Happy Holidays, everyone.
Sending you and yours wishes for a happy year filled
with health, prosperity, love and loads of fun!
Thank you for visiting!
Hope to see you throughout 2019 ~
Margaret
I'm Turning 60... plus 10!
I’ve been a senior for a few years.
I’ve had a few good times, and a few bad times. We all have.
But I’m sure we’ll all have more new adventures!
Monday, December 31, 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Anna Sultana's Cioppino & New Year Pork Roast & Lucky Foods For The New Year
Hard to believe, but 2018 is drawing to a close.
Hope it’s been a good year for you, and that 2019 will be an even better one!
Everyone has traditional Christmas recipes - as well as a few old favourites - so I didn’t post any new recipes.
I posted Ma’s East Coast Seafood Chowder as a suggestion for other seniors who might like to simplify the seven fish for Christmas Eve tradition.
Over the past month over 12,000 of you dear folks have looked up recipes in this blog.
Thank you for visiting - I’m glad I could be of help.
I hope you, your friends and families enjoyed the festivities at your table.
There are also a few food traditions for New Year’s Eve and Day.
I’ve heard that some customs will even bring you wealth and luck.
Well, anyway, they’re a bit of fun and fine recipes for when folks gather to celebrate the coming year.
Eat poor on New Year’s and eat fat the rest of the year is something folks say in the southern United States, where they usually eat black-eyed peas, along with ham, greens, and cornbread on New Year’s Day in the hope that the meal will bring good luck and wealth.
Greens represent the green bills, while peas and cornbread stands for coins and gold.
Lentils and beans also promise a shower of coins in the coming year.
Along with American southerners, many other folks eat pork on New Year’s Day.
The thinking goes that pigs root around in a forward motion, so pork symbolizes progress for the coming year.
I know... practically all animals walk in a forward motion, but, for some reason, folks focused on pigs for this good luck custom.
If you’re planning to serve leftover turkey a side dish flavoured with pork, ham or sausage is fine.
A side dish of pork and beans, even if it’s canned, works just as well to get the New Year's luck mojo working.
The Pennsylvania Dutch have a similar pork recipe for success.
They don’t feature collared greens as the southerners do, but serve cabbage or sauerkraut with the pork to guarantee good luck and good fortune in the new year.
In Germany it’s believed that eating sauerkraut on New Year's Eve will bring blessings and wealth.
Before the meal those seated wish each other as much goodness and money as the number of shreds of cabbage in the pot of sauerkraut.
It’s time to really shred that head of cabbage!
Fish symbolize abundance in the new year. Asians feast on whole fish to celebrate Lunar New year, while Europeans eat cod, herring, and carp. The silvery scales stand for coinage.
A few weeks ago I posted Ma’s recipe for East Coast Seafood Chowder.
It should bring some luck on New Year’s Eve, too.
Fruits and grains also have their place on New Year’s Eve:
People in Spain and Mexico eat 12 grapes at midnight for luck for in the new year.
In Greece people throw pomegranates to the floor to release a flood of seeds that symbolize life and abundance.
A generous sprinkling of pomegranate seeds on a bowl of pudding should do the job, and is way less messy.
Extra long noodles are thought to bring long life if you eat them without breaking them in the middle, and rice is all about fertility and wealth.
And for dessert… ring shaped cakes and rounded sweet treats bring a full circle of luck to the eater.
Hope you made - or bought - some round cookies for Christmas and have a few left.
Hints:
Here’s an easy way to prepare A New Year Pork Roast
Preheat oven to 350º F
Combine
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 Tablespoon dried sage
Rub the mixture over
2 pound boneless pork loin roast
Place the meat in a baking pan or casserole.
Surround the meat with
4 Cups sauerkraut
Cover and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
You want the internal temperature has reached 145º F
Remove roast to a platter and surround with sauerkraut.
Serve with cornbread and beans extra luck.
If you prefer shredded cabbage, sprinkle it with vinegar and dill.
About the timing for the pork roast:
Some roasts are on the squarish side, some are more like a long sausage.
If your roast is on the long side, and you prefer it a bit pink, 40 to 45 minutes
should be enough.
Take it out after 40 minutes and check.
Back to the Seafood Chowder…
Next time you’re in your market take a peek at the bagged seafood mixtures.
One I often use has squid, shrimp, cuttlefish, octopus, mussels and clams.
Add some cubed cod - or if you really feel like celebrating, some lobster - and you’ll have the seven items needed for the Christmas Eve traditional dish.
You could also buy a box of bacon-wrapped scallops, heat and serve as an appetizer.
