’s some of the history behind the show, and a few tidbits you likely never knew.  Thanks to Wikipedia for the info and YouTube for the music – (you gotta click the music link while reading to get the full effect!).  Enjoy.

Soundtrack

By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts had gained enormous popularity.  Television producer Lee Mendelson acknowledged the strip’s cultural impression and had an idea for a documentary on its success, phoning Schulz to propose the idea. Schulz, an avid baseball fan, recognized Mendelson from his documentary on ballplayer Willie Mays, A Man Named Mays, and invited him to his home in Sebastopol, California, to discuss the project.

Their meeting was cordial, with the plan to produce a half-hour documentary set. Mendelson wanted to feature roughly “one or two” minutes of animation, and Schulz suggested animator Bill Melendez, with whom he collaborated some years before on a commercial for the Ford Motor Company. Mendelson later stated that he was drawn to doing an animated Charlie Brown after working on A Man Named Mays, noting that Mays was arguably the best baseball player of all time, while Charlie Brown, in a running gag in the strips, was one of the worst, making him a natural follow-up subject to his previous work.

Mendelson rang animator Bill Melendez, who had helped animate a two-minute segment in the never-aired documentary. The three met in Schulz’s office in Sebastopol, California. Schulz wanted the show to focus on the childhood stress of putting on a Christmas play. Mendelson had just read The Fir-Tree by Hans Christian Andersen and suggested the story include a tree that is as sad and misunderstood as Charlie Brown. They cranked out an outline and put it in a Western Union shipment to Atlanta. Several days later, the agency told them they had a short six months to deliver the animated special.

Halfway through production, when the team was still working with black-and-white illustrations, a McCann executive (Mendelson is almost certain it was Neil Reagan, the older brother of President Ronald Reagan) showed up in Sebastopol to check in on the progress. He was put off by the slow pacing of the story. Mendelson, Melendez, and Schulz assured him it would be better once there was music and color. The executive said he wouldn’t tell the agency what he thought — because if he did, he was sure they would cancel the show.

For the music, the team had courted up-and-coming jazz musician Vince Guaraldi, whose “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” seemed to strike the same balance of somber enlightenment and childlike buoyancy that Schulz achieved in his comic. But when they played the introduction song as the children skated on the frozen pond, Mendelson realized it was way too slow and solemn. It was missing something. He sat down at his kitchen table and wrote out the words to “Christmas Time Is Here” on an envelope. Guaraldi enlisted the children’s choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California, to sing the lyrics.

Lyrics or not, the CBS executives didn’t think jazz belonged in a cartoon. They also challenged Schulz’s decision to use untrained children instead of professional adult voice actors. They especially couldn’t understand why children would use such big words. Schulz even got pushback from his own team. Mendelson suggested a laugh track would save the show and Schulz responded by standing up and walking out of the room. When Schulz, a Sunday school teacher, said Linus should recite from the Gospel of Luke, Mendelson and Melendez protested. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Well, there goes our careers right down the drain,’” Mendelson recalls. Of course, now Mendelson realizes that Linus’s segment probably made the entire project work. “That 10-year-old kid who recited that speech from the Bible was as good as any scene from Hamlet,” he says.

When CBS finally saw the finished product, they were sure it was doomed. It was still too slow, there was no action, the kids weren’t polished, the jazz didn’t belong. But Coca-Cola had already bankrolled the program, and it was listed in TV Guides nationwide. CBS had to air the show, but the execs were certain it would flop, never to run again.

When A Charlie Brown Christmas aired at 7:30 p.m. ET on December 9, 1965, half of American TV viewers tuned in. The reviews were outstanding. Washington Post TV critic Lawrence Laurent wrote, “Good old Charlie Brown, a natural born loser … finally turned up a winner.”

The only person involved who wasn’t surprised was Schulz. The cartoonist was plagued by depression and self-doubt his entire life, but he always had confidence in his characters and their stories. He believed everyone knew what it felt like to fail despite doing everything right. “We hear about authors who write best about what they know. Steinbeck wrote about the West. Hemingway wrote about, well, everywhere,” says Mendelson. “Schulz jumped ahead in school, so he was always the youngest, and he endured a lot of bullying. He felt a lot of loneliness, and I think that was the bedrock of his whole philosophy.”

Schulz’s message of perseverance in the face of dejection always resonated with American audiences, a reminder that we should keep kicking no matter how many times they pull the ball away.

In a classic scene, at the tree lot, Charlie Brown picks the only real tree there, a small sapling. Linus questions his choice, but Charlie Brown believes that once decorated, it will be perfect. When they return, however, Lucy and the others scorn him and the tree and walk away laughing. Crestfallen, Charlie Brown loudly asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about; Linus says he does, walks to center stage, asks for a spotlight, recites the annunciation to the shepherds, returns and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Let us all remember the true meaning of Christmas.

