GMO 101 -Sugar, Salt and Science Fiction

16 August 2010, by gj

If this is your first GMO 101 class, welcome!
This is simply my attempt to cut through the overwhelming amount of info on the subject, much of which is at least a little shock-based; to better understand this topic for myself, and anyone who wants to join me.

Hello everyone! Let’s start this week with a quiz; just kidding…Let’s start with a review.
So far we have learned:
1. Genetically Modified Organisms are not natural; for example, nature would not cross a tomato with a fish
2. GMO’s will not revert back to their original state; as my FB friend Chuck Baugh put it: they can’t revert back any more than your kids can become you (thank heaven for that!).
3. GMO’s have not been kept contained, and have found their way into nature; and they are cross breeding.
4. GMO’s are not just plants, as exampled by the case of the dubbed ‘Frankenfish’ GM salmon.
5. It is unclear if GMO’s are harmful or not; the debate continues; though most people would agree that the heavy use of pesticides on crops is clearly harmful.
6. GMO’s are in most of your food (if you live in the USA)

Does this last one surprise you? How can you be eating GMO’s without knowing it?

A number of years ago I started getting unexplained and nasty headaches. As it turns out, I was allergic to aspartame (name brand NutraSweet). Even a 4 oz. cup of juice containing this sweetener substitute would give me one heck of a headache.
For a while I avoided anything ‘sugar free’ until they started to label products with this in it.
I am also severely allergic to sulfites, found naturally in wine. Even in homemade wine and organic wine. I know, right?
Surprisingly to me, they are also found in some of the mixed bottled drinks and beer coolers. I know because I read the labels. That saved me a lot of grief!
Thank goodness we have the foresight in this country to try to prevent harming consumers.
So…why not label food containing GMO’s? Why is there actually a fight against such labeling?
It turns out it is more complicated than you might think.

This week’s reading assignments will help you understand more and get you ready for our next class:
To get some basic info.
Read this.
On labeling:
AgBio Forum This is a bit dry,get through what you can. Always look at the conclusion statements.
AgBio Forum again. Kind of lengthy and a tad technical but worth reading for the somewhat surprising statistics

Biotamax A natural way to enhance your veggies from my FB friend Chuck Baugh (who not only has helped me understand this topic better, but also came up with today’s great title)
~this is the stuff that saved my Philodendron from getting tossed Thanks Chuck!

Categories: GMO's, you are what you eat

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Onions Onions Everywhere (and not a tear to drop)

15 August 2010, by gj

So I’ve admitted I’m a gardening maniac and, like any obsession, there is always a price to pay.
I’m not quite sure how I ended up planting 600 onions (I must have been on a planting euphoria that prevented memory retention) but that is what happened.
And it was a very good year.
I’ve already written a bit on what to do with onions, and have a few jars of dehydrated and a few bags frozen.
But it was time to bring in the rest of the crop, and time to deal with it.

Until this year I didn’t know you could can onions (it must have been on a Need-To-Know basis, and I didn’t need)…I always just froze, dried and kept fresh in the fridge.
This year, there’s just not enough room.

So I looked in my handy Ball Book of Home Preserving (25th. anniversary edition by the way… just saying) and found two nifty recipes.
Yes, I did just intentionally use the word ‘nifty’.

Honeyed Red Onions and Vinegared Red Onions. One Pressure Canned, the other Steam/Water Bath Canned.
I did mix white and red, I couldn’t help myself.

Canned Onions-kewl. (Yes, this must be lame expression time…I’ve been spending too much time with Mandolin).

I have contacted the Ball Home Preserving Company asking them if I could share these recipes with you.
I am still awaiting permission. In the meantime, get one of their books. You’ll be glad you did. They are full of kewl and nifty recipes.

So this is how I spent most of today…

more on onions
our recipe box

Did I mention I still have Leeks in the garden?