Seven fish - no problem.
About that bagged mix, the shrimp is on the tiny size.
Some larger shrimp tossed into the pot would add to the presentation.
Cioppino
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator
about 1 1/4 pounds seafood: squid, shrimp, cuttlefish, octopus, mussels and clams
3/4 cup mussel meat (optional)
3/4 cup clam meat (optional)
4 ounces cod or lobster
8 large shrimp (optional)
1 pound box of mussels in wine
Finely chop
2 medium onions
Place in a large pot
1/4 cup olive oil
Heat over a medium low flame.
Add
the chopped onion
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft.
Add
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Mix well.
Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in
the thawed seafood and mussels
Bring to a boil.
Lower heat, cover and simmer 7 minutes or until mussels open.
Remove the mussels that don’t open.
Ladle soup into bowls.
Sprinkle over each serving
chopped parsley (optional)
Serve with warm, crusty bread to sop up the broth.
Happy New Year!!
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Anna Sultana’s East Coast Seafood Chowder
Back in December, 2010, I posted the recipe for Ma’s Fritto Misto di Pesce. Don’t bother with google translate - it’s a recipe for a mixed fix fry.
I posted it because I had written about Italian and Maltese Christmas customs.
One of these customs involves eating seven fishes on Christmas Eve.
Back in Malta and Sicily Christmas Eve, also known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes, was a night of seafood splendour.
Most of these holiday customs began when families were larger than they are today, and it wasn’t unusual to have about thirty people around the table.
So, you - and six of the other women - could each prepare one dish, each guest could scoop out one piece from each dish, and, wall-ah!, tradition was respected.
As the years went by and younger family members got busy with their own nuclear families, our parents’ generation made a few adjustments in their holiday menus.
They wanted to keep up the traditions, but there was a limit to how much they could eat, and could fit in their refrigerators.
The fried fish is a bit heavy on a senior’s stomach, so they turned to making chowders.
The leftover soup made a nice light supper for two on Christmas Day.
Ah, tradition…
Hints:
For a smokier flavour, replace the butter with 3 slices bacon, chopped, and brown before adding the vegetables.
Add 1/2 Cup chopped carrots, red bell pepper or corn kernels with onions for extra flavour, colour and nutrition.
Want it a bit spicier? Add a pinch of fish seasoning spice blend.
Want some heat? Add 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes with the seasonings.
This recipe can also be used as a base for a turkey or chicken chowder. Just replace dill with thyme and stir in 2 Cups diced cooked turkey or chicken instead of the seafood.
Curious about other traditional Christmas recipes?
Here's a post with links for Christmas / Holiday Favourites.
Happy Holidays!!
East Coast Seafood Chowder
Place in a large pot
1 Tablespoon butter
Melt butter over low heat.
Add
1/2 Cup celery, diced
3/4 Cup onions, diced
Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until onions start to brown.
Deglaze the pan with
1/3 Cup white wine
Scrape until liquid is reduced by half.
Stir in to form a thin paste
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir in
3/4 Cup heavy cream
2 Cups milk
Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add
1 teaspoon dried dill or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 Cup yellow fleshed potatoes, diced
Cook until the potatoes are almost tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, place in another large pot
2 Tablespoons butter
Melt butter over medium heat.
Add
3 ounces salmon, cut into chunks
3 ounces halibut, cut into chunks
Cook until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Add
3 ounces lobster
3 ounces scallops
12 shrimp
12 scrubbed mussels
12 scrubbed clams
Once the clams and mussels have opened (discard any that did not open), transfer the seafood into the chowder base.
Simmer 3 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and place dill and a dab of butter on each serving (optional).
Serve with crusty rolls or bread.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Anna Sultana’s Fish Seasoning, Turkey Stew with Dumplings, and The Full Beaver Moon
Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!
Hope it’s a day that has fine weather and safe road conditions, and that it leaves you with many happy memories.
About two weeks ago I posted recipes for Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend, Sugar and Spice Christmas Blend, Homemade Seafood / Chicken Spice Blend, Meat and Poultry Seasoning Mix.
Hope you’ve been finding them useful.
Susan emailed and, since she loves fish, she asked if I had a second fish blend for a bit of variety.
Here you go, Susan!
Fish Seasoning Spice Blend
1/4 Cup paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon basil leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper
Back to Thanksgiving…
Along with being left with the memories, I’ll bet you’re facing leftovers.
I know that in the movie A Christmas Story Ralphie and his family were looking forward to enjoying leftover turkey dinners all the way through to New Year’s.
Yeah, well, sometimes it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.