If interested here’s the detailed link to Wikipedia 

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ahhh, lasagna

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Guess what I had for lunch today.  :)))))))))) 

Now that the daylight savings flip is behind us, it’s time to start cooking indoors – yummy fall soups, fresh breads, sweet deserts and of course Italian sauces and foods. And that includes lasagna. If you’re like me, you can eat lasagna pretty much all the time! A warm, cheesy, gooey lasagna dish is an ideal go-to meal for chilly nights, romantic weekdays, family gatherings and dinners with friends. When topped with grated fresh parmesan cheese and a nice glass of cab or pinot noir, a regular lasagna dish on a Friday night is elevated to a gourmet meal fit for a king and queen. Now, before I go any further, a tip to my readers. Be extremely cautious when discussing the tastes and origins of your favorite lasagna dish. Avoid the words, “honey, I like your lasagna recipe, but it’s not even close to my _______ (insert: mom’s, gramdma’s, first wife, Aunt Betty’s, at Antonio’s, Uncle Carmen’s, etc.) recipe.”  This is sure to create havoc, and you’ll soon find a ladle dent on your forehead.  Picking “the best” is truly a PIA (Pain In The @%$) Job!  I’m lucky, as I LOVE both my Mom’s recipe and wife Jackie’s recipe – totally different and totally delicious. Everyone has a little twist to their recipe (homemade sauce, fresh ground sausage, variety of vegetables, special spices, long hours of simmering sauce), and more. At a work event we held recently, one of my supervisors surprised us with his significant other’s recipe – OOOHHH MMMYYY GGGOOOSSSHHHH – simply amazing.  So good, I included it below.  Be sure to share your favorite recipe – and send a photo too! (skowalski@khtheat.com). Special thanks to history.com, ciaoitalia.com, and inside therustickitchen.com and YouTube.com for the insights and music. Divertiti!

Great music to enjoy while reading and cooking

  • The origins of the word lasagne or lasagna can be traced back to Ancient Greece. What we know as lasagne or lasagna is derived from the word “laganon”, which was the first form of pasta. Laganon was a reference to flat sheets of pasta dough cut into thin strips, looking very different from what we know to be a typical lasagna dish today. It consisted of layers of pasta and sauce without traditional Italian ingredients. Ancient Rome was known to have a similar dish called “lasanum”, which is Latin for container or pot. Italians used this word to refer to the pot that the dish was served in. Eventually, the dish evolved and took on the same name.
  • The Greeks are believed to have first settled in the area of Naples in 2BC and it is currently the third-largest city of Italy. Naples is also the capital city of Campania, one of the most populous areas in Italy. It eventually became the epicenter of culture for the Roman empire and played a key role as the capital of the Duchy of Naples and the Kingdom of Naples. Eventually, it became the center of the baroque period and an artistic renaissance sparked by the famed Italian painter Caravaggio.
  • Lasagne is the plural word for one sheet of lasagna and is used regionally throughout Italy. Referencing lasagne or lasagna depends on whether you’re in the northern or southern regions of Italy. The plural form is mostly used in British English, while American English is known to use the singular version.
  • The Italian favorite of lasagne or lasagna that we all know and love originated in Italy in the city of Naples during the Middle Ages. One of the first references to modern-day lasagne can be found in a 14th-century English cookbook that highlighted a dish with layers of pasta without the tomatoes. Later, another reference was made to lasagne in an Italian cookbook in the 1880s that featured tomato sauce.
  • The dish eventually evolved into the traditional lasagna of Naples called “Lasagna di Carnevale” made with local sausage, fried meatballs, veal, pork, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta or mozzarella, and Neapolitan Ragu. One of the most popular variations of this lasagna dish is called “Lasagna al Forno”  This variation originates from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna and is made with ricotta or mozzarella, thick Ragu, bechamel sauce, wine, onion, oregano, and green sheets of pasta made with spinach and baked.
  • Lasagne’s history wouldn’t be complete without variety throughout the regions of Italy. Different areas may use different dough or sauces. The beautiful Italian region of Piedmont specializes in lasagna al Sangue, which translates to “bloody lasagne” due to the addition of blood from a slaughtered pig (eeeuuuww).
  • The person who invented lasagna could never have imagined how it would impact the world today and what nutritional value it contains. When discussing lasagna history, carbohydrates never tasted so good and this dish is packed full of them. Carbohydrates bring energy to your blood cells and help drive essential day to day bodily functions. Most of this energy comes directly from the noodles, with a small amount of coming from the sauce and any vegetables you add.
  • Your favorite lasagna dish is also packed with B vitamins. These nutrients are responsible for driving your body’s metabolism. The beef in the recipe gives your body the iron it needs to promote healthy blood circulation. You can easily add vitamins A and C by including zucchini and red pepper. Adding vegetables will increase your vitamin intake and make for a delicious lasagna dish.
  • Lasagna is also an excellent source for dietary protein and fat. Proteins are broken down by your body into amino acids that are used to create and maintain healthy tissues. Each ounce of meat and cheese adds between 6 and 7 grams of protein. These components are a major source of saturated fat so you’ll want to be cautious when adding them.
  • We know that lasagna is far from being considered a health food, but you can make healthy substitutions when making it at home. For example, instead of using white noodles, you can substitute whole wheat noodles that will help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. When making a lasagna dish with meat, try to substitute with 95% lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken and make sure to thoroughly drain off any excess fat. While we all love cheese, try to limit the use of mozzarella cheese to only a few sprinkles on the top or choose a low-fat cheese. To add the nutritional value, load your lasagna with plenty of vegetables to boost fiber, vitamins, and mineral intake. Before adding them to the dish, try pureeing them to improve the texture and adding them directly to your tomato sauce. This way, you’ll be able to reap the nutritional benefits of adding vegetables while not compromising taste or texture.
  • While packing your lasagna with vegetables and lean meats adds nutritional value, using no-boil noodles will improve the taste. They are typically thinner than the dry noodles and absorb the tomato sauce well. Also, you won’t have to wait for the noodles to cook. Using pork sausage instead of ground beef for your tomato sauce will bring your pasta dish to a different level of satisfaction. You can choose to mix sweet and spicy sausage to enhance the flavor of the sauce. Instead of using grated mozzarella, add fresh mozzarella instead. You’ll notice that the rich diary flavor is tasty and the texture is smooth.
  • If you’ve never thought about using eggs in a lasagna dish, now is a great time to try. When coupled with parmesan cheese and herbs, eggs round out the flavor and create a creamy texture filling that is mouth-watering. Lastly, when you’re adding vegetables, you’ll want to add the right ones that don’t turn soggy while baking. While this can be fixed by pureeing your vegetables before they are added to the sauce, you can also use spinach. Adding spinach is a great alternative to including vegetables and adding flavor.
  • However you make it – experiment and enjoy – and if you hit a winner, send me the recipe!!

