Foodie Feature: Colorful Cauliflower

Today's Foodie Feature surrounds a vegetable I've wanted to try for a while now. I've seen it in the grocery store. I've been attracted to buy it because my blood runs PURPLE! I just didn't know very much about it, until now, so I finally decided to give it a shot!

Colorful Cauliflower

I went straight to a grower's website. Andy Boy produces this jewel-toned variation of regular snow white cauliflower in California and Arizona. Andy Boy is a family-run farm that the D'Arrigo family has kept in business by diversifying in several areas of vegetable production. There are no artificial colors or dyes added.

 

Green cauliflower is credited with having significant amounts of beta carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and is slightly sweet.  The Orange cauliflower is especially high in beta-carotene, with a slightly nutty taste and creamy texture. The Purple cauliflower is recognized for anthocyanins, also found in red cabbage and red wine. 

The color change is not a result of genetic modification of the plant, but rather long generations of selective breeding. According the USDA and several UK sources who all agreed, I found a lot of interesting things about the genetic changes that do occur in this fancy cauliflower. 

PURPLE - Anthocyanins are responsible for the color of many flower, fruits and vegetables and is also responsible for a gene mutation in cauliflower that allows for the abnormal purple color to express a phenotypical purple color in the curds. When talking about genetics, phenotype refers to the physical appearance that the plant or animal possesses.

ORANGE - Works in a similar manner to the purple, except for an increased amount of Beta-carotenes are present in these mutants! Think about carrots and sweet potatoes, they contain a lot of Beta-carotenes. 

GREEN - The lime green cauliflower is sometimes referred to as broccoflower. It is actually higher in protein than cauliflower and broccoli (the normal ones!).

 

 So, I have to give you my recipe for the evening and how I tried out my fancy new produce!!! It's super easy, delicious and if you don't like broccoli and cauliflower this way, well then you're just refusing to try it. It's that good!

Roasted Colorful Broccoli/Cauliflower

2 bunches of broccoli

2 bunches of colorful cauliflower (or white if you want to be boring!)

5 T. of Olive Oil (you can use butter, if you wish)

Sea Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

Minced Garlic

Parmesan Cheese

An oven

A knife

A cookie sheet

• Take the broccoli and cauliflower out, rinse it well and let it dry. The edible portion is the florets, so cut all those off and just give them a nice chop. 
• Make sure you cut your vegetables on a different cutting board than your meats!
• Drench in your oil, seasonings and garlic. I eye balled all of these because it's better to cook that way!
• Save the cheese for now.
• Heat your oven up to about 400. 
• Place your veggies on the cookie sheet and bake away! I baked mine for about 20 minutes or until tender and slightly crispy. 
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and give them a couple more minutes in the oven. 
• Serve with a nice lean meat and you have an amazing dinner!

 Pick some colorful cauliflower out at your local grocer. Give it a try and let me know what you think. My next recipe will be mashed potatoes with a purple cauliflower puree swirled in. Let's be honest - we could all use a little purple swirl in life!

Enjoy,

Tera

Foodie Feature: Where are they now?

Have you ever wondered where exactly a college degree in an agricultural field will land you? I bet the common answers are: farming, raising animals, farming or maybe a veterinarian?

I ran across this blog, which I continue to check out because they are a lot like us - students passionate about agriculture, just trying to get the word out to consumers who may not have an easy connection.

They have done a great job on highlighting some Alumni members of a Junior College in Kansas that is very well known on the national level in the field of agriculture. My brother went to Butler Community College and spent some of the best years of his life being a Grizzly!

Check out the alumni highlights here. You'll see exactly where a degree in agriculture has landed these alums of Butler. Cody is now a Vice President in a bank. Christie now works with the foundation at a University. Wendy works in communications and marketing. Common theme: a degree in agriculture can send you far beyond the farm.

Have a great day!

Tera

Foodie Feature: I Am Angus - Creating Connections with Consumers

Connections between consumers and producers is what Food For Thought is always striving to create. A great example of this is the connection that the I Am Angus series, produced by the American Angus Association, is creating.

For your information, Angus is a breed of cattle largely used in the beef industry. Angus cattle are black hided and commonly associated with high quality carcass characteristics. Different breeds form associations to connect breeders from across the country. Breed associations are built on the premise that registered cattle are worth more, the benefits trickle down through the system to the individual producers.

