Peggy R. Anderson

Extension Agent

March 24, 2010

Bake and Take Day

This year Bake and Take Day is this Saturday, March 27^th. It’s a great opportunity for families and clubs to gather in the kitchen to prepare gifts of fresh-baked wheat foods. Share your time and talent to help bring joy to relatives, friends, and co-workers, neighbors, the elderly and shut-ins. Show someone you care with a baked food and a visit. Bake and Take Day is sponsored by the North Dakota Wheat Commission.

One of the suggested recipe from the North Dakota Wheat Commission is this Fruited Wheat Bread for your bread machine.

Follow bread machine instructions for the order to add ingredients and what temperature liquid ingredients should be. Add almonds or raisins as directed, toward the end of the kneading cycle.

2/3 cup milk warmed to 80 degrees F.

¼ cup oil

1 egg slightly beaten

1 ¾ cup bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1 package yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1/3 cup chopped almonds

1/3 cup golden or seedless raisins

Machine may be set on dough cycle adding nuts and raisins the last 10 minutes of the kneading cycle. Remove dough from pan. Shape into a round ball. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Tent with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent over-browning. May be made into 2 small loaves or 18 rolls. Reduce baking time.

Think Green by Adding More Green Vegetables

Did you just add leafy greens to your grocery list? If not, maybe I need to be more convincing about the value of green veggies.

People tend to shortchange themselves on dark green vegetables, along with orange vegetables. While orange vegetables, such as carrots, get most of the credit for promoting and maintaining good eyesight, green vegetables should get the spotlight.

For example, spinach contains a natural plant chemical, lutein, which works with another natural plant chemical, zeaxanthin, to keep eyes healthy. Lutein also is found in green peppers, peas, cucumbers and celery. Getting enough lutein and zeaxanthin may help reduce our risk of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.

Cabbage is another green vegetable group with health-promoting properties. To the ancient Greeks, cabbage was known as a medicinal food.

Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts, contain isothiocyanates, which are sulfur-containing compounds. These compounds are responsible for some of the health benefits.

Besides thinking of cabbage as a medicinal food, the ancient Greeks also had a saying, "Cabbage twice cooked is death."

That’s a good reminder to prepare cabbage and its relatives properly. Cabbage has a mild flavor in the raw state. It becomes more aromatic during long cooking because it contains sulfur compounds that form hydrogen sulfide gas during cooking.

Have you smelled a rotten egg? Overcooked cabbage releases the same compound. Cooking cabbage too long also can leave you with an olive green side dish. The color reaction occurs when natural acids in cabbage react with chlorophyll, the green pigment in cabbage.

Cook cabbage quickly in as little water as possible. Leave the cooking pot at least partially uncovered to allow the sulfur compounds to escape.

Cabbage remains an economical menu item. Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C and is low in calories at 15 calories per half cup. It also can be fermented to form sauerkraut to lengthen its shelf life while preserving the vitamin C it contains. Sauerkraut, however, is much higher in sodium.

At the store, look for solid, compact cabbages with no signs of wilting, unusual colors or aromas. Use it as soon as possible after purchase in either fresh or cooked form. Cabbage loses flavor the longer it’s stored.

When preparing cabbage, remove the outside leaves and cut out the core. Wash well under running water, place it in a plastic bag or wrap it in plastic and place it in a vegetable crisper.

Here’s a tasty twist on coleslaw. The recipe is from the Maryland Food Supplement Nutrition Education Program.

Asian Coleslaw

1 pound shredded cabbage or 16-ounce bag of coleslaw mix

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 c. peanuts (optional)

Dressing ingredients:

2/3 c. light Italian dressing

2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

Mix together the cabbage or coleslaw mix, nuts and mandarin oranges. In a separate bowl, stir together the Italian dressing and soy sauce. Add dressing to the coleslaw mixture and toss well.

Schedule

Wednesday, March 24 – Burke County

Thursday, March 25 – Divide County

Friday, March 26 – Burke County

Monday, March 29 – Burke County

Tuesday, March 30 - Bismarck