Amazing recipe from one of our team here at KHT Heat.

From The Kitchen of Danielle Lorence
Recipe: Lasagna –  Double Batch (Recipe is estimations – _I don’t measure)
Baking Dish –  Layers work best in 16 9/10” _long 10 1/5” _– _4 1/4” _depth
(Le Creuset has a Lasagna Deep Baker)
Line Oven Racks with Foil –  Cheese will melt over

Ingredients: (Can Be Found at Giant Eagle Market Districts)

  • 4-5 lbs. Ground Beef 80/20, Ground Pork and Ground Veal
  • 2 lbs. Spicy Bob Evans Sausage
  • 5-6 (32 oz.) Jars Mids Garlic and Onion Spaghetti Sauce
  • 2 cans Contadina Petite Diced Tomatoes
  • 4 (30 oz.) Micelili’s Whole Milk Traditional Ricotta Cheese (Must Be Micelili’s)
  • 1 (30 oz) Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese
  • 2-3 Micelili’s Mozerella Pears (Balls)
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Sharp Provolone Cheese
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Regular Provolone Cheese
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Fontina Cheese
  • 3 pks Bel Gioioso Asiago Cheese
  • 1 container Parmesano Reggiano
  • 1 container of Pecorino Romano
  • 1 pint Whole Whipping Cream
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 sticks Salted Butter
  • 3 boxes Barilla Lasagna Noodles
  • 4 Shallots
  • 8 Cloves Garlic
  • 3 large Yellow Onions
  • 1 bunch Fresh Parsley
  • 2 tbsp. Marjoram
  • 1 tbsp. Italian Seasonings
  • 4 tbsp. Garlic Powder
  • 2 tbsp. Onion Powder
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste when browning meat)
  • ½ cup Sugar

Instructions: 

  • Brown all meat in a large pot, as meat browns season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Do not drain grease, let meat cook down and allow grease to caramelize. Stir frequently and be careful not to scorch.
  • In a large skillet add diced onions and shallots, minced garlic – _sauté in 2 sticks of butter until soft. 1/3 approximately will be added to ricotta cheese mixture and rest will go into browned meat mixture.
  • After meat caramelizes, add 2/3 of sauteed onions, shallots and garlic and petite diced tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes and add Mid’s sauce, add 4 tbsp. garlic powder, 2 tbsp. onion powder, 1 cup of parmesano reggiano and ½ cup pecorino romano. Let sauce simmer at least one hour.
  • Grate all cheeses and combine all in an extra-large bowl mix thoroughly with hands.
  • In an extra-large bowl add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, parsley, marjoram, Italian seasonings, sprinkle layer with garlic powder, onion powder, ½ sugar, ¾ cup whipping cream, 4 handfuls shredded cheeses, add 1 cup meat mixture and mix thoroughly with clean hands.
  • Coat 2 lasagna baking dishes with non-stick spray. Put a layer of sauce on bottom of baking dish. Layer lasagna noodles, then add approximately one inch of ricotta mixture, lasagna noodle layer, sauce layer, generous layer of shredded cheese and grated parmesano reggiano and pecorino romano. Layer lasagna noodles, one inch of ricotta mixture and repeat other layers.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, possibly 1 hour – _15 min. – _Let lasagna set 20-30 minutes before serving.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 

GGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!

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The World Cup is probably the biggest tournament in the world!!! Have fun watching and GO USA!!!!!

Next Monday marks the kickoff of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and it’s going to be something special. The World Cup is the biggest international soccer tournament in the world, and the most watched sporting event in the world. Thirty-two teams compete to be crowned World Cup winners every four years.  It will be played in Qatar, marking the first time it’s being hosted in the Middle East. Qatar beat out the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia to win the bid in 2010, under controversy on how the actual voting took place.  Here are a whole bunch of fun facts to help you get ready for the action.

Here is soundtrack for the games:  Hayya Hayya (Better Together)

  • This is the first World Cup to be played during our winter months to beat the heat of June and July that Qatar experiences and avoid the potential health risks of playing in such extreme heat. (The average high in July is 106 degrees Fahrenheit, while the average in November is 84 degrees Fahrenheit and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in December.)
  • To combat the heat, though it figures to be fairly comfortable during the tournament, the stadiums at the 2022 FIFA World Cup will also have air conditioning.
  • For Americans, traveling on a U.S. tourist passport, the government of Qatar does not require prior visa arrangements. Travelers will obtain a free visa waiver upon arrival, according to the State Department.
  • How small is Qatar compared to past hosts? – Qatar is ranked 164th in area and 148th in population when it comes to the world’s sovereign states. The United States is about 849 times bigger than Qatar. The U.S. state of Connecticut is the closest comparison to the size of Qatar, and even then Connecticut is 8% larger than the host nation and with a higher population (1.1 million more people live in Connecticut).

