Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
I haven’t succeeded in making ‘the *perfect* pancake’ quite yet, but I got
darned close to it today. These were really good. Really, really good.
Next time, I’ll substitute a whole-grain gluten free flour mix for the rice
flour and then decide which one is better. But for people who can eat
wheat, I think whole wheat flour would be best of all.
Cheers,
Pat
VERY GOOD WHOLE-GRAIN PANCAKES (WITH GLUTEN FREE VARIATION)
Pat Meadows’ Recipe for Whole Grain Pancakes - Can be gluten free
This recipe isn’t perfect (IMHO), but it’s close, very close. It makes
enough for two people; anyway, it does in our house.
Mix dries:
1/3 cup whole grain (dark) buckwheat flour (such as that sold by Hodgson
Mill)
1/3 cup whole grain yellow cornmeal (again, as sold by Hodgson Mill)
1/3 cup brown rice flour *or* 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using whole wheat flour)
Mix wets:
1 TBS oil
1 egg
1 2/3 cup buttermilk
Mix wets and dries together. Let batter sit for about five to ten minutes.
Then cook on a non-stick griddle or frying pan that has been sprayed with
Pam or similar cooking spray. Turn them over when the edges look cooked.
They take a bit longer than wheat-based pancakes, and tend not to have the
bubbles on top.
Next time, I’ll try replacing the brown rice flour with 1/3 cup of Carrie’s
Flour Mix (1 part millet flour, 1 part sorghum flour, 1 part brown rice
flour).
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/healthycheapcooking/
=== Google Web Alert for: ‘Make Do And Mend’ ===
Make-do-and-mend boosts Timpson - Business - News - Manchester ...
HIGH street chain Timpson today announced record revenues for its shoe and
watch repair operations, as consumers `make do and mend’ during the
economic ...
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1079989_makedoandmend_boosts_timpson
http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi
The Classroom @ The Coop is designed to allow poultry enthusiasts to interact and share knowledge and information.
Have a Question? Ask it! Know something? Share it!
[Thousands of poultry posts]
The only home remedy I know: removing splinters
Printed from: MaryJanesFarm Farmgirl Connection
Topic URL: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1211
Printed on: Dec 07 2008
Topic:
Topic author: ivmeer
Subject: The only home remedy I know: removing splinters
Posted on: Jul 19 2005 08:04:17 AM
Message:
I don’t know where this came from, but the school nurse taught me this when I had a particularly nasty splinter in my finger when I was in the second grade.
Take a potato and peel it past the peel, so you have a white potato peeling. Put the peeling on the splinter and put a band-aid over it. Leave it for a few hours. When you take the band aid off, give the splinter a squeeze and it should pop right out.
Works like a charm.
Replies:
Reply author: Alee
Replied on: Jul 19 2005 08:16:45 AM
Message:
Thanks for the suggestion! I shall have to try that next time!
Ciao
Alee
Reply author: Kim
Replied on: Jul 19 2005 4:20:35 PM
Message:
Scotch tape works wonders too for those little bitty ones
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow
Reply author: WisGal35
Replied on: Aug 15 2005 4:29:19 PM
Message:
These are great ideas. I’ll be sure to try. We get all sorts of hay splinters.
My dad & my grandpa used to do nightly splinter checks on all the kids after a day at the lake at grandpa’s lake house. Any splinters were promptly operated on with pocketknives!
Reply author: Aunt Jenny
Replied on: Aug 15 2005 4:47:06 PM
Message:
I have used elmers glue on hay splinters too...just a thin coat..let it dry and rip it off and the splinters come with it.
I will have to try to potato one too..never heard that one before..I wonder what the potato peeling does? Interesting!! I have got some that wern’t really deep out by scraping across them with a credit card too...but I seem to get the dreaded hay splinters most of all!!
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn’t things
Reply author: cecelia
Replied on: Aug 25 2005 4:51:11 PM
Message:
I think the potato works because potatoes are sort of “wet” - it probably puffs up your finger so the splinter works itself out, sort of like soaking it.
Cecelia
ce’s farm
“Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery” Victor Hugo
Reply author: farmgirlkate
Replied on: Jun 01 2008 6:47:41 PM
Message:
one of the tricks I learned (the hard way) out in west texas was good ol elmers school glue. when I got in cactus or got splinters from the barn, I would smear the area with a nice thick slather of elmers and let it dry. later I would pick at it and peel the ‘skin’ off (anyone do that in kindergarten?)-it took the splinters and cactus thorns with it.
Also I had one of my friends that works with glass use this and she said it took all the tiny glass splinters out the first time. Sometimes all you really needed to know about life does come from kindergarten!
“You only have what you give...””
