Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Preserving more
then memories
dJm
By Peggy Bledsoe
Houston County
Extension Coordinator
When I was a child, sum
mertime was the most excit
ing time of the year other
than Christmas! City cous
ins came to visit. We swam
in the creek. We picked
blackberries for cobblers and
freezing. We made home
made ice cream and churned
it in a crank churn. We
snapped beans and shucked
corn for canning. And when
dusk came we caught light
ning bugs and put them
in jars. We played outside,
climbing trees and having
chinaberry fights. Lunch
often consisted of plenty of
fresh vegetables and fruits
from the garden. These
thoughts came to me today
as I talked with a lady about
how excited her grandson
was to dig potatoes and pick
string beans that he and
his grandfather had planted
and grown. Her grandson
was planning a party to cel
ebrate the vegetables he had
harvested. How exciting!
This will be a memory he
will always cherish!
Canning and freezing
are activities that most of
today’s families don’t spend
time doing. But you can
make your garden’s abun
dance last through the year
by canning some products
and making some special
homemade gifts that friends
love. Since I am fielding
questions now about can
ning and freezing, I want to
share some of this informa
tion with you.
• Is it safe to can food
without salt? Yes. Salt is
used for flavor and is not
necessary to prevent spoil
age.
• Is it safe to can fruits
without sugar? Yes. Sugar is
added to improve flavor, help
stabilize color and retain the
shape of the fruit. It is not
added as a preservative.
• Is it safe to can green
beans in a boiling water
bath if vinegar is used? No.
Recommended processing
methods must be used to
assure safety. Recommended
processing times cannot be
shortened if vinegar is used
in canning fresh vegetables.
• Should all vegetables
be precooked before can
ning? For best results, yes.
However, some vegetables
can be packed raw or cold
into jars before being pro
cessed in the pressure can
ner.
• What vegetables expand
instead of shrink during
processing? Corn, peas
and lima beans are starchy
and expand during process
ing. They should be packed
loosely.
• Why is canning summer
squash or zucchini not rec
ommended?
Recommendations for
canning summer squashes,
including zucchini, have
been withdrawn from our
canning instructions due to
the uncertainty regarding
processing times. Squashes
are low-acid vegetables and
require pressure canning
for a known period of time
that will destroy the bac
teria that cause botulism.
Documentation for the pre
vious processing times can
not be found and reports
that are available do not sup
port the old process. Slices
or cubes of cooked summer
See CANNING, Page jC
FOOD&HOME
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MIDALIAS!
Onion CassAute
Wh!ia onions sliced 1/4” thick 15 sal-
crushed 1 can cream of mushroom
cup milk 2 eggs, beaten
mm shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly
r grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
Melt the butter in a large skillet
and sahte the onions over medium
heat until translucent. Divide the
crushed saltines, reserving 3 table
spoons for the topping. Place the
remaining saltines in the bottom
of the casserole dish. Add the soup
and onions to the casserole in alter
nating layers until it is full. (Remove
the oidielMHtetthe skillet with a
together the
milk and eggs andp&ur over onions,
t op with the cheese and*'MunaijUß&
saltines. Bake for 25-30 minH
browned and bubbly.
Stuffed Sweet Onions II
6 medium sweet onions
6 teaspoons butter, divided
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley 1 cum
finely minced cooked ham
1 cup soft bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken broth
Preheat the oven to 400 dejß
Spray an oblong baking di<dfPre|fn
Need new ideas for summertime grilling?
LET’S TALK TURKEY
Special to the Journal
. It may surprise you, but June is officially
Turkey Lovers’ Month. With summer grill
ing getting into high gear, what better way
to celebrate summer and one of America’s
favorite birds than by cooking turkey in the
great outdoors.
With the growing number of turkey cuts
available in grocery stores, it’s easier than
ever to take turkey to the grill. Turkey ten
derloins, steaks, boneless breasts, ground
turkey and drumsticks are delicious, eco
nomical ways to enjoy the great taste of tur
key anytime. These cuts are perfect for the
grill, and any leftovers are ideal for summer
picnics and making great salads, sandwiches
and snacks.
More than 39 percent of grill owners are
using this outdoor cooking method with
leaner meats, according to the National
Barbecue Association. Turkey is naturally
low in total fats, especially saturated fat, and
cooking spray.