Categories: ok - so now what?, onions, you grew it - you eat it

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Some Like it Hotter

14 August 2010, by gj

I’ve been asked for our Salsa recipe, which until today did not exist.
I did make a batch and jotted down what we used; but I must admit every batch is a little different.
Use this more as a guideline and adjust to fit your own tastes.

Mandolin and I think the best ‘hot’ foods have a combination of heat levels – from start, to that little slap in the back of the head; so we use a combination of peppers that include jalapeno, cayenne, cherry and more…even an occasional habanera.

MIXED PEPPER SALSA

4 cup tomatoes, cored and quartered
2 cup chopped green peppers
4 cup chopped mixed hot peppers
2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. cumin
2 Tbs. cilantro
1 tsp. black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Tomato paste (optional)

Combine all ingredients. Be careful chopping those hot peppers! Simmer until thick.
Because I like to keep my salsa somewhat crunchy, but mostly because I have little patience, I cheat and use some tomato paste to thicken. It saves hours and works wonderfully.
Fill hot canning jars to within ¼ inch from the jar top. Process in a water bath canner 15 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts.

I have been seeing a lot of pictures online lately of home canned foods. I think its great that more people are preserving their homegrown vegs!
Just be careful to follow the headspace and processing times correctly. For safety’s sake, this is really important!
Enjoy!
(PS Its gets hotter the longer it sits….bring it!)
Our Recipe Box
Grow Better Peppers

Categories: hot peppers, ok - so now what?, tomatoes, you grew it - you eat it

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I Know You Can Can (Yes You Can Can)

11 August 2010, by gj

Home canning in a water bath or steam canner is a fairly simple process. Home canned foods stay good for up to two years, and help free up some of the freezer space for other garden bounty. Home canned goods make delightful and thoughtful gifts, too.

The Basics
The two types of natural preservatives that can keep food safe using this method are acid and sugar.
Sugar is obvious in home canned jams, jellies and syrups. Acid is the mainstay in pickles, relishes and tomatoes.
All other types of home canned goods, such as plain vegetables in water, need to be pressure canned. This will be another blog.

The Tools
1. glass jars and lids specifically for canning, such as Ball Canning Jars
2. a Water bath or steam canner
3. additional small tools, such as a funnel, spatula, and jar lifter can make the job easier but are not required.

The Recipes
It is important to stick closely to a recipe, especially if you are a beginner. The Ball Book of Home Preserving has a wonderful selection. There are also recipes on their website.

I have been canning a long time and no longer use recipes for salsa, BBQ sauce and a few others I make yearly. But I know that I must keep a high acidity level to my sauces in order for them to remain safe to eat.
For example, Tomatoes are naturally acidic. If I’m adding to a tomato recipe, such as in making salsa, I compensate for the additional ingredients (peppers, onions) that lower that acidity level by adding some vinegar.

Important points to remember
The most important thing about canning is to keep everything clean and hot.
Wash your vegetables and tools. Boil the lids and lid rings in water. Sanitize your jars either by placing in the water bath canner or steamer, or, if you are using a lot of jars, sanitize in your dishwasher.

Leave sufficient headspace in the jar, usually ¼ inch (see recipe). This headspace is measured from the very top of the jar.

Process according to the recipe. Different items and different size jars (pint, quart) require appropriate processing times.

Resist the temptation to press down on the lids to help them seal. Let them seal naturally.

If a jar does not seal (you will see the lid did not become sucked down in the middle) refrigerate after the jar is cool and use within a few days.
Once the jars have sealed, you can remove the outer rings and store. Be sure to label with a date.

I have to say that one of my favorite gardening sounds is that of canning jar lids sealing (tink-tink-tink).

How to can video tutorial, recipes

To make the Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette, I did a take-off on a recipe from the website. I made the vinegar using this recipe. Then dissolved an equal amount of sugar into the strained vinegar. I brought it to a boil, filled jars and processed 15 minutes.

