Archive for the ‘Food Selection and Prep’ Category:
It’s Potato Time!
Since March 14 was National Potato Chip Day and March 17 is St Patrick’s Day, this is a great week to talk about all things potato!
Potatoes are the world’s most widely grown tuber crop, and the fourth largest food crop — after rice, wheat, and corn. The average American eats 125-140 pounds of potatoes a year!
Potato Nutrition
Potatoes contain a number of important nutrients. A medium potato provides 45% of the Daily Value of vitamin C, 18% of potassium, 10% of vitamin B6 and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. The fiber content of a potato with skin equals that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals. In addition to vitamins, minerals and fiber, potatoes also contain an assortment of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and polyphenols, which provide many health benefits.
Potato History
While we often link the potato to Ireland, it is actually a New World original! The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 2000 B.C. In 1536 Spanish conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered potatoes, and carried them to Europe. Sir Walter Raleigh is credited with planting the first potatoes in Ireland, (but it is far more likely that they arrived in Ireland through trade with the Spanish.) Potatoes arrived in the American colonies in 1621 when the Governor of Bermuda sent two large cedar chests containing potatoes and other vegetables to the new settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
The Irish Potato Famine
The Irish working class lived largely on potatoes and when the potato blight reached Ireland in the 1840′s, their main staple food disappeared. This famine left many poverty-stricken families with no choice but to struggle to survive or emigrate out of Ireland. Over the course of the famine, almost one million people died from starvation or disease. Another one million people left Ireland, mostly for Britain, Canada and the United States.
Colcannon- A Delicious Irish Potato Dish
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 slices bacon
1/4 medium head cabbage, chopped
3/4 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
- Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
- Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, crumble and set aside. In the reserved drippings, saute the cabbage and onion until soft and translucent. Putting a lid on the pan helps the vegetables cook faster.
- Drain the cooked potatoes, mash with milk and butter and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bacon, cabbage, and onions, then transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl. Serves six.
- Nutrition facts- 240 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g dietary fiber, 70% of Daily Value of vitamin C.
For more great potato recipes and facts, see Mom’s Dinner Helper from the United States Potato Board.
Subscribe to the comments for this postMake your own cream soup mix
Canned condensed cream soups are used in many recipes such as casseroles, meat dishes, homemade soups and more. While manufacturers make low-fat and low-sodium varieties, it typically costs more to choose the healthier options. Now during National Nutrition Month in March, you can make your own cream soup mix to save money and hold the line on fat and sodium. Here is a recipe for soup and casserole sauce mix which costs just pennies and substitutes for a can of commercial cream soup.
Healthy cream soup mix
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup instant reduced-sodium chicken (or other flavor) bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container. Makes 3 cups mix, equivalent to 9 cans of cream soup.
To use soup mix: Combine 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cups water in a saucepan or microwave cooking dish. Cook and stir until thickened. (Or, to save dirty dishes, add mix and water to browned and drained casserole meat and cook in skillet with other casserole ingredients until thickened.) Makes the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup.
To make other flavors of cream soup, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked mushrooms, celery, broccoli, potatoes, lowfat cheese or others to prepared soup mix.
Compare the numbers!
- Regular canned cream of chicken soup (1 can)- 250 calories, 15 g fat, 2200 mg sodium, cost-$1.15 for name brand.
- Low-fat/low-sodium canned cream of chicken soup (1 can)- 175 calories, 6.25 g fat, 1475 mg sodium, cost- $1.50 for name brand.
- Healthy soup mix (1/3 cup mix prepared as directed)- 110 calories, 0.5 g fat, 830 mg sodium, cost- about 23 cents!
Noon Program on Healthy Salads
Salads don’t have to be limited to iceberg lettuce anymore! Choices for salad greens, dressings, vegetable and fruit salads, hot or cold salads, main dish and side salads are unlimited.
On Monday, March 8 at 12:00 noon at the Finney County Extension Office, plan to attend the Extension program on “Healthy Salads.” Guest speaker Belinda Oldham, Wichita County Agent, will give suggestions for successfully combining salad ingredients as well as how to choose wisely at the salad bar.
Everything from cancer to heart disease to diabetes to obesity can be improved or delayed by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Learn new and tasty ways to enjoy those healthful fruits and vegetables in salads that your family will love– now in March National Nutrition Month, and the whole year through!
Prepare a recipe from our “Healthy Salads” recipe collection or bring a favorite salad to share for the potluck salad lunch. Please pre-register by Friday, March 5 to ensure adequate meal and program supplies. Call the Finney County Extension Office at 620-272-3670 or email: fi@ksre.ksu.edu.
Noon program on Christmas cookies
Everybody loves Christmas cookies!
Christmas cookies will be the topic of the December Knowledge at Noon program, sponsored by the Finney County Extension Office on Thursday, December 3.
Nancy Honig, Stevens County Extension Agent, will be the guest speaker. She will share tips about the science of baking that can improve cookies, even for those who have baked for years. Learn about the different types of cookies, taste some holiday samples and take home some new recipes.
Knowledge at Noon, sponsored by the Finney County Extension Office, will be Thursday from 12:05-12:55 pm at the Finney County Public Library, 605 E. Walnut Street in Garden City. Bring a lunch if you wish; coffee and iced tea will be provided.
If you want to see what’s in the holiday cookie jar, come check out this fun Extension program!
Meringue Mysteries
If the four ingredients in a pie crust created some baking headaches, then a meringue topping with only two basic ingredients (egg white and sugar) should be easier, right? Not necessarily!
Here are some of the common meringue mysteries and possible causes:
Beading
- Undissolved sugar
- Humidity
- Overcooked
Oven too hot
Weeping
- Undercooked
- Overcooked
- Under-beaten
- Over-beaten
- Filling too cool
- Older eggs
- Refrigeration
- Stored too long
Gritty
- Undissolved sugar
Sticky
- Too much sugar
- High humidity
Low volume
- Egg whites too cool
- Fresh eggs
- Under-beaten
- Yolk in whites
- No stabilizer (like cream of tartar)
Shrinkage
- Not spread to crust
- Baked too long
Tough
- Overbaked
- Over-beaten