  • Drinking alcohol in public, as well as being drunk in public, is illegal in Qatar. You can face a six-month prison sentence or be fined as much as $850. Stadiums will not be selling alcohol during the matches, however, fan zones will be set up around the country allowing fans to have a drink in a designated area. Qatar will also have “recovery areas” for those who may overindudge.
  • There have been 21 men’s World Cups, with Qatar being the 22nd World Cup. FIFA has been organizing World Cups since 1930, when Uruguay hosted the first ever World Cup and beat Argentina in the final, 4-2. The United States finished third that year.  It’s taken place every four years since 1930 aside from 1942 and 1946, which were canceled due to World War II.
  • Teams place stars around their country’s logo when they win a world cup – you can count the stars on their crest.  If you look closely, you’ll see Brazil has five stars/titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). Italy and Germany are right behind with four each.
  • The United States men’s national team has never won the competition. The United States women’s national team has won four World Cups. The men made the semifinals in 1930 and the quarterfinals in 2002.
  • There are eight different venues for the tournament in five different host cities. They are as follows: Qatar 2022 will show some brand-new portable and removable stadium to enhance sustainability 

1 Khalifa International Stadium 
2 Al Bayt Stadium 
3 Al Janoub Stadium
4 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium 
5 Education City Stadium 
6 Al Thumama Stadium 
7 Ras Abu Aboud Stadium
8 Lusail Iconic Stadium 

  • Teams qualify from different regions around the world. Four years after hosting, the Russians became ineligible following the invasion of Ukraine. They are barred from FIFA competitions, while clubs of the country were also booted from UEFA tournaments.
  • Most of us are used to a different kind of football on Thanksgiving. While there will be NFL on Thanksgiving ( Bills / Detroit Lions at 12:30 p.m. ET live on CBS) and Paramount+, there will also be four World Cup matches that day for the very first time.
  • The ball that will be used at the 2022 World Cup is from adidas, and it’s called Al Rihla Pro. The mascot for the 2022 World Cup is La’eeb https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/laeeb-is-revealed-as-qatars-fifa-world-cup-tm-mascot  The official song of the 2022 World Cup is “Hayya Hayya,” which means “Better Together,” performed by Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyDjFVZgJoo.
  • Video Assistant Referee will be used at the 2022 World Cup after being used in 2018. Among the incidents it will be used for are dangerous challenges, penalty kick decisions and offsides.  Stephanie Frappart from France, Rwandan Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan became the first female referees to be appointed to a men’s World Cup.
  • A Semi-auto offside system will also be used – A new support tool for video match officials and on-field officials will be used at the World Cup. The system helps them make faster, more accurate decisions when it comes to offside. The new system uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points for players to calculate their exact position. The ball will also have a sensor for measurement.
  • France are the reigning champs – Les Bleus won the 2018 tournament in Russia, defeating Croatia in the final. It was their second ever World Cup title, and they are once again reloaded and viewed as contenders to take home the crown. If they manage to win again, they will be the first back-to-back champs since Brazil in 1962.
  • The opening match is a doozy – Qatar opens the tournament on Nov. 20 versus Ecuador, and what a match that will be. Both teams know that in a group with Senegal and the Netherlands, this one is so crucial in the battle of head to head. Expect an open game between two teams with technique and speed.
  • USMNT schedule – The United States men’s national team’s schedule at the tournament is as follows: Wales – Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. ET, England – Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. ET, Iran – Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. ET
  • The Group of Death is the often referred to as the hardest group, one that could very well see a giant slayed before the knockout stage even begins. While Group E with Spain, Costa Rica, Germany and Japan is great, Group H does have Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea and a whole bunch of stars. Also, in Group A you have host Qatar, and they are formidable, but you also have underrated Ecuador, mighty Netherlands and Africa’s best team, Senegal. Every single one of those games are intriguing in the Group, and something tells me it’s going to deliver some shockers.
  • Squad regulations have changed – FIFA approved a 26-man squad, up from the normal 23.  Coaches will now be allowed to make five substitutions at the 2022 World Cup. These five subs can be made in three different windows during the game. In the event a knockout stage match goes to extra time, teams will have an additional sub and another opportunity to make that change.
  • If you want to skip all the fuss, the final will be played on Dec. 18 at Lusail Iconic Stadium at 10 a.m. ET.

 

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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Sparkle

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Can you name all 88 constellations? If you had that t-shirt you could!!  :))))))))
By-the-way, there are also 88 counties in Ohio. Coincidence? I think not. :)))

Not sure if you were outside late the other night, but here in Cleveburg we had the most perfect, clear night.  It seems no matter how many times I’m outside late, I love to look up at the sky and search for planets, constellations  and stars. And not just the common ones – Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, Orion, but some of the more discrete constellations. I’m lucky where I live – we have a Nature Center, with a spectacular planetarium inside – fun to catch a show or speaker and learn more. I especially like to hear about the children with their oohs and aahhs! I did some digging to see if I could find out more about the more popular constellations and get the stories and myths behind the designs.  Seduction, goddesses, queens, romance, serpents and more – Enjoy, and thanks to interestingfacts.com for the details and YouTube for a couple fun tunes to enjoy while you read.

Listen To This
Then Listen To This
While reading this:

Each constellation of stars in the night sky has a fascinating origin story. From the 48 constellations named by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in his 2nd-century book The Almagest to the dozens established by astronomers in the 16th and 17th centuries, their names reflect heroic tales from Greek myths, gods and goddesses, and various animals. Today, the International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 principal constellations in the northern and southern skies. Here’s how a few of them got their names.