Reply author: electricdunce
Replied on: Jun 02 2008 07:38:14 AM
Message:
My son had a splinter that got infected when he was around three. He refused to soak it, let the doctor touch it, etc. I just happened to read an article in Smithsonian magazine that told of all the medicinal uses the Chinese have for honey. It is good for burns too, well I wrapped up that finger with a gauze pad with a big dollop of honey and sure enough, the next morning the infection was gone and the splinter came out easily. I never heard the potato one, and I live in Maine! Someone has been hiding these special techniques. Both my parents were artists, and I can remember cleaning the surface of old dirty oil paintings with potato slices. Another useless bit of information, that is my specialty.
Karin
Farmgirl Sister #153
“Give me shelter from the storm” - Bob Dylan
http://moodranch.blogspot.com
http://domesticnonsense.etsy.com
Reply author: AuntPammy
Replied on: Jun 02 2008 07:54:35 AM
Message:
My mom use to put a piece of fatty bacon on the splintered area and wrap with a cloth, leave on overnite and just like magic the splinters would have made their way out. Sounds weird I know, but it would work.
Let’s dance in the rain and play in the puddles under the rainbows.
Reply author: Alee
Replied on: Jun 02 2008 08:06:29 AM
Message:
Okay Karin- you have me intrigued...what does a potato do for oil paintings?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Reply author: Miss Bee Haven
Replied on: Jun 02 2008 08:20:30 AM
Message:
Yes, Karin - do you wipe it with a cloth afterward, or just wipe it with a potato slice?
Farmgirl Sister #50
“If you think you’ve got it nailed down, then what’s all that around it?”
‘Br.Dave Gardner’
Reply author: mommom
Replied on: Jun 03 2008 3:06:11 PM
Message:
My dad always put iodine on our splinters and before we knew it the splinter had come out of our skin far enough to be pulled out with tweezers. Still works today for all of us here! Susan
Reply author: Shi-anne
Replied on: Jun 23 2008 2:31:04 PM
Message:
I think what the potato does for the splinter, is pull it toward the surface as the potato skin begins to dry. When we were little, that is what mom used for pinkeye. Grate a potato and make a little patch with gauze and place over the infected eye for a few hours. As the potato dried it would also pull the infection out.
Farmgirls don’t have hot flashes ~ They have power surges!
Reply author: JessieMae
Replied on: Dec 03 2008 11:42:50 AM
Message:
I’ve heard that the same remedy works when you burn your finger in the kitchen, too. I’ve heard the potato “draws out” the burn. It’ll still sting but won’t blister.
Reply author: country lawyer
Replied on: Dec 04 2008 07:57:14 AM
Message:
I wish I had seen this last week. My daughter had an itty-bitty splinter that I had such a hard time getting out. It was painful for both of us. I’ll remember the potato remedy and the glue too! Much better than the old needle method I used.
MaryJanesFarm Farmgirl Connection : http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/
© 2000-04 Snitz Communications
Make Do Tools
Printed from: MaryJanesFarm Farmgirl Connection
Topic URL: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1446
Printed on: Dec 07 2008
Topic:
Topic author: TwoWildflowers
Subject: Make Do Tools
Posted on: Aug 06 2005 12:31:19 PM
Message:
How many of us have quick fix tools we “made do” all the time?
I have a couple I use often, maybe you have some that we could all appreciate learning about.
Here are 2 I use lots.
1. Those reading glasses that have no arms anymore. Tuck a pair into your junk drawer in the kitchen when you’re cooking. They help you set the oven or read a recipe and you don’t have to wear glasses that steam up all the time! That second broken pair, put in your car glove box, great for map reading in a hurry.
2. Need a funnel in a hurry to fill something that is dry? Take an empty envelope you were going to throw away, cut an angel off one corner about 3 inches deep. Then snip off the point, and voila when you open the wide top end you have a funnel. If you don’t need a funnel, don’t snip the point and use it as a bookmark to slip over a page corner in a book.
Friends are my flowers in the garden of life
Replies:
Reply author: lirene
Replied on: Aug 26 2005 11:08:54 PM
Message:
My tip is about how to use all those little slivers of soap that are ‘too good to toss’, but too small to use.
Put a handful of them into a plastic mesh bag like the ones supermarkets sell garlic in. Tuck the ends inside and then put a rubber band around the middle to keep the soap from squirming out.
Voila! A useful hand-scrubber to keep wherever you need it: in the laundry room, next to a faucet in the garden...
The plastic mesh scrubs your hands clean while it keeps the soap bits under control.
Trillium Woods
Latitude 46.905, Longitude -122.316
Reply author: realme52
Replied on: Aug 27 2005 09:17:43 AM
Message:
What great idea to bring this up! I love tips like that.
I use dull kitchen knives for all kind of purposes in the garden. They loosen the dirt around plants, dig whole to plant seedlings, pry up root clumps of weeds. They also make plant markers when you write on the handle with one of those metal-marking paint pens.
I recently started to keep plastic jugs (as in laundry detergent, gallon jug from milk, etc.) I used the idea in MJ’s book to make a protable container filled with water to carry around when cutting flowers. Works great. I made a smaller one (quart size plastic jug) for when I gather herbs.
