Good morning, it’s Monday. There are 44 days remaining until fall. Get your summer fix while you can.
S’mores are a quintessential summertime treat – synonymous with camping trips and backyard barbecues and the Girl Scouts, who infamously published the very first recipe for the chocolate-marshmallow-graham-cracker concoction in their 1927 handbook, Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, though at the time, it appeared under name “Some More”.
More, (ahem, see what I did there?), on that in a moment.
I have to confess that I am not, as a rule, a big graham cracker fan. I like cookies and I like crackers, but graham crackers are sort of betwixt and between those two.
It’s like a cookie with an identity crisis – a “healthy” option that I would actually pass up in favor of something like a Fig Newton or even a granola bar. The cinnamon sugar versions are, in my opinion, better, but still not up to the level of, say, a chocolate chip, peanut butter, or even oatmeal cookie.
Graham crackers were, in fact, invented in 1829 with the express purpose of being bland and unobjectionable by an American clergyman and health reformer named Sylvester Graham, who believed that consuming very plain and fiber-rich whole grains would prevent people from experiencing lustful thoughts and desires. (True story).
Graham’s original version was made without sugar, oil, or refined flour. But since he never patented his recipe (a blessing in disguise), bakers were free to tweak it, mixing its base – unrefined wheat (AKA graham) flour – with additions like sugar, honey, and cinnamon that turned what was otherwise pretty gross into something vaguely familiar to the modern-day version.
The origin story of the marshmallow, by contrast, dates back centuries. Ancient people used the root and leaves of a plant called Althaea officinalis (AKA the marsh mallow plant), which has a high mucilage content, for medicinal purposes to reduce inflammation. It wasn’t until years later that the French hit on the idea of adding eggs and sugar to the plant’s juice to make a sweet treat that was marketed as a lozenge called pâte de guimauve.
Making this treat was both time consuming and expensive, so at some point toward the end of the 19th century, the plant juice was swapped out for gelatin, which was cheaper, easier to source, and more or less similar in taste and texture.
The concept of roasting marshmallows took hold in the late 1800s. And the cookie known Mallomars, which features a marshmallow atop a graham cracker base and then dipped in chocolate (essentially a S’mores minus the gooey, fire-roasted element) was introduced in 1913. Another graham-marshmallow-chocolate concoction, the MoonPie, was created by the Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee in 1917 as a snack for hungry miners that could easily be slipped into a lunch pail.
But it really was the Girl Scouts who came up with the ingenious campfire sandwich, writing in the 1927 handbook:
“Toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The heat of the marshmallow between the halves of the chocolate bar will melt the chocolate a bit. Though it tastes like ‘some more,’ one is really enough.”
I’m not sure if I agree with that final sentiment. You’ll have to judge for yourself if you opt to celebrate National S’mores Day by indulging in toasty, gooey, sweet treat. If you’re still lucky enough to have a gas stove, I can personally attest to its ability to serve as a marshmallow toasting stand-in to a campfire. Just have a fire extinguisher handy (this is good kitchen safety, as a rule anyway).
It’s going to be a cloudy day, with the sun possibly peeking through in the morning, but disappearing as clouds steadily increase throughout the afternoon. Highs will be in the mid-80s and there will be a chance of thunderstorms in the evening.
In the headlines…
President Trump signaled on Sunday that he’s prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount — as opposed to ordering a new military offensive — even as the country continues to defy the U.S.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a U.S.-backed plan for Hamas to lay down its weapons in Gaza in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the territory, which Trump recently touted as a breakthrough toward ending the conflict there.
Netanyahu openly dismissed the plan, saying that Israeli forces “would not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed.” He said that meant “heavy weapons, lighter weapons, all weapons,” adding, “We are talking about real disarmament.”
President Trump announced that Will Scharf, his staff secretary and a deeply conservative lawyer, would replace David Warrington as White House counsel, one of the few major changes in West Wing personnel since Mr. Trump returned to Washington.
Former President Barack Obama called both Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens on Friday, praising their efforts to unify Michigan Democrats after a bruising primary and offering an early boost to El-Sayed’s general-election Senate campaign.
Obama and Dr. El-Sayed, who narrowly prevailed in a divisive primary after campaigning on a progressive and anti-establishment platform, discussed unifying the party before the November general election in Michigan, Dr. El-Sayed’s campaign said.
El-Sayed made a wild claim about President Trump’s marriage to first lady Melania Trump, calling their relationship “rocky” during a TV appearance Sunday.
The Senate left town for August recess over the weekend without voting on a cryptocurrency regulation bill, markedly dimming the measure’s chances of passing before the midterm elections.
The crypto industry is remaining hopeful that the Clarity Act, which would create a regulatory framework for the sector, can clear the Senate when lawmakers return for a brief three-week session in September.
Mike Rogers, the Republican Michigan Senate nominee, has suggested that further scrutiny of the 2020 election was warranted and that voting irregularities sank his first Senate bid two years ago.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 36, posted a series of video clips on social media Saturday night saying that she would freeze her eggs despite what she called a “political risk” for sharing her decision. She also said she’s open to running for president or the Senate.
The New York City congresswoman noted that she had a scheduled interview Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week” and planned on taking hormonal shots in its waiting room before going on air to discuss politics.
Outside groups are raising millions to pour into the governor’s race as Republican Bruce Blakeman and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul crisscross the state campaigning and raising funds.
Hochul’s office is warning that New York City’s new pied-à-terre tax could expose residents who falsely claimed to live outside the state to avoid paying New York taxes.
New York is expanding opportunities for licensed cannabis microbusinesses to reach consumers through approved community events under legislation that Hochul recently signed into law.