Yes We Can Can – the Pointer Sisters

Categories: berries, ok - so now what?, you grew it - you eat it

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GMO 101 -Vote With Your Fork

9 August 2010, by gj

NOTE 8/10/10: I have since learned that, unlike heirloom plants, GMO’s don’t revert back to the original genes, so that is very good news (sorry, my misunderstanding).
That point made, it still is important to find out what long term effects GMO’s may have on humans before introducing them into our food (at least, it would have been nice!) and what possible efects there may be on them entering the rest of the ‘wild’. Here’s the orginal post:

Hello Class~

I hope you are all well. I thought all week about what information on GMO’s I should share with you next. I had decided it would be how to get foods containing Genetically Modified Organisms labeled, so we can know what we are eating.

Then two articles came to my attention that I thought you should know about right away.

The first is what’s being called “frankenfish”.
It is a salmon that has been genetically modified to grow twice as fast as normal.
Because it is being grown in captivity, there are no known predators
-meaning: if it did get out, nobody knows if its population would be kept under control by other fish, or if it would just breed with abandon.

They also don’t know what would happen if the gene reverts back.
I know I don’t particularly want to age twice as fast. >See Note Above

The company that is breeding this fish and waiting for approval to market it says that there are:

1. No harmful affects from consuming the fish

Didn’t they say that about Bovine Growth Hormone – the hormone they fed milk cows to get more milk; that now has been linked to breast cancer?
(See picture of my new milk choice above.)

2. The fish will never escape into the wild.

Seriously, in this day of the gulf oil spill, how can anyone believe any company that says “never”? In fact, my son sent me an article today that reports how canola plants with not just one genetically engineered gene were found along the roadside. Not just one.

To summarize:
- GMO”S can and do get out into the wild.
- Grains that cannot be killed with insecticides are out in the wild, and cross breeding.
- Fish that have no known predators could get out into the wild, too.

As much as I am aggravated and would love to vent, I am trying to simplify the information (not make it worse).There’s plenty out there to be overwhelmed by!

For now, grow what you can, try to shop organic and use the list link below for more info.
I’m going to end this blog with links to the articles I mentioned-
That is your class reading assignment for this week.

FrankenFish
Amber Waves of Grain
Bovine Growth Hormone

Non-GMO food list (thanks Hollie!)

Categories: GMO's, you are what you eat

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July 26-August 8th.

8 August 2010, by gj

The heat has abated some but temperatures remain in the 80′s with little rain.
Watering the garden is starting to take its toll on the plants (they want RAIN DARNIT!)

I’ve planted my fall garden:
~turnips, white radish, beets, parsnips and rutabagas where the onions used to be.
~added mushroom soil to the now empty garlic bed and planted lettuce and asian cabbage.
~threw caution to the wind, and a handful of cabbage seeds too; to see if I could recreate a garden from 25 years ago.
~planted spinach and kale where I had harvested the broccoli, now almost done
~planted white peas using upside down tomato cages to trellis
~took a chance and planted a few heirloom zucchini seeds
~planted some short season wax beans

Found baby butternut squash and more cantaloupe, watermelon, zucchini and spaghetti squash

Harvested the first batch of green beans

Held back the dry bean onslaught using a discarded bed footboard

Started the canning – homemade jalapeno salsa and spiced red cabbage so far (recipes to follow).
This little guy and two of his friends popped up, coincidentally, right around my birthday.

cabbage and caution to the wind

Categories: jonesen', summer

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It Takes Two to Mango

8 August 2010, by gj

Actually I am talking squash today, specifically pumpkin; but I couldn’t resist the play on words.

With the drop in the bee population over the last few years, it may be necessary to hand pollinate veggies like squashes to insure a good harvest.
It’s simple enough to do, though I admit I felt a little weird my first time.

Each plant has male and female flowers; it’s easy to tell the difference.
The females are the ones that have little tiny fruit on them.