A great “tool” for me are bamboo skewers. You buy a big bunch of them for 90cents or so. They make great stakes for smll plants (seedlings), they also are nice “tillers” for very small areas. When my chickens were still roaming freely, I stuck skewers pointed end up around plants I wanted the chickens to stay away from (they were a pretty reckless bunch and respected nothing, but the skewers kept them away.
From this hour on I ordain myself loss’d of limits and immaginary lines. Walt Whitman
Reply author: Libbie
Replied on: Mar 08 2006 3:39:48 PM
Message:
Spring might just be the time to revive this topic! I was reading through, and these are some great ideas! I tie cheesecloth around lemon halves when I serve them with fish, etc. so you can squeeze the lemon and get the juice, not the seeds.
I also use an old serving fork with tines bent at a 90-degree angle down to “rake in” new soil and fertilizer to houseplants and other potted plants.
What does everyone else “make-do” with?
XOXO, Libbie
“Nothing is worth more than this day.” - Goethe
Reply author: CabinCreek-Kentucky
Replied on: Mar 08 2006 7:27:48 PM
Message:
hank and i both love those international coffees that come in cans .. and we end up with LOTS of cans .. hate to toss them .. soooo .. i’ve poked holes in the bottom (for drainage) to start ‘seeds’ in .. and i’ve filled them with NAILS .. then i glue or tape a nail to the top of the plastic cover .. shows me what size nails are in the tin. those little tins are great for keeping all kinds of doo-dads in. just put a lable on the plastic top.
True Friends, Frannie
Reply author: blueroses
Replied on: Mar 09 2006 10:52:11 AM
Message:
I save the gallon jugs from vinegar, etc. to use for homemade laundry detergent and cleaners. I save the big used coffee cans from work to use for storing grains, seeds, and beans in ( I leave them in the packaging they came in but keep on shelves in garage). Wish I had a root cellar.
“You cannot find peace...by avoiding life.”
Virginia Woolfe
Reply author: realme52
Replied on: Mar 09 2006 4:29:39 PM
Message:
I use bamboo skewers, too, for different purposes. But my favorite use is to stick them -pointy end up- around my flowers and decorative plants to keep the chickens from sitting down there too comfortably.
I save gallon jugs, too. I fill them with water and put them next to newly planted broccoli, early planted tomatoes, and other plants,which can use protection from temperature changes. The water in the jugs warms up from the sunlight during the day, and then gives off warmth during the cooler nights. Voila’! Your micro-greenhouse effect!
From this hour I ordain myself loss’d of limits and immaginary lines. Walt Whitman
Reply author: rabbithorns
Replied on: Apr 07 2006 9:19:37 PM
Message:
I also inserted skewers into flower beds, but to keep the neighborhood cats from using them as a cat box. That and a layer of ground white pepper for when they scratched! It worked....Oh, and it also works against javelinas who root up young plants. They look like small wild pigs but are actually crazy-looking rodents.
Reply author: Duchess
Replied on: May 19 2006 06:01:29 AM
Message:
I save all our pill bottles and use them for seeds I collect. Also good for pins in my sewing box. I saved old spice jars with screw off tops and put the holders for corn in them. I save the bags the garlic and onions come in and use them to scrup pots with and also put one under sink to put sponges,etc in so they can dry and be accessible. I save interesting jars and put beans, rice etc in them. Also love thrift shops for all kinds of things that I would like but won’t pay full price for.
Reply author: owwlady
Replied on: May 19 2006 08:02:00 AM
Message:
Save your gal size laundry bottles, rinse out thouroughly, drill holes in the cap and you have a watering can.
Reply author: Libbie
Replied on: Mar 26 2007 11:04:31 PM
Message:
Reviving the topic for yet another spring! I just can’t wait to dig out all of my garden tools and implements. For now, it’s been limited to a shovel and rake... but one of my best make-do tools as of late is a piece of baling twine - I use it every day - for a million things, but the neatest, in my opinion, use for the stuff is cutting other baling twine off of bales of straw or hay. You just slip a little piece of twine under a wrap of it that’s still on the bale, hold on to both ends of the little piece and push/pull it under the twine still on the bale while pulling up, and VOILA! It’s cut!!! Very handy when you forget your pocket knife!
XOXO, Libbie
“All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar...” - Helen Hayes
MaryJanesFarm Farmgirl Connection : http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/
© 2000-04 Snitz Communications
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26823
Okay, here they are:
Spiced Mocha Coffee
1/3 cup instant coffee
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. dried orange peel
fits into a pint jar, but I made three batches, and had one pint jar and three 1/2 pint jars
include this for instruction: 1 T. coffee mix, 6 ounces boiling water. Pour water over mix in your favorite mug. Garnish with shaved chocolate, cinnamon, or even whipped cream.