Hochul has signed legislation designed to strengthen New York’s regulated cannabis market by offering more venues to legally sell and purchase products.
The governor said the president’s decision to end a Medicare subsidy program will raise prescription drug costs for about 1.3 million New Yorkers, arguing seniors should not have to bear the additional expense.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has steered more than $54 million in taxpayer-funded grants to six legal groups fighting to “dismantle public safety,” claims a bombshell analysis by her GOP election foe.
About 1,400 unaccompanied immigrant children across New York, including approximately 700 upstate, are at risk of losing legal services and court representation after the Trump administration terminated a contract with Acacia Center for Justice.
Many democratic socialist leaders are wary of engaging with news media beyond outlets friendly to their cause. But as socialist candidates rack up primary victories, NYC DSA Co-Chair Gustavo Gordillo is taking the budding insurgency inside hostile territory.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has inserted radical anti-police and anti-Israel members to the Panel for Education Policy, including one who is pushing public schools to have segregated racism-reflection rooms.
A rent-striking, radical orchestrating the Mamdani administration’s socialist housing agenda is the daughter of a music studio owner who recorded rock legends like David Bowie, the Ramones, Blondie, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, the Foo Fighters and Coldplay.
New York City is terminating the employment of Haitian city workers who have lost Temporary Protected Status, after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for President Trump to end humanitarian protections for Haitian immigrants, Mamdani announced.
A Florida man charged with a hate crime for hurling a brick through a synagogue window was motivated by a video of Mamdani calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” his police interview suggests.
While Mamdani and the DSA spark handwringing for those in the politics-economics echo chamber, the apex leaders of business are scarcely missing a beat, based on data in the new Business Costs in New York City report from the state comptroller’s office.
Mamdani is scheduled to announce that he backs the Delivery Protection Act, a measure pending before the City Council that is aimed at regulating the “last-mile” operations of Amazon, FedEx and other distribution companies.
The Mamdani administration will offer $3 million in emergency grants to home-based childcare providers to help keep their doors open when they face unexpected emergencies.
Wall Streeters slammed Mamdani’s new so-called “Business Advisory Council,” calling it “phony” and a “waste of time” after the mayor delivered months of insults to the business community.
The City Council plans to hold an oversight hearing on the Mamdani administration’s rocky rollout of a new tax on luxury second homes, as thousands of homeowners seek exemptions from the impending charges aimed at boosting the city’s budget.
A state commission ordered the removal of a Queens Civil Court judge, finding he kept practicing law after taking the bench, allowed a paralegal with a felony criminal record to run his law office, mishandled client funds and failed to comply with financial disclosure rules.
Thousands gathered in Midtown on Sunday for the 44th annual National Dominican Day Parade, held under the theme “Dominicanos: Identidad y Cultura.”
The City Council’s Committee on Governmental Operations, State and Federal Legislation is scheduled to vote on a bill that would codify Staten Island’s current flag into law.
With an intestinal illness called cyclosporiasis causing concern about the produce supply, some New York consumers have turned to smaller, regional growers.
A man was arrested and charged on Sunday with reckless endangerment after a 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old daughter died when a boat he was operating overturned in New York Harbor, the Police Department said.
Police and the Coast Guard say the incident with the 22-foot bowrider occurred at 10:25 p.m. near the Statue of Liberty. The mother and daughter have been identified by the NYPD as Queens residents Sara Sanchez and Antonella Garcia, respectively.
New York City runners are hot under the heels and hateful in the comments after New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced changes to its popular 9+1 program.
Reading test scores dropped six points for NYC public schoolchildren who took the exams in the spring, nearly erasing the previous gains and representing a stark setback in the city’s efforts to improve literacy by changing how students learn to read.
Twenty Port Authority workers — including 17 cops — pocketed $400,000 last year as the bistate agency’s payroll topped $1.2 billion, records show.
Police arrested and charged a 20-year-old Albany man with attempted murder after a car plunged into the Hudson River on Sunday near the city boat launch on Quay Street.
NY-21 has in recent years been considered something of a GOP stronghold in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2-to-1. But recent indications show Democrats believe it’s a district where they stand a better chance.
The Ciccarelli Rea Agars Bevevino, or C.R.A.B., Garrison — a fixture in Troy since 1954 — will receive a special honor for its service to community veterans over the past 72 years.
A partnership of four of the Capital Region’s leading news organizations will host a series of debates in October between the candidates competing in New York’s 19th, 20th and 21st Congressional Districts.
A former Brookwood Secure Center for Youth psychologist has been sentenced for the sexual assault of an individual who could not consent.
From Adirondack guideboats to a menagerie of taxidermied animals, many furnishings from Whitney Park, one of the last private Adirondack Great Camps, will be auctioned off this week.
A woman died on Friday after she tripped and fell under a moving Capital District Transportation Authority bus near the intersection of Morris Street and New Scotland Avenue, according to police.
Fire Battalion Chief Wayne Brennan was trying to turn off a leaky fuel pump at a city garage when the gasoline ignited, causing an explosion that badly burned him and an employee with the city’s DGS, Police Chief Brendan Cox said Friday.
A Greenport police officer who was charged with drunken driving after her patrol car crashed has resigned from the town police force as well as from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, where she worked as a jail guard.
A controversial garbage burning plant towering over nearby Hudson Falls homes and the Hudson River will close by year’s end.
Officials in a tiny North Country school district are seeking to file a claim against the parents of a 15-year-old boy who killed himself in October 2023 after being accused of sexual misconduct and suspended.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