If your family is beginning to flip through their fast food coupon booklets, here’s an easy way to serve leftover turkey that, hopefully, will be new to the family.
Hints:
This recipe will also work with one pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces, or meatballs.
Brown either in oil before adding to the potatoes.
If you want a creamy stew stir in a cup of milk or a 10 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup.
You can also use fresh carrots and cook them with the potatoes.
Canned vegetables can also be used, as can more vegetables, such as corn, cubed butternut squash, sliced mushrooms, and/or zuchini.
Don’t like dumplings? You can serve the stew over rice, or as a soup with some nice crusty bread or biscuits.
Sometimes Ma added some fried bacon.
Sometimes Ma added some fried bacon.
Well, that is the Maltese way.
Turkey Stew with Dumplings
Wash and quarter
3/4 pound small red potatoes
Place in a dutch oven and cover with water or chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pound leftover cooked turkey
While the potatoes are cooking, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pound leftover cooked turkey
Cut into slices
1 onion
2 stalks celery
Add to the potatoes
Add to the potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
the cut up turkey
the onion and celery
3 Cups frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables
3 Cups frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables
Stir to combine and allow to simmer while preparing the dumplings.
Dumplings
In a medium bowl combine
1 1/2 Cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Add
1 Cup milk
Stir until just mixed.
Drop by spoonfuls onto the stew.
Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Cover and cook another 10 minutes.
Another way to use up some leftover turkey is in Chicken Pot Pie.
Really, it will work.
About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…
November 23 - The full Beaver Moon at 12:39 a.m. In this phase, the visible Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Although the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered full for the entire day of the event and appears full for three days. Actually, this Moon has two names. Learn about them in this short Farmers’ Almanac video.
November 26 - High overhead at around 8 p.m. this week is a star configuration that people unfamiliar with the sky often mistake for the Big Dipper. The bowl is composed of the four stars of the Great Square of Pegasus, the Flying Horse. The handle is composed of four bright stars belonging to the constellations Andromeda and Perseus.
November 29 - Last Quarter Moon, 7:19 p.m. In this phase, the Moon looks like a half-Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing, on its way to the new phase.
Monday, November 12, 2018
Anna Sultana’s Spices, and the North Taurids and The Leonids Meteor Showers
Now that the holiday season is in full swing it’s time for some serious baking.
And that, of course, also includes using more and different spices.
Don’t be afraid of buying spices in bags.
Along with being quite a bit cheaper than the spices in those small, pretty bottles, the larger bags of spices are also a good buy for making your own spices blends, which is a lot cheaper than buying the prepared blends.
Ma had a few favourite blends she kept on her kitchen shelf throughout the year.
The sweeter ones were really handy during the holiday season.
Pumpkin Spice on everything is not a new idea!
Pumpkin Spice on everything is not a new idea!
Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend
1/4 Cup ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoons ground allspice
Makes a scant 1/2 Cup
Pumpkin Pie Spice also goes nicely on mashed sweet vegetables and onions.
Sugar & Spice Christmas Blend
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Makes a scant 2/3 Cup
Sugar & Spice Blend is perfect for topping rice pudding or egg nog.
Homemade Seafood / Chicken Spice Blend
2 Tablespoons ground allspice
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons powdered mustard
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper)
Makes 1/2 Cup
Homemade Meat and Poultry Seasoning Mix
2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons onion powder
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon ground thyme
Makes a scant 2/3 Cup
Hints:
Here are some links to give you more ideas on how to best use spices:
About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…
November 12-14 - North Taurids Meteor Shower peak, with the best viewing, is from 12 – 2 a.m. local time; and good news, the sky will be nice and dark due to the tiny waning crescent Moon.
The Taurids are actually two annual meteor showers created by the dust left behind from the comet Encke. They are named for constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky (near the Pleiades). But they can be spotted anywhere - simply look up!
November 15 - First Quarter Moon, 9:54 a.m. In this phase, the Moon looks like a half-Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is increasing, on its way to full.
Look to the south in the evening to see the First Quarter Moon paired up with Mars.
November 17-18 - The Leonids Meteor Showers peak. Best viewing time is between midnight and 5:30 a.m. local time. This meteor shower, named for the constellation Leo, is typically one of the more exciting showers of the year, producing an average of 20-30 meteors per hour.
The radiant for the Leonids is near Algieba, one of the stars of the “sickle” or “backward question mark” within Leo. This shower may be hindered by the glow of the bright waxing gibbous Moon.
