| Frozen tomatoes bring freshness to pasta sauce
Even with summer so far away, Annette Guilfoyle captures the taste of succulent homegrown tomatoes in her homemade roasted tomato pasta sauce, which she freezes, then uses all through the year. "It freezes great, and I always have some on hand for winter meals," said Annette, of southeast Grand Rapids. Rich with roasted tomato flavor, the sauce is infused with onion, garlic and fresh Italian herbs. "I'm very much into using whole foods as much as possible, and this sauce has lots of flavor and texture," Annette said. "That's what makes it taste so summery." Annette roasts whole tomatoes in the oven along with a full head of garlic, onion and a green bell pepper, all drizzled with olive oil. "Just sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper," she said.
Neville's food bill amended in Senate committee
SANTA FE — A bill originally designed to help businesses that sell bottled water, ice and ground coffee could end up taking a bite out of future city and county budgets. Senate Bill 530 by Steve Neville, R-Aztec, was amended in the Senate Finance Committee to alter the "hold harmless" provisions in a 2004 bill that removed the gross receipts tax from food and medical services. Under that provision, the state Tax and Revenue Department reimburses local governments an amount equal to what they would have received had the tax still existed. The amendment would freeze hold harmless distributions at the tax rate in place on Jan. 1, 2007. Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, who is co-chairman of the Finance Committee, said cities and municipalities have increased their gross receipts tax on other items to hike the reimbursement they receive from the state in the hold harmless money.
$2.99 is fast food's magic number
Frequent readers of this column know that I have an odd habit of watching fast-food joints for hints of change in the consumer's shopping temperament. As I've seen it, when a whiff of economic stress appears, the quick-serve food purveyors quickly tinker with menus, promotions or discounts. But despite the nimble nature of the fast-food trade, one constant has remained for nearly two decades: the 99-cent entre. Most burger barons were forced to play the buck-for-food game by Taco Bell in the late 1980s after the Irvine chain hawked a 39-cent taco. To this day, few chains can avoid bargain-basement pricing somewhere on the menu board. So I was intrigued when I saw price-focused TV ads recently from two industry heavyweights. Burger joint Wendy's is running a memorable spot with one dude showing off his miniscule burger-fries-drink meal by whispering "two-ninety-nine" to a guy with a larger Wendy's offering.
Cat food recalled for contamination
Along with a warning to avoid giving pets possibly tainted peanut butter, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is issuing a warning about salmonella contamination in cat food. Wild Kitty Raw All-Natural frozen cat food in 3.5-ounce and 16-ounce plastic containers of chicken and clam flavor, the 3.5-ounce and 16-ounce raw duck with clam flavor and the 3.5-ounce raw tuna with conch flavor all have been recalled, according to the ASPCA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Eric Dunayer, a senior toxicologist for the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center said adult dogs and cats are less susceptible to salmonella infection than humans, but it is still possible for problems to occur. Humans also can become infected with salmonella if they handle the cat food, touch pets that consumed the food, or touch any surfaces that came into contact with the food or pets, the FDA cautions.
You've earned enough for a year of food
Farm bureaus across the nation are celebrating Food Check-Out Week the amount of time it takes Americans to earn enough disposable income to buy all the food they eat for the year.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, Americans spend, on average, just under 10 percent of their disposable personal income for food. The average household earns enough disposable income to pay for its annual food supply in about 36 days.
By comparison, Americans work 52 days each year to pay for health and medical care, 62 days to pay for housing/household operation and 77 days to pay their federal taxes, according to a press release from the Utah Farm Bureau.
To mark the occasion, women's committees from the county Farm Bureaus will go to various grocery stores and buy food items for a few lucky shoppers.
Earth it up
In a small village in Italy, on a lovely hillside farm, cows eat the grass, maybe a little clover, perhaps a few wild strawberries. Farmers or artisan cheesemakers make the milk from those cows into cheese. Hops are grown in a nearby field and that farmer or a brewer use the hops to make beer. Maybe there's a vineyard nearby also and grapes are pressed and fermented into a rich red wine. Olive trees on the outskirts of the farm yield tart green fruit, and there's honeycomb to go with it from the bees flying around in the sun. And oh, there are truffles the farmer's dog found under the oak tree. These delicious products of the land are from the same water, sun, and earth, the same climate and geography. Some feel that the earth and atmosphere that go into handcrafted delicacies like beer, wine and cheese is an integral part of the quality and flavors and that's one reason the big trend now is to eat and drink that which is made nearby and why the big buzzword in the food and wine world right now is "terroir." While the term was originally primarily applied to wine, it's now being applied to beer, cheese, fruits and bread and I'm sure many others to come.
Cheryle Finley: Theater trip offers food, laughs
During the recent ice storm and our subsequent three-day power outage, we ate a lot of peanut butter. So I, like many of you, was surprised to find the numbers 2111 on the top of my almost empty jar of Peter Pan. Fortunately, I'm sure there wasn't a thing wrong with it because I made a big dent in it and never had any symptoms. It was quite scary, though. .
TODAY’S TOP 10 EVENTS TODAY’S TOP 10 EVENTS Still crazy for marbles
But you can get them back (at least in spirit) at the seventh annual "Marble Crazy" celebration from noon to 9 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Moon Marble Co., 600 E. Front St., in Bonner Springs, and a marble show Sunday in Olathe. Marble makers from around the country will be there to show and sell their round little wonders. And the public can witness marbles being made "at the torch and at the bench." Never mind that that might sound like a form of medieval torture. It's not. It's fun for the whole family. Not enough? Then you're probably a candidate for the "Marble Crazy" collectors show sponsored by the Kansas City Marble Club from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Holiday Inn at 101 W. 151st in Olathe. Artists and collectors will offer antique and contemporary marbles for sale.
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