Saturday, Nov. 11 is Remembrance Day. That day will mean different things to people. I will proudly wear a poppy, attend the Remembrance Day service in our town and remember.
I have a childhood memory of Charlie, a neighbor’s boy who was home on leave, walking down the road in his uniform, coming for a visit. At that time adult faces looked worried and that was reason enough for a little girl to feel worried too.
Have you wondered what the money from the sale of poppies is used for? The Royal Canadian Legion tells us the funds provide financial assistance to needy Canadian ex-service personnel and their dependants.
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Also eligible are ex-service personnel of Commonwealth and Allied countries who live in Canada.
Poppy funds are public funds, held in trust by the Legion until spent. They must be spent, not accumulated for a rainy day. Normally, at least 90 percent of the funds collected each year will be spent before the next campaign. For more information contact the Royal Canadian Legion, 359 Kent St., Ottawa, Ont., K2P OR7.
Authorized uses also include the cost of operating a service bureau, bursaries to children and grandchildren of ex-service personnel, campaign costs, including the purchase of poppies, wreaths, promotional aids, canvassing supplies, reasonable expenses of sales committees, and prizes for Remembrance Day contests.
With approval, a Legion branch may use poppy funds for: community medical appliances and medical research; drop-in centres for the elderly, meals on wheels, transportation and related services for veterans, their dependants and the aged; donations for relief of disasters; housing for ex-service personnel, the elderly and disabled; and assistance to ex-service personnel and dependants of Commonwealth countries residing outside Canada.
Thank You
I’m a little girl, I’m only Ten,
So I really can’t remember when,
Our soldiers were off to fight the war,
And our world was changed forever more.
So I look at my poppy with petals so red,
And try to think of the injured and dead.
Whether his name was Tom, Jim or Frank,
All of these Soldiers I’d like to thank.
You gave this land that’s peaceful and free,
To like and play in, to swim in and ski.
We can share our ideas. We don’t have to agree.
I don’t have to worry. I’m allowed to be me.
I have never met you. I never will.
But the gift you gave me, is with me still.
So thank you, thank you for your gift of love.
May we meet someday in the land above.
Carlyn McCulloch
In 1998, Carlyn’s poem was the winner in the junior category of the Royal Canadian Legion’s national literary and poster contest. She lives in Rosetown, Sask.
Dear TEAM: Do you have any spelt and kamut yeast bread recipes or any recipes at all using these flours? They are new to me as I cannot now digest regular wheat flour. – B.B., Swift Current, Sask.
Dear B.B.: Spelt and kamut are ancient grains that are being grown today. They are closely related to rye and wheat.
If your body cannot digest regular wheat flour because of its gluten, then you won’t be able to digest spelt and kamut.
The Canadian Celiac Association says these flours must be avoided. Contact it at 5170 Dixie Road, Suite 204, Mississauga, Ont., L4W 1E3, phone 800-363-7296 or www.celiac.ca.
Gluten is a protein in some grains that becomes elastic in bread dough, allowing it to stretch and hold in gas bubbles.
Only wheat and rye flours have the gluten necessary to make leavened bread. Other flours can be used in combination with wheat and rye flours, adding different tastes.
For general baking, many flours can be substituted for one another or used in combination.
- Spelt flour is closely related to wheat and rye. The kernel has a tight, strong hull, which protects the grain from all types of pollutants and insects. It wasn’t grown for a long time because of its lower yield in comparison to other wheats and because of the need to dehull the grain before milling.
With experimentation, spelt can be substituted in any recipe for wheat flour. Begin by using one-quarter less liquid than called for, or a quarter more flour. Because it is low in gluten, it needs to be used with higher gluten flours for bread making.
- Kamut comes from the Greek word for wheat. Because it is a relative of durum wheat, it makes delicious pasta. It has a buttery flavor and can be milled for flour, flaked for cereal or cooked as a whole grain.
- Barley flour is milled from a grain that dates back to the Stone Age. It has a slightly sweet taste, a soft texture and a low gluten content.
- Amaranth flour was a staple of the Aztec people. It has a nutty, slightly spicy flavor. It is high in protein but low in gluten.
- Millet flour adds a pleasantly gritty texture. It is low in gluten.
- Oat flour is made from oats that have been ground into powder. It is low in gluten but high in protein.
- Potato flour is milled from the whole potato. It is used in small quantities in bread making to lighten the texture of heavy loaves.
- Rice flour is milled from white or brown rice. White rice has the husk, germ and bran removed; brown rice includes the bran. It has a bland and grainy texture. It is best used with another flour such as potato or corn.
- Soy flour is available as regular or defatted. It has a distinctive nutty and slightly bitter flavor so is best used with other flours.
- Buckwheat flour is made from the seeds of a cereal grass. It has a pungent, earthy flavor. In gluten-free diets, be careful it does not contain wheat.
- Corn flour is milled from the whole kernel of corn. It is light and adds a sweet flavor.
- Quinoa flour is not from a cereal but the fruit of a plant. It has a nutty flavor and is high in protein but has no gluten.
- Other flours can be made from legumes, such as peas, lentils and beans, or root starches, such as tapioca.