I Am Angus is an hour-long show that airs on RFD-TV. All of the videos are posted on YouTube as well. This February 28th at 7 p.m., the program will feature several people in the industry with highlights including one of our own Food For Thought members, Chelsea Good, and world-renowned animal behaviorist, Dr. Temple Grandin. Tune in on RFD-TV or catch the segment on YouTube because you won't want to miss this touching video connecting consumers and producers by telling the story of agriculture.

Here is the preview that you can access today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6j14NdR10.

My best,

Tera Rooney

Foodie Feature: Hannah Hayes

If I could write like this, Food For Thought's vision would be plastered in every newspaper in the continental US. I encourage you to read what Ms. Hayes has to say, very few of us could've said it better. This letter to Chef Anthony Bordain is AMAZING!

http://www.voxmagazine.com/stories/2010/11/11/essay-open-letter-anthony-bourdain-chef-who-hates-/

Funny video for the true food lovers

My family loves good food. Every letter or phone call from my Grandma Good is sure to include a description of her last great meal. Every meal at home ends with planning what we’ll eat at the next one. Being home for Christmas this love is celebrated more than any time of year, especially this year because my dad received a premature Christmas gift of a new smoker.

My friend Crystal Young, known to many as Crystal.Cattle, shared this video with me and it exhibits this love that so many of us have for food.

I like the video even more because it reminds me of a couple Thanksgivings ago when my middle brother Derek was upset that my younger brother Kelton and I claimed the two turkey legs before he had a chance to get one, so he stole mine of my plate while my eyes were closed for the Thanksgiving day prayer. Only the steaks are higher in the video because the food everyone is feuding over is my personal favorite – beef.

Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did and be sure to celebrate your love for food this holiday season!

Foodie Feature: Purple Pride Pies

It's no secret that I am a big K-State Fan. I've stood in line for a picture with Willie. I've crowd surfed in the student section at The Bill in Coach Snyder's earlier glory days. I've chanted along to an ear-deafening "Fra-nk Mar-tin. Clap clap, clap clap clap" in the Octagon of Doom. And I'll admit to belting out the fight song while bobbing to the Wabash.

"Fight, you K-State Wildcats! For Alma Mater Fight! Fight! Fight! Glory into combat for the Purple and the White!"

Well, you get the point.

Now you see why I could revel in the kind of K-State fandom this Foodie Feature reaches. It's a new level folks!

A horticulture professor here at Kansas State University, Ted Carey, cloned the most colorful purple sweet potato plants that he grew from seeds taken from the International Potato Center in Ghana. The result, brilliantly-colored purple potatoes that are very sweet.

A researcher in our department of human nutrition, George Wang, found that the purple sweet potatoes have a significantly higher level of anthocyanin. Anthocyanin derivatives inhibit human colon cancer cell growth in cultured human colorectal cancer cells. Wang's research attracted Soyoung Lim from Korea and Tzu-Yu Chen from Taiwan who have come to K-State to focus in cancer preventative nutrition research.

Trading in their test tubes and petri dishes, the team decided to turn these special spuds into something people would enjoy. Purple sweet potato pies were baked, tasted and deemed a success! Since the purple sweet potatoes are naturally sweeter, the recipe calls for less sugar.

"I hope we can promote a health food for functional cancer prevention," Wang said. "Our research is focused on cancer prevention so we hope to translate our discovery from lab to humans."

Talk about Purple Power!!!

Foodie Feature: Soul Feeding Farmers

When I came across a news release that announced the non-profit status of a grassroots organization of young people with a passion for all things Ag, I wanted to send my applause all the way to California! Alexis, Salvador, Steve, Taylor and Joe were frustrated with our generation's lackluster views on where our food comes from. They aim to educated and excite people of the millennial generation. We have an abundance of choices available to us at the grocery store and this group wants us to become more aware and appreciative of that fact.

I Love Farmers They Feed My Soul are known for their aggressive approach to advocacy in social media networks. They have officially become a non-profit organization complete with a board of directors. I love that they are "rocking" the industry with an eccentric and youthful approach rather than the aged conservative appearance our industry usually receives.

Browse their website.

Follow their blog.

Retweet their tweets.

Like their facebook page.

Because they are doing a great job of promoting the farmers and ranchers who are work hard to feed our country...and our souls!

Foodie Feature: Milo and Oats (not Otis)

So it’s a well known fact that this wheat:

 

can be made into this bread -->

It’s also generally accepted that this corn is a key ingredient in these tortillas

<--                                         -->

But do you know what this is and where it is used?

