The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer and our homes are hot and stuffy. All of this makes us want to be outside more.
Our outside activities may be gardening, sports or relaxing, but whatever we do outside in the spring there are safety precautions to be considered. It is amazing how much we may have forgotten during the winter. Before diving into any spring project, take a few moments to think about how to do the activity safely and what things you learned last year. A few moments of thought can save frustration and injury during the days ahead.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
In planning spring activities, here are a few helpful internet sites worth visiting:
- www.homefamily.net. This website was established to acknowledge the contributions of Emmie Oddie who used her home economics background for almost 50 years to answer questions from readers of The Western Producer. The website is funded by donations to the Canadian Home Economics Foundation Emmie Oddie Website. Monthly average visits to the website from May 1, 2005, to April 9, 2006, were 23,521, up from the previous year by 7,000. The period from Jan. 1, 2006 to mid-April showed the heaviest use. You will find useful information on consumer topics, housing, clothing and textile care, food, nutrition, food safety and
recipes. There are links to other useful Canadian sites.
- www.preventioninstitute.sk.ca. This is the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute website. You will find information on playground and home safety, as well as parenting information and links to other sites. There is a good section on bicycle safety, helmet selection and bike maintenance and repairs.
- www.gardenline.usask.ca. This site provides horticultural information, offered free to the public with the support of the University of
Saskatchewan extension division, plant sciences and the provincial government.
There is everything from information on garden pests to growing and picking fruit to vegetable gardening and yard maintenance.
- www.foodsafetyline.org or call 800-892-8333 for a quick answer to a food safety question. Monthly food safety articles and frequently asked food safety questions are on this website offered by the Food Safety Information Society, a nonprofit association.
The directors have educational backgrounds in home economics, food science, dietetics and food quality management. In addition, various segments of the agrifood industry are represented including academics, producer organizations, government, the processing industry and public health.
Cooking with garlic
If garlic is a regular ingredient in your cooking, Prairie Garlic Cookery: An Orgy of Olfaction is the book for you. Or if you are a gardener and want to learn more about growing garlic, this is also the book for you.
Better still, if you love to gather with friends and share recipes and food, why not host a
garlic party?
This entertaining cookbook is the result of 10 years of such parties, gardening and cooking. Bev Pain, her husband Reg Fleming and their garlic loving family and friends have tested, tasted and shared their garlic recipes and experiences in this cookbook. Both Pain and Fleming are U of S professors in the college of education.
“Nothing tastes better than garlic from your own garden,” Pain said.
The cookbook can be ordered from www.garlic-cookbook.com. Each cookbook is $35 and includes shipping and handling.
Here are two of the book’s recipes and as the summer progresses, I’m sure I will be trying more of them.
Garlic kabobettes
(Earl Misanchuk)
cloves of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
butter
cherry tomatoes
monterey jack cheese
Garlic quantities will vary according to how many servings you wish to make. Three or four kabobette appetizers per person are about right.
Separate cloves from head, removing loose outer skins. Place cloves in an ovenproof container. Add enough olive oil and butter (in approximately half-and-half proportions) to cover the bottom of the container and then some extra to be able to baste the cloves as they roast.
Roast cloves, uncovered, in a 350 F (180 C) oven for about half an hour, basting occasionally with the oil-butter mixture. Check occasionally by poking with a fork to ensure they are not becoming overdone; you want them just tender but not mushy.
Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Remove remaining skins by gently squeezing each clove so that the inside pops free.
On fancy toothpicks, skewer a roasted garlic clove, a cherry tomato and a 3/4 x 3/4 inch (two x two cm) chunk of cheese, like miniature kabobs. Serve at room temperature.
Note: If you’ve never tried roasted garlic cloves, do so; you’ll never regret it. They take on a mild and almost nutty flavour. As a bonus, the kitchen smells so nice. Then there’s the leftover garlic-butter-oil combination that goes well on fresh bread or crackers.
Tomato garlic bread
(Tanya and Jim Thornhill)
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil 50 mL
1 can (14 oz.) 398 mL
tomatoes
milk
21/2 cups flour 625 mL
1 tablespoon baking 15 mL
powder
2 teaspoons sugar 10 mL
3/4 teaspoon salt 3 mL
1/3 teaspoon cayenne 1.5 mL
pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano 5 mL
1/2 cup grated cheese 125 mL
1/4 cup grated parmesan 60 mL
cheese
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Place garlic and oil in a covered container and set aside. Drain tomatoes, placing juice in a two cup (500 mL) measuring cup. To the juice, add enough milk to make 2/3 cup (150 mL) and set this aside.
In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cayenne pepper and oregano until well mixed, and then stir in the cheeses.
To the juice-milk mixture, add the eggs and the garlic oil mixture. Stir to blend well and add to the dry ingredients. Chop the tomatoes and fold into the batter, which will be thick.
Bake in a greased 8 x 4 x 3 inch (20 x 10 x 7 cm) loaf pan for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Ukrainian cookbook
Several readers have indicated they have had trouble finding The Ukrainian Daughter’s Cookbook. McNally Robinson bookstore in Saskatoon does sell copies. The toll-free number is 877-506-7456 and the store is located at 3130 – 8th St. E., Saskatoon.
Healthy restaurant choices
Fast food restaurants are convenient and have become a part of many people’s busy lifestyles. The nutrition professionals at my local health region give the following tips for making healthy choices when eating out:
- Choose foods that are grilled instead of fried because frying adds calories, not nutrients.
- Put mustard or ketchup on your burger or sub instead of high fat mayonnaise-based sauces.
- Choose a baked potato, vegetable soup or salad with low fat dressing instead of french fries. If you can’t skip the fries, order a small size.
- Beware of the large amount of fat and calories in Caesar and Greek salads from the dressing, cheese, olives and croutons. Choose low fat dressings “on the side.”
- Choose water, juice or white or chocolate milk instead of pop.
- Don’t super-size. It looks like a cheaper option but the larger size is not always the healthier choice.
- Reduce the meat and cheese on pizzas and subs and load them up with vegetables instead.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