Turkey Noodle Soup - use quart jar
1 cup (8 ounces) uncooked fine egg noodles (8 ounces for me was 1/2 bag)
1 1/2 T. chicken boullion
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried thyme (whole)
1/8 tsp. celery seeds
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf, tucked into the jar last
Recipe:
I jar turkey noodle soup mix
8 cup water
2 carrots, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh onion, chopped fine
3 cup cooked, diced turkey meat
Combine all ingredients in a stockpot, except turkey and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add turkey. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
Potato Soup - use quart jar
1 3/4 cups instant mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups dry milk
2 T. instant chicken boullion
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme powdered
1/8 tsp. tumeric
1 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
Place 1/2 cup mix in a bowl. Add i cup boiling water, and stir until smooth.
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
I used mostly quart jars. A friend of mine who uses a lot of classico spaghetti sauce saves the jars for me and I buy canning lids. For the coffee mix, I used pint and 1/2 pint jars. I saw another really good one in the paper today. It sounds much more “gourmet” and the ingredients may cost more, but it sounds good. Here it is:
Creamy Italian Chicken Mushroom Soup
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
1 T. dried minced onion
2 1/2 ounce packages dried porcini mushrooms, cut or broken into small pieces
1/4 cup dried red bell peppers (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
Combine all ingredients in a larg bowl. Mix well and pour into a large jar or a cellophane gift bag tied with a decorative bow.
To make soup:
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients with 3 1/4 cups chicken broth and 1 1/4 pounds of cooked boneless chicken breasts cut into small chunks. Bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Then let it stand off heat for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup sour cream and serve. serves 4
Farmgirl Sister # 31
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27251
My ungraciously titled “Boiled Cookies” calls for the following:
2 cups sugar
3 Tbs cocoa
1/2 cup water
1 stick butter—I usually use margarine
Mix and bring to a boil and boil one minute
ADD: 1 tsp vanilla and 3/4 cup peanut butter
MIX well, then stir in 4 cups quick oats.
Drop by spoon on waxed paper and cool.
We have never used anything but water as our liquid.
Hope this helps. I also have a recipe for Rice Krispie treats that are not made with marshmallow creme.
Betty in Pasco
2 C sugar
!stick margarine or butter
1/2 C milk
1/4 C cocoa
Boil all together for 1 min
Add: 3 C quick oatmeal
1 C coconut
1t vanilla
Mix together and spoon out onto wax paper on a cookie sheet and chill.
Each recipe is a little different but I bet they are all yummy.
Enjoy,
Becky
Anna, this recipe comes from the queen of these cookies, if there could be a queen of these cookies. She makes them all the time and they are SO yummy.
1 stick butter
1/2 cup evap, milk
2 cup sugar
2-3 cups quick oats
1-2 Table. peanut butter
6 level teas. cocoa
Combine first 3 ingre. Boil 1 minute, stirring occas. Mix in remaining ingred.Beat until thick. Drop by teaspoon on waxed peper. Let cool.
Good luck! Kris
Phyllis, I have a good english muffin bread recipe that I have been making for years and years...
English Muffin Loaves
5 1/2 to 6 cups all purpose flour (start with 3 cups, measure by spooning lightly into measuring cup)
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cornmeal (sprinkle into 2 greased 8 1/2 by 4 1/2” loaf pans, coating bottom and sides)
Combine 3 cups flour and other dry ingredients, including yeast in a large mixing bowl. Heat liquids until very warm (120 to 130 deg. F). Add to dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in enough more flour to make a stiff batter. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 deg. for 25 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack.
Here is a great recipe that we put in jars and give to the kids teachers and such, you don’t eat it but it is really YUMMY.
Sugar and spice body scrub
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
(canola, light olive oil,almond oil,sunflower oil,safflower or any combination of these)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
6 to 8 drops scented essential oil (clove or cinnamon)
1 one inch long peice of vanilla bean
Place sugar in mixing bowl and add in oil , essential oil and spices combine well place vanilla in bottom of wide mouth container and fill with sugar mixture.
To use: pick up the sugar and spice scrub with the tips of wet fingers or pour out about a tablespoon in the palm of your hand rub gently on your skin rinse with warm water then cool water, blot dry
This is awesome on dry hands!!
Mother to five awesome kids, wife of 17 years and milk maid to two beautiful cows. Living the good life!!!
While going thru my jar mix recipes I came across this one I had saved from a magazine ad. My friend actually gave me a jar mix last week for Chocolate Chip Scones. If I can get the recipe from her, I will post as well. Wasn’t that a coincidence?
Oatmeal-Chip Cookie Mix In A Jar
(makes about 2 dozen cookies)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels or butterscotch flavored
1 1/2 cups quick or old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts.
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Place flour mixture in 1-quart jar. Layer remaining ingredients in order listed above, pressing firmly after each layer. Seal with lid and decorate with fabric and ribbon.