This crop in this picture is milo, also known as sorghum.   It's a very drought and heat tolerant grain that is a key component of some livestock feeds, sorghum molasses and some adult beverages.  Sorghum is an used as a foodgrain across the globe but in many regions of the world, such as South America, India and Africa, sorghum is a staple in everyday diets.  Did you know that sorghum is the 5th most important cereal crop grown in the world?!  Sorghum is also highly palatable to livestock and is therefore used in the U.S. primarily as livestock feed.  It has more protein and fat than corn and doesn't decrease productivity.

Another important grain that rarely gets attention are oats.  This is what they look like on the stalk, prior to harvest.

But you probably see them more often looking like this -->

Did you know there are lots of other uses for oats?  Oats can be made into flour, used in cookies, mixed into horse and livestock feed and are commonly found in most granola bars.  Great Britain often uses oats in breweries when making beer.  Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to soy protein, which has been shown by the World Health Organization to be equal to meat, milk, and egg protein.  Oats are also believed to lower bad cholesterol and possibly reduce the risk of heart disease.  Oats provide the body with a ton of healthy benefits!

Sorghum/milo and oats are two grains that don't get very much well deserved attention.  Next time you're in the grocery store pick up some heart healthy granola bars and some sorghum molasses!

For more information on grains and crops visit http://www.ksgrains.com/

Until next time,

~Buzzard~



Foodie Feature: Focus on Food Safety

Citizens of the United States have the opportunity to enjoy the safest food supply in the world.

This is a statement that I truly believe in and like to promote. There is a network of people behind this safety factor and it is because of them that we can boast the above statement. What is this network and how is it organized?

1. Food safety begins with the consumer. WE are responsible for staying up on current recalls and alerts. WE are also responsible for preventing food poisoning during preparation. My mother teaches family and consumer science classes and here are a few of her simplistic kitchen tips that have been ingrained in my head.

• When in doubt, throw it out!
• CSCC - Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill
• 165 Degrees - basic safe temperature for meat, eggs, leftovers, casseroles

2. Producers of food and food products are also responsible for food safety measures. The most important thing to remember here is that producers of food are also consumers of food. Food safety is very important to producers because it goes on their dinner plate too!

3. Food safety continues into governmental agencies. Federal food safety measures are split out into different agencies that are outlined below:

• Food - FDA
• Meat, poultry and eggs - USDA
• Pet Food - FDA
• Outbreaks and illnesses - CDC

It is in this integral system of agencies, producers and consumers that keep the food on our plates safe for our families!

Keeping in line with the regular blog feature of a "Foodie Feature" I will send you to the Food Safety website of all websites! It is produced by the agencies mentioned above. Tool around on it and learn more about this important topic. You can add them to your twitter feed and get instant updates on recalls, notices and other information. There is even a food safety widget and if you even know what that word means, knock yourself out and widget away!

All my best,

Tera Rooney

Foodie Feature: Butler Agvocates

Butler Community College is a junior college located on several campuses in Kansas. The main campus in El Dorado is home to 2500 students that attend classes at this particular site. Among the many programs of study offered by Butler, I consider the programs offered by the agriculuture faculty and staff to be unmatched in quality nationwide. The tradition of excellence is truly a bright spot among Kansas Community Colleges.

This foodie feature is particularly showcasing a blog that showcases students involved in agriculture at Butler Community College. Butler Agvocates is an opportunity for readers to get a bird's eye view of life as a Butler student involved in the agriculture industry.

I commend Butler Agvocates on their work in the blogging world and look forward to hearing more information from these students' point of view. If you would like more information about Butler Community College Agriculture Department please visit this site and never hesitate to contact the man in charge - Mr. Don Gronau - he's a really neat guy.

Go check it out!

Foodie Feature: Gilmer Dairy Farms

This foodie feature is of Gilmer Dairy Farms

With the recent publishing of Mercy For Animals video on veal production in Ohio, I would like to point out that there are better and more accurate references out there.

Get your information about the dairy industry from the source. These people raise dairy cattle and are on the farm day in and day out ensuring the health and well-being of their animals. I think that Gilmer Dairy Farms does a particularly good job of helping consumers, like myself, understand what it takes to get milk and milk products from farm to fork.

When I see videos, like the ones published by organizations like Mercy For Animals, it raises questions not concern. Instead of being concerned about the dairy industry and the products it provides my family, I went to the Gilmer Dairy Farms website and brushed up on a little day in the life of a dairy farmer.