Here’s a guide to help you track the constellations below: CLICK HERE

Ursa Major
Seven stars make up the hindquarters and tail of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, but you may know them better as the Big Dipper, named for their resemblance to a ladle or drinking gourd. In his book Metamorphosis, Ovid tells of how the huntress Callisto took a vow of chastity to the goddess Artemis, but Zeus, turning himself into Artemis’ likeness, tricked and seduced Callisto. She gave birth to their son, Arcas. When Zeus’ jealous wife Hera got wind of the affair, she turned Callisto into a bear. Years later, Arcas hunted the bear, not knowing it was his mother. To avoid further tragedy, Zeus turned Callisto into Ursa Major and Arcas into the constellation Boötes, the Herdsman.

Cassiopeia
Listed by Ptolemy in the Almagest, Cassiopeia is a constellation named for the infamously vain queen of Greek myth. Cassiopeia claimed that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs known as Nereids, a bit of hubris that angered the sea god Poseidon. He sent a monster (recorded in the sky as the constellation Cetus) to punish Cassiopeia and her husband, King Cepheus. They tried to appease the monster by offering him their daughter Andromeda (a legend with its own constellation). Cassiopeia is one of the most recognizable and visible constellations in the northern sky: Its five bright stars form a W shape, representing the queen seated on her throne.

Andromeda
Poor, virginal Andromeda had the misfortune of being the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia and King Cepheus. They chained her to a rock in the sea as a sacrifice to the monster Cetus. Things looked bleak for the beautiful Andromeda until Perseus, a demigod hero who had just slain the gorgon Medusa, swooped down from the heavens and rescued her in one of the most romantic scenes in Greek mythology.

Pegasus
Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek legend, has quite the origin story. After Perseus slayed Medusa by cutting off her head, Pegasus sprang from her bloody neck and flew off. Some say Perseus was actually riding Pegasus when he rescued Andromeda, but in myth the horse is more closely associated with the hero Bellerophon. Zeus also employed Pegasus in carrying his thunderbolts. Though the constellation usually depicts only the front half of the horse, Pegasus is the seventh-largest group of stars in the northern sky.

Orion
The famous celestial Hunter is easy to spot in the night sky thanks to the three closely spaced stars of his belt, as well as the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel at his right shoulder and left foot. The constellation Orion faces Taurus, the Bull — suggesting that Orion may be based on the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh or the Greek hero Heracles, both of whom fight bulls. Orion boasted that he could kill any beast on Earth, which offended the Earth. The Earth opened to send forth a scorpion, which fatally stung Orion. As a result, the constellations Orion and Scorpio are at opposite ends of the sky so it appears that Orion is fleeing the sky as the scorpion rises in the east.

Hydra
Ptolemy identified Hydra, the Water Snake, as one of the longest constellations in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as the largest. In Greek myth, Hydra is a fearsome water serpent with multiple heads, one of which is immortal. (Five stars at one end of the linear constellation represent the heads of the snake.) The hero Heracles was tasked with killing Hydra as the second of his 12 labors, but every time Heracles cut off one of the monster’s heads, two more grew in its place. Heracles’ nephew Iolaus suggested they burn the necks after cutting them off to prevent them from regenerating. They eventually slayed the beast by burying its remaining immortal noggin under a rock. Heracles then dipped the points of his arrows in Hydra’s blood to render them lethal.

Centaurus
According to Greek mythology, centaurs were half-horse, half-human creatures with a bad reputation as rowdy drunkards, but the centaur Chiron was an exception. The wise Chiron taught medicine and music, and his pupils included Greek heroes like Achilles and Jason. Chiron was mortally wounded when Heracles accidentally shot him with an arrow — one that he had dipped in Hydra’s blood to make its strike fatal. But because Chiron was immortal, he couldn’t die from his injury. Zeus took pity on Chiron and released him to the sky, where he became the constellation Centaurus.

Phoenix
Navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman accompanied the first Dutch voyage to what is now Indonesia in 1595. Petrus Plancius had trained and instructed Keyser to chart stars in the Southern Hemisphere, and de Houtman served as Keyser’s assistant. They eventually identified 12 new southern constellations and named some after the natural history of the region. The Phoenix, located near the constellation Eridanus, refers to the mythical, multicolored bird that is able to rise from the ashes of its predecessor. The Dutch duo may have been inspired to record the Phoenix after seeing birds of paradise, a group of spectacularly plumed birds native to Indonesia and first described by Europeans in the 16th century.

Leo
When Heracles was made temporarily insane by the goddess Hera, he killed his wife and children. To atone for the murders, he was assigned 12 seemingly impossible labors. The first: to kill the Nemean lion, a fearsome beast with an impervious hide that relished attacking the local villagers. Heracles succeeded in overcoming the lion by gripping him in a bear hug and squeezing him to death. The constellation Leo echoes the lion’s ferocious attitude: A group of six stars are arranged in an arc representing the animal’s front torso and head, preparing to pounce. The brightest star in the arc is named Regulus, meaning “little king.”

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Turnover

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Most things in, on and under water can be seen. But probably the biggest thing that happens in a lake of any size goes unnoticed by all but a select few people. Interested? Read on, my friend.

