Pic Today 8/10/11

PICKING IMPERFECT PEACHES

(HINT: It's what's on the inside that counts!)

Sure, perfect looking peaches are beautiful . . .

blemish free, ripe beautiful skin, gorgeous color.

But you'll pay a premium price.

There's a bumper crop of peaches this year,

and many peaches (especially "organic", unsprayed fruit)

have tiny black blemishes and bruise spots here and there.

Market vendors and growers are happy to sell these

"less than perfect" peaches at reduced prices,

and their flesh is still as juicy and fragrant.

Here's the best kept secret at farmer's markets:

Ask them for their discarded and blemished peaches,

which are usually thrown away.

They're happy to discount or even give you this fruit for free.

That's a lot of delicious, ripe, juicy peach goodness

worth trimming and saving.

And you can't beat the price!

Pc Today 8/9/11

JUST MISSED A "BIG ONE"

In case you weren't aware,

our sun roared out a massive solar flare Sunday.

NASA caught it on film (pictured here.)

The spectacular blast was ranked as a Class-M flare,

just one spot below the most disruptive type of flare, X.

The flare gave us a "glancing blow",

just missing a direct hit, which reached earth Monday

causing minor disruptions to satellites and power grids.

It could have been much worse,

so thank your lucky stars (especially our sun.)

A direct sun flare hit to our planet

would cause black outs and communications disruptions.

A major solar storm could be disastrous.

The sun is entering a particularly active time, says NASA,

and big flares like this recent one will likely be

more common the next few years.

Pic Today 8/8/11

"TP" A FRIEND'S HOUSE:

STILL A POPULAR PRANK

TPing a classmate's house

(or should I say a "classmate's parents' house")

is still a popular high school prank.

The challenge is getting enough friends

and enough toilet paper rolls

to "do the deed" very late a night

without laughing too much.

In California and Virginia, it's against the law

and young pranksters can actually be arrested.

Pic Today 8/7/11

THE BEST OF SUMMER'S SWEET CORN

Fresh picked sweet corn

is a joy of summer gardening.

And eating.

When the tassels ripen atop each ear,

and the silk tips darken,

it's time to harvest sweet garden corn.

Peel back the husks,

and you can smell the sweet kernels,

yellow, bi-color or white.

Taking fresh picked ears straight to the kitchen

is the very best way to enjoy sweet corn's goodness.

Here's an easy recipe for sweet corn salsa . . .

o Cut corn kernels from 2 fresh ears

o Add 1/2 cup canned chickpeas

o 2 ripe tomatoes, cored and diced

o 1/4 cup chopped red onion

o juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

o 2 tablespoons olive oil

o 1/4 cup sm. chunks Parmesan cheese

o Salt/Pepper to taste

Mix and let rest for 1 hour.

Then enjoy this fabulous corn salad.

Pic Today 8/6/11

FLYING HOME

Good trip.

Back home now, safe and sound.

The only part of flying I still love . . .

sitting by the window,

watching the world go by,

and shooting photos!

Here's what Missouri looks like . . .

farmland, rural homes & farms,

flying over St. Louis and

the mighty Mississippi.

(See the Gateway Arch?)