Recipe to Attach:
Beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter, 1 large egg, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until blended. Add cookie mix; mix well, breaking up any clumps. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Here is a recipe for cream soup mix. It replaces the campbells cream of whatever that is soooo full of sodium. I keep it on hand all the time and have given it with the recipe to make more to a lot of friends.
Cream Soup Mix
2 cups instant dry Milk
3/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup low sodium chicken bullion granuals
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper
This makes 3 cups which = 9 cans of soup
To make soup, blend 1/3 cup mix and 1 1/4 cup water in a 1 qt sauce pan.
Bring to boil and boil and stir 3 minutes. At that time you can add cooked
celery, chicken, mushrooms asparagas, well you name it.
When I make cream of chicken soup, I use chicken stock instead of water.
If I am making brocc or asparagas soup, I use the water that I steamed
or boiled the vegetable in.
Each 1/3 cup of mix = 149 calories and 168 mg of sodium.
Here is a recipe for cream soup mix. It replaces the campbells cream of whatever that is soooo full of sodium. I keep it on hand all the time and have given it with the recipe to make more to a lot of friends.
Cream Soup Mix
2 cups instant dry Milk
3/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup low sodium chicken bullion granuals
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper
This makes 3 cups which = 9 cans of soup
To make soup, blend 1/3 cup mix and 1 1/4 cup water in a 1 qt sauce pan.
Bring to boil and boil and stir 3 minutes. At that time you can add cooked
celery, chicken, mushrooms asparagas, well you name it.
When I make cream of chicken soup, I use chicken stock instead of water.
If I am making brocc or asparagas soup, I use the water that I steamed
or boiled the vegetable in.
Each 1/3 cup of mix = 149 calories and 168 mg of sodium.
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26823&whichpage=3
TUBERCULOSIS, BOVINE - USA (05): (MINNESOTA)
********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
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[1]
Date: 3 Dec 2008
Source: Cattlenetwork [edited]
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Cow_Calf_Content.asp?ContentID=273539
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health today [3 Dec 2008] announced
that 3 mature cows sent to slaughter from a buyout herd in Beltrami
County tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB). The herd is
located in the state’s Modified Accredited Zone, within the
Management Zone. This finding will not result in a downgrade of
status for this area or the state.
The disease was initially detected during routine slaughter
surveillance, when a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
veterinarian detected suspicious lesions on 3 animals. Tissue samples
were submitted to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL)
in Ames, Iowa, where a diagnosis of bovine TB was confirmed. The cows
were systematically traced back to the herd using the Animal Movement
Certificate and individual identification. The remaining cattle in
the herd have been quarantined.
The Beltrami herd owner was participating in the state-funded herd
buyout program, along with 45 other producers located in the
Management Zone. The aim of the buyout program, authorized by
legislation signed into law this year [2008], is to eliminate herds
located in the area where the disease has been known to exist.
“This positive finding validates the entire buyout program,” said
Minnesota Bovine TB Coordinator Joe Martin. “We have found positive
herds in this area before, and we knew it might happen again,
especially in older animals such as these. By removing higher risk
cattle from the Management Zone and working to decrease the deer
population, we are carrying out our strategy of eradicating the
disease. And that’s good news for everyone involved.”
The Board of Animal Health has received 45 herd buyout contracts
signed by cattle producers in the bovine tuberculosis (TB) Management
Zone. The Board estimates that 6800 cattle will be removed from the
TB disease management area as a result of the buyout program. To
date, more than half the animals have been removed. All animals that
are part of the buyout must be removed from the zone or be
slaughtered by 31 Jan 2009. Producers taking part in the buyout
program will not be allowed to keep livestock in the Modified
Accredited Zone.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports testing
approximately 1250 deer this fall [2008] hunting season in the
northwest for the disease and did not detect any obvious cases of
bovine TB in the deer sampled. “While this is encouraging news,” said
Michelle Carstensen, DNR Wildlife Health Program Coordinator, “final
test results are pending and should be available in early 2009.”
While the total number of infected deer found since 2005 remains at
24 cases, DNR plans to continue management efforts this winter [2008]
to minimize the risks of this disease persisting in the local deer
population.
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
******
[2]
Date: 3 Dec 2008
Source: Associated Press [edited]
http://www.kttc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9453231&nav=menu1348_2_2
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says 3 cows from a herd inside
the state’s bovine tuberculosis management zone have tested positive
for the disease.
Officials say the cows were from a herd participating in the state’s
buyout program, which was implemented to remove cattle from the part
of the state where bovine TB has been found. The cows tested positive
at slaughter.
State veterinarian Dr. Bill Hartmann says the finding won’t change
Minnesota’s bovine TB status. Currently, the state has a split
status, with an area in northwestern Minnesota considered “modified
accredited” and the rest of the state upgraded to “modified
accredited advanced.” Hartmann says it’s possible for the area in
northwestern Minnesota to keep its status as long as it doesn’t go
over a limit on the number of herds testing positive for the disease
in a 2-year period.