 

I really love looking out my office window and watching the lake.  Brilliant sunshine makes it sparkle.  Fall cloud formations make me reach for my cell phone camera, and incoming sweeping rain and thunderstorms are a treat every time. I’m not a big fisherman (those of you who know me truly understand why!), so I don’t follow the different fishing seasons, but one thing I learned recently is that my great, beautiful Lake Erie actually turns over – specifically in the spring and fall. A buddy of mine said I should think of turnover much like a dog learning to roll over: As he pushes himself to one side, his underbelly begins to show.  It made me think of my brothers on the couch trying to roll over after a massive Kowalski thanksgiving dinner).  Wanting to learn more, I jumped online and found some really cool info.  For my fishing fanatics out there, I’d love to hear how you adjust to the changing weather and water temperatures (email me at skowalski@khtheat.com).  Special thanks to cleanlakesalliance.org, lakes.grace.edu and outdoornews.com for the info.

Simple Video

Lake masses consist of three layers – epiimnion – the upper layer of water in a thermally stratified lake consists of the warmest water and has a fairly uniform (constant) temperature; the hypolimnion – the cold bottom waters, and the metalimnion (or thermocline) layer – a stratum of rapidly changing temperature water.

Fall and spring turnover are natural phenomenon that cause the top layer of the lake to trade places with the bottom layer. This turnover is critical for lake health – like folding chocolate chips into cookie dough (yep, I eat the dough when Jackie isn’t looking!!).  In the fall, this phenomenon happens when the temperature in the air drops. The epilimnion then cools to a temperature that balances with the density of the hypolimnion, allowing them to “intermingle.” (The opposite occurs in the spring: the air temperature rises, warming the surface water while the bottom grows cooler).

Water is unique in the way it changes density at different temperatures. Unlike almost all other liquids, water is most dense at 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and is lighter at both warmer and colder temperatures. In other words, when water reaches the critical temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit, further cooling causes the water molecules to become less dense and rise to the surface. This unusual characteristic allows water to form distinct layers within an otherwise uniform liquid. This phenomenon explains why ice forms at the surface and does not sink.

Warmer and less dense water floats on the top of cooler, denser water at the bottom. This allows the lake to mix when temperatures equalize throughout the water column, as water from the bottom of the lake rises to the top, and water from the top of the lake sinks to the bottom. The process allows for oxygen to be replenished and nutrients to be distributed throughout the lake.

The two layers could not intermingle without the wind. As the Fall winds blow and winter approaches, a constant breeze begins to move over the surface of the lake. The wind pushes the surface water from one shore to the other, and as this happens, the hypolimnion moves upward to replace the water that is moving across to the other shore. Once it reaches the other shore it gets pushed downward to replace the hypolimnion that moved up to the other side of the lake.  The lake “rolls over” in this way in an ongoing cycle until it freezes over.

In both the fall and the spring, turnover affects three major aspects of the lake environment: oxygen, algae, and phosphorus.

The hypolimnion routinely runs low or out of dissolved oxygen, as decomposition, such as bacteria breaking down organic matter.  The turnover breaks down the temperature boundary and moves oxygen-rich surface water to the bottom and oxygen-starved bottom water to the top. Moving dissolved oxygen to the hypolimnion is not only crucial to the lake, but also to the fish who live there.

Fish and most other aquatic critters rely on dissolved oxygen to survive. If too much muck builds up and dissolved oxygen is not replenished, fish will be forced to move toward the surface.

Turnover also helps our lakes clean up harmful bacteria and algae. It carries dead algae down into the depths of the lake where there is less sunlight, helping to prevent algae growth where it is eaten or decomposed at the lake bottom.

Turnover also helps clean up excess phosphorus. As turnover forces iron (which naturally exists in our lakes) toward the hypolimnion, the iron interacts with phosphorus. As it falls to the bottom, the compound is deteriorated by oxygen and anaerobic bacteria. This process is similar to a Ferris wheel as the phosphorus and iron “ride” to the epilimnion and back down to the hypolimnion. Algae blooms are fueled by phosphorus, so the mixing cycle can reduce the conditions for a bloom.

Lake Erie’s western basis turns over frequently, but the larger lake takes more time to cycle.  Anglers talk of seeing tiny bubbles on the surface, and also a gray color to the water.

For any angler who ventures out on the water during the cooler temps it can be a make or break time. Finding fish right after turnover can be challenging.  Bass, pike, perch, bluegills, walleyes… all may need time to adjust to turnover, but usually the reason fisherman are not catching fish post-turnover is because they’re fishing the same spots as they did before. Baitfish are willing to seek deeper depths, and when their forage goes deep, so do the sportfish. Learn more here.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Leafy

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Autumn really is a wonderful time of year.  You can even eat it!!!  : )))))))))))

As you can tell by my posts lately, there are many things I love about fall — from the brisk air to the deluge of football to the tantalizing scent of pumpkin spice — but there’s one striking visual that sets autumn apart from any other season: the brilliant hues of red, orange, and yellow foliage.  Jackie and I love to go for long walks in the parks and long drives on the weekends, soaking in the incredible beauty of the northeast Ohio landscapes.  I know I’ve written a bit in the past about leaves and colors, but I thought it’s a good time to touch on the science (and beauty) that surrounds us.  So, here’s a little science, a little history, and a whole lot of fun in salute of the season – enjoy and be sure to click on the music link below to set the mood while reading – one of my favorites.  Thanks to you tube, interestingfacts.com, ssec.si.edu, esf.edu, canr.msu.edu, fs.usda.gov, harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu, redbookmag.com, grammarist.com, livescience.com, goodnet.org, slate.com, wiley.com, nowthisnews.com, atlasobscura.com, and dictonary.com.