A fellow Food for Thought member also featured this dairy in a post on this blog with a video about nutrient management. It is another great example of what great things the Gilmer Family is doing and you can check out Buzzard's Beat for additional posts that Brandi has written about the agriculture industry.

My best,

Tera Rooney

Foodie Feature: Farm Vets

I had to post a link to one of my favorite blogs to follow. This blog has a very interesting angle and really gives consumers a picture of daily life on a farm.

The Farm Vet

A husband and wife duo post snippets of what goes on during a normal day in the life of a large animal veterinarian. Located in California, the couple shows videos and pictures about procedures, adventures and down right interesting things that they may encounter.

Large animal veterinarians are doctors that choose to practice on larger animals like horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, alpaca, llamas, etc. Many times these practices include working with animals that will eventually be rendered for food. It is important that people who produce and work with food animals have a strong relationship with a veterinarian to increase animal health and continue producing safe food product for us to eat.

The life of a large animal veterinarian isn't an easy one, as you will find from reading the Farm Vet blog. Currently there is a large shortage of people willing to enter the large animal field. It is an issue that has been in the news lately and deserves national attention because these are the veterinarians that help ensure food safety and national security.

Follow the Farm Vet's blog and if you enjoy that you can even "like" them on facebook!

All my best,

Tera Rooney

Foodie Feature: Fast Food Facts

You can't drive down the main street of a decent sized town and not see 4-7 marquee signs luring you in to indulge in a calorie-ridden meal on the go. Fast Food - it's everywhere, it's convenient, it's tasty and it's cheap. No where else in the world could you get a double patty hamburger for $1!

There are a lot of instances when fast food is the only way to fit in a meal for your family. There are also a lot of instances when fast food is over-implemented into a family meal plan. This is not a "preaching" post about cutting fast food out of the diet, I like my quarter pounder just like the next guy. This post is about a new tool I found to be very useful when choosing just what it is you want to eat off the fast food menu. 

Fast Food Facts

This is a neat internet tool that gives nutritional labels to any fast food menu item you could think of. Just type in what you would like to know. You can search different menu items and sort by nutritional content. It's a super helpful way to make eating out just a little bit better for you and yours. 

Back to that Quarter Pounder I was talking about earlier. At McDonald's I always order a #3 with ketchup and pickles. After visiting this site, I realized that I could nix the cheese on that burger which takes the calories down by 110 and the sodium down by 470 mg. I don't need that cheese now that I see the difference it would make.

Let's talk about French Fries. Man alive those are delicious! If you order a meal they come with it, so avoiding them is next to impossible(for me too!). The problem with these little suckers is portion size. If you eat only half of the fries served up with most value meals, it cuts the sodium, calories and fat down to a decent enough level that your meal can really find a place in a person's daily intake - as long as we're not looking at every day!

The other interesting thing I found by searching on this handy site is that salads, while they may make you feel better about fast food, aren't any better at all! Wendy's Chicken BLT salad has almost 500 more mg of sodium than a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. 

Play around on this site for a bit, see what interesting things you can find about the food that is served up fast to Americans every day. I know that I will be making more informed decisions at the counter.  Post a comment about interesting things you find on Fast Food Facts!

 

Foodie Feature: The Barfblog

You may have noticed that some of my posts have directed you other places for information. It's my opinion that when someone already puts it out there - why re-write it? That's the purpose of beginning a series of posts entitled, Foodie Feature.

These posts will feature blogs, sites, people, etc. that do a wonderful job of teaching the concepts that Food For Thought aims to relay to consumers from this blog. Strap on a seat belt because this could go anywhere! Enter drum roll, and probably an awfully timed crash of a cymbal and...

The first Foodie Feature is of the Barfblog. This blog comes to you by the works of Dr. Douglas Powell. He is an Associate Professor of Food Safety at Kansas State University where the blog is a guiding principle of the work done for the International Food Safety Network (iFSN) at Kansas State. There is an abundance of information on this site and I encourage you to click through the many categories of food safety posts. Anywhere from animal welfare to E. Coli. From how to thaw a turkey to how many seconds to scrub your hands. 

Food safety is at the core of production agriculture in the United States. We are home to the safest, most reliable food system in the world. It is truly because of work done at institutions like the iFSN, and I hope you enjoy and take knowledge away from the work they are putting out!

For more information on the work being done at the iFSN, please visit their website. 

As their montra goes...Don't eat poop!

 - Tera Rooney