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
[see also:
Tuberculosis, bovine - USA (04): (MN) status downgrade 20080408.1296
Tuberculosis, bovine - USA (03): (MN) 20080222.0718
Tuberculosis, bovine - USA (02): (MN) 20080205.0472
Tuberculosis, bovine - USA: (MN) 20080123.0285
2007
Urban agriculture as local initiative in Lusaka, Zambia
The topic of urban agriculture has, for a significant period of time, been recognized
as a key facet of urban survival in the cities in the South. While it normally forms
part of multilivelihood strategies and its overall significance is the subject of
some debate, it nonetheless is an important feature of both urban landscapes and
urban survival. This paper examines the current status quo of urban agriculture
in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
1943 - You Cannot Eat Lilies - Victory Garden Video
Perhaps the weirdest Victory Garden video ever.
1943 Dig For Victory Leaflet No 1
Dialogue from the video.
“In spring this gardener sowed away
He meant to eat well every day.”
Gardener: Waiter,
LA Times - Chickens, they keep their owners mesmerized and add one more element
to green living in urban surroundings.
In Mount Washington, furniture designer and artist Dakota Witzenburg built a chicken
coop for his wife, Audrey Diehl, for Christmas last year as part of their ongoing
effort to live green. When designing his coop, his priorities were keeping it easy
to clean and making sure his chickens were safe by sinking corrugated metal at least
6 inches below ground so that burrowing predators couldn’t get in. But he also considered
aesthetics.
PBS - Bill Moyers sits down with Michael Pollan - 5 acre White House garden - Urban
gardens in New York
BILL MOYERS: Are you suggesting that the president should rip up the South Lawn?
MICHAEL POLLAN: Not all of it. Not all of it.
BILL MOYERS: All right, say five acres.
MICHAEL POLLAN: Five acres. They’ve got 17 acres to play with. I don’t know exactly
how much. But I’m saying five acres. Put in a garden, organic garden. Hire a good
farmer to grow food there. I think that that would send a powerful message. You
know, this has happened before. Eleanor Roosevelt put a victory garden in, in the
White House in 1942.
CBS reports on The Urban Farm Movement
Mary Seton Corboy loves showing off what she grows:
“We grow eggplants, peppers, beets in the spring and all different kinds of greens.”
She showed us some fat figs. “You know that a fig is ready to go when it pulls away
very easily from the sun.”
And in the eggplant section - “This is a Sicililan eggplant,” she said.
1937 - Children Boxing in an Allotment Garden
2nd July 1937: Children in the allotments of the London Children’s Gardens Fund
at Clerkenwell take a break from gardening with their weekly bout of boxing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All stories and video here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001mGVvw0tG8Yu6UbNl3ZkJtM3ZJiIs3_JkONK0Pcf9NrI-nl5F867uWeZ6VnZm9VDxYOiC3E7701olUaXOJg8n0olvg44Ws-4ZoPuxsrKId1DsPdx-lFyg3w==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
Historical information self ping
I am going to post that as a separate thread. This is scary - we are becoming a police state much faster than I ever dreamed! Crazy!!!
[Shipped abroad, here?]
DIOXIN CONTAMINATION, PIG MEAT - IRELAND, EUROPE
************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1] Ireland
Date: Sat 6 Dec 2008
Source: Irish Times [edited]
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1206/breaking44.htm
All Irish pork products have been recalled tonight [6 Dec 2008]
because of fears that animal feed has been contaminated with harmful
toxins.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland made the announcement shortly
before 8 pm after pig meat on a number of farms was found to have had
between 80 and 200 times more dioxins that the recognized safety
limit.
The recall affects all products produced since 1 Sep 2008, and the
public have been advised to destroy all pork bought since that date.
The recall will have very severe repercussions for the State’s pork
industry, which is worth close to half a billion euros [USD 500
million] annually.
The announcement was made at a joint press briefing held by the FSAI
and the Departments of Health and Agriculture.
The contamination 1st came to light last Monday but was only
confirmed by Government officials today [6 Dec 2008].
Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said an “intensive investigation”
had been underway this week. He said 47 farms, including 38 beef
farms, had been restricted because they were identified as having
received possibly contaminated animal feed. There was only one feed
supplier involved, he said.
“Full prohibition of animal movement from these herds is in place.
We’ve outlined the actions that we’re taking on recall of pork and
bacon following the receipt of the laboratory results earlier this
evening. The issue of beef involvement is very different. Our
assessment on the basis of advice from the Food Safety Authority of
Ireland is that no further action at this stage other than what we
have done in prohibiting movement off the farms is required. Testing
is, however, taking place on a precautionary basis in line with our
overall approach to this problem.”
Earlier this week, restrictions were placed on a number of pig farms
after organic pollutants known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
which are linked to dioxins, were detected in pork fat during routine
monitoring.