An Autumn Listen

Deciduous Trees Change Color, But Coniferous Trees Don’t
The bright crimson and gold tones of fall foliage are found primarily on the branches of deciduous trees, an arboreal subset that includes oaks, maples, birches, and more. The word “deciduous” itself stems from the Latin decidere, meaning “to fall off,” and the term is used to describe trees that — unlike conifers and other evergreens — lose their leaves during the autumn as they transition into seasonal dormancy.  So, now you can impress the kids by saying – “Yea, that’s a deciduous tree” … (just watch the leaves!).

Deciduous trees have broadleaves: flat, wide leaves that are more susceptible to weather-induced changes compared to the thin needles of their coniferous counterparts.  As sunlight decreases and temperatures drop, chlorophyll production in these broadleaf trees ramps up, which in turn gives way to other pigments that produce the red, orange, and yellow tones of autumn. There are some geographic exceptions to this rule, however, as deciduous trees in the southern United States are more likely to maintain their green color than those in the North, primarily due to the region’s milder winters.

A Leaf’s Color is Determined by It’s Tree Type
There are three different pigments responsible for the coloration of autumn leaves: chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanin. Chlorophyll, the most basic pigment that every plant possesses, is a key component of the photosynthetic process that gives leaves their green color during the warmer, brighter months. The other two pigments become more prevalent as conditions change. Carotenoids are unmasked as chlorophyll levels deplete; these produce more yellow, orange, and brown tones.

Though scientists once thought that anthocyanin also lay dormant during the warmer months, they now believe that production begins anew each year during the fall. The anthocyanin pigment not only contributes to the deep red color found in leaves (and also fruits such as cranberries and apples), but it also acts as a natural sunscreen against bright sunlight during colder weather.

During the transformative autumnal months, it’s easier to discern the types of trees based on the color of their leaves. Varying proportions of pigmentation can be found in the chemical composition of each tree type, leading to colorful contrasts. For example, red leaves are found on various maples (particularly red and sugar maples), oaks, sweetgums, and dogwoods, while yellow and orange shades are more commonly associated with hickories, ashes, birches, and black maples. Interestingly, the leaves of an elm tree pose an exception, as they shrivel up and turn brown.

The Etymology of the Word “Fall” Refers to Falling Leaves
Prior to the terms “fall” and “autumn” making their way into the common lexicon, the months of September, October, and November were generally referred to as the harvest season, a time of year for gathering ripened crops. Some of the first recorded uses of the word “fall” date back to 1500s England, when the term was a shortened version of “fall of the year” or “fall of the leaf.”

The 1600s saw the arrival of the word  “autumn,” which came from the French word automne and was popular among writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. By the 18th century, “autumn” became the predominant name for the season in England, though over the following century, the word “fall” would grow in popularity across the Atlantic. But while some proper British English linguists consider fall to be an Americanism, the term actually originated in England, and both “autumn” and “fall” are used interchangeably today.

When English poets started using the phrase “the fall of leaves” it became very fashionable to call the season fall. But by the mid-1800s, after the split of the colonies from England led to language change,  England reverted back to Autumn and the American upstarts retained fall.

American Trees Produce Redder Leaves Than Northern European Ones
While America is home to a wide array of both reddish and yellow autumnal hues, trees in Northern Europe are more universally yellow in color. One fascinating theory for why that is goes back to 35 million years ago. During the ice age of the Pleistocene era, America’s north-to-south mountain ranges allowed for animals on either side to migrate south to warmer climates, whereas the east-to-west Alps of Europe trapped many animal species that became extinct as freezing conditions took hold in the north. The result was American trees producing more anthocyanins — and thus a darker red color — to help ward off insects, whereas European trees didn’t need to do the same, since extinct insect species no longer posed a threat. This phenomenon also occurred in East Asia, where forests bear a similar resemblance to those in America, as opposed to the uniquely yellow forests of Northern Europe.  (USA!  USA!  USA!)

——> Bonus Trivia <——

More People Fall in Love in Fall
Does cold weather make you want to cuddle with someone? You are far from alone. According to Redbook, the cooler weather in fall makes people want to get closer to others and not be alone for the winter. So get ready to snuggle in the fall.

You Can See the Brightest Full Moon in Fall
The full moon in the fall that occurs during the equinox is much brighter (almost orange) and rises much earlier than a typical full moon. This full moon, called the Harvest Moon) occurs sometime in September or October and it was very helpful for farmers who used the moonlight to help harvest their crops.

Try Tempura-Fried Maple Leaves – A Japanese Delicacy
While most Americans rake up autumn leaves and throw them into a garbage bin, in Japan, they are the main ingredient of a delicacy. Momiji tempura is a popular snack that originated in the city of Minoh, about 10 miles north of Osaka, where the first commercial fried leaf vendor opened in 1910. Legend has it that around 1,300 years ago, a traveler was so taken by the beauty of the autumn maple leaves in the region that he decided to cook them in oil and eat them. Fear not if you’re a germaphobe, though — the leaves used in momiji tempura are freshly picked off trees, never scooped up from the ground. Preparation involves soaking the maple leaves in salt water (sometimes for up to a year), frying them in a tempura batter, and coating them with sugar and sesame seeds for a sweet, crunchy treat.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

FIRE!

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Fire hydrants are important in any community. But they are also kind of funny looking. And with a little imagination they can really be something else!!!  :)))))))  Trivia follows…read-on! 