The radiant for the Leonids is near Algieba, one of the stars of the “sickle” or “backward question mark” within Leo. This shower may be hindered by the glow of the bright waxing gibbous Moon.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Happy Ninth Birthday to I’m Turning 60…!! by Margaret Ullrich
Happy Birthday to I’m Turning 60…!!
I really want to thank you for visiting during the years, whether you have dropped in on a daily, weekly or occasional basis during the past nine years.
I especially want to thank those who have commented. I really appreciate it when you tell me that your family enjoyed a recipe, or when you ask if I have a recipe for a particular dish.
The past nine years have been full of changes - some good, some bad - and I want to thank you for sharing the years with me.
I’m Turning 60… continues to be more popular than its older ’sibling’ blog
Really!!
I’m Turning 60… - with 1037 posts - has had 689,015 visitors since July, 2010.
That's when Blogger started keeping track of both blogs.
That's more visitors than its ‘elder sibling’, Winnipeg is Better Than Chocolate, which has 2,741 posts, and received a bit over 407,000 visitors.
I’m Turning 60… has less than half the posts with over fifty percent more visitors.
Quite the growth for this little blog!
Thank you for visiting and for telling your friends!
Okay… enough with tallying the reader numbers.
Let’s get back to the recipes which deserve the credit for all these visits!
I recently took a look at how this blog’s posts have been doing.
There have been a few changes from last year’s favourites.
Here are the current all time top ten posts:
Italian Easter Pie with Ricotta and Meat
During the past month these have been the top posts:
Hoito Restaurant’s Finnish Pancake Recipe, a Thunder Bay Favourite
Carmela Soprano's Anginetti / Italian Lemon Knot Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Carmela Soprano's Anginetti / Italian Lemon Knot Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Please, if you haven’t already, do try the recipes on these lists.
They’re not popular recipes because people don’t like them!
I also get a kick out of seeing how you search for my blog.
Searches include:
red cabbage a christmas story
sopranos cookbook recipes 7 layer cookie
the hoito thunder bay pancake recipe
maltese eggplant stuffed recipe
how to fix ross il-forn maltese receipy
italian cookies with orange
sopranos vodka sauce
cheesecake co-pckers new jersey
housefrau on twitter
And my personal favourite:
nearer and dearer anna
Ma would've loved that!
Back to the visitors...
Turkey is a new member of the top ten club, knocking Romania off the list.
So glad to get to meet you folks in Turkey!
Hope you've been enjoying the recipes.
Now the top ten countries and their visitors are:
United States………….. 328,275
Canada………….……….…. 58,917
Australia………….………… 35,126
Malta……………..…………. 33,616
Turkey………………………. 29,224
Russia…………………….…. 27,438
United Kingdom…….…. 21,412
France………….………..…. 16,942
Germany……….…..……. 14,758
Ukraine.…….…….….……. 9,646
Want to compare the numbers and recipes with those of last year?
No problem... here are the stats from 2018.
I'm always amazed at learning where you live.
I expected many visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom since many Maltese immigrated there, especially after World War II.
During the years there have also been visitors from Italy, Finland, Poland, Spain,
the Netherlands, Macedonia, Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Slovakia, Ireland,
Denmark, Bangladesh, Sweden, Israel, Moldova, Malaysia, Singapore, Kuwait,
Greece, Kenya, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Brazil, Bermuda, Namibia, Cyprus, India,
Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Norway, New Zealand, Madagascar, Armenia,
South Africa, Romania, Iceland, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, Argentina,
United Arab Emirate, Belgium, Tunisia, Taiwan, Paraguay and China.
It is a small world after all!!
During the past few months there has also been a new, mystery visitor which Blogger is calling ‘Unknown Region’.
I haven’t a clue what that means or where these readers live.
All I know is that they seem to like my recipes.
Since I don’t post on a daily basis, why not become a subscriber?
It’s easy and FREE!
Just click on the ‘FOLLOW’ link under the pictures of followers to the right of this post and type in your email address.
After joining you will get an email every time there is a new post.
This way you won’t ever miss a recipe.
I don’t post on Facebook anymore, but I do post a link on Twitter whenever there is a new post. Just click on the Twitter link '@ImTurning60' on the side bar above the followers and we’ll be able to keep in touch that way.
Gotta love modern technology!
I'd also like comments. Really.
It's easy to do. Just click on Comments and write.
Tell me what you want to know about.
Would you like more holiday recipes, or more easy, cheap, quick meals or…?
Thanks again for visiting!
Hope to see you again real soon!
Friday, October 19, 2018
Anna Sultana’s Halloween Barmbrack, The Orionid Meteor Shower & The Full Hunter’s Moon
Can you believe it?
October is more than halfway gone.
