Monthly Archives: December 2010

Food & FamilyCelebrate the New Year with Good Food

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It’s just about that time to say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. Welcoming the New Year can be an exciting time, filled with high expectations for the months to come. Many people will gather with friends and family for that last hoorah of the year on Friday night and start the New Year with the ones they love.

As the last holiday of the year, I recommend using it as the perfect excuse to stop worrying about what you eat and go all out with the oh, so good but not good for you foods before you have to enforce the “eating healthier” resolution in 2011. If you’re looking for recipes to celebrate the New Year, how does “peanut butter fudge” and some good ol’ “shrimp dip” sound?

Sheila Hawk-Foster, wife of Rick Foster, Latham RSM in Missouri, shared her to-die-for recipe for peanut butter fudge. It’s the perfect sweet, chocolate finger food to take your New Year’s Eve party. If you’re looking for more of an appetizer, Nikkia Lacina, wife of John Lacina, Latham Dealer in Badger, has a great recipe for shrimp dip.

What are your favorite New Year’s Eve party recipes?

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:
3 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup of white syrup

Cook to soft boil stage; turn off heat and add:

2 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of peanut butter
3 Tbsp of butter

Directions:
Let this mixture stick a few minutes, until thick. Then beat until stiff, and pour into a sprayed dish.

Shrimp Dip

Ingredients: 
1 can deveined tiny shrimp
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 small onion chopped fine (optional) or 1 tbsp onion powder

Directions:
Mix and refrigerate.

From the FieldIt Starts in Iowa – on New Year’s Eve!

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More than 90 percent of Iowa’s land is devoted to farming, which is the most of any state. To help showcase what makes Iowa unique, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has launched a fun, interactive national campaign built around the theme, “It Starts in Iowa”.

The campaign will kick off New Year’s Eve when Iowa farm families will be showcased during a video message that will air on the giant CBS Jumbotron screen in New York City’s Time Square. (I love that Iowa farms and faces will be center stage among all the excitement in Times Square! How cool is that?) The video focuses on the dedication and integrity of Iowa’s farmers and the pride they take in providing safe, nutritious food, as well as the general message of “healthy eating means healthy living.” Click here to see the video on YouTube.

You can visit the website, www.ItStartsInIowa.com to learn more about the campaign and to participate in the “Be Our Guest, Be a Farmer” contest. The winner will receive a four-day, three-night trip to Iowa in August that will include guided tours of several Iowa crop and livestock farms, an opportunity to feed cattle, drive a tractor and enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared and served by a farm family. To top it off, the winner and guests will receive red-carpet treatment to the 2011 Iowa State Fair.

Fun Iowa Farm Facts:

  • Nearly 96% of Iowa farms are owned and managed by families.
  • Iowa has at least 11,000 different soils that make up some of the richest, most productive land in the world!
  • Around 15 billion eggs are produced each year in Iowa – enough to provide every American an egg for 47 days. If Iowa was a country, the state would rank 11th worldwide in number of eggs produced.
  • The average size of an Iowa farm is around 350 acres (an acre is about the size of a football field, less the end zones).
  • Iowa produces the second most wind energy in the nation, helping generate enough electricity to power several hundred thousand homes each year.

(Source: www.ItStartsInIowa.com)

How are you “agvocating” for Iowa?