You need to get some of the pollen from the male to the female. Using a cotton swab (Q-Tip) roll it around inside the male flower – you will see the yellow pollen on the swab.
Then, roll that around inside the female flower, around the center.

That’s it. Soon you’ll be the proud parent of a squash. I know this year we will have at least one pumpkin by Halloween.

Note that squash flowers open early in the morning, so be sure to get to them in time.
More Garden tips.

Happy Gardening!
~GJ

Categories: gardening

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Stuffed Zucchini

7 August 2010, by gj

This is an heirloom zucchini from Italy, called Costata Romanesco. It doesn’t produce nearly as much, but the flavor is outstanding.
This is our favorite way to enjoy it.

½ medium onion
1 Tablespoon fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
1 egg
½ cup cottage cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup ricotta cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese

Chop onion, basil and garlic. Add everything else except the Parmesan cheese, mix, refrigerate.
Wash your squash. Remove ends and slice in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and membrane. Save your seeds for next year and for friends!
If grilling, place face down on a hot grill for no more than 10 minutes, remove, let cool enough to touch.
Fill the middle of the squash with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Grill until done, about ½ hour on a moderate grill.

If using a conventional oven, simply stuff the squash and place in a cake pan and cover with foil. Bake at about 350 degrees until done, about 30-45 minutes or so.

If anyone wants some seeds, email me or leave a message in the comments below (that gives me your email address) and I will give you my mailing address.
Then, just send me a SASE and I’ll put a few seeds in for you.
(Or I will let you know that the seeds ran out for this year.)
This is good as long as I continue to get zucchini.
Our Recipe Box

Categories: you grew it - you eat it, zucchini

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The Evolution of GJ

6 August 2010, by gj

When we first moved into the house we now live in, there was nothing in the yard but a dead rose bush, some wild raspberries, and grass.
Perfect – tabla rasa (me and the yard).
I put in a small vegetable garden, modest by comparison to the one I have now, and started planting flowers.

Yes, that’s right, I planted flowers.

Like my father, great uncle and grandfather before me; in fact I have phlox from my great uncle’s garden.

Over time the vegetable garden got bigger and the flowers beds got overgrown.

These days I can easily name this flower:

and this one:

and even this one:

but I have no idea what this is called
(though it is lovely and gets bigger every year)

The only reason it doesn’t get weed-whacked is because I had the foresight to put a marker there to remind me that I planted it intentionally.

This is the yarrow, trying to stay alive amidst the phlox that was planted quite a distance away

Now I realize flowers are beautiful and can feed the soul. Like this one:

I can’t take credit for that, though. SaveTheWorld planted it this past spring – My bulbs are still in the box they came in.

So what happened? Why did my gardening leanings shift?
Certainly, food for the soul is every bit as important as food to eat.

I thought for a while that perhaps I needed a good reason to justify the money I spent on gardening. If I produced food, it would balance out.
That may have been somewhat true when our budget was tighter, not so much now.

So why do I continue on the vegetable garden path (excuse the unintended pun)… in fact expanding to the point where harvesting requires at least two people and a weekend to accomplish?
It isn’t the money anymore.

I think I’ve simply found my food for the body and my food for the soul in the same flower:

Categories: keeping up with the joneses

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Colourful Cole Slaw

4 August 2010, by gj

Slaw:
1 small ‘red’ or ‘blue’ cabbage
1 small green cabbage
1-2 carrots
1 small fennel bulb

Chop or slice all ingredients. Add dressing.
I will admit here that we do like “Marie’s” cole slaw dressing, and usually use that.
If you want to try homemade, here is our restaurant’s recipe:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup vinegar
salt to taste

Blend all. If you are prepping ahead of time, make the slaw a bit dry – it gets creamier as the salt pulls moisture from the cabbage.

Also note, the ‘red’ cabbage will turn the dressing a little pink over time. If you don’t like that, just use all green.

Our Recipe Box

Categories: cabbage, vegetarian, you grew it - you eat it

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