That means it’s almost time for Halloween!
The holidays, especially the ones late in the year, were a hectic time for Ma.
Not only did she have a ton of Maltese recipes to prepare, but she also had to include recipes that we had learned from our neighbours and her co-workers, as well as those recipes that had become a part of Maltese traditions by way of Napoleon and the British navy.
Yes, Napoleon.
Recipes used every way they could to find their way into Ma’s recipe files.
One such recipe, along with its Halloween traditions, is Barmbrack, an Irish tea bread filled with raisins and dried fruits.
It was a popular item to enjoy at 4 o’clock in Malta, where it was served as toasted slices with butter, along with a nice hot cup or two of tea.
Barmbrack also has a Halloween tradition attached - the loaf is baked with small items mixed into the batter, and they are supposed to foretell a person’s future:
- a bit of cloth meant bad luck or you would be poor
- the coin meant you would enjoy good fortune or be rich
- the ring meant you would marry within the year
- the pea meant you would not marry that year
- the stick meant you would have an unhappy marriage or be in disputes
- the medal, usually of the Virgin Mary, meant you would be going into the priesthood or convent (The medal isn’t usually included any more.)
Hopefully each person’s slice would have one of the items.
Of course there was always the risk that a nice thick slice could hold a weird combination - such as both the pea and the ring - or nothing at all.
Well, cooking and holiday customs are not exact sciences!
Hints:
You can use just raisins (your choice as to kind) or a mixture of raisins, currants, cherries and citrus peel.
This is a great recipe for using up bits left over from baking a fruitcake.
The dried fruit should marinate for 8 hours or longer.
You can prepare the fruit the day before and bake the next afternoon for your tea time.
Some dried fruits absorb more liquid than others so you might need to add more tea.
To be ready, have some extra cold tea on hand.
It also works fine replacing the egg with a tablespoon of applesauce.
Barmrack is best served fresh and warm but will last for up to five days.
I remember noticing that the grownups would often brush their slices with a syrup that wasn’t offered to us kiddies.
Our parents would also add a drop or two of the syrup to their tea.
Well, they needed some fortification for the upcoming holidays!
Whiskey Syrup
Place in a saucepan
1/4 Cup water
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
Heat over a medium burner. Do not stir.
Swirling the pot occasionally, boil the mixture until it’s a dark golden brown.
When the mixture is dark, remove from heat and add
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tablespoons whiskey
Bring the mixture back to a boil.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, until everything is combined.
Lightly brush slices of bread with the syrup and add a nice spread of good butter.
It's also delicious in a cup of tea or coffee.
If there was time, Ma made this special butter for us kiddies.
Honey Butter
Place in a small bowl
3 Tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
1 Tablespoon liquid honey
Mash together until well combined.
Barmbrack
Place in a bowl
1 1/3 Cups dried fruit
1 1/4 Cups cold strong black tea
Place the bowl in the fridge and let the raisins soak 8 hours or overnight.
After a few hours you could check to see if they need more liquid.
Grease well an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan
Preheat the oven to 350° F
Combine in a large bowl
2 Cups flour
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
the cloth, coin, ring, pea, stick and medal (optional)
Stir in
the marinated fruit
Add
the tea left from marinating the fruit
1 egg
Stir together. If the batter looks too dry add a bit more cold tea.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350º F for 1 hour.
If the top is browning too quickly, place tin foil lightly over the top.
It is ready when it’s golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped.
Serve warm with butter and/or jam.
Don’t forget to make a pot of your favourite tea or coffee.
About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…
October 21 & 22 - The Orionid Meteor shower peaks! This shower is the cosmic dust from the most famous comet, Halley’s comet. The meteors appear to emanate from a point near the Orion-Gemini border in Orion’s upraised club, hence the name. View overhead from 1 to 2 a.m. local daylight time until dawn; you may see 20-25 meteors per hour.
But the waxing gibbous Moon may interfere with viewing.
October 24 - The Hunter’s Moon will be astronomically full at 12:45 p.m. In this phase, the entire disc of the Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Though the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered “full” for the entire day of the event and appears full for three days so you can get out and enjoy it! Learn more about how this Moon got its name in our short video.
October 31 - The second of two Last Quarter Moon phases this month, at 12:40 p.m. In this phase, the Moon looks like a half-Moon in the sky. One-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing, on its way to the New Moon (invisible) phase.
The Last Quarter Moon is at perigee (twice in one month!) at 4:22 p.m., meaning it’s at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. The reason we’re seeing the second Moon at perigee is that the lunar calendar is 29.5 days long, which is shorter than our Gregorian calendar.
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