Good Wednesday morning.
I realized as I sat down to write this that I have been engaged in an official series on iconic summertime foods.
I did something on ice cream, (chocolate flavored and also cake form), and then something else on peaches. There was also the post on chocolate chip cookies, which are not necessarily reserved for summer, but definitely are a great end-of-picnic or cookout dessert. (Don’t spoil or melt, travel well etc.)
Then there was the “please don’t go summer” post on the early appearance of all things pumpkin spice.
I’m on a bit of a roll, it seems. So why not keep the party going. Today’s post is about yet another summertime treat that is best consumed out of doors, while seated around a campfire (hopefully with some very strong bug repellent at hand).
I’m speaking, of course, about S’mores, which is a smooshed-up version of “Some More” – what you ask for as soon as you finish one. Yes! It’s National S’mores Day.
If you live under a rock or just dropped in from outer space, a S’more is a delicious concoction made (traditionally) by placing a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers and making a sort of dessert sandwich.
I was never a Girl Scout, but I know enough about the organization – as most people do – to be aware of the connection between S’mores and Girl Scouts, which is to say that the first official recipe for the treat was published in the 1927 classic guidebook “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.”
(What? You don’t have one of these in your bookshelf?)
The roots of the individual ingredients that go into a S’more run a little deeper.
The graham cracker, for example, were invented in the early 1800s by a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey named Sylvester Graham as part of his then-radical vegetarian diet that forbade meat, fat, white flour, and spices.
His goal, oddly enough, was to eradicate masturbation, or rather, lustful carnal behavior, which he was somehow convinced was unhealthy and the result of indulging in anything other than bland food.
The marshmallow dates back even further – all the way back to ancient Egypt, where it was a delicacy reserved for the gods and royalty. The Egyptians made their version by squeezing sap from the mallow plant (Athaea officinalis), which grows wild in marshes (hence, the name) and mixing it with nuts and honey.
This does not sound anything like the puffy, sweet confection we know and love today.
In the 19th century, marshmallows were made by mixing mallow root sap, egg whites and sugar into a fluffy mold. The French later added cornstarch to give the candy that iconic spherical form we know as love.
Today, of course, things are quite different. Gelatin has replaced mallow root sap, and it’s mixed with corn syrup, sugar, water, and starch. The mixture is then whipped, piped into long tubes and cut into pieces.
Fun fact, the global marshmallow capital is Ligonier, Indiana. (They have an annual marshmallow festival and everything). And every summer, 50 percent of all marshmallows sold in the U.S. are toasted over a fire.
And then there’s chocolate, which you know about. (I think we’ve discussed this before).
We have intervals of clouds and sun on tap today, with temperatures in the low 80s.
In the headlines…
The White House largely declined to answer questions on the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, instead emphasizing President Joe Biden’s belief in the independence of the Justice Department.
Trump has released a video condemning Biden’s America following the FBI raid on his home.
“No one at the White House was given a heads-up,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing, adding that Biden was “not aware” of the dramatic move.
The search, a law enforcement action with explosive legal and political implications, was the culmination of a lengthy conflict between a president proud of his disdain for rules and officials charged with protecting the nation’s records and secrets.
The F.B.I. had scarcely decamped from Mar-a-Lago whenTrump’s allies, led by Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, began a bombardment of vitriol and threats against the man they see as a foe and foil: Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo voiced concern that the blockbuster search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort by federal agents could jeopardize other probes into the ex-president.
“DOJ must immediately explain the reason for its raid & it must be more than a search for inconsequential archives or it will be viewed as a political tactic and undermine any future credible investigation & legitimacy of January 6 investigations,” Cuomo wrote on Twitter.
A judge in Fulton County, Ga., said that Rudy Giuliani, who had two coronary heart stents implanted in early July, could travel from New York to Atlanta without flying, and tentatively ordered him to show up to deliver in-person testimony on Aug. 17.
Yesterday’s primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut saw victories for Trump-endorsed candidates in the GOP, wins for progressives on the Democratic side of the aisle, and a few history-making moments as well.
Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, writing into law the $280 billion package that includes $52 billion in funding to boost US domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
“Today America is delivering, delivering, and I honest to God believe that 50, 75, 100 years from now from people who will look back on this week, they’ll know that we met this moment,” Biden said at an event on the White House South Lawn.
He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.
The signing was the kickoff of a victory lap by Biden to celebrate a string of wins in Washington.
Biden signed NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden, moving the defense alliance closer to adding two wealthy, militarily advanced members amid Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.
“In seeking to join NATO, Finland and Sweden are making a sacred commitment that an attack against one is an attack against all,” Biden said at the signing as he called the partnership the “indispensable alliance.”
Efforts to welcome the two Nordic countries to the treaty have received bipartisan support, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last week calling their admission a “slam dunk” for national security.
Biden’s legislative victories aimed to position the U.S. to “win the economic competition of the 21st century,” but his investments to boost technology, infrastructure and climate resilience over the next decade are set against a 90-odd-day clock until the midterms.
White House aides say the string of victories compares favorably to the two-year legislative record of most any other modern president.
A round of new internal polling is giving the GOP fresh optimism that the House battleground map is stretching even more favorably in their direction.
China is racing to stamp out Covid-19 outbreaks in the tourist hubs of Tibet and Hainan, launching more rounds of mass testing and closing venues to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant as Beijing presses ahead with its Covid zero strategy.
