During the last couple of weeks, some rain has fallen in our area. It is too late for the crops but will hopefully do some good for next year.
In 1988, our combines never left the yard and we hoped and thought that might be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. We were wrong as it has happened again in 2002, only 14 years later. The recent rains give us optimism for a better 2003.
Processed vs. scratch food
A reader has sent a note asking the following questions. Are factory processed foods nutritionally worse than food from scratch?
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For example, what’s the difference between frozen and homemade lasagna in terms of health benefits? What about pre-cooked beef meals or converted rice?
Comparing processed foods with homemade foods is difficult for the following reasons:
- Some processed foods do provide a nutritional breakdown, but we do not have that for homemade products, so it isn’t possible to compare.
- It also depends on which processed brand you are referring to as their ingredients vary greatly. From-scratch recipes will vary also.
- With homemade, we are more in control of what ingredients are in the dish, the fat content of the ingredients, additives and foods you may be allergic to.
For example, with lasagna you can have a more nutritious dish if you use low fat cheese, lean (drained) ground beef, extra vegetables and whole wheat noodles.
With the pre-cooked beef meals the fat content will vary with the brand of dinner. Some may have gravy added.
Converted rice is more nutritious than other white rice. Ordinary white rice has the nutrients in the outer bran layer stripped away during processing. Converted rice is different.
The first step in making converted rice is steeping the rough rice in heated water to dissolve the vitamins and mineral in the bran layer.
Then, carefully controlled pressure drives the freed nutrients into the kernel. Steam seals in the nutrients and flavour and removes surface starch, resulting in rice that doesn’t stick together.
The grains are dried back to their normal moisture content. The hulls are then removed and the bran layer gently milled away.
However, because of the earlier steam process, 80 percent of the original B-complex vitamins are left in the grain.
Rebuilt airbags
We have been hearing about the problem of fake airbags being placed in secondhand cars for some time. Although the Quebec government shut down the businesses making these rebuilt airbags, those trying to locate the cars with rebuilt airbags have not had much success. Records have been lost and vehicles have changed hands.
Rebuilt airbags are previously deployed bags that have been mended and recharged with propellant, in some cases with gunpowder. When the rebuilt airbags go off, pieces of dashboard plastic can blast into the passenger’s or driver’s face like shrapnel.
If you are concerned you may have a rebuilt or fake airbag, see an authorized dealer to have the bags checked.
This involves removing the airbag from the steering wheel or vehicle dashboard for a closer inspection.
Owners of the vehicles concerned must pay for these checks. If the dealer cannot immediately replace the rebuilt airbag with a new one, it is strongly recommended that it be deactivated until a new one can be installed.
Any vehicle owners of damaged or rebuilt vehicles or of used vehicles bought since the beginning of 1998 may have rebuilt airbags. If you know for sure that your vehicle has never been in an accident, then it’s probably fine.
Provinces are collaborating to develop standards for a law covering rebuilt airbags.
Sandwich spread
Dear TEAM Resources: I couldn’t help notice H.R.’s request for a cheese spread. This is a very old but very tasty one that my mother used when we went to school. It may help some sandwich makers. – A reader from Bloomsbury, Alta.
Sandwich spread
- 1/2 cup butter 125 mL
- 1/2 cup vinegar 125 mL
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar 75 mL
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard 10 mL
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
Heat vinegar and add butter, stirring until melted. Beat eggs lightly and add dry ingredients. Add to hot vinegar mixture. Cook in double boiler until thick.
Add the following:
- 1 cup grated cheese 250 mL
- 1 small can pimento or diced red pepper
- 8 small sweet pickles, finely chopped
Cook until cheese melts, stirring constantly.
Zucchini facts
Did you know?
- Zucchini fruit is 95 percent water.
- Zucchini is a good source of vitamin K.
- Zucchini bears both male and female flowers on the same plant. The male flowers do not produce fruit but supply the pollen that fertilizes the female flowers. The pollen is sticky, so wind pollination does not occur; instead, the pollen must be transferred by insects in order for the fruit to develop. Bees are the most common insects to transfer pollen and farmers who grow squashes commercially often install hives of bees in their fields to ensure that pollination takes place.
- Contrary to expectation, domestic zucchini production satisfies only about 25 percent of Canada’s demand, probably due to our brief growing season and the short storage time for fresh young zucchini.
- According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest zucchini ever grown weighed 16 kilograms and measured 0.75 metres. It was grown in Montreal.
- Many people believe that summer squashes including zucchini will cross-pollinate with melons and cucumbers. This is true. However, varieties within each species will cross-pollinate with crookneck or acorn squash if the plants are grown in the same area.
- To determine whether a zucchini fruit will last in storage, gently attempt to press your thumbnail through the skin. If your nail easily pierces the skin, the fruit will not keep. Put it in the refrigerator and use it within a few days. If the skin is tough and you cannot pierce it, the fruit will keep for several weeks.
- When harvesting zucchini for storage, be sure that you leave the stem end on the fruit and that there are no nicks or cuts through which disease organisms can enter. If the skin is damaged, use the fruit immediately.
Source: Zucchini, You Can Never Have Enough by John Butler, The University of Alberta Press and Hole’s, 2001, $14.95.
The book includes more than 100 recipes, plus growing hints, facts and suggestions to help us enjoy this versatile fruit.
Valerie’s baked zucchini
Choose small to medium zucchini. Wash, remove the ends and slice lengthwise in half inch (one centimetre) slices.
- Lay the slices on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
- Beat an egg. Brush the egg over the upper surface of the zucchini slices.
- Spread grated cheese over the top of each zucchini slice.
- Slice some cherry tomatoes and lay them in a single row on top of the cheese.
- Grate a little fresh pepper over the top.
- Bake in a 375 F (180 C) oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
- Serve immediately.
Baked potato safety measures
An advisory was released on Aug. 2 from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advising consumers and restaurant operators that potatoes baked in aluminum foil and kept warm or stored at room temperature may cause life-threatening botulism for those who consume them.
Potatoes may be contaminated with spores of Clostridium botulinum, a spore-forming bacterium that is widely distributed in the environment, including soils. C. botulinum may be present on fruits and vegetables, particularly those that are in contact with the soil, such as potatoes.
If the spores are ingested in this manner, they remain harmless. However, baking the potatoes in aluminum foil and holding them wrapped at room temperature, or keeping them warm, may create ideal conditions for spores, if present, to germinate, grow and to produce toxin.
Symptoms of foodborne botulism include drooping of the eyelids, dizziness, blurred or double vision, vomiting and diarrhea, dry mouth and sore throat, difficulty swallowing, breathing and speaking, and progressive paralysis.
The onset of symptoms takes 12-36 hours. Botulism can be fatal.
To prevent the risk from botulism, any leftover potatoes must be unwrapped and refrigerated at 38 F (4 C) as soon as possible, or within one to two hours.
The proper preparation of baked potatoes should include washing potatoes thoroughly (do not use soap) before wrapping them in foil.
Immediately serve and eat baked potatoes. Other methods of preparing potatoes are not associated with a similar health risk for consumers, as the conditions for the C. botulinum spores germination and toxin production are not present.