Dioxins are complex organic compounds released into the atmosphere
from fires and other forms of combustion. They are naturally
occurring and accumulate in the fat of animal or in plant tissue.
They are mostly found in insignificant levels, but a small number are
highly toxic and can cause a range of ailments from cancer to skin
diseases and damage to the reproductive and immune systems.
Consumption of dioxins above safe levels over a lifetime may result
in an increased risk of cancer. The World Health Organisation and the
European Union’s Scientific Committee for Food have determined the
levels of exposure to dioxins which are safe. The pork tested this
week had up to 200 times more dioxins than is considered safe.
Rod Evans, a spokesman for the FSAI told Irishtimes.com that the
health risks were likely to be “very small” and said a short period
“of higher level exposure to the dioxins is unlikely to have any
health consequences.”
The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, said she and Ministers Smith,
Sargent and Wallace had spent the day in discussions with experts.
“I think we’ve acted in a timely fashion given that the confirmation
happened at 3.40 this afternoon [6 Dec 2008] from the laboratories in
York in the UK,” she said.
“From now on, those products will be withdrawn from the market
obviously here and internationally. We hope that non-contaminated
pork products can be very quickly back on the market ... provided
they operate to the highest possible standards as far as public
health is concerned.”
The president of the IFA Padraig Walshe said the recall was “an
absolute disaster” at an “important time of the year for the pig
sector.” Speaking on RTE television, he said he expected “perfectly
safe” pork from Irish producers to be on sale again by the middle of
next week.
Tonight’s [6 Dec 2008] recall involves retailers, the hospitality
sector and the Irish pig processing sector, and the FSAI advised
people “as a precautionary measure not to consume Irish pork and
bacon products at this time.”
The statement said investigations involving the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) and the FSAI were continuing
to determine the extent of the contamination and to identify the
processors and products involved. It said that updates about the
extent of the risk from human consumption would also be made
available.
In recent years, there have been a number of dioxin contamination
incidents of food worldwide. In 1998, dioxin-contaminated citrus pulp
from Brazil was used in feed for dairy animals in France and resulted
in contaminated milk. A year later in Belgium, dioxin-laden machine
oil contaminated animal feed, affecting poultry, eggs, red meat and
milk, which caused a major food crisis.
The pig farming industry is the 4th largest sector in Irish
agriculture, and some 400 pig farmers are operating in the sector.
[Byline: Conor Pope and Mary Minhan]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
******
[2] Europe ex Ireland
Date: Sun 7 Dec 2008
Source: AFP [edited]
http://www.google.com:80/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxbM5LQKLljqnPfx4CdsCOHL-A-A
Ireland launched an intensive investigation on Sunday [7 Dec 2008] to
establish the source of a toxic substance that forced the recall of
all Irish pork products, the country’s food authorities said.
The Irish government ordered the recall on Saturday [6 Dec 2008] of
all pig meat products made in the Republic of Ireland after dioxins
were discovered in slaughtered pigs thought to have eaten
contaminated feed. The recall included products sold in Ireland and
abroad.
Contaminated Irish pork was found in France and Belgium, but the Food
Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said the problem was restricted to
“Irish pig meat related to an Irish feedstuff.” The European
Commission said it was closely monitoring the situation.
The FSAI said it was almost certain that the source of the
contamination was oil which mistakenly found its way into pig feed
made at an Irish factory.
Dioxins are toxic chemicals that can have serious health effects,
including causing cancers, if there is long-term exposure to them at
high levels.
FSAI deputy chief executive Alan Reilly said dioxin levels found in
meat samples were “between 80 and 200 times” above the legal limit.
But he said the risk to public health was “very, very low. “You would
have to be eating products containing these chemicals for 40 years
before you would show any signs of illness.”
Rhodri Evans, FSAI chief toxicology specialist, told AFP that oil was
the most probable cause of the contamination and that it was
“possibly” diesel oil at a plant in Ireland that used recycled bread
and dough to make a pig feed. The feed plant supplied 9 pork
producers. “The profile of the dioxin we have seen would indicate it
is usually associated with some sort of oil contamination,” he said.
Ireland’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said the withdrawal
of all pork products from the market was “a precautionary public
health measure.”
The recall involves pork meat, bacon, pork sausages, sausage meat,
gammon steaks, offal from pigs, salami, ham, sausage rolls, black
pudding and white pudding. The products concerned were all made since
September 2008, because scientific evidence suggests the
contamination was recent.
Ireland is a major exporter of pork with products sent to Britain —
the main destination — and countries including Japan, Germany,
Russia, France and the United States.
Laboratory tests in Britain had confirmed the presence of dioxins in
both pig meat and pig feed samples. Evans said tests in France and
Belgium had also revealed contaminated Irish pork products. Both
countries had received products from a processing plant in the
Netherlands where sides of pork from Ireland were boned and processed
before being shipped on. “The initial detection was by the French
authorities at import control. They did routine testing and saw a
result,” Evans said. “When they saw the result, they went back to the
Netherlands processor and asked what’s happening, where did this come
from?” Evans said the problem only involved “Irish pig meat related
to an Irish feedstuff.”