After so much hype, it turns out vaccine manufacturer Novavax’s long-awaited COVID jab hit the market far too late.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on the U.S. economy, one key demographic was able to benefit during that time: Millennials, who saw their total net worth double since the first quarter of 2020, when it was at $4.55 trillion.
Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are heading to college this fall after spending more than half their high school careers dealing with the upheaval of a pandemic, and many are unprepared for the demands of college-level work.
The FDA issued an emergency use authorization that allows health-care providers to change how the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is administered, stretching out the supply amid high demand.
A gay couple says a group of teens attacked them in Northwest D.C. on Sunday after referencing monkeypox and using an anti-gay slur. Police say they’re investigating hate as a potential motive.
Officials evacuated a MARTA train in Atlanta, GA after a rider overheard another passenger say they had monkeypox.
With nearly 9,000 confirmed monkeypox cases nationwide, there is growing concern that US college and university campuses could become monkeypox “hotspots” this fall.
Colleges are beginning to pull from COVID-19 response plans to prepare for the spreading monkeypox virus, which could pose a unique risk to students because they live in close quarters and often have heightened sexual contact, experts say.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin, is denying ever photocopying signatures and is ripping the election fraud allegations renewed in recent days as a “distraction” from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “pathetic” support for cashless bail.
Former Republican Gov. George Pataki said he’s worried New York’s progress on improving public safety is being reversed.
Hochul highlighted steps New York is taking to combat domestic terrorism as she encouraged local governments to prepare plans to counter extremism.
Hochul spoke briefly at a Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services threat assessment and management summit as her administration has sought ways to counter crimes motivated by hate in New York following a mass shooting in Buffalo.
A bill creating a public awareness campaign for the New York State Job Bank was signed into law by Hochul in order to help promote employment in the state.
Top officials in Mayor Adams’ administration still haven’t worked out precisely what they need from the federal government when it comes to managing asylum seekers — even though migrants from Texas have been flooding into the city since May.
Adams, frustrated by busloads of asylum seekers sent from Texas to New York in a political ploy, said with a smile that he was considering sending buses of New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against the state’s Republican governor.
Texas officials said they plan to bus more asylum seekers to New York, even as local officials and immigration rights activists charge that those recently dispatched are being sent here without sufficient food, water and medical assistance.
The New York City Council held a special hearing after buses of asylum seekers recently arrived in the city after being sent by Texas.
A Manhattan appellate judge put a temporary pause on a lower court’s stunning decision last week to invalidate the city Education Department’s budget.
After taking flak from Councilwoman Carlina Rivera’s congressional campaign for his investment portfolio, rival Dan Goldman accused her of hypocrisy, pointing to investments in defense contractors and gun companies revealed in her financial disclosure.
Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler gave their full support to a 2024 reelection bid by Biden, a week after making news by declining during a debate to say whether they thought he should run.
With two weeks to go until New York voters head to the polls, Democrats Maloney, Nadler and Suraj Patel squared off during a PIX11 News debate to talk crime, abortion, the economy and more.
A new poll of the 12th Congressional District primary from an Indian American political group that has endorsed Patel has the two incumbents nearly tied and the challenger still a factor, with one out of five voters undecided.
New York City is likely to join a number of other cities in limiting the ability of landlords to screen tenants based on their criminal records, which could affect thousands of people seeking housing in the city.
New York City said that it had reached a settlement potentially worth more than $20 million with the fast-food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill over violations of worker protection laws, the largest settlement of its kind in the city’s history.
Andres Velasquez, 33, was handcuffed and taken into custody after New York City Parks Department officials called him out of the water at Rockaway Beach while he was swimming after hours and said he had refused to provide identification.
Amazon is expected to clear a final hurdle this week to receive more than $124 million in tax breaks to build a warehouse in the town of Niagara in western New York, among the largest subsidies the company will have ever received.
Entry into this year’s New York State Fair will maintain its longstanding policy that firearms, unless for the purposes of the gun show, are not allowed on the grounds unless the person is on active duty as a law enforcement or peace officer.
The Schenectady County Legislature approved providing $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds to the Empire State Youth Orchestra for building renovations to the former St. Joseph’s Parish School.
Streets in and around Albany’s Washington Park and Center Square were transported back to the late 19th century Monday as the second season of the HBO series “The Gilded Age” began filming in Albany.
The Albany County Legislature passed a law requiring gun stores in the county to display notices warning about the connection between having a firearm in a home and an increased chance of suicide and domestic violence.
Following years of complaints about dust and potentially toxic fumes, HUD has given the go-ahead for residents to leave the Saratoga Sites subsidized apartment complex, which is next door to the Norlite aggregate plant and incinerator.
All performances of Capital Repertory Theatre’s production of the musical “Jersey Boys” through Saturday afternoon have been canceled because multiple members of the cast and crew have tested positive for COVID-19, the company announced.
Announcing her plans to retire from tennis, Serena Williams said that she will focus her life far beyond sports, instead prioritizing being a mother, a fashion maker, a venture capitalist and much more. She will design her future as she sees fit.
Her announcement, in a Vogue magazine cover story released yesterday, that she would be leaving tennis after playing the U.S. Open later this month, befitted the transcendent figure she has become.
