This was my first set of states. I found out that by doing an internet search for "fun facts about [State Name] there were multiple websites with information I could choose from.
- Indiana One of the state's nicknames is “Mother of Vice Presidents” because six of them came from there: Schuyler Colfax (1869 to 1873), Thomas A. Hendricks (1885–1885), Charles W. Fairbanks (1905 to 1909), Thomas Marshall (1913–1921), Dan Quayle (1989–1993) and Mike Pence (2017–2021).
- WyomingThe 10th largest state by area, but the least populated in the United States
- South Carolina Morgan Island, off the coast of Beaufort, is also known as Monkey Island. There is a free-range colony of over 3,000 rhesus monkeys, which are used for public health research.
- Michigan Is the only state that’s split into two pieces-the Upper Peninsula in the north and the Lower Peninsula (referred to as “the mitten”) in the south. The two pieces are connected by the five-mile Mackinac Bridge.
- Washington The nation's largest overall producer of sweet cherries.
Fresh cherry season is short and I try to eat as many as I can while they're available, so when I learned that fact I knew cherries would be my food item. Coincidentally, right after that I got an email from a local grocery story that cherries were on sale and then a recipe for Cherry and Fresh Herb Salad with Coconut Chipsshowed up in my feedreader. Just like that I had a plan!
I had to make some last minute adjustments to the recipe, which called for pitted cherries and sliced celery on a bed of chopped herbs, mixed with a lemony vinaigrette and topped with toasted coconut strips. When I was assembling the dish I realized I didn't have enough fresh herbs so I supplemented with some spinach/arugula salad mix.
Five years ago: You Never Know What You're Going To See At The Mall
Fun that you guys are learning fun new things. LOOOOVE cherry season. Haven't been to Aldi yet this week. Hoping they have good sales this year too. The strawberries earlier were yummmmy.
ReplyDeleteThe past few years we've found the best prices on cherries at the Asian market.
DeleteKay of Musings: I LOVE cherries and will have to look for them when we go shopping tomorrow. Your salad looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteGood luck. Cherry season is not very long.
DeleteI saw cherries and was meaning to get some but forgot. Maybe tomorrow. I bet the salad was good.
ReplyDeleteThe zing of the dressing was a perfect foil to the sweetness of the cherries.
DeleteYou and your husband are going to know so many fascinating facts about the States, and try so many different tasty recipes.
ReplyDeleteBut how many of those facts will I be able to remember?
DeleteThis was a timely post, Kathy, not only for providing me with information on the states but because I just bought Washington state cherries today during our grocery run. Thanks for the salad recipe, and while I don't have the chips will look for a substitute. Thankfully, we do have a cherry pitter!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have better luck pitting than I did yesterday. It felt like many of the pits were off-center and also needed manual manipulation
DeleteVery Interesting Kathy...such a neat thing to do. so many benefits come from this and whats great is that we learn as well...
ReplyDeleteI understand that as 'oldsters' we need to keep our brains active :-)
DeleteI am enjoying these posts-thank you
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
Deletegood to eat fresh cherries as much as you can dear Kathy
ReplyDeletewe do the same with our fruits in the season ,my love is watermelon though above everything because in such extreme heat it makes me feel calm and cool for sometime
Watermelon is one of my favorite summertime fruits. I actually ran out yesterday and need to pick up a new one.
DeleteI just bought some a few days ago at K Family Farms. I went for strawberries but it was late in day and they were out. The cherries I got are almost gone. Strawberry season is short too. Too short. I only eat Oregon strawberries. The ones in most grocery stores come from CA and are tasteless by comparison.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that grocery store strawberries don't have much flavor.
DeleteFresh cherries are the best! Your salad sounds good!
ReplyDeleteThe salad was a perfect combination of sweet and savory, topped off with crunchy toasted coconut
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