Recently, out walking with Jackie the other night in the small village I live in, I noticed a whole bunch of new construction improvement projects going on.  New bridges being built, roadways getting resurfaced, condos going up and new hiking paths connecting our beautiful parks to the lakefront.  I also noticed something I never really pay much attention to – someone had repainted all the fire hydrants along the road – all the rust and old paint was gone, now shimmering with a nice navy-blue color on the bottom and a clean white cap on the top.  It got me to look a little closer at the hydrants – and I realized I really didn’t know much about the history or design of these vital city assets. Not much technology here – cast iron pipes with valves, chains and bolts. Although my entire career has been spent working with stuff like this. It’s always fascinating how stuff is made! Back at the ranch I searched the web, I collected some fun information, and uncovered some very cool inventors/designers whose original designs (pretty much what we have today) date back to the early days of our country’s founding.  Special thanks to American-usa.com, bmefire.com, YouTube, asme.org and Wikipedia.com for the info.  Enjoy!

Fun tune while reading

  1. Because I love his name, I would like to be able to share that Birdsill Holly, Jr. (holder of 150 patents, second only to Thomas Edison), is universally recognized as the inventor of the fire hydrant (he was something of a heat expert using steam). But, while the National Inventors Hall of Fame credits him as the inventor of the “modern-day fire hydrant,” the origins of the fire hydrant precede him, dating to the early 19th century in Philadelphia, where engineer Frederick Graff, Sr., may well have designed the first of them.
  2. As far as historians know, Frederick Graff, Sr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works, was the inventor of the fire hydrant. They think he received a patent for his ground-breaking invention in 1801, and suspect he is the person to thank for protecting countless homes and communities from the ravages of an uncontrolled fire. (the reason they don’t know for certain is because the evidence relating to the firefighting technology was destroyed … wait for it … yup, by fire!)
  3. If only this innovative firefighting system had been in operation near the U.S. Patent Office on December 15, 1836, we might not have to wonder about the true inventor of the fire hydrant. On that day, a fire broke out in the building where all U.S. patents were stored. An estimated 9,957 patents were destroyed in the blaze, wiping out official evidence of inventors’ contributions and rights to technological progress, including all records pertaining to the true inventor of the fire hydrant.
  4. The government sought to restore its records. Many patent holders came forward with their copies of the official paperwork, and from those copies, the official records were recreated. Unfortunately, out of the 9,957 patents that were destroyed, only 2,845 were able to be restored. All patents on record from prior to the 1836 fire are officially classified as “X-Patents.”
  5. The deployment of water-containing caldrons for use in firefighting reaches back to ancient China. Using the same approach, scattered cisterns (storage vessels) stored water in colonial American cities to battle blazes. Hollowed wooden logs provided underground main water lines (like the lines we still have today).
  6. The term “fire plug” dates from the time when water mains were made from hollowed out logs. The fire company (usually volunteers) would head out to the fire, dig up the cobbles in the road down to the main water line, then bore a hole into the main so that the excavation would fill with water which they could draft using their pumper. When finished fighting the fire, they’d seal the main with — you guessed it — a “fire plug”. The next time there was a fire in the neighborhood, they’d dig up the plug and not have to cut into the main.
  7. In London, after the Great Fire of 1666, water mains were preemptively equipped with holes and plugs that were accessed above ground. In many places, wood mains gave way cast iron replacements, which began to be outfitted at intervals with branched fittings that drew water from the mains, acting like underground hydrants.
  8. In about 1801, where someone at the Philadelphia Water Works–most likely Frederick Graff, its senior engineer–created the first “post” or “pillar” hydrant, which rose above ground. It was topped with a valve and featured an outlet that acted as a faucet but also could be attached to a hose. Water was always present in its “wet barrel”.  To prevent freezing and bursting in cold climate locales “dry barrel” hydrants were later designed in which the hydrant remained empty until it was necessary to access the water flowing beneath the frost line.
  9. Prior to the invention of the fire hydrant, fight-fighting techniques consisted of maintaining large cauldrons of water in strategic locations near population centers or filling underground tanks with water, both systems entirely dependent on whether sufficient water had been stored up to combat whatever nearby fire might break out. The fire hydrant was revolutionary in that it allowed for a continuous flow of water, guaranteeing that firefighters would not run out before the blaze was fully quenched.
  10. In 1802, the first order for cast iron hydrants was placed with cannon maker company named Foxall & Richards, who used cast iron to make them. In 1803, Frederick Graff Sr. introduced an improved version of the fire hydrant with the valve in the lower portion. These were inserted into wooden mains with a tapering joint. In 1811, Philadelphia claimed to have 230 wooden hydrant pumps and 185 cast iron fire hydrants.  See different barrel designs here
  11. Today, many valves and hydrants are produced by AMERICAN Flow Control, all are provided with 2-D bar codes. Using an app called AFC Mapper, these bar codes can be scanned by an iOS or Android smart phone or tablet. The app works to integrate the information on the AFC 2D barcodes to help water utilities automate mapping functions, locate and manage assets, and improve field operations efficiency.
  12. Using the app, field personnel have quick access to information such as fire hydrant thread specs, or the depth of bury of their hydrant. This information is invaluable in troubleshooting a problem or planning for future changes and/or system expansion.
  13. This information is critical to the utility technician trying to troubleshoot a problem or locate a valve or hydrant. Take for instance, a weather-related event like Hurricane Katrina or Sandy – these storms literally changed the landscape of the affected areas forever. Locating the valve or hydrant and having access to previous records, as well as all of the manufacturing attributes proved to be a real difference-maker during those instances.
  14. Brief History of fire trucks

How They’re Made!!

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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