Cut a slice from top of each onion;
scoop out the centers leaving 1/2-
inch-thick shells and reserving the
centers. Place the shelly in the bak
ing dish.
Chop the onion centers.! Melt 4
tablespoons of butter in a medium
skillet. Saute the chopped onion
centers and peppers in thd. butter
until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the parsley and and
saute a minute longer. Stlnkl the
bread crumbs. Season witlSa#
Fill the onions with tbefl!
ture. Pour the chicken f
the bottom of the bajohig dishPlJMI
the remaining 2 tablespoons of but
ter and drizzle of each
onion. CoveunlM and
minutes. Remove the foil and bake
gggg|M|piO minutes or until the
are tender and the tops
■met Onions In Vlflne
3 large, sweet onions
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh thyme (or 1
Ejon dried)
ispoon chopped fresh basil (or 1 tea
dried)
■leap Meriot or other dry red wine
Hypa/t and black pepper to taste
cholesterol. It’s also high in protein, which
is important for building lean muscle mass
and staying active. A three ounce serving of
boneless, skinless turkey breast contains 26
grams of protein, only one gram of fat and
zero grams of saturated fat.
The naturally mild taste of turkey com
bines readily with different seasonings, mak
ing it a good choice in spicy ethnic dishes, as
a substitute for higher-fat meats in favorite
recipes and as a complement to other foods
on the menu.
Cooking times vary depending on the thick
ness of the cut of turkey. A meat thermome
ter should be inserted in the thickest portion
of the meat away from the bone. White meat
is ready at 170 degrees F, dark meat at 180
degrees E and ground turkey, such as turkey
burgers, at 165 degrees F.
With • increasing demand for great food
See TURKEY, Page iC
In the
19 3 o’s
the farm
ers near
Vidalia,
Georgia,
were
strug
gling
with
failing
crops so
ft
Yvonne
Sutherland
yvonnes@windstream.net
they decided to try grow
ing something different
and planted onions. They
were astonished when their
first crop had a mild, sweet
taste, without the bite of
regular onions. Word
soon spread and the sweet
onions gained statewide
and eventually national
popularity. In 1986 the
Georgia legislature passed
the “Vidalia Onion Act”
which set out the counties
that may call their onions
“Vidalia” Onions. The
current definition includes
Appling, Bacon, Bulloch,
Candler, Emanuel, Evans,
Preheat the oven to 4QO decrees
and spray a large, oblong biding dish
with cooking spray. (Yaftagitt need
to accommodate 6 onion
Trim and peel the onions and cut
them in half, crosswise. Arrange
the onions sliced-side down in the
baking dish. Drizzle them with oil
and sprinkle with snipped herbs.
Add the wine, water, garlic salt and
pepper. Bake 50 minutes basting
occasionally with the juices. Turn
the onions over. Garnish with fresh
herbs if desired.
Corn Salad
L For the Salad:
|j| mns white shoe peg com, drained
Wmgdlum cucumber, peeled & diced
ffflWlkjMiyeef onion, diced
1 large%mado, diced
Mix all of
together in a c *
tainer.
For the dressing: ll
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard |il|
1/2 teaspoon celery seed _ ‘Vj*
1/2 teaspoon black pepper m/'/f-A
In a small bowl whisk
ingredients. Pour
and stir gently,
hours or more.
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The National Turkey Federation
Grilled Turkey Salad jH
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SECTION: C
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008
Jeff Davis, Montgomery,
Tatnall, Telfair, Toombs,
Treutlen and Wheeler
counties and portions of
Dodge, Jenkins, Laurens,
Long, Pierce, Screven and
Wayne counties. Sweet
onions are grown in many
other Georgia counties
but cannot use the name
Vidalia.
Sweet onions are har
vested from mid-April until
mid-June so be sure and
make use of them while
they are available. I like
to have a big juicy slice on
a hamburger or slice them
and divide the rings to dec
orate salads. When I use
them in any salad recipe,
I am more generous than
I would be with an ordi
nary onion because I know
they will not bring tears to
my eyes. There are also
many ways to cook sweet
onions. Now is the time
to get them while they are
NOT hot!