Framed Friendship Star

Today is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. No, I’m not kidding, and I didn’t make it up. If you’re a victim of the festivities, you can make zucchini bread, or you can try this recipe:

Linda’s Famous Ratatouille

1 small eggplant (Japanese or regular)
1 thin zucchini
2 cups mushrooms
1 bell pepper
1 onion (Scallions or shallots are okay, too)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bottle Paul Newman’s Sockarooni sauce (or Ragu and medium salsa)
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Cut the vegetables into large bite-size pieces. Heat oil in frying pan or wok. Add garlic and stir a moment before adding vegetables. Over medium-high heat, stir vegetables until colors brighten and they become tender-crisp. Turn off heat. Pour in Sockarooni sauce and toss. Transfer to casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately with a fresh baguette.

Farmer's Daughter

Today is Chinese Valentine’s Day. It’s also called the Festival of the Seven Daughters. Once upon a time, the queen of heaven had seven beautiful daughters. One hot summer day they were visiting the earth and came across a crystal clear river. The water looked so refreshing, they decided to bathe. A handsome young cow herder discovered their clothes lying beside the water. He hid the robes and waited to see what would happen next. The youngest sister was elected to find their clothes. She stepped out of the water and met the cow herder. It was love at first sight, and they were quickly married. Unwilling to part with her youngest daughter, the queen of heaven allows her to visit her husband only once a year; on the seventh day of the seventh month. Next year their visit will fall on August 23, in case you want to buy a card or something.

Crazy Ann

On this day in 1924 Little Orphan Annie made her debut in the New York Daily News. Yes, long before she was an annoying redhead on Broadway belting out, “The sun will come out tomorrow,” Annie was an inoffensive little cartoon in the Sunday funnies. She hung out with her rich pal Daddy Warbucks, the mysterious Punjab, and her dog Sandy who only said, “Arf.” They all had creepy, empty eyes, which somehow didn’t hurt their popularity. For years Little Orphan Annie was America’s most beloved comic strip. Tastes change, I suppose. Annie’s readers steadily declined until she was finally cancelled in June last year. The name of the strip came from a much older poem, “Little Orphant Annie,” by James Whitcomb Riley. For some bizarre reason I memorized this when I was very small. The last stanza still makes me shiver: “and the goblins will get you if you don’t...watch...out.”

Crossed Canoes

On August 4, 1790, Congress created the Revenue Cutter Service. Ten cutters were built to enforce the growing nation’s tariff laws. Eventually those ten ships and their crews grew to become the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard’s mission is part law enforcement, part coastal defense, and part search and rescue. They report to the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime matters and to the U.S. Navy during war. The Coast Guard is a massive fleet of coastal and sea-going ships. They’re still called cutters, though they bear little resemblance to the 1790 fleet. They also maintain helicopters and fixed-wing craft. All of the lighthouses in the United States are run by the U.S. Coast Guard. How cool is that? Anyway, today is United States Coast Guard Day, a day you probably don’t celebrate unless you’re actually a member of the Coast Guard. But maybe you should. August could definitely use more holidays.

Watermelon Sorbet

Watermelon Sorbet

11/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup water
6-7 cups fresh watermelon chunks
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice

In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Place in a bowl and cool completely. Put watermelon chunks and lime juice into a blender. Process until fruit is completely pureed. Press watermelon through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds and any extra stringy pulp. Combine with the cooled sugar syrup. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. Pour the watermelon/sugar syrup mixture into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and freeze, following manufacturer’s directions. Sorbet should take roughly half an hour to set to a soft texture. Serve immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the freezer for an hour or two until it’s completely firm.

Dakota Gold

Today is the 135th anniversary of the death of Wild Bill Hickok. A stagecoach driver, sheriff,  sharp shooter, scout, professional gambler and even a stage actor, Hickok was the epitome of the Old West. He disliked sitting with his back to the door. August 2nd 1876,  when he walked into a saloon in Deadwood South Dakota, the only available seat at the poker table was facing away from the entrance. He asked other players to trade seats with him but was refused. At some point during the game, a buffalo hunter named John McCall entered the room and shot Hickok in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Wild Bill was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, known as a “dead man’s hand.” I’m familiar with the story because I hear it every time my husband takes me out to dinner and I leave him the seat facing away from the door.

Scirocco

Today is the first day of Ramadan. As I understand it, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is a month of fasting; a time to develop patience, humility and understanding. I ran across this tidbit many years ago, when I was a teenager haunting the library shelves. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could fast for an entire month and still live. To me, fasting meant going without food or drink. It was an enormous struggle once a month to go from lunch on Saturday to lunch on Sunday without eating or drinking something. I was fairly certain I’d shrivel up and blow away if I tried it for much longer than that. But the Muslims don’t fast in exactly the same way Mormons do. They go without eating or drinking from sunup to sundown. After the sun sets, I suppose, anything goes.