The crisis is another blow to recession-hit Ireland, with the
agriculture ministry saying about 5000 people work in the pig meat
industry, which is worth about 400 million euros [USD 500 million] a
year.
Ireland’s Europe Minister Dick Roche said the contamination was “a
shock to the system” for Irish agriculture.
The European Commission said in a statement it was “closely following
up this contamination incident and the actions taken to withdraw any
potentially contaminated pork meat and pork meat products from the
market.”
EU food safety experts were to discuss the incident by telephone on
Sunday [7 Dec 2008], and experts from countries that may have
received contaminated shipments would meet on Tuesday, said
commission spokesman Pietro Petrucci.
—
Communicated by:
Sabine Zentis
Castleview Pedigree English Longhorns
Gut Laach 52385 Nideggen, Germany
CVLonghorns@aol.com
[Mod.TG recently wrote: “Although there seems to be no doubt in the
lay press about dioxin’s status as a carcinogen, there seems to be
some controversy in the toxicology literature (Bertazzi PA, Bernucci
I, Brambilla G, Consonni D, Pesatori AC: The Seveso studies on early
and long-term effects of dioxin exposure: a review. Environ Health
Perspect 1998 Apr; 106 Suppl 2:625-33, available at
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/1998/Suppl-2/625-633bertazzi/abstract.html
For WHO’s Fact sheet N225 “Dioxins and their effects on human
health,” updated November 2007, go to
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/index.html
- Mod.AS]
[Another news story communicated by ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081207/ts_nm/us_ireland_food_recall
states that tainted pork products from Ireland may have reached 20-25
countries. - Mod.LM]
[see also:
Dioxin, buffalo mozzarella cheese - Italy: (Campania) 20080327.1146
2006
Let me know if you get it posted, that article is scary, my first thought was it had to be a bunch of nuts, but I fear it was not.
Let me know the thread link.
And if you haven’t anything else to think about, read the one above this and see how easy it is to contaminate feed/food.
Europe’s pork recall will reach here, wait and see.
It is in post 7853.
Too cold to type and raining again.
SWAT Twam conducts food raid in rural Ohio
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144492/posts
Local food cooperative searched by state
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144300/posts
While Navy Seabee Is Fighting in Iraq, His Family Under Attack by Food Regulators in U.S.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2143838/posts
Swat Team Conducts “Food Raid” in Rural Ohio
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144634/posts
Several FReepers picked up on this topic, thanks for posting it. It’s important to be seen by people.
[Fine communist tradition, give less than needed and brag about it.
granny]
=== Google News Alert for: Urban Chicken farmers ===
West China county improves rural children health with free eggs
Xinhua - China
One egg a day, something considered trivial to urban children who grew up
frequenting Kentucky Fried Chicken and MacDonald’s, proved so dear to rural
...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/07/content_10468702.htm
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/07/content_10468702.htm
That dioxin recall is scary. I’m glad I’ve gotten away from red meat. It’s been 8 months and I feel really good.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2144634/posts?page=16#16
You do realise that there are anti-hoarding laws on the books going back to World War II. I also believe that there are some presidential order and directives that go into effect when FEMA is activated in an area.
Not that I think those apply to this case. This appears to be a pattern on cracking down on farm fresh foods that haven’t gone through the “Food Processing Process”
[Is this too racy for F.R., if one has a birth, then in the old days a sex act was involved.
Sorry, this page struck my funny bone.
I am thinking that I may need to change my google alert from
“Urban Chicken Farmers” to something like Rural Chicken Farmers, as these liberal chicken growers crack me up...
granny]
http://lawrencechickenfarmers.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=13&Itemid=23&Itemid=33
[Coalition of Lawrence Urban Chicken Keepers]
Links
Web Link Hits
Link Are backyard flocks safe? The CDC says YES!
We have a small flock of chickens. Is it safe to keep them? Yes. In the United States there is no need at present to remove a flock of chickens because of concerns regarding avian influenza. The U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors potential infe 38
Link How to Keep Chickens in a City
37
Link Report Blames Flu on Industrial Poultry Farms Not Backyard Birds
38
Link Composting Chicken Manure
32
Link Lawrence.com - Don’t Fear the Chicken!
29
Link LJWorld.com / Kansas Department of Health and Environment letter on raising chickens
43
Link Chickens in the city: Seattle
41
Link The Birth of a Chicken
39
http://lawrencechickenfarmers.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
[Now I understand, they are saving the chickens from chicken farms, that is why it is the new craze....granny]
Thanks tor the raid links, have them open to read.
I get a little worried, they killed the food value of milk, and then buy chemicals to put in it, so they can write something on the label.
Can it really be the big companies graft, that is doing all this?
Yes!!!!
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