Some Mid-Week News

For a while here, I have been as busy as the proverbial beaver. Some times life just keeps one moving in directions that were not expected. Ah well. Just like a dry spell or long fall rain, all I can do is ride it out.

There does seem to be some interesting agriculture items in the news recently. Top on the list is the Farm Bill, recently signed by President Bush. (Some details here at the Farm Futures website) Living in the city, I hear and read quite a bit of interesting commentary... comments like, "Those damned farmers are getting rich!" and "I want to farm so I an get all that government money!" and "All those farmers and their pick-up trucks. Wish I could get government money to buy me a new one." Maybe it's just the people in Las Vegas, but I honestly think city dwellers are mostly clueless when it comes to farming.

I am not going to agree or disagree with the things in the bill. I do think that many people don't realize that there is SO much more in the Farm Bill than subsidies. People should read and be somewhat educated on a topic before commenting, IMHO.

In a similar governmental vein, President Bush signed the Energy Bill. (Some details here at the agriulture.com website.) With a new emphasis on automobile mileage and bio-fuels, the Energy and Farm Bills work together. But is that a good thing? I heard a little blurb on the television last night about Nitrogen and Phosphate runoff in the Mississippi Delta. Could an increased reliance on bio-fuels without proper conservation efforts cause further damage to the environment? Maybe. Only time will tell.

In my opinion, if more people, farmers and not, would exercise sustainable living practices, we would have a lot less to worry about.

Comments???

Big Chunk Apple Pie

I don't know why, but when I make an apple pie, the apples are sliced. This one is different! The apples are in chunks! I found this easy recipe last weekend and tried it. What's better on a cold winter day than a nice hot apple pie?

Big Chunk Apple Pie

• Sweet Apples – Enough to fill a deep 9 inch metal or glass pie pan with about 1 to 1.5 inches rising over the top.

• ½ cup unbleached flour

• 5 tablespoons corn starch

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon ground dry ginger

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• ¼ teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Prepare a deep 9 inch metal or glass pie pan. You can make your own crust or buy an Aluminum pan with the crust already there. This pie does not have a top crust, but if you are making your own crust and wish to have a top crust, no problem. Just make a little extra crust or buy two pans with crusts and use the crust from the other pan as a top crust.

Wash plenty of apples under cool water and peel. The number of apples in this recipe depends on their size, so you may need to peel more or less to fill the pan.

Core the apples and divide each apple into six or eight chunks. There are commercial products to do this easily and are highly recommended.

Combine allspice, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, corn starch, sugar, and flour in a bowl and mix well.

Sprinkle 4 or 5 tablespoons of the mixture onto bare pie crust.

Snugly pack one layer of apple chunks on the crust. Use any pattern you like, just minimize the
airspace.

Sprinkle 4 or 5 tablespoons of the mixture onto the first layer of apples.

Repeat the last two steps until the apples are 1 to 1.5 inches above the top of the pan.

Sprinkle the remainder of the sugar-spice mixture on top.

If you want a top crust, place it on top now.

Bake the pie at 420 F for 10 minutes, then at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove when the apples are soft.

Now remember. When buying apples for this recipe, you want a variety of apple that is sweet. These include apples such as Golden Delicious, Empire, Mustu (Crispin), Fuji, Spartan, Macoun or Gala. Try to avoid Northern Spy, Granny Smith, Jonathan, McIntosh, Pippin and Winesap. These are a bit too tart for this pie. BUT, if you would like to use one or two and mix it up a bit, I say 'go for it!'

And remember... If you can, support your local farmers and buy your apples from a local orchard.