food – Rural Ris

A Different Kind of Fair: 2018 NC State Fair Recap

Another year has come and gone at the NC State Fair, but this year was different in many ways. I had to travel by air this time to get there thanks to living in a new zip code, but I was willing to do whatever it took to be there. I’m pretty sure hell would have to freeze over before I gave up State Fair.It was different in more than the airplane ride this year, though. This is the first year in 16 years of showing at the fair that the Lintons have not shown a goat at the fair. What?! There was a time that I never thought I’d say that. Granted, there was a time when I swore I’d never own a sheep. Here we are, bringing 18 of them to the fair. Never say never. This was also the first year that Alec didn’t show. Adulting, man…it’ll get you. He was able to join us after the sheep show to help us load sheep and eat fair food.Yet another aspect that was different this year was that the fair closed the first day due to Hurricane Michael. Guess who had a flight scheduled to land that day? This girl. Thankfully, the storm had blown over by the time I arrived. Somehow, I managed to miss the five inches of snow Lincoln, NE got and the hurricane rains. I did bring fall temperatures with me (your welcome NC).

Anyway, there was a lot going on. Everything worked out, though. On Friday morning we headed to show Isaac and Gideon’s infamous pigs. The boys had a lot of difficulty with these pigs throughout the circuit shows, and it was killing me not to be there for them. Facetime and text updates were what I had to resort to. Aldo and Mack were stubborn and loved the rail (not a good combo for shows). The boys were nervous heading into showmanship drive, and to be frank, I was too. I felt like throwing up. Granted, this is normal for me when they are in the ring. I gave them a pep talk with a few pointers and in they went.

I could have screamed when Gideon got pulled for the final drive and was doing mental praise hands when Isaac did too. Our goal was final drive. Anything else was sprinkles. My nerves were still bad, though. Bad enough to give my friend and bridesmaid, Joanna, the finger. Not THE finger, but the “hang on/cannot deal right now” finger. Thankfully she totally understood and watched from the rail. Isaac ended up in the final 5 and did so good. Good enough that I was in tears (just think what it will be like with my own kids). While neither G nor I got a banner, they both ended up in top 6. They stuck with it, kept cool heads, and drove those pigs. I was dern proud.The rest of the day was spent catching up with friends and running around taking people’s photos. Thank you to all who entrusted me with taking pics of your kids. You helped pay for my plane ticket to be there!The day at the fair concluded with me showing in the performance hog show. Ya’ll, I’ve been coaching the boys on showing pigs, but showing them yourself…man, I felt rusty. Nonetheless, I had a ball showing the barrow and ended up with a Reserve Champion Market Performance Hog for See Farms. My day was made complete with a trip to CookOut. They don’t have those in NE.The second day at the fair was a bit different than the first, but it was still busy. My Fit Bit let me know that I achieved 8,000 steps that day. Instead of showing, I was on the job for the Sale of Champions. I helped check buyers in, took photographs, and videod the sale with my partner in crime, Emily. It was a record-breaking sale, bringing in $190,000, some of which goes to scholarships. It is always a ton of fun to work the Sale, and I often pinch myself that this is my job! Once the sale was complete and the truck loaded, Emily and I headed to the Golden Arches for dinner at 10 at night followed by a tour of her new apartment. I got home around midnight to get up the next morning for a sunrise engagement shoot for some friends. It was early, but amazing lighting and so much fun!The next few days were spent washing and clipping 18 sheep. Let me tell you, this is no easy or speedy task. It took us a solid 2 ½ days to complete. The sheep, of course, despised us, but didn’t look like a hot mess for the show. One sheep, Cain, even did a flip in the air and landed in the mud—he got washed twice. Mom, grandma, Isaac, Gid, and I clipped until dark while Dad and Alec built a divider for the trailer. The guys also built a new sheep stand, that made much easier. Those nights, we didn’t eat until 8.On Wednesday, Mom, the boys, and I loaded up the truck with all our feed and supplies and put all the sheep in the trailer. By the way, that is simple to write, but not simple to do. Catching sheep isn’t always a walk in the park. Thankfully, I have brothers who are excellent sheep wranglers.We were off to the races…errr… show. The fair had decided to rearrange things a bit which meant no backing trailers for this girl. I approved of the new set-up. The vets were super helpful, and we got the 18 sheep checked-in in no time. After some last-minute touch-ups, we headed back home for some Brightleaf hot dogs (because you can’t get those in NE either), grabbed our bags, and headed back to Raleigh to stay in a hotel. The show was early, and we didn’t want to deal with morning traffic.

Sheep show day arrived. We were hopeful for many of our sheep, but also knew that it was a bigger show than years before, with new people. The next several hours went in a blur. While we brought 18 sheep, we showed many sheep more than once because they were entered in both the junior show and open show. All in all, we entered the ring around 50 different times! No, I’m not exaggerating. I just did the math. The boys didn’t show them all. I showed in the open show. Let me tell you…it’s weird having your name called Marisa See over the speaker phone…yet another difference this year.Ultimately, we couldn’t be more thrilled with how it all went. We came home with many top 3 in classes and a few champion banners! Our top honors included:

Junior Show:

Reserve Champion Junior Ewe–Georgette
Grand Champion NC Born and Bred Ewe–Georgette

Open Show:

Medium/fine White Grand Champion Ram–Churchill
Medium/fine White Reserve Champion Ram–Pierre
Medium/fine Natural Grand Champion Ram–Gus
Medium/fine Natural Grand Champion Ewe–Stormi
Medium/fine Natural Reserve Champion Ewe–Georgette
Supreme Grand Champion Fleece–Gus

Gideon also came away with the Grand Champion Junior Showman and both boys placed in costume class.Each of the boys is attached to a certain sheep. It does my heart good to see them cheer on their sheep as much as I cheer on the boys. Isaac’s prize sheep is Astrid. While she didn’t win a banner, she did win top NC Born and Bred in her class. She is, and always will be Isaac’s Astrid. Gideon has bonded with Gus, our only natural born ram this year. Well, Gid and Gus won not only their division, but took home the top honor of Grand Champion Fleece, beating out purebreds (we always get odd looks at our crosses, but we also get results) and people out of state. Alec was able to get off work early to meet us right as the show was ending. So, the whole family was able to head out on the fair to ride some rides (bumper cars and Ferris wheel being my only rides), and eating all our favorite food.It was a wonderful day! We packed up by 9, and headed home. I caught a flight the next morning at 10am back to NE. I now sit here in between the classes I teach, reminiscing on the 2018 NC State Fair and time with family and friends. While I wish I were back to be with them, I’m also happy to be back with my husband who had to lead a bachelor life while I was gone and deal with the very needy and moody Callie Cat. This was also our first state fair not together.Needless to say, this NC state Fair was a tad different than years past, but it still holds all the wonder as before. I still made memories with the people I love, and still enjoyed the fried food and livestock shows as much as ever. NC State Fair, you are worth every mile I traveled to reach you, and while there’ a lot of changes happening in life right now, you stood pretty constant.

October 26, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blogTags: food, livestock, NC, NC State Fair, NE, photography, pigs, sheep, show, stock show, travel 1 Comment

Family, Black-eyed peas, Collard Greens & 2016: Slow-cooked NC Eastern Style BBQ Recipe

Pork was the theme for our New Year’s Eve and Day. New Year’s Day was your typical southern fare with black-eyed peas cooked with ham hock, collard greens, bacon, and ham. If you didn’t eat collard greens and black-eyed peas, then, I’m sorry but wealth will not be in your 2016. It is tradition, you see, to eat greens and peas for good fortune.

There isn’t really a tradition for New Year’s Eve in terms of food for our family. I made the command decision to cook a pork shoulder for BBQ (Eastern style of course), green beans, and loaded mashed potatoes. It was all good, but the pork was the star of the show. Clearly, it had to be, what with it being the last meal of 2015. It will not be left in 2015, though. It will surely make an appearance in 2016 at our house. I definitely recommend trying it at your house too!

bbq

Ingredients: Pork Rub

9 lb Boston Butt Pork Shoulder (this can vary based on the crowd you are feeding. 9lb fed our family of 6, and we had leftovers)
Yellow Mustard
Brown Sugar
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Liquid Smoke

Ingredients: Sauce

1.5 cups of white vinegar
1.5 cups of cider vinegar
1 cup of apple juice
Crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce

Instructions:

Rinse your shoulder and pat it dry with paper towels. Set it on a piece of tin foil. Do not take any fat off or the bone out.
Coat all sides of the shoulder with mustard. After all sides are coated, liberally sprinkle other seasonings on all sides of the meat. Squirt liquid smoke on once all seasonings are on.
Dump all sauce ingredients into a crock pot on low heat.
Place the meat (fat side up) and tin foil on a baking sheet and put it in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for about 2-3 hours or until the middle of the meat registers 95-100 degrees. The oven will create a nice bark on the meat.
Take the meat out of the oven and place it in the crock pot full of sauce. Cook on low until the meat registers 140 degrees Fahrenheit (around 2 hours).
Once the temperature has been reached, take the meat and place it on a pan to shred. If there is any fat left on it, carve it away. Take two forks and shred the meat. It should fall right apart.
Put the shredded meat back in the crock pot full of sauce for 10-15 minutes. Serve on sandwiches or by itself.

*Note: If you like things spicier, add more hot sauce and crushed red pepper flakes to the meat and sauce at the end. I also made a separate batch of sauce to put in a bottle and squirt on top of the BBQ. The only difference in it and what was put in the crock pot, is I didn’t include apple juice and simmered it in a pot.

This makes a great family meal, and provides loads of leftovers for our family of 6. We have even frozen the meat for pre-made meals. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! [p

January 4, 2016January 10, 2017 by ruralris Categories: Family, FoodTags: 2016, BBQ, cooking, Eastern, family, food, NC, New Year, pork 6 Comments

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: Sorghum

Today’s feature is a neat little crop that is attracting some attention of late–sorghum. If you are gluten intolerant, then chances are you know about this upcoming grain. More on that later.

Sorghum is often confused with corn, especially early on. It looks very much like young corn. So, if you’ve ever wondered why that field of corn is missing its tassels and isn’t tall, it’s because it is probably sorghum, and you may be seeing more of it in the future.

Rising Stardom

The name sorghum comes from the Latin word “Syricum (granum)” and the Italian word “sorgo” which all means grain of Syria. Sorghum ranks fifth in the cereal grain line up of the world, falling behind wheat, rice, corn, and barley. Of the 66 countries that sorghum is grown in, the United States is the largest producer! That is pretty major when it was just introduced in 1757 to America. Sorghum originated in Egypt over 4,000 years ago, so it took a while to get to the USA. It is now finding loads of uses.

Jack of All Trades

Sorghum comes in three main types–grain, forage, and sweet. Grain sorghum is of a shorter variety (5ft) and is used for livestock feeds, human consumption, biofuels, and pet food. Forage sorghum is taller (6-12ft). Because it has more to it, it is primarily used for silage (fodder that is preserved in a silo through anaerobic acid fermentation and fed to livestock). Sweet sorghum is harvested before it seeds and is pressed to get the juices to make biofuels.

Biofuels and Ethanol

30 to 35 percent of sorghum is used for ethanol production. One bushel of the grain produces 2.7 gallons of ethanol. Sweet sorghum is more hardy than crops like corn (it only requires 7 inches of water to produce the first bushel), making it a more ideal source of renewal fuel. In 2012, the USA produced 15 billion gallons of ethanol from plants. The federally mandated Renewable Fuels Standard will double that production to 30 billion with 8 years. Sweet sorghum is one of the crops that will be responsible for this increase in ethanol production. A big job for the crop.

Livestock Feeds

46 percent of American sorghum is used for livestock feed. Sorghum can take the place of corn in feeding operations. Because it is more hardy than corn, it is often more attainable and cheaper (maybe that is why it is often called poor man’s corn). It is fed to beef and dairy cattle, swine, and poultry as a source of protein and energy. Most of sorghum is used for grain (7 million acres), but there is a decent portion used for silage (350,000 acres).

Human Consumption

Sorghum has become the go-to cereal grain for those who are gluten intolerant. It can take the place of wheat flour in many baking goods. There is good news for beer lovers too. New Grist is a beer made from sorghum and rice. Brewed in Wisconsin, this was one of the first gluten-free beers back in 2006. Interestingly, it also got the government to change its definition of what beer is. Under the government’s policy, the starting recipe for all beer had to be 25% malted barley. With this new sorghum beer, things had to be redefined, and so it was.

Besides helping out those with gluten intolerance, sorghum is also a whole wheat that is super nutritious and has antioxidants similar to blueberries. So, basically you cant go wrong.

From Field to Food, Feed, and Fuel

Sorghum is harvested in different ways depending on its purpose. If it is going to be used for grain, a combine is used to pick the seed heads. If being used for silage, than it will be cut with either a chopper or a hay cutter. After this, it then goes to its various destinations, ready to be enjoyed!

Sources:

National Sorghum Producers

Whole Grains Council 1

Whole Grains Council 2

Sorghum Checkoff

Sweet Sorghum Association

Kansas State Fair

July 8, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: agriculture, biofuels, corn, crops, ethanol, farm, food, gluten, sorghum 1 Comment

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: Tomatoes

With 4th of July approaching, I thought it appropriate to highlight a piece of ag that one of our founding fathers helped promote–tomatoes.

I absolutely love tomatoes. Sadly, our garden tomatoes are not doing well, and I have yet to have a tomato sandwich with homegrown produce. Sad days, I know; however, I can find comfort in the fact that tomatoes are a popular food and no longer thought to be poisonous. How in the world such a wonderful food could be feared is beyond me, but thanks to a few individuals, especially Thomas Jefferson, tomatoes are now celebrated and devoured.

During Colonial times, folks related tomato plants with the poisonous nightshade plant, and only grew tomatoes for ornamental purposes. Not everyone was so paranoid about the plant, though. In South and Central America, where tomatoes originated, people had no qualms eating them. In France, tomatoes were called pomme d’amore, or “apple of love,” suggesting that they were also loved, but some experts say that this name was mistaken for the Spanish words “apple of the Moors.” It is thought that the first tomato came from Peru. Interestingly, all parts of the tomato plant are poisonous except for the fruit.

It took the efforts of Thomas Jefferson and his family to make the tomato go from feared to celebrated…well supposedly the Jefferson family is responsible for the tomatoes popularity. It is up for debate, but is generally accepted. Jefferson grew tomatoes in his garden where his daughters and granddaughters used them in all sorts of recipes like gumbo and pickling. When a prominent family like the Jeffersons use tomatoes (and don’t die of poison), you can well imagine that its popularity quickly rose.

Source:http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1470

Identity Crisis

To set the record straight, tomatoes are fruits, but if you ask the Supreme Court of 1893, they were to be considered a vegetable. You see, there was a tariff on vegetables, but not on fruits. A tomato importer sued a tax collector on the basis that tomatoes were fruits and did not need to be taxed. Ultimately, the Supreme Court got involved and ruled that botanically speaking, tomatoes were fruits, but in layman terms they were vegetables. In addition tomatoes were eaten at dinner with other vegetables, unlike fruit that was typically eaten for dessert. So now, tomatoes have an identity crisis.

American Pride and Production

The United States is one of the leading producers of tomatoes, only coming behind China. They contribute $2 billion in annual farm cash receipts according to the USDA. Tomatoes are grown for either fresh-market or processed. Those that are used for processed are machine picked while fresh-market tomatoes are hand picked. There are also several thousand varieties of tomatoes, and some are better for processing, while others are better for fresh-market. Fresh-market tomatoes are grown in all 50 states, and California grows the most tomatoes overall. It is definitely a far cry from the feared fruit of Colonial days.

Tomato Basil Sandwich…Summertime Favorite

While I love tomatoes in everything and are one of my favorite snacks, one of my favorite ways to use them in the summer is to make a tomato basil sandwich. It is the simplest thing to go out to the garden (when it will actually grow tomatoes), grab a tomato and make a sandwich. All it takes is two slices of bread, spread with mayonnaise, salt and pepper, sliced tomato, and a few basil leaves. Bam! Quick, yummy, and definitely not poisonous! Thanks Jefferson!

Sources:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/vegetables-pulses/tomatoes.aspx

History of Tomatoes

http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-facts.html

July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: agriculture, america, food, fourth of july, recipe, tomato Leave a comment

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: Wheat

My favorite crop is wheat. Not only because it is one of the prettiest to me, but also because of what it produces. Without wheat, Olive Garden would be obsolete. Poof! Say good-bye to pasta and breadsticks. It is a very sad picture, no doubt. So, not only is it a picturesque crop, but it is also responsible for some pretty yummy things.

All around my house, they have begun to harvest the dried wheat. Many farmers burn the fields after the grain has been harvested to improve the soil. Wheat is pretty popular in America as it is the primary grain used in US grain products. It is grown in 42 states with Kansas ranking at the top, producing enough wheat to make 36 million loaves of bread and enough to everyone in the world for about 2 weeks. That is a ton of amber waves of grain.

Past and Present of Wheat

Wheat originated in what is now Iraq and was first planted in America (1777) as a hobby crop. Now there are thousands of varieties of wheat that are separated into 6 categories:

Hard Red Winter (HRW)
Hard Red Spring (HRS)
Soft Red Winter (SRW)
Hard White (HW)
Soft White (SW)
Durum

The different types of wheat have special qualities. The red wheats have a distinctive flavor–nutty or earthy. The white wheats are sweeter. The harder wheats are great for pizza doughs, soft rolls and croissants even though they are harder to grind. although the soft red winter are easier to grind, they have lower protein levels than their harder red counterparts. Often times, wheat is mixed into a unique blend to create the perfect flour that has the protein, flavor, and softness or hardness that is desired for whatever it is being made into. Cakes and pastries are made from the soft white as this wheat is the sweetest variety. Durum wheat is the hardest wheat and is used for the highest quality pastas and noodles. Italy uses only durum wheat. It is also has some of the highest protein. The different wheats are more commonly grown in various areas (e.g. Hard red winter is popular in Kansas and hard red spring is often grown in northern states towards Canada).

Wheat Facts

A bushel of wheat weighs around 60 pounds
A bushel of wheat produces roughly 42 pounds of white flour and 60 pounds of whole-wheat flour
There are more than 600 pasta shapes in the world
Traditional tortillas used ground corn. Flour tortillas were not introduced until the 19th century
A bushel of wheat makes about 210 servings of spaghetti
One bushel of wheat contains approximately one million individual kernels.
One acre of wheat produces 40 bushels of wheat
Wheat is a member of the grass family.

I don’t know about you, but all this talk of bread and pasta has got me hungry. Bring on the carbs!

Sources:

http://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/

http://www.onlygrainmills.com/a-wide-variety-of-ingredients-6-types-of-wheat/

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: #farm365, agblog, agriculture, beauty, food, gluten, harvest, pasta, wheat 1 Comment

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: Strawberries

For as long as I can remember, the start of summer could be marked with delicious, red strawberries. As a child, it was a scavenger hunt trying to find the red ones ready to be picked in the field. There is nothing quite like biting into a ripe strawberry. Of course, this would be in no way possible, if it weren’t for farmers, both large and small, growing strawberries.

History

Strawberries are native to North America, as well as other regions. According to the University of Vermont, strawberries were eaten and referred to as far back as Roman times; however, they were not very popular because they were small and lacked the flavor that today’s strawberries have. They were used more for ornamental purposes. It wasn’t until the 1300’s that strawberries began to be cultivated in Europe. It took many years, and many varieties of strawberries from all around the world to create a fruit that is as popular as it is today. America’s strawberries gave hardiness, and Chilean strawberries gave size. While there were some accidental crosses, the first planned cross of strawberries occurred in Cambridge, MA by nurseryman, Charles Hovey. This strawberry was the start of most modern varieties. Throughout history, various people created different strawberry hybrids to have more vigor and resist disease. Once a lot of strawberry breeding and discovering had been done, it didn’t take long for strawberries to become one of the number one fruits in American households.

Strawberries by the Number

36 billion pounds of strawberries were produced in 2012
94% of American households consume strawberries
California (the largest producer of strawberries) had 38,000 acres of strawberries in 2012, accounting for 75% of the nation’s strawberry crops

Growing and Producing Strawberries

There are typically two major types of strawberry farms–commercial and pick-your-own strawberry farms; however, the process of growing strawberries is relatively the same for both, just on different scales.

Although strawberries are perennial plants (come back every year) , farmers often treat them as annuals so that they can better maintain and prepare the land for them. To prepare the ground for strawberries, the land is plowed and mounded into flat rows where drip tape and black or white plastic are laid down on top of the rows. The drip tape will be used to water the plants, and the plastic helps with moisture, and temperatures, especially during the winter months when the majority of strawberries are planted. All this is done with a special piece of equipment. After the plastic has been laid, another piece of equipment is used to punch holes in the plastic for plants to go in the holes. It is important to note, that not every farm does things the same way. Some farms plant a green strawberry plant, while others plant the roots. In other cases, the rows are not covered in plastic, but are always mounded to help with moisture. There is also various equipment that is used depending on the scale of the farm. Here are two videos that show two varieties of strawberries being planted in two different ways on the same farm.

Pretty cool, huh? Throughout the winter months, the plants are fertilized and cared for by the farmers. The plants are even tested to determine if they are getting enough nutrients. Come March, most varieties of strawberry plants start to bloom. strawberries have to be picked daily because they ripen quickly, even on commercial farms. The picking season typically runs from April to June, and it takes 60-75 workers to keep 1 million strawberry plants picked. Of course, the pick-your-own strawberry farms, you are the one who picks the strawberries. There are also robots that have been developed to pick strawberries, but only if they are a certain level of red. Amazing! If you are curious how the large farms pick strawberries, here is another video. Start at minute 1:22.

Strawberry Facts

It is said that strawberries get their names from when growers used to (and sometimes still do) place straw around the berries. It is also said that kids used to sell the berries on grass straws as a straw of berries.
Strawberries have an average of 200 seeds per strawberry.
Strawberries are grown in every state of America.
Per capita, Americans eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries per year.
Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
Strawberries are a member of the rose family.
Technically, strawberries are not a true berry because their seeds are on the outside.
Native Americans called strawberries, heart-seed berries, and would crush them into their corn meal bread. The colonist made their own version, giving us strawberry shortcake.
One cup of strawberries is only 55 calories.

Now, don’t you want some strawberries?

Sources:

http://extension.illinois.edu/strawberries/facts.cfm

http://www.pickyourown.org/strawberryfacts.htm

http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/fruits/strawberries/commodity-strawberry-profile/

http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/strawberryhistory.html

Growing Strawberry Plants Commercially

May 27, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: agriculture, agritourism, farming, food, fruit, strawberries, wednesday Leave a comment

Almost Free Food, Frog Legs, and a Tractor Parade–All at the Got to Be NC Festival

I love when a few of my favorite things combine together to make a fun day. Last Saturday, my family and I went to the Got to Be NC Festival.

This event is held at the NC State Fairgrounds and hosts a ton of North Carolina vendors and products. There is a tractor parade, flea market, rides, and games. One of my favorite parts (actually it was the BEST part) was trying lots of food. One of the great things about the event is you can pay $2 for all-day access into a giant building filled with food vendors that are giving away all sorts of free food. FREE FOOD! After writing that, I’m realizing that the $2 negates the free part, but it is basically free and so very worth it. Even cooler was the fact that all of the food was NC based. There were peanuts, hot sauces, mints, wine, dips, Bright Leaf hot dogs, and so much more. My favorites had to be Cherry Orchard Food’s pretzel dip mixes (we got the buffalo bleu and chili, cheese, bacon flavors) and the pickled green beans and Bloody Mary mix by Bruce Julian. Of course, I could have stayed at the Bright leaf hotdog station forever, but I feel like that is a given. Gideon was in heaven with all of the hot sauce samples (the boy absolutely loves hot sauce and has never found one he couldn’t handle). Isaac was obsessed with Sunshine Energy drink. Thankfully, he didn’t get wound up off of the samples. All in all, the $2 was absolutely worth it!

I paid another $2 to try some very odd food. I ordered deep fried sweet tea. It was essentially a doughnut drenched in very syrupy tea. While it wasn’t bad, it was too sweet for me. Daddy ordered frog legs. Now, if you know me, you know I HATE frogs. I am utterly petrified of them, yet somehow, for some reason, I ate a bite of the frog legs.

did i really — Obviously, I was thinking about what I just did…

I know. I may be going insane, but it wasn’t half bad until I actually thought about it. Then it wasn’t so good. I can cross it off my bucket list, though (not that it was really on it). Adding to the craziness, was our photo bomb guy. Do you recognize him?

He is Anthony Anderson, an actor. He has played in movies like Transformers. He was at the festival, filming for a food show, and he totally photo bombed us! Too funny!

Our main point in being at the event was not food, believe it or not. My brother, Alec, and I both received NC State Fair Livestock scholarships along with 22 others and were invited to come to the shin dig for a ceremony. The scholarship is brand new, and was started with a change to the NC State Fair livestock sale. A percentage of the proceeds of the Sale of Champions goes to the scholarship fund. Awesome, huh? Alec and I were very honored to receive the scholarship and participate in the festivities. We met the NC Commissioner of Agriculture and got to ride in the tractor parade. Our families were able to ride in the parade too. It was perfect.

It was also a nice final hurrah. Garrett and his family (he and his sister also received the scholarship) were able to come to the festival. Garrett was leaving that day to drive to Illinois where he would be working as an intern all summer for Maschoff’s, a large hog company. I’m super proud of him, but it was bittersweet to see him go.

I jokingly told him I was now single for the summer. No worries, I’ve only gone on one date so far. They were short, blonde and cute. Don’t you agree?

The rest of the day was spent walking around and enjoying everything.

So, there you go–a quick recap of some of the happenings around. I strongly recommend the Got to Be NC Festival and definitely the $2 entry to try all the NC based foods.

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by ruralris Categories: family and funTags: agriculture, family, festival, food, free food, got to be NC, livestock, North Carolina, scholarship, tractors 5 Comments

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: Chicken Enchiladas

I promised a bit ago to give you the recipe for Chicken Enchiladas that I made with my guacamole. I know the anticipation has been killing you, so without further ado, here it is:

While the original recipe called for steak, I substituted chicken, and because I’m all about easy peezy, I used grilled frozen chicken that I heated up in a frying pan. We also use this chicken for fajita nights. This is about a enchilada night, though. Back to the recipe.

Sauce:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of heavy cream
⅓ cup of sour cream
½ cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
salt, white pepper
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
Enchiladas:
7-8 flour tortillas
4 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
More cheese for topping (Optional)
Cilantro for topping (Optional)
Jalapeno for topping (Optional)

Sauce:
In a small sauce pot, heat up oil over medium heat and saute minced jalapeno and garlic until fragrant. Add heavy cream and sour cream and whisk until all smooth. Bring to a low boil and add cheese, salt, white pepper, chili powder and cumin. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in cilantro and take off heat.
Preheat oven to 350.
Spread some sauce over the bottom of a baking dish (9×13 casserole dish or any large enough to hold 7-8 enchiladas).
Spread some shredded cheese on one side of tortilla and spread some chicken mixture over cheese. Roll tortilla and place it in the baking dish, seam down. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese and chicken.
Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and top off with some shredded cheese.
Bake for 17-19 minutes.
Top off with some more cilantro and jalapenos if you wish.

So there is the yumminess, now let’s talk about the chickens. I mean, there would be no chicken enchiladas without chicken, and that is super sad. Here are a few fun facts for you about broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat):

The United States is the largest producer of broiler chickens in the world
In 2011, approximately 9 billion broiler chickens, weighing 50 billion pounds, liveweight, will be produced. Almost 37 billion pounds of chicken product will be marketed, measured on a ready-to-cook basis
Americans consume more chicken than any other country in the world.

Sources:

Broiler Chicken Industry Key Facts 2016

Steak Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cilantro Cream Sauce

February 18, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: chicken, enchiladas, food, recipe Leave a comment

A World Without Ag Wednesdays: I want a steak

I just got out of class–6 hours of class. A lot, I know. After that much lecturing, discussions, and brain power, all I really want is a steak. Yes, it is past 9 o’clock pm and I want a steak. If you are around me much, you will quickly learn that I always crave steak or chicken wings. Tonight is a steak night, though. Sadly, all I have is pretzels and peanuts. Anyways, since my taste buds are not able to enjoy in the deliciousness of steak, I figured I’d feature steak on today’s “World Without Ag Wednesdays.” So, here goes. I’m not sure how wise this is considering the degree I want a steak right now.

Where does a steak come from?

Let’s ask the obvious question right? Well, it comes from a cow. The less obvious question is where from the cow does it come from? Well, it depends what kind of steak you want–sirloin, rib-eye, T-bone, filet mignon, etc. Here is a nifty diagram for you to get an idea:

Just because it all comes from a cow, does not mean that all steaks are equal. There are few things that make them different.

What makes a good steak?

There are three key things that effect how good a steak is besides how it is cooked–marbling, muscle groups, and quality grades.

Marbling–

Marbling is the internal fat in a steak. The more fat in the steak means it will be more flavorful; however, if there is too much fat it gets pretty gross.

Muscle groups–

Depending on the location that the steak comes from, it has an effect on the tenderness of the meat. For example, a filet mignon comes from the tenderloin which is used less strenuously by the cow than say a leg muscle which is more fibrous. This is why cuts from the rump like the round steak are far less favorable and are typically ground for processed meats. Muscles like the loin provide a more tender cut of meat.

More than the degree that the muscle is used, the way muscle groups tie into each other also have an effect. So, a sirloin is a steak that is made up of many different ends of muscles. If you look back at the cuts diagram above, you can see that the sirloin comes at the end of the loin muscle and connects to other muscles in the hip. In this way, it is far less favorable because it is not as neat and tidy as say a T-bone, which is only two muscles.

Quality grades–

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) sets standards for what quality of beef can be made into steaks. They have come up with the following system that includes eight quality grades (prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner) and five maturity grades (A,B,C,D,E). The maturity grades represent the following age groups:

A- 9 to 30 Months
B – 30 to 42 Months
C – 42 to 72 Months
D – 72 to 96 Months
E – More Than 96 Months

Only A and B maturity grades can be used for steaks. It is a pretty strenuous process, and I didn’t even mention yield grades.

So, there you go. That is a little steak trivia for you. I would include how to cook a steak and a recipe, but I’m afraid that is going to be too much for me. Oh goodness, I can just smell it now… I’m so very thankful for the cattle business, a $49.5 billion industry. If only they did steak delivery.

Sources:

http://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/1279/beef-grades

http://www.bovineengineering.com/quality_grades.html

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/animal-products/cattle-beef/statistics-information.aspx

January 21, 2015 by ruralris Categories: World Without Ag WednesdaysTags: beef, classes, college, cows, food, quality grades, steak, USDA Leave a comment

Football, Testosterone, and Sinful Dip

Sandwiched between all the boys in the house (so much testosterone), I, like many others, watched the Oregon vs. Ohio game last night. It was a great game, and quite honestly, I wouldn’t have minded either team winning; however, I decided at the start of the game, I should pick a side. I became a Buckeye fan for the night. This was a smart move on my part since they won. Hurrah!

Now, I must confess a few things–1) I love a good game of football, but I like the food better. There, I said it. 75% of why I’m in it is for the food. Well, maybe 65%. I do enjoy the company, hype, and the game too. 2) I am forever craving wings. When I was in a dorm at Campbell University, I discovered that the campus convenient store (conveniently located beside my dorm) carried frozen hot wings. I’d take them back and microwave them. During exams, it and sweet tea were my go to stress relief. Because of my craving for wings, I am constantly looking for excuses to get them (do I really need to have an excuse? I should evaluate that…). The football game became a perfect excuse. So, we cooked wings. 3) My last confession is I LOVE Pinterest. Forget Google, I typically go straight to Pinterest. My brother Gideon has learned that if Risa is cooking, it is probably something new from Pinterest. He is normally dubious. Anyways, I wanted dip for last night in addition to the wings. Naturally, I consulted Pinterest. I found a recipe for Sinful Dip. It looked heavenly (is that an oxymoron?). It was easy to make and tasted so good. So good in fact, that I didn’t get a picture until part of it was devoured. Oops!

You get the picture, though. I made a few changes to the original recipe like using bacon instead of ham (Yay for pork!). Personally, I think that was a no brainer. So, here is the sinful dip. I hope you enjoy!

Sinful Dip

16oz sour cream
8oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of bacon bits
1/4 tsp of hot sauce
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper

Mix the ingredients together and place in a small casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Serve with crackers or chips.

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 by ruralris Categories: UncategorizedTags: boys, brothers, Buckeyes, Ducks, family, food, football, Ohio, Oregon, pinterest, recipe, tesosterone, wings 1 Comment