Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

Diet and Disease

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, June 13, 2011

Our grandparents (or great-grandparents) understood a basic principle: You are what you eat. (Michael Pollen has added to that principle: You are what you eat eats). But somewhere along the way we decided we knew better, that we could eradicate disease with synthetic chemicals. Now we are beginning to understand that our grandparents were on to something (and those synthetic chemicals may cause more harm than good).

A recent article by Mercola is a case in point: Cancerous Cells Cannot Survive without This (referring to curcumin, from turmeric). His original title of the article was This Powerful Herb Changes Your Genes to Combat Cancer.  The hypothesis is that genes are equipped with switches that, when turned on, cause the gene to do one thing, and when turned off, to do another. And these switches are influenced by the gene’s environment. From the article: (more…)

Dutch-Oven Baking

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

by Catherine Haug, June 14, 2011

(photo from www.basspro.com)

While looking for a sourdough banana bread recipe on the internet, I stumbled upon a very interesting website: Byron’s Dutch Oven Recipes (scroll down to see the index of recipes). He includes one-pot meals as well as breads & desserts, which could come in handy for campouts and picnics, as well as meal preparation at home. (more…)

Cat’s Sourdough Learnings (How not to get a too-sour bread)

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Sourdough Crock

by Catherine Haug

(all photos by C. Haug)

NOTE: see also my newer post: Feeding Sourdough Starter for more tips.

Ever since I brought my starter home (from our Gathering on Sourdough) and transferred it to its special crock (a gift from Ronny; see photo, right), I’ve been experimenting with whole grain bread.

Because I have problems with wheat, I started with a mix of whole grain flours: spelt, oat, barley and dark rye. But my bread was too sour for my taste. Ronny suggested I stick with wheat until I get it down. So, except for one tasting slice, I gave my subsequent loaves away to friends who can eat wheat.

See below for my photo essay. (more…)

Swallow Crest Farms at Farmers Markets

Friday, June 10th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, from Julian Cunningham

This year, Julian is not operating his farm business as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Instead he will only be selling his produce at the Kalispell and Bigfork Farmers Markets, at least at this time.

  • Kalispell Farmers Market, Saturdays, 9 AM – 12:30 PM in the Center St. Mall parking lot
  • Bigfork Farmers Market starts Wed June 15, 4 – 7 PM at the Bigfork School Parking Lot (off Commerce St.

Contact Julian at 756-0462 or swallowcrestfarm(at)centurytel(dot)net  if you would like to be added to his email list. [NOTE: email address disguised for security)

 

Avoiding Food-Borne Illness (Like E. Coli)

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, June 7, 2011

With all the concern over illness and deaths in Germany and other Eurozone countries from an outbreak of a deadly strain of E. Coli bacteria, I thought it might be good to address how to protect yourself from food-borne illness. While this particular E.coli strain has not been found in the Americas, we have had our own problems with E. coli in the past, as well as other infectious microbes (such as staph and salmonella), and are likely to have more in the future.

In this post I discuss:

  • Buy local
  • Boost your immune System
  • Clean your fresh produce properly

(more…)

Cheese Making: Waxing the Round

Monday, June 6th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, June 5, 2011

(photos by Shelli Riedesel. & Catherine Haug)

Back in April & May, in preparation for the upcoming Cheese Making at Home, a Panel Presentation (June 15, 7 PM at Clementine’s), Shelli and I started an experiment to make cheese using pasteurized Kalispell Kreamery whole milk. I published our final success last month (see Cheese Making with Kalispell Kreamery Milk).  We made a small round of semi-hard cheese, and after pressing out as much water as we could over 10 days, we waxed it with beeswax.

See also printable version of this post at: Cheese Making: Waxing